First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 209
Chapter 209: Moshi
After returning to the base, no one mentioned Cornell and Harry again. It was as if only their small group had gone to the port in the first place.
Zhao Zhuoluo and the others repeatedly pressed for answers, but were always evaded. Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said he had his own thoughts and would explain when there were results.
After failing to get answers multiple times, they tactfully stopped asking.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger gave them ample adjustment time and didn't assign them any tasks for now. He instructed them to resume training on their own after adjusting their condition to prepare for returning to duty.
As for methods, they were the most familiar with those themselves. Hundred Meter Flying Dagger didn't assign any instructors. These days passed unusually leisurely.
Fang Jianchen, having played too much ball at the port, felt restless all over after stopping training. So he spent his days dragging Zhao Zhuoluo and the others along to relieve his energy.
Unfortunately, when they played ball, others were either training, on duty, or on leave, so they couldn't gather extra teammates. It was always just the four of them—not even enough for three-on-three—making the games particularly dull.
Moreover, the other three teammates had varying skill levels and little enthusiasm for basketball. Zhao Zhuoluo and Ye Buqing clearly had an attitude of just humoring him, their listlessness blatantly evident in their running posture.
Cheng Ze's mouth was too venomous—he loved mocking Fang Jianchen, making it hard to feel any sense of achievement.
With such a lineup, even if someone suddenly pulled off some miraculous move, only Fang Jianchen would be cheering excitedly—utterly meaningless.
The vast sports field couldn't contain his fragile, depressed little heart.
Fang Jianchen lamented that basketball was indeed a team sport—it required not just teammates but also fans.
So he switched to street basketball.
Those playing near the Sixth Army were usually students or amateurs with varying skill levels, but the audience was very supportive. Fang Jianchen quickly became popular there. Seeing him enjoying himself playing alone, Zhao Zhuoluo went off to find other things to do instead of fooling around with him.
Ye Buqing took a liking to the tennis court next door. Cheng Ze decided to use this golden opportunity to pursue a relationship that wouldn't end in breakup.
In the end, all four of them failed.
Zhao Zhuoluo couldn't find a small team to play with for the time being.
Lian Sheng was buried in cultural classes with the tech trio. She was determined to learn how to drive herself, fulfilling her grand ambition of transitioning from someone who could only get carsick to someone who could make others carsick.
The soldiers on duty wouldn't even talk to him. The 29th District had strict jurisdiction—the moment he approached dangerous border areas, he was dragged away for a lecture to ensure his personal safety.
Ye Buqing couldn't find suitable opponents on the other side of the wall.
Tennis players with practice and decent skills didn't like coming here to crush amateurs. Those who stayed only wanted to jump around and stretch their limbs. Ye Buqing was accused of severely damaging their confidence and disrupting neighborhood harmony, getting expelled from the court.
The youngsters refused to befriend him.
As for Cheng Ze... he saw reality clearly.
Cheng Ze couldn't understand how frontline soldiers managed to get girlfriends and enter marriage. After all, having a boyfriend who could die at any moment was such a distressing thing, and girls who could bear that psychological weight were truly rare.
Look at Hundred Meter Flying Dagger—still single at his age. Look at Liliana—still single at her...
Cheng Ze suddenly realized that if his life continued like this, he'd end up alone.
Could he really only use his not-so-considerable family assets and his children's college entrance exam bonus points as bait to seduce someone?
Fang Jianchen simply felt... it was boring.
The group reached a shared conclusion.
The world needed peace! Only in peacetime could entertainment flourish!
So after slacking off for a few days, they all rolled back to their individual training.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger, feeling fatigued after reviewing documents, went out for his daily exercise—a jog around the field.
Entering the sports ground, he saw Fang Jianchen quietly standing off to the side, practicing throwing drills.
Alone and solitary, the little figure looked somewhat pitiful.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger jogged over and asked, "Not playing basketball? What are you practicing? Switching to baseball?"
Fang Jianchen: "...Baseball my ass! I'm doing serious work! Can't you see these are grenade throws? Grenade throws!"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger sensed it: "I feel the explosive momentum."
Fang Jianchen kept practicing his throws and said, "Cornell taught me this. That kid, huh."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger didn't respond.
Fang Jianchen stopped and asked, "What exactly is Cornell doing over there? What does the Alliance plan to do?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger raised his eyebrows and evaded: "He's doing big things!"
"Oh—" Fang Jianchen suddenly got excited. "I knew it, Brother Dao! What big things? Why not tell us? You can't be like this."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger whispered, "I can tell you, but you can't tell anyone else, including Zhao Zhuoluo and the others. Can you do that?"
