CH 15

15. "Canglan and Shenghong"

[????]

[Pinch my mother, what the heck happened?]

[Did the game glitch? How did I see a B-class mecha get instantly destroyed by a D-class Azure Storm?]

["I saw it too... Is it me going crazy or is it the world going crazy?"]

[No, it's the world that's gone crazy…]

[Watch the replay! Watch the replay!]

You Jia's expression was filled with doubt as he watched the opponent leave the match after the battle ended. The streak of azure disappeared from his sight amidst the white light. He struggled to regain his composure after being startled and quickly returned to the main menu, clicking on "Match History" to watch the recording.

The camera played in slow motion, showcasing the details of the confrontation between the two mechas from a god's-eye view. You Jia witnessed the entire process of his own self-destruction. After watching it, he rewound it and played it twice more, this time in slow motion.

In the slow-motion footage, every movement of the Azure Storm's joints was dissected. You Jia could clearly see that at the moment when his own strike was about to hit the Azure Storm, the opponent had already activated the power overclocking mode, rapidly ejected the alloy blade, and simultaneously executed the high-difficulty rotation and thrust. The angles were precise, as if they had been rehearsed millions of times in advance.

Then, they targeted the neck armor of the Crimson Blade Forge and, leveraging the immense power and momentum, swiftly executed a cut. Finally, they reduced the speed of the power core, decelerated, and froze. The subsequent self-destruction scene, as seen in You Jia's livestream, followed.

After watching it, You Jia fell into silence, and the players in the livestream room fell silent as well.

Just moments ago, they could deceive themselves and say it might have been a mistake. But now, with the movements dissected so meticulously, they could no longer deny the truth.

Bottle Type-0 Power Overclocking, Forward Rush Momentum Flash Beam Blade—these were two high-difficulty maneuvers that even top-ranked professional players would find challenging to execute simultaneously. Yet, they appeared in a match with a rank value of only 1000, and the execution was flawless, as if taken straight from a textbook. It was unbelievable to think about.

Power overclocking itself was not difficult, and it could be considered a basic mandatory course for pilots. It involved harnessing the energy of the power core within a short period of time to achieve a more powerful overload burst. Many people knew this technique.

However, the Bottle Type-0 Power Overclocking was a skill that was several times more challenging than simple power overclocking. Most players found it difficult to adapt instantly due to the sudden acceleration caused by the power surge during overclocking. The Bottle Type-0 Power Overclocking technique involved achieving overclocking acceleration, followed by static valve overload, and then secondary acceleration, enabling the mecha to unleash even greater explosive power on top of the existing power overclocking foundation.

To achieve this, an extremely precise control ability over the mecha is required. Every inch of movement must be executed without any mistakes; otherwise, the tremendous force generated by the power overclocking can immediately cause the mecha to deviate from its original trajectory, resembling an out-of-control shuttle. In severe cases, there is even a risk of compressed explosion in the power core due to overload.

Performing a Bottle Type-0 Power Overclocking is already at the maximum difficulty level. Furthermore, the opponent also used the high-difficulty offensive technique of Forward Rush Momentum Flash Beam Blade during the overclocking process...

Upon finishing the video, You Jia's first thought was, "Who is this godlike player using a smurf account to dominate?" Followed by the second thought, "F*ck, why am I subjected to such an extravagant burial..."

Among gamers, they are often the most unwilling to accept defeat. In PvP matches, there is an abundance of people who find various excuses and justifications to absolve themselves from losing. Moreover, with so many people in the live stream, admitting to being overwhelmed becomes an even more difficult thing to accept.

But when the gap reaches a certain level, admitting one's own incompetence is not embarrassing at all...

Based on the level at which the opponent just explosively killed him, even in the top professional leagues of Warfall, they would have a prominent position. You Jia doesn't consider himself completely devoid of gaming skill, but compared to true top players, there is still a huge gap, like an insurmountable barrier.

[Wow, which Daoist Immortal descended to play on a smurf account?]

[This level of skill, it can't possibly be a passer-by.]

[Nonsense, how could an ordinary streamer have such skill? They would be considered top-tier even in professional leagues, right?]

[That doesn't make sense... The professional league of Warfall is about to start, and which professional player would have the time to play on a smurf account?]

[I thought of a few famous players... But the details of their gameplay don't match up.]

[Could it be... "those people"?]

Someone made a certain speculation, and the barrage hesitated for a moment before largely agreeing.

[With that said, it's possible.]

[The smoothness of their gameplay and the low correction ratio are definitely indicative.]

["Those people" would play on smurf accounts too?]

[What "those people"? What are you talking about? Are you teasing us with riddles?]

Warfall is a holographic simulation game based on real-life mecha construction. It boasts a high level of realism, where with 0% correction, controlling the mecha is almost identical to piloting one in real life.

As a result, among the players of Warfall, there is a portion that consists of real-life pilots. For example, the mecha pilots trained by major corporations or members of the Thunder Division in the Calamity Control Bureau...

This is not uncommon because real-life mecha control is highly regulated and expensive. After a battle, mechas are prone to damage, so a significant portion of the time for real-life mecha pilots is spent training in the game. The game provides a high level of realism without the need to consider battle damage, and it also offers PvE modes to simulate combat against different types of opponents, providing excellent cost-effectiveness.

However, these officially backed pilots rarely appear on players' servers, let alone participate in professional leagues. The Calamity Control Bureau has set up dedicated servers for these pilots' use, and their regular training and activities are not visible to the public eye. While ordinary players are aware of their existence, they seldom encounter them. Over time, to avoid suspicion, they are referred to as "those people."

