Chapter 60
Feng Ran walked quickly. After exiting the mine tunnel, the Kraken appeared as a clear blue color under the natural light. Zuo Ling and the others were still standing at the exit when Feng Ran carried the weak little octopus over.
"Is there any water? Let's wash it."
Zuo Ling asked the mining team to fetch water, then examined the octopus with its unique color in Feng Ran's hand: "Is this a Kraken?"
The mining team poured water on the Kraken, and as the last bit of black slime clinging to its body was washed away, the tentacles wriggled merrily.
Feng Ran's smile was chilling: "It was before, but it's not now."
Xisen had only just heard that they had gone into the mine to look for the alien species. Arriving late, he saw the wet little toy in Feng Ran's hand and asked without thinking, "Where did this octopus come from?"
After the three people who followed Feng Ran into the mine tunnel came out, they were all silent. Shen Shiqian was still thinking about the possibility of raising this thing, Li Er was integrating the information about everything that had just happened, and Sha Li decided to do everything according to his superior's wishes. If he really had to raise it, he would keep what happened today to himself and pretend that nothing had happened.
Xisen found the octopus increasingly adorably ugly. "Why is its head swollen? What are those two slits on top? Are they eyebrows?"
Feng Ran: "Those are eyes. Oh dear, why are they closed? Can't stand the light?"
Feng Ran turned it over and found that the four eyes on the back were also closed. She reached out and tried to pry them open, but couldn't.
Xisen: "Wait, what is this thing with eight eyes? Isn't it an octopus?"
Feng Ran: "Yes, it's about to degenerate into an octopus."
Xisen turned to look at Shen Shiqian, whose feelings about the thing were still complicated: "A Class B alien creature, a Kraken larva."
The tentacles secreted mucus again, no longer black, but mixed with the water droplets on their bodies and rubbed together to create a lot of bubbles, making it look like they were giving themselves a bath.
He added, "...probably."
/
In the end, Feng Ran still took the Kraken with him on the starship and kept it in a tank. After testing it, the Kraken only ate carrots and cucumbers and didn't even eat meat. With this nutritional intake, Xisen felt that it was comparable to its owner. Shen Shiqian acquiesced, and the others didn't dare to say anything. They all felt that this trip had refreshed their understanding of the world.
Actually, when they learned that Fengran wanted to use alien species for drug experiments, they felt quite novel, because the Academy of Sciences had never succeeded before, so they concluded that they only reacted to physical damage. But since it was all said by people from the Academy of Sciences and they had never seen it themselves, they found it interesting to see whether it was true or not.
Until Feng Ran's experiment actually succeeded—not only did it succeed, but it forcibly regressed the threatening alien creature into an ordinary one—this was beyond mere astonishment; it was a profound shock. If research into alien species proved feasible, wouldn't chemical weapons make future extermination efforts much easier? This realization ignited everyone's passion, followed by genuine admiration. "Miss Feng Ran is so amazing! What's wrong with her wanting to keep a Kraken as a pet?" And naturally, this led to immense skepticism and disdain towards the people at the Academy of Sciences.
Feng Ran was unaware that her reputation had suddenly risen among the military personnel. She simply named the Kraken with great enthusiasm, calling it Little Nine because it was adapted to the S09 drug. Xisen was really curious about the ingredients of the drug she used to modify alien creatures, so he went to ask her. Feng Ran generously gave him the information, and after studying and testing it, he was almost scared to death by the dosage, which was more than enough to kill someone.
Xiao Jiu's other six eyes degenerated under strong light, so it was completely transformed into an octopus. However, some foreign cells and tissues in its body were not completely broken down. When it was submerged in water, its tentacles frantically absorbed water and then secreted a large amount of bubble mucus. Finally, probably because the mucus contained gelatin, the bubble liquid solidified into a large jelly, trapping it inside. Xiao Lan had to rescue it from time to time. Although it liked playing in the water, it couldn't stay in the water for too long.
In this respect, Xiao Jiu is a bit different from ordinary octopuses. It seems to be brainless. After observing it for a day, Xing Tong told Feng Ran that they could rename it Que Jiu.
Feng Ran originally wanted to continue studying the black mucus that Xiao Jiu originally secreted, but Shen Shiqian couldn't wait to have a mock match with her. The two of them had different obsessions about winning against each other, and seeing him so eager to fight, Feng Ran was naturally not willing to fall behind.
Hearing that the Marshal was going to play a mock match with Miss Fengran, a bunch of onlookers quickly gathered in the training room.
Shali: "Miss Fengran, have you participated in any mock competitions before?"
Zuo Ling, as Miss Feng Ran's personal bodyguard, knew her campus life like the back of his hand: "Of course, Miss Feng Ran has been the first in their school's individual competition for two consecutive years."
Li Er, unlike those who merely watch the spectacle, grasps the key points: "Why would Miss Feng Ran think of playing a mock match with the Marshal?"
