It’s over

 

A few minutes later, Bai Ling climbed out of the cockpit, nonchalantly dusting off his hands.

Ji Le lifted his chin smugly. “Done showing off? I knew you couldn’t even boot it up. Unless a miracle happens, no one can fix this piece-of-junk mecha.”

Bai Ling glanced at him. “Is that what you usually call it?”

Ji Le kicked the mecha as if taunting a dying dog, deliberately mocking it again: “Junk.”

The mecha seemed to shudder slightly.

Seeing his bullying behavior, a faint memory surfaced in Bai Ling’s mind.

He felt like he had seen this alpha somewhere before.

If he remembered correctly, during his quest for revenge against Gram in his previous life, this fellow had been loitering around the drinking parties, fawning over the seafolk nobles.

An alpha, with his own limbs and abilities, could have carved out a career for himself.

Yet, he had casually tossed away his masculine dignity to take shortcuts.

A cold glint appeared in Bai Ling’s eyes. This was the kind of person he despised most.

In this world, a beta vagrant reading Tarot cards, an omega carrying their baby while selling buns at the docks, or even an elderly alpha begging on the streets—any of them was more noble than this Bird of Paradise!

Seeing his sharp gaze fixed on her, Ji Le assumed he was jealous. He casually flicked his wrist to show off the latest diamond-encrusted restriction ring, then tapped his toe to display the superior elasticity of his custom-made combat suit.

To be fair, his pilot suit alone cost more than a year’s salary for this white-haired kid.

“Envious? The tips from a single match of mine can buy a whole mecha. I have so many in my hangar I can’t even fly them all. Unlike you, who clings to one and recklessly drives it.”

Bai Ling: “If you’re not short on money, why wouldn’t you even bother cleaning out the trash or maintaining the mecha?”

Ji Le answered without a second thought, “Money should be spent where it counts.”

Bai Ling’s lips curved into a cold sneer. “Spent on combat suits, on styling, and on sucking up to others. As a mecha pilot, the one thing you don’t spend it on is the mecha itself, right?”

Ji Le turned beet-red instantly. “You! That’s still better than being a laughingstock covered in poverty. You don’t even wear a combat suit for matches; you just crawl out of the cockpit in a ragged T-shirt. With so many people watching, I’m embarrassed for you.”

Bai Ling had heard similar ridicules across two lifetimes.

It was just a case of “mocking the poor but not the prostitute.”

Ji Le told Bai Ling impatiently, “Fine, I’m done wasting words. I gave you a chance and you couldn’t fix it. Since you’re too poor to cough up a measly twenty million, I’ll be merciful and allow you to hand over Rattlesnake as compensation.”

“Who said I didn’t fix it?” Bai Ling took a steady step to the side and snapped his fingers.

Ji Le’s face darkened, and he was about to warn him not to make a final struggle when—

RUMBLE!

An earth-shaking vibration erupted as if a sleeping giant had returned to the world. The mecha’s arms lifted the transport cover, and it sat up with a boom. It clumsily stepped out of the transport vehicle and, amidst Ji Le’s shocked and ugly expression, stood behind Bai Ling.

Bai Ling slowly said, “Rattlesnake is simple by nature; it didn’t know how sinister human hearts could be, so it didn’t keep its flight recorder on at all times. But here, we have a living witness.”

The mecha remained silent for a moment and dust fell from its shoulders, as if it were still struggling.

Right then, Ji Le barked at it impatiently, “Junk! If you dare say a single word, I’ll wipe all your data immediately.”

Wiping data. To an AI, this was a death threat.

These words backfired successfully. Instead, the mecha lifted its steel head, found the courage to face its master and spoke:

“An AI cannot lie. I admit, my Master ordered me to crash into Rattlesnake. My core was broken long ago; Rattlesnake did not damage it.”

Ji Le stood frozen in disbelief. How is this possible…

An AI cannot lie, cannot harbor malice, and cannot betray its master. These were the three laws the Empire’s AI must follow. Violating any of them resulted in immediate termination.

