Part 2
That same day—while Akari was securing her trusted analyst—inside Seisen's massive hangar, Li Meiyun was putting the final touches on her flight-type mecha.
Around her, other pilots chatted and laughed as if the tournament weren't right around the corner. The air was thick with the smell of oil and freshly polished metal, mixed with the steady hum of the maintenance systems.
"Lazy idiots…" she muttered, tightening a valve. "Instead of worrying about their mechas, they're out chasing teenage girls around the city… what a bunch of basic men."
Her gaze drifted toward a side hangar.
"That blond American's probably the same…" she scoffed. "Not that it matters. My target is Toudou."
She rested her hand on the Chinese flag painted across the armor. The cold metal stirred a vivid memory…
She was just a little girl, trembling under a darkened sky as a Nulvoid tore through the houses in her village. And then… the deafening roar of a military mecha, its silhouette cutting through the smoke.
General Zhao Wei himself had descended from the sky, destroying the monster with surgical precision.
That day, Meiyun had sworn she would become a pilot. He was her inspiration… her ideal.
Since leaving China's military academy and transferring to Japan, she hadn't had a chance to follow him again. But if she won the scholarship, that dream would be one step closer.
"Working this early?" a calm voice asked suddenly.
Meiyun spun around.
"You again… what did you say your name was?"
At the entrance, a young woman with jet-black hair and a lilac kimono stepped forward with graceful, near-silent footsteps.
"Yoruka Itsuki."
"And what do you want?"
"Just making sure everything's in order. Mechas are expensive, and as long as they're here in Seisen, it's my duty to make sure nothing happens to them… you understand." Her eyes swept across the hangar, as if searching for something hidden.
"Wow… you must be incredibly strong to be given something so 'simple.'" Meiyun arched a brow.
Yoruka held her gaze for a moment without blinking.
"Who knows… maybe I just take the jobs others don't want."
Meiyun clicked her tongue.
"No need to get defensive… I was just curious."
"Makes sense. After all, Seisen gathers the best. But…" Yoruka paused briefly, assessing her with calm precision. "…why would a Chinese pilot want to transfer to Japan? Don't they say your training is better?"
"I have my own personal reasons, samurai lady…"
Yoruka brushed a hand through her long hair with a fluid motion and kept walking, as if the conversation no longer mattered, patrolling the rest of the hangar.
Meiyun followed her with her eyes for a few seconds before letting out a sigh.
"Japanese people… who understands them."
She turned back to her mecha and climbed onto the maintenance platform. Typing a series of commands, she listened as the system responded with a sharp beep. The displays flickered before stabilizing.
"Anyway… I don't get the philosophy of this place, or NovaTech's. They haven't even shown me the new mecha, and yet they trust my skills… strange."
Leaning over the console, she adjusted a propulsion module. Her gloves smeared with grease, she wiped them on a rag before checking the energy readouts.
"Well, I'd better finish up and treat myself to a nice hot shower…"
A metallic clang echoed in the distance. Meiyun looked up, but saw nothing.
"Again with the techs dropping tools?" she muttered, shaking her head.
She shrugged and went back to work.
High above, on a catwalk several meters above the hangar floor, a figure moved with deliberate calm. Their steps were so silent that even the cameras failed to pick them up.
Focused on her work, Meiyun didn't notice them pass by—nor did she realize that, just beyond the wall, lay the entrance to the restricted hangar where the Juggernaut, the prototype mecha assigned to her, was being kept.
She had only ever seen military officers and engineers enter or leave that hangar.
Inside, resting in the shadows, was a massive ground-type mecha—not a sleek flyer like the others, but a towering behemoth that looked like something straight out of a sci-fi film. And at that moment, a mysterious figure was circling it with elegant, deliberate steps.
A blond man, leaning on a cane, strolled alone through the hangar, studying the great machine as though trying to unravel every one of its secrets.
"Humans really are fascinating…" he murmured with a crooked smile. "I must admit, they're quite creative with their little toys."
He stopped for a moment, eyes tracing the reinforced armor plating.
"I'm guessing this is meant to fight 'Emissary'-class targets."
With a leap that defied all logic, he landed atop the Juggernaut's shoulder. From that height, he looked every bit the predator sizing up its prey.
"Sturdy… and utterly tasteless, if you ask me," he said with a mocking lilt. "Perhaps it could use a few… upgrades."
He raised his hand. The hangar's shadows began to ripple, as if responding to his call, flowing toward his palm. They condensed into a dark orb, speckled with glimmers that looked like fragments of a starry night sky.
"I wonder… just how prepared you are for chaos."
Without another word, he let the sphere sink into the mecha's core. Like black veins, the energy spread through the entire frame, seeping into every system.
The man smiled.
"I'd love to see your reaction, Reinhardt…" he whispered as he stepped down from the shoulder. "I'll be watching from the front row."
His footsteps barely echoed against the hangar floor. As he left, the overhead lights flickered, as though something unseen had just passed through the electrical system.
The Juggernaut remained motionless… except for a faint crimson glow that briefly lit its optics before vanishing once more.
On the other side of the wall, Meiyun peeled off her gloves, stretching her arms to ease the stiffness in her shoulders.
"All set for tomorrow," she said with a satisfied smile.
She wiped the sweat from her brow and closed the maintenance console, completely unaware of the faint tremor that rippled through the floor beneath her feet.