Douluo, my clone Groudon

Chapter 219 Mech Piloting, Blueprints

The high-frequency vibrating blade on the right arm of the Purple Shadow Mech snapped open, and the charging ring of the soul-guided cannon on its left hand glowed crimson. Gula gently pushed the control stick, and the propulsion wings on the back of the mech fully deployed, casting a huge shadow over the desert.

"boom!"

The shockwave generated by the sudden attack swirled the sand and dust into a vortex. The first enemy machine didn't even have time to raise its weapon before its cockpit was pierced by the vibration blade. Gula flipped his wrist, and the blade slashed horizontally, cutting three mechs in half as if they were made of paper.

At the same time, the left arm's soul-guided cannon finished charging, and the incandescent white beam swept in a fan shape, exploding into a series of fireballs in the enemy ranks.

"Action delay of 0.05 seconds..."

Gula frowned, his mental energy penetrating every joint of the mech along the neural network. As his aura began to cover the metal frame, the entire mech suddenly became incredibly responsive and controllable.

The original mechanical stiffness completely disappeared, as if this steel body had really grown muscles and nerves.

A piercing charging sound came from afar. Three purple mechs had appeared at three high vantage points, their massive cannons glowing dangerously red.

Gula's battle intuition gave a frantic warning—this was a classic triangular killing formation.

"Perfect, let's try that one." A dangerous smirk appeared on his lips.

The high-frequency vibrating blade on the mech's right hand suddenly emitted a buzzing sound, and the air around the blade began to distort. Gula infused it with sword intent simulated by his aura, and a half-meter-long blue flame appeared at the blade's edge. Inside the cockpit, energy alarms flashed frantically.

[WARNING! Soul Guidance Core Overload!]

Current load: 187%

"Force a breach of safety restrictions," Gula ordered, pushing the joystick all the way down.

The thrusters on the back of the Purple Shadow Mech spewed out almost white flames, and the entire machine transformed into a purple lightning bolt as it charged forward. Tiny black cracks appeared in the air along the trajectory of the vibrating blades.

The first enemy mech's cannon had barely reached its critical point when it was cleaved in two, along with half of its body. Gula spun around, his blade flashing like a full moon, instantly vaporizing the cockpit of the second mech. But the last enemy mech's main cannon had already fully charged, and a crimson beam of light instantly engulfed the Purple Shadow mech.

Gula's control was fluid and effortless, as if the mecha were an extension of his own body. His mental power made every movement of the mecha incredibly precise, even allowing him to predict the trajectory of enemy attacks.

"Zi——!"

With a piercing metallic scraping sound, the vibrating blade collided head-on with the energy beam. Gura felt immense pressure transmitted through the control stick, and the outer armor of the mech's right arm began to melt.

At that critical moment, he suddenly released his left hand, and the soul-guided cannon blasted at the sand beneath his feet. The recoil from the explosion caused the mech to shift sideways at an odd angle, the beam grazing the cockpit.

"Fine Snow." Gula released his martial spirit in the cockpit. The Fine Snow technique was activated, and countless ice crystals surged along the internal pipes towards the overheated soul guide core, while steam spewed out from the exhaust vents throughout the mech.

That's the downside of mechs. Unlike spirit-forged alloys, which possess spirituality and can be used to create purple mechs comparable to Soul Saints, mechs are vulnerable in high-intensity battles due to their material composition and energy core.

Gula pondered that if they wanted to build a red mech made of Skyforged Metal, he and his two teachers would have to go bankrupt several times over.

"The Spirit Pagoda is a large and powerful organization, and there's only one Divine Craftsman in the entire Douluo Star City. It probably won't go bankrupt even once..."

Gula, eyeing the teachers' property, swiftly swung his knife and continued his training.

Three minutes later, all the mechanical beasts were annihilated.

【End of battle】

Number of enemies eliminated: 37

Mech damage rate: 12%

[Rating: 10] In the external monitoring room, the teaching assistant's record board fell to the ground with a "thud".

