Five years had passed, yet Muria still slept within the golden cocoon, showing no signs of awakening. Meanwhile, within the Dragon Castle, significant changes had taken place during Muria's five-year slumber.Within the castle, most of the young dragons had entered a period of dormancy, emerging as adolescents with preliminary survival skills throughout Eleracia. The remaining few had also entered dormancy.Vibrant young dragons flew in and out of the Dragon Castle, infusing the entire fortress with vitality. However, Muria's previous commands had become mere words, not because the giants disobeyed them, but because they lacked the capability to execute them.These young dragons had a powerful ally — their magic teacher, the Dragon King Demos. With Demos's approval, these dragons dared to disregard the giants within the castle, freely coming and going, though they refrained from being too audacious.Initially, when dragons attempted to leave the castle, Storm Giants would intervene. H
Perhaps it was because of Ji Xinghe's status as an eighth-level mechanic, or perhaps because of his speed in repairing the energy transmission board, or because Lieutenant Shen Mu had said, "You have to believe in Old Ji," or because they knew Ji Xinghe had gone to the training area to fight earlier today, or because of Major Han Li, or maybe because of the suddenly excited little girl...Whatever the reason, Master Liu chose to bend the rules: "Alright, Old Ji, you give it a try. The usual rule applies—if you break it, it's your responsibility."Ji Xinghe nodded and walked to the back of a solemnly standing mech. This was the Federation's 16th generation standard mech, the same type of mech hero in the game "Star Glory," where Ji Xinghe had earned the national server title, so he was very familiar with it. And "Star Glory," this immersive virtual reality game, had its origins in the Federation's military virtual reality technology used to select and train the first generation of mech
Bang bang, pow pow, hoom ha hey.Ji Xinghe stood in place, not out of breath and with his face unchanged, while the six groups of eighteen mecha warriors who had challenged him this afternoon all wanted to retreat in shame. However, they couldn't leave yet, as Su He was still filming and interviewing them up close."Reporter Su, it's almost lunchtime. Can we eat first and then do the interview?""Ah? Oh, sorry, I forgot about lunch. Let's go eat together, and I can interview you during the meal.""Uh, suddenly I don't feel so hungry. You guys go ahead and eat. Otherwise, you'll miss lunch, and it's expensive to buy your own food."The mecha warriors looked at Su He as if he were a monstrous beast. They weren't really afraid of Su He or Ji Xinghe, who had defeated them, but of the camera in Su He's hand because behind that camera were three billion people.In one morning, they had confirmed that Ji Xinghe and Su He weren't lying. There really was a documentary called "The Old Man and t
Eager to take the exam, Ji Xinghe didn't rush into it because he knew he wasn't ready yet. Just like getting a driver's license, knowing how to drive doesn't guarantee passing the test, as there are theoretical questions to answer. These questions are confidential and not openly accessible to someone like Ji Xinghe."It's okay, Old Ji, I'll coach you," Instructor Li reassured him. "These guys are still not convinced. Once you pass the exam, you can pilot a mecha and challenge them. If you win, your stipend can increase.""Thank you."Ji Xinghe could only express his gratitude but didn't promise victory because he knew Instructor Li didn't truly believe he could win. Piloting a mecha is vastly different from hand-to-hand combat. Even the best martial artists might not be able to fully utilize a mecha's capabilities, mainly due to age-related issues affecting endurance and reaction times—both critical for mecha piloting.Life at the training ground settled into a routine. Ji Xinghe spen
Finally, the blind man saw Jixinghe, thanks to his newly installed mechanical eye, a form of prosthetic. However, what the blind man didn't expect was to see the Jixinghe he had imagined in the training area. Instead, what he saw was not the indomitable sixty-five-year-old Jixinghe he had heard about from Wang Gui and others.This was an old man devoid of vitality, with a thin face marked by wrinkles. Despite his tall stature, he seemed somewhat stooped. Contrary to the stories of Jixinghe's full head of black hair, his temples now bore the silvery hue of age.Did Wang Gui deceive me?It shouldn't be, right? Not only Wang Gui but also the other mech warriors in the remnants battalion had described Jixinghe as having a full head of black hair, not resembling a sixty-five-year-old. Initially, everyone thought perhaps Jixinghe had dyed his hair before coming to the alien planet. However, after a month without hair dye services in Base Six, Jixinghe's roots should have turned silver, as e
"Instructor, I want to pilot a mech."This was the second time Instructor Li had heard this sentence today, but the first time he hadn't heard it; he had seen it, as it came through as a text message from Blind.Now, he was equally shocked, as the person saying it this time was a sixty-five-year-old man."Old Jī, are you serious?"Instructor Li knew that Jī Xīng Hé wanted to obtain a mech pilot qualification, but he didn't expect Jī Xīng Hé to take the exam so soon, especially under these circumstances."Yes, I'm serious."Jī Xīng Hé's reply was firm, a stark contrast to his gloomy demeanor in the medical area just an hour ago. It was as though he had transformed into a different person.Instructor Li furrowed his brow. He didn't really have a reason to stop Jī Xīng Hé, and he had previously promised to help and look out for him. Plus, with the intense situation of the war, there were hardly any mech warriors left in the training area. Those who had completed adaptation or rehabilitat
Wang Gui blocked Ji Xinghe."Old Ji, just watch. The blind man is going to set an example for you. If he can pass the exam and you can't, don't blame us for laughing at you. Though you're old, he's blind, haha..."When Wang Gui referred to Li Lin as "the blind man," his expression didn't change at all, just as the blind man would directly call him "the lame man." Since they were all assigned to the Wounded Soldiers Unit, their relationship was actually very good. Such nicknames carried no insult or ridicule, just facts, just code names.And if they couldn't even bear that, how could they return to the battlefield? Others called them these names not because they wanted to, but because they themselves demanded it.Ji Xinghe looked at Wang Gui and asked seriously, "Why?"Wang Gui didn't look at Ji Xinghe but at the blind man preparing to take the exam."Do you remember what you said to us the first time you came to the training zone? At that time, I was saying that the gorillas on Azure
The Blind Man left, and it would take at least eight days for him to return. Jixinghe's life seemed to return to normal: repairing mechs when needed, conducting live tests when necessary, and heading to the training area when required.Although there were significantly fewer mech warriors in the training area, some still remained. The members of the Crippled Soldiers' Squad were also there, and Jixinghe had to provide special guidance to the mech warriors and soldiers of the squad, such as Wang Gui, the Cripple."This isn't the most suitable mechanical leg for you, but it's the best one available right now. You shouldn't just adapt to it; you should control it as if it were... like controlling a mech."Once again, Jixinghe made slight modifications to Wang Gui's mechanical leg based on his training progress and effectiveness. There were no performance upgrades or additions of extraordinary components. He simply made the leg more suitable for Wang Gui based on his understanding of the