Chapter 120 Large-Scale Training: The Era of Mechs for All

Earth, Great Xia, Hangzhou.

3 AM, streets, neon lights flickering, but less of the usual debauchery and more of the chilling sound of clashing steel. On the giant LED screen that used to play ads for popular idols, a recruitment video was now looping: a black mech painted with a red star, holding a beam sword, was slicing an alien warship shaped like a skull into two.

That was Lin Yuan.

At a roadside barbecue stall, several bare-chested young men were roaring at their phone screens.

"Move! Move! You idiot, that's a phase particle cannon, do you think you're God Lin?!"

"Stop yapping! My 'Ranger' just got a pentakill!"

They weren't playing "Honor of Kings" or "PUBG", but a full-immersion VR game called "Interstellar Front" that had been suddenly and forcibly promoted by the Great Xia military half a month ago.

No one knew that every monster's data in the game originated from the brain of the alien captive—the "Missionary"—whom Lin Yuan kept soaking in a jar.

This was a game, and it was also a test.

...

"Heaven" Fortress, Sector C Command Center.

Lin Yuan stood before the giant holographic screen, holding his eternal cup of goji berry tea. The screen was divided into tens of thousands of small squares, each representing an ongoing simulation battle.

"Progress is quite fast." Lin Yuan blew on the goji berries floating on the water, a playful smirk on his lips.

"Commander, the data screening is complete." The holographic projection of gaia, the gothic lolita, appeared in the air, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds made of data streams, eating them as she spoke, "According to your 'unconventional talent recruitment' order, we have discovered 37 S-tier potential seedlings in the past 24 hours."

"Oh? Which one is the strongest?"

"The ID is 'Delivered On Time', and the real-world identity is... a delivery driver."

gaia waved her small hand, and the main screen instantly zoomed in.

On the screen was a basic civilian engineering mech, without even a weapon system, only a vibrating wrench used for dismantling parts. Its opponent was a simulated "Zealot"-class frigate.

According to standard tactics, this mech should have been vaporized within a second of engagement.

But the following scene made Chen Weiguo and Academician Wang, standing behind Lin Yuan, widen their eyes.

The engineering mech didn't charge; instead, it was weaving crazily through the asteroid belt. Its movements were extremely bizarre, not like it was fighting, but rather like it was... in a hurry?

It utilized the gravitational slingshot effect of the asteroids to perform a drift that defied physical common sense at an extremely sharp corner.

"This is..." Chen Weiguo paused, "Z-jitter?"

"No, this is the 'ghost Peek' maneuver practiced to avoid neighborhood security and wrong-way e-bikes." Lin Yuan couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of tea.

At that very moment, the engineering mech stuck to the warship's blind spot—the exhaust port.

The vibrating wrench was swung by the mech, like an irritable repairman fixing a disobedient water pipe.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Three times.

In just three hits, the alien warship's coolant valve was violently dismantled, triggering a core overheat and detonation.

[System: Congratulations to player "Delivered On Time" for completing a solo kill! Time: 42 seconds.]

The screen froze on the mech's incredibly flashy action of putting away the wrench, and a comment with a Sichuan accent came through the public channel: "Damn it, almost late, this review better be good!"

Silence.

The Command Center was dead silent.

"What a talent." Academician Wang adjusted his glasses, his hands shaking, "This hand speed, this prediction—you can't practice this without ten years of driving experience!"

Lin Yuan put down his teacup, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"gaia, find his location."

"Issue a special recruitment order."

"It's a waste for this kind of person to deliver food. Bring him to Heaven, I'll have him deliver nukes!"

...

This was just a glimpse.

Under the threat of death, the human race burst forth with astonishing resilience.

Retired ace pilots, adrenaline junkies doing extreme sports, esports teenagers with incredible hand speed... countless talented ordinary people were filtered out by "Interstellar Front", and red recruitment orders flew like snowflakes across the globe.

In just two months, the garrison of the "Heaven" Fortress skyrocketed from 30,000 to 500,000.

The originally empty barracks were stuffed full, and the once-quiet training grounds roared with the sound of engines day and night.

This was not an army.

This was the fangs bared by the entire human civilization.

...

In the deepest part of the fortress, the S-tier top-secret laboratory.

There was no noisy training here, only a low-frequency hum that seemed to come from the deep sea.

An ink-black mech floated quietly in the center of the gravity well. Its battered armor had been repaired, but it still retained the scar that ran through the cockpit—that was its badge of honor.

"ghost" mod.

Lin Yuan stood at the edge of the gravity well, holding the silver metal heart brought back from the battlefield—a primary mechanical godhood fragment.

"Are you ready?" Academician Wang stood before the console, "Theoretically, this thing can grant the mech 'life'."

Lin Yuan didn't use any protection and jumped directly onto the mech's chest plate.

With his palm pressed against the cold metal, his SSS-level talent [Void Affinity] was activated.

"Eat."

