Yan Yifei walked out of Simulation Pod Seven, a faint, pleased smile on her lips. She then entered the neighboring Pod Eight, took the pilot's seat, and skillfully activated the simulation system.
"Please select combat difficulty." A moment later, a standard prompt sounded from the screen before her.
Without even glancing at it, Yan Yifei replied without hesitation, "Difficulty: SSS."
"Acknowledged."
"Initiating SSS-level system…"
"Combat commencing shortly. Please prepare."
On the screen, over a dozen mecha units soon appeared, positioned in a four-sided encirclement that seemed to block all her possible escape routes.
Yan Yifei's expression remained calm, devoid of any tension. Her slender hands began to move rapidly, inputting command after command into the system. The simulated mecha she piloted moved like a whirlwind. Simultaneously, a barrage of energy cannons, laser beams, and various other weapons roared forth, targeting the encircling mechas.
On the screen, scene after scene of thrilling combat unfolded. The simulated mecha piloted by Yan Yifei moved with agility, its attacks precise, its power formidable. It executed many seemingly impossible maneuvers with ease. Facing over a dozen enemy mechas, it not only held its ground but occasionally shot down one or two.
Half an hour later, Yan Yifei's battle continued. Her hands seemed to be rapidly tapping out a sequence of notes. As these 'notes' danced, the simulated mecha under her control performed a series of actions with a rhythmic, rapid precision, including many highly difficult maneuvers. Only six of the system's enemy mechas remained, launching coordinated attacks against her.
An hour later, Yan Yifei let out a long exhale, wiped the sweat from her brow, and murmured, "Seems my form is good today. Managed to clear it smoothly."
The combat difficulty levels in the full-immersion simulation pods were divided into five main tiers: S, A, B, C, and D. Each tier was further subdivided into five segments. For example, the highest tier, S, was divided into S, SS, SSS, SSSS, and SSSSS, with difficulty increasing with each segment.
The difficulty Yan Yifei had just completed was the SSS segment within the S-tier. Within the Empire, achieving such a difficulty level could undoubtedly place one among the elite of mech pilots. Indeed, she was a pilot, one who had earned the title of "Eight-Star Mech Pilot"—though that was several years ago. Now, she was the deputy head of the Second Research Group in Baoli Corporation's Second Research Institute, a mecha designer.
Had Bai Hao known that his mature, intellectual senior sister was an Imperial Eight-Star Pilot, he might have been struck speechless with shock. However, at this moment, he remained completely unaware, diligently operating the mecha controls in Pod Seven. It must be said that the basic operating techniques Yan Yifei had taught were highly practical. After several rounds of struggle, he had actually managed to clear the D and DD segments of the D-tier and was now striving to break through the 3D segment.
"Ah, just a little more, and I could have defeated that mecha."
Bai Hao stared at the screen where his simulated mecha had been hit and exploded by the enemy, his heart filled with frustration. He had been so close to clearing the 3D segment, but one small mistake had led to an irretrievable situation.
"Within half an hour, I will definitely defeat you," Bai Hao vowed, wiping sweat from his forehead with one hand while clenching the other into a tight fist.
After resting for about thirty seconds, Bai Hao was preparing to challenge the 3D segment again when a dialog box popped up on the screen, accompanied by a system prompt.
"Pod Eight requests voice communication. Connect?"
Bai Hao was momentarily stunned but quickly realized it must be Senior Sister Yan Yifei. "Accept," he said promptly.
"Connecting…"
A few seconds later, Yan Yifei's voice came through. "So, junior brother, how's it going? Cleared the 1D segment?"
"Yes. Just about to tackle 3D," Bai Hao replied.
"Oh! Junior brother is quite impressive, clearing two segments so quickly. That's a bit beyond what I expected. Alright, time's getting on. Time for me to test you." Yan Yifei's tone held a hint of surprise.
Bai Hao acknowledged with a sound.
Soon, another dialog box popped up on the screen: "Pod Eight invites you to join the Desert Battlefield. Accept?"
"Accept," Bai Hao said without hesitation.
"Acknowledged."
"Connecting…"
Three seconds later, Bai Hao saw the screen flash, the scene changing completely. His simulated mecha now hovered in mid-air. Below stretched a vast, golden sea of sand.
"Junior brother, can you see me?" Yan Yifei's voice drifted over.
Bai Hao quickly scanned his surroundings but found nothing.
"Silly, I'm above and to your side."
Hearing this, Bai Hao immediately adjusted his perspective. Sure enough, he spotted a blue mecha above and to his side. However, when he clearly saw the model of that mecha, his face filled with surprise. "Senior Sister, are you using a first-generation mecha?"
"Heh, yes. At your current level, a first-generation mecha is sufficient for me." Yan Yifei chuckled.
Bai Hao broke into a mental sweat. He was piloting the latest sixth-generation combat mecha, far beyond what a first-generation model could match. The gap between them was immense; whether in firepower or speed, they weren't even in the same league. To make an analogy, if the sixth-generation mecha was a sharp sword, the first-generation was merely a pencil sharpener's blade—hardly comparable. Yet now, Yan Yifei intended to face the sword in Bai Hao's hands with that small blade. No matter how he looked at it, Bai Hao felt his pride had taken a heavy blow.
"Junior brother, we're starting soon. Be careful; I won't go easy on you." Yan Yifei reminded him.
"Mm." Bai Hao's gaze was already locked onto the blue mecha on his screen.
"Three, two, one, begin!"
Seeing this, Bai Hao immediately issued an attack command. The arm of the mecha he controlled suddenly raised, and a red laser beam shot out instantly.
However, in the next moment, to Bai Hao's astonishment, the blue mecha opposite him had vanished.
"Heh, junior brother, you're too slow. You're already finished."
Just as Bai Hao was puzzledly searching for the blue mecha's figure, Yan Yifei's amused voice reached him.
"Wait, above!"
Bai Hao seemed to realize something. Looking up, he saw a projectile already streaking down from directly above towards his simulated mecha.
"Finished?!"
A chill ran through Bai Hao's heart. The projectile was too fast; he had no time to issue any commands.
"Boom!"
With a deafening explosion, the simulated mecha plummeted towards the yellow sea of sand below.
"Your mecha has been destroyed."
A dialog box immediately popped up on the screen, accompanied by the system's prompt tone.