The next morning, in the exercise yardCurly Hair was performing a simple inspection and adjustment on the Mammoth. Simon stood across from the mech watching, while Lin Jie— the actual mechanic— sat on a nearby chair, holding a coffee in one hand and a laptop in the other, browsing a dark web forum with great interest.Thanks to the record-breaking viewership of the latest Flag Capture Battle, their warden— who was clearly plagued by menopause— had decided to postpone the next battle by two days, also scheduling it for a rest day. This way, they could ensure more people would watch on the day of the match, while the longer gap between battles would let the excitement of the last match linger, attracting even more viewers. They could then use the remaining time to promote the next battle.It also gave the contestants more time to make detailed adjustments and repairs to their mechs. For Lin Jie, this meant no need to rush into the next task— he could relax and surf the web in peace.Right now, the biggest topic on the dark web was undoubtedly the Death Star Flag Capture Battle. Curly Hair's performance the day before— wielding an energy rifle and blowing through military-grade armor— had been dominating the trending list, with countless posts flooding the forum: Shocking! Entertainment-Grade Mech Destroys Military Mech, One Energy Rifle Changes the Battle's Outcome, Even the Energy Rifle Thought It Was Ridiculous— So It Blew Up, and more. Their click counts soared by the minute.But if Lin Jie had to comment, he'd say these dark web titles were far too "dignified." If he'd been the one writing them, they'd probably be more like Riding Military Mechs Like They're Nothing— Who's Invincible If Not Me?, Why Not Ride the Wind? I'll Shoot You If We Disagree, or That Day, My Barrel Pierced a Military Mech's Cockpit. Regardless of the content, titles like these would definitely blow the click count out of the water.Of course, this was a dark web forum after all. Anyone who could thrive here and get decent views on their posts was probably a big shot in their own right— they might even be capable of coming up with such sensational titles. But perhaps they valued their "dignity" more than cheap attention.In any case, the shock caused by the [Red Python] on the battlefield had reached its peak overnight. Many wealthy people had even bought the unmodified version of the [Red Python] just to test its performance. This also sparked a faint curiosity about the mechanic behind Curly Hair.But… that was all it was— just curiosity.No matter how impressive the [Red Python] was, it was still a Class-E weapon. Its rank was simply too low. It was like a first-grader winning a 100-meter race against third-graders at a primary school sports day. People would usually just nod and say "good job," but they wouldn't even bother asking the first-grader's name.For one thing, even if they asked, they probably wouldn't recognize him. For another, even if they did, it wouldn't mean anything— he was just a first-grader, after all.The same went for the [Red Python]. No matter how amazing it was, it was still just a Class-E energy rifle.If the [Red Python] had any real impact, it was probably making people realize that Curly Hair now had a skilled mechanic behind him— he was no longer fighting alone. Combined with Curly Hair's own high rank, this had pushed his odds of winning up a notch on the betting sites."Brother Lin, the mech's hardware is all intact— only the outer armor has some damage," Curly Hair said, approaching Lin Jie enthusiastically. "The problem now is the Mammoth's alloy blade. It's so badly damaged, I don't think it can be repaired. But I know you'll have a way, Brother Lin!""I'm afraid you'll be disappointed," Lin Jie said, shrugging at Curly Hair.Alloy blades— especially those for field mechs— didn't depend on mechanical skills. The key was the steel itself. The properties of the raw materials determined the blade's durability and lethality. Take the previous Flag Capture Battle, for example: the Red Dragon's blade was clearly superior to the Mammoth's in terms of material selection and forging. That was why it had severely damaged the Mammoth's blade in just a few clashes.This kind of damage came from brute-force impact— it couldn't be fixed or compensated for with mechanical techniques.The Flag Capture Battle also forbade using items brought from outside; they could only use materials scavenged from the junk yard. So whether they could find another usable alloy blade depended entirely on luck— on whether there was a relatively intact, functional Class-E alloy blade hidden in that mountain of trash."If we can't find one, there's nothing I can do," Lin Jie said. "The only option would be to enhance other parts of the mech as much as possible, to make up for the lack of a blade."Curly Hair nodded vigorously. "I believe in you, Brother Lin!"Is that so? Then I really can't let you down… Lin Jie glanced at Curly Hair, then closed his laptop. He walked over to the front of the Mammoth with a serious expression, removed a panel from its leg armor, reached inside, and pulled out two cables.While he had enough knowledge to enhance some mech weapons through modifications, the improvements would be far less significant than what he'd achieved with the [Red Python]. Lin Jie had finally come to his senses: having a treasure trove and not using it was the same as having nothing. The mechanical equipment in the Rubik's Cube was clearly a notch above what he'd learned in this world— there was no reason not to use it.This was the perfect opportunity to test whether electrocution was really the way to activate the Rubik's Cube.As for whether it was inappropriate to do this in front of Curly Hair and Simon… there was no way around it. The changes electrocution brought to his body couldn't be hidden forever, and explaining them later would be just as hard. It was better to do it openly.At that moment, all he had to do was reach his hands ten centimeters further forward, grab the cable connectors, and complete a closed circuit— and he'd be electrocuted."Boss…" Lin Jie turned to Simon, a smile on his face. "Do you believe I can get a 'perm' in an instant? In less than a minute, I can make my hair look just like Curly Hair's."A perm? Simon touched his bald head, confused by what Lin Jie meant.Curly Hair, however, paled. He opened his mouth to shout a warning— but before he could say "Don't!" Lin Jie had grabbed both cables and pressed them directly against his body.A true man was ruthless— especially to himself.
