My Little Fluff-Puff

In the VIP box—

Yu Chen listened quietly to the commentary.

“…The Pelican is fighting steadily. Years of experience allow him to remain unfazed by surprises. It truly echoes the Imperial saying: ‘The Pelican is old, but can he still eat?’ Looking at our pilot, he’s using serpentine maneuvers the whole way, using unconventional techniques. He’s pushed the principles of adapting to the environment and precision strikes to the absolute limit!… Beautiful! Bai Ling has taken another attack point. Next, as long as he breaks the Pelican’s wings and knocks him to the ground, he’ll win this—wait?”

The excited commentary came to a dead stop. Yu Chen slowly sat up straight.

It wasn’t just him; the entire venue, including the online viewers, heard a cold, indifferent voice:

“Stop the match. I’m not fighting anymore.”

Not fighting? The crowd was lost, staring at the big screen in confusion.

Hu Ti sneered mercilessly: “Why? Are you afraid?”

Bai Ling’s inorganic eyes watched the mecha like a descending god of death, stating matter-of-factly:

“Because if we keep fighting, you’re going to die.”

The onlookers couldn’t believe it and their comments frantically refreshed across the screen:

“Hey! How can you just curse someone to die for no reason?”

“So classless. You can’t win, so you resort to personal attacks?”

Hu Ti’s arm muscles bulged terrifyingly, his crest feathers standing tall in fury as he roared:

“You’re talking nonsense!”

Today was truly unlucky. Before the match, he’d gotten oil sprayed in his face while fixing the mecha; then his award was snatched by a young adult bird who hadn’t even finished molting; and now, he was being cursed.

He was one of the largest and strongest bird types, even though he was over fifty, he’d eaten two large bowls of synthetic meat at lunch and had an excellent appetite. How could he just die?

Under the gaze of the crowd, Bai Ling opened his cockpit and jumped down. Hu Ti followed suit.

The two stood in the center of the field, the atmosphere thick with tension. Hu Ti, in particular, looked as though he was a split second away from rolling up his sleeves to start a fistfight.

“You think I’m talking nonsense? Fine, let me ask you,” Bai Ling said nonchalantly, “Has your mecha been tripping its breakers frequently lately?”

Hu Ti’s eyebrows shot up in fury. His mecha did have a minor problem, but he had already replaced the fuse, a fact many of his colleagues knew.

Hu Ti reached an angry conclusion:

“You must have dug up dirt on me before coming here. If you think you can mess with my head using that, you’ve got another thing coming!”

Bai Ling cast a fleeting glance at the oil stains on his collar:

“When you opened the outer casing today, you must have gotten a face full of oil. I can tell you right now: there is a problem with your chassis. The internal T3 pipe is leaking oil. Three more deployments and it will explode, sending you straight to heaven.”

Hu Ti froze on the stop.

The onlookers were baffled. Repair work always involved some bumping and scraping; getting a little oil on yourself was normal. How could he pinpoint a specific pipe problem just from that?

He’s talking out of his ass, many thought.

However, Hu Ti’s heart was racing. How… how is this possible? He had been alone in the maintenance room; there was no way the kid could have seen it. Moreover, he was quite tall; getting sprayed in the face at that specific height was indeed an unprecedented occurrence.

Hu Ti immediately grabbed a wrench to unscrew the bolts and open the T3 pipe.

The camera zoomed in. The audience, leaning in with half-skeptical curiosity, recoiled in horror. The originally smooth steel surface was now pitted and scarred, a shocking sight. Most terrifying were two small holes near the fuel tank, hissing with intermittent sparks like a viper flicking its tongue, ready to take a person’s life at any moment.

Hu Ti hurriedly cut the power and jumped down from the mecha, his face turning a sickly shade of green and white.

“Luckily, it was discovered early. After the competition, I still have to take my disciple on a mission. One slip-up and it really would have blown. I’m old, it doesn’t matter if I die, but I can’t drag others down with me.”

Upon hearing this, his disciple Yanzi broke into a cold sweat, feeling a wave of fear wash over him.

If it hadn’t been for [Ad Space For Rent], Master and their entire squad would have been blown to bits, if not killed, then certainly crippled.

A pilot’s life is fraught with such hidden perils; a single oversight can be paid for in blood. Logically, a veteran like Hu Ti shouldn’t have made such a massive blunder, and the association  was equipped with professional mechanics for regular inspections.

But as luck would have it, their head mechanic had recently retired, and a replacement hadn’t been found. If they went to an outside mechanic for every minor issue, the fees were exorbitant, and not every mechanic was familiar with so many models. Someone who could deduce a mecha’s internal state just by observing a pilot’s performance was truly one in a million.

Hu Ti found it bizarre.

In the world of mechanics, the older you are, the more experienced you become. How could this little bird, not even twenty, an age where he’d be a mere sophomore in a mecha academy, have such sharp eyes?

…Could this be what they call a genius?

