Mecha

Ye Lan was able to calculate the movement speed of the two red dots based on the scale of the map, but when he got the result, a bead of sweat trickled down his face.

He raised his head, pulling a bitter face, and said to Su Lixiao: “We’d better pray for ourselves…”

The ground began to tremble, and with it, the water in a nearby bottle shook. From the distance came the roar of high-powered engines.

Ye Lan gazed into the distance. He saw rolling smoke moving toward their position. Within the dust, he could clearly see two humanoid mechas locked in combat.

The black mecha wielded a power axe, while the blue mecha held a laser sword. With every clash of these weapons, a terrifying shockwave burst out, shaking the earth and toppling nearby buildings.

These mobile armored giants, each over fifteen meters tall, were the crystallization of human technology—the pinnacle of single-soldier combat.

In front of a mecha, ordinary humans were as insignificant as ants, and even most ability users could do nothing against these steel titans.

Although non-humanoid mechas existed, humanoid designs remained dominant, as they were easier for human pilots to operate and adapt to.

As the saying goes, when gods fight, mortals suffer.

Though the old city was full of ruined buildings, these ruins were no obstacles at all. To a mecha, they were as fragile as foam board.

The mechas’ mighty steel bodies smashed through countless already-unstable structures, carving a path straight through the jungle of ruins.

And at the end of this path lay the safe zone where Ye Lan and Su Lixiao were hiding.

Ye Lan felt his luck had run out.

If they ran, without the protection of the safe zone’s shield, they would surely be caught in the battle’s shockwaves.

If they stayed, the small safe zone’s shield might not withstand the mechas’ clashes and could be destroyed.

While Ye Lan was torn, he suddenly noticed the light around them dimming.

He looked up and could no longer see the sky—only the massive silhouettes of two steel giants towering above.

The black and the blue mecha had, in an instant, charged right to the edge of the safe zone.

They completely ignored the safe zone beneath their feet, for in their electronic eyes, there was only hatred and the will to destroy each other.

“Boom!” The power axe and the laser sword clashed, unleashing a thunderous explosion.

The shockwave spread violently. Glass shattered in surrounding buildings, and the hemisphere-shaped energy shield above the safe zone flickered several times, showing it was taking damage.

But that didn’t mean the safe zone was truly safe.

“Watch out!” Ye Lan tackled Su Lixiao to the ground.

In the next instant, a massive piece of debris scraped over his back, scaring him into a cold sweat.

The shield could block energy attacks, but against kinetic projectiles it could only slow or deflect them. Its effectiveness against physical matter was poor.

And during the mechas’ clash, surrounding buildings had been caught in the destruction.

Those buildings had no shields. Unable to resist the shockwaves, they collapsed—some directly toward the safe zone.

“Get up, we need to run.” Ye Lan glanced at the two mechas still fighting fiercely in the distance and pulled Su Lixiao up.

A sharp pain throbbed in his ankle—it had likely been twisted by falling debris. Fortunately, the exoskeleton braced it enough to keep moving.

Right now, they could not afford to stay put.

“Ah!” Su Lixiao still hadn’t recovered from being tackled. Her face flushed red as Ye Lan dragged her along.

“Crash—” More rubble rained down as the collapsing buildings continued to fall.

Safe zones, equipped with shield generators and ceasefire devices, usually wouldn’t be directly destroyed by attacks.

But being buried under debris was another matter.

The two didn’t even know where they were running anymore. They only sought somewhere with fewer buildings.

After a long sprint, they finally stumbled into an open area that looked like a sports field and stopped to catch their breath.

“That was terrifying,” Ye Lan panted heavily, still shaken.

Across from him, Su Lixiao wasn’t even breathing hard.

Even with exoskeleton assistance, Ye Lan’s body was poorly trained.

But the bigger problem now was his untreated ankle injury—every step with his left foot sent a stab of pain.

Ye Lan regretted not grabbing a few medical injectors from the safe zone.

They might only treat symptoms, not the cause, but that was still better than nothing.

“You’re hurt, aren’t you?” Su Lixiao asked.

Though Ye Lan tried to endure it, she knew him too well not to notice.

“I’m fine, see? Perfectly fine.” Ye Lan kicked his leg to prove it, but Su Lixiao didn’t let him bluff.

Suddenly, Ye Lan felt an irresistible force pull him backward, just as he was about to fall.

That force lifted him up from below—Su Lixiao was carrying him in a princess carry.

“Wait, I can still walk…” Ye Lan struggled, embarrassed. Being carried like this was humiliating.

“Shut up, or I’ll break your leg myself.” Su Lixiao was furious.

She hated how Ye Lan kept pretending to be fine when injured.

Ye Lan knew defying her now would only make things worse, so he stayed quiet.

“Whoosh—” The wind howled in his ears.

Though he could only see the sky and Su Lixiao’s face, he still heard the explosions of the power axe and laser sword, along with the crashes of collapsing buildings.

“…Sorry,” Su Lixiao said suddenly, sounding discouraged.

“If I had a weapon, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“What are you apologizing for? None of this is your fault,” Ye Lan shook his head.

He knew very well—even if Su Lixiao had her twin lightsabers, she couldn’t fight a mecha.

Those weren’t anti-mecha weapons.

Even his [E-Series Universal Anti-Materiel Energy Sniper Rifle], with its anti-armor capabilities, could only deal minor damage.

Seriously injuring a mecha was impossible.

After all, mechas were the pinnacle of human single-soldier combat.

Ordinary ability users couldn’t match them, and even if they could, the pilots inside mechas often had abilities themselves.

That meant mechas always had the advantage.

Encountering one was simply bad luck.

But now, Ye Lan noticed something else troubling.

“Lixiao, don’t you think the sounds are getting closer?”