Miss Witch doesn't want to be a diva!.

Chapter 598: First Test Drive

"There are still five days until the Fifth Fleet arrives at the Shark Star Region." Tilan sat at the desk next to the bed in the dormitory and wrote this line in her diary.

For the current federal entity, the entire western star field seems to be shrouded in a black fog and the situation is unknown. Although it is difficult for the two to undergo major changes, this unknown situation has also aroused some people's concerns.

Closing the diary, Tilan went to the mirror, fixed her hair a little, then put on a black beret and walked out of the room.

"Have you considered participating in the development of new mechas, Tilan?" Arnansha found the girl yesterday and told her about recent developments.

"Many research institutes know about your situation and want to invite you to participate in experiments. I have blocked all these requests, but there are some good options among them. If you are interested, I will send you the information."

So today, Tilan met with representatives from several research institutes that she had agreed to meet with.

Arriving at the meeting room on one side of the combat camp, Tilan saw a number of representatives in research uniforms as soon as she entered. They wore different badges and their styles were also very different. After briefly introducing each other, everyone sat down.

After reading the information they handed over, Tilan nodded slightly and had a general understanding in her mind.

Among them, there are three research institutes with the best conditions, namely the 'Holy Feathered Serpent Research Institute', the 'Sixteen Prism Research Institute', and the 'Meteoric Red Lotus Research Institute'. Slightly inferior but more in line with her ability style are the 'DS Research Institute', the 'Three-phase Sword Research Institute', and the 'Seed of Time Research Institute' that she had come into contact with some time ago. Although the other research institutes also extended olive branches, either their strength was poor or their treatment was stingy, and they were not particularly interested.

Afterwards, Tilan closed her eyes and recalled what the representatives of the remaining six research institutes had said at the time. She felt that the representative of the 'Sixteen Prisms Research Institute' was hiding something, so she crossed it out of the list. Among the other institutes, the 'Meteoric Red Lotus Research Institute' focused on weapons of 'burning' and 'annihilation', the 'Holy Feathered Serpent Research Institute' focused on 'glory', 'thunder' and 'giant snake' systems, which did not match her nature, so she crossed it out silently, and the 'Three-Phase Sword Research Institute' was almost entirely focused on melee combat, which was too single, so she also crossed it out silently.

Of the remaining two, the 'DS Research Institute' focuses on frost and ice, while the 'Seed of Time Research Institute' is one of the very few research institutes involved in the field of time and space.

"Let's choose the 'Seed of Time Research Institute'." Tilan hesitated for a long time and finally chose this one. Although they did not have any particularly outstanding products in the past, this is one of the very few research institutes involved in the field of time and space.

However, if there is a shortage of conventional weapons, we can ask the 'DS Research Institute' to supplement it, but I don't know if they are willing to cooperate.

……

"It's a pleasure to work with Miss Hecate, and thank you very much for your trust." The blond flat-headed man wearing gold-rimmed glasses bowed, then took Tilan to visit the Seed of Time Research Institute.

"Our institute is sponsored by two giant companies, Alice's Watchmaker and Lone Star. The institute also participates in military projects and has completed many advanced military projects, such as the core structure of a large Titan-class flagship."

"Although this is our first time to work on a mecha project, we have done enough preparation. We have not only invited engineers with many years of experience in mecha design to participate, but also the 'Lone Star' enterprise has provided technical support."

"'Lone Star' is currently the most advanced hyperspace engine manufacturer in the Federation. It is unique in the fields of space and speed. This is also the reason why we are confident in venturing into new areas."

On the wall of the main hall of the institute, two icons of a rabbit pocket watch and a rising rocket are placed side by side, and below them is the license certificate of the Eighth Fleet.

"We sincerely welcome you."

In the next two days, in addition to participating in daily training, Tilan came to the research institute to assist in data collection and adapt to the mecha cockpit that was still under testing.

"This cockpit is connected to a magic resonance furnace with a power of 4000 million mana. When you sit on it, input your own magic power into the magic furnace and it will ignite and start."

"The magic furnace will gradually resonate with you, and then you need to control its inner core with your mind. In this way, the magic furnace will gradually become consistent with your own magic frequency."

"4000 million mana." Tilan blinked. She remembered that the elite mecha 'Black Letter' serving Siye Jing was only about 1000 million mana. This one was directly expanded four times. It seems that the technical level and strength of the central star field are far superior to those of the local star fields.

"Let me try it first." After all, the power of the training machine that I usually use is about 200 million mana. This one has been directly expanded 20 times, just like driving 20 training machines at the same time.

"No problem." The researcher believed in her ability more than Tilan.

So Tilan sat in the cockpit and started connecting the neural signals.