Hu Ti didn’t know that Bai Ling didn’t rely on some out of this world talent. He had built his skills one step at a time, running a stall in the slums and working with his own two hands.

Saving Hu Ti’s life today was simply because he remembered the man’s bloodline and connected it to a disaster from his previous life—

A tragedy where a five-star association suffered heavy casualties and never recovered.

So it was this “Water’s End, Goose Flight” goose asscoation, Bai Ling thought.

Folding his arms loosely, Bai Ling said, “You can apply to postpone our match, or switch to a backup mecha.”

The wrinkles on Hu Ti’s forehead tightened. His fists clenched and relaxed, then clenched again.

Someone had just saved his life; how could he be so ungrateful as to hide behind his seniority and continue the betting match?

Wouldn’t that contradict the principle of fairness he had upheld for years?

Regardless of how angry he had been about the “Lifetime Achievement Award” being snatched away, Hu Ti has come to terms with it now.

Finally, he let out a long sigh, as if letting go of a tension he’d held for too long and said in a relaxed tone:

“No need. I forfeit.”

“You win the betting match.”

“You’re a promising young man, I’m simply not as skilled as you. Thank you for saving me!” Hu Ti patted Bai Ling’s shoulder, revealing a weary but broad-minded smile.

Bai Ling smiled back and proactively extended his hand. “How about we cancel the bet and just be friends?”

Hu Ti froze in disbelief for a moment, then gripped the hand heartily. “Deal!”

However, a public match is a public match. Hu Ti wasn’t short on money, and now that he felt a sense of mentorship and admiration for Bai Ling, he gave a grand wave of his hand and decisively transferred 500,000 credits over.

The hall erupted in warm applause: “A veteran’s grace after all! Such class, truly admirable!”

Hu Ti sighed inwardly. He had lost a physical trophy but unexpectedly gained everyone’s sincere respect. Such is life, full of unexpected twists and turns.

On the other side, Bai Ling stared at the 500,000 Interstellar Credits that had just hit his account, lost in thought: Maybe this is a good way to save up for military funds?

After leaving the field, Bai Ling added Hu Ti’s contact and casually set a memo—

[Senior Big-Mouthed Goose: Heavy mechas are very stable; can be lured to Wild Planet to transport fruit.]

The Mecha World Cup is truly a wonderful place to recruit talent. Bai Ling glanced at his contact list; it was packed with memos of the opponents he had defeated.

Over the next six matches, Bai Ling swept through his group with almost no obstacles. The only one that took a bit of time was a wildly twisting electric eel.

The pros and cons of the Peregrine Falcon bloodline are distinct: incredible agility and speed, but poor endurance.

Bai Ling’s body had been nurtured by Yu Chen, but even so, after ten consecutive matches, he was feeling fatigued. The abdominal pain he had suppressed earlier was beginning to stir again.

“Taste my lightning!”

The electric eel shouted theatrically, twisting excitedly in his seat as he unleashed his signature move.

Bai Ling dodged absentmindedly, planning to kite him for another minute before ending it with a single strike.

Suddenly, a subtle, bloating pain pierced through his brain, blurring his consciousness. His face turned deathly pale, and fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Uncontrollably, one hand left the control panel to tightly clutch his aching, cramped abdomen.

Rattlesnake, out of control for a split second, was a step too slow and was hit by the crackling blue-purple current.

Electric Eel: “I hit him! I’m going to win!”

Bai Ling dug his fingers into his abdominal muscles. Operating with one hand, he executed a sharp lunge and kicked the electric eel off the stage.

The big screen displayed: [Ad Space For Rent] qualifies from the group. Current overall rank: 2nd.

Rattlesnake landed at the edge of the field. Detecting its master’s abnormally high heart rate, it asked with concern:

“Master, you look very unwell. Should I call an ambulance for you?”

Bai Ling’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and he bit his lower lip bitten until it was bloodless.

He commanded in a voice shaking with strain: “No. From now on, lock the cockpit door. No one is allowed to approach… Ah!”

His pupils suddenly dilated, his grey irises shaking violently.

It was a terrifying, foreign sensation he had never felt before.

Something is sliding down…

Rattlesnake didn’t understand what was happening; it simply fulfilled its duty to guard its master. Its cameras scanned the arena. Most matches were over by now, with only a few spectators lingering.

Among them was a person draped in a cloak, their face covered by black silk. The high-definition camera zoomed in, peeking at the silhouette of the face.

It was a stranger.

The person leaned on a cane, steadily approaching. Rattlesnake immediately went on high alert, warning:

“Do not come any closer, or I will fly away.”

The human creature known as an alpha lifted his veil. With Golden Ratio features so perfect even machines would gasp, he smiled at the mecha and tilted his head slightly:

“Open the hatch, or I will hack you.”

Author’s Note:

The memo for the Little Bird on the Old Fish’s phone: [My Little Fluff-Puff]

The memo on Sava’s terminal: [Bully Stinky Little Bird]

Little Bird: Everyone has their own filters.