Invincible through Touching Corpses-Chapter 65 - 64: Indignant Roger
Soon, the group arrived in front of the prototype Mecha.
"Are you certain you want to purchase this prototype?" Tan Ya asked.
"Yes." Fang Tianhe nodded, then asked, "When can the engineer get here?"
"I’ve already notified them. They’ll be here in five minutes at most." A flash of excitement crossed Tan Ya’s face when she heard they were buying. She then added enthusiastically, "Why don’t you pick out the Mecha’s weapons first?"
A so-called prototype was just a bare-bones machine, completely stripped down.
This, of course, included weapons. It came with neither melee nor ranged armaments.
Even things like Micro Missiles were added on later as modifications.
"Roger, you choose," Fang Tianhe said.
"Alright!" Roger, who had been waiting in anticipation, instantly walked over.
Tan Ya used her company-issued wrist-mounted computer to activate its projection function, displaying one Mecha weapon after another in front of the group.
There were ranged weapons and melee weapons, with both static images and dynamic clips of Mechas using them.
At Fang Tianhe’s signal, Roger began to select a melee weapon.
As the Mercenary Corps’s Mecha count increased, they could start specializing their roles. Shen Han’s Gun Technique was no worse than Roger’s, and her Superpower was better suited for long-range attacks.
So, if Roger were to pilot the Mecha, he would coordinate with Fang Tianhe in close-quarters combat.
Under these circumstances, just buying a melee weapon would suffice.
Sabers, spears, axes, halberds, swords, hammers—one melee weapon after another was listed, along with their prices, of course.
Lin Xinghai took a look and couldn’t help but be secretly amazed. The prices ranged from 10,000 to 50,000 Points.
He also saw the price of the Mecha itself; a single prototype cost 200,000 Points.
As for the magnificent, fully-equipped Mechas that were already fitted with various weapons, their prices ranged from 300,000 to 800,000 Points.
Lin Xinghai’s mouth twitched at the sight. No wonder so many First Level Mercenary Corps couldn’t even afford a single Mecha.
In the end, after careful consideration, Roger chose a pair of Giant Axes worth 18,888 Points.
He was a Strength Type of the Optimized. In close combat, this kind of heavy weapon would undoubtedly allow him to better exert his full strength.
Furthermore, this pair of Giant Axes was large enough that, at a critical moment, they could even be used as shields without a problem.
Fang Tianhe couldn’t help but nod in silent approval at this choice.
Just as they finished selecting the weapon, the engineer Fang Tianhe had requested arrived.
"What kind of modifications do you need for the Mecha?" The engineer who arrived was a middle-aged man in his fifties. He got straight to the point.
Compared to the service staff, someone like him who lived by his technical skills didn’t pay too much attention to customer service.
Seeing the main man arrive, Roger’s spirits lifted. Compared to picking weapons, modifying the Mecha was undoubtedly more important.
It directly determined a Mecha’s performance—and, of course, was also more expensive.
He was just about to say that he wanted to enhance the Mecha’s Power systems.
However, Fang Tianhe spoke first. "Enhance the Mecha’s Speed and its power systems."
"Is the pilot an agility-type of the Optimized?" the engineer asked.
"That’s the plan, yes."
"Alright! I have three modification packages available, costing 30,000 Points, 60,000 Points, and 90,000 Points, respectively."
"Show me the 90,000-Point modification package."
Fang Tianhe and the engineer went back and forth, and the content of their conversation soon delved into territory that Lin Xinghai could no longer understand.
As for Roger, standing to the side, he was frozen in place. He felt a wave of despair wash over him.
"Don’t be sad. At least you got to pick a weapon," Xu Haishui consoled him from the side, though his words carried a hint of schadenfreude.
"If you keep your mouth shut, no one will think you’re a mute," Fang Tianhe said curtly.
Meanwhile, Lin Xinghai feigned ignorance. How could he not know what these modifications meant?
But would he object? Of course not.
