Boarding

Three days later.

The outskirts of Base 11.

The Railcar shot past the roadside grass like a shuttle.

Li Yi's body swayed in the wind before he dropped to the ground.

His goal was clear. The moment he landed, he headed straight for the Deep Space Fleet's station.

What he had not expected was that someone had witnessed everything from the moment Li Yi first grabbed hold of the Railcar.

By the time Li Yi had walked for ten minutes and entered the station, waiting to board the ship, that person stepped out from the crowd waiting to board and approached Li Yi, taking the initiative to greet him.

"Bro, that hitchhiking move just now was impressive. I saw you grab the doorframe back at Base 31 and hold on all the way here for over half an hour. Damn, damn."

Li Yi turned and saw a man half a head shorter than himself, with dark red eyes and a white dome-shaped Mech-Cap on his head.

The man's skin was unusually fair and delicate, and there was a pale bluish-green, snake-shaped mark by his neck.

Seeing that mark, Li Yi's gaze shifted slightly. Wasn't that the Gene Mark of the Power Clan?

"You're from the Ding Clan?"

"That's right. I'm Ding Xu. What should I call you, bro?"

"Li Yi."

"You look like you came from The Humble Clan, bro. To have trained such skills despite that, I really admire you. What position are you applying for aboard the ship?"

Ding Xu seemed naturally friendly, as though he held no disdain or contempt whatsoever for The Humble Clan.

"Mech pilot."

"Wow, you're a mech pilot? That's awesome. Then we might be able to partner up. I'm applying to be a mechanic this time. Looking forward to working with you."

Ding Xu extended his right hand to Li Yi, signaling for a handshake.

Li Yi was instinctively wary of people from the Power Clan and was just hesitating over whether to shake his hand.

At that moment, a huge cross-shaped line on the ground beyond the security cordon suddenly split open into several-centimeter-wide cracks, accompanied by the clattering rumble of massive mechanical gears.

The cross-shaped crack then widened into a pitch-black opening, from which a small airship slowly rose.

With a click, the hatch opened, and a boarding ramp extended out and braced against the ground.

Immediately afterward, a silver-white exoskeleton armor more than three meters tall strode out and crashed heavily onto the ground.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, the pure-black tempered glass visor on the helmet of the silver-white armor retracted to either side, revealing an imposing face.

Was that Lou Cheng?

Li Yi muttered to himself inwardly. With that armor on, he probably could not defeat the man barehanded.

Unless he also had some equipment with decent hardness and toughness.

At that moment, a red beam suddenly shot out from the edge of Lou Cheng's right eye and swept across the crowd at incredible speed.

"All ten newcomers are here. Good, you're all punctual. Follow me onto the airship now. The starship is elsewhere."

"Teacher Lou, we meet again."

Li Yi smiled and greeted him.

The instant Lou Cheng saw Li Yi, the corner of his mouth twitched. He had wanted to say something, but with the other newcomers present, he held himself back.

"Alright, board the airship, quickly!"

At once, the other eight, including Li Yi and Ding Xu, stepped onto the boarding ramp and filed inside.

The airship was somewhat fish-shaped, pointed at the front and raised at the rear, with a rather spacious hollow middle.

There were no proper seats inside. Instead, ropes, pulleys, military backpacks, and other items lay scattered about messily.

The group could only sit down against the walls.

The airship soon took off. The ascent was steady and smooth, without the slightest tremor. As expected of an airship belonging to the Deep Space Fleet.

It was worth mentioning that

among the Deep Space Fleet's ten newcomers this time, only one was a woman. The rest were all men.

No wonder. A single voyage with the Deep Space Fleet lasted at least several years, bleak and unbearably lonely. Most women had little interest in applying for such work.

But then again, women willing to join the Deep Space Fleet were usually no ordinary women.

By coincidence, the woman sat directly across from Li Yi.

Li Yi gave her a brief once-over and was immediately struck with surprise.

