Stepping into the structure, Ziye felt the immensity of the space profoundly; as far as the eye could see, there was a colossal pillar, requiring ten people to encircle, every fifty paces, stretching endlessly.

Beneath each pillar was a semi-transparent light screen that silently retracted when not in use. Ziye activated a screen beneath an unoccupied pillar, and Little Sprout introduced: "This place has four sections: Novice Training, Comprehensive Training, Combat Training, and Mech Equipment. Novice Training focuses on physical fitness and spiritual power, which you’ve trained in under me, so you're definitely better than them. Comprehensive Training is for pilots, and it’s not that useful. Do you want to try the combat section or the mech equipment section?"

Ziye replied, "Nonsense, it has to be the mech equipment."

Little Sprout glanced at her dismissively, "Tsk, such a proud little thing. Combat and equipment are inseparable. Try combat first; you’ll gain a better understanding of the equipment, which won't hurt."

Ziye retorted, "Understanding the mech's performance and equipment first, and then fighting, could achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Little Sprout let out a cool, knowing chuckle.

Ziye naturally knew what it was laughing at. She didn't know how to pilot or fight, so logically she should start with that training, but she wanted to see the mechs and came up with so many grand justifications, only to have it see right through her.

Little Sprout didn't stop her. It watched as she lightly tapped the equipment area on the screen, and the large screen immediately changed, displaying dozens of equipment zones, each containing a hundred rooms. Ziye casually selected a room and entered.

Following a beam of light, she entered the room. In the center stood a silver mech. To the east was a sofa, and to the west, a massive light screen was playing a mech advertisement. Ziye instantly recognized the mech as a classic model from the Kolai Group, the Warrior type—easy to operate, moderately priced, and one of the most common mechs. Its performance matched its profile: tough enough to withstand heavy blows, suitable for courageous close-quarters combat.

However, the mech before her was clearly a bare chassis—no weapons mounted, no shields equipped, not even an energy plate installed.

Over the past two years, she had studied countless mechs, most of them niche or unconventional. It was rare to see such a standard unit, and Ziye was thrilled. She asked Little Sprout, "Is there surveillance here?"

Little Sprout's voice popped into her mind, "Is that even a question? Just like an online game, every bit of data here is transmitted to the system terminal."

Meaning, every move she made was being watched.

Ziye mused, "Who is the mastermind behind this base?"

Little Sprout tumbled around, "Everything here is classified. Didn’t you notice you didn't need any registration to enter? This was jointly created by the Four Great Families. Without all four parties present, no one has the authority to extract data."

No wonder.

The Kolai Group was an industry under the Mo Ke Family, and the Mo Ke Family was one of the Four Great Families. Ziye considered for a moment—being able to see the mechs of all four families here was simply marvelous!

She poked Little Sprout, "Scan it, analyze the blueprint, and send it to A110. Also, while you're at it, check the damage resistance of the mech armor for me."

It was only then that Ziye carefully examined the rules for mech equipment.

It turned out that all mechs in all rooms were bare chassis, assembled by the players designated as assemblers. Once assembled, they were randomly assigned to combat players who had randomly selected a mech to take to the battlefield for sparring. In other words, the effectiveness of an assembled mech depended not only on the assembler's skill but also on the combat player's ability.

Furthermore, to ensure the basic capability of the mech, modifications were capped at 50%.

Oh yeah! Modifications were possible!

Ziye excitedly clenched her fist. Using the facility’s provided light-brain, she searched for assembly configurations for the Warrior type. The classic assembly was simple: for firing, use the fully automatic Vulcan Machine Gun, capable of firing 10,000 rounds per minute; for melee, use the Magneto-Oscillation Sword; and for shields, the Titanium Shield—capable of defending against anything, yet outstanding in nothing.

How should she configure it?

Ziye looked over the array of available hardware and fell into a brief moment of confusion.

Mech assembly was a real puzzle.

Her gaze swept over a row of shields, and instantly, she had an idea.

Shield first. Ziye unhesitatingly chose the Armor Alloy Shield. Armor alloy was one of the best pieces of equipment for damage resistance, offering 8% greater resistance than the standard Titanium Shield.

But every advantage has its drawback: the Armor Alloy Shield weighed 5% more than the Titanium Shield. A novice pilot might not handle the extra weight, potentially causing the mech to become top-heavy.

Gain means loss; she dismissed the concern.

Ziye moved to the gun selection area. As for the gun… she pondered for a long time, unable to decisively choose which one to use.

The assembled mech would be sent to the combat zone for PK. If she configured it similarly to the reference assembly, she might end up evenly matched, and if the opposing pilot was unskilled, she might lose. Therefore, this was not only a technical job but also a prime location for psychological warfare.

Seeing her troubled expression, Little Sprout poked her with a leaf, "Hey, what are you spacing out for?"

Ziye replied, "I’m deciding which gun to use."

Little Sprout looked at her with disdain, "Idiot, what did Teacher Tangshan teach you? As long as the firepower is intense enough, any mech can be blown up!"

