Gender: Female
Nationality: Chinese
Personality: Hu-Shi Zhong is a rather amiable, cooperative person. Whether it's because of her upbringing or simply because of some internal decision, she's the type of person to be cooperative and find a situation that would make the other side happy, even at the expense of her own happiness. Of course, she has her own limits on how far she'll compromise, but rarely does she ever press too hard for her own interests. Is it apathy? Is it genuine kindness? Even Hu-Shi herself doesn't understand, but as a result of this constant cooperation, she's become quite a flexible person, one capable of adapting to many situations simply by giving herself five seconds to rethink “what she wants to do, and what she should do”. Ultimately though, she's a likable person, useless in negotiations and arguments, but exceptionally good at thinking up things on the fly and reorganizing her priorities and values. Perhaps, a bit of a social chameleon.
Bio: In the past, communism didn't work because humans were forever power-hungry, unable to see beyond their own desires. After all, in the past, there was not one saint who could treat everyone in an absolutely equal manner. But on the other hand, robots don't have emotions, and thus, could equally distribute commodities without any issues with favouritism or bribing. After all, the entire concept of communism was that everyone gets things equally, and equalness can only be obtained through the eyes of a machine. Thus, in pursuit of what 'pure' communism could be, the Chinese government set up a small countryside village as a social experiment. With a tranquil, natural environment, 100 Chinese couples, each with a wide variety of skills, were invited to join in this. They were all given equal pay for their jobs, and food resources were pooled together so that all can have access to it. Conflicts were solved in a way so that it was a win-win situation filled with compromise. That was the kind of environment that Hu-Shi Zhong grew up in.
In school, she learned to compromise, to be a selfless person who was capable of sacrificing personal happiness for the greater good. She learned how to be friendly and suppress any personal grievances towards others, using emotions to fuel things that would be more productive, such as pulling weeds or filleting fish. She enjoyed learning how to do time-consuming things such as knitting and gardening, while still maintaining high marks at school, even though her performance never actually got her anything. Communism spread into academics as well, after all, and it was fortunate that Hu-Shi was naturally a bright child, or she most likely would have lost motivation to keep up with her studies in an environment without any competition. Her parents also tutored her in their spare time, even though they were agricultural specialists working in the greenhouse most of the time.
Ultimately, her time in that communist town was nice, and at the age of twelve, the town was promptly demolished, the experiment having ended. Her parents were paid a nice sum for their participation, and were finally able to purchase a nice, spacious apartment suite in Hong Kong. Like that, she made the quick transition into high school in the big city, her friendliness getting her more than just a few friends. Popular in the 'has no enemies' way, her academic position peaked at being the sixth smartest person in her grade, as well as becoming the head of the Gardening Club and starting a new initiative to make the city greener. In her year, she even became vice-president of the student council, a well-liked foil to the aggressive negotiator of a president. Her friends honestly thought that she would be going to a regular university, perhaps follow the path of her parents. There were even some who thought that she would be a top-class host in some fancy ten-star restaurant, considering how welcoming of a person she was.
Instead, though, due to her scores in the compatibility tests, taken when she was still in that communist town, the Chinese government personally requested that she make her career that of an AWE pilot. After all, China had not produced as many pilots as Japan over the years, and they wanted to catch up as soon as possible.
Being the nice person she was, Hu-Shi rearranged her life plans, went through a boot camp for AWE training, and was accepted by Lunar Academy afterwards, with her tuition paid for by the ONLY Chinese AWE company that could compete with foreign companies.
Then, on the first week, she got into a bad accident, spent a month in the hospital, and then spent another month catching up to all the work she missed, before finally, on her 69th day, getting assigned to the team that she was meant to be in. Really not a good start.
Other: Hu-Shi is talented at both gardening and knitting, skills that are now obsolete. She sorta likes obsolete things though, even if it's not clear whether she simply pities the teachers of old crafts, or if she actually enjoys doing those things. In her yearbook, she was listed first in 'Person You'd Like to See in a Maid Costume'. To this day, she still does not know how a ranking like that was allowed into the yearbook.
...but if they had actually asked her nicely, she probably would have done it.
Theme:
Ebb and Flow
Role: Initiator and Bruiser
Frame: Heavy (20 points)
Manufacturer: East Cardinal
> Bruiser – All AWEs are capable of using two-handed weapons in a single hand.