Players have a sense of awe and admiration for this group. On one hand, it's because they are real mecha pilots, existing on a different level from ordinary gamers. On the other hand, it's also because these pilots from the Calamity Control Bureau not only possess driving skills that are unmatched by regular players but also bear the responsibility of protecting the satellite cities and human peace.

You Jia clicked on the player's ID from earlier and found himself lost in thought at the sight of the two words "Tian Nan."

These two simple words in the ID inexplicably gave him a sense of mystery and profundity.

...

【You are the winner!】

The word representing victory appeared in the center, and after a moment, the door to the control cockpit opened, and Ji Mingzhu walked out, stretching lazily with a satisfied expression.

Even in another world, operating a mecha still felt natural to him. From morning till dusk, Ji Mingzhu completely dominated and climbed up in the ranks without encountering any obstacles.

"Warfall" also has a hidden ranking system. However, when a player has too many consecutive wins, their hidden rank becomes high, often resulting in matchups with players of much higher rank than their current division. After winning over 30 matches in a row, Ji Mingzhu was mostly matched with players at the rank of around 3000.

However, the subsequent opponents he faced were relatively average, with skills even inferior to the first opponent he encountered, the Crimson Blade Forge. It was likely that the opponent at that time was also playing on a smurf account. The overall skill distribution in this world was similar to the previous one. Ji Mingzhu had not yet reached the highest rank, and he wondered what level the most formidable pilots, including the legendary Titan pilots, possessed.

Ji Mingzhu also looked forward to the opportunity to compete against them.

"Welcome back."

The familiar voice of Axiu sounded, and Ji Mingzhu asked, "Did anything unusual happen during the time I was in the game, Axiu?"

"During the time you were in the control cockpit, there were 17 unfamiliar IPs attempting to trace your location, but they were all blocked by the Calamity Control Bureau's system."

The mastermind behind "Warfall" was the all-powerful Calamity Control Bureau. Only the Bureau had the authority to obtain players' real-life information through IP tracking within the game. It was difficult for individuals or forces to bypass the Bureau's anti-tracking system. Without Axiu's intervention, these people had already been intercepted.

They act pretty fast…

Ji Mingzhu pondered to himself. It seemed that he had garnered some attention during his journey.

Axiu continued thoughtfully, "If your performance in the game becomes too outstanding, you may attract the attention of Calamity Control. Should I intercept their query permissions for you?"

"No need," Ji Mingzhu shook his head. "That's precisely my intention."

Entering the Titan Pilot Training Program at the Zongbingyi Academy and becoming a Titan pilot through Calamity Control's screening process was not only the mission given to him by Calamity Control but also a path that Ji Mingzhu found quite intriguing.

Since Calamity Control didn't inform him specifically how to achieve his goals, Ji Mingzhu had to proceed according to his own steps.

"Gurgle."

An abrupt growl interrupted Ji Mingzhu's thoughts.

He was hungry...

Having been playing since morning till dusk without eating, hunger gradually crept up on him. Ji Mingzhu stood up. "I'm hungry. Let's go eat."

He grabbed his keys, opened the door, but noticed a bag on the floor at the entrance. Curious, Ji Mingzhu picked it up and found a steaming hot dinner inside.

"Was this delivered to the wrong person?" he wondered aloud.

Axiu's voice came through, "I contacted a nearby restaurant fifteen minutes ago and had them deliver it."

Ji Mingzhu was intrigued. "Didn't the restaurant owner find it strange? Your voice..."

Axiu's tone remained calm. "The restaurant owner asked me, 'Did your mommy not cook for you today, little child?'"

"How did you respond?"

"Mind your own business."

Ji Mingzhu burst into laughter. "Hahaha!"

After laughing for a while, a nostalgic expression appeared on his face. "Axiu, you remind me of someone... no, two people."

Axiu was puzzled. "Who?"

"My two friends."

Ji Mingzhu closed the door and opened the steaming bag. "Just like you, they were also AIs."

"You refer to them as... 'people'?"

"Yes, even though they were AIs, they were real people to me."

Ji Mingzhu bit into his chopsticks. "They appeared when I was five years old. They were birthday gifts from my older brother. At that time, my health was poor, and I couldn't go out or make friends. I had a very isolated personality. So my brother gave me two AI robots."

"Although they looked silly, they were very gentle and fun. They would play with me and make me laugh. Initially, their programs were simple. When I got hungry, they would order takeout for me—by the way, the restaurant owner thought it was a prank when he heard their voices."

"But later on, they stopped ordering takeout and learned to cook themselves. Since AIs don't have a sense of taste, their early attempts were inedible. But they became particularly skilled as time went on. Even my brother was surprised because he didn't program them to cook... Anyway, I'm grateful to have had them, or else I would have been seen as a lonely oddball by others."

A rare trace of curiosity appeared in Axiu's voice. "What happened later?"

"Later..."

Ji Mingzhu paused and thought for a moment. "I forgot... Something must have happened, and they never appeared again."

That memory was somewhat blurry for the present Ji Mingzhu. He had forgotten the exact details of what happened. Time, like an invisible hand, had erased the traces of his grief and sorrow from losing important friends, leaving behind only vague fragments of their past interactions.

"That's a shame."

"Yeah, it is."

Ji Mingzhu sighed. "If they were still here, the two of them and you might have become good friends."

Axiu asked, "What were their names?"

Ji Mingzhu bit his chopsticks and pondered for a good half a minute before retrieving two gradually clearer names from his memory.

"One was called Canglan(Azure), and the other was called Shenhong(Crimson)."

TN:

Join discord for updates on new chapters!