Mech: Shattering of the Galaxy

"Fatty, slow down—did Mr. Wayne..."

"What are you talking about? Forget it, we'll see soon! We're heading out now, meet at Dingwu Gate."

The disheveled Mu Fan put down his Sky Communication device and said, "Time to set off, and you promised you're treating!"

White Hair slapped his chest with a smug look, "Leave it to me."

"Haha, got myself hooked up to a big leg."

Li Xiaoxi tossed the tablet and camera onto a nearby table, then fished out a small satchel and strapped it around her waist.

Moments later, the group was already on the street.

"Why the rush, not even allowing a moment's rest?" White Hair complained, clearly Mu Fan's pace was too fast.

"Harry said he found his big brother," Mu Fan said earnestly.

"Damn, that's fast progress!"

White Hair's retort left a trail of echoes behind Mu Fan.

...

Thirty minutes later, Mu Fan and two girls, along with Wang Nuonuo, had successfully joined up. Seeing Li Xiaoxi's shifty gaze couldn't help but pique their curiosity.

After Mu Fan made the introductions, Li Xiaoxi straightened her hat and shyly said with a smile, "Hello, ladies."

"Big Barbarian Bear, how come the little fatty hasn't shown up yet? So slow."

"Wait, he said he'd be here soon."

While Mu Fan and Nuonuo chatted to one side, White Hair, who had nothing better to do, suddenly noticed his newly met roommate's eyes brimming with excitement, his hand shaking uncontrollably, similar to someone suddenly falling ill.

Quietly nudging Li Xiaoxi's shoulder, White Hair asked in a hushed tone, "Are you freaking out or what?"

"Bro... I can't control myself."

"What's up? Why do you need to control?"

"Can I not control it?"

"Nonsense, a man has to unleash his nature," preached White Hair earnestly.

Li Xiaoxi seemed to be energized by profound motivation. Her fingers swiftly flicked across her waist, and before White Hair could even react, they withdrew.

Then Li Xiaoxi's face showed an expression akin to ecstasy.

White Hair's eyes began to twitch; this scene was quite unsettling.

"What did you just do to feel so good..."

Li Xiaoxi looked around vigilantly, then whispered, "Don't speak, just watch."

She pinched a half-palm-sized electronic screen from her waist.

On it was—undoubtedly—the scene of Mu Fan and Wang Nuonuo talking, and Nuonuo seemed to be pouting, huffing and puffing about something, with Mu Fan listening with a seemingly honest lowered head.

To anyone watching, it appeared as though Wang Nuonuo was scolding Mu Fan.

The image quality was extremely crisp, and even an inadvertent zoom didn't cause blur. Moreover, the viewing angle was perfect.

White Hair kept silent for a good while before patting Li Xiaoxi's shoulder, "…Buddy, with this skill, you could be unbeatable in the academy."

"Right? You think highly of me too? I want to be the number one reporter in Ding Chuan!"

"What chicken?" Mu Fan's ears were exceedingly sharp, after all, because he heard the word "chicken"! If someone served him a roast chicken dripping in hot oil right now, he could eat twenty!

Maybe even more...

Because his stomach growled again.

White Hair quickly wrapped his arm around Li Xiaoxi's shoulder, maintaining a calm smile facing Mu Fan, "Big plate chicken."

Mu Fan could no longer pay attention to Wang Nuonuo, excitedly saying, "Ten plates?"

"Twenty plates!" White Hair gave Mu Fan an affirming look.

"Good brother."

Mu Fan spoke the three words without the slightest hesitation.

Beep beep, beep beep.

His Sky Communication device rang again, it was Harry's Sky Communication, and Mu Fan answered.

"Mu Fan, we..."

"What's wrong?"

"We can't move!"

Mu Fan's hand stiffened at his side. What kind of bizarre excuse was this!

"Ah, it's gonna kill me. Why is the logistics department's accommodation on the mountain! My big brother is about to collapse, but of course, I'm still fine," Harry panted heavily while still trying to save face.

Thinking of Harry's 200-pound frame climbing a mountain, Mu Fan couldn't help but feel sympathetic, but why did Harry keep emphasizing how tired his big brother was?

"Alright, you go ahead... we'll come down the mountain in a bit, find a car... ahem, to find you guys. That's it for now, I can't take it anymore."

After finishing, Harry hung up the Sky Communication without even the energy to say goodbye.

Mu Fan watched his Sky Communication with a wry smile, then relayed the situation to everyone before eagerly looking at White Hair.

The generous host with the gold card was right here.

"Okay, Masa restaurant, I've already booked an entire floor in advance. Eat up, I'll call the driver over," White Hair declared.

Everyone else shouted excitedly, but only Wang Nuonuo gave White Hair a surprised look.

When the 9.5-meter long silver phantom bulletproof Floating Car appeared shortly after, it completely captured the attention of everyone in front of Dingwu Gate.

"Silver phantom extended bulletproof edition... and the license plate is a special one?! Which Planet's young master has arrived?"

"This car must be expensive, right?"

"The base price for the non-bulletproof version is 27 million, as for the bulletproof one, I don't know. It's a custom order, so don't ask me."

A series of subdued exclamations rose; there were some who recognized the value.

Having heard that, Mu Fan asked in surprise, "Is this car more expensive than a Mecha?"

White Hair had the driver stand aside and opened the car door himself, gesturing for them to get in, and then said, "Showing off is more effective than a Mecha, but practically it's useless. Bulletproof is only against standard infantry assault weapons. Against a Mecha, it's still dead."

"You didn't rent this too, did you?"

"No, this one isn't rented. The old man at home shipped it over saying it was convenient for business. Thinking about it, sometimes you need to do some insincere business socializing, so I didn't refuse."

As Mu Fan entered, the spacious interior and the extravagant comfort continually refreshed his understanding of luxury.

"Mu Fan, I sense your heartbeat relaxing, don't let comfort corrupt you. This is what leads a true warrior astray," Black's solemn voice rang out.

"Right," Mu Fan murmured softly, then settled more comfortably, adjusting his head to a new position, already immune to Black's level of sarcasm.

"I'm very disappointed... Sigh," Black let out a wistful sigh, but Mu Fan's lips curled into a smile.

The car had four rows of sofa-style seats, two to a row; Wang Nuonuo immediately sat next to Mu Fan.

So Chuchu pouted and moved to the third row, Li Xiaoxi nervously sat in the second row, while White Hair took out an amber-colored beverage from the fridge and sat in the front row.

"Masa restaurant."

"Yes, young master."

Without a hint of shaking or any noticeable movement, the Floating Car silently started up.

The fresh scent of a young girl wafted around him; Mu Fan finally had the alone time to ask.

"Nuonuo."

"What's up, Big Barbarian Bear?"

"About that Mecha Combat Competition you mentioned, I've never heard of it before."

A devilish grin flashed at the corners of the elf-like girl's lips.

"I thought you wouldn't ask me, hehe. Here's the thing, the video from your qualifying match leaked, leading to hot sales for the Extreme Special Soldier Ge-1 Mecha Body. Now Loki Heavy Industry has really made a mark on the map of Mecha corporations, which means Loki Heavy Industry now truly has the standing to compete with big Mecha companies."

"And with that standing comes two Mechanical Master slots in the competition!"

"The Mecha Combat Competition is divided into two phases: one is the Mecha preliminary battle with certain rules, the other is the truly brutal unrestricted Fighting match. My grandfather's idea is that as long as we show our faces in the preliminaries, it'll greatly benefit the promotion for the next product release."