As soon as the words were spoken, the blue mecha controlled by Yan Yifei sprang into action. It executed a curved acceleration, tracing a graceful arc as it shot toward the silver mecha piloted by Bai Hao.
Seeing this, Bai Hao's heart sank slightly. Nonetheless, he reacted with the utmost speed: his left hand swiftly pulled the acceleration lever while his right hand rapidly input commands.
The silver mecha immediately accelerated into a rapid retreat. Simultaneously, three weapon modules and a backup fuel tank abruptly detached from its main body.
At this moment, Bai Hao was going all in. The silver mecha was now in a semi-manual, semi-automatic control state. This increased the unpredictability of the mech's movements and direction during flight, significantly affecting the opponent's judgment. As for the detached weapon modules and backup fuel tank, they were shed to reduce the mech's weight, thereby making it faster and more agile.
Standard mechas typically mounted multiple weapons and one or two backup fuel tanks. Shedding these components didn't negatively impact the silver mecha much; instead, it provided a small but immediate boost to its speed. This unconventional maneuver wasn't originally Bai Hao's idea; it was a suggestion Nana had offered during his segment challenges. He never thought it would come in handy now.
Inside Pod Nine, Yan Yifei observed the silver mecha's series of reactions. A look of unconcealable surprise appeared on her peach-blossom-like face. "Even thought of this method? I might have underestimated you a bit, junior brother," she murmured in slight astonishment.
The mecha Yan Yifei controlled was the Empire's most primitive first-generation model, far inferior to Bai Hao's sixth-generation mecha in terms of speed and firepower. Her ability to completely overpower Bai Hao in their previous encounters relied solely on her formidable piloting skills. However, no matter how skilled she was, she was still bound by the inherent performance limitations of her mecha. She was already pushing the first-generation mecha to its speed limit, yet it was still slightly slower than the silver mecha.
Yan Yifei lightly bit her fragrant lip and snorted softly, "Don't think you can escape my grasp this way, junior brother. Let me show you what flight speed beyond the limit looks like."
Hearing this, Bai Hao felt a twinge of surprise. After being utterly crushed by Senior Sister Yan Yifei multiple times, he had researched some specific data on first-generation mechas. The blue mecha's current flight speed was already at its limit. What could "beyond the limit" speed possibly be?
"Could it be… Overdrive Mode?"
The thought flashed through Bai Hao's mind, presenting a tentative answer. Overdrive Mode was a special flight state that could momentarily provide a mecha with speed surpassing its design limits. However, this mode had a time limit. In the simulation system, it was generally set to three seconds. For real mechas, the duration varied based on design.
In their numerous past simulated battles, Bai Hao had seen Yan Yifei use Overdrive Flight Mode. Yet, he wasn't overly worried now. After shedding three weapon modules and a backup fuel tank, the silver mecha's speed surpassed the blue mecha's by a small margin. If the opponent activated Overdrive Mode, he would immediately and unhesitatingly do the same. This way, the silver mecha could maintain a distance outside the optimal firing range of the opponent's weapons.
Bai Hao's right hand danced rapidly over the command keys, ready to activate Overdrive Mode at any moment.
However, in the next instant, his calculations proved wrong.
The blue mecha didn't activate Overdrive Mode immediately. Instead, it adopted an even more unconventional tactic than Bai Hao's. One by one, weapon modules detached from the blue mecha in an instant, followed by its backup fuel tanks, leaving only the primary fuel tank.
"What?! She unloaded allher weapons?!"
Staring at the screen, Bai Hao was momentarily dumbfounded. He never expected Yan Yifei not only to use the same tactic but to apply it even more recklessly by discarding allher weapons. However, a moment later, a hint of delight appeared on his face. While unloading all weapons and backup fuel would indeed elevate the blue mecha's speed to a new level, a mecha without weapons lost its long-range attack capability. The situation now resembled him still holding a sharp sword while Yan Yifei had discarded her only pencil-sharpener blade. Thus, his advantage seemed to have been reinforced further, albeit intangibly.
Inside Pod Nine, a faint smile played on Yan Yifei's lips. A predatory glint flickered in her eyes. Her fragrant lips moved slightly. "Now that's what I call traveling light. Junior brother, let's see where you run to this time."
As she spoke, Yan Yifei's slender fingers danced swiftly. Two commands were rapidly input into the system.
"Manual control engaged!"
"Overdrive Mode activated! Duration: three seconds!"
After shedding all weapons and backup fuel, the blue mecha's speed instantly increased by a significant margin. Combined with the instantly activated Overdrive Mode, its velocity skyrocketed to a terrifying level. It shot toward the silver mecha like a screaming missile.
"So fast! She activated Overdrive Mode too!"
Bai Hao was shocked, instantly realizing the reason for the blue mecha's drastic speed change. His right hand immediately pressed the final key to activate the Overdrive Mode command.
"Overdrive Mode activated!"
The blue mecha's speed was immense, closing the gap to the silver mecha almost instantly. However, just as it was within the final dozen meters, the silver mecha's flight speed also surged dramatically.
"Not a slow reaction. Seems you were prepared. Pity, still a step too late."
Seeing the suddenly accelerated silver mecha, Yan Yifei felt a sliver of admiration. Bai Hao's reaction speed genuinely surprised her.
Watching the blue mecha clinging close behind on the screen, Bai Hao's heart sank slightly. Although he had activated Overdrive Mode as fast as possible, the blue mecha had unloaded all its weapons. In Overdrive Mode, it was slightly faster than his simulated mech. Now, he could only hope the blue mecha wouldn't catch up during its three-second overdrive burst. But with the distance mere meters, it seemed precarious.
"Faster, faster, just a little faster…"
At this critical juncture, Bai Hao could only pin his hopes on the silver mecha accelerating further.
But in the next moment, his hope was shattered.
In the final instant of the blue mecha's three-second Overdrive Mode, a mechanical hand shot out with lightning speed and clamped onto the silver mecha's mechanical leg.
Yan Yifei let out a soft sigh of relief, the faint smile on her lips instantly deepening. Her blue mecha had activated Overdrive Mode first. If she hadn't seized the silver mecha's leg at this last moment, her opponent could have instantly pulled away. Catching up again would have required considerable effort later.
She had grasped the fleeting opportunity with perfect precision.