It should be noted that the energy engines of this era are vastly different from the various fuel engines used before humanity entered space. The invention of highly compressed solid energy, high-capacity energy batteries, and ultra-light alloy micro kinetic energy pods has brought about a revolutionary change in engines—a heavy engine made of ultra-light alloy can be carried away by a single person. The weight of a mech lies entirely in its armor; no one would be extravagant enough to use expensive superalloys for the surface armor of ground combat mechs. Except for the anti-gravity devices—which require enormous energy and, due to technological limitations, remain bulky and heavy—ordinary power units have been fully miniaturized, yet the power they generate is dozens or even hundreds of times greater than before.

Then, William Carter installed the various undamaged instruments he had found inside the cockpit. He still used the Gacharin Empire’s [Holy Armor 22] individual mech control system, except the computer had been dismantled by him, and all controls and instruments were converted to manual operation. At the base of the two mechanical legs of the imperial individual armor, he added six automatic retractable mechanical legs, which could be stowed inside the mech’s abdomen when not in use, making them completely unnoticeable.

The missile launchers on both sides of the mech, resembling wings, were modified by him into jet-assisted propulsion devices. This was William Carter’s proudest modification—after all, there were no missiles to use, and the exterior remained unchanged. The only difference was that missiles could no longer be automatically loaded during combat.

The energy shield gave Big Guy a lot of trouble. Without an energy shield, this mech—which had sacrificed all offensive capabilities and most of its external armor—would be destroyed by a single shot. However, the special requirements for installing the energy shield made Big Guy rack his brains. In the end, he barely managed to create a small, inconspicuous “rabbit tail” at the back of the mech, which served as the energy shield’s transmission probe. Not stopping there, Big Guy also added a backup probe between the two mechanical legs. As he worked, this rascal grinned foolishly at the two female soldiers, making Emily Carter and Olivia Bennett both exasperated and amused, wanting nothing more than to split open this lecherous Big Guy’s head with an axe to see what was inside.

Soon, the Gacharin Empire’s [Holy Armor 22] individual mech, whose appearance was almost completely unchanged, was finished. Emily Carter and Olivia Bennett were utterly stunned by Big Guy’s dazzling performance—the ingenious yet reasonable modifications, the speed of his flying hands, and his familiarity with every part of the mech’s structure made the two female soldiers hardly believe that this Big Guy was just a mechanical repairman. He could easily be called a mech expert. In his hands, modifying a mech was as easy as a child building with blocks, and to seamlessly integrate instruments and components from the Empire and the Federation—two completely different systems—required such a wealth of knowledge! This unremarkable Big Guy was simply a genius among geniuses! Of course, Big Guy was a genius, but not quite a genius among geniuses. It’s just that when a genius, after more than twenty escapes, has assembled countless bizarre things from these parts, a genius can become a genius among geniuses.

Big Guy would never tell the two female soldiers about these embarrassing escape stories. He truly enjoyed the feeling of being looked at with surprise and admiration. It gave his vanity immense satisfaction.

The remaining problems were energy and finding an opportunity to escape.

Next to the original Federal Army base, there was still a large block of highly compressed energy buried by William Carter. The hiding place was chosen beneath a large tree whose massive, tangled roots were exposed above the ground. Because the area was covered with ashes and wreckage left by Big Guy’s arson, the new Imperial Army base naturally avoided this spot and instead chose a dense forest south of the jungle, near the original Federal artillery base, as a place to conceal mechs and supplies.

At night, William Carter secretly dug up the energy block and the autocannon, and had the two female soldiers transport the energy block back to the underground hideout. Big Guy decided to create some chaos for the Imperial Army to make his own escape easier.

Using a small cart with bearings as wheels to haul the autocannon, he carefully avoided the Imperial Army patrols, taking a long detour. His method of moving three steps and hiding once took him almost the entire night, but he finally reached a small slope at the southwest corner of the Imperial base. He set up the energy autocannon, aiming it at a row of temporary barracks in the Imperial base. He installed a simple remote control, modified from the remote sensing device in the Imperial [Holy Armor 22] individual mech, and loaded all the broken energy blocks he had collected from the wreckage into the autocannon’s energy magazine.

After finishing all this, Big Guy felt a strange excitement, like a mischievous child after a prank.

“Although I hate killing, I love eating meat even more. Although I love peace, my own life is more precious. If you all die, I’ll still be alive.” After making sure the battlefield recorder had documented his actions, Big Guy snuck back to the underground hideout. Just thinking about the autocannon aimed at that row of barracks made his heart race: “I wonder how many Imperial soldiers I’ll kill. If I can take out two officers, I should at least get a promotion, right?”

By the time he returned to the hideout, it was already four in the morning, with nearly three hours left until dawn. Big Guy rested for a while and decided to act immediately. If he waited any longer and the autocannon was discovered, that would be a real disaster.