"Is this luck or misfortune?"

Yun Yi gazed at the communicator, which was still emitting signals, feeling utterly vexed. For him, the recent events had been a series of misfortunes.

On his first mission, the entire fleet had been annihilated.

But luckily, he had survived.

The ship was completely destroyed, but the communicator was still functional, and there were even energy cells to power it.

Unfortunately, not only was it difficult to contact the base, but there were also unknown monsters on this planet that harassed him every night.

Now, seven days after landing on this planet, Yun Yi still hadn't managed to contact the base. Although the communicator occasionally broke through the planet's electromagnetic interference to send out signals, he had yet to receive any response. He didn't know whether the base hadn't replied or if the reply had been blocked by the interference.

The most pressing issue for Yun Yi now was food. The last piece of compressed rations had been consumed that morning. If he didn't find a way to obtain some organic matter, he would likely starve to death in a couple of days.

So far, Yun Yi hadn't discovered where the monsters hid during the day. He had thoroughly searched all the hills and mountains on the planet, even finding several rare and valuable mineral deposits, but there was no sign of the monsters.

Could they be hiding underground?

That seemed to be the only possibility. It wasn't like they could have flown here from the sun.

During the day, the monsters were nowhere to be found, but at night, Yun Yi was tormented by their relentless running, unable to sleep. After two days, he changed his routine, sleeping during the day and staying active at night.

For several days, Yun Yi, tormented by the monsters, could only hide inside his mecha at night, cautiously watching the hordes of creatures. He couldn't do anything else, not even his daily martial arts training, which he had never missed before joining the army.

As dusk approached, Yun Yi got out of bed, stretched his body, and climbed into his mecha.

Tonight would be his first hunt on this planet.

Yun Yi knew nothing about the monsters' attack power, defense, or special abilities. The unknown was the most terrifying because he had no idea how the monsters would fight back.

But compared to the threat of the monsters, hunger seemed to be a more pressing fear.

After careful observation over the past few days, Yun Yi noticed that while the monsters mostly moved in groups, at the beginning of the night, a few rogue monsters would wander off alone, away from the main horde.

These solitary monsters would be his targets tonight.

As the sky finally darkened, Yun Yi took a deep breath and swiftly ran his hands over the mecha's control panel. The Red Mane III wasn't the best mecha in the base, but for Yun Yi, a rookie who had just completed his training and entered the battlefield, obtaining such a mecha was something he could hardly have imagined before.

His deep hatred for the government forces had driven him to achieve outstanding results during his training at the base. Especially in combat, while most children his age, who practiced the basic martial arts manual "Wave Breaker" provided by the base, were proud to reach level five, Yun Yi, whose entire family had been slaughtered by the government forces, had pushed himself to reach level six.

It was worth noting that "Wave Breaker" wasn't some secret manual treasured by powerful families. It was merely a simplified and synthesized version of various martial arts techniques, created by experts from the Zhao Song Empire's royal family. It was slow to practice, not particularly powerful, and its only advantage was that it was difficult to cause a practitioner to go berserk.

With his level six warrior status, Yun Yi had earned a place in the Restoration Army and caught the attention of Lord Trensor, commander of the 302nd Fleet, who assigned him to the flagship.

Only then did Yun Yi escape the old, dilapidated mechas used in training and obtain a Red Mane III, which was considered a top-tier mecha in the base. The Red Mane, produced by the Tang Empire's largest mecha company, Weilong Group, had been a best-seller twenty years ago. Although it had been largely phased out in major nations, in remote regions like the Fengzhou Star System, it was still a formidable machine.

To pilot this mecha, one needed at least a level five physique, which deterred most people.

Touching the mecha's control panel, Yun Yi stopped his wandering thoughts, took a deep breath, and pressed the final key.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Instantly, the mecha's back and feet emitted a dazzling light, and with the help of the anti-gravity device, the mecha shot into the sky like a reverse red meteor.

From his observations over the past few days, Yun Yi had noticed that the monsters on this planet were all land-based, and the skies were safe, with no flying creatures. His plan was to hover in the air and look for a lone monster far from the main horde, then kill it!

Floating at an altitude of five thousand meters, Yun Yi activated the scanner and waited silently.

Before the battle, Yun Yi instinctively grasped the necklace around his chest. His rapidly beating heart gradually calmed, and he became like a skilled hunter, calmly facing his prey.

On the ground, groups of monsters began to roam.

Looking at the solitary monster wandering not far from the Thunderclap, Yun Yi's lips curled into a cold smile.

The monsters were terrifying, but Yun Yi, filled with boundless fighting spirit, seemed even more frightening.

The nearest horde to this monster was hundreds of kilometers away. This was definitely an excellent target.

Confirming his target, Yun Yi's hands flew over the controls. The mecha flipped upside down, the anti-gravity device shut off, and the propulsion engine activated at 100% capacity. The mecha transformed into a rapidly falling meteor, charging toward the monster with the force of heaven and earth.

