CHAPTER 39: CHAPTER 36: TRIPLE MICRO-CONTROL

Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, at the break of dawn.

"Wushang, how are you feeling?"

"How far into the basics are you?"

Zhang Qingwei, sitting cross-legged, exhaled a deep breath of white air, turning her gaze to Luo Wushang, with blood trickling from the corners of her mouth and eyes, yet there was a light in her eyes, a bright, burning flame.

However, this somewhat frightening scene did not stop Luo Wushang from repairing the wall; instead, one hand continued repairing while the other casually thrust towards another side.

Instantly, six explosive sounds echoed through the air.

"This Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique is quite powerful; I’m currently at 3% into the basics." Luo Wushang glanced at the six fingerprints on the wall, saying with great satisfaction, "Initially, during the Pilgrimage, I could achieve Point Star at thirty-three stars, and here the limit is at the Five-Star level, but this visualization technique has improved my body control and reaction speed, now I can easily reach Six-Star."

"I feel that if I improve a bit more, I should be able to reach Seven-Star, then even if I encounter a beginner apprentice expert in the wild, I should be able to hold my own."

"Are you progressing that quickly?" Zhang Qingwei was a bit taken aback upon hearing this, "We clearly started around the same time, and you’re at 3% while I’m only at 2%. No way, I’m not reporting to headquarters today."

With that, Zhang Qingwei formed a saber with her hand and delivered a strike towards the wall.

Suddenly, a star mark formed by three traces appeared on the wall, with cracks faintly appearing at the center.

"At 2% into the basics, I actually managed to use the first layer of the Overlapping Waves Saber, it’s indeed remarkable." Zhang Qingwei looked at the mark on the wall, her heart filled with overwhelming excitement.

Overlapping Waves Saber was her signature skill during the Pilgrimage, not inferior to Luo Wushang’s Point Star, but unlike the speed-type Point Star, it was a strength-type saber skill, unlike the Shattering Stone Fist which doubles one’s physical power, Overlapping Waves Saber uses technique to combine three blades into one, directly doubling the power.

Ever since the car accident, unable to keep up with bodily response, she hadn’t used the Overlapping Waves Saber again.

"What are you two doing?" Lin Qi looked at the two practicing on the wall early in the morning, his face somewhat displeased, "I asked you to repair the Martial Arts Hall, not to damage the walls. Each of you will be fined two hundred points, and today you must repair ten walls to compensate, otherwise, you’ll be expelled from the Martial Arts Hall."

Upon Lin Qi’s words, the previously excited duo was about to cry.

They’d rather Lin Qi apply physical punishment and increase it tenfold.

Accumulating points in the Descent of High Martial is too difficult; even with a full day’s effort, they could only earn over a hundred points, and losing two hundred points set them back two days from obtaining a weapon.

Lin Qi watched the two begin obediently repairing the walls, his expression finally softening somewhat.

"These players are becoming increasingly powerful, the Martial Arts Hall can’t withstand their antics, and once the Hall is repaired, more players will come, I can’t manage it all, I suppose some new rules are necessary." Lin Qi glanced at the wall with cracks made by the two, feeling rather impressed.

What was originally a theoretical visualization technique has surprisingly been mastered, and it wasn’t just one person, but three. With this Fixed Star Explosion Visualization Technique, even though they are just prospective apprentices, they have the strength to challenge beginner martial artist apprentices.

This means that Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall now has four beginner apprentice-level combat powers, which is equivalent to a small faction in the wild, already capable of officially engaging in some transportation and trading activities outside.

Blue Star, Kurong City, Shadow of the Storm Club.

Simulation match battleground.

"This match’s random map is the Ruined City, not very suitable for sniping." Li Ranxing looked at the arena before him and commanded through the team channel, "The four of you switch to close combat response mode, try to lure Blue Demoness’s four out; I’ll handle Chen Ya!"

"Yes!"

The randomly assigned Fang Zhen and the other three began moving towards the city center.

The Mecha Continent’s team matches involve ten players fighting on a single map, with initial positions assigned randomly, and the map continuously shrinks—fail to converge towards the center quickly, and one will be eliminated by the map’s collapse.

Thus, as the battle commences, everyone heads towards the center, whether or not they meet teammates or enemies along the way is purely up to luck.

"Really bad luck, I am positioned for rear support this time without carrying any close combat weapons, and my mech is a remote mecha." Fang Zhen glanced over his set of remote weaponry, utterly helpless, "Looks like ambushes are my only option."

Mecha Continent’s mech battles are divided into melee and ranged based on the weaponry, and mechs paired with melee weapons are typically adjusted for flexibility and speed to facilitate rapid engagement.

Remote mechs prioritize stability, often being bulky but capable of sustained long-range precise fire, though overwhelmingly disadvantaged if brought into close combat.