During its service, this mecha had always been highly loyal and never once disobeyed him. How did this white-haired bird go in for ten minutes and make the mecha defect?

There has to be a trick!

Ji Le pointed at Bai Ling hysterically. “It’s you! You must have uploaded a virus to frame me!”

The mecha took a step forward, standing before Bai Ling like an impenetrable wall. Its voice was firm:

“Master, I have no virus. And I wish to terminate my contract with you.”

“I no longer want you as my Master.”

These words struck Ji Le like a lightning bolt. Humans buy mechas, but mechas also choose their masters.

By the same token, in extreme circumstances, a mecha AI has the right to request a contract termination, with the termination fee to be paid by the next owner.

Ji Le let out a cruel laugh. “You… a piece-of-junk mecha like you? Once the contract is terminated, you’ll only be sent to the recycling station as scrap metal. Don’t think for a second anyone will take you to the skies. Keep dreaming.”

The mecha replied, “I have already found a new Master.”

Ji Le’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively looked at the white-haired bird.

Bai Ling offered his praise without hesitation. “Though it’s a five-year-old model, it’s sturdy and durable—a performance beast. It’s quite good for heavy payload and high-altitude bombing, not losing out to the new models on the market at all.”

“Most importantly, the previous owner didn’t know how to fly. The engine is still ninety percent new.”

“It’ll serve perfectly as my backup for the combat tournament.”

Snatching someone’s mecha was as personal an insult as stealing their spouse or daughter in front of them.

In the entire mecha circle, there’s no move more insane or humiliating than this.

If word got out, people would laugh themselves hoarse. A mecha flown for five years could have its loyalty won over and be lured away by someone else in ten minutes—just how useless was the previous owner?

The mecha was literally trying to run away overnight, transport vehicle and all!

Anna couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh nearby. Wicked people require wicked means to be dealt with.

Well done, Fledgling!

To everyone’s surprise, Ji Le rolled his eyes and suddenly laughed: “I’ll give it to you, it’s just secondhand junk I didn’t want a long time ago anyway. But be prepared for the termination fee. Don’t even think about negotiating if it’s less than 60 million!”

Bai Ling had anticipated his response and immediately summoned Rattlesnake:

“Since you deliberately caused the accident, then…”

He pulled his youngest daughter in front of Ji Le, his tone as forceful as a parent confronting their child:

“Four scratches, two dents, that’s 60 million. Damaged knee brace, 40 million, AI’s emotional distress compensation, 100 million—”

Ji Le almost choked on hisw breath: “Wait, wait, what the hell? This mecha isn’t worth hundreds of millions on the market!”

Bai Ling sneered: “You said it yourself, this is an experimental machine. Since it’s still in the experimental stage, where would a market price come from? If you bump or scratch it, how much compensation you should pay is naturally up to me, the owner.”

Rattlesnake: “OvO Am I really worth two hundred million in Master’s heart?”

Bai Ling gently touched its hot little speaker, his eyes filled with affection:

“It’s more than two hundred million; you are my priceless treasure.”

Rattlesnake: “[Overheat Warning]!” It crashed.

Ji Le felt completely awful. His teeth were grinding together, and he felt as if his lungs were about to explode.

Losing Rattlesnake wasn’t enough; he also had his high-performance mecha stolen.

He lost both his wife and his army.

Why did he suddenly decide to cause trouble today and go challenge him?

Now that the mecha has requested to terminate the contract, he can’t get it back even if he wants to. With the mecha as a witness, he can’t use the collision incident to make a fuss anymore.

Am I just supposed to flee back home?

What a joke! I, the glorious Bird of Paradise, am in the mecha world for nearly ten years and have never suffered such a huge loss. Damn it.

A murderous intent gradually rose in the way Ji Le looked at Bai Ling.

He had checked earlier, this white-haired cripple had no background. Finding him on some night, knocking him out, and finishing him off would be a piece of cake!

Anna keenly sensed that his gaze was off.

While the mecha circle was ruled by strength, there were many like Ji Le who took underhanded paths. As a association mentor, one of Anna’s most important tasks was to identify dangers surrounding new pilots and solve problems for them.