[A new driver has been detected. Recording data and creating a file. Temporarily named "Qualified Person 004"]
[Neural connection successful, starting to check synchronization status...]
[Synchronization successful, please input magic power step by step.]
[Magic input detected, starting the magic furnace...]
Then Tilan felt the seat behind her become slightly cold, like a black hole that absorbs magic power. No matter how much she put into it, no splash could be made.

Fortunately, this feeling did not last long. About 30 seconds later, a strong energy was transmitted from the magic furnace, and the entire cockpit lit up. The data on the side appeared in blue, and the entire cockpit also showed the surrounding vision. But this was not enough. On the ear side of Tilan's helmet, a vortex-like halo lit up, and its color gradually changed from white to blue, from blue to purple, and then from purple to deep red, and finally to a continuously rotating golden ring.

The entire cockpit was surrounded by tangible magic power. This magic power was extremely abundant and slowly materialized into a golden liquid, submerging Tilan. Such high-concentration and high-activity magic power could trigger drastic extraordinary effects even with a simple thought. For example, a small spell that could only light a candle could be transformed into a blazing flame bombardment that could explode hundreds of meters.

Such an environment...

Tilan had never felt her mind so clear and her thinking so agile, as if her performance had not been fully utilized in the past due to insufficient energy supply. With just a thought, hundreds of people in the institute scanned her consciousness, and she knew the emotions and vague thoughts in everyone's heart.

Not only that, as her thoughts and perception continued to extend, she was able to sense the locations of hundreds of thousands of people in the entire base. She even "saw" a staff member who was eating secretly in a corner of the kitchen. The staff member was in a particularly good mood and was humming a little tune.

The lives and work of hundreds of thousands of people appeared in her mind like high-definition movies and TV shows. She vaguely felt that she could connect to the consciousness of hundreds of thousands of people at the same time, talk to each of them, and even influence their movements and be aware of their moods and reactions.

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the desire for knowledge in her heart, Tilan focused her mind and began to concentrate on the changes in time and space.

The previously vague perception of time and space also became clear at this time. Under normal circumstances, people cannot see the curvature of space. Black holes in the universe are rare existences that can distort space. The space there will collapse towards the center of the black hole, and any "thing" will involuntarily slip into it.

The space-time here is very stable, or it can be said that the special structure in the space maintains the space-time stability of the star field to prevent external interference. Looking along the source of this structure, Tilan saw the fortress-like planet in the Crown Star Field.

As a legacy of the Mechanical Council of the glorious era, this planet is indeed special. No wonder it was chosen as the federal capital. If this hyperspace defense network were to be activated, relying solely on the starship's own power, it would take at least ten years to travel from the outer reaches of the galaxy to the fortress city.

……

Half an hour later, Tilan ended the test and gradually shut down the magic power. Then the liquefied Aigeka particles in the cockpit also dissipated.

After walking out of the cockpit, Tilan felt as if she had been separated from some high-level state and became extremely weak. In fact, she was the same as usual now and was fine. It could only be said that she was too powerful during that period of time and had some kind of illusion.

No wonder some people say that driving a mecha is addictive. Once you get used to that powerful state, there is indeed a gap when you return to reality. "How do you feel, Miss Hecate?" Before Tilan could fully return to the laboratory, several researchers and doctors rushed to the mecha warehouse, looking at her anxiously, nervously, excitedly, and worriedly.

"It doesn't seem to be a big deal." Tilan thought for a moment and answered with her head tilted slightly.

"Wow! I can't believe it." The researcher who had been very elegant and calm before was now grabbing his hair, looking extremely excited, as if he had endless joy waiting to be vented.

"Hekate! You're... simply... totally... indescribable." Another tall researcher at the side had trouble organizing his words because of his excitement.

"You actually sat in there for half an hour and didn't feel tired at all." Someone finally told the reason.

"Huh?" Tilan didn't understand. What was so special about this? She usually trained for several hours.

"The training machine has only a limited power, and it's never even maxed out. Even a skilled elite mecha pilot won't always turn the magic furnace to maximum power. They'll only adjust it to this level during the most crucial battle."

"Generally speaking, if a mecha with 4000 million mana power can fight at full power for 5 minutes, it means the pilot has a strong will and a strong physique. If it runs at full power for 8 minutes, there is a risk of fainting. If it is filled with stimulants and runs for 10 minutes, there is a risk of nervous breakdown and mental disorder. During normal navigation and low-intensity combat, 30% of the power is usually sufficient."

"It's just like a person can jog for a long time, but if he accelerates at full speed for only a minute, he will feel muscle soreness and lactic acid accumulation, which is unbearable. A good pilot will be very good at allocating his full power time, and will always find gaps in the battle to ease the pressure on his nerves and will, instead of just doing it blindly."

