"Three dining halls, over a hundred food stalls? That's as big as our school's. Looks like I have no choice but to go to the Ninth Military District in the future!"
"Has anyone else noticed that ever since Team Mortal Threat burst onto the scene, people aren't as resistant to eating as they used to be?"
"This is a good thing! Nutrient fluid just doesn't give us the satisfaction and emotional comfort that real food does."
"Even Sister Zebra's family makes nutrient fluid for a living, and she's the one who enjoys eating the most! [Crying with laughter]"
"I just love Yida's down-to-earth, no-nonsense marketing style. Eat whatever you like, and if you feel you need more nutrients, drink some nutrient fluid—what's wrong with that? Other brands are always putting down real food!"
"Is this an early recruitment? She hasn't even graduated yet and she's already got the military district tossing her an olive branch. So jealous!"
"Is it just me, or is this recruitment method a little... too straightforward?"
"I was wondering why the military district suddenly had a change of heart and installed new dining halls for us. Turns out it's to attract new recruits!"
"He's lying! The dining halls in the Tenth Military District are the best. Our seafood is unlimited too!"
"Who wants to eat your bland, tasteless stuff? Little Ma here likes meat, got it?"
"The guy above, her last name is Wang..."
"Sister Zebra has lost her real name ever since she became famous."
After a hearty lunch in the tent, all three teams noticed that the blizzard on Blizza was getting worse.
Just moments ago, you could at least still see the road; now it was a wall of snow and mist, and visibility couldn't stretch past two meters.
The mechs of the Kirin team were huddled together to block most of the wind, but pellets of snow still hammered against the tent with a sharp "tap, tap" sound.
Under these conditions, Wang Tianwei, fully geared up, worked alongside Jian Jingyu to repair his hydraulic line. It only took five minutes, but even with gloves on, both of them felt like their fingers might freeze right off!
Once the replacement parts were installed, Jian Jingyu was immediately sent back into the tent by Wang Tianwei.
"Phew!"
When Zhang Lyra saw that he had returned alone, she couldn't help asking,
"Where's Sister Zebra?"
"Sister Zebra said the low temperature reduces the efficiency of the conductors, so she needs to do a full check. She told me to come inside, and I gave her my gloves too."
Fifteen minutes later, Wang Tianwei finally came back, shivering all over.
The outside of her face shield was caked with a thick layer of frost, making her look like she'd grown a white beard. She peeled off two layers of gloves and immediately wrapped her arms around the little bear beside her.
"Ooh~ So warm."
Zhang Lyra flinched at the cold of her hands and couldn't help shivering.
"Ugh~ So cold!!!"
Even as she said that, she didn't push her away, just stood there waiting for her body to warm up.
"At this temperature outside, you'd die without a mech!"
It was a while before Wang Tianwei's face regained feeling.
She was wearing the highest-grade temperature-regulating equipment available, and she'd been moving nonstop the whole time—and even then, she'd nearly frozen solid...
For the next seven days, there was absolutely no room for their mechs to malfunction!
Huang Yan handed her a cup of ginger-date tea that had been warming by the stove.
"Warm yourself up. It's not safe to travel right now—we need to wait here until the snow lets up a bit."
Wang Tianwei took the cup and took small sips of the sweet tea.
"That's exactly what I was about to say. Visibility outside is terrible—traveling right now is way too dangerous!"
"The question is how long this storm will last."
Huang Yan was still a bit uneasy about this decision. He wondered what the other two teams were doing right now, and how wide the coverage area of this blizzard really was.
Staying here could mean falling behind the others, and on Blizza, snowstorms were the norm. They couldn't just stay holed up forever...
"Don't worry about how long it lasts. We'll be on our way soon enough."
Wang Tianwei pulled off the damp face shield, replaced it with a fresh one, adjusted her goggles, and took two deep breaths from her oxygen mask.
"I'm ready to start modifying the mechs."
"No way, that's too dangerous!"
Huang Yan rejected the idea without a second thought.
He had full confidence in Sister Zebra's ability to climb and work at heights even with poor visibility.
But the temperature outside was no joke. Modifying a mech was extremely time-consuming. If she lost her nose or ears to frostbite, it would be too late to regret it!
Jian Jingyu also objected.
"Are you sure you should go back out in this weather? Just fixing that hydraulic line nearly froze us both to death, and now you want to do the full mod?"
Wang Tianwei raised her index finger and wagged it.
"Relax, I've already figured it out."
Zhang Lyra glanced at the thermometer just outside the tent and frowned.
"It's already nearly minus seventy degrees out there. Can't we just wait a little longer?"
Wang Tianwei decided she'd rested enough and stood back up.
"Time is life, folks. We're here to win the championship!
If we keep waiting, when will it end? If the blizzard doesn't stop, do we just sit here for seven days? The thing I'm modifying is the fear of storms, the fear of cold, the inability to see! "
Don't worry, nothing's going to go wrong. I guarantee it."
With that, she adjusted every piece of gear she was wearing and pressed the oxygen mask to her face, ignoring her teammates' disapproving looks.
The next second, black metal suddenly appeared and flowed across Wang Tianwei's entire body like it was alive, forming a seamless suit of armor.
"It's Liquid Gold!"
Zhang Lyra blurted out at the familiar sight.
"See? I told you I had it all figured out!"
Wang Tianwei struck a proud pose, and even sculpted a little added padding on the shoulders of her armor, just because it looked better that way.
Huang Yan understood instantly when he saw her in full gear.
Liquid Gold had excellent insulation and protective properties. Worn close to the body, it kept body heat from escaping, and being metal, it naturally shielded against wind, snow, and impacts.
In effect, it was like wearing a miniature mech shell. It would definitely keep her warm and safe, but the mental energy required was extremely high.
"Can your mental energy handle it?"
Wang Tianwei stretched her arms and wrists, then rotated her ankles to make sure her movements weren't restricted.
"If I can't, I'll just come back. Hasn't that been the plan all along?
The four mechs will need time to recover after the mods, so if we run into any mutant beasts later on down the road, I'll have to rely on you guys to step up."
Jian Jingyu waved his arms in the air.
"Don't worry, Sister Zebra! From now on, you just stand back and watch us handle it!"
Zhang Lyra checked that there wasn't a single patch of exposed skin around her goggles and breathing mask before saying,
"If you can't hold on, come back and rest. Don't push yourself."
Huang Yan, on the other hand, measured the distance between the tent and the mechs.
"I can assist you with my mental energy if you need it. Just say the word."
"Got it. No problem."
After settling things with her teammates, Wang Tianwei strode out of the tent with her head held high.
Sure enough, with Liquid Gold protecting her, the wind just pushed against her without biting into her skin, the cold was barely noticeable, and those pellets of snow no longer kept sneaking into her clothes.
How convenient~ If she'd thought of this earlier, she'd have done it ages ago!
