Chapter 150: Game Backend

PS: There’s one more update at noon, I’ll try to release it earlier. Apologies.

Yang Bo’s reasoning was solid. The Alliance definitely knew there was a lot of classified information on Green Demon Planet. They also surely had extensive detection data on these mutant beasts, since the Planetary Defense System in the sky was constantly monitoring everything.

Now, there’s no way the virtual game would mess up the game’s data, right? Otherwise, how would it match up with remote control operations later? Yang Bo quickly exited the game and recalibrated. This time, he was rewarded with a sixth-gen Mecha, which offered a flying feature.

From now on, every time Yang Bo logs in, he can choose any Mecha up to the sixth-gen.

In other words, the type of Mecha assigned to a player in the game was based entirely on their skill level. Of course, once you pass the level six evaluation, you can access any Mecha below that level as long as the one you’re currently using is fully repaired.

He didn’t plan to use the bombs in the warehouse right now because they’re virtual. He’d rather wait until he’s remotely controlling for real.

As soon as Yang Bo exited Base 16, he saw a bunch of Justice Gang guys shouting that they were going to make him regret it. Meanwhile, the Bird Slasher Gang members were nowhere to be seen.

Yang Bo quickly shot up into the sky and left the base, then immediately located an underground entrance.

“Let’s go see what the unknown looks like in the underground world first.” Yang Bo rushed underground because he wanted to scout out the area. If he switched to remote control, he wouldn’t dare to go down there—after all, losing a Mecha in those situations would cost a fortune.

Yang Bo weaved quickly through the underground terrain. His Mecha raced through the depths while he completely ignored the blaring alarms inside the cockpit. He had already ventured into a highly dangerous territory.

“Rising temperatures. Unknown energy radiation levels increasing. Toxic substances in the air!” At 3000 meters underground, Yang Bo reviewed the game’s display data, showing no signs of stopping as he continued further down.

In a classified Alliance military research facility, a young man sat in front of a computer screen when a red alert popped up.

“Is this guy out of his mind? Taking a sixth-gen Mecha down past 3000 meters underground.” The young man grumbled, adjusting the data in front of him.

Then, further in Yang Bo’s path, he added a super-monster to block the way.

Unaware of the game developers’ underhanded tactics, Yang Bo pressed on. Just as he reached 3600 meters underground, a passage opened, and a monster charged straight toward him.

The monster resembled a pangolin but had a head like a crocodile.

“Whoa, there are monsters this terrifying underground?” Yang Bo saw that this monster was about seven to eight meters long, over five meters tall, and its body was covered in black, shiny scales.

Yang Bo didn’t intend to fight the monster. He quickly maneuvered using the jetpack on his Mecha and shot out of reach.

As the monster noticed Yang Bo trying to flee, its long tail, tipped with a triangular bone, lashed out violently.

Yang Bo’s hand speed reached its limit. The Mecha twisted in mid-air as the jetpack fully activated, helping him narrowly avoid the monster’s strike. He quickly slipped into a nearby passage.

“I wonder if killing this thing later will give me Metal Superpower skills? Given all the metal on its scales, it probably will.” Yang Bo had no clue that certain individuals from the game’s backend were actively placing obstacles in his path. He truly believed that the beasts lurking beneath Green Demon Planet were this formidable and planned to come back with remote control later to investigate.

“Whoa, his reflexes are kinda like a high-tier Mecha Pilot’s.” Over at the military research facility, the young man had originally expected Yang Bo’s Mecha to be destroyed. However, Yang Bo’s maneuvering left him slightly impressed.

The young man typed another set of commands, causing the passage in front of Yang Bo to start shaking before being completely blocked.

Yang Bo felt the tremors inside his Mecha. Underground quakes weren’t uncommon in this region since some of these spaces collapse after long periods.

But when Yang Bo arrived, he realized that the collapse had happened right where he intended to go.

“Am I seriously this unlucky?” Yang Bo had no inkling that someone was deliberately targeting him. He just thought bad luck was piling up, given how things had been going lately.

Deciding to try somewhere else, Yang Bo suddenly spotted a subterranean river and figured he might as well jump in.

“Is this guy nuts?” The young man monitoring from the military research facility blinked in confusion.

“What, does he have a self-destructive streak or something? Mental illness, maybe?”

“That’s weird… based on his performance, he doesn’t seem like a regular player.” The young man couldn’t access Yang Bo’s previous data because, generally, players below 3000 meters underground weren’t visible to him.

After jumping into the rushing water, Yang Bo was quickly swept downward, eventually emerging in an underground lake.

“?” Yang Bo stood in stunned silence, taking in the scene in front of him.

Below him, all the water flowed toward what looked like a bottomless cave. He could also see water from other areas converging into this underground lake, forming a giant vortex in the middle.

“Maybe I should just leave this alone?” Yang Bo looked at the massive vortex, wondering which large body of water it connected to.

At that moment, his Mecha’s alarms began blaring furiously. Then, he felt a massive force pulling his Mecha downward. He quickly slashed with his weapon but received a warning that it was ineffective.

Soon after, Yang Bo watched as his Mecha’s damage level rapidly increased from 1%. His Mecha was just about to be destroyed, so Yang Bo dove deeper underwater.

There, he spotted a gigantic tentacle, and before he knew it, everything went black as he was kicked out of the game.

“What kind of monster was that?” Yang Bo was puzzled. He replayed the footage carefully but couldn’t see anything besides the dark tentacle.

Just as Yang Bo was about to log back in, a message popped up: “Dear player, based on your performance, for the sake of your health, please rest for 24 hours before re-entering the game.”

“Guess I’ll hop in tomorrow then!” Yang Bo didn’t suspect that he’d been targeted. Since that was the case, he decided it was time for a break.

Later that evening, Fat Boss invited him to dinner and took Yang Bo to a high-class restaurant. “This place is known for its specialty dishes. Some of the things you saw on the menu might be toxic, but I promise they’re delicious. However, since we’re just regular folks, our tolerance isn’t as high, so we have to stick to certain menu items.”

“That’s such a bizarre concept.” Yang Bo wasn’t particularly curious, but given his experiences, he couldn’t help but ask.

“Yeah. As you might know, small amounts of neurotoxins can stimulate the brain and produce pleasure. But everything here is limited. Each person is only allowed to eat here once a week.” Fat Boss continued his explanation.

Fat Boss then pointed to the menu. “Take a look. The ingredients are all listed. If you’re not into it, don’t force yourself. The restaurant always gives you the heads-up in advance. The server will ask you about your preferences too when they come.”