Pluto

After Li Yi, Zhong Xiufa jumped up as well.

She was quite agile, and her jumping posture was smooth and natural.

Combined with her graceful figure and long limbs, she was rather pleasing to the eye.

After she came up, Crimson Gourd AI was in front of her, while the two behind stood facing each other.

At that moment, Zhong Xiufa took the lead in greeting Li Yi.

"Hello, Brother Yi. I'm Zhong Xiufa from the literary clan of Base 33. I've wanted to thank you all this time, and now I finally have the chance. Thank you so much."

As she spoke, Zhong Xiufa kept her head lowered, looking somewhat reserved.

"Thank me?"

Li Yi was surprised.

"Yes. If Brother Yi hadn't eliminated so many top-ten and top-twenty seed contestants this time, I might not have ranked sixth either."

"Fine, then you can only thank me for half of it. You should thank Liang Xing for the other half."

"Whether it's half or not, Brother Yi's kindness toward me is an objective fact. If there's ever anything you need me for, just say the word."

Li Yi turned to look at her and saw that Zhong Xiufa's expression was solemn and earnest. She clearly was not joking.

"Are you the type who was raised under very strict discipline?"

Zhong Xiufa froze for a moment. "What do you mean, Brother Yi?"

"The way you speak, your expression, your tone... it all feels like you're imitating one of your elders."

She hesitated before asking, "Does Brother Yi really think I'm imitating someone?"

Li Yi smiled faintly. "Don't you feel it yourself?"

Zhong Xiufa fell silent.

Meanwhile, the large gourd carried them steadily upward until they reached the rear side of the Pluto Mech's head.

At the rear of the Pluto Mech's head hung a huge mechanical structure, with a semi-enclosed platform about a meter wide on it.

"Li Yi, get up on that platform and wait. I'll activate the Insertion Pod for you."

Crimson Gourd AI pointed at the platform and gestured toward it with her lips.

Li Yi nodded and stepped onto the small platform.

"The Insertion Pod is a single-use item and extremely costly. Don't waste this opportunity for nothing. If you aren't sure whether you can resonate with it, you can still choose another one."

"A single-use item?"

"That's right. The Insertion Pod contains a small auxiliary AI that can help you activate the Divine Mech with maximum efficiency. Once you successfully activate it, you won't need the Insertion Pod anymore. You'll be able to enter it directly using the mark bestowed upon you by the Divine Mech."

Li Yi understood. No wonder the number of selections had to be limited.

"I'm sure. Sister Gourd, you can begin."

"Alright. I've activated the Insertion Pod. The countdown begins!"

"10, 9... 3, 2, 1."

"Insert!"

Boom!!!

The platform door shut instantly, and pale red fluid matter flooded inside.

Then, the entire Insertion Pod plunged into the connection port at the rear of the Divine Mech's brain.

After Li Yi entered the Pluto Mech.

Zhong Xiufa entered the Green Dragonfly Mech as well.

About three minutes passed before everyone heard a tremendous screech of metal grinding against metal.

Then, the thirty-meter-tall Green Dragonfly Mech, covered in emerald-green ornamentation and equipped with six arms and six wings, slowly opened its eyes. Scarlet light lit up within its compound eyes.

"What a fast activation speed!"

"She was actually three minutes faster than Liang Shaocong, the previous fastest!"

"The faster the activation speed, the higher the compatibility rate! Zhong Xiufa's future development looks extraordinary."

The people below immediately broke into discussion.

It was worth mentioning that.

During the hour Li Yi had rested, four people had successfully activated their mechs.

Lin Qi, who ranked fifth, failed to activate his and was directly eliminated from the second-round finals.

"Very good. Since you've activated it successfully, remember to familiarize yourself with it. See whether you can transmit one hundred percent of your body's movements into the mech. Remember, if you feel overloaded, stop moving immediately and eject from the cockpit. Understand?"

Like a bird, Crimson Gourd AI circled the Green Dragonfly Mech and called out a loud reminder.

In the blink of an eye, another five minutes passed. The Green Dragonfly Mech gradually stopped moving, and the Insertion Pod shot directly out from the back of its head. It fell to the ground and bounced several times like a ball, dissipating the impact.

"I didn't expect Zhong Xiufa's combat skills to look only second-rate, yet she could move for over five minutes during her first time controlling a Divine Mech. It seems her willpower and physique aren't too bad either."

"Zhong Xiufa might become a formidable opponent!"

Quite a few people looked at Zhong Xiufa with wariness in their eyes.

Time passed.

More than half an hour went by.

Even after the last person completed activation, Li Yi remained inside the Pluto Mech without any movement.

If activation failed, the Insertion Pod would be ejected directly.

But in this state, no one could make heads or tails of whether Li Yi could do it or not.

Crimson Gourd AI idly scribbled and doodled on the light screen before her, muttering under her breath.

"The fastest activation record this year is Zhong Xiufa's three minutes. The longest activity time is Liang Shaocong's eleven minutes. Long Guanshan's combined results are fairly passable: seven minutes to activate and six minutes of activity. Next is Lin Hua, with eight minutes to activate and six minutes of activity."

"Mm, everyone else is ordinary."

"Unfortunately, everyone who activated successfully this year is E-rank."

"Of the only two challenging D-rank mechs, one has already failed, while the other still hasn't succeeded."

"This is bad. The results are worrying."

Just then.

A dull, thunderous boom suddenly rang out.

Everyone hurriedly looked up.

They saw.

The towering forty-three-meter mech, streamlined in shape and entirely pitch-black, slowly opened its pair of cold, prison-like eyes.

A dark gleam flashed through its eyes and vanished.

The moment everyone witnessed it, they felt as though they had fallen into an ice cellar, their thoughts nearly freezing solid.

Some of the more sensitive people even seemed to see an endless, horrific hell erupt before them.

Fortunately, those sensations did not last long.

In just an instant, everyone stopped experiencing that strange feeling.

"So this is a D-rank Divine Mech. Merely opening its eyes carries such overwhelming might."

At the side, Liang Shaocong's eyes flickered as he muttered softly.

"Did Brother Yi break another record?"

Zhong Xiufa asked.

Everyone froze and turned to look at her.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed under their gazes, Zhong Xiufa hurriedly said,

"Didn't they say that although D-rank Divine Mechs can theoretically be controlled by non-Evolvers, there are actually very few non-Evolvers who can truly control them?"

"You're right."

Long Guanshan said in a low voice, "As far as I know, Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7 hasn't had anyone capable of controlling a D-rank Divine Mech at the non-Evolver stage in more than twenty years."

"However, Li Yi took nearly an hour and a half to activate it successfully. Isn't that sluggish pace perhaps the slowest record on Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7?"

Lin Hua asked.

She had been quiet and reserved until then. It was her first time joining the discussion.

"No matter what, being able to activate a D-rank mech already counts as success."

Long Guanshan said blandly, "If his activation is slow, he can train more afterward. His combat skills are so formidable that he'll most likely be able to train longer than everyone else. He'll eventually be able to improve his activation speed."

"The future is the future, but with his activation time being so slow right now, he'll probably be eliminated in the second-round finals."

Lin Hua said softly, a trace of complicated emotion flashing through her eyes.