This woman looked seventy percent similar to Ding Xu!

She had the same unusually fair skin and dark red pupils.

She also had smooth, long purplish-blue hair, covered by a pure orange dome-shaped Mech-Cap. Though she remained quiet throughout, she was undeniably a lovely sight.

Just as Li Yi was wondering about it, "Did you think she was my sister?"

Ding Xu glanced over, a self-satisfied smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Li Yi nodded.

"That's my fiancée, Miao Wanwan. She's also my cousin. The reason I'm joining the Deep Space Fleet this time is because of her."

Well, Li Yi had nothing to say. The Power Clan really knew how to play.

Although genetic technology was now exceptionally advanced, and many hereditary diseases could be easily treated, by ordinary ethical standards, cousins were still better off avoiding marriage.

"Wanwan, come sit over here."

Ding Xu waved her over and pointed to the empty seat between himself and Li Yi.

Miao Wanwan opened her eyes, gave Li Yi an apologetic smile, then bent low as she walked over and gently sat down.

As she sat, perhaps because the space was too cramped, her shoulder brushed against Li Yi.

Li Yi could only shift aside.

"Wanwan, this is Li Yi. He's incredibly skilled—he can grab a Railcar going five hundred kilometers per hour with his bare hands and hold on for over half an hour. I bet he'll become a top-tier mech pilot someday. You can discuss fighting techniques with him; you'll definitely learn something."

At Ding Xu's words, Miao Wanwan's eyes lit up.

"Hello, I'm Miao Wanwan. I'm also applying to be a mech pilot. Since you're so capable, Brother Li, please give me plenty of guidance in the future."

"When did I ever grab a Railcar with my bare hands? Ding Xu must have seen wrong. Besides, I've never even touched a mech. I definitely can't compare to you Power Clan people."

Li Yi laughed it off and deflected Ding Xu's praise.

This was a new environment and a new set of relationships. It was best not to be too high-profile.

If Ding Xu went around telling everyone about how Li Yi had grabbed a Railcar with his bare hands, wouldn't that be unbearably awkward?

Hitching a free ride on a Railcar was one thing, but having people spread the story everywhere was another.

Hearing Li Yi deny it, Miao Wanwan nodded thoughtfully.

"That's true. For an unenhanced human body to grab a Railcar traveling at five hundred kilometers per hour with bare hands does seem rather unlikely. My brother probably saw wrong."

"No, no, Wanwan, I definitely didn't see wrong. Trust me."

"Oh? Then how can you be sure you didn't see wrong, Brother?"

Li Yi simply turned around and pretended to sleep.

A while later.

BOOM!!!

An inexplicable roar came from the airship.

A short while after that, everyone felt their bodies becoming weightless, and they began floating uncontrollably.

"Have we entered space?"

Someone cried out.

Li Yi opened his eyes and found that every face was filled with extraordinary excitement.

"So the Deep Space Fleet's main ship didn't dock on land this time. No wonder those cult organizations kept trying to locate the Deep Space Fleet but never found anything. The secrecy really is impressive."

The man seated diagonally across from him muttered to himself. His gaze was fierce, and his body was even more robust than Lou Cheng's. Before boarding the ship, he had worked for the Cult Organization Handling Bureau.

A minute later, the weightlessness vanished, and everyone settled back into their seats.

Lou Cheng's voice then came through the airship's loudspeakers.

"Welcome to the Deep Space Fleet's No. 7 main ship, the Jade Pool (Yaochi) No. 7."

Click.

The cabin door opened, and an exceptionally vast space slowly came into view.

Quite a few humanoid robots bustled about ahead, carrying cargo with heavy footsteps.

Lou Cheng removed his armored suit and walked from the front cabin to stand before everyone.

"Now, all mech cadets, please proceed to Cabin No. 12 and prepare to take part in the mech combat tournament."

"May victory be yours."