With his wind and gas field fully activated, he said, "Ha, that's because some people think his piloting skills are so good that he doesn't need to match the actual performance of the mecha. I need to teach him to be humble."
Among the generals present, other technically skilled drivers like Shen Shiqian felt the murderous aura surging and couldn't help but tremble.
The theorist Lear smiled gently and kindly, as if he had found an ally: "You're right, it is indeed a disqualification for a pilot not to understand their own mech properly."
Shen Shiqian frowned: "You're exaggerating too much. My intention was simply to modify the mecha according to my combat style and avoid reaching the wear limit. Performance changes are not a flaw for me."
The skilled driver nodded quickly.
Feng Ran flipped over and jumped into the simulator: "Shut up! I'll beat you until you're completely convinced!"
So Shen Shiqian also entered the simulation cabin.
Bailie: "Come on, let's bet on who wins this round?"
Shali: "Please, those are Marshal and Lingque! Even if Miss Fengran has some strength, she can't possibly win. It's not even in the same league as those childish matches at their school."
Hunar: "Miss Fengran looked so fierce just now, it scared me. It reminded me of the fiercest instructor in my grade when I was in school."
Zuo Ling: "Ahem, you can't say things like that carelessly, or the Marshal might hear you and punish you."
Goode: "So, are we still going to bet or not?"
Zuo Ling: "Let's wait and see, what if there's an upset later?"
Lear: "I bet on Miss Windburn."
Hunar shook his head: "The theoretical representatives have gone mad."
Perhaps because she was enraged, Feng Ran was no longer so sensitive to the existence of the connector. She flew around in the starry sea environment simulated by the system and called out to Xing Tong in the empty cockpit.
It took Xing Tong a little while to infiltrate the combat simulation training system. A small star icon appeared at the bottom of Feng Ran's control screen. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone outside could only see the external view of the mecha and couldn't hear the sound, she was particularly excited:
"Master, I'm here!"
"Optimize the intelligent assistance system of the Lolinatis Z3 and replace it with a high-sensitivity program that prioritizes computation and control, minimizing ballistic error and ensuring a connection response speed of no more than 0.001 seconds."
"Master, the optimized auxiliary system is having a bit of trouble loading the computing program, and it might lag. The system chips in this batch of mechs aren't very good. How about I take over the assistance?"
"If you come to assist, what if you make someone cry?"
Xing Tong's emotional state fluctuates according to Feng Ran's emotions, and she shows absolutely no sympathy for others.
"That's what he deserved."
Feng Ran: "Alright then, turn off the global view. We'll make him accept defeat wholeheartedly."
In simulation matches, mechs are usually deployed at both ends of the battlefield. Whoever can reach the center first and occupy a favorable position has a higher chance of winning. In terms of speed, no mech in the Empire can catch up with the Sparrow.
When Shen Shiqian marked several points in the middle on the map, Feng Ran had not yet appeared. He activated anti-reconnaissance jamming and hid behind cover.
As the best among the light-class vehicles, Fengran's Lolinatis is not slow, although it is not as fast as Shen Shiqian's Lingque. However, Fengran drives it very slowly. Instead of the longsword that is standard for light-class vehicles, she chose the spear that she was more comfortable using this time. She did not choose the shield because she was not used to it.
The tricky part is that both of them have mental power, but we don't know how strong Shen Shiqian's mental power is. Anyway, it's impossible to completely hide it. The purpose of using counter-reconnaissance jamming is to disable the opponent's positioning and tracking, thus rendering most of the tracking missiles useless.
If the homing missiles are unusable, there are still the positioning missiles. Of course, the positioning missiles are not fast enough to hit Shen Shiqian's spirit sparrow, but these are not problems. After all, Feng Ran's strength is not just fighting, but also calculation, prediction and countering.
Not long after Feng Ran took her position at the center of the battlefield, she was pursued by a homing missile. After determining the route, she led the missile toward Shen Shiqian. Shen Shiqian reacted quickly and dodged it. Ling Que and Luo Linatis quickly created some distance. Seeing that there was a planetary fragment in front of Feng Ran and a homing missile behind her, and that they were about to collide, she used her spear to brace herself on the fragment and used a nimble somersault to jump around to the back of the homing missile. The spear was attached to a chain, and with her pull, the planetary fragment was slightly displaced and crashed into the missile.
The speed of the Spirit Sparrow was indeed a cheat on this kind of battlefield. Before Feng Ran could even retract her gun, the Spirit Sparrow had already swooped down to her left. Its weapon was dual swords, making it extremely difficult to completely evade the attack. Fortunately, Xing Tong had already analyzed and studied Shen Shiqian's attack habits. The use of dual swords required coordination with wrist and elbow movements, but because the Spirit Sparrow's joints were equipped with hooks, its rotation angle was limited. Therefore, the entire arm movement had to be more pronounced to ensure accurate attacks on the enemy's vitals. Meanwhile, Lolinatis was smaller and more slender than the Spirit Sparrow, allowing it to escape completely during the gaps in the movement.
