Mecha and Sword

Walking through the underground base mostly made of metal, Ji Xinghe was somewhat nervous, not because he was in a completely unfamiliar environment, or because he didn't know how to greet his granddaughter, but because he hadn't thought of a name for his granddaughter yet.

A person cannot have only a nickname; they should also have a formal name, because people always grow up, and his granddaughter will surely grow up safely.

The construction of Base 6, as well as other bases that the Federation has on the alien planet, is incredibly complex. They can be described as cities that have plunged into the ground, but it's not as simple as city sinkholes. The manpower and materials required to excavate an area underground on an alien planet that is comparable to a city is unimaginable.

Even though the Federation's engineering robots are highly advanced and the local network set up inside the base has an extremely fast speed, which allows the Federation's engineers to operate remotely. When selecting the location for the base, numerous theoretical verifications were carried out. Even after choosing an area with existing underground space, spatial stacking is needed in order to create more living space.

Base 6 has thirty-six levels and a total building area of over 862,000 square meters, larger than 120 standard football fields, and can accommodate up to fifty thousand people for survival. The limiting factor for population capacity is not the building area, but the unsuitable environment of the alien planet for human survival. If you ignore necessary factors such as oxygen, drinking water, food, etc., the building area of Base 6 could, on Azure Star, comfortably house one hundred thousand people.

In the face of life and death, humans do not require mansions, they just need a space where they can lie down.

Ji Xinghe looked at the portable intelligent terminal on his wrist, which is essentially, in some sense, the mobile phone on Azure Star. It can only access the local network and cannot make direct calls or send messages to Azure Star, nor can it contact other living bases or military bases on the alien planet. The widespread use of holographic projection technology has made the volume of this portable intelligent terminal very small, it looks just like a wristguard.

A green arrow appeared on the holographic projection screen on Ji Xinghe's wrist. Augmented reality technology made this navigation module look just like the heads-up display feature popular on cars decades ago.

Apart from the navigation interface, there are three main prompts on the holographic screen: Notifications, Task Logs, and Personal Information. Notifications are self-explanatory - they include all kinds of notices pushed by Base 6, including important news from Azure Star, as well as sharable combat information from the alien planet, but mainly information related to the daily functioning of Base 6.

Personal Information needs no explanation – it's just as the name suggests. Task Logs are very important. All the people in Base 6, and other bases, each have a Task Log. A day in advance, the base's artificial intelligence program and command center will push about the work needing to be done the next day to everyone, in the form of a Task Log.

It's everyone, not just a few people, who have tasks in the alien planet. The difference lies in how often you get task information and the importance level (time limit) of the task content itself.

In addition to daily tasks, Task Logs will issue emergency tasks as needed and according to the allocation of human resources, as people's progress in completing daily tasks varies.

Following the guidance of the green arrow, Ji Xinghe walked slowly. He opened his Task Log with a simple touch. There was no specific task content in it, only a welcome message to Base 6. The detailed contents were exactly what Shen Mu had said earlier: find the living space assigned to him within a day, familiarize himself with the main transportation routes and work environment, and the locations for food and water distribution, and other supplies etc.

Ji Xinghe opened his personal information panel.

Name: Ji Xinghe.

Gender: Male.

Age: 65.

Military Rank: Private.

Military Category: Mechanic.

Contribution Points: 50000.

Years of Service: 3 months 16 days.

...

It looked just like a personal information panel in a game, Ji Xinghe was very familiar with it. The only unfamiliar item was Contribution Points, he didn't understand why he had 50000 Contribution Points.

Contribution Points are the common currency on the alien planet, the Federal Coin cannot be used here and cannot be directly exchanged for Contribution Points. To obtain Contribution Points, one must contribute to the front lines of the alien planet, contribute to the war between the Federation and the Empire.

This was because Contribution Points could be directly exchanged for resources unique to the alien planet, and the Federation also aimed to consolidate the power of capital on Azure Star through this method. They sought help from these capital powers only as far as it was possible, without allowing them to directly influence the war.

However, the power of capital had always found a way to worm into everything. Snakes have their paths, mice have theirs. As a result, unofficial black market exchange channels emerged. The authorities turned a blind eye to this, as everyone living on the alien planet actually wanted to return to live on Azure Star. It was only their responsibilities and duties that kept them from returning.

If they could return, they would need federal currency to sustain their lives. If they exchanged their Contribution Points for Federal Coins through the official channel, the exchange rate was a 1:1. This was disproportionate to the effort they put into earning these Contribution Points.

On the black market, the exchange rate was 1:1.3, where demand generally exceeded supply. Vendors having a higher markup were acceptable to capitalists in need.

Ji Xinghe had commissioned Pei Jing to sell his house and liquidate his pension and retirement funds. Pei Jing was quite efficient, and had managed to get it all done. However, the money could not be transferred to Ji Xinghe just yet, as he had not yet figured out the black market channels.

Furthermore, although it was not too technically challenging to communicate with Azure Star from the alien planet, communication resources were very scarce. Without establishing direct communication, Ji Xinghe couldn't get his money, because Pei Jing didn't know whether he had arrived safely, thus there was no talk of remitting money.

Ji Xinghe wanted to build his own mech. He knew that fifty thousand Contribution Points would not be enough, neither to construct the mech nor to cure his granddaughter. But before he even started working, there was an unexpected increase of fifty thousand Contribution Points in his account, which surprised him.

When he checked his account information, he understood that the money was transferred by Han Li. And it was not done before he had sent Han Li flying all over the place, but just after Han Li had left. Ji Xinghe understood that Han Li did it this way to prevent him from refusing the money in person.

In fact, Ji Xinghe was really strapped for cash at the moment. Although Tu Yuan had mentioned that the relevant department would treat his granddaughter for free and hopefully restore her health as soon as possible so she could return to Azure Star, Ji Xinghe knew that free healthcare resources could never compare to those you had to pay for. Another factor was that while living on the alien planet, Ji Xinghe felt that his granddaughter was not safe. He preferred to rely on himself rather than others. He needed to build his mech to protect his granddaughter. Even though he did not wish to use it, he must have it.

He was a mechanic, without the necessary qualifications and conditions to build his own mecha, so he had to buy one. Han Li had previously played up his image because he knew this, and the money transfer was for the same reason.

But Ji Xinghe felt he couldn't accept this money, hence he transferred it back.

"Ding!"

A notification promptly appeared on the holographic projection screen: "The other party has added you to their trade blacklist. Please contact them to lift the trade restrictions before proceeding with the transfer."

Ji Xinghe was taken aback.

He immediately tried to contact Han Li, but the call failed. Han Li had already left Base 6. Instead of going to the medical center like Shen Mu and Su He suggested, he had left Base 6 in his mecha as soon as he could, moving even faster than Ji Xinghe had when going to see his granddaughter. Once out of the base's communication range, contacting Han Li required higher communication privileges, which Ji Xinghe didn't have as a mere private.

This kid...

Yes, to Ji Xinghe, this 34-year-old Federation Major, Han Li, was just a kid. And he was about to meet another kid, a real kid.

Upon arriving at a metal door, Ji Xinghe gently knocked, and the door opened. A little girl stood in the doorway, looking up at Ji Xinghe.

Ji Xinghe squatted down and said softly.

"Hello, I am your grandfather."

The little girl's voice trembled a bit.

"Hello, I am your granddaughter."

...

ps: Wishing everyone immense success in the Year of the Tiger, may you all achieve your goals.