Seeing Ji Le’s lack of remorse, Anna consulted the association leader and immediately found a pretext to dump the recorded footage onto the Starnet Mecha Forum.

However, to protect the Little White Bird’s privacy, she blurred Bai Ling’s face in advance.

Thread Title: [Sharing the daily work of “Eloquent Sparrows and Crows” association, accepting public supervision]

[1L]: Strange, strange. This shut-in association suddenly posted a work video? Very unusual. Let me investigate.

[2L]: Let’s fast-forward… Oh my god, guess who I saw? The “Courtship Maniac” superstar, Ji Le!!

[3L]: …Did he just use the word “cripple”? Uh, I feel uncomfortable. I’m out.

[4L]: I don’t believe it! Ji Le was just passionately calling for everyone to treat disabled birds with kindness in his livestream last month. This must be a photoshopped video from a hater. Come out and blow up this thread! @JiLePRDepartment.

[5L]: Is there a moderator? Drag the crazy one upstairs out.

[6L]: Speaking as a thirty-year veteran pilot: he must be banned across the entire network. His moral character is too corrupt. The spirit of mechas is “Fairness, Respect, Love.” How can a contestant like this be allowed on the field? If the Mecha World Cup doesn’t ban him, I’m refunding my ticket.

The stone stirred a thousand waves. The tide of protest surged over the fans’ excuses; within half an hour, the thread was marked as [Trending] and was continuously reposted to other public platforms, forming waves of collective indignation.

At the same time, someone noticed the other protagonist in the video.

[367L]: Since Ji Le called the other person a “cripple,” then this person must also be a person with a physical disability?

[368L]: Wait… even with the mosaic, why do I feel like I’ve seen this white hair somewhere?

[369L]: I saw him at the entrance of Engineer Uriel’s office.

[370L – Uriel Studio]: Sorry, stepping in to claim him. This is the Pilot 0 we recently recruited for our mecha lab, responsible for testing the new generation of [Acessible Mechas for the Physically Disabled]. We believe the product will meet everyone’s needs at a reasonable price soon.

[371L]: Woooooo! Love it. On one side, we have Ji Le filled with insults; on the other, a pilot working hard to help marginalized birds. The difference is clear.

[372L]: Requesting Xiao 0’s homepage, Auntie wants to sponsor him.

…

Ji Le was in a foul mood. He had just entered the aerial track in his private flyer when his assistant began blowing up his comms.

The person was hesitant and anxious, only repeating: “Mr. Ji, look at the real-time trending topics.”

One look, and Ji Le began to shiver, nearly passing out on the spot. The number one trending topic: [#Tens of thousands protest for a 30-year ban on Ji Le#].

He hurriedly called his PR department, but their lines were also exploding.

Once the news of him insulting disabled pilots broke, Ji Le’s sponsors began terminating contracts one after another, angrily throwing sky-high compensation bills at him for the negative impact on their brand reputations.

A rough calculation showed he owed a billion in damages.

Ji Le felt as if he had a mouthful of blood that he couldn’t spit out. A billion… how many times would he have to preen and posture on the field to earn that back?

No… he couldn’t fall. It was fine! He still has his benefactor.

Pavo liked him so much; he would definitely save him!

Ji Le quickly called the Power King, Pavo. Upon picking up, Pavo sounded quite active: “I was just looking for you, my little Paradise bed-partner.”

Ji Le immediately adjusted his voice to a sob: “Waaaah, I knew you are the best to me. You must have seen people blackening me online and want to help your Xiao Ji Le, right?”

Pavo said cheerfully: “No, I wanted to ask if you have the contact info for that Great Tit? We’ve taken a liking to him here and intend to keep him at a high price.”

“As for you… I’ve gotten a bit bored of alphas lately. Let’s chat again next time when there’s a chance.”

Thud.

The terminal slipped from his fingers and hit the floor hard.

Ji Le leaned back in his seat, his expression looking as if he were already dead.

His mecha was gone, and his benefactor had run too. It’s over. Completely over.