Azure Star.The second episode of the documentary "The Old Man and the Stars and the Sea" officially aired, and in a short period, the viewership across the Federation soared to over 300 million, with ninety percent of the clicks coming from Longzhou.The program wasn't long, just an hour, but different viewers focused on entirely different aspects.After learning from the first episode that Ji Xinghe was an amateur high-level player, many avid fans of the game "Interstellar Glory" hoped to see Ji Xinghe demonstrate his in-game skills while piloting a real mech. Instead, they witnessed Ji Xinghe's defeat.This defeat occurred in the virtual world aboard the spaceship heading to the alien planet. In Ji Xinghe vs. Han Li's first battle, newly minted Federation battle hero and elite mech warrior Han Li unambiguously defeated Ji Xinghe in a matter of seconds after allowing him to use his game skills.This was a cold splash of water for the fans. They were discontented: "We came to see the
Ji Xinghe also watched his documentary.“There are failures, victories, talent, hard work, learning, and growth...” Su He explained beside him, “The government doesn't want everyone to join the military. They can't afford to support so many soldiers, and they don't want people to become overly arrogant, thinking Imperial mechs are easy to defeat. They showcased your talent and hard work to emphasize that failure is due to these factors. That's why your battles with Major Han Li and Major Jackson were not shown, especially Han Li’s words before your disarming fight, which were edited out. It's actually beneficial…”Ji Xinghe remained silent. Su He continued, “They also want you to record an additional interview about martial arts.”“What should I say?”“Just tell everyone not to overly believe in martial arts. Spending decades practicing martial arts is less beneficial than learning knowledge and honing mech piloting skills. Not everyone has your talent to balance martial arts with oth
Many people at Base Six had to take a break due to the dust storm, including the doctors and nurses in the medical area. With transportation disrupted, many injured soldiers couldn't be brought to the base for treatment. This break wasn't a relaxing one for them; the inner worry brought more exhaustion than physical labor."Grandpa, Xinxin is going to class. I'll be very good, so don't worry, go build the Xingyue.""Alright, Grandpa will pick you up for dinner."The doctors and nurses didn't stay idle; they didn't want to. Instead, they did what they could, like helping in the planting area, cleaning up the mech zone, or even carrying heavy items. They also taught the children at Base Six, so Xinxin started school again. From the current estimate, she would have two to three months of learning time. This wasn't her first time, so she was quite used to it.Ji Xinghe, however, felt a bit unaccustomed. Xinxin had been by his side these past days, watching him repair mechs, teaching her c
Saying they were going to build a mech was one thing, but it wasn’t easy to get started. Jixinghe couldn’t build a non-Federation-standard mech on his own.While waiting for Shen Mu, Master Liu, and the others to finish their work, Jixinghe didn’t rest. He continued to do what he could in the mech area and used the gaps in time to refine the design of Xing Yue. Compared to when he designed Old Man’s Joy, Jixinghe’s understanding of mechs had vastly improved. Many of his previous design insistences now seemed to affirm what Shen Mu had said during their argument on the spaceship.“You really think your amateur methods are better than the Federation’s top mech designers? You think one person’s ideas can be more comprehensive than the collective efforts of a million professionals? You think you, who have never piloted a real mech, understand our needs better than the mech warriors?”Now, Jixinghe wasn’t just an amateur. He had acquired formal theoretical knowledge from Shen Mu and Master
The final design of Xingyue didn't resemble a shooting star or a crescent moon as Shen Mu initially suggested, but rather looked like a full moon."So chubby," Shen Mu thought of the initial design of the Old Man's Joy by Ji Xinghe. Compared to that, Xingyue, without its wheels and stacked bulk, looked quite similar overall."No choice, these discarded parts are too useless to support a slimmer design. We had to make it chubbier. But being chubby has its advantages—better defense and enhanced endurance. We can carry more oxygen and nutrients needed for the pilot's survival. In short... more blessings for the chubby ones, even for mechas, hahaha..."Master Liu couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at the 3D model of Xingyue. In all his years, he had never seen such a chubby mecha design. It was widely known that larger sizes meant less agility, and agility was crucial for mechas.Beside him, Su He also examined the 3D model, struggling to make sense of it."Even though Xingyue is chub
The original plan to complete Xingyue in two days is now impossible. The initial plan had Ji Xinghe personally constructing the mech, but due to various reasons, he found himself in the combat zone of Base Six and then idled away due to further reasons.Like him, there were 62 other mech warriors, but Base Six currently had only 31 operational mechs. Just now there were 33; during the process of Ji Xinghe moving from the mech repair zone to the combat zone, another mech was damaged and towed away for repairs, and one was currently missing.Sitting next to Ji Xinghe was Instructor Li, sitting upright and staring intently at a corner of the large screen. This was the standby zone in Base Six's combat area. The holographic screen displayed the command center and observable scenes of the base’s perimeter, but the current dust storm made the outside view indistinguishable.Instructor Li was focused on a radar-like image in the screen’s corner. In the circular region, there were 21 green do