The monster seemed unaware of the approaching danger, still wandering around as if taking a leisurely stroll.

"Clang!"

As the distance closed, the mecha in mid-air suddenly drew a vibrating alloy longsword, aiming it at the monster. Yun Yi believed that with the mecha's propulsion and gravity combined, this strike could even cut through the thick alloy walls of the Thunderclap.

Closer now, the monster seemed to sense something and stopped moving. The four antennae on its head twitched continuously. As a creature, it had sensed danger, but as the ruler of the land, it never expected an attack from the sky.

"Rip..."

The high-speed vibrating longsword struck the monster's body with the force of thunder.

"Screech..."

The monster let out a pained cry as the alloy longsword pinned it to the ground. Its massive body writhed violently, and green blood gushed out, staining the red mecha in a bizarre mix of colors.

"Is it over already?"

Yun Yi stared in astonishment at the monster struggling under the longsword. Was he too strong, or was the monster too weak?

Although the longsword had severely wounded the monster, Yun Yi didn't let his guard down. After all, there were countless monsters nearby.

Just as Yun Yi tried to pull out the longsword to finish off the monster, it suddenly moved.

The massive body, tens of meters long, split at the point where Yun Yi had struck. Only the head and four limbs remained, and the two enormous eyes stared fixedly at Yun Yi.

"Screech... screech..."

The monster let out a series of rapid cries. Before Yun Yi could react, a burst of red flame shot out from the grotesque, writhing mouth of the creature.

Yun Yi's eyes widened. Fortunately, he had been fully focused on the monster and hadn't let his guard down. Years of training allowed him to react quickly. The mecha twisted at a strange angle, dodging most of the flames.

However, a small portion of the flames splashed onto the mecha's left side.

The strange flames clung to the mecha's armor, burning fiercely.

"What... what is this?!"

Yun Yi was shocked and immediately rolled the mecha on the ground. But to his astonishment, the raging flames didn't extinguish, even after rolling in the sandy terrain.

"This is bad..."

Yun Yi watched as the armor value on the mecha's screen continued to drop, cold sweat pouring down his face. If this continued, the mecha's left side would be destroyed in a few minutes, compromising its internal structure.

No time to waste. He had to kill the monster first.

Yun Yi fixed his gaze on the beast, raised the alloy longsword again, and unleashed an unparalleled burst of speed. The mecha transformed into a streak of fire, swiftly circling around the monster's front and delivering a fierce slash to its head.

"Clang!" The alloy longsword failed to pierce the monster's head armor!

The metallic clang sent a chill down Yun Yi's spine.

Was this a creature or a mecha?

There was no time for Yun Yi to hesitate. As the monster turned to attack him, Yun Yi quickly manipulated the controls, and the mecha delivered three more slashes.

However, these strikes only left three white marks on the monster's head, causing no real damage.

The eyes!

Yun Yi's gaze fell on the two enormous, bulb-like eyes. No matter the creature, the eyes were always its weakest point.

Gripping the longsword tightly, Yun Yi made the mecha leap up, landing precisely on top of the monster's hard, armored head. The mecha's feet shot out four steel claws, anchoring the massive machine firmly to the monster's head. This mechanism was originally designed to latch onto enemy ships during assaults.

The mecha's hands reversed, raising the alloy longsword once more. The sharp blade thrust down fiercely, aiming for the monster's left eye.

"Pop... squish..."

Like a balloon being punctured, the eye burst instantly. Under the high-speed vibration of the alloy longsword, everything inside the eye socket was churned into a pulp and ejected.

"Screech... screech..."

The monster seemed to be in extreme pain, thrashing and jumping wildly, trying to shake off the mecha on its head. But the mecha, firmly anchored to the monster's head, couldn't be dislodged.

The alloy longsword thrust in again, and the monster, driven by pain, began to run. Yun Yi was shocked to find that even with half its body missing, the creature's speed was no less than when it was whole.

This couldn't go on.

Yun Yi yanked out the alloy longsword, attached it to the mecha's right arm, and aimed it at the monster's bloodied eye socket. With a fierce push, the longsword shot out like an arrow, piercing deep into the monster's brain. This strike was enough to end the creature's long struggle.

The monster finally stopped moving, but Yun Yi wasn't in much better shape.

The strange flames the monster had spat out were still burning on the mecha's left side. In less than ten minutes, nearly 80% of the mecha's left armor had been destroyed.

Yun Yi was desperate. He tried everything to extinguish the flames.

Sand? Useless, it had no effect.

The monster's blood? It helped a little, but the effect was minimal. By the time the flames were put out, the mecha would be completely destroyed.

What else could he do? Head to the North Pole?

Although the mecha was fast, it would take at least half an hour to reach the North Pole from here. The mecha wouldn't last that long.

Yun Yi stared helplessly at the steadily decreasing armor value, but there was nothing he could do.

Reluctantly, he activated the mecha and began transporting the monster's two massive body parts back to the Thunderclap...