Chapter 80: Mecha Engineer?

“Light Energy Control really can increase energy. That means if I ever end up drifting in space, I could absorb the surrounding starlight to keep my energy levels up.” Yang Bo extended his hand out of the spaceship, feeling the scorching sunlight hit his skin while also sensing a faint trace of energy entering his body.

“I wonder what it’ll be like when my entire body is fully metallized?” Yang Bo could see only a 5% progress now, with a series of question marks ahead. He figured it could be a hugely powerful state, but how did that 5% come about? Could it be from his metallic skin?

“First, I need to take care of this mecha that’s in contact with the Pirate Warship!” Yang Bo returned to the spot where he’d appeared in the maintenance tunnel earlier. He glanced around and, finding nothing, moved to another location.

Following the signs in the maintenance tunnel, Yang Bo sped through with the agility unique to a Genetic Evolver. Being in zero gravity, the energy from his Energy Suit allowed him to glide through the tunnel as if swimming in water.

Yang Bo felt he had activated his Swimming skill! He reached another point where he could access the ship’s exterior and carefully opened the hatch. He saw a mecha standing in the distance.

Yang Bo quickly pulled his head back and returned to the maintenance tunnel.

After about a dozen minutes, Yang Bo estimated he was now directly beneath the mecha.

“What’s the next step?” Yang Bo hadn’t yet figured out how to deal with the situation. Destroying the transport ship to eliminate this mecha wasn’t part of his plan. If the ship got wrecked, the rapid loss of air could cause immense damage. For the next few days at least, Yang Bo wasn’t looking to become a drifter in Outer Space!

The key issue was that this mecha carried long-range weapons. Yang Bo had faced off against mechas with such weapons during mecha training games. He was utterly crushed and had developed a bit of a psychological shadow from it.

“Got it!” Having studied other mechas, Yang Bo knew what the enemy mecha looked like. He decided to morph his mecha to look like theirs.

“But no… Their mecha comes equipped with energy cannons, while mine only has a massive knife!”

Placing his hand on the metal surface, Yang Bo carefully sensed where the mecha was positioned above him.

“Huh?” This time, Yang Bo felt something odd. It seemed like he could control the mecha? He fully metallized his body, increasing his sensory perception. Shockingly, this produced an unexpected effect! Yang Bo found it unbelievable. How could he control someone else’s mecha?

Without thinking further about the mecha, Yang Bo hurried to a nearby maintenance hub.

Fully metallized, he lightly placed his hand on a Maintenance Robot.

Yang Bo instantly gained access to the robot’s control. It felt as if he could command it to do anything! “Holy crap!” Yang Bo recalled the Fat Boss mentioning a guy who’d stolen a Drone Fighter and realised that person must have had some sort of metal-based superpower.

At that moment, Yang Bo noticed his skills had changed.

Originally there was a series of question marks followed by a 5%.

Now it read: “Engineer: 5% (Incomplete Form) (Complete Form allows control over all metal machinery and metallic lifeforms.)” “So, I can currently only gain partial control over machinery?” Yang Bo instantly got it.

Yang Bo left the maintenance hub. The robot he had controlled returned to its original state, as if no one had ever been there.

“What a treasure!” Yang Bo looked at an entire row of mechas. These were the Guard Squad’s mechas. Every ship of this size hired security personnel from private companies, and each one was equipped with mechas. Unfortunately, this place had been sold out by an insider.

The mechas weren’t particularly advanced, just the seventh or eighth generation, on par with the pirates’. But there were as many as ten of them!

Extending his hand, Yang Bo could feel that gaining control over these mechas was a bit tougher. However, by continuously outputting energy, it took him three minutes to fully control one of them. This mecha came equipped with a Laser Cannon.

“Awesome!” At that moment, Yang Bo felt like he had completely mastered how to operate the mecha!

“It took me three minutes to gain control over an unmanned mecha. But how difficult would it be to control a manned one? Also, how do I level up this 5%? Will I be able to instantly seize control of these warships when I hit 100%?”

“But after using these mechas, I’ll have to destroy them. Otherwise, my abilities might be exposed.” Yang Bo sized up the other mechas, thoughtful.

Yang Bo couldn’t understand why he had such an in-depth knowledge of the transport ship’s structure. With his metallized skin and Engineer status, it felt like he had operated this mecha for a long time. He knew each command, every button.

“Where did I get this ability from? It’s definitely not just Metal Superpower. Could it have something to do with my other grandmaster-level skills?”

“Engineer can control Energy Suits and the Central AI System. Could this be because Electric Power Control boosts it? After all, the Central AI is just data, and its power source is electricity.”

Yang Bo made his way to the exit, carefully opening the sealed hatch. This was the transition area from the interior to outer space.

Slowly opening the outer door, Yang Bo’s mecha leaped into action. The Jetpack activated, propelling his mecha toward the enemy mecha at breakneck speed.

The pirate operating the mecha outside the transport ship felt bored. His mecha stood atop the transport ship, feeding velocity and angle data to the warship. Once the calculations were complete, the warship could dock. In other words, both were spinning at the same rate, achieving relative static speed.

After all, spinning involves a central axis.

Simply put, it’s like two trucks speeding side-by-side at one hundred kilometers per hour. Relative to each other, they appear stationary, allowing for docking.

The operator was understandably bored. The transport ship had no mechas, and there was nothing special about the Crack Void. This type of weapon, which relied entirely on individual strength for control, wasn’t that big of a deal.

Suddenly, an alarm blared. The mecha’s Laser Cannon fired in an instant. The pirate mecha pilot barely had time to react before a tremendous force slammed him into the ground.

The next moment, the control panel went dark. Through the cockpit’s viewport, the mecha pilot saw a massive mecha foot.

“Aaaahhh!!” The pilot let out a despairing scream.

Yang Bo, controlling the mecha, stomped down hard on the cockpit, crushing it entirely.

Mecha Piloting +16!

“Hey, this one’s actually pretty high-end.” Yang Bo checked his own mecha. Two holes had been blasted into its shoulder, causing him to inhale sharply.

Yang Bo had employed Mecha Piloting, Mecha Repair, and Flight skills in this fight. At the moment of impact, his Laser Cannon hit the enemy mecha’s weak point.

He picked up the wrecked mecha and hurled it away.

The transport ship, still spinning, smashed it to pieces. The pirate warship detected the sudden loss of signal from the mecha and immediately began investigating.

By then, Yang Bo had abandoned his own mecha, burning out its Central AI System with Electric Power. Without its gravity system active, the mecha began to float. Giving it a hard shove, Yang Bo sent it drifting away, only for the spinning transport ship to pulverize it.

“Let’s keep this up.” With an adrenaline rush coursing through him, Yang Bo felt like he could take on ten people! Of course, it would still be best to stay undetected.