Fang Jianchen said, "Of course!"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger thought for a moment, then shook his head. "They're your best brothers. I don't believe you."
"But I have to follow orders too! I'm a soldier!" Fang Jianchen said. "My trust in them doesn't change my loyalty to the organization! I absolutely obey my superiors' commands!"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said, "Exactly. Me too."
Fang Jianchen: "Huh?"
After circling back, he understood Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's meaning and pouted in disappointment.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said, "If you're really that bored, I can assign you a mission."
Fang Jianchen asked excitedly, "What is it?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "Help me write reports. Experience the pain of leadership."
Fang Jianchen turned and mimed throwing a grenade at Hundred Meter Flying Dagger, who playfully ran away.
The two messed around by the field for a while until Hundred Meter Flying Dagger's exercise time was up and he decided to head back.
"It's so boring—no one plays with me," Fang Jianchen chased after him. "Really, assign me a mission. I'm already adjusted."
"In a couple of days." Hundred Meter Flying Dagger ran off, waving. "Young people shouldn't be so impatient!"
For them, vacation days were indeed a bit dull.
Meanwhile, Lian Sheng was deeply immersed in her studies, living a very fulfilling life. As reward for her efforts, her driving career achieved spectacular results that drew universal attention.
The military had no shortage of daredevil drivers—more often, it was involuntary physiological reactions in emergencies. Under the influence of this large group, Lian Sheng successfully ascended as the new king. Her recklessness far exceeded the average, with the number of simulated buildings and living targets she'd crashed into enough to circle the Alliance—and still breaking records.
For trips over three kilometers, her accident rate was 100%.
No one dared surpass her yet.
This data shocked everyone. They couldn't believe someone could pilot a mech but not drive a car. What kind of outrageous operation was this?
Cheng Ze marveled, "You're not a daredevil driver—you're a driver of the damned! A direct ride to hell!"
Lu Mingyuan patted his chest and said, "As long as I have breath in me, I won't trouble you to drive."
Ji Ban said seriously, "...You should just give up. Driving is hard. The Alliance requires ten years of experience before you can hit the road. And it's exhausting."
Zhou Shirui: "Why must you pursue extremes? Driving isn't about slamming brakes and drifting at every turn."
The scene was beyond their ability to imitate.
After observing, Hundred Meter Flying Dagger sighed, "We can't let you drive anything but heavy armor—otherwise, you wouldn't even make it out of our military base."
A weapons developer stroked his chin: "In a way, it's a new kind of weapon. Maybe we could develop this."
His colleague said, "A suicide weapon? Let's not."
"Simulation and reality are different. I'm a performance-based player," Lian Sheng said. "Believe in me, everyone. Support me. Long live friendship!"
Fang Jianchen: "Friendship? Doesn't exist."
Zhao Zhuoluo: "...Only martyrs live forever."
Lian Sheng sighed: "I'm so disappointed in you all."
They felt the same!
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger pushed them along: "If you're really that bored, go out and help with work. See all those volunteer jobs on the streets? What are you learning to drive for? Big kid's toy cars? Isn't living happily enough? You'll have missions in a few days—stop making trouble here."
Everyone waited patiently for his so-called mission.
Ji Ban's Moshi had been stored at the Sixth Army for repairs after being damaged.
They went to Kafa and the port first according to schedule. During this long period, Ji Ban received no news about Moshi. Returning to the 29th District and still not seeing his beloved mech made him briefly suspect the Alliance had confiscated it.
Fortunately, the mech repairs were handled by Ms. Lin Lie, who remained at the military base.
Ji Ban went to ask and was told the mech's exterior was fully repaired, but there were still some connection issues with the control hub. They were making final data adjustments.
Ji Ban was puzzled. The control hub hadn't been a problem before—the repairs were for components and joints. The hub involved the entire mech's operational system, and only the pilot had the final say. Others' modifications might not suit him.
Ji Ban panicked, worried the research institute had seen his messy code and made revisions or, curious about hand-operated mechs, done something irreversible—then spent the following time fixing mistakes... upon mistakes.
Lian Sheng comforted him—Ms. Lin Lie had brains. And she was genuinely busy. Maybe she'd set it aside halfway when he didn't return.
Two days later, Ji Ban's mech was finally ready.
Lin Lie came out from the research institute and arranged for him to pick it up at noon.
Ji Ban, having not slept all night, excitedly jumped out of bed early and rallied the group: "Get up, get up! Come see my new mech!"
The crowd was enthusiastic. They lined up behind him and headed to the base's rear to inspect the mech.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger set aside work and brought testing equipment to record data and assess initial performance.
Lin Lie led them into a room—but not the armory where mechs were stored.
She turned on the lights, pointed to a square console ahead, and stepped aside: "Go try it."
