Chapter 208: Three Seconds

“Could it be that I’ve been transported into a virtual game?” Yang Bo walked ahead, pondering this question.

“Virtual or not, my main goal is to train my mecha’s front-line combat capability!” Yang Bo realized that the mecha’s combat mode was geared for direct confrontation.

But somehow, his own combat style always seemed a bit sneaky. Such a style, when applied to mecha combat, didn’t feel quite right.

Of course, the way he fought would depend on the battlefield environment.

Yang Bo piloted the mecha through the tunnel in the Underground World at high speed. Before long, he spotted two mechas running toward him.

“Go! There’s a B-class mutant behind us!” The two mechas were damaged. Seeing Yang Bo seemingly just watching, they shouted in warning before hurrying off.

The mecha had speakers for communication, but Yang Bo usually remained silent. He just nodded his mecha’s head and charged forward.

“Run, a dangerous mutant’s gone berserk back there!” After another five kilometers, two more mechas sped past. One had even lost an arm. Seeing Yang Bo, they yelled the same warning and ran off.

Sound carried far in the Underground World. After running nearly 40 kilometers, Yang Bo saw three mechas blocking a passageway ahead.

“Captain, go ahead, I’ll hold them off!” The loudspeaker on one of the mechas echoed clearly through the passage.

Hearing the voice, Yang Bo was taken aback. “Is that the Fat Boss?”

“You all go, leave the Shockwave Bombs with me.” The Fat Boss’s mecha was of the ninth generation, just like Yang Bo’s, though it was clearly modified.

The other two mechas were of the tenth generation, one black and one in desert camouflage.

Previously, all three mechas had been modified. Two of them had laser cannons, though it looked like the cannons had been damaged.

“Brother, don’t come any closer! There’s a powerful mutant here, and it’s got an Energy Shield!” Upon hearing the mecha’s alarm, one of the operators, a woman, turned and warned Yang Bo.

Hearing this, Yang Bo’s eyes lit up. These kinds of mutants were rare. He had previously killed a large snake with a Fire Energy Shield in Iron Bull’s territory.

Yang Bo gripped his mecha weapon and moved to the passageway. There, he saw a snake, though this one was short and thick, with a diameter of two meters and a length between seven and eight meters. Its head was snake-like, but its body resembled a fat caterpillar.

The snake’s body was covered in scales, and a layer of red Energy Shield shimmered over them. The creature suddenly opened its mouth and launched a red fireball.

Yang Bo immediately activated his jetpack, propelling the mecha into a more spacious part of the tunnel.

Boom! The fireball hit the entrance where the three mechas were stationed, causing a massive explosion.

“It can make its fireballs explode?” Yang Bo was shocked by the sight.

Yang Bo’s own fire ability allowed him to throw fireballs, but they only produced high temperatures. They didn’t explode. However, under certain conditions, the heat could trigger physical reactions leading to explosions.

The mutant, seeing Yang Bo evade, quickly charged at him.

The creature’s body was protected by thick layers of scales and the red Energy Shield.

Yang Bo held his mecha weapon forward, his Jetpack activating again, sending his mecha directly toward the mutant in a head-on collision.

“Is this guy crazy?”

“He’s actually charging straight into the Energy Shield!” The Fat Boss and his two teammates, whose mechas were already battered from the mutant’s attacks, were taken aback by Yang Bo’s bold assault.

Just as they spoke, Yang Bo’s mecha and the mutant collided.

But as Yang Bo neared, his mecha performed a sliding tackle, slipping under the mutant’s body.

The mutant was sent flying by the slide, its entire body still covered by the red Energy Shield.

Yang Bo’s mecha issued a heat warning, with signs of the metal surfaces starting to melt from the intense temperatures.

“What a high temperature.” As he slid past, Yang Bo quickly glanced at the alert.

As the mecha slammed into the rock wall, Yang Bo kicked off the wall, allowing his mecha to swing in a wide arc before charging back toward the mutant.

“Master!”

“In just under 600 meters, his mecha hit speeds of up to Mach 3, with his Jetpack operating at over 50% power the entire time.” The Fat Boss’s Captain was in disbelief.

Yang Bo’s mecha rapidly turned and sped toward the downed mutant. It had just crashed to the ground.

Yang Bo performed another sliding tackle, but this time he sliced the mecha weapon diagonally across the mutant’s body.

“That Energy Shield’s really holding up!” Yang Bo noted no visible exterior damage from the strike.

His mecha’s display showed a speed of Mach 3.2. Yang Bo could only imagine the damage a mecha weapon at such high speed could cause. The mutant, likely hurt by the attack, coiled its body tightly before springing off the rock wall.

The mutant launched itself at Yang Bo’s mecha.

Opening its mouth, it fired multiple fireballs, each about a meter in diameter.

Yang Bo’s mecha kept its speed, still racing forward. Just before hitting another rock wall, it swiftly turned and, like a missile traveling at Mach 3.2, collided head-on with the mutant again.

“That move… only an ace mecha pilot could pull that off.”

“Mach 3.2, within 40 meters of a wall, pulling off a backflip to change direction… only the best could manage something like that, and they’d need to do it in under 0.01 seconds.”

At that moment, Yang Bo’s mecha flew through the air, landing on the ground. The mutant lay in two halves.

Fire Energy Mastery +16!

Rewatching the footage, the Fat Boss’s team realized that during the backward flip, Yang Bo’s mecha engaged the Jetpack while holding its weapon, slicing the mutant clean in two despite the fireballs.

The mutant had moved quickly, but Yang Bo’s mecha was faster, cutting it right down the middle.

The Fat Boss’s team was thrilled. From Yang Bo’s charge to the fight’s conclusion, less than three seconds had passed.

