Chapter 40: Little Red Noob
Everyone lost interest upon seeing the piles of dirty mecha spare parts. They had originally expected to see shiny mecha; even if they could not be opened, it would have been good to see. But it was this instead.
Where was the professor?
After the crowd waited for quite some time and had moments of impatience, an old man walked in unsteadily.
Upon looking at him, Wang Zheng was shocked ... it was Luo Mu!
Luo Mu saw everyone’s expressions clearly—impatience, scorn. Only when he saw Wang Zheng in the crowd did Luo Mu reveal a trace of a smile. It was only because of Wang Zheng’s persuasion coupled with Ye Zisu’s that Luo Mu decided to serve as a visiting professor here. With the addition of this elective course, he wished to pass down his skills.
"I am your teacher, Luo Mu. For the first class today, everyone will just be familiarizing themselves with the mech. We will do a little tidying up, cleaning of spare parts, and then class will be dismissed."
Having said it, Luo Mu proceed to a room inside the warehouse to watch television in a sagely manner, seemingly at ease.
Everyone looked at each other. This was the teacher?
If they stood before a mech, they would have gone crazy for such an opportunity. However, before them lay a pile of oily things. It was nauseating just to look at, much less the thought of having to clean them.
Ye Zisu and Meng Tian also looked at each other. While Ares College was not in a good place, surely it was not this bad, right?
Ye Zisu had a hunch that this was likely intended by Luo Mu.
While the crowd was still hesitating, Wang Zheng had already picked up tools and began cleaning the spare parts in an experienced fashion.
Luo Mu stuck his head out of the window. "You can ask me if you have any questions."
He resumed watching television after speaking. Lin Huiyin’s new song was playing. Luo Mu nodded. "Not too bad this time. The music isn’t decadent and has a bit of power to it."
Even if one wore gloves, it was hard not to get greasy. It was alright for the boys, but even just the smell was difficult for the girls to stand.
Ye Zisu got to work with Wang Zheng with a much practiced hand.
Wang Zheng was very focused. He very quickly realized that these dirty mecha parts were actually ...
A model number became visible very quickly. ASL—23556. "This is Aslan’s propeller!"
Wang Zheng had only seen this in pictures. This was simply a work of art!
Without a doubt, in terms of mecha technology, Aslan was at the top in the Milky Way Alliance. Their mecha were celebrated for being far more complex in prowess and difficult in operations, and they were a beautiful inside and out. This was a dream.
Ye Zisu was also surprised for a moment. Could these things be part of Luo Mu’s collection?
She knew that Luo Mu liked collecting parts from mecha of various countries, especially those that were unique. The things here should be a part of Luo Mu’s private collection!
Inside the room, Luo Mu had his legs crossed. To this old person, these things were priceless treasures to those who were interested, but mere scrap metal to those who had no love for it.
Wang Zheng immediately began cleaning rather systematically. Even then, it took about half an hour to clean a spare part.
A sparkling set of propellers from Aslan’s high-end mech, the Tempest Condor, emerged from the debris.
Most people were loafing around. They were going to be mech warriors, not part of the maintenance division. No wonder this was just an elective module.
If one knew this was so meaningless, one would not have elected for it. But Wang Zheng was enjoying the moment.
Actually, this job was not required to be done by students, but Luo Mu did this for a reason. Only when one got into the thick of doing things, making discoveries bit by bit, could they form deep memories and inspire an inner desire to seek further understanding.
This was also a condition for him to accept the invitation, that he could choose his own methodology for teaching.
When the break came, pretty much everyone was gone. Only Wang Zheng, Ye Zisu, Meng Tian, and ten others were left. At this time, Luo Mu hobbled out.
The warehouse had three different types of parts cleaned. Luo Mu nodded. "This is the result of your work today. Let me introduce the pros and cons of these three things."
"Wang Zheng, yours is Aslan’s Tempest Condor’s propeller, also considered Aslan’s main production mech. The thrust is definitely top-end, and it’s explosion-proof capabilities are also rather good. Other countries can learn from this. But in battle, these propellers have a fatal weakness,"
Luo Mu said. Some things only fighters would know, and others only a senior mechanic would.
Deep in thought, Wang Zheng asked, "Could it be the brakes?"
Luo Mu’s eyes lit up. "Indeed. In order to maintain its propulsion, the brakes are a bit slow in terms of operation. In battle, this can be capitalized on. Of course, to Aslan’s fighters operations, this matter is not seen as a problem."
Wang Zheng smiled. That was because they had yet to met a true expert.
The students who stayed understood that the course had only just begun. Luo Mu was not trying to teach students how to repair mecha; this indeed was not within the scope of a fighter. He covered parts of simple mechanical problems, the focus being seeing the pros and cons from a mechanic’s point of view. From engines, to energy capacities, to weapons and the like, this was knowledge from a completely different angle.
Luo Mu had never been on the battlefield, but he was a theorist with a unique perspective.
The ten or so dirty students were completely enthralled and almost had no time to ask questions. Other lessons only discussed the external parts of the mech, but this course imparted the essence and analysis of the mech.
