Chapter 3: In Good Company

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In some corner of a trash mountain, two mechs laid in ambush behind some trash, and about a hundred meters away were five engulfers scavenging through the trash for food, occasionally scanning their surroundings for threat. Ye Chong scrutinized the layout of the land and proceeded with a short discussion with Mu Shang.

Ye Chong piloted Winnie carefully, slowly approaching the five engulfers, taking cover behind various debris along the way. They stopped about twenty meters away from the engulfers, and Ye Chong exhaled in relief, as things were going smoothly so far. Ye Chong intended to move, when a sudden gust of wind blew passed him and straight towards the engulfers. Ye Chong cursed inwardly, revved up his mech’s speed to maximum and headed straight for the engulfers.

Winnie sprinted towards the engulfers like a blasted cannonball.

But it was too late, when the gust struck, the engulfers caught their scent with their keen sense of smell, and scampered to escape.

Ye Chong kept his cool guiding Winnie and targeted one of the engulfers, for when the creatures escaped into the trash heaps, it would be nearly impossible to get them. Ye Chong ignored the other four engulfers and pursued the remaining rodent securely.

The air whizzed past his ears, and Ye Chong felt as though his blood was rushing, burning even. The world as he perceived it gradually slowed as his brain registered the excitement; his breathing shortened as though every breath took every effort he could muster, and his chest rose and fell in sync with his breathing. Every exhale burned through his nose, as though he was breathing fire.

As he closed in on the engulfer, Ye Chong’s hands kept steady, and began to regulate his breathing.

Abruptly, Winnie ferociously flung a dagger, a resounding *clink* marked the weapon’s landing not three meters ahead of the engulfer. The creature was running at full speed, and upon setting its eyes on the dagger, foresaw its potential bloody demise.

The engulfer made a seemingly impossible twist, as it landed its forelegs on the flat side of the dagger and thrusted. It bounced off the dagger with its forward momentum, unharmed from the whole ordeal, executing a most remarkable feat.

The engulfer’s eye gleamed as if rejoicing the fact that it would survive the day.

However, before the triumph was over, a sharp breeze headed straight for the engulfer, and even the creature’s mediocre hearing could identify the horrors that came with it. The air squalling through the barbs on Winnie’s knee joints shrieked dreadfully. If the machine’s knees came into contact, the results would be fatal!

Of all the life forms that could survive in the trash planet, none were honorable – even when facing the seemingly hopeless situation at hand, the engulfer would not surrender!

The engulfer arched its back, suspended momentarily in midair and as Winnie’s knee came into range, it dynamically bounced off the knee barbs with its forelegs, redirecting its momentum above ambushing Winnie’s neck.

*Puff*

A faint wheeze can be heard as the bards pierced the engulfer’s forelegs and sliced through its vulnerable soft belly; drawing some scars on its hind legs.

On the trash planet, a wound this severe implied certain death but that was not the engulfer’s concern – the objective was to land a mighty blow on the enemy before its imminent demise! It mattered not if the blow was no threat to the enemy!

Its fearsome teeth glistened coldly – these teeth that could cut through metal were the engulfer’s last hope to leave an unforgettable mark on its nemesis!

The engulfer’s determination was akin to one’s realization of one’s soul, its act of self-sacrifice radiating with the utmost force of its life! The engulfer truly believed that this attack would be the most intense one throughout its entire existence!

It’s getting closer now, the enemy’s neck grew clearer in view, and the engulfer felt an adrenaline rush! Just one more second, no, half a second! Just half a second was all it needed to execute the most splendid and glorious attack in its life!

Its eyes were burning! Like fire, a blazing euphoria!

Within seconds, the fire within extinguished!

A silent blade that rose from below unhindered slashed the engulfer in half! In a flash, fresh blood and organs showered from above, splashing onto the rust-red soil below.

Ye Chong finally simmered down!

He looked up, and saw Mu Shang observing quietly some distance away. The engulfer was hung on a seven meters long titanium pole. Mu Shang’s strategy was simpler – Ye Chong positioned the mech right where one of the engulfers was escaping towards making the oblivious engulfer defenseless against Mu Shang’s lightning speed and accuracy.

Ye Chong waved at Mu Shang from afar. “Hey!”

He picked up the both parts of his severed engulfer!

Ye Chong boasted to the mech, obviously pleased. “Well? My skills are not bad after all!”

Mu Shang replied flatly, “A complete disappointment!”

Ye Chong did a double take. “What? A complete disappointment? Were you even watching?” To be criticized so mercilessly at something he took most pride in was not doing wonders to Ye Chong’s dignity.

Mu Shang did not ease up. “With the exception of mediocre battle skills, your flying skills, shooting skills and tactical accomplishments were extremely crude. Your experience in real battle is not assessable due to the lack of information!”

“No way!” Ye Chong’s eyes widened with a face of disbelief.

Mu Shang shrugged; the image of amusing eccentricity. “Of course, error in assessments stands at 0.3%.”

Ye Chong refused to give in. “You must be real jealous to bring me down like that!”

Mu Shang, “The possibility of that is nil!”

“Then it must be because my mech’s too old, haha! That must be it. One day I’ll give you a try!”

Mu Shang paused, and continued in an odd tone, “There were thirty one escape routes in the trash heaps, how did you know one of the engulfers would pass by where I was positioned?”

“Hehe, awesome right? It was instinct!” Ye Chong announced, pleased.

“Instinct?” Mu Shang’s bionic eyes glowed in response.

“Information insufficient, calculation is impossible!”

Ye Chong scoffed at that. “Calculate? If you can calculate it, then it wouldn’t be called instinct!”

Mu Shang replied calmly, “It is only an event with a small probability!”

“What? You’re saying it was a coincidence? Just luck? I’m telling you …” Ye Chong exclaimed in frenzy.

………

Two shadows stretched longer and longer under the setting star. The spire that was the Pulse Signal Relay Station near Ye Chong’s hideout could be seen from afar, like a landmark, showing the way home.

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