Chapter 9

"Hey, we don't even know your name yet." The female medical staff said softly and faintly.

"This... I'm Tian Kaiwen, a corporal in the 1st Squad of the Logistics Squadron of the 3rd Armored Battalion of the 5th Division." The fat guy's voice was nervous and a bit shaky, a result of the tingly feeling on his arm.

"I'm Meiduo." The female medical staff's voice was still soft. "She's Nia."

Nia, the female pilot, seemed almost asleep. Hearing her name, she mumbled in a half-asleep state.

At night, the sky had completely darkened. The only star in the Newton system, also known as the sun, disappeared below the horizon. The planet, without a moon as a companion, was pitch-black. The fat guy groped his way to the side of the mecha wreckage and quickly began disassembling the parts he needed with the robotic arm. His arduous training in the mechanical maintenance training camp had made him thoroughly familiar with the structure of various machines. The disassembly work was as smooth as a skilled chef dissecting an ox, rapid and leaving no trace.

The two female soldiers were assigned by the fat guy to dig a hole. They had to dig a hole three meters deep, five meters long, and five meters wide beneath the hiding hole. This would serve as the underground workshop where the fat guy would assemble and conceal the vehicle.

Over the next two days, Tian Kaiwen was like a nocturnal mouse, painstakingly dragging the disassembled mecha parts back to the hole bit by bit. He even managed to find some dry rations, temporarily resolving the issue of the two female soldiers not eating unknown animals or insects.

The two "female mice" also achieved remarkable results. The underground cave they dug was very well done. They carefully disposed of the excavated soil, and even the fat guy thought they had a real talent for digging holes.

Using the disassembled armored sound-insulating tiles, the fat guy created a sound-proofing device for the hole and then immersed himself in building his vehicle. First, he assembled a cabin capable of accommodating three people using an emptied imperial single-soldier mecha cabin. He removed the imperial-sized energy engine and installed three powerful Federal [Honor 15] energy engines. One of these engines would supply the energy required for the energy shield.

It should be noted that the energy engines of this era were vastly different from the various fuel engines before humanity entered space. The invention of highly compressed solid energy, high-energy storage batteries, and ultra-light alloy microkinetic energy cabins has brought about a revolutionary change in engines. A heavy-duty engine made of ultra-light alloy could be carried away by a single person. The weight of a mecha was concentrated on its armor, and no one would be so extravagant as to use costly super - alloy for the surface armor of land - combat mechas. With the exception of the antigravity device, which required a large amount of energy and, due to technological limitations, had massive volume and weight, ordinary power devices have been comprehensively miniaturized. However, the power they generated was dozens or even hundreds of times that of before.

Subsequently, Tian Kaiwen installed the undamaged instruments he had found inside the cabin. He continued to use the [Holy Armor 22] single-soldier mecha control system of the Gacharin Empire, but removed the computer and converted all the controls and instruments to manual operation. At the base of the two mechanical legs of the imperial single-soldier armor, he added six mechanical legs that could automatically extend and retract. When not in use, they retracted into the abdomen of the mecha and were hardly noticeable.

The missile launchers on both sides of the mecha, which resembled wings, were transformed by him into jet-assisted power propulsion devices. This was the modification that Tian Kaiwen was most proud of. After all, there were no missiles available, and the external appearance remained unchanged. It was just that the mecha couldn't automatically load missiles during battles.

The energy shield gave the fat guy a great deal of trouble. This mecha, having sacrificed all its offensive capabilities and most of its external armor, would be completely destroyed by a single shot if not equipped with an energy shield. However, the special requirements for installing the energy shield gave the fat guy a headache. Eventually, he managed to form a small, barely noticeable "rabbit's tail" at the back of the mecha, which was the transmission probe for the energy shield. Deciding to go all out, the fat guy also installed a backup probe between the two mechanical legs. As he was installing these, this rascal grinned stupidly at the two female soldiers, which made Nia and Meiduo both angry and amused. They were tempted to take an ax and split open this lecherous fat guy's head to see what was inside.

Before long, the Gacharin Empire's [Holy Armor 22] single-soldier mecha, with its exterior remaining almost entirely unchanged, was completed. Nia and Meiduo were completely astounded by the fat guy's dazzling display. His ingenious and rational modifications, the speed of his hands, and his familiarity with the structure of each part of the mecha left the two female soldiers scarcely able to believe that this fat guy was merely a mechanical repairman. He could truly be regarded as a mecha expert. In his hands, modifying a mecha was as easy as a child building with blocks. And the seamless integration of instruments and components based on the completely different concepts of the Empire and the Federation required an incredibly rich amount of knowledge! This unremarkable fat guy was simply a genius among geniuses! Of course, the fat guy was a genius, but he wasn't a genius among geniuses just by nature. It was just that if a genius had assembled countless strange things from these parts during more than twenty escape attempts, that genius could become a genius among geniuses.

The fat guy wouldn't tell the two female soldiers about these embarrassing escape-related matters. He truly relished the feeling of being stared at with astonishment and admiration. This greatly satisfied his vanity.

The remaining issues were obtaining energy and finding an opportunity to escape.

Beside the original base of the Federal Army, there was still a large, highly compressed energy block buried by Tian Kaiwen. The burial site was chosen beneath a large tree with its gnarled roots exposed on the ground. Since the original base was covered with the ashes and debris left behind after the fat guy set the fire, the imperial army's new base naturally avoided this area and instead selected a dense forest area in the south of the jungle, close to the original Federal artillery base, which was convenient for concealing mechas and supplies.

At night, Tian Kaiwen secretly dug out the energy block and the autocannon. He asked the two female soldiers to carry the energy block back to the hole while he decided to create some chaos for the imperial army to facilitate his escape.

Using a small cart with bearings as wheels to tow the autocannon, he carefully evaded the Imperial Army's patrols, taking a long detour. His method of moving forward while hiding every few steps took him almost the entire night. Finally, he reached the side of a small slope in the southwest corner of the imperial base. He set up the energy autocannon, aiming it directly at a row of temporary barracks in the imperial base. He installed a simple remote control device that he had modified using the remote-sensing device from the imperial [Holy Armor 22] single-soldier mecha and then filled the energy magazine of the autocannon with all the broken energy blocks he had collected from the wreckage.

After finishing all this, the fat guy felt an inexplicable excitement, like a naughty child after playing a prank.

"Although I loathe killing, I love eating meat more. Although I cherish peace, my life is even more precious. I'll survive even if all of you die." After making sure that the battlefield recorder had captured his actions, the fat guy sneaked back to the hole. Just thinking about the row of barracks targeted by the autocannon made his heart race. "I wonder how many imperial soldiers I can kill. If I can take out two officers, should I get a promotion?"

By the time he returned to the hole, it was already four in the morning, with nearly three hours until dawn. After taking a short rest, the fat guy decided to act immediately. If he waited any longer, there was a risk that the autocannon would be discovered, which would be a disaster.

He filled the energy box of the mecha with the compressed solid energy block, and the three of them climbed into the mecha cabin. Although it was a bit crowded, it didn't affect the fat guy's control of the mecha. Instead, the two alluring and warm bodies beside him gave the fat guy a feeling as if his soul was soaring.

At the same time as pressing the switch on the autocannon remote control, the fat guy manipulated the mecha to burst out of the ground. In the distance, the sounds of the imperial base barracks being thrown into chaos and the roars of the autocannon faintly reached their ears.