That single sentence was an awakening for her.

Ziye unhesitatingly selected the Thor Cannon. The Thor Cannon had a slightly shorter range but immense firepower, perfect for someone fast and decisive. She input the Thor Cannon into the assembly system and nodded with satisfaction.

The Thor Cannon was a heavy artillery piece, delivering massive firepower but also significant recoil, making its trajectory prone to damage. Ziye measured the values and adjusted the firing arc, shortening the trajectory to prevent it from being destroyed by incoming fire.

The Warrior type itself wasn't an inherently durable chassis. Balancing shields and firepower was difficult, yet now she had prioritized both. Under this energy strain, the reserves depleted in less than three minutes.

The Warrior-class mech could install a maximum of two energy plates simultaneously. Ziye barely considered the options, adding a Super Energy Accumulator to the plates, forcefully boosting the energy capacity by 10%, allowing it to last an entire day even at full firepower.

Assembly complete, Ziye entered the mech cockpit to perform diagnostics.

To her annoyance, even the mech's own optical computer was blank, requiring her to install all the necessary programs. She had to debug while installing programs, ensuring everything functioned correctly.

Just then, Little Sprout cried out, "Ziye, hurry up! There's only half an hour left!"

Huh?

Ziye froze. There was a time limit?

She hadn't noticed when selecting the room; there were actually three time options: three hours, one day, or three days.

She hadn't paid attention and had chosen the three-hour slot.

What she had planned as a leisurely completion suddenly made Ziye tense. Working with both hands and feet, she finished assembling the mech in just half an hour.

With two beeps, the mech entered the room's teleportation track and was sent out, leaving behind only a pile of unused parts and the room's service robot.

After resting in the room for a while, a prompt appeared on the massive light screen: "The mech you assembled is about to enter the combat zone. You may go to the combat zone to watch, or view the live broadcast here in the room."

Just as Ziye lifted her foot, the light screen switched to the combat zone, showing the mech she assembled already on the battlefield. She stopped, sat back down in her seat.

Upon clearly seeing the opponent's mech, Ziye couldn't help but smile.

The opponent's mech was also a Warrior type.

For the same model, it all came down to the pilot, or in this case, the assembly. The pilot was inside the cockpit and couldn't see, and even if they could, Ziye had no way to judge the pilot's skill level.

She stared intently at the opposing mech and subtly raised an eyebrow. The opponent's configuration looked like that of a nouveau riche—piling all the high-end components onto the chassis. It looked impressive at first glance, but the Warrior-class frame wasn't high-end enough; even carrying a heap of premium gear wouldn't necessarily maximize its output and would likely just drag the mech down.

The battleground was an ice surface.

Ziye watched the opposing mech wobble slightly, confirming her suspicion by six or seven tenths. A top-heavy, unbalanced machine—if the pilot using her assembly wasn't too clumsy, they should win.

Almost simultaneously, both mechs moved. The nouveau riche struck first, firing ten consecutive shots, trying to eliminate the opponent in the first moment.

Although the nouveau riche's configuration wasn't great, the pilot was competent. That setup drained energy quickly, so a swift victory was the best strategy. This opening attack, even if it failed to destroy the opponent, served as a strong warning.

However, the nouveau riche had clearly underestimated their opponent’s pilot. The rival deftly used the Armor Alloy Shield to protect their body, dodging rapidly in a Z-pattern, evading eight of the ten shots. The remaining two hit the shield but caused no significant damage.

The nouveau riche immediately knew the opponent was tricky and decisively ascended, retreating to avoid contact with the icy ground, lest the machine become unstable. At this moment, the rival pilot paused, swiftly fired a cannon shot.

Compared to bullets, the cannon’s power was greater. The nouveau riche hastily leaned the mech backward to avoid the blast, but because the Warrior type had been assembled to be top-heavy, leaning back caused it to fall to the ground with a 'thud.'

The pilot did not pursue, calmly watching the opponent struggle back to their feet. As soon as they stabilized, another cannon shot was fired. The nouveau riche was prepared, rising into the air, dodging the shell, and retreating further. The pilot pursued relentlessly, shattering the opponent's shield before lunging forward, sweeping a blade across the nouveau riche's back!

The waist of the nouveau riche mech cracked with a 'kacha' sound!

Ziye raised her hand in a victory salute, picked up Little Sprout, and walked toward the door, saying as she went, "The pilot was quite good, winning so easily. But this was definitely because of my good assembly, right, right?"

Little Sprout mocked, "There is always someone better beyond the mountain."

Ziye pouted, flicked its head with annoyance, "Can't even enjoy a few seconds of triumph, you’re annoying!"

With the first victory secured and the data for the classic mech model in hand, Ziye didn't want to stay a second longer. She hurried off to begin her research. Meanwhile, the pilot who had used her assembly opened the configuration after the victory, examined it for a long time, and showed an expression of utter astonishment…RS