Journeying less than two kilometers, Fang Zhen heard explosive sounds from a large building afar, followed immediately by a teammate’s short-range communication in his ear.

"Requesting support! Requesting support! Is someone close by? I’ve been spotted by two of Blue Demoness’s close combat players."

"I’m currently retreating eastwards, requesting support! Requesting support!"

Following the sequence of short-range communications, Fang Zhen observed on the opposite street a red close combat mech entangled with two blue close combat mechs.

In Mecha Continent’s team matches, teams are usually divided into two colors, one red and one blue. In this simulation match, Shadow of the Storm is red, and Blue Demoness is blue, making it easy to distinguish friend from foe on the battlefield at a glance.

But before Fang Zhen could react, the red mech was sliced into several pieces by the two blue mechs, directly knocked out of the match.

"Yo, lucky us, there’s still one more." The Blue Demoness member Meng Gang, wielding a war spear, looked at Fang Zhen facing the street and couldn’t help but smile, "Daozi, let me handle this one. The last fight was no fun at all. The captain mentioned my dodging skills aren’t great, and this remote target is a perfect chance to practice them."

"Alright, but be quick. If you’re too slow, the battle on the captain’s side might have already started." Wang Yidao, the team member, replied indifferently, "Ten seconds! I’m only giving you ten seconds to finish this fight."

Although the Shadow of the Storm team made it to the national tournament, they were only in the top thirty-two. Compared to these members who frequently reached the top four, they always lagged in skill and response, which is why they didn’t care about Shadow of the Storm.

"Fine! Start counting!"

Meng Gang didn’t hesitate either. He directly controlled the mecha, accelerating with boosters, and charged at Fang Zhen with the over ten-meter-long war spear. His speed left trails of afterimages, but the mecha managed to deftly avoid the obstacles on the street.

"So fast!"

"Even at such speed, he can still operate so precisely. Is this the strength of the national top four?"

In front of the big screen at the Shadow of the Storm Club, a group of Shadow of the Storm members exclaimed, watching the agile, monkey-like blue close-combat mecha.

On Mecha Continent, mecha control is extremely difficult, unlike other virtual games, where it’s like controlling your own body, allowing you to perform various actions easily. Mecha control is more like driving a car; it’s much more complicated. Even top-tier experts on Mecha Continent find it difficult to make a mecha move like a human.

But Meng Gang managed to do just that, controlling the mecha like a person. It’s simply unimaginable.

"Who’s controlling that remote mecha over there? Why haven’t they started shooting?"

"That mecha seems to be Fang Zhen’s."

"Fang Zhen’s luck is really bad, being so close to a close-combat mecha. Even if he fires, he only has one chance. A single mistake means certain doom."

The Shadow of the Storm members shook their heads as they watched the red remote mecha. Normally, remote mechas would snipe from three kilometers away, but now the Blue Demoness’ close-combat mecha was just over a kilometer away, making it too late to dodge, especially with nearby cover that made dodging bullets easy.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

As the blue mecha wielding the war spear was less than five hundred meters from the red remote mecha, three gunshots echoed throughout the street consecutively.

"Is Fang Zhen crazy, firing three shots in a row? Does he really think random shots will hit?"

"Probably grasping at straws in desperation."

Everyone watched Fang Zhen fire three shots and felt he had given up. Due to recoil, consecutive shots in remote sniping make each shot harder to control, making three consecutive shots practically the same as wild shooting.

"Has he given up? That’s so dull."

Meng Gang saw Fang Zhen fire three shots and shook his head helplessly. He initially wanted to practice dodging, but now he didn’t need to. Besides the first shot that required a slight dodge, he could completely ignore the other two.

At once, Meng Gang made a swift dodge, directly avoiding the first bullet aimed at his head.

Just as Meng Gang was about to tear Fang Zhen apart, he suddenly saw another bullet appear in front of him.

"Damn it!"

Meng Gang suddenly raised his hand, intending to block the bullet with the war spear.

Clang!

A crisp metal collision sound rang out.

The war spear trembled as it was directly hit by the bullet, veering off its original blocking trajectory.

The next moment, Meng Gang felt everything go black.

"Triple Micro-Operations!"

"He can do Triple Micro-Operations; could he be Li Ranxing?"

Meng Gang woke up in the virtual game pod, staring intently at the distant big screen, feeling a deep sense of regret. The Triple Micro-Operations mecha control technique can only be performed by the captain-level experts in the national top eight.

He originally thought he was just bullying a Shadow of the Storm member but didn’t expect to encounter the disguised Li Ranxing. Was this even a fight anymore?

As Meng Gang watched another battle on the big screen, he was stunned.

On the other battlefield, Captain Chen Ya was fighting a red mecha, both sides evenly matched.

"Damn! Who is that person?"