LMWD 🍁 Chapter 13: The Little Mermaid Gets a Mecha

"Yes, sir! Major Liu is nearby. I'll call him over at once."

Lu Feng nodded, approving the suggestion.

Before long, Major Liu walked in carrying a stone. Looking closely, he was the very officer who had arrived ahead of schedule to replace the purity stone at the registration desk during Wen Yanzhou's pheromone test.

"What were the test results?"

"Reporting to the Major. As you instructed me to observe, his pheromones are unstable. He appears unable to control them voluntarily. During the initial test, he couldn't even successfully inject pheromones into the purity stone at all."

"However," Liu Yunxin paused, "afterward, once the pheromones did successfully inject, his pheromone intensity..."

Liu Yunxin flipped a switch in his hand. The purity stone displayed its true reading: a deep, blood-like red.

"...is S-level."

Traditionally, Alpha and Omega pheromones were classified into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Most Alphas and Omegas fell at C-level. B-level was already considered outstanding, and A-level was exceedingly rare. Consequently, few people knew that above A-level, an extremely small number of individuals possessed pheromone intensity even higher: S-level. And among humans, the only known S-level individual was currently Lu Feng.

"Admiral, where did you learn of this S-level Omega? Could this person pose a threat to the Empire?"

The emergence of an S-level Omega made Liu Yunxin deeply anxious. The fact that the Admiral himself had discovered this individual made him even more so. It was simple: the Admiral's focus had always been on the Empire's battlefields and border defenses. He rarely took interest in anyone unless... that person was an enemy.

"If someone like this cannot be of use to us, it would be better to eliminate them early..."

Liu Yunxin drew a finger across his throat.

Lu Feng did not take up his line of thinking, instead musing aloud: "Why would someone like this be unable to pilot a mecha?"

This question left Liu Yunxin bewildered. "Admiral... do you intend for him to pilot a mecha?"

Mechas were vital instruments of the Empire, extraordinarily few in number across the entire realm. If a mecha's power were combined with the pheromones of an S-level Omega, the resulting force would be incalculable. Could it be... this Omega was not actually an enemy of the Empire?

Lu Feng did not answer. His knuckles tapped against the desk, making a steady tap tap tap sound.

"Liu Yunxin. Bring me the mecha he attempted to pilot today."

Unable to fathom the Admiral's intentions, Liu Yunxin could only obey and have the mecha brought to Lu Feng.

This particular mecha was an agility model, slightly smaller than the others, designed for speed and maneuverability. It had also seen years of battlefield service. Logically, it should be well-suited for an Omega.

His pheromone intensity is so high. He shouldn't have... wait!

Lu Feng seemed to think of something suddenly and turned to ask: "This mecha, after he attempted it, has no one else successfully activated it?"

Liu Yunxin thought back and answered: "That is correct."

But what was so strange about that? People who could activate mechas were few and far between. It was perfectly normal for an entire squad to fail.

Sure enough, when Lu Feng opened the mecha's cockpit, climbed inside, and injected his own pheromones, the mecha still would not activate.

"This... how is this possible?"

Lu Feng was the Imperial Admiral. Every single mecha was designed with his input, and each one was formally approved only after Lu Feng himself had successfully injected his pheromones and activated it for inspection.

In other words, Lu Feng could activate any mecha at will. How could he possibly fail?

"Send it to the maintenance department. It's broken."

"Bro... broken?!"

Liu Yunxin was stunned. It had been working perfectly fine that very day, one of the new recruits had even successfully activated it! And this mecha had fought strange beasts on the battlefield for two days and two nights without breaking down. How could it possibly be broken now, in perfect condition?

Still, if even the Admiral couldn't activate it, it must truly be broken.

"Understood."

Liu Yunxin acknowledged the order and turned to leave, ready to have it taken to maintenance.

"Wait."

Lu Feng called him back.

"I believe the 'Phantom' in the warehouse still has no assigned pilot. Let him try that one."

"What? The Phantom?!"

The Phantom had been constructed at the same time as Lu Feng's own mecha, the Holy Sword. It was immensely powerful, but since no one besides Lu Feng could ever pilot it, and Lu Feng already had the Holy Sword, it had sat in storage all this time. And now it was to be given to this person who had appeared out of nowhere?

Had he guessed wrong? Was this person not actually an enemy, but an extraordinarily gifted Omega of the Empire?

Liu Yunxin shook his head. He couldn't figure it out. Oh well, better to just follow the Admiral's orders.

The next day, Liu Yunxin arrived at the training camp with the Phantom.

None of the recruits knew who this man was, but judging by how respectfully all the instructors treated him, and by the giant machine behind him that looked cooler than all of yesterday's mechas combined, he was clearly no ordinary person.

"One of yesterday's mechas developed a fault. We will be testing with a new one today."

"All those who tested at 'Frost' yesterday, step forward!"

Frost was the mecha that Ai Yuan and Wen Yanzhou had attempted yesterday. Ai Yuan had successfully activated it; Wen Yanzhou had failed.

Wen Yanzhou and Ai Yuan stepped forward blankly, along with about twenty others.

"All of you will reattempt activation with this Phantom." Liu Yunxin gestured toward the mecha. Wen Yanzhou noticed that his gaze seemed to linger on him for a moment longer than the others.

But Wen Yanzhou had no attention to spare for who was looking at him. His eyes were glued to the Phantom behind Liu Yunxin, shining with wonder.