> Rushdown – Heavy AWEs move significantly faster than normal.
> One-Terrain – AWEs are noticeably slower in rough terrain.
Appearance: Chrome Ex-Road is three meters tall and two meters wide.Armaments:Dragon Slayers – Taking full advantage of being able to wield two-handed melee weapons in just a single hand, Chrome Ex-Road is armed with the Dragon Slayers, two massive cleaver-like swords that are usually sheathed on the sides of the AWE. With a rectangular blade that is five feet long and two feet wide, the Dragon Slayers could be considered more like blocks of steelcrete instead of a true sword. Its edge is honed only to focus the crushing force of each swing, not actually to cut. When the situation calls for it, the two Dragon Slayers can be locked together, side by side, forming a ridiculously wide, heavy melee weapon. Four feet wide, it turns from a sword into a shield, and the combined weight of the two swords is enough to smash apart just about any AWE's armor plating.
<4 points><Short-Medium><High>
Serpent Fang – Drawing influence from Spiderman, the Chrome Ex-Road is installed with a grappling hook in its left hand, capable of extending to a maximum of 100m. With wires made of carbon nanofibers, and a tip that 'bonds' instead of grabbing or piercing, the Serpent Fang could be considered the main 'gap-closer' for the AWE. Shot out at subsonic speeds, and retracted in the same speed, when the Serpent Fang comes in contact with anything, it releases a chemical that fuses the tip with the surface of the object that it came in contact with. Though the 'hook' can be removed with some quick thinking and a sharp melee weapon, most AWEs aren't equipped with such weapons. During retraction, only the wire is retracted, and it takes three seconds to reload a new 'hook'.
<1 point><Medium><Low>
Ru Yi Bang – A piledriver installed in the Chrome Ex-Road's right arm, it's a simple application that involves a cartridge system, meant to give a punch or a stab a second impact, similar to how a nail is driven in by a hammer. When used, a pole slides out of the below of the right arm, before a cartridge is fired, the shell ejected, and the pole driving itself back inside the forearm, transferring all that force into the fist. A simple, secondary attack in close range. Can be used five times, due to limited cartridges and the stress it puts on the arm.
<1 point><Short><High>
Queen's Inferno – Hidden beneath the torso plating of the Chrome Ex-Road is the Queen's Inferno, a heavy gatling machinegun is mounted, modified so it can still be placed within the AWE. Capable of spewing out two thousand rounds per minute, with ammunition large enough to shred light-frame AWEs and infantry, Queen's Inferno is nevertheless a weapon that is mounted in the chest, and thus, can not adjust its vertical alignment quite as easily. Prone to heating up very quickly, Queen's Inferno requires a coolant system, and Hu-Shi has modified that coolant system to also become a freezer for ice cream, which can be served before skirmishes to greatly enhance the morale of all soldiers, though only those in her immediate squad, as there's only fifty pounds worth of space for ice cream.
<3+1 points><Medium-High + Melee><Medium + Delicious>
Shield Strength: Heavy (6 points)
Signature Asset: Jiang Shi Core (4 points) – Literally 'Zombie' Core, the original use of the Jiang Shi Core was as a back up energy supply to allow the Chrome Ex-Road to continue moving even after it's main core runs out. After energy consumption problems were fixed in the v.A-023 rendition of the AWE though, the Jiang Shi Core's capabilities were extended to a broad variety of uses. Now, it acts as a boosting device, capable of increasing the speed, limb, or shield strength of the Chrome Ex-Road, as well as connecting to other AWEs and either charging them, or recharging itself by sucking energy from the other AWE's core.
HUD Add-Ons: Add ons are for pussies who can't take a raw HUD.
Diagnostics:<20/20 total points and slots>
<3 total energy units>
<Don't Lose Your Way (High) shield rating>
<Protect my Nakama (High) armor rating>
<Melee Range Dunks (Melee-High) weapon rating>
Other: The Chrome Ex-Road was meant for usage in urban and open-terrain areas, and thus, uses tank-like treads instead of feet, with the pilot riding on it like a motorcycle. That's not to say it can't jump or walk though, just that it can't do it quite as effectively. Its lower half and upper half are, unlike normal AWEs, connected to each other by a ball joint, allow the upper half to twist and turn around like a turret, with no consideration given to the orientation of the lower half.