They had originally planned to test for three minutes and then have Tilan turn off the engine, but they had not expected that Tilan was in good condition from beginning to end, and was conscious and showed no signs of abnormality. So they watched her anxiously as she continued the test. It was only the last half hour, and the supervisor was so afraid of any accidents and irreversible sequelae that he interrupted the test.

"It's a miracle, it's simply a miracle. It turns out that this world is driven forward by some extremely rare genius. I used to think that it was accumulated slowly over time, but it turns out that the real world is so illogical." A researcher's three views changed dramatically.

"Ahem." Tilan actually didn't agree with this statement, but it seemed a bit Versailles when she said it. In the end, she opened her mouth slightly and chose to remain silent.

"Today's test ends here. We have to work hard and analyze today's test data. Thank you Miss Hecate for your participation." The supervisor wanted to shake hands with Tilan excitedly, but fearing his crazy look, the girl dodged him calmly.

"Yeah, I just contributed a little insignificant strength, no need to thank me so much." She waved her hand, then left the institute with a little fear.

Shortly after Tilan left, a group of people in dark blue uniforms cordoned off the entire research institute. As an Inquisition patrol officer walked in holding an identification card, every researcher here was taken away from the scene and received "education". Unfortunately, Tilan did not see this scene, and the next time she was notified to participate in the experiment was three days later.

In the combat camp, because of what happened that night, the students of the same period had an unconscious awe of Tilan. Although the girl was still as gentle as usual, no one dared to joke or comment in front of her since then.

Are you kidding? The officers who molested the girl before have not been released yet. No one knows where they have gone. Some say they were put in solitary confinement, some say they were transferred out of the base, and there are outrageous rumors that they were executed, but no one believes this.

After another day of training, Tilan jumped lightly from the mecha, her body glided through the air, and was slightly lifted up by the airflow when she was about to land on the ground. Then she lightly tapped the ground with her toes and stood safely.

"Hcate~" Maggie came to Tilan holding two boxes.

"These are the supplies for this week." There were black and dark blue stripes on the two boxes, as well as a string of numbers and letters. If you didn't know clearly, you might think they contained ammunition.

"One of the boxes contains 12 bottles of T4-level drink 'Hummingbird Honey Tea' and 12 bottles of T4-level drink 'Star Energy Liquid'. The former is very beneficial for maintaining a good figure and removes impurities, toxins and excess fat from the body. The latter can quickly replenish energy and physical strength, and restore a certain amount of magic power."

"In the other box are six boxes of T4-grade 'compressed nutritional biscuits' and six boxes of T4-grade 'green plum snowflake cakes'. The former can quickly replenish nutrition and physical strength, while the latter can relieve neurasthenia and is very effective for drivers."

"Thank you." Tilan was about to take it, but Maggie took a step back.

"Let me take it to your dormitory. It's not convenient for you to carry it by yourself." Maggie moved her shoulders, showing her broad arms and muscles. Compared with Tilan's slender figure, it was indeed much easier.

"Well, thank you, Maggie." Tilan didn't want to refuse the other party's kindness, so she nodded and agreed.

Afterwards, the two of them walked back to the dormitory, talking about recent events.

"Regular supplies are once a week, and they are all T4-quality food and drinks. At the end of each month, there are special supplies. The quantity is small, but it is T3-quality."

"Generally speaking, only lieutenant officers have T3 supplies, but as elite mecha pilots, we are treated the same as lieutenants. If we achieve military merit and promotion in the future, we can also receive the treatment of colonel officers."

"Few people eat the 'compressed nutritional biscuits' in the supplies. Many people will take them home and share them with their families or sell them. The other drinks and food also vary according to the position and camp. Sometimes people will take them to the lobby to exchange and choose the flavor they like."

"I see." Tilan nodded and found it interesting as she listened to Maggie talking about life in the military camp.

"No one has disturbed Hecate recently, right?" Maggie asked casually.

"No, everyone seems to have been a lot quieter these past two days." The girl recalled her recent training.

"Well... I think everyone recognizes your strength." Maggie wanted to say that everyone was impressed by you, but she changed her words and made it more tactful.

"That's how it is in the military camp. As long as you show enough strength, you can avoid a lot of unnecessary troubles, and the superiors will also value and protect you."

"I understand." Tilan blinked, indicating that she remembered it.

"Haha, Hecate, good job. Next time I'll teach you some amazing skills. Let me tell you, when I was in college, my teacher was once an ace pilot of the Federation..."

Maggie and Tilan talked about their college life as they walked, until their figures slowly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

My sight shifted to the projection screen in the dormitory lobby, and a short message slowly flashed across the bottom.

[The Fifth Main Fleet will arrive at the Federation's Western Shark Star Region at 21:46 today...]

(End of this chapter)