"It's so beautiful!"

As a mecha of the same class as Lu Feng's Holy Sword, the Phantom's body was silver-white and glowing, yet crisscrossed with dark gray patterns like shadows.

But it was precisely this design that made it supremely stealthy on the battlefield, capable of shifting its color to match any environment, and moving at extraordinary speed.

Wen Yanzhou fell in love with it at first sight. But he knew that even if yesterday's mecha had been broken, he would never succeed in activating this even more powerful machine today.

"Yanzhou, I told you! You definitely can do it. Yesterday was just because the mecha was broken." Ai Yuan came over and nudged Wen Yanzhou's arm: "This mecha is really beautiful."

Since Ai Yuan had already successfully activated Frost yesterday, he didn't need to retest today. But the Phantom's beauty was undeniable, and Ai Yuan was happy just looking at it.

"Yeah." Wen Yanzhou's eyes overflowed with adoration, which slowly gave way to sadness: "But I won't succeed."

Wen Yanzhou knew Ai Yuan's words were just comfort. His pheromone level was only D-level. Even if yesterday's mecha hadn't been broken, he still would have failed. And today's Phantom was even more powerful.

"Don't say that! I believe in you!" Ai Yuan turned Wen Yanzhou by the shoulders to face him: "When I say you can do it, you definitely can."

These words were overheard by that Alpha from yesterday. He stood ahead of Wen Yanzhou in line; he too had failed at Frost yesterday and now had a chance to retry with the Phantom.

"Hahahahaha this is hilarious! What ridiculous pipe dreams are you two weaving over there?!"

The Alpha doubled over laughing. He had lost face to Ai Yuan yesterday, and today he was determined to get it back.

"I think you're the one weaving pipe dreams. What, seeing me succeed yesterday made you so jealous you're practically frothing at the mouth with rage?" Ai Yuan's tongue was as sharp as ever, laying into the Alpha until his face turned purple with fury.

"Hmph, what's there to be smug about? That mecha yesterday was broken; that's the only reason I failed! Today you'll see my true strength."

The Alpha was furious. It was his turn to attempt activation, and he hurried forward eager to prove himself. Over his shoulder, he called back to Ai Yuan:

"Watch! This mecha was made for me. See how I activate it."

As it turned out, one should not speak too soon or be too confident. The Alpha spent quite some time inside, and the mecha did not move.

Seeing him refuse to come down despite clearly failing, the onlookers burst into laughter.

"Just get down already! If you can't do it, you can't do it!"

"Yeah, if you can't do it, at least get out of the way!"

"Come on down! You could stay up there all day and still not succeed!"

Finally unable to bear the jeers, the Alpha climbed out of the mecha looking thoroughly dejected. He barely dared glance at Ai Yuan and Wen Yanzhou, trying to slink away.

But Ai Yuan would not let him off so easily: "Well now? Wasn't this mecha made especially for you? How come even one made especially for you defeated you? You're so useless."

"You..." The Alpha was absolutely furious, but he could hardly argue with Ai Yuan, not after Ai Yuan had succeeded yesterday.

"Hmph!" He spun and pointed at Wen Yanzhou: "Don't get too excited. You think he can do it?"

Wen Yanzhou was next in line after the Alpha, and was just preparing to climb up.

"I say you shouldn't even bother. A waste of space with D-level pheromones will only fail up there. Might as well not waste everyone's time."

"Whether he's a waste of space remains to be seen. But you being a waste of space is as solid as iron."

"Hey!" That remark thoroughly enraged the Alpha: "I'm standing right here! I want to see for myself whether he's a waste of space or not!"

The Alpha stared Wen Yanzhou down. For a moment, Wen Yanzhou felt as though his legs had turned to stone under the weight of it.

Actually, I don't want to do this. In that instant, he even considered retreating. Maybe I should just give up. Quitting voluntarily would be more dignified.

But then he saw Ai Yuan's encouraging gaze, and remembered all those years growing up, watching everyone else train from the sidelines. Wen Yanzhou reached out and touched the mecha. It felt hard, and smooth.

Wen Yanzhou climbed into the cockpit. Just try one more time.

The cockpit layout was similar to Frost's from yesterday, though noticeably more refined upon closer inspection. The display screen wrapped fully around him, from overhead to directly in front, showing detailed status readouts from every part of the mecha.

The control stick was within easy reach, with a row of buttons above it for switching between different modes in various situations.

Wen Yanzhou drew a deep breath and placed his hands on the control stick.

For some reason, his pheromones seemed unusually obedient today. The moment his hands settled, they successfully flowed into the red receptors on the stick.

A flicker of hope rose in Wen Yanzhou's chest. He looked forward with anticipation, but after a long wait, the screen remained completely still.

As expected... I failed again.

"Aw, another failure."

"Why is he staying inside just like the last one? What's the point of lingering in there?"

"Come on down already! Next person!"

The Alpha, who had been waiting to gloat, turned to Ai Yuan with a "knew it" smirk: "Well? Did he succeed?"

"Can you admit now that he's a complete and utter waste of space?"

The Alpha grinned, as if all the face he had lost was now recovered through Wen Yanzhou. He crossed his arms and sneered at Ai Yuan.

Ai Yuan had no interest in arguing, letting him run his mouth.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue now? You were so talkative just a moment ago!"

"You..." Ai Yuan was about to snap back when a mechanical beep cut him off.

The mecha's eyes suddenly flared bright green.

"Activation successful."