"This... this is indeed a problem with the fire seed!"
Li Erlengzi glanced at the mecha behind the large truck, then nodded, his gaze filled with sympathy for Zheng Hu Zi, as it was highly likely Zheng Hu Zi wouldn't get anything from this.
He then tossed the apple back, "Zheng Hu Zi, this is for Er Ya, she's growing and needs her nutrition!"
Zheng Hu Zi, who had been contemplating whether to throw the apple back, finally refrained from doing so upon hearing this.
"Old Li, speaking of which, what exactly is going on lately? Why do these mechas always have fire seed issues?"
"Repairing the fire seed is incredibly expensive. The owners of these mechas are mostly not ordinary people. For regular repairs, as long as my service is good, they're quite generous. But because of this, after repairing their fire seeds, they don't bother with cleaning, maintenance, or anything else..."
"Even if some customers come for maintenance, forget about tips, they even want to haggle over the normal fees!"
"You make a fortune in transportation, but if this continues, I'll be begging for scraps..."
Zheng Hu Zi was quite dejected when he spoke of this.
"This is indeed strange..."
Li Erlengzi stretched his neck out of the driver's window, scanning his surroundings, and cautiously spoke to Zheng Hu Zi, "Also, I heard that some people's mecha fire seeds had issues again less than a week after repairs!"
Li Erlengzi spoke in a very low voice, and if Ye Feng's hearing wasn't far superior to that of an ordinary person, he wouldn't have been able to hear him.
"Damn it, is that true? Back to problems in less than a week?"
Zheng Hu Zi looked utterly disbelieving upon hearing this.
"I find it ridiculous too! But it's true, the mecha owner..."
"Beep! Beep!~"
Just as Li Erlengzi was about to say something, someone behind the large truck honked their horn.
"Hey, what are you doing up front? Don't block the road!"
A furious, loud voice followed.
"Zheng Hu Zi, I'm leaving now!"
Li Erlengzi said as he started the engine and drove the large truck away.
Zheng Hu Zi nodded, a look of melancholy on his face, his mind already preoccupied with dinner...
"Zheng Hu Zi, tell me about the mechas!"
Just as Zheng Hu Zi was about to turn away, Ye Feng called out to him.
He just turned his head when a small object flew towards him. Instinctively, he reached out and caught it. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a small bun.
Zheng Hu Zi looked up, his gaze falling on Ye Feng, "Was that you who called me just now?"
"Yes!"
Ye Feng nodded slightly, "Were you discussing the mecha repair failures in Mecha City just now?"
"Shh!"
Before Ye Feng could finish speaking, Zheng Hu Zi's expression changed dramatically, and he quickly made a shushing gesture to Ye Feng, his expression tense.
"What's wrong? This can't be spoken of?"
Seeing this, Ye Feng couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Such a distance, but this person's hearing..."
Zheng Hu Zi's face was grim. He had intended to leave, but seeing the small bun in his hand, he remained.
"This person isn't old, but they're quite generous... And mecha repairs aren't exactly a big secret, the well-known repair shops in the city all know about it... Perhaps..."
Zheng Hu Zi looked around, a calculation in his mind, then spoke to Ye Feng, "Sir, please follow me!"
...
Over ten minutes later, Ye Feng finally understood what Zheng Hu Zi and Li Erlengzi had been discussing so mysteriously.
It turned out that for some unknown reason, over the past two months, mechas repaired in Mecha City have frequently malfunctioned, and not just ordinary issues, but failures in the core component, the fire seed.
Initially, only a few mechas experienced this, but as time went on, similar situations became more common... Some mechas even experienced problems with their fire seeds again within a week of repair...
Because of this, many people who came to Mecha City to buy and repair mechas were very dissatisfied, with some even suspecting Mecha City of doing it intentionally.
After all, selling mechas was only Mecha City's second-largest source of income; their primary revenue stream was the almost monopolized mecha repair services...
Although Mecha City's official channels deliberately suppressed the news of frequent fire seed failures... the rumors still spread...
"There are rumors that because of this, quite a few factions have sent people to reason with Mecha City, and it's said that even people from the Seven Great Powers have come..."
Finally, Zheng Hu Zi added in a low voice.
"I see..."
Ye Feng frowned slightly. He felt that things were a bit strange, but he couldn't quite pinpoint why.
"Mr. Ye, is this your first time in Mecha City? It's getting dark, do you need accommodation?"
"I know where the best hotel in the outer city is, and the price isn't expensive, you can definitely afford it!"
At this moment, Zheng Hu Zi spoke again, glancing at Xiao Xiao as he did.
"Uh, to be honest, Mecha City is quite large and offers accommodation, with many places providing first-class service, but not many guests can afford it. Many are regular customers of a certain large hotel."
"For every new guest I introduce to the hotel, I get a commission. I can split it with you three-seven, you seven, me three!"
Seeing Ye Feng look at him, the bearded Zheng Hu Zi scratched his head and said somewhat sheepishly.
"Take me to see it then."
Ye Feng looked at the darkening sky and replied.
"Alright! Alright! This way, please~!"
Saying this, Zheng Hu Zi pointed in a direction.
...
As dusk was about to fall,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao finally arrived at the place Zheng Hu Zi mentioned, a hotel called "Mecha Star."
Under the guidance of a staff member, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao quickly completed the check-in procedures, while Zheng Hu Zi left with the hotel staff.
"Wow~ This bed is so soft... Almost like the one at the Tyrannosaurus Rex base!"
"Large survivor bases are the best~!"
As soon as they entered the room, Xiao Xiao dived onto the spring mattress and happily rolled around.
Although the space inside the armored vehicles and off-road vehicles was quite large and they could rest, it was no match for a soft spring mattress.
After rolling on the bedsheets for a while, Xiao Xiao got up and walked towards the door, as the doorbell rang. The hotel had brought the meal Ye Feng had ordered in the lobby.
Not long after, Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao were having dinner. At the same time, Ye Feng took out the map Li Yidao had given him at the Tyrannosaurus Rex base again and began to examine it.
"I'll look around tomorrow first. Mecha City is vast, and finding the extremely important Fire Seed Record will likely be difficult!"
"I wonder if the frequent fire seed problems in Mecha City have anything to do with the Fire Seed Record..."
After a thorough review, Ye Feng let out a sigh of relief.
...
The next day,
After Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao woke up and had a simple breakfast, they headed downstairs.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
"Boom-boom-boom~!"
As soon as they reached the hotel entrance, a strange sound could be heard.
...