Chapter 31: Guardians of the Asteroid Belt

One week later.

Asteroid Belt.

This was the second day since the Zhulong arrived here.

Everyone spent the previous day in grueling training.

Today’s drill was all about protection.

That’s right—escort duty.

But first things first, there’s a question that needs answering…

With so many warships in the Federation, how did they all get here?

Some might say, ‘Of course they were built! What, did they sprout from the ground or something?’

That’s true—and yet not quite.

Earth and its neighboring planets could maybe support the construction of two or three hundred warships, tops.

And that’s without even considering the generations of upgrades, or the losses suffered by humanity over centuries.

So just those planets, by themselves?

Not a chance!

The real answer lies in the Asteroid Belt.

As one of the Solar System’s two natural lines of defense, the Asteroid Belt does more than just block enemies. Its most crucial role is supplying resources to humanity.

According to the latest Federation data, there are about 1.2 million bodies in the Belt with diameters over one kilometer.

As for those larger than one meter? More than a billion.

Some of these are real giants—Ceres is nearly a thousand kilometers across, and there are super-sized dwarf planets like Pallas over five hundred kilometers wide.

And the kicker? These bodies contain all the resources people need—plenty you’ll never find on Earth.

It’s basically a treasure trove of raw materials.

So if the Federation wants to build more ships, they’re stuck relying on the resources here.

Even in scenarios where the Federation and the Klein are locked in a standoff for years in the Asteroid Belt…

They’d still have to mine the resources here.

Of course, in those times, gathering materials here would be a dangerous job.

Because the Klein can get in here too.

That’s why providing cover for the fleet—

—becomes top priority, maybe even the most important mission out here.

——

Right now.

Four assault ships launched from the Zhulong’s hangar.

Their assignment? To act as asteroid miners.

Meanwhile, on the bridge…

The captain’s chair was occupied by Qin Qiong, not Lin Yu.

He tapped his chest insignia to activate and switch it to a special channel.

“Captain, the assault ships are underway. The 77th Fighter Squadron is prepped and waiting in the launch corridor. Are you ready on your end?”

“All set. Tell the 77th Squadron—launch!”

“Copy that!”

After ending the transmission, Qin Qiong stood up.

“Begin launching the 77th Squadron. Your orders: patrol and provide escort!”

“Understood, Chief!”

On the Zhulong’s port side, a series of heavy hexagonal hatches slid open to reveal the launch tunnels.

Up close, you’d see each tunnel was massive, and every tunnel floor had twin rails running the length of it.

The 77th Squadron pilots had always wondered about those two launch rails.

Why two?

It meant each fighter was fixed to either the left or the right rail—never the center.

No matter which track you used, your craft was never lined up in the middle.

It definitely looked odd.

Some pilots even joked it was in case one rail jammed up.

“If that ever happened,” they’d say, “at least you’ve got a spare!”

That way, a busted rail would never put the whole launch tunnel out of commission.

Oddly enough, every pilot in the squadron agreed with that ridiculous explanation.

A moment later, fighters began shooting out of the tunnels one after another.

It looked like missiles launching from a honeycomb.

With one key difference—

—these were all piloted ships.

A full squadron. Forty-eight fighters.

In reality, the 77th was assigned sixty fighters aboard Zhulong.

There were forty-eight interceptors and twelve heavy bombers—interstellar bombers, to be exact.

Interceptors packed a small electromagnetic rapid-fire cannon as their main weapon.

Not because they couldn’t carry a compact ion cannon. The issue was always the same—energy limits.

Of course, if needed, they could still mount four missiles for long-range strikes, but not today.

No one questioned it, since this was just a drill.

Still, did anyone wonder why the electromagnetic cannons were loaded with live ammo…?

Twelve fighters broke formation to patrol the perimeter while the remaining thirty-six closed in on the four assault ships, forming up in a shield around them.

Over three thousand kilometers away, hidden behind a ten-kilometer asteroid—

Anyone seeing this scene would be stunned.

Because there, three mechs had appeared.

People had dreamed of machines like this for centuries.

But up till now, no one had actually managed to build one.

And here’s why…

No matter the concept, humanoid mechs just never matched up to fighters.

How much combat power a mech could unleash always came down to two things.

First: agility. Second—

—the control system!

Missing either, you’ve got nothing.

But for hundreds of years, humanity could never get both quite right.

Getting something that massive to move with human-like agility—

Tough.

And letting a pilot control all those joints so precisely with simple controls—

Even tougher.

It wasn’t impossible to build, but if you did, the system was so complicated a single pilot would be overwhelmed.

Otherwise…

It was too simple—sure, one pilot could manage, but precision was out the window. No fancy maneuvers.

In the end, it seemed like building more fighters was just a better use of time.

That was the consensus among most humans when it came to mechs.

So after years of no breakthroughs, people simply stopped developing them.

At least, that’s what ordinary folks believed. In reality, the technology was never truly abandoned.

Right now, the three mechs appearing here—

–were the prototype Bai Ze mechs developed by the Federation’s Far Eastern First Academy of Sciences.

There were three models: A, B and C, each with different basic functions and gear.

The difference was mainly in whether they were all-purpose, long-range or close-combat types.

The balanced type came loaded with both mid-to-long-range and close-quarters weapons.

The long-range unit shed much of its booster gear to divert nearly all power to a single ion beam rifle with a staggering ten-thousand-kilometer reach.

Of course, the energy supply was limited, so after every shot it needed thirty seconds to recharge.

Still, for a carrier-based mech, that’s pretty impressive.

The close-combat model was all about speed and maneuverability, loaded with a compact electromagnetic rapid-fire cannon like a fighter’s.

Besides that, it wielded two massive swords built with ultra-vibration technology.

Those blades could slice through not just fighters but even cut deep into a warship’s outer armor.

On top of that, the close-combat type had way more auxiliary thrusters, twice as many as the long-range model and more than the general-purpose variant.

Couple that with a powerful control system—

—and even the trickiest moves could be pulled off with a surprisingly simple input.

“Bai Jun, Andrei, are you ready?”

Lin Yu’s voice came through the combat comms.

“Ready ages ago!”

“No problem here!”

Both of them replied right away, excitement unmistakable in their voices.

“Then let’s get started!”

“Stick to the plan—launch!”