Volume 6: Mecha Contest Chapter 323 The End of the First Day
"In this case, two of the three positions have been decided. The remaining one will be chosen between you and Asano Akira." said the Hound.
Since there was an outsider like Ye Yan present, Hound was embarrassed to speak too bluntly... But at least in his opinion, Ke Lan should still be given higher priority than Asano Akira. After all, the venue for the knockout round was a relic of the Alpha civilization, and Ke Lan had the ability to read Alpha text. In the ruins, the advantage that this ability could bring to them was immeasurable, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that it could even determine victory or defeat.
"Actually, you don't need a professional mechanic..." Ye Yan said, "The parts put in the arena are all modular in design. Anyone who knows how to maintain the mecha will know how to assemble it after just a few glances."
"Then that little girl Valentina should be able to do it, right?" The Hound used the nails of his thumb and index finger to pull the stubble on his chin, and muttered to himself, "If I remember correctly... the Strangler Squadron is an independent combat unit. When they are on missions outside, all of them are equipped with mechas, and there are no professional mechanics accompanying the team... In this way, basically everyone is required to master certain maintenance skills..."
Unlike those club players who only need to master driving skills and don't have to worry about logistics, pilots who come from the military need to master more skills. After all, the conditions on the battlefield and the competition field are completely incomparable.
The hound stood up, waved at Chi Hanfeng, and shouted, "Hey, Lao Chi, come here, I need you for something... Oh, and Valentina and Layton, come over here too."
They had gathered by the window, watching the second game in the field below. This game was just as exciting as the opening match. Both teams were top clubs, and the competition format was a team melee. Six ace pilots were fighting fiercely in the field, and the commentators spoke so fast that it seemed suffocating... However, at the call of the Hound, they gave up watching the game and walked over here.
"What's the matter, old dog? We are busy studying the other participating teams... Damn, those two groups of people down there have six ace pilots. It's a good thing we didn't run into them just now." Layton muttered.
"There will be a video recording of the game that you can watch later. If Master Ye leaves later, you won't be able to find this exclusive information." The Hound said with a pout.
"Young Master Ye... that fat guy... that friend of Ke Lan? Ye...? Ye Group? He's the young master of the Ye Group?" Layton was stunned for a moment. "Just now Miss Soma only said that he was a friend of Ke Lan... So you are Ye Yan? The young master Ye Yan who sent someone to deliver the new skeleton?"
"Okay, if you want to lick it, there will be plenty of time for you to do so later. Now let's get down to business." The hound said, stomping on Layton's foot hard.
"Business? What business?"
"The format of the knockout round has been changed to a battle royale mode." Ke Lan said, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
He repeated the information Ye Yan had just provided as concisely as possible, and then looked at Chi Hanfeng and Valentina: "Old Chi, if it is to assemble modular design parts, can Valentina do it?"
"Of course, if the soldiers from the Strangler Squadron couldn't even maintain their own mechas, they would have died long ago..." Chi Hanfeng paused in the middle of his words, coughed twice, and then immediately changed the subject, "In fact, modular design accessories are originally prepared for those who are not very proficient in mechanical maintenance, but this thing is expensive and wasteful, so in non-emergency situations, no one will use modular accessories to repair mechas."
Chi Hanfeng continued, "For example, suppose the heat sink in the Valkyrie's back thruster is broken. For me, I only need to replace the broken heat sink with a new one, and the repair cost will not exceed 500 credit points. But if I replace it with modular accessories, the entire thruster backpack will have to be replaced with a new one, and the money spent is enough to buy hundreds of heat sinks."
"Okay, it looks like I'll be on the bench again." Layton touched the back of his head in frustration. "To be honest, before I fought Valentina, although I knew there was a big gap between me and the ace pilot, I always thought I could still struggle a bit..."
"Indeed," the Hound muttered, "everyone watching the game will think, 'I can do that, too.'"
