Chapter 22

Translator: Noodletown Translations  Editor: Noodletown Translations

Mu Fan appeared in Chubby Harry’s VIP room after passing through the portal. It was about 20 square meters in size, and it had two battle portal rings on the sides. Right now, Chubby Harry seemed depressed as he sunk into the sofa while watching combat videos.

Chubby Harry closed the video right away after seeing a white light flash by, and he quickly approached Mu Fan with a frowning face. “I was beaten so badly; they set me up! I… Hahahahaha! How come you’re still wearing the tank top? Didn’t you finish the training?” Chubby Harry had to stop his complaints after seeing Mu Fan’s flashy newbie outfit.

Mu Fan almost couldn’t keep his cool expression, but it was a good thing that Chubby Harry was too insensitive to notice. He could still feel the pain on his head caused by that undodgeable metal staff during the training.

“… Yeah, I finished it, but I think I still need to learn more basics, so I’ll probably visit there often afterwards.” Mu Fan didn’t know how he was able to keep a straight face saying these words.

“That’s good.” Chubby Harry didn’t think much and continued saying, “So, did you learn how to operate a mech? You must have gone straight for the mech training, right? I already told you that combat training wouldn’t mean anything to you.”

“…Yes.” Mu Fan took a while to answer.

“Let’s quit talking and head into battle. Let’s start with first-generation mechs since they are really basic with slow speeds, and the battle zone is smaller, which is suitable for beginners like you,” Young Master Harry said, pretending to be a senior as he patted Mu Fan’s shoulder.

“Hey, see that battle portal ring over there? Stand in there and confirm your battle room, and then you’ll enter automatically,” Chubby Harry said, pouting his lips toward the direction of one battle portal ring.

“Alright.” Mu Fan didn’t feel ready yet, but he had to pretend like he was. He felt like he was forced.

“Shiver, losers! Watch how I slaughter in the newbie battle rooms, hahahahaha!” Chubby Harry had a fierce expression as he licked his lips and stepped into the portal ring.

“Mu Fan, confirmed for battle. System matching starts.”

…

“Beep. Match succeeded. Room: A471507; Level: First to Second Generation Mechs; Map: Eight-square-kilometer rocky area; Mode: 8 vs 8.”

Mu Fan and Harry disappeared from Harry’s VIP room in an instant and reappeared above the map, but the teammates could not see each other yet. Mu Fan could look down and see huge rocks randomly scattered on a plain from the third-person perspective, and it seemed to be divided into sections by hills and broken battleships, making it look like a rocky maze from above.

[System countdown: two minutes.]

[Please select your mech.]

Mu Fan looked at the long list that appeared in front of him; it listed mechs from the first generation all the way to the seventh generation. Then, it was followed by black question marks afterwards.

Unfortunately, they all appeared grey.

Mu Fan swiped right, and the page of first-generation mechs in grey disappeared, finally showing an iron mech in color.

This one is available for use!!

Mu Fan felt a bit excited but helpless at the same time. Why? Because he had no idea how to operate it. Of course, it would be exciting for him to operate a mech for the first time, but he felt helpless after remembering that he learned nothing about mech operation from that training camp. Besides, he was too embarrassed to explain the situation to Chubby Harry.

[Confirm selection?] The system popped out a reminder.

There were no options other than this one, so he had to confirm.

“Selection confirmed. Generation-zero human-form general purpose heavy mech – Model EH01.”

The icon enlarged readily after Mu Fan had confirmed his selection, and a mech that looked like a human skeleton appeared in front of him.

Mu Fan’s height was about 1.78 meters, and this… mech-looking piece of machinery was about six meters tall.

The strange thing was that this mech was completely different from the mechs Mu Fan had seen in Chubby Harry’s Skycom videos. A skeleton would be a more accurate description for it rather than a mech.

A brief description appeared beside the mech. [Reality Mode Mech. Human-form skeleton EH01; this generation-zero mech was created for land usage before humans were able to go above the atmosphere. Originally designed for civil use, but it was later revised for military use through modification of several replaceable components. This mech relies on manual operation with multiple mechanical levers and a 178-key control panel.]