"Why?"Lieutenant Colonel Chen Xun looked at Instructor Li with an expressionless face. Instructor Li widened his eyes and stared straight ahead, "I have the authority.""I know, so I'm asking why?""Because none of them are as strong as Lao Ji. Sir, you might not be able to tell because you're not a professional, but I am, and I can tell. Among the four remaining mechs, only one is a sixteenth-generation standard mech, which Lao Ji is most proficient in. He has fought three enemies at once with this type of mech and tied with Major Jackson, a top-grade mech warrior. Also... Lao Ji wants to pilot a mech. He wants to fight. He wants to kill every last Imperial ape and monkey."Lieutenant Colonel Chen Xun stared at Instructor Li in silence for a moment before turning and leaving. Only after he left did Instructor Li realize that his back was already soaked with sweat.Turning back to the standby area, Instructor Li sat down and stared at the large screen, feeling even more anxious than
The battle erupted because there was no retreat.The rapid fire of machine guns suddenly resounded, coming from the shoulder of the Imperial mech. The charging Imperial mech used its long-range weapons first. If not for the short distance and the high speed of the charge, it would have certainly chosen to launch missiles instead.Compared to the previous encounter, this Imperial mech treated Ji Xinghe with much more caution because this time, his mech bore three golden stars.The sound of bullets clattering against the outer armor was like rain on a tank, only sparking countless tiny flames. Ji Xinghe, shielding his mech's head with one hand, did not slow his charge. The sixty-meter distance quickly vanished as both mechs charged at each other.A six-meter-long spear seemed poised to strike Ji Xinghe's mech, but Ji Xinghe suddenly maneuvered his mech to sidestep. The mech's metallic feet moved with agility, allowing the towering mech to pivot and sidestep the spear.Completing this ma
Having decided to participate in the orbital drop mech warrior test, Ji Xinghe did not leave Base Five immediately. It wasn’t that he had hesitated again; the “education” from Ji Rongxinyue had been very effective. The delay was simply because the necessary equipment required time to manufacture.“Lieutenant Ji Xinghe, we have reviewed your relevant physical data and estimate that it will take ten days to customize your orbital drop mech suite. Please confirm once again if you want to continue using the Federal standard 16th generation mech?”“Yes, I want to use the Federal standard 16th generation mech.”Ji Xinghe confirmed his choice. If possible, he would have preferred to pilot the Federal 1st generation standard mech, the one he first encountered and used the most. However, the initial models, still usable in the game Starry Glory, had long been phased out on alien battlefields. Therefore, he chose the 16th generation standard mech, which he was second most familiar with.In term
Ji Xinghe and his Xinghe Squad finally returned to Base No. 6, but they didn’t have much time to reunite with Master Liu and the others. As soon as they arrived, the transfer convoy between Base No. 3 and Base No. 6 was already prepared, and they received orders to depart immediately.“Thank you, and take care.”Ji Xinghe accepted the gift they had prepared for Ji Rong Xinyue, waving goodbye without saying "see you again," because he knew that "goodbye" might mean "forever."The journey was uneventful, and the transfer convoy took three days to finally reach the relatively safe Base No. 5. Despite the sudden influx of people, Base No. 5 did not face any resource shortages as the Federation had already made preparations.Ji Rong Xinyue was very happy to receive the gift, but even happier to see that Ji Xinghe had returned unharmed.“Grandpa, what does orbital drop mean?”For many, this information was still classified, but Ji Xinghe revealed it to Ji Rong Xinyue without reservation, ev
At the start of a video conference, all the elite mecha warriors participating watched footage from a battle recorder. The footage showed Ji Xinghe’s fight in the canyon.In this battle, he single-handedly destroyed fourteen Empire mechas, bringing his total number of gold stars to thirty-six, placing him at the middle rank among the Federation’s three hundred and twenty-seven active elite mecha warriors.The first scene depicted a pale blue energy shockwave bursting from a diamond-shaped metal object, sending Federation Level Two mecha warrior Zuo Qiyu flying. He then got up and chose to charge forward.The combat recorder’s audio had not been removed, so all 116 elite mecha warriors participating in the video conference could hear Left Hand’s voice: “Go, Old Ji, don’t look back, run, run fast, I can hold them off.”Through Ji Xinghe’s mecha’s perspective, the elite mecha warriors watched the Federation mecha charging at the Empire mechas and heard the pilot’s shout. Even though all