"But you won't know until you actually fight... " Layton sighed deeply, "I'd rather not go looking for trouble. To deal with the ace pilots of other clubs, apart from ace vs ace, only idiots like you and Asano Akira can do it."
It is certain that he was unwilling, but Layton also knew his own strengths and weaknesses, so he simply gave up the starting position.
…
…
There were only six matches on the first day, which ended very quickly. The remaining half day was basically an exhibition of the new skeleton of the Ye Group... Since the vast majority of the machines participating in the competition used this Phoenix skeleton, the exhibition was quite popular. Regardless of whether they could afford it or not, the audience still gathered under the booth, wanting to take a close look at this new skeleton that was praised by the Ye Group.
"The Phoenix skeleton is just so-so..." Although Ye Yan was right next to him, Chi Hanfeng had no scruples when talking about these things. "There are too many areas that can be improved, especially in terms of joint strength . The prototype skeleton is still quite useful, using parts containing 45% Nino alloy, but I see that the mass-produced joint parts have a Nino alloy content of only 9%, which is not even as good as the 12% of the Striker III skeleton... Maybe the Ye Group did this for commercial reasons, but if I were a military procurement department, I would rather choose the old version of the skeleton than purchase the mass-produced Phoenix."
"Uh... this... I don't really know much about the technical department." Ye Yan said with a wry smile, "But if you need it, I can ask them to customize a Zero version with 45% Nino alloy content for you. A more advanced one would be no problem either."
"In fact, the Ye Group's approach is not hard to understand. The mass-produced version... must have considered cost control. You can tell at a glance that the Phoenix frame is for competition. Military frames simply don't need so many movable joints. The more joints there are, the worse the overall reliability and durability. If it is used for competition, 9% of the Nino alloy content is more than enough." Layton said, "Moreover, this will also make it easier to launch subsequent models. For example, add 0.5% Nino alloy content, slightly optimize some of the original defects, and make some changes to the appearance. Isn't this a new frame? The price of the Phoenix 1, 2, and 3 generations has increased by more than 10% each time. It's really a normal operation."
"Well... although I don't usually get involved in those things, it seems... that's really the case..." Ye Yan said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Isn't this just like 'squeezing toothpaste'..." Ke Lan said, "This reminds me of a very famous company in the old era."
"What company?" Curious Ye Yan couldn't help but ask.
"Intel... in the old days, it and AMD almost monopolized the home computer CPU market." Ke Lan shrugged, "But now you can see that AMD still has one-third of the market share, and the Intel brand has long disappeared without a trace."
"This... is this a case of squeezing the toothpaste to death?" This time it was Layton's turn to be curious.
"That's about right. Consumers are not fools. After being played by businesses time and time again, they will naturally choose to vote with their feet."
…
After such a joke, everyone lost interest in the new skeleton exhibition. After parking the floating platform at the designated berth of the organizer, they took the elevator back to the ground. The reason why the tickets for the mecha competition were so expensive was that they also included the cost of food and lodging during the competition. In order to prevent the audience from sleeping in the open air in the stadium, the Ye Group even built a permanent garrison base not far from the stadium.
Like the viewing area, the rooms in the base were also divided into VIP area and economic area. The hound only ran to the economic area to take a look, and immediately ran back in shame.
"It stinks, it really stinks!" He covered his nose and said angrily, "A room less than ten square meters has sixteen beds. It's even more crowded than the dormitory in the military camp. This is not the most horrible thing... One corridor, twenty-four rooms, a total of three hundred and eighty-four people, sharing one bathroom... Damn, the feces and urine are overflowing into the corridor, and the smell is just like that of biological weapons!"
According to the hound's description, there were some subtle changes in everyone's expressions... It's exciting just to think about it, not to mention that the hound's sense of smell is extremely sensitive, and this smell is particularly lethal to him.