[Height: 6.2m

Weight: 8.77t

Model: Land-use generation-zero mech

Maximum speed: 45km/h

Weapon: Exchangeable components – 120mm Shoulder Cannon, 52mm Arm-Loaded Gatling Gun, Alloy Katana.

Engine: Generation-zero energy reactor + fuel battery.

System Rating: F- in long-range combat, F in defense, E- in close-range combat, F- in mobility.

The only thing that Mu Fan felt when he saw this skeleton made out of a bunch of metal bars was that it seemed dumb, dull, and clumsy.

Can someone even operate this? Mu Fan doubted its ability by judging its looks, and he was at a loss for words.

“Please confirm weapon selection,” the system reminded Mu Fan again.

“Select Katana, and abandon the rest,” Mu Fan said without hesitation. Looking at the notifications, it would decrease the mech’s weight by 0.6t after removing the shoulder cannon and Gatling gun, therefore increasing its mobility. For generation-zero mechs, even a little increase would be a benefit.

“Selection confirmed. Are you ready to enter the cockpit?”

“Yes.”

Mu Fan walked into the lift, and he was up inside the cockpit in the next moment.

Theoretically, the cockpit of a six-meter-tall mech should have ample space, but… this mech was basically a metal skeleton. The cockpit was located at the ‘spine’ location, and the space was very tight with 13 red and blue mechanical levers on both sides and 178 buttons that were in the shape of an arc before him. There was only a small seat for one person with a light screen in front of it.

How do I operate this!?

Mu Fan had no idea what to do as he sat on the hard operator’s seat and stared blankly ahead.

However, the system wouldn’t care about that as it started the countdown, “Five, four, three, two, one… Eject.”

Mu Fan suddenly sensed an agravic feeling as if he was free falling down a cliff. He was dropped down from the sky hundreds of meters above the ground, and the metallic mech was unable to eliminate the adrenaline rush caused by the agravic feeling.

“So thrilling!!!” This was Mu Fan’s first time in contact with a mech, and this feeling of soon facing someone in battle made every pore on his body feel comfortable as if he was made for this.

However! Wouldn’t the mech shatter into pieces after falling from this height?!

Mu Fan was about to shout as he could see the ground getting closer and closer.

Shhhh~ The suspension system built into the mech’s legs automatically turned on.

Even though the suspension helped with the landing, one shouldn’t expect a generation-zero mech to eliminate the impact force completely as it was nice enough to have something to begin with.

Bam! The EH01 Mech smashed onto the ground, and Mu Fan also felt the impact inside the cockpit.

“What a trashy mech; it’s like a bungee jump every time it lands. This needs to be reported and discussed on the PO Forum.”

“Don’t kid around. They would’ve changed it if it really needed to be revised. This is how it feels like in reality-mode battles, or do you want a first-generation mech to feel like an eighth-generation one? What do you know?”

“And you do? You’re stupid.”

“You idiot.”

…

Mu Fan felt confused as he didn’t understand why he could suddenly hear voices coming from his cockpit and why they had started a quarrel.

“Alright, let’s look at the map. Everyone, take cover and choose Point A or B to gather up and form two lines. Let’s do this!”

Another voice appeared, and it sounded more reliable this time. Otherwise, Mu Fan would have thought that he had entered the wrong place.

“Okay, I pick A,” the player who spoke first said.

“I’m also heading towards Point A.”

“Go away; don’t follow me.”

“Get lost; I’ll report you if you say one more word!”

“…You b*stard.”

The two mechs quarreled as they headed towards Point A, and Mu Fan could see two green dots on his map heading in that direction.

“Damn. So, everyone in this level-1 room just talks big?” This time, Mu Fan recognized the voice; it was Chubby Harry’s voice.

“Who are you to talk?”

“You loser.”

“You XX!” Chubby Harry was pissed off.

Mu Fan was at a loss for words. Was his first battle in a mech going to be like this?