One side wanted to turn a small opening into a major gain.
The other wanted to sacrifice what he had to in order to protect the bigger picture and avoid a direct clash for now.
As representatives of their respective powers, neither of them wanted to fight to the bitter end.
Quentin Lin chose the second option almost immediately. He had originally planned to negotiate terms with Eden, but Eden said outright that her phone was almost dead. With only two percent battery left, she wanted an answer. Otherwise, she would stop involving herself in the matter and let it spread through Mecha Girl and human society on its own.
That shamelessly stubborn approach left Quentin Lin with no way out.
He could only curse Ethan Yang under his breath for leaving such a mess behind.
How had he and Ansei Group ended up raising such a bastard?
...
One week later.
The injuries on Ethan Yang's face had healed.
Eden's slap had done more than leave superficial wounds. He had also received the "bonus" of a severe concussion. Even after treatment, he was still somewhat dazed when he and all the Mecha Girls under him were immediately sent into confinement. During the confinement period, he and his Mecha Girls were isolated from one another, forbidden from entering competitions, and cut off from the outside world.
The owner of Crown Club had also changed from Ethan Yang to another Techmaster.
He had been sent over by Ansei Group. His name was Caleb Li, and he was much older than Ethan Yang.
Normally, this kind of confinement punishment would have been a joke.
But after Eden and the Techmasters' Alliance reached their agreement, the Armed Forces Department became fully Mecha Girl-run.
All loopholes and bribery were completely cut off, so Ethan Yang could forget about finding some excuse to slip out. Meanwhile, Falcon brought Crimson and the other Mecha Girls who had suffered in the Sharp Peak Black Market to the medical station Absolute Shadow had prepared in advance.
...
Unlike the pale, clinical style of human hospital rooms, every room in the Mecha Girl medical station was dominated by ocean-like blue, and the windowsills around the beds were filled with green plants.
Sunlight slipped in through the window.
A bee lazily rested in the warm heart of a flower.
Time moved quietly here.
"Blaze, this is your compensation. Please take it."
Absolute Shadow handed the bank card to Crimson on the hospital bed with both hands.
After a week of secret treatment, the cracks on Crimson's face and body had completely disappeared, and she had been moved from the secret ward to a regular one. However, according to the medical Mecha Girls, Crimson still needed to stay here for observation.
Physical injuries were easy enough to handle.
Psychological trauma was the real problem.
Many Mecha Girls who had come out of the Sharp Peak Black Market Duel Arena had developed tendencies toward self-harm and withdrawal.
Although Crimson's emotions seemed fairly stable, no one knew when those hidden psychological issues might erupt. She would only be discharged once they were certain she was completely fine.
Crimson did not take the bank card Absolute Shadow offered her.
Her resolute face still carried a faint sickly pallor. Her brows were slightly furrowed, worry hidden there, but she still managed a faint smile. "Being able to leave that place is already more than lucky enough. Thank you for helping me, but I can't accept this money. If it has to be given to me, please use it to treat the other Mecha Girls instead.
"I heard the Armed Forces Department is now fully Mecha Girl-run, and the management of the black markets will become more comprehensive in the future.
"Wouldn't it be better to invest this money into the Armed Forces Department's medical and logistics reserves?"
"You don't need to worry about that. That's our responsibility." Absolute Shadow offered the bank card again.
But Crimson kept refusing, and in the end, Absolute Shadow could only take it back helplessly.
Improving the Armed Forces Department's medical and logistics reserves would take far more than this amount of money.
This time, Eden had used the incident to win back a round against the Techmasters' Alliance.
But the Techmasters' Alliance was not easy to deal with either.
The Armed Forces Department had indeed become fully Mecha Girl-run, which made it easier to protect the interests of Mecha Girls.
But in exchange, when the armed personnel originally established jointly by the Human Federation and Mecha Island withdrew, they took all the supplies with them. Aside from the armed Mecha Girls from the original units, they left nothing behind. In other words, the Armed Forces Department now managed by Mecha Island had to start almost from scratch, with a severe shortage of resources.
Still, in the long run, this was already a major step forward.
Absolute Shadow thought about it quietly.
After all, winning benefits from those old bastards in the Techmasters' Alliance was no simple thing.
It was just a little unfair to Crimson.
Looking at the girl on the hospital bed, she sighed apologetically.
She felt guilty for failing to secure life imprisonment, or even a harsher punishment, for Ethan Yang.
"Commander, when can I be discharged?"
Crimson's eyes were full of longing.
Her heart was still tied to that person, and she did not know how he was doing.
"You're worried about your pilot, aren't you?" Absolute Shadow sighed. "I already know about what happened between you and Julian Ziliang. Even now, that matter is hard to define clearly, so Julian Ziliang still has to serve his sentence. He's still in prison.
"But don't worry. Ethan Yang has enough trouble of his own right now and has no time to go after Julian Ziliang.
"He caused such a huge mess that once his two months of confinement are over, his superior won't make life easy for him either."
The moment Crimson heard that Julian Ziliang was serving time in prison, she instinctively sat up.
But Absolute Shadow immediately pressed her back down. "Stay here and recover properly. Even if you leave, you won't be able to find him."
"Why?" Crimson asked, confused.
To help Crimson rest and recover with some peace of mind, Absolute Shadow patiently explained, even though there were some things she could not say outright. "Julian Ziliang was taken away by his friends. The entire arrest process was extremely secretive. Only some high-ranking members on the Human Federation's side know about it.
"You need to understand that humans aren't a solid block either. Their emotions are richer than ours, so their social relationships are naturally more complicated. They have many factions too... Besides, you wouldn't be able to rescue him."
Crimson gradually calmed down as well.
With Mecha Island and the Techmasters' Alliance jointly keeping things quiet, her own matter had been set aside for now.
But Julian Ziliang's sentence had not ended.
He was still carrying the charge of attacking a Techmaster as an ordinary pilot.
Even if she could break into prison and rescue Julian Ziliang without harming any of the guards, what would she do about the Human Federation's pursuit afterward?
Besides, such a reckless act would also put Mecha Island's management in a very difficult position.
Absolute Shadow watched the light in Crimson's eyes gradually fade.
A shadow of despair spread through them, and Absolute Shadow could not help but sigh.
"It's not impossible to gain freedom," she said calmly.
Crimson looked up and fixed her eyes tightly on Absolute Shadow's, asking urgently, "What do we need to do?"
"If Julian Ziliang can train a Techmaster, that achievement can offset his crime."
"But..." Crimson froze, unable to understand what Absolute Shadow meant.
How could Julian Ziliang train a Techmaster while he was in prison?
Besides, training a Techmaster was...
"That's impossible, isn't it..." she murmured, lowering her head.
"What's impossible about it?"
Absolute Shadow glanced out the window.
This was the third floor of the treatment center.
Outside was a courtyard, and there was a tree facing the window.
For the past five minutes, a single white ahoge had been swaying behind the dense cluster of potted plants on the windowsill.
The corner of her mouth curved into a smile as she said, "Crimson, while you were cut off from the world, Julian Ziliang made some friends. From now on, you'll be able to use a phone and watch TV, so keep an eye on news about Stella Club."
Crimson looked at the smile on Absolute Shadow's face.
At that moment, she still did not know what Absolute Shadow meant.
But the confidence and hope conveyed through Absolute Shadow's eyes had reached her clearly.
Sunlight gently touched Crimson's face.
In that warm glow, the girl nodded firmly.
"Okay."
...
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