Genius Mechanic

[Signed for simplified Chinese publication in mainland China. Progress updates: Jinjiang, Li Wenjiu]

In the year 1245 of the Star Calendar, [sink], an S-rank mecha competitor, burst onto the scene and set multiple records. At the height of his fame, he announced his retirement after winning the grand slam, leaving countless fans disappointed and full of regret.

That same year, the mecha mechanic for the KID base team lost his medical staff certification for violating Alliance rules. The base owner had no choice but to post a recruitment notice with the Alliance, setting off widespread controversy.

“What? They’re hiring? What’s the salary?”

“Everyone knows KID is broke. Don’t go.”

“Mecha mechanics are already hard to find, and you’re offering that much? Are you trying to fool an idiot?”

Not long after, KID really did hire a mechanic.

The mechanic wore a hat that hid his face and loose long sleeves. The cold gleam of a finely crafted mechanical hand was just visible beneath one sleeve.

He looked so frail that he seemed more like a decorative figure than someone who could repair mechas.

“His right hand is a prosthetic? A mechanical hand? You’ve got to be kidding. Can it even be calibrated accurately?”

“I doubt he can even lift an armor plate.”

Two years later, the Mecha Alliance underwent a restructuring, and medical staff from Alliance base teams were required to deploy with their teams.

The KID club submitted its roster. The new list included an extra ID: [sink].

Only then did the Alliance realize that KID hadn’t merely hired a mechanic. They’d hired a mechanic with off-the-charts combat ability.

-*

Ying Chenlin was reborn, back at the age of eighteen, when his genes first mutated.

That year, he had just won the first grand slam in the Mecha Alliance. He had followed his dream single-mindedly and done as he pleased, only to suffer a backlash from his mutated genes two years later. Half his body was left disabled, and he spent the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair.

In the hardest years of his life, it was the owner of KID who took him in, gave him a chance, taught him a new trade, and pulled him out of the mire.

Given another chance, he turned down offers from several bases and retired decisively before his body was completely ruined. Then, with a new prosthetic, he went to KID to apply for a job as a mecha mechanic.

Repay his debt, recover, and start over.

He had once reached the summit. Even broken and battered, he would climb back to the top.

PS:

1. A steady power-up story, with two strong leads and plenty of feel-good moments. The early part focuses on leveling up, and the later part on competitions. Romance takes up very little of the story. The focus is on careers and the team’s growth.

2. Former mecha pilot turned mechanic: an all-around, cool-headed, rational bottom x an unknown personality type, a battle machine of a top (You Su).

3. Updated daily. If I need a break, I’ll leave a notice in the author’s notes, comments, or blurb. (Author’s notes are free to read. You can turn them off in the top-right settings if you don’t want to see the acknowledgments.)

See my completed works on my profile~

[Coming soon 1: Genius Operator [Full-Dive]]

The full-dive online game The Divine Tree is famous for its freely customizable skills and attracts attention from people in every field. Top players are constantly emerging.

At level 30, players can enter the dungeon Heaven and Earth Temple. Its tricky mechanics and high entry requirements make it a nightmare for anyone who gets separated from their party, earning it a reputation as a beginner-server proving ground.

On beginner server 3145, the leader of a temporarily assembled dungeon team casually picked up a new healer outside the dungeon and invited them to join.

The newcomer seemed mild-mannered and kind, clearly the sort of healer who would save anyone in need.

That is, until they faced the boss. They darted nimbly across the crumbling ground, dodged its lethal attacks with pinpoint accuracy, and dealt a whopping 40% of the damage.

Teammates: “...!”

“Boss, with skills like that, why play a healer? Pick a mage or warrior and you’d be unstoppable!”

Zhou Sui opened the damage statistics and answered honestly, “Healers have low base damage, but a high speed bonus. It suits me better.”

Teammates: “?”

Later, players discovered that

he used the healer’s healing skill to break crowd control;

he used the healer’s escape skill as a gap-closer;

and he used the healer’s support skills to boost his burst damage...

His familiar skill-tree choices sent a chill down everyone’s spine.

Players: Isn’t this an assassin’s build? Is this guy playing a healer like an assassin?!

-

Zhou Sui, ID [Zhou Er Fu Shi].

He was once a member of the Genius Training Camp, but at the peak of his youth, special circumstances forced him to retire. He disappeared for three years.

When he returned to the public eye, he brought dazzling talent skills and god-tier plays no one could imitate. He became famous across the gaming world as an assassin-style healer, and everyone watched him.

Later, on the StarNet forums

A new player asked: [Has anyone figured out Zhou Er Fu Shi’s skill tree? It looks insanely strong!]

Player A: Run! Don’t copy it!

Player B: What? A healer-assassin build???

Player C: First, you have to be called Zhou Er Fu Shi. Second, you have to be Zhou Er Fu Shi.

Player D: And finally, if you want to dominate both PvE and PvP, you need a bonded healer called [Yi Du Yin Yang].

[Coming soon 2: My Years as the Boss of the Abyss of All Evils]

Su Yu is blind and missing one of his seven souls. He grew up without his parents’ care and suffered constant abuse from his family. The only thing of value he has is a spiritual marriage pact with a genius of the Xize Gu family.

On the day he comes of age, the engagement is broken off. With no further use for him, his family pushes him off a cliff, sending him plunging into an abyss thousands of feet deep.

The fall knocks some sense into Su Yu, and his innate spiritual sight awakens.

At the bottom of the abyss lies a graveyard of wandering souls.

The ghosts eye the newcomer hungrily. Their new prey is a blind mortal, with smooth skin and a pretty face.

But by the time they bare their fangs, they have somehow become the blind man’s ghosts.

The blind youth wears rags, and his hazy eyes seem to stare at nothing. Yet his words are cold and merciless: “Want to earn your freedom? Easy. Work off your crimes. Serve your sentence, then you’re released.”

The ghosts eventually discover that

minor sins in life mean ten years of hard labor;

great sins in life mean a life sentence.

Their unscrupulous boss doesn’t just catch ghosts. He catches monsters from the neighboring Spiritlands too, and eventually even captures the chief disciple of Tianlu Mountain!

*

Xize Gu Zizhou is the revered chief disciple of Tianlu Mountain, a young sword immortal famous throughout the cultivation world.

After a sudden fall from grace and a vicious ambush, he plunges into the Abyss of All Evils.

But when he opens his eyes, he finds several wandering souls gathered around him, practiced at filling out forms with brush and ink.

“Where are you from? What bad things have you done? Did you fall, or did an enemy push you?”

“Are you stupid? He obviously got pushed by an enemy. He won’t be working here long, and the boss might even have to pay him compensation.”

“Boss, you’re here! We’ve got a newcomer. Take a look!”

Gu Zizhou looks up and sees a youth in vivid red in the distance, a light veil covering his eyes and pale skin beneath.

At the sight of him, the spiritual pact deep in Gu Zizhou’s soul stirs.

Blind youth: “How does he look?”

Little ghost: “Boss, he’s passable. He could work as a doorman here in the Abyss of All Evils.”

Theme: Setbacks shouldn’t leave you defeated. People should keep moving forward without fear.