BATTLE FOR STARS

Lina walked to the side, stripped off her clothes in two quick motions, and casually handed them to a nearby service robot. Without hesitation, she climbed up along the mech’s leg and flipped into the cockpit in a single fluid motion.

After she settled inside, she turned around—only to notice that Ding Yufei was still standing frozen in place.

“What’s wrong? Get on,” Lina said, pointing at the other cockpit.

The three of them had very different expressions.

Ding Yufei looked extremely awkward. Only now did he remember something important—he hadn’t brought the tight-fitting suit he usually wore aboard starships. If he wanted to experience piloting a mech, he would have to climb in naked like Lina.

Belina looked a bit embarrassed as well. Lina had stripped without the slightest hesitation, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

For Lina, who often fought in competitions and regularly trained in the nude, it really wasn’t a big deal. But for Belina, who had just come from Earth, it felt very strange.

Little Chubby’s reaction was the most complicated.

His face turned red, clearly embarrassed—but his eyes kept sneaking glances at Lina.

It had to be said, Lina’s body was excellent. As a mech fighter, her training regimen naturally focused on strength, flexibility, and neural responsiveness. Her physique was well-defined, powerful, and perfectly balanced.

In Belina’s imagination, a kid like Little Chubby—someone from the lower levels—should have been used to everything. He should have seen plenty of things like this in virtual games.

So she didn’t understand why he was reacting so strongly.

But what Belina didn’t know was that Little Chubby’s life over the past few years had been extremely difficult.

The money left by his father had barely covered his lodging. He often couldn’t even afford enough food. He was too young to legally work, and without income, survival itself was a struggle.

After learning a couple of small tricks, he could barely make a living by setting up a street stall in the slave district.

Even during the carnival season, when more customers appeared and earnings increased slightly, he only made a few Latir per day at most. And even that had to be split with the “partner” he worked with.

So he had no money for virtual entertainment, let alone anything more indulgent.

For Little Chubby, even if he had occasionally seen exposed images in public broadcasts, none of it could compare to the impact of seeing Lina in front of him in reality.

That said, he was already fifteen years old. It would be impossible to say he had no reaction at all.

But Lina, inside the cockpit, didn’t notice his expression in the slightest. She was used to this kind of situation.

Her attention was focused entirely on Ding Yufei.

“Ding Yufei, just take your clothes off and get in,” Lina’s voice came from above.

“Lina, do you have... a combat suit? Like a pilot suit?” Ding Yufei asked while gesturing awkwardly.

It was clearly uncomfortable for him to enter the cockpit completely naked.

“Huh?” Lina froze for a moment.

She hadn’t expected that to be the reason he wasn’t moving.

To her, it wasn’t even a problem.

“We don’t have what you’re talking about,” she replied loudly.

She knew what a combat suit was, but that was something used by the military. She had never seen mech fighters use one.

Then she noticed Ding Yufei’s hesitation.

“How about this,” Lina said. “I’ll demonstrate how to sync with the cockpit. After I complete the fusion and the hatch closes, you can come up.”

In Lina’s mind, Ding Yufei’s hesitation wasn’t about nudity itself—it was about being watched by others.

After all, the other two were a close companion and a young boy. There didn’t seem to be any real reason for embarrassment.

Inside the cockpit, Lina sat down and put on her helmet.

“Pay attention. Once the helmet is on, a yellow indicator light will turn on. When it lights up, you lie down. Then press the button above your head.”

As she spoke, she lay back.

The cockpit sealed shut.

Mechanical tendrils extended, attaching themselves across her body. Then a viscous, foam-like fluid began to fill the chamber.

Ding Yufei turned his head slightly and noticed Belina watching him with a half-smile, as if finding the situation amusing.

Seeing Lina fully enclosed inside the cockpit, Ding Yufei could only let out a helpless sigh.

If he didn’t remove his clothes, he couldn’t experience the mech.

After thinking for a moment, he finally gave up resisting and quickly undressed.

After all, opportunities like piloting a real mech didn’t come often.

Besides, there weren’t many people around.

His hesitation wasn’t about morality—it was simply that he wasn’t used to being naked like this.

What he didn’t realize was that Lina could actually see everything through the helmet’s system inside the cockpit.

But at this point, he didn’t have time to think about that.

He climbed into the mech, entered the cockpit, put on the helmet as instructed, and pressed the activation button after the yellow light came on.

All systems initialized successfully.

For Ding Yufei, the cockpit felt very similar to the starship simulator he was used to.

The only difference was this time, the visuals were real, not simulated.

Another key difference was feedback.

A real mech’s movements carried physical force—far more intense than any stationary simulator, especially during jumps, rolls, or rapid acceleration.

“Alright, we’re starting,” Lina’s voice echoed in his ear.

“Got it.”

“Since you’ve used a simulator before, this should be easy. The main differences are just fine control adjustments. Try moving around a bit first.”

“Alright.”

Ding Yufei took a few steps, then lightly jumped a couple of times.

Everything felt smooth.

“Not bad,” Lina said. “I didn’t expect you to adapt this quickly.”

“Let’s move to actual combat training.”

She pointed toward a nearby lift platform.

“Go over there. It’ll take us directly to the arena.”

“Understood.”

Ding Yufei walked toward it easily.

The mech’s movement perfectly mimicked human motion, fluid and responsive.

Soon, both mechs were transported down into the training arena.

The space was significantly smaller than the gladiator center—less than half the size—but still large enough for basic combat practice.

“I’m going to attack now,” Lina said.

“Wait,” Ding Yufei quickly interrupted. “How do I use the engine burst function?”

This was the biggest difference compared to the starship training simulator.

Fighter craft did have similar functions, but his training system had only simulated humanoid robots, not combat aircraft.

Back then, everyone assumed this humanoid training system was already too difficult for him.

He hadn’t undergone specialized training, genetic enhancement, or stimulant conditioning.

But later, they discovered something surprising:

Ding Yufei had mastered the system far beyond expectations.