The group: "..."
Cheng Ze exclaimed, "It shrank this much? My god! The size is wrong!"
Fang Jianchen said, "Too much, Alliance. Skimping on kids' materials. And this is so half-assed."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger knocked their heads: "Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. This is the research institute's latest masterpiece. A technological revolution with epoch-making significance after overcoming countless obstacles. But due to system size and signal transmission paths, it can only be tested on hand-operated mechs."
Lian Sheng was also shocked: "Can it enlarge? Or retract? That amazing? Can you carry it around at this size?"
Everyone looked at her.
Zhao Zhuoluo: "...You might watch too much TV. That's obviously against physics."
Ji Ban stepped forward and activated the console.
The screen lit up as the hub began reading data. Then side screens rose, displaying the familiar full-view perspective—the mech's omnidirectional view.
In the cockpit, this was what he saw firsthand. Now, it was clearly transmitted data.
Ji Ban peeked out to confirm, then ducked back in. He tried moving the mech's limbs, but nothing happened.
Ji Ban made a puzzled noise and looked at Lin Lie. He summoned all the code to check if commands had been altered.
Lin Lie spoke into her communicator: "Open A3 port. Mech preparing for launch."
Following her command, the door in front of the mech's view lifted. The angle tilted slightly upward as the mech's base was raised.
Ji Ban checked the small screen's corner—a 3D display of the mech's current status.
Lin Lie: "Release locks. Prepare for activation."
Moshi took two steps forward, moving normally.
This was Ji Ban's first time getting full data from a screen without physical feedback like weightlessness. Unaccustomed, he paused to recheck the 3D display before continuing.
Outside, faint "thuds" grew louder.
Lian Sheng rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains. An exit from the armory ahead slowly opened, and a mech walked out.
The group pressed against the glass to look.
"Whoa—" they gasped. "A drone?!"
Ji Ban cheered: "Wow—!"
The group: "Ooooh—!!"
Ji Ban: "Oh—!"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "..."
Bunch of idiots.
The researchers stood proudly nearby, pleased with their reaction.
The realization of remote operation technology could minimize casualties while keeping the control hub in the safest location, with the mech merely executing commands. Even if captured, enemies couldn't obtain core data—its significance needed no elaboration.
But it had always faced insurmountable technical limitations, with drawbacks as glaring as its benefits, like a wall blocking mech development.
Everyone had this idea but only fantasized. Various countries experimented, but none had announced breakthroughs.
The complexities were real.
First, signal transmission.
How to ensure effective signal transmission during remote operation? If data transfer was intercepted mid-battle, it'd be gifting a mech to the enemy—the most ridiculous move in war history.
No one could truly gauge opponents' signal-jamming and anti-reconnaissance levels, making such tragedies impossible to prevent. This meant mechs' anti-jamming tech had to constantly update. Only nations with cutting-edge anti-jamming could attempt remote ops.
Additionally, data transfer speed was crucial. In war, every microsecond counted. If signals lagged unexpectedly... things got interesting.
Second, command functionality.
Drone tech typically couldn't support overly complex, variable weapons.
Mechs weren't simple drones—they couldn't rely on basic attack commands. They were precious, deployed with retrieval in mind.
Moreover, if pilots weren't at the battlefront, their adaptability to changing circumstances and environmental feedback would lag.
That urgency couldn't be simulated.
Fang Jianchen rushed back and squeezed before the control screen: "Are all functions intact?"
Ji Ban pushed him: "You're blocking my view!"
Fang Jianchen: "Your screen's blocking our admiring view!"
Ji Ban: "Wait, let me check properly!"
Lu Mingyuan approached Lin Lie respectfully: "What's Moshi's effective remote control range?"
Lin Lie: "Moshi has its own signal transceiver, achieving full anti-jamming within 100 kilometers. Final testing isn't done. Without jamming, relying on urban signals for transmission, range is unlimited."
100 kilometers was still short for large battlefields, but usually enough to position the control hub safely away from combat zones while giving Moshi ample mobility.
The compact console allowed easy relocation. They could use other transport to coordinate Moshi's movements for remote mission handovers.
Lu Mingyuan: "Only hand-operated mechs work?"
Lin Lie nodded: "Currently, yes. Sensor mechs' data transfer is unique—security can't be guaranteed, especially with how sensors operate. They can't leave the cockpit."
Lu Mingyuan: "Oh! Can I see the data?"
Lin Lie: "Not yet. Testing is about to start."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger clapped: "Stop gawking! Ji Ban, take your mech for data tests now. Follow the red dots on the map—start with speed and strength tests in the wasteland out back. Lu Mingyuan, you're still on assistant duty. Get your notebooks ready."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger found Ji Ban a spacious area for various operations to test performance and adapt to the new control method.