Inside Base Six, many people were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the convoy from Base Three, hoping to reunite with familiar faces.The surface area of this alien planet couldn't compare to the Blue Planet, and the Federation's controlled area wasn't vast. But the extreme difficulty of transportation and the scarcity of resources meant that many people who met and became familiar on this alien planet might never see each other again after parting.They had promised to reunite on the Blue Planet after winning the war, but some would never return. Even their ashes could only remain on this alien planet, buried deeper and deeper under the orange-red dust, until no one would remember where they were buried.Perhaps one day, when humanity fully occupies this planet, technology will advance enough to change the planet's environment, creating a real atmosphere. Seeds will be scattered across the alien land, taking root and sprouting, carried by the wind to spread new life.When countless se
A squad of nine mechas was moving swiftly through the canyon. They were a support unit, initially tasked with escorting a convoy to a designated area before returning. However, unexpected developments forced them to turn back.“Have we established contact yet?”“No, the Xinghe Squad is still out of contact.”“Damn it, what the hell are they doing? I could understand if Ji Xinghe and Left Hand went silent, but why did the support team, Blind Man’s group, also go dark? Couldn't they have left someone outside the blackout zone to maintain communication?”When the Xinyue Fox battleship bombarded the area from space, this mecha squad did not advance at full speed. But when a flare illuminated the alien night sky, they accelerated to maximum speed. The flare, following the bombardment, indicated ongoing enemy presence, necessitating immediate support.But they had no intel.“It's a new team after all, lack of experience is understandable. I heard that Blind Man and his group came from the R
One, two, three.Faced with encirclement by eight Imperial mechas, Ji Xinghe seized every opportunity he could. After single-handedly taking down three Imperial mechas, he finally ran out of chances. There were still five mechas left in pursuit, with enough distance between them for him to take them out one by one, but the canyon held more dangers than just those five. While Ji Xinghe wasn’t sure how long it would take to completely destroy the rhomboid metal construct, the Imperial mechas’ previous caution suggested it wasn't invulnerable to mecha attacks.The six Imperial mechas assigned to destroy the construct could join the pursuit at any moment. If Ji Xinghe waited until they appeared, he would lose his chance to escape.He didn’t want to die, so he chose to run before the opportunity vanished completely.At full speed, the sixteenth-generation Federation standard mecha dashed through the dark canyon, kicking up a trail of dust. Behind him were eleven Imperial mechas that had al
Six Federation mechas gathered together, now in full power mode, advancing quickly in an assault formation toward the depths of the canyon. The previously lively communication channel had fallen silent, with only the faint sound of each other’s breathing audible.They had already increased their speed once when they entered the canyon, shifting from reconnaissance mode to fast-advance mode. But when the signal flare's light pierced through the dark canyon and exploded in the night sky, their speed reached its peak.If they wanted to go faster, they would have to charge, but now was clearly not the time for that."We are about to enter the communication blackout zone. All units, take note: if the enemy's numbers are overwhelming, Niuma, Heavy Cannon, immediately retreat to maintain communication. If necessary, withdraw at full speed."Blind Man’s command was met with no objections, not even from Su Chuanyun, who had just become Niuma. Despite his personality, he didn’t argue. He knew v
As Ji Xinghe once again destroyed three Imperial mechas, the total number of Imperial mechas in the canyon didn't decrease; instead, it increased.Twenty-two, exactly matching the number of golden stars on Ji Xinghe's mecha."The warp gate has disappeared. They're gone. They've stopped."Left Hand exclaimed in surprise. In his sight, the diamond-shaped metal warp gate vanished suddenly, as if it had run out of energy, just as the thirtieth Imperial mecha descended from it. The diamond-shaped metal reverted to being an inert metal ingot.Their reinforcements were gone, and they had stopped moving.After breaking eight Imperial mechas in total, the third batch of four Imperial mechas chasing Ji Xinghe and Left Hand finally halted. They chose not to continue their charge, maintaining a safe pursuit distance from Ji Xinghe and Left Hand's mechas.The eighteen Imperial mechas guarding the diamond-shaped metal also remained motionless, as if their systems had shut down.But Ji Xinghe showed
“Old Ji, you should have run, really.”Left Hand stared at the three Imperial mechas two hundred meters away, which had stopped their charge, and the ten more mechas near the rhombus-shaped metallic structure further back. He still believed Ji Xinghe should have run.The two Imperial mechas he was holding off had been destroyed the moment Ji Xinghe joined the battle. Up to this point, the two of them had already taken down five Imperial mechas, and neither of their mechas had suffered any substantial damage. It was a rare and complete victory, but the number of Imperial mechas remained overwhelming, and they kept increasing.“We still have time to run,” Left Hand continued to persuade. “We’re right near Base No. 3. They’ve got heavy defenses there, and Blind and the others are ready to back us up. If we run together, we might be able to link up with them. By then, with eight mechas fighting together, they might just give up chasing us. Plus, once we get to a zone where communications