Qin Zheng hesitated for a moment, but ultimately turned back to walk towards the Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02.
It would only take a little time to help it flip over, and it posed no danger to him.
"More friends, more paths..."
Qin Zheng comforted himself inwardly, maneuvering the PS-01 to circle the Sabertooth Tiger twice, bending down to inspect it, quickly understanding the issue.
This Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02 had too many steel plates attached by Zhu Fugui. The recent battle had caused the armor on its back to fall apart, and an explosion had flipped it over. The protruding steel plate on its back was stuck in a crack in the ground, preventing it from turning over.
"Brother, Iron-boned Zheng Ge, you're the righteous one, thank you for saving me, Old Zhu owes you a life!"
The Sabertooth Tiger's loudspeaker activated, and Zhu Fugui's slightly tearful voice came from inside the cockpit.
"Alright, it's nothing major, just the steel plate on your back stuck in the ground. Once I cut through that plate, you'll be able to flip over on your own."
As he finished speaking, Qin Zheng maneuvered the PS-01 back two steps, drew the Ship-Cleaving Blade, pivoted on his right leg, and swung the blade!
The five-meter-long massive Ship-Cleaving Blade swept across the ground like a howling gale, slicing through the steel plate stuck in the ground amidst Zhu Fugui's screams!
Without the constraint of the steel plate, the Sabertooth Tiger HS2-02 finally flipped over and stood up!
"Zheng Ge, you're like a brother to me, your swordsmanship is incredible! If you had swung half a meter higher, your brother here would have been split in two."
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
"Don't worry, don't worry, I've put my trust in you, Zheng Ge, your moves are simply unbeatable!"
"Alright, enough with the gratitude, we need to speed up, or we might not make it to the airfield in three hours."
"You're right, Zheng Ge, let's go!"
Neither of them hesitated, one with excellent control, the other with a well-performing mecha, they quickly picked up speed.
"Zheng Ge, is that Engineering 04 up ahead? That SOB didn't even look back at me just to run a few more steps himself, serves him right for being slow, at this pace, he'll make it to the airfield in three hours? Dream on!"
Qin Zheng adjusted his breathing, not responding. This was the biggest drawback of his Motion-Capture Mecha; when running fast, he needed to concentrate fully, adjusting his breathing and bodily movements, leaving no time for chatting.
Zhu Fugui, sitting in the cockpit, just pressed the forward button and naturally kept talking non-stop.
"Zheng Ge, why aren't you talking? It's fine, you can just listen to me."
"When we catch up to that Engineering 04, how about I break its left leg completely?"
"Just can't stand that bastard, always causing trouble along the way, and betting against you, Zheng Ge!"
"Damn! Yeah! He hasn't even paid after placing his bet!"
"If he doesn't make it to the transport ship, how will he pay up?"
"Zheng Ge, when we catch up, should we stop to check on that Engineering 04?"
"Forget it, that guy's too much trouble."
The man and the tiger raced across the mining field, looking impressive from afar, but up close, you'd see the humanoid mecha running silently while the chubby tiger beside it chattered incessantly.
But despite the talk, both were actually sprinting at full speed, with no intention of stopping. They quickly overtook the limping Engineering 04.
Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04: Wait for me! Wait for me!
Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04: Damn it, didn't the Sabertooth Tiger and Bedrock hear me?
Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04: You two are running so fast, take me with you! Damn!
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander) muted Engineering Heavy Mech QB-04's transmissions.
Qianji QJ-05 (Commander): 2 hours and 45 minutes left.
No one spoke again in the communication channel, everyone trying their best to move at full speed.
The chubby guy beside Qin Zheng, who had been chattering non-stop, also shut his mouth, quietly operating the Sabertooth Tiger to sprint.
As Qin Zheng ran, he felt a bit of regret. If he had known earlier, he would have added more experience points to Grass Skimming Flight. Now, running felt a bit uncoordinated.
Perhaps he could run fine on the ground himself, but now operating a humanoid mecha with only 78% synchronization, running was a bit challenging.
Without a dashboard in front of him, Qin Zheng had no idea of his speed or how long it would take to reach the airfield. He could only see his teammates' positions on the mecha's control panel, roughly estimating the direction to ensure he didn't run off course.
Using the Breathing Technique to adjust his breathing, Qin Zheng gritted his teeth and pressed on, moving quickly forward.
Two hours later, Qin Zheng gradually slowed down, and the Sabertooth Tiger that had been keeping pace with him also slowed down.
"What's up, Zheng Ge, why are you slowing down?"
"Huff... huff... catching my breath..."
Qin Zheng felt like his lungs were about to explode. Today was equivalent to running for nearly six hours, plus a small-scale skirmish. Even with his strong physique, he felt exhausted.
Fortunately, he could now see the airfield in the distance, along with the towering Noah Packhorse-class Civilian Transport Ship. They were definitely going to make it.
"Wow, Zheng Ge, so you do get tired. I thought after taking the Gene Serum, you wouldn't feel fatigue..."
"Huff... Gene... Gene Serum?"
"Yeah! Nowadays, if you want to strengthen your body to withstand the impact of mecha braking, the best way is to take a Gene Serum, directly improving physical fitness. The only downside is it can cause nerve paralysis, reducing sensation by 50%-80%."
"Doesn't that mean... you wouldn't feel pain if you got cut?"
"Haha, yeah, there's a joke about it, right? A guy took three doses of Gene Serum, thought he was invincible! Ended up eating so much he didn't feel full, and literally ate himself to death."
Qin Zheng tugged at the corners of his mouth inside the mecha. Such a grim joke, he really couldn't laugh.
"Isn't self-training just as effective for improving physical fitness?"
"Ha, these days, who wants to endure that hardship? Just take a shot and be done with it. If you're afraid of losing sensation, get a more expensive one, or dilute the dose. Training? That would take a lifetime!"
Qin Zheng fell silent, feeling the Breathing Technique channeling energy into his body with each breath, slowly restoring his fatigued body.
And the soreness in his leg muscles from overusing Grass Skimming Flight, these gave him a sense of reality. Perhaps this was the true meaning the Ancient Martial Arts System brought him. Compared to the so-called Gene Serum, he preferred to trust the body he trained himself.
At 2 hours and 37 minutes, Qin Zheng and Zhu Fugui finally reached the airfield. They entered the transport ship one after the other, parked their mechas, and climbed out of the cockpits.
A burly one-eyed man walked over, his gaze sweeping over the two before settling on Qin Zheng:
"PS-01?"
Qin Zheng nodded:
"That's me."
"Well done, I'm Du Peng, leader of the BL-3-79 Squad, everyone calls me One-Eye. In the future, when you take on missions, if you see my squad, consider joining us first. Once you're in the squad, I've got your back."