Lin Yuan slammed the silver heart into the mech's core slot.

Hum—!

The lights in the entire laboratory instantly extinguished, then turned into a glaring blood-red.

The silver heart didn't snap in like a normal part but melted like mercury. Silver liquid spread crazily along the mech's energy circuits, and dark golden patterns resembling blood vessels appeared on the originally pitch-black body.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

That wasn't mechanical vibration; that was a heartbeat.

A vast, ancient, yet newborn consciousness surged violently into his mind along his palm.

There was no language, only a pure emotion.

That was... hunger.

It was a craving for battle, a greed for steel.

"Roar..."

The mech floating in the air actually arched its body slightly at this moment, the metal plates on its back exploded outward like a mane, and the sensors on its head, originally dull, lit up with two points of scarlet light.

It was alive.

It was like a steel beast that had just crawled out of hell, baring its fangs at this world.

But the moment it felt Lin Yuan's aura, the beast's brutality instantly subsided. It slowly lowered its head, its huge mechanical head gently nuzzled Lin Yuan's palm, emitting a low hum similar to metal friction.

It was as well-behaved as... a several-hundred-ton husky.

"Good boy." Lin Yuan patted its scorching hot shell and grinned, "From today on, don't call it 'ghost'."

"Call it 'mech name'."

"mech name and Yulei, specialized in eating evil ghosts."

...

Before Lin Yuan could properly experience this newborn god-tier mech, a shrill alarm suddenly resounded throughout "Heaven".

This was not a drill.

This frequency of alarm meant—highest level contact.

Lin Yuan's expression changed instantly, and he jumped off the mech: "gaia! What's the situation?!"

"Commander, the deep space radar array has captured a large-scale gravitational wave anomaly."

gaia's figure appeared directly in front of Lin Yuan; this time, she wasn't eating sunflower seeds, and her exquisite little face was full of fear.

"Coordinates: Alpha Centauri direction."

"Distance: 4.2 light years."

"Warping in... Data analysis complete."

A huge holographic star map unfolded before Lin Yuan.

In that originally dead and dark star field, dense red dots looked like a scarlet storm about to sweep in.

Not seven ships.

Not seventy ships.

"According to the gravitational lensing effect, the enemy's main fleet size..." gaia's voice was a bit dry, "3,000 ships."

3,000 interstellar warships.

This number was like a mountain, slamming hard into Lin Yuan's chest.

He knew the Mechanical Papacy would come, but he didn't expect them to think so highly of Earth, going all-in with a full legion.

"How much time?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Their warp engines are more advanced than the advance team." gaia raised her head, despair showing in her eyes, "At the current speed, it's not three years."

"They are accelerating."

"Estimated arrival time: three months."

Three months.

The 500,000 new recruits who had just been trained hadn't even gotten used to the mech control sticks. The hundreds of warships that had just come off the line didn't even have dry paint.

Desperate?

Truly desperate.

But Lin Yuan suddenly laughed.

He laughed until his shoulders shook, laughed until tears almost came out. There was no fear in that laughter, only a kind of ruthless, bare-knuckled defiance.

"Three months... that's enough."

Lin Yuan turned around abruptly and walked with big strides towards the changing room.

"gaia, notify the whole army."

...

Ten minutes later, the largest berth plaza of "Heaven" Fortress.

Densely packed mech formations gathered here.

From the most advanced "Guardian"-class to temporarily modified engineering mechs; from standard equipment painted with the national flag to civilian special-recruitment units painted with two-dimensional wives.

500,000 mechs were like a forest forged of steel.

And at the very front of the forest, a mech as black as ink, with dark golden blood vessels flowing on its body, stood like a demon god.

Lin Yuan stood on the shoulder of "mech name", not using a loudspeaker; his voice exploded directly into the ear of every pilot through quantum signals.

"Just now, gaia told me that the main force of those iron-heads has arrived."

"3,000 warships, arriving in three months."

A commotion arose in the crowd, and fear spread like a plague.

"Are you afraid?"

Lin Yuan's voice raised an octave.

"I'm scared too! That's three thousand ships! One spit from each person could drown the Earth!"

The commotion stopped, and everyone looked in astonishment at the man standing on high.

"But!"

"What use is being afraid?!"

"Behind you is Earth! It's your wife! It's your children!"

"Retreat? Where to? One step back, and it's the annihilation of our race!"

Lin Yuan pointed at the endless darkness, flames called ambition burning in his eyes.

"But today, we are going to tell those high and mighty gods!"

"Bugs have fangs too, and they will fight back!"

"Attention, everyone!"

500,000 mechs stood at attention simultaneously, the sound of metal clashing shattering the firmament.

"For Earth!"

"Prepare for battle!!!"

Boom————!

Responding to him was the roar of 500,000 engines erupting simultaneously.

That sound pierced the vacuum, pierced the fear, and transformed into the first sound of human civilization in this dark universe...

A declaration of war.