Chapter Twenty-Three: The Premature Weapon — The Secret of Mingchuan

"Mingchuan, time to get up." Early in the morning, Wenxin called out Mingchuan's name, almost as if she were about to add "dear" at the end.

"I've been up for a while," Mingchuan replied, sounding quite annoyed, "if only you weren't clinging to me."

"Sorry!" Wenxin stuck out her tongue playfully. "But you could have pushed me away, you know."

"How could I push you away," Mingchuan grumbled, "when even my hands were pinned under you? You really don't have the best sleeping posture." Though he complained, in truth, Mingchuan suspected Wenxin did this deliberately so he wouldn't be able to secretly investigate her background while she slept.

"Sorry about that, but you could just wake me up, couldn't you?"

"I didn't want to wake you," Mingchuan's tone suddenly turned teasing, "because only then could I admire your face without feeling embarrassed."

At that, Wenxin's cheeks flushed scarlet. "What are you saying? Hurry up and get out of bed!" ("What do I do? Am I blushing? If I don't control myself, I'll give everything away...")

"Alright, I'll go brush my teeth first. I'll make breakfast for you in a bit."

"What? Isn't breakfast something you grab from the cafeteria?"

"Of course not," he replied, his words interspersed with a jumble of sounds. "Anyway, go wash up—breakfast will be ready soon."

As they ate breakfast, Mingchuan and Wenxin's watches suddenly beeped. On the other end came the Earl's voice: "Are you two having breakfast?"

"Is something wrong, Lord Earl?" Wenxin asked.

"Nothing urgent. The new mechs you requested are ready. Just letting you know to come pick them up later."

Wenxin was puzzled. "Weren't the new mechs supposed to be finished next week?"

"I don't know why either, but apparently they were completed yesterday. No need to overthink it—just come by." With that, the call ended abruptly. Mingchuan guessed the Earl had hung up so quickly out of reluctance to face him.

After breakfast, the teams from the Turkish military district gathered in the research center's exhibition hall, where Tyron Taylor stood beside the mechs.

"Greetings, everyone," Tyron and his team greeted Mingchuan and his companions with gentlemanly courtesy. Mingchuan, however, strode ahead to shake hands with each of them. Tyron noticed Mingchuan seemed to slip him something during the handshake.

"Alright then, choose the upgraded mechs according to your preferences. If you want to switch to a different model, that’s fine, too," Tyron said, clutching the item Mingchuan gave him tightly, afraid anyone else might notice.

"It looks like my new knight mech has three evolutionary forms: the Dragon Knight focuses on attack, the Light Knight boosts speed and agility," Mingchuan mused, hesitating as he examined the last model, "while the Heavy Knight comes with a shield—so that's the defense upgrade."

After inspecting the object, Tyron sidled up to Mingchuan and whispered, "So... which one are you going to choose?"

"A knight only attacks and never retreats. I want the strongest offense."

"Then you're going with the Dragoon," Tyron smiled. "I agree with your choice."

"What about you, Enert and Colt? Which will you pick?"

"I'll go with the same as you!" Enert declared.

"Not me. Speed is the true mark of a man."

"So, you're a one-second wonder."

"Go die, you jerk!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Tyron tried to calm them. "Save the banter for later. Right now, shouldn't we focus on taking down that giant?"

"Alright, all teams assemble!" Enert, the seasoned veteran, shouted, "Next target—take down the Giant of Ankara!"

——Author’s Note——

Your diligent student-knight reporting in. In the next chapter, just how will our Ankara Giant be defeated? Stay tuned for Chapter Twenty... Five. The Dragoon’s weapon has been improved—a finishing move: EX Curry Stick (I've just been watching the Fate series lately...)