Chapter 19: Prelude to the Feast

“I need to see how many levels my skill has, and whether I can actually fly in the end.” Yang Bo logged out of the game after two hours. The information service fee was 600 credits, and the mecha maintenance fee was 1,500 credits.

“It’s a shame that the laser gun for the mecha costss at least a million credits.” That’s right, since Yang Bo didn’t have in-game currency, he could only use credits. The in-game currency is exchanged at a 1:1 rate with real money.

“I wonder where I can find electric eels.” Yang Bo looked at his newly added flight skill. Flight: Advanced (135/1000).

Indeed, in just two hours, at least 135 birds had been sliced apart by the five-meter-long plasma blade.

What Yang Bo didn’t realize was that some players had already captured footage of him slashing birds mid-flight.

They even overlaid text: ‘Thieving bird, taste my blade!’

The photo showed Yang Bo piloting his Razor Mecha, cutting down a small bird in midair. This wasn’t just overkill, it was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.

“This guy is clearly a psychopath.”

“This guy must have some real issues in real life.”

“Yeah, he’s probably just venting.”

“Could this be the legendary ‘keyboard warrior’ from ancient myths?”

“Haha, maybe.”

“Who is this player? I want his detailed info. Damn, how dare he abuse small animals.”

“Dude, this is a game. Everyone’s killed small animals at some point. I think he’s just honing his combat skills.”

“Combat skills, my ass! Idiot…”

“You’re the idiot here…”

There were all kinds of people in the game, each with something to say. Some were animal rights activists who condemned Yang Bo, while others took the ‘I do what I want’ stance. As if to say, ‘What, are you gonna cry about it in a game?’

Naturally, Yang Bo’s personal info couldn’t be leaked. Nobody knew who was inside the mecha, and the game didn’t display any player names.

Yang Bo suddenly felt very hungry and was about to wash his face and eat when he had a sudden thought.

Time to recharge!

Twenty minutes later, Yang Bo was stunned. He felt his whole body brimming with energy, and his hunger was also gone.

“Am I even still human? No, I need to drink some milk to calm down.” Yang Bo felt there was something strange about his body.

Moreover, this time, the energy consumption during the recharge increased by 10% compared to the afternoon. The battery meter displayed this clearly, which meant what? It meant his body was now capable of holding even more energy. Yang Bo also noticed that his reflexes seemed to have quickened.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go to work first. After work, I’ll focus on upgrading my Dynamic Vision.” Yang Bo pondered, realizing he had overlooked an important ability. Without Dynamic Vision, it would be impossible to predict a bird’s flight path while piloting the mecha.

Although mechas come with computer assistance, predicting a bird’s flight path in the air is tricky. Plus, from the time the computer gives a prompt to the pilot’s reaction, there’s always a delay, making it slower than reacting purely on instinct.

In supersonic combat, the minimum speed is 400 meters per second. One-tenth of a second delay is 40 meters; being 0.01 seconds too slow means a 4-meter difference.

As Yang Bo lay in bed, he recalled something Wu Bing had said: some of the human administrative planets had disappeared.

So, was it due to planetary explosion, or was it something like what happens in the game? On Sunday, with double pay, Yang Bo earned 5,400 credits, feeling quite smug. Since the game requires money, Yang Bo decided not to use his points anymore.

It was getting late when he returned home, feeling a bit tired. He took out the battery and recharged to relieve his fatigue. Yang Bo charged directly using the property-supplied charging station. It took ten minutes to fully charge, costing 50 credits per recharge.

He still had to eat something. After eating, he logged back into the game.

After doing some research, Yang Bo found out that the Jetpack had the highest maintenance cost. This device could instantly push a 100-ton mecha to three times the speed of sound, and in three seconds, it could reach six times the speed of sound.

When compared to advanced mechas that can reach ten times the speed of sound in a second, it was simply trash.

But even trash is still a mecha. Most beginner and intermediate mechas use nuclear batteries, while some advanced mechas use solid energy, which has extremely powerful bursts.

“First target: rats. Second target: birds.” Yang Bo didn’t plan to stray too far from the fortress, just roam nearby to save time.

However, there weren’t many large animals nearby, mostly just birds and rabbits.

Yang Bo didn’t mind; as long as he could increase his skills, he was content.

Thud! He stepped on a bush.

Dynamic Vision +1!

That’s right. He had just stepped on and killed a mouse.

Time is money. Moving the mecha requires maintenance, which also costs money. So Yang Bo didn’t bother with rabbits or other animals. The radar only tracked birds and mice.

On the game’s mini-map, Yang Bo could see numerous green dots. These were the targets detected by the radar based on his equipment.

The more Yang Bo used the mecha, the smoother it became. The plasma blade in his hand felt like the scythe of death. With one swing, another bird was sliced in two. His 100-ton mecha was instantly propelled 80 meters into the air by the thrust of the Jetpack. With just one swing, Yang Bo cut through another bird.

Then, with the reverse thrust of the backpack, he safely landed… Perfect!

Base 16 was a full-metal fortress with a diameter of 1,000 meters and a height of 800 meters, built on solid granite.

After two hours, Yang Bo had cleared all the rats and birds within a 1,000-meter radius of the base, then exited the game.

Unbeknownst to Yang Bo, he had gained some recognition on the Mecha World game forum. His performance around the base today had been captured by another player.

“Tell me, where is this guy? I want to report this idiot.”

“Tsk tsk, this guy must have a miserable life.”

“He’s definitely a cowardly loser in real life.”

“Haha, guys, I know where this guy is. I’ll report back once I confirm it.”

Yang Bo never bothered to visit the game forum. It wasn’t his habit. Besides, playing two hours a night was already his limit.

“Looks like I need to buy some equipment to test my strength.” After recharging, Yang Bo could feel the changes in his body.

He glanced at his skills. Flight: Advanced (265/1000), Dynamic Vision: Advanced (375/1000). “I wonder where I can find electric eels or luminous poison frogs.”

“If I could find a cave with thousands of bats, that would be perfect.” Yang Bo mused before falling asleep.

Meanwhile, in a nearby apartment three kilometers away, a blonde young man was looking through some documents. After scanning them over, he tossed them aside, opened his communicator, and sneered: “This guy? A mere resident, just a low-level employee at An Zhijie Corporation. Is he really worth having someone like me handle him?”

The communicator responded with a mechanical voice: “Sir, are you accepting or not?”

“I’ll accept it, but set the time limit to 40 days.” The blonde young man agreed after seeing the payment offer.

“Why?” the other side of the communicator asked.

“Some things are better left unasked.” The blonde young man stood up and glanced at a massive building in the distance.

“Understood.” was the reply from the other side of the communicator.

“In 38 days, a grand feast awaits. We are undoubtedly the rightful stars of the show.” The blonde young man gazed at the huge building in the distance, where a row of gleaming letters read: ’38 days until Liduai Federation Tour: Stop No. 32.’ The red text made the blonde young man feel a bit excited.