"Three seconds!"
Bai Hao felt his pride being instantly ground to dust. The blue mecha had ended his simulated mech in a mere three seconds. And the opponent was using the most primitive first-generation mecha—a pencil-sharpener blade obliterating a sharp sword in an instant. How could Bai Hao accept such a tear-inducing reality?
Bai Hao was dumbfounded!
"Heh, junior brother. I told you I wouldn't go easy. Want another round?" Yan Yifei's magnetic voice echoed within Pod Seven.
"Again! Revive."
Having snapped back to reality, Bai Hao made his choice without hesitation.
"Mecha revived. Combat countdown: ten, nine…"
Accompanied by the system's prompts, a countdown appeared on the screen.
"Three, two, one, combat begin!"
This time, Bai Hao didn't rush to attack. Instead, he fixed his gaze intently on the blue mecha.
"Junior brother, if you won't make a move, then I will." In Pod Eight, Yan Yifei stared at the dark gray mecha on her screen, a faint, captivating smile on her lips.
"It's moving! So fast!"
Bai Hao's pupils contracted sharply. He was seeking an answer—the answer to how the blue mecha had vanished last round. This time, he found it: speed. The opponent's speed had completely exceeded his expectations.
"Is this really the most primitive first-generation mecha?"
Startled, Bai Hao didn't panic. His fingers flew, rapidly inputting commands for a rapid retreat. The simulated mech he controlled instantly began flying backward at high speed. However, its retreat speed was completely outmatched by the pursuing blue mecha.
In the blink of an eye, the blue mecha traced a graceful arc and closed in on Bai Hao's mech. Simultaneously, the missile launchers mounted on its shoulders opened, directly locking onto Bai Hao.
The next moment, missiles roared forth, shooting straight at Bai Hao's simulated mech.
"Not good! Energy shield, activate!"
A cold dread washed over Bai Hao. The blue mecha's movement from flight to attack was almost a single, fluid motion—it could be described as perfect. Seeing the incoming missiles, he reacted preemptively this time. His fingers tapped swiftly, quickly activating the energy shield.
The energy shield was a defensive barrier for mechas, capable of withstanding a certain degree of destructive attack. As soon as Bai Hao input the command, a milky-white, seemingly solid barrier of light enveloped his simulated mech.
"Boom!"
A missile struck the energy shield precisely, producing a violent explosion.
"Blocked!"
Seeing the energy shield successfully block the missile attack, Bai Hao felt a sliver of relief. He had narrowly avoided disaster.
"Hmm! Not bad, junior brother. Your reaction isn't slow. But the energy shield's defensive capacity is quite limited. If it suffers three or more missile hits on the exact same spot consecutively, it will crumble." Yan Yifei chuckled.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Bai Hao had just let out a sigh of relief when three more violent explosions sounded outside the shield. The simulated mech he controlled was instantly enveloped in a burst of flames.
"What?! How is that possible? Four missiles hit the exact same spot with perfect accuracy? Was it a coincidence?" Bai Hao was shocked. The powerful energy shield had been easily shattered by four ordinary missiles. He knew the energy shield he'd deployed was at 100% full strength; theoretically, it should have no problem blocking standard missiles. What he never expected was that the four missiles fired consecutively by the blue mecha would hit the exact same point on the shield without any deviation. In his view, that level of precision could only be described as terrifying.
The fourth missile easily penetrated the disintegrating shield and struck Bai Hao's simulated mech.
"Boom!"
The dark gray mecha exploded, once again plummeting toward the yellow sea of sand.
"Your mecha has been destroyed!"
Along with the system's prompt, a dialog box asking whether to revive popped up on the screen.
Sitting in the pilot's seat, Bai Hao remained immersed in shock.
A few seconds later, Bai Hao straightened slightly. "Senior Sister, can we continue?"
Inside Pod Eight, Yan Yifei adjusted her black, full-rimmed glasses, a slight smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "Of course."
"Revive!"
"Acknowledged."
"Reviving…"
"Mecha revived. Combat countdown: ten, nine…"
"Three, two, one, combat begin!"
As soon as it started, Bai Hao rapidly input combat commands—not to attack, but to put as much distance as possible between himself and the blue mecha from the very first moment.
In Pod Eight, Yan Yifei wasn't in a hurry to input commands. Instead, she observed the dark gray mecha trying to put distance between them on her screen with an amused smile. "Seems you've improved a bit again. But in front of your senior sister, it's still not enough."
With that, her fingers moved lightly, inputting a stream of commands into the system. The blue mecha she controlled also sprang into action, its speed almost instantly reaching its maximum limit.
Seeing the blue mecha move, Bai Hao activated the energy shield without hesitation. Simultaneously, his gaze remained locked onto the blue mecha's flight path. His simulated mech's maximum flight speed wasn't slower than the blue mecha's. Combined with the initial distance he'd created, he managed to barely stay just outside the optimal firing range of the blue mecha's missiles. This way, he had a certain chance of evading missile attacks. It would be difficult for the opponent to replicate the results of the previous round.
"Junior brother! Are you only going to run? That's not very manly." Yan Yifei controlled the blue mecha in close pursuit of Bai Hao's simulated mech. However, Bai Hao had fled at full speed from the start. Even though she pushed the first-generation mecha to its extreme speed, catching up in a short time was difficult. For the moment, she couldn't recklessly attack.
Bai Hao ignored Yan Yifei's taunt. His fingers danced, continuously increasing the speed of his command inputs while quickly calculating the blue mecha's flight trajectory. Based on the previous two battles, if they fought within the optimal range of conventional weapons like missiles or armor-piercing rounds, he stood no chance. To grasp even a sliver of victory, he had to leverage the advantages of the sixth-generation mecha. The sixth generation was equipped with unconventional weapons like small laser cannons and railguns, which had significantly longer ranges than conventional missiles or armor-piercing shells. The first-generation mecha lacked such weaponry.
Soon, through data collection and analysis by the system, he determined the blue mecha's flight path. A flicker of delight crossed Bai Hao's heart. His hands flashed.
"Laser cannon, activate. Coordinates 29, 108, 59. Fire!"
The system immediately issued a series of prompts.
The rapidly flying dark gray mech suddenly slowed its movement slightly. A small cannon port locked onto a specific coordinate behind it, and a red beam of light shot out.
"Hmm?! He actually launched an attack."
In Pod Eight, seeing the red laser fired by the dark gray mech, Yan Yifei showed no panic. Instead, she let out a soft chuckle. Her finger tapped quickly, inputting a command into the system.
"Overdrive mode activated. Duration: three seconds."
The system promptly sounded a notification.
The red beam arrived in a flash, striking the intended coordinates accurately—but found only empty space. The previously near-constant-speed blue mecha suddenly accelerated several times over in an instant, leaving a blurred afterimage as it shot toward the dark gray mech like a cannonball.
"What?! Overdrive mode? Not good…"
Bai Hao was slightly stunned. Before he could react, the blue mecha was already upon him. Its fists, clenched, slammed into his simulated mech.
Yan Yifei hadn't chosen projectile attacks this time. Instead, she opted for a method she considered more exhilarating and brutal: pummeling it with fists and feet!
"Boom! Thud! Crash…"
"System sustaining continuous attacks. Integrity: ninety percent… seventy-five percent… twenty percent… five percent!"
"Boom!"
"Your mecha has been destroyed!"