“M-m-master.” The Fat Boss’s Captain’s voice trembled.

Yang Bo’s mecha was still issuing alarm signals. The mutant’s fireball had scarred the surface metal badly.

Pointing at the mutant’s body, Yang Bo then gestured to the group before leaving.

Yang Bo couldn’t speak. He was at home, and using camouflage wasn’t a good idea. Who knew if someone from the game’s backend was spying?

He piloted his mecha away, disappearing down the tunnel.

“Captain, how could an ace mecha pilot use that kind of mecha?” the Fat Boss stammered.

“Quit talking and gather the mutant’s corpse. This thing’s worth a lot more.” The Captain quickly ordered.

The three mechas hurriedly got to work, taking out bags and beginning to pack the mutant’s body into them. The Fat Boss’s Captain contacted their base to send someone for cleanup.

It was impossible for their mechas to collect the mutant’s blood and other materials, so they called in the base. The base would send NPCs to clean up.

“Captain, you haven’t answered my question.” The Fat Boss was still trembling with excitement after witnessing Yang Bo’s performance.

“The pros come here to sharpen their skills. Seven of our mechas were nearly destroyed by one mutant today.”

“But this ace pilot finished it in under three seconds. If they had chosen to ambush the mutant, it wouldn’t have lasted even a second.” The Captain explained.

A voice came from one of the other mechas, “That mutant’s valuable. Don’t they want it?”

“At best, that mutant’s corpse is worth 10 million. But top-tier mecha pilots are worth tens of billions. Why would they care?” The Captain shook his head.

“I know a big shot. He’s an ace mecha pilot with his own custom warship worth over 5 billion credits. He owns mechas from every generation, from Generation 3 to 12.” The Captain spoke with envy.

The Fat Boss’s family also had an ace mecha pilot, but the Fat Boss was from a lesser branch of the family and had never met him. It was all highly confidential, too.

An ace mecha pilot could single-handedly secure a family’s safety. Even the biggest families wouldn’t dare use warships or the Planetary Security System in their power struggles.

The most they’d deploy were mechas. One ace pilot was enough to safeguard even the lower-ranked families.

“So rich… If only I could marry him.” The woman’s voice rang out again.

“Then you’d better prepare yourself. He probably has at least ten women. Think about what stamina is required to pull off those moves. I bet his fingers alone move at Mach 2 across the keyboard.”

“Someone that strong couldn’t be satisfied with just one woman.” The Fat Boss nodded. For a pilot to perform a backflip at Mach 3.2, how many inputs would that require?

“Of course. We’re lucky we ran into him today, otherwise, our mechas would be done for.” The woman’s voice was tinged with disappointment.

Nearly an hour passed before the base team arrived. The Fat Boss’s team was from Base 19, not Base 16.

When Base 19’s people arrived, they were astonished. It was a mutant of the variant type, and a B-class at that, worth a fortune. Mecha fighting in these tight corridors against mutants with Energy Shields was truly tough.

Don’t underestimate the Energy Shield. It could easily stop a mecha’s laser cannon.

“What a fearsome mutant!” After leaving, Yang Bo inspected his mecha’s damage. The surface had endured temperatures up to 6000 degrees Celsius—that’s what the mutant’s fireballs had produced.

“How could it be that hot?” Yang Bo checked the mecha’s weapon, which was also severely pitted from the fireball. During the backwards flip and clash with the mutant, the weapon had taken the brunt of the fireball.

Given the speed, his weapon sliced through the fireball before it could explode.

But it exploded around Yang Bo’s mecha.

“What a rush!” Yang Bo was still exhilarated. Mid-battle, there’s no plan, no strategy—just reacting on the fly.

He now understood why mecha pilots were so passionate about combat. The feeling of slaughtering an enemy with your own hands, the adrenaline rush from seeing their corpse, was utterly addictive.

That’s what drew adventurers to the wilderness. They craved the adrenaline-pumping sensation of walking the line between life and death. Once hooked, it was impossible to quit.

Fishing gave the same feeling. The bigger the fish, the greater the excitement when it bit.

Of course, if the fish snapped the rod or got away, the fisherman would be depressed for a month.

If the fish escaped while still in the water, it wasn’t so bad. But if it got all the way to the shore, slipped through a torn net, or broke free from the keepnet, the fisherman would probably never forget it—even if they got old and senile.

And if some idiot teammate made you lose the fish, you’d spend the rest of your life cursing that fool in your dreams.

“Not enough action. Let’s find more!” Yang Bo checked his mecha’s status and felt it was still in good condition, so he continued exploring the Underground World.

“So, the Fat Boss is at Base 16 too? Maybe I’ll find a chance to dig into that. He’s even joined someone else’s crew!” Yang Bo snickered to himself as he explored.

Meanwhile, footage of Yang Bo slaying the B-class mutant began circulating on the forums.

“Didn’t I tell you not to post that video? You’re going to make enemies!” The Captain of the Fat Boss’s team fumed.

“Every ace mecha pilot has their own fighting style. Posting their battles like this—what do you think they’ll do to us? He helped us, but you might have just ruined it for a few views.”

“Captain, it wasn’t me!” The Fat Boss quickly defended himself over the team’s communication channel.

“Captain, I didn’t mean to!” The woman’s voice chimed in.

“Captain, kick her out. She’s useless! You already told everyone to keep it secret, and she still blabbed.”

“Exactly! People like her who don’t follow orders bring disaster to the team.” A few others immediately chimed in.

“Captain, I just wanted to find that master. I’ve got a lead—he’s been spotted at Base 16.” The woman’s voice sounded desperate.

“How can you be sure it’s him?” The Fat Boss was skeptical.

Second section to update at noon. Haven’t been feeling well, will update both in the morning once I recover.