Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Acts of Chivalry

Chapter 3: Chapter 2: Acts of Chivalry

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Yan Fei estimated the time and found that if the flight was as high-speed as the test he just conducted, the Drone Avatar’s 30 Energy Points would last at most only 30 minutes. In other words, 1 Energy Point would only allow high-speed flying of the Drone Avatar for 1 minute.

Of course, if the flight wasn’t operating at such a high intensity and the speed was reduced, the drone’s flight duration would extend appropriately but definitely not exceeding 1 hour. Once the Energy Points were depleted, the Drone Avatar would enter standby mode, unable to operate further until the Energy Points naturally recharged.

After figuring out that the Drone Avatar’s flight time was only 30 minutes to 1 hour, Yan Fei still felt somewhat disappointed, as the endurance was not strong. However, his anticipation grew, realizing that the Drone Avatar could be upgraded, and once upgraded, this limitation might vanish automatically.

Time flew as Yan Fei researched his Drone Avatar, and it wasn’t until his stomach growled that he realized how hungry he was. He swiftly prepared dinner for himself and began eating alone.

While Yan Fei’s body had been transformed by a Mysterious Power into something stronger, this transformation came at a cost. It depleted the energy within his body, now significantly deficient and in dire need of replenishment. Consequently, his appetite had suddenly increased by five times. Fortunately, living alone meant that no-one was alarmed by his sudden increase in food consumption. This situation was likely only temporary; once his body absorbed enough energy to compensate for the transformation’s toll, his appetite should return to normal gradually.

After dinner, Yan Fei went to the neighboring exercise room to familiarize himself with the sudden surge of strength within his body. He struggled with control because this power emerged abruptly, not knowing his own strength during cooking and ending up breaking several bowls. He needed to quickly master his transformed physique to utilize this newfound power effectively rather than let it become a hindrance.

Yan Fei enjoyed exercising and had his own dedicated exercise room and equipment; however, he’d never practiced any martial arts or specialized training methods. All he knew were some basic exercises learned from the gym, which were not particularly effective. Yet, after two hours of depletion of his internal strength, he managed to harness a portion of the sudden powerful force in his body. Of course, full mastery was still some time away, but at least he would no longer break bowls.

Exhausted, Yan Fei took a shower and went to bed. Waking up later, he found it was already one in the morning. With a thought, his perspective instantly switched to the Drone Avatar, which promptly activated. From the Virtual Operation Screen, Yan Fei noticed that the Energy Points had indeed restored to 30, and even the Pea Bullets he had used before topped back up to 200. It was the next day, and it seemed the drone underwent its automatic refresh at one o’clock in the morning.

Yan Fei opened the window to inspect the outside condition; the Drone Avatar took off silently and flew out into the night sky. Meanwhile, he was lying in bed, with his perspective shifted to the Drone Avatar, feeling as though he had truly taken flight.

Yan Fei had always dreamed of flying, a desire confined to dreams until now. He never thought he would truly experience aerial flight, even if only through a Drone Avatar. The sensation was intensely authentic and fulfilled his dream of flight.

Living on the fifth floor, the Drone Avatar revealed a pitch-black vista once airborne. Some streetlights were visible, though visibility wasn’t great. Thankfully, the mutated HD Camera function was powerful and automatically adjusted brightness, maintaining minimal impact on Yan Fei’s vision.

At this late hour, most people were lost in slumber and it was rare to see anyone on the streets. Coupled with the Drone Avatar’s stealthy all-black color, Yan Fei wasn’t worried about it being spotted by others.

The moment the drone flew out the window, it ascended toward higher altitudes. At Yan Fei’s whim, the drone navigated through the sky, an experience so exquisite it felt like personal flight. However, he soon discovered that past a certain altitude, climbing became incredibly challenging, leading him to realize the height limit of his drone’s flight capability. Comparing with the surrounding high-rise buildings, he estimated the Drone Avatar’s maximum flight altitude to be around 100 meters.

He then controlled the Drone Avatar to fly towards the distance, accelerating as he went. When its speed reached 20 meters per second, it could no longer increase, marking the maximum flight speed of the Drone Avatar. Translated to kilometers, that was 72 kilometers per hour, a speed comparable to larger civil drones.

As the Drone Avatar continued to fly, traversing some distance, Yan Fei felt his control over it suddenly weaken. He quickly understood that he had reached the maximum range of his control. Using the nearby buildings and terrain as reference points, he roughly estimated the effective range of controlling his Drone Avatar to be about 1 kilometer; any further, and it might lose contact with his body.

With these calculations, Yan Fei roughly understood some data points about the Drone Avatar: a flight altitude not exceeding 100 meters, a flight speed not exceeding 72 kilometers per hour, and a control range not surpassing 1 kilometer. As the proverb goes, know thyself, know thy enemy, a hundred battles, a hundred victories. Understanding his Drone Avatar’s capabilities would allow him to utilize its full potential better.