"The flexibility of this mech is very good, but its anti-explosion capabilities are slightly worse. In close-combat, try applying pressure to the pilot and force them to take hits from you, then the opponent is sure to collapse first."
This type of specific data could only be understood by a senior mechanic. As to how to use it and when, only a fighter in battle would know, and it depended on the pilot’s ability.
To Wang Zheng, he was hungry for more. Luo Mu was really something.
The people who left pretty much did not come back for the second class, and those who stayed benefited greatly.
One’s takeaway from the lesson depended on their own abilities. Wang Zheng stayed behind after class to ask quite a few questions, until Luo Mu became impatient and chased him away. "Little fellow you are too long-winded. I still have to work for a few years, so don’t ask too much all at once!"
Wang Zheng laughed. "Heh, I am the stupid bird who’s first to fly!"
"Silly Ye, quickly take him away. This is overtime, and I want to rest!"
Ye Zisu laughed as she dragged Wang Zheng away. "Did some happen between you and Meng Tian?"
"No?"
"This silly girl asked me about you once she came back, wanting to find out about your bloodline. Don’t tell me she’s into you. Do you want me to help you two out?"
Ye Zisu asked, pretending not to mind.
Wang Zheng laughed. "No thanks, she is my dorm mate, Zhang Shan’s, target."
"Gee, couldn’t tell that your standards were rather high; even Meng Tian doesn’t cut it!"
Wang Zheng shrugged helplessly. He was relatively calm about such matters; feelings were necessary.
Regardless, about Wang Zheng’s reply, student Ye Zisu was rather satisfied.
Wang Zheng did not return to his dormitory; he went straight to Brother’s Café instead. In battle, he was aware of the state of his own mech, but he was certainly unable to understand his opponent’s. If he could grasp an understanding of both parties’ mecha, that would be an improvement to him.
This sort of thinking was only available to a crazy person like Wang Zheng. This was based upon the highly difficult combination of theoretical understanding and actual insight. Just thinking about it was enough to make one dizzy, but Wang Zheng felt like he had found a new path instead.
This was certainly beneficial to his accurate understanding of the battle situation. If integrated with his battle instinct, it would increase his control over the fight by at least ten percent.
It was a pity that Wang Zheng lacked partners to exchange with. If only he could spar with Bonehead. Although he was good at fighting people, other people had judgments that were much more accurate than his.
When Wang Zheng arrived at Brothers Café, he checked his inbox and there were no missions, so he immediately went into a ranked battle.
Countless people had already added him as a friend, and he had his notifications turned on. Student Wang did not know how to appear invisible. At this time, countless IDs rang with a ding.
Wang Zheng wasted no time and immediately went into matchmaking mode.
Not only were players notified, even the official special staff were notified. They sprang up immediately.
Wang Zheng was on a six game winning streak. Although the level was low, with this sort of hundred percent win rate, a five versus five was alright, but he would certainly run into a stronger opponent in one on one.
Experts at the low levels were limited, but as the levels became higher, mecha restrictions were also lifted.
"Skeleton" versus "Rainbow"
In another internet café, a man laughed heartily. "Time for fame!"
Wargod No. 1 Vs Tempest Condor (Luoluo "A" Class Tracking System Equipped)
After experiencing this several times, the official website responded quickly. Of course there was our famous commentator, Young Deer.
Young Deer was commentating on a high-level match at the time. Suddenly, he apologized to his audience. "This match has been decided already. Apologies to everyone, but I have a match I have to attend to. Come to think of it, I think everyone knows already."
At this time, many Skylinks were secretly opened in class. To play truant in front of professors was courting death, but to watch secretly was still okay.
However, everyone was in a daze when they saw the opponent. This matchmaking ...
This Rainbow was certainly a spoiled second generation child. The Tempest Condor was Aslan’s premier mech, with abilities enhanced by the system. With simplified controls for the mech, it was basically overpowered. It possessed terrifying speed and long range combat ability. It had the ability to slaughter everything in a thousand miles! It could literally fire and forget while its automated system murdered all its opponents! What left people even more speechless was that this fellow even had a Luoluo "A" Class Tracking System equipped.
This sort of tracking system helped weaker players become stronger. Simply put, this was a tool that enabled the average player to pull off operations at an ace pilot’s level. It was pricey if one chose to equip it. However, one must also be aware that some high-level competitions prohibited it.
However, at this level, it would not be prohibited.
The Tempest Condor equipped with a Luoluo tracking system thrown into the novice zone was no different from a true god of war. It would absolutely slaughter the rest
Rainbow was slightly famous among the bronze rankers. He had created his own technique, the Rainbow Explosive Stream Kill. Truthfully, this was the work of money. The performance of his mech was already unrivalled, surpassing the technical abilities of other mecha.
Due to the prohibition of assistance systems in the high levels, student Rainbow persisted in the novice zone, unrivalled.
Some people definitely invited higher players to battle, but it was no use. When the Tempest Condor was paired with this system, it was indeed unparalleled, that is unless you also use equipment of the same level. However, this was billed by the day, and the average player would not be able to afford it.
Some players who were abused by it gave him a nickname: Little Red Noob.