Ji Ban was both excited and unfamiliar. Remote operation felt like gaming.
Though hand-operated and sensor mechs differed—less reliant on physical feedback—piloting required constant monitoring of the 3D model for command adjustments. Without the bumpy sensation on slopes or the weightless pressure when climbing, it felt odd.
Ji Ban worked hard to adapt. After over two years without similar command operations, he got the hang of it in just days.
With solid fundamentals and Moshi's functions unchanged by Lin Lie, he progressed quickly.
Seeing Ji Ban's proficiency and the others' physical conditions back to standard after adjustments, Hundred Meter Flying Dagger assigned them a combat mission.
Their first official mission with the Expeditionary Force.
"The Expeditionary Force lacks mech pilots and mechs. You've all experienced frontline combat—we don't have time for more adaptation. Deploy with the army now!" Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "Besides Moshi, we can provide two mechs—no choices: one sniper, one recon."
Recon undoubtedly went to Ye Buqing. Lian Sheng and Fang Jianchen could compete for the sniper.
The two instantly locked onto each other, fists clenched, radiating killing intent.
Fang Jianchen smirked: "Stick to commanding, Commander. We can't do without you."
Lian Sheng: "Not mutually exclusive, thanks."
"So? Decision made? Fight for it?" Cheng Ze eagerly said, "Actually, I'm decent with Fengyi too. Speed's manageable."
"Don't mess around." Hundred Meter Flying Dagger opted for history's fairest method, telling Lian Sheng and Fang Jianchen: "Rock-paper-scissors!"
The two prepared. The crowd held their breath.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger shouted: "Go!"
They played.
Rock vs. paper. Fang Jianchen screamed in triumph.
Lian Sheng rubbed her fist: "Boss, you're my boss. A boss who never pays wages."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger favored her: "Best of three."
Fang Jianchen: "What the hell?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger urged: "Hurry!"
Again, rock vs. paper.
Lian Sheng: "What the hell?"
Fang Jianchen couldn't help but laugh to the skies: "Hahaha!"
"Boss!" Lian Sheng fumed. "My mom's watching! Her contributions to the Sixth Army, her great service to the entire Alliance..."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger relented: "Fine, one last chance! Best of five!"
Fang Jianchen howled: "No way! I didn't agree!"
"I'll make it up to you later, Brother Dao. Give the girl a break, alright?" Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said exasperatedly. "With backdoor privileges this blatant, don't be such a coward."
The openly rigged third round.
Damn it—still rock vs. paper.
Lian Sheng was stunned.
Was her luck this rotten lately?
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger looked at her disdainfully: "Hopeless. A lost cause. Take the L."
Fang Jianchen laughed: "Thanks for conceding!"
Lian Sheng: "...Indeed, only martyrs live forever."
Since war hadn't officially broken out, their mission wasn't too hard.
Mostly, they piloted mechs to designated areas to flaunt their presence, showing off their mechs for intimidation.
But internal Alliance conflicts were unavoidable.
When local garrisons couldn't suppress unrest promptly, they had to minimize losses and control enemy advances.
Most battles were urban, requiring precise mech control. Ji Ban handled most of this.
Or they disguised themselves to meddle in conflicts at the Alliance-Gelen border.
With two mechs, the group began a hectic journey based on orders.
They visited scorching, breathless deserts and freezing, immobile ice fields.
Eventually realizing they'd been born in the most fortunate place.
The Expeditionary Force wasn't as glamorous as imagined—often, they were disheveled. With rare proper vacations and constant encounters with odd people, switching between grandson and grandpa roles, mental resilience had to be maxed.
Over half a year since returning from the port, no one brought it up. But two names weighed on their hearts.
Those who knew the truth, or didn't but refused to accept reality.
One day, dressed in heavy uniforms after suppressing an armed riot at the Alliance border, they patrolled the city with local troops.
A short video suddenly played on a mall screen downtown.
The voice was familiar.
Lian Sheng instinctively halted. The others looked up, stunned.
Cornell's long-unseen face appeared before them.
He coldly accused, as if reciting a speech about unrelated matters.
Cornell said: "During my service in the Alliance, I suffered ruthless oppression. I received no proper treatment, education, insurance, or subsidies, was forced into labor without discharge rights... I thank General Barite for rescuing me from the Alliance..."
The group was baffled.
Harry's only choice was whether to stay with Maxwell. Maxwell couldn't plausibly say, "For Cornell's sake, let him come with me." Too insincere.
So when Cornell said, "I won't let you go alone," he knew the Alliance didn't need him and didn't stop Harry, choosing to follow instead.
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