’In two weeks at most, this Mecha will be mine. Of course, the more tailored the modifications are to me, the better.’
Looking at the prototype Mecha before him, Lin Xinghai felt his heart surge with excitement. Soon, he too would be able to pilot a Mecha and battle Mutated Zombies.
Thinking of those terrifying Mutated Zombies, a sudden thought struck Lin Xinghai. ’Can my Investigation Technique be used on a Mecha?’
He acted on the thought immediately. Lin Xinghai opened his system panel and used his Investigation Technique.
Instantly, his number of free uses for the Investigation Technique decreased by one, leaving only four.
At the same time, the system panel refreshed with new information.
Name: Type I Military Combat Mecha (Prototype)
Physique: 300~800 points
Power: 300~800 points
Speed: 300~800 points
Note: The combat effectiveness of the Mecha is directly related to its pilot. The upper limit of its Attributes can be increased through coordination with a Superpower.
Looking at the Mecha’s Attributes, Lin Xinghai had a sudden realization.
No wonder it could defeat Mutated Zombies. Its Basic Attributes were in no way inferior to a Mutated Zombie’s, and it didn’t have any weaknesses.
Of course, that wasn’t to say it had no weaknesses. The pilot was perhaps its greatest weakness.
"Old Luo, how do you pilot this Mecha?" Lin Xinghai couldn’t help but ask.
"You brat, planning to start practicing already? Just tell me honestly, how much longer do I get to pilot this thing?" Roger shot Lin Xinghai a sideways glance, his voice full of resentment.
He was now starting to wonder if bringing Lin Xinghai into the Mercenary Corps was the right decision after all.
"Ahem! Brother Jie!"
"Don’t call me Brother Jie."
"Alright, alright! Old Luo, try to look on the bright side. It’s not a bad thing for me to be using this Mecha."
"Ahem! What I mean is, once I can pilot a Mecha, I’ll be able to make even greater contributions to the Mercenary Corps and earn more Points. I guarantee that in less than two months, the Mercenary Corps will have its fourth Mecha. You can modify that one however you want," Lin Xinghai quickly reassured him.
"Really?" Roger looked skeptical.
"Of course, it’s true! When have I ever lied to you?" Lin Xinghai promised, patting his chest.
As for the time he lied about having a Special Physique, he had already conveniently forgotten about it.
Roger finally started to feel a bit better. He then turned to Tan Ya and said, "We’d like to apply for a test drive of the Mecha."
"Of course! However, the space here is limited, so you’ll only be able to perform some simple maneuvers." After this reminder, Tan Ya used her wrist-mounted computer to open the Mecha’s cockpit. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖
Roger leaped up, landing at the entrance to the cockpit three meters off the ground.
But he didn’t go in. Instead, he grabbed a handrail on the side and gestured for Lin Xinghai to come up.
Without hesitation, Lin Xinghai jumped up as well.
This was his first time observing a cockpit up close.
The cockpit wasn’t large. The most conspicuous feature inside was the pilot’s seat. It was exceptionally wide and designed with perfect ergonomics; it definitely looked comfortable to sit in.
Of course, Lin Xinghai’s attention quickly shifted to the control interface in front of the seat.
The dense array of buttons made Lin Xinghai’s scalp tingle.
"This... must take forever to learn!" Lin Xinghai mused, staring at a control panel that seemed to have ten times more buttons than a keyboard.
Roger followed Lin Xinghai’s gaze and couldn’t help but chuckle. "If you wanted to pilot it using manual commands, you probably wouldn’t learn how even with three to five years of practice."
"Besides, it’s impossible to fight a Mutated Zombie using manual commands."
"To make the Mecha take a single step forward, you’d need to issue nearly ten commands, from the engine to the transmission to the balancing system."
"That’s why we pilot the Mecha using the built-in Brain Nerve Transmitter." As he spoke, Roger pointed to a helmet-like device above the seat.
"But using this thing requires a high level of Perception Power." Speaking of Perception Power, Roger finally regained a sliver of his superiority.
