Chapter 51 Repair

When Zhou Jiu found Chu Ming, Chu Ming was playing with a level one monster. It was probably because Zhou Jiu came that Chu Ming dealt with the level one monster before jumping out of the mech cabin.

"Your mecha is broken?"

"Is there any way to fix it? Lin Xiu said you're all-around capable, do you have a way to fix it?" Zhou Jiu, having not noticed any danger, also came out of the mecha cabin and asked Chu Ming.

“Okay.” After observing for a while, Chu Ming climbed into his mech cabin and took out his tools.

Logically speaking, anyone who pilots a mecha should be able to do some basic repairs. Chu Ming wasn't sure if Zhou Jiu could repair it, but while repairing it, he couldn't help but ask, "The internal wiring isn't broken, it's just that the joints have been disassembled. It's not difficult to repair, it's very simple. You... do you want to learn how to repair it too?"

Zhou Jiu looked at Chu Ming's face. Chu Ming was a very simple person. What he wanted to ask was revealed on his face and in his eyes. It was easy to tell what Chu Ming really wanted to ask.

"Are you asking me why I don't fix it myself?" Zhou Jiu asked directly, without beating around the bush.

“…”

"Why don't I fix it myself? You should ask yourself that question."

Zhou Jiu held binoculars, looking around warily, ready for an enemy attack at any moment.

"What?"

Looking at Chu Ming's somewhat dazed expression, Zhou Jiu thought of her teammates who had fought alongside her. Some people remained in her memories from a very young age, so innocent and adorable. She couldn't help but lose her teasing mood and simply said, "You fix it, I'm slower at fixing things."

"oh."

What just happened? Why is Zhou Jiu suddenly unhappy?

Women, they all have those days when they're a bit neurotic.

Hey, get out of the way. What's with all the happy/unhappy stuff? They're just looking around.

[Ha, men are sick. Everything is about women, even micro-expression analysis is tied to gender. It's the new interstellar age, and there are still some chauvinistic men.]

[The comments are so boring, the live stream is so boring. I'll go check out someone else's live stream first, and then I'll come back when the fight starts.]

Hey there, don't make a big deal out of this. It's late, go to sleep.

[I'm not sleeping, I'm waiting to see what night camp is like. Night camp is the most fun, that's when a lot of people start gathering together to cause trouble.]

Zhou Jiu stood at a distance, holding military binoculars, and saw someone gradually approaching.

"How long will it take to repair?"

"About ten more minutes, finish assembling the outer shell." Chu Ming didn't even look up, focusing intently on his task.

"Open up your mecha qualification, I'll take your mecha and cause some trouble, lure them over there." Zhou Jiu put down his binoculars and went to Chu Ming's mecha.

Chu Ming paused for a moment, somewhat surprised by Zhou Jiu's suggestion, but without much hesitation, he tapped his wrist a few times, granting Zhou Jiu the qualification to pilot a mecha.

What did I see?

[You can give away your mechs? That's like giving away your waifu!]

[How dare you even say that! This is a mecha, not just any ordinary thing. This is the Zhou Jiu you all like? Ha, I'm leaving.]

[Hey, you upstairs, why don't you leave? I still see your ID in the live stream.]

[Huh? Their relationship seems a bit off; they even lent out their mechs.]

I'm so moved.

【I also. 】

Perhaps Zhou Jiu is unaware of the importance of mechs?

[Stop trying to save face for Zhou Jiu. Mechs are never lent out; that's an unspoken rule in the mech industry.]

[A person who once served on a desolate planet will tell you that in places where mechs are scarce, there is no such thing as exclusive ownership; everyone shares them.]

The explanation was quickly scrolled past. Zhou Jiu really didn't know that mechs in the Central Star System couldn't be lent out, but if she had known, she would have brought it up anyway. For her, no amount of formalities or explanations could compare to the most effective strategies in actual combat.

Chu Zhao was also watching the qualifying rounds with his teammates. Team members who ranked in the top 100 within the last five years did not need to continue participating in the qualifying rounds to obtain the qualification to compete; they went directly to the official battlefield.

"Brother Chu, you've been cheated on!" Nan Yu said with a grin, looking at the comments section where people were shipping them, and teased them with a gossipy expression.

"Don't join in the commotion." Chu Zhao said helplessly when he saw Nan Yu joining in the fun in the comments.

"This Chu Ming is more suited to sniping. His dodging angles are tricky, and he seems to have a good understanding of shell trajectories. Playing him on defense is a bit of a waste," Dora said to their team, sitting in Nan Yu's lap.

“It’s more advantageous for the team to have an all-around player playing defense. Their team already has two melee fighters and two ranged fighters. Adding a defender makes the team structure very reasonable,” Chu Zhao said.

"It is indeed a standard combination, but it doesn't seem to go well with Zhou Jiu." Dora shook her head, clearly noticing Chu Ming's earlier escape.

"Not necessarily. If I were the defender of this kind of mech, I would also prioritize leaving the battlefield," Chu Zhao retorted softly, his gaze still fixed on Zhou Jiu, who was piloting the mech, as he began his harassment tactics.

"Why?" Dora asked in surprise. If it doesn't defend, what kind of defensive mech is it?

“Zhou Jiu operates swiftly, his actions are mostly based on intuition, and he rarely plans his actions, making it difficult to predict his next move. As a defensive mech, Chu Ming's predictions are very accurate and his abilities are sufficient, but even so, he would find it difficult to withstand Zhou Jiu's inaccurate judgments. In the past, he would only become an obstacle to Zhou Jiu's actions. Moreover, I believe that he trusts Zhou Jiu a lot.”

Chu Zhao said the last sentence with a hint of reluctance. Nan Yu glanced at Chu Zhao thoughtfully, then suddenly found it amusing: "Brother Chu, you care about that too?"

“Of course.” Jealousy is not a given. Chu Zhao’s gaze followed Zhou Jiu’s live stream, specifically to the defensive turtle-shaped mech.

Perhaps as he gradually got the hang of it, Zhou Jiu also became more and more familiar with it. He started by guiding the others from a distance, moving relatively slowly through the sand, and later he would occasionally burrow in and out of the sand, teasing and playing with them.

"Why doesn't Zhou Jiu eliminate these people? I feel like they're being played by Zhou Jiu; they're very weak." Nan Yu looked at Zhou Jiu coming and going in the sand with some confusion, and also saw many people criticizing Zhou Jiu for this in the comments.

[Are you just showing off? You only play with others without eliminating them, deliberately messing with them?]

Chu Zhao left a comment:

[The current rules do not specify who gets the points from piloting a teammate's mech. Zhou Jiu is stalling for time, giving her teammates enough time to repair their mechs without eliminating anyone else, thus avoiding any negative impact on the competition organizers' or netizens' questions about the format. Her approach is clever.]

[I agree with the comment above. If the competition organizers don't recognize the results, it would be even more troublesome if the final scores were invalidated.]

Time was up. After Zhou Jiu piloted his mech and caused a ruckus from another direction, he stealthily swam back through the sand.

After playing around like that, Zhou Jiu's mood improved, and he jumped out of the mecha cockpit, saying, "Your mecha sandstorm is quite fun."

"Yes, I specifically scanned some parts on StarNet 3D and made some modifications to the mecha. If you like it, I'll modify your mecha again after the qualifiers."

"No need," Zhou Jiu waved his hand.