In the holographic projection, the Purple Shadow mech was retracting its vibration blade into its arm armor, the movement as fluid as a real martial artist sheathing their sword. Several upperclassmen who were just trying to earn credits gathered around, staring at the data panel in astonishment.

"Is this really his first time piloting a mecha?" Someone swallowed hard. "That sword strike he just unleashed definitely surpassed the mecha's limits, reaching the destructive power of a Soul Saint..."

The teaching assistant picked up the whiteboard and heavily marked Gura's course notes: "I suggest he directly take the advanced mecha pilot qualification exam." After thinking for a moment, he added: "He may need special supervision—to prevent him from dismantling the training ground."

After exiting the simulator, Gula stretched his slightly stiff fingers, his eyes gleaming with contemplation. Through numerous simulations, he had already sketched out the prototype of his ideal mecha in his mind.

"I remember that completing the association's tasks and assessments would reward you with contribution points and special resource allocations, right?" Gula turned to look at the teaching assistant beside him, his voice calm but carrying an undeniable certainty.

The teaching assistant, who was busy organizing data, was taken aback upon hearing this and quickly brought up the operation interface: "Ah, that's right! You not only completed the training for the purple mech level, but also broke the control record for the purple mech, so you can get cumulative rewards."

His finger slid rapidly across the screen. "A total of 13,500 contribution points. In terms of resources, you can enjoy a 30% discount on the standard association mech, or purchase rare metals at a 10% discount."

Gula nodded slightly, his long, slender fingers tapping rhythmically on the control panel. After a moment, he spoke, "The custom-made mecha isn't needed for now. However..."

He paused, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, "Can I purchase the relevant blueprints?"

He discovered at the Spirit Tower that their research on advanced mechs was far less in-depth than Shrek Academy's.

The Spirit Pagoda's research focuses on soul spirits; mechs are at most peripheral defensive technologies. The core high-level members are all Battle Armor Masters, and they won't be distracted by researching mechs; they'll just use what's available.

Shrek Academy's mecha technology, especially the combination of soul tools and mecha, is what he truly needs.

The teaching assistant pulled up the access control list: "It's possible, but according to the rules, students can only purchase blueprints of purple level and below. Black mechs require teacher access, or..." He lowered his voice, "...if you can get a dean to grant you special permission, you can also purchase them."

“I don’t need the black mech,” Gula interrupted bluntly; he only used it for research.

After checking his contribution points balance, Gula said, "First, give me the blueprints for the latest level 5 soul-guided core power furnace, the one with energy compression technology."

"The main weapon needs the blueprints for a detachable soul-guided spear, compatible with both high-frequency vibration and soul power infusion modes. The secondary weapon should have a wrist-mounted hidden soul-guided ray, preferably a three-shot design..."

The teaching assistant frantically took notes, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. When he heard that Gura also wanted "an alloy formula that could slowly repair the machine," he finally couldn't help but look up: "This...this is a secret formula of the association, not for sale to outsiders."

real or fake?

"Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Gula suddenly changed his mind, as if he had thought of something. He continued, "Then let's switch to operating system data that reduces operational latency, and adapt it to the latest version of the mental connection mode."

The teaching assistant grew increasingly alarmed as he listened, his pen trembling slightly: "These modifications... are already close to the standard of a Black-level mecha. Junior, you're only a freshman, there's no need to rush. Let's take it one step at a time."

He wiped his sweat and carefully reminded him, "These blueprints alone cost 800,000 contribution points, enough to buy a standard yellow mech. Do you want to reconsider?"

“Budget is not a problem,” Gula said calmly. He could build ordinary mechs; what he needed was top-of-the-line mech technology.

As for how to pay, he had saved up a lot of spirit-forged metals over the past three years, including a lot of divine alloys with a fusion rate of over 90%, which was enough to pay off the debt.

Instruct Mu Yi to sell the metal. Gula watched as contribution points were deposited into his account, quickly approaching seven figures.

As the transaction completion notification sounded, Gula watched the transfer progress bar with satisfaction. These blueprints would become important pieces in his puzzle to build his own custom mecha.

(End of this chapter)