The Drone Avatar was now within a 1-kilometer radius of Yan Fei’s body, hovering above the largest nearby Leisure Park. Although it was 1 am, not all park lights were extinguished. With the mutated HD Camera, Yan Fei could still observe the entire park clearly from above.

And just as the Drone Avatar was flying over the park, preparing to leave, Yan Fei suddenly heard a “snap” followed by someone speaking aloud.

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The Drone Avatar was somewhat strange; although it could see real-time images through the HD Camera, it didn’t have any equipment to collect sound on the body. Yet, even so, this avatar could hear sounds as if it had ears, which was amazing.

Upon hearing the voices below, Yan Fei’s heart stirred, and the Drone Avatar lowered its Flight Altitude, silently drifting over and then hiding in the shadows beneath the tree canopy. He saw a young couple standing next to a bench by the lake in the Park. A man was covering his face, shouting at another young woman.

“Little Juan, we’ve been dating for so long, why won’t you let me kiss you? And why did you hit me so hard…”

The young woman named Little Juan said angrily, “Yuan Ye, I didn’t expect you to be this kind of person. Didn’t we agree that we shouldn’t have any intimate gestures before marriage…”

Yuan Ye got even more infuriated, “Times have changed. Which couple doesn’t engage in affectionate gestures? If you don’t let me kiss you, why did you agree to meet me this late? It’s the middle of the night now…”

Little Juan said, “You know I work night shifts, I just got off work. Besides, you’re the one who asked me to come here.”

Yuan Ye spoke fiercely, “I don’t care. You’re my girlfriend, and I’ve spent so much money on you; today, I must get a kiss from you.”

Watching Yuan Ye approach her, Little Juan grew panicked and said, “Yuan Ye, don’t mess around, I’ll call for help.”

Yuan Ye was desperate, “Then call! Your Company is nearby, let’s see how you face your coworkers once they hear about this.”

Yuan Ye took a step forward and grabbed Little Juan. Just as she was about to shout, Yuan Ye covered her mouth. Ignoring Little Juan’s struggles, he was about to force a kiss on her. Yan Fei was initially observing out of curiosity, but seeing this scene unfold, reminiscent of the fabled tale of a lord forcing himself on a lady, he became quite angry. No matter what, force was definitely not acceptable.

The Drone Avatar hidden beneath the tree canopy swiftly flew toward Yuan Ye, hovering 50 meters away—since the Pea Shooter’s maximum range was 50 meters—and then the barrel of the Pea Shooter began to rotate, aiming at Yuan Ye’s behind. Under air pressure, the Pea Bullets started firing.

Though the Drone Avatar fired peas, they were dried peas, none too small, and were quite painful on impact, which Yan Fei had personally experienced before. But because they were only peas, which wouldn’t actually harm a person, that’s why Yan Fei felt justified attacking ordinary people with them.

Just as Yuan Ye was about to succeed, suddenly a sharp pain erupted in his backside, and he let out a miserable scream. Then, more than a dozen peas rained down on him, causing such pain that he jumped up.

Yan Fei was about to continue the assault, to teach this forced-kisser a lesson, but then he saw Little Juan rush over with concern, saying to Yuan Ye, “Yuan Ye, what’s wrong with you? Don’t scare me! If it’s really that bad, I’ll let you kiss me.”

Yan Fei froze, sighing in his heart, realizing once again the unfathomable mind of a woman. Perhaps their refusals were just a means to get what they ultimately desired. Seeing Little Juan embracing Yuan Ye with a concerned expression, Yan Fei felt a wave of disillusionment and steered the Drone Avatar away.

The couple looked around everywhere, clueless about who had attacked them. As peas fell to the ground and into the grass, the couple failed to notice them. They exchanged a look, then remembered horrifying scenes from movies set in parks, which gave them chills. Yelling once more, they ran off supporting each other. Yan Fei’s attack had unexpectedly brought the couple closer together, which Yan Fei never saw coming.

Yan Fei’s Drone Avatar continued to fly over the Leisure Park. Then he saw the number on the Merit Points had become 1. His mind raced, realizing that the Merit Points were certainly tied to the recent attack on Yuan Ye. So, this was how Merit was earned. Also, he understood that a person could only contribute a maximum of 1 point of Merit since Yuan Ye had been hit with more than a dozen peas yet only 1 point of Merit appeared. If so, by attacking others with peas, could his Merit quickly reach the Upgrade requirement?

However, Yan Fei wasn’t a bad guy, nor could he convince himself to just shoot anyone with peas; after all, getting hit with peas was still quite painful. But then it dawned on him that there were many injustices in this World, and he could use his Drone Avatar to play the chivalrous person and punish the wicked. This wouldn’t only fulfill his childhood dream of being a chivalrous hero but would also earn Merit Points, allowing his Drone to Upgrade—a double win. It was a pity that his Weapon consisted of two hundred dried peas, which could only intimidate those small-time thugs without weapons. Against those hardened criminals armed to the teeth, he was helpless. Yet, if people found out that the chivalrous hero’s Weapon was nothing but peas, Yan Fei wondered if they would laugh their heads off…