"Huh... Fortunately, fortunately..." Layton breathed a sigh of relief, "In the past two years, I had planned to save money and buy a regular ticket to watch the game... You know, the accommodation conditions provided by the organizer are so bad, I would rather sleep on the floor in the viewing area."
"There's nothing we can do about this..." Ye Yan said helplessly, "In fact, the price of ordinary tickets is already very close to the cost price. To build and maintain a stadium of this scale, the expenses are too terrifying. I once accidentally glanced at the bill in my father's computer, and the amount of expenditure shocked even me. Just one tree in the tropical jungle venue cost tens of thousands of credits. In order to provide the audience with the best viewing experience, the cost can only be cut out from other places..."
"So, it's still most comfortable to watch live broadcasts for free at home." Ke Lan agreed.
Fortunately, the conditions in the VIP area are much better than those in the economic zone. Although not as good as the luxury hotel on the Ark, it is at least much better than Ke Lan's original residence in the North Fifth District.
Including Zofia and Ye Yan, there were still some rooms allocated to Ke Lan and the others… But when Ke Lan opened the door of the first bedroom, he was shocked to find a beautiful girl sitting on the bed whose appearance was no less beautiful than Zofia.
"Eh? Excuse me...did you walk into the wrong room?"
"I didn't go the wrong way--" The girl stood up and walked towards Ke Lan step by step with an angry expression.
Suddenly, she raised her finger, pointed behind Ke Lan, and shouted, "Fatty, stop right there! Don't even think about running away!"
Ke Lan subconsciously turned her head and saw that Ye Yan, who was following them, had already slipped to the door of the living room and had one foot out.
"Stop!" the girl shouted again, quickening her pace again.
Ye Yan at the door looked at Ke Lan pleadingly and mouthed to him: Help me, stop her.
Stop her?
Ke Lan looked at the girl, then at Ye Yan, and immediately stood against the wall, with his hands pressed against the center line of his trousers, his eyes staring straight at the ceiling above his head, with an expression that said, "It's none of my business, I don't know, I didn't see it."
This girl is obviously the childhood sweetheart of the Song family that Ye Yan mentioned. Even an honest judge would find it difficult to judge family affairs. Since I am not even an honest official, I should not interfere in this matter.
Seeing Ke Lan and the others give way, Ye Yan's expression changed from fear to despair... Without Ke Lan and the others stopping him, he would definitely not be able to escape. Rather than being caught up and brutally beaten, it would be better to surrender directly. Maybe he could get a lighter sentence...
"Song Shiyun, you... you... you calm down. I admit that I was wrong first, but can we sit down and have a good talk? No matter how big the problem is, it can be solved. My friends are here. If the matter gets out of hand, it will be bad for both of our families... You, don't be impulsive..."
The girl didn't say anything, but put her hand in her pocket...
"Does this girl really intend to shoot Ye Yan?" Ke Lan was slightly stunned, thinking to herself, "A 0.44-inch caliber Magnum pistol... If it hits the head and torso, Ye Yan will probably die on the spot. If it hits the limbs, he will definitely be missing limbs. Although current medical technology can regenerate limbs, the heavy bleeding alone is enough to be fatal..."
He couldn't let the eldest son of the Ye Group die right under his nose... Just when Ke Lan was about to stop him, he finally saw the , and he swallowed the words that were already at the tip of his throat.
Fortunately, it wasn't a magnum pistol, just a non-lethal stun gun.
“Ah…Ahhh…Ahhh!!”
After a soul-stirring scream, Ye Yan, with his hair standing on end and a puff of green smoke coming out of him, fell to the ground with a bang. The girl picked up one of his legs and dragged him out with some difficulty. Before leaving, she turned around and gave Ke Lan a slightly apologetic smile.
"Hey, this girl is so polite. She even remembered to close the door for us before leaving." The hound touched the top of his head and squeezed out these words.
"Indeed, not only is he polite, he's also very gentle." Ke Lan nodded in agreement. In his opinion, as long as he didn't take out the Magnum, he was really very gentle.