It was a rare opportunity to flank the enemy without giving them any firepower, but it was all wasted Feng Ran's pre-set warm-up. Even though Shen Shiqian reacted quickly and dodged, he wasn't as fast as Feng Ran had timed it beforehand. The bullets still left abrasions on Ling Que, but unfortunately, they weren't powerful enough to shatter the exhaust pipe on his back. The spear finally returned to Feng Ran's hands, but Shen Shiqian had once again distanced himself from her.
Xing Tong: "Master! His flight speed is being adjusted. He has discovered that we have studied his combat habits! He may now be wary of engaging us in close combat."
Feng Ran smiled and said, "He won't. He knows that if I don't get close, the shells will have a hard time hitting me."
Feng Ran activated the anti-reconnaissance jamming and tried to flank Ling Que again, but as expected, Shen Shiqian could also detect her. Feng Ran chased slowly, and Shen Shiqian ran slowly, always maintaining a safe distance. The two circled around the middle of the space. During this time, Feng Ran kept trying to change the surrounding environment, blowing up all the large planetary debris and turning it into smaller meteorite dust floating in the universe. Feng Ran stopped again in a pile of obstructive ruins, and Shen Shiqian stopped not far from him.
This time, Feng Ran initiated the attack. Its attack power was weaker than Ling Que's, and it also worried about its spear breaking like last time. Dodging each other wasn't a solution, and Shen Shiqian, of course, realized this as well. Instead of running to create distance, he launched a new round of close combat. Feng Ran's spear was slender and agile; thanks to the added tail chain, its movement speed was even faster, easily deflecting the sword's force. Ling Que needed to maintain a stable standing posture to unleash the full power of its weapon and attack, but Feng Ran's Lolinatis didn't. When attacking, it seemed hyperactive, often using the momentum of its thrusts to perform somersaults and backflips on Ling Que, its movements more exaggerated than a gymnast's, making one wonder if it was really made of metal.
To guard against it, Shen Shiqian made Lingque's movements larger and more extreme, but because it was restricted by the hook chain, its excessive force would pull the metal fibers. Its reaction speed was also not as good as Luolinatis. After failing to flank Shen Shiqian in the air once again, Feng Ran took the initiative to distance himself from Shen Shiqian.
"Has the aircraft been attached?"
Xing Tong: "Absolutely foolproof, Master. He hasn't noticed yet. We can detonate it now!"
Three, two, one, bang!
The aircraft mounted on the mechs are mostly used for reconnaissance. Although they have a certain amount of ammunition, their power is very weak. Many people like to detonate them as small bombs. Although their power is still not as great as missiles, they can still blast through a cover plate, not to mention the exhaust pipe of the thruster. Of course, what Fengran wants to destroy is not the exhaust pipe of Chen Shiqian, but the air filter inside. Once the air filter is destroyed, the surrounding smoke and dust environment can destroy the thruster as well.
A bird that can't fly can only be abused by others. But before Feng Ran could even prepare to abuse it, the system had already determined that Shen Shiqian was out of the game. The two thrusters of the Spirit Sparrow were connected to the core power reactor. Feng Ran's explosion almost destroyed three of its vital parts, and the damage rate of the machine jumped to 50%.
This was the first time Feng Ran had ever been so immersed in a simulation competition. After coming out of the simulation pod, she felt a little dizzy, her temples were throbbing, and her head was spinning. The people around her were making a lot of noise, but she had some tinnitus and couldn't hear what they were saying at all. She leaned against the outer door of the simulation pod for a while to recover.
When her vision cleared, Shen Shiqian was already standing in front of her. Feng Ran's face was too pale and weak. Shen Shiqian took her hand and asked, "Ranran, what's wrong?"
Feng Ran shook her head: "It's nothing, I'm just a little tired." She cheered up again and declared her victory: "You don't seem to be as good as they say. You were lucky that the system used the damage rate assessment, otherwise I would have dismantled you until there wasn't a single board left."
Shen Shiqian no longer cares about winning or losing the match. After all, in his opinion, Feng Ran certainly has the ability to beat him. He is more worried about Feng Ran than about winning or losing, since she doesn't seem to be alright.
"You look terrible. Are you feeling unwell? There's always a chance, do you want to go and rest now?"
Feng Ran obediently let him pull her into his arms. The fatigue from sitting in the simulator for so long washed over her, and she yawned sleepily, still feeling a bit numb. "Ugh, who wants to compete with you anymore? Winning is winning."
Shen Shiqian: "That's right, you won. Do you want me to call Xisen over so you can take a look?"
Feng Ran: "I want to drink water."
Zuo Ling respectfully handed her a teacup. A group of new fans who had lost a bet and were somewhat at a loss gathered around, all wanting to come up and offer their concern.
Feng Ran: "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone get motion sickness from virtual reality?"
She hooked her arms around Shen Shiqian's neck, and Shen Shiqian picked her up in his arms. "I want to go back to my room to sleep."
"good."
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