CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 37: LEOPARD SHADOW STEP·MODIFIED

The battle space, Ruined City.

"Gangzi?"

Blue Demoness’s Wang Yidao, looking at Meng Gang who was headshot from afar, was completely shocked.

Although Meng Gang’s strength among the seven main members wasn’t at the forefront, he stood around fourth or fifth. The captain, Chen Ya, said his evasion was lacking, but that was only in the eyes of Chen Ya.

For other team members, Meng Gang’s evasion had no problems, and there seemed to be no room for improvement.

But now, Meng Gang was headshot three times by a member of the nation’s top 32. Who would believe this if it was told?

Before Wang Yidao could snap out of his shock, three flashes of light appeared a kilometer away.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After dealing with Meng Gang, Fang Zhen did not hesitate at all and directly executed another triple micro-control at Wang Yidao.

Three bullets rushed straight towards Wang Yidao’s mecha.

"You want to kill me? It’s not that easy!"

Wang Yidao instinctively raised his shield to block, then sidestepped to dodge.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The distance of over a kilometer gave Wang Yidao much more time to react than Meng Gang. Two bullets were blocked by the shield, and one only grazed his shoulder, slightly affecting the arm holding his Battle Saber.

"Triple micro-control?"

"Li Ranxing?"

Hiding on the side of the building, Wang Yidao glanced at his hit shoulder, with a heavy expression on his face.

Li Ranxing, the rising star of Mecha Continent, was always adept at both sword and gun. In the last national tournament’s individual matches, he even ranked sixth, strong enough to rival the captains of the country’s top four teams.

It was expected that this time Li Ranxing would choose a close-combat mecha to battle the captain, but unexpectedly, he used a remote mecha for a sneak attack, which was tricky for him to handle.

"Run!"

After 0.3 seconds of thought, Wang Yidao turned around and headed for the city center, quickly moving while using the ruins as cover. With the flexibility and speed of a close-combat mecha, he soon disappeared from Fang Zhen’s sniping view.

This scene left everyone in the club’s first-floor lobby completely stunned.

"What is going on?"

"Is the person controlling that remote mecha really Fang Zhen?"

Those familiar with Fang Zhen, the veteran member, all stood with their mouths wide open.

Taking on two, and still from a kilometer distance, dealing with two close-combat mechas, one dead and one escaped, especially when the controllers of these two mechas were main members of Blue Demoness.

Such an achievement, even at Fang Zhen’s peak, had never occurred.

The most important aspect was the triple micro-control in shooting, which was a skill no one in the entire team could use apart from Captain Li Ranxing.

These two points forced the members of Shadow of the Storm to doubt that the person controlling that remote mecha was not Fang Zhen at all.

For a moment, the members of Shadow of the Storm all looked towards the coaches’ group.

The matches for this simulation game were arranged by the coaches, so no one present knew the situation better than them.

Even the coaches, including the coaching team, looked bewildered, their eyes wide open, clearly not knowing what was happening.

"Triple micro-control! It’s actually triple micro-control! Who’s piloting that remote mecha?"

"Does anyone know?"

"As far as I know, among the main members, only Li Ranxing has this skill. For any other main member to use this move, it’s too difficult."

"Could it be that Ranxing found a reserve member? After all, Fang Zhen hasn’t been in great condition these days, so Ranxing might have temporarily replaced him."

"A rookie replacement? Looks like our club is going to make a new mark this year."

The coaches exchanged looks, thinking that Li Ranxing temporarily replacing him with a newcomer was highly likely, especially since this simulation match was extremely important to Li Ranxing.

Unlike them, Li Ranxing regularly trained with the reserve newcomers, knowing their levels well. This time, the club recruited many newcomers to compete in the national tournament, many of whom even the coaches could not fully recognize.

In past national tournaments of Mecha Continent, newcomers emerged every year. So seeing them appear in Shadow of the Storm was no surprise, or else they wouldn’t have finalized the national tournament roster.

As the coaches chatted with satisfaction, the remote mecha controlled by Fang Zhen on the big screen quickly pursued Wang Yidao.

Within less than twenty seconds, both sides had reached the street near the city center.

"I’m being chased by Li Ranxing. Does anyone know where the captain is?" Wang Yidao, dodging bullets, frantically shouted in the team channel.

Under normal circumstances, once a battle starts, everyone avoids using the team channel.

One reason is it easily causes others to be distracted, missing critical details, leading to getting killed.

Another reason is the team channel is prone to be monitored and deciphered, so in battles, short-range radio communication is chosen for finding teammates easily without being compromised.

But being chased by Li Ranxing now, Wang Yidao couldn’t care less. After all, the captain instructed to inform immediately upon finding Li Ranxing.

"Knife! What are you talking about? I can see you, but it’s just a remote mecha chasing you. There’s no way it’s Li Ranxing." A female member of Blue Demoness suddenly shouted in the short-range communication, "The captain is currently in a fierce battle with Li Ranxing. Don’t make trouble, or be ready to practice your sword with the captain after this."

"Not Li Ranxing?" Wang Yidao was dumbfounded after hearing that and shouted in short-range communication, "That’s impossible. That person used triple micro-control. If it’s not Li Ranxing, then who?"

"If you don’t believe it, look northwest!" The female member didn’t explain further and simply gave Wang Yidao a direction.

Without hesitation, Wang Yidao seized an opportunity and, through the gap in the buildings, looked northwest.

There, five kilometers northwest in a square, a red and blue close-combat mecha were frantically clashing blades, sparks flying. The quick reaction of the operators was astonishing, even to someone like Wang Yidao.

"Damn! It really is." Wang Yidao, watching the scene, completely believed it.

In the entire Shadow of the Storm team, only Li Ranxing could keep up with Captain Chen Ya’s speed, as no one else possibly could.

Especially since the captain, Chen Ya, used the Divine Skill Eight-leaf One Slash. With this level of divine control, only Li Ranxing can stop it; everyone else would just die.

"Damn! That kid actually pretended to be Li Ranxing!"

"Zi Lan, team up with me to kill that kid!"

Wang Yidao saw the real Li Ranxing and instantly felt played. He looked at the red Remote Mecha closely chasing from behind, growing more displeased the more he watched.

"It’s just a member of the Shadow of the Storm, and you need my cooperation?" The female teammate named Zi Lan sneered, "Knife, have you been going to nightclubs too often lately? Your mental state seems off?"

"Get lost! Since when did I ever go to a nightclub? My mental state is just fine," Wang Yidao retorted angrily, "That kid can do triple micro-control, and I don’t have the advantage in a direct confrontation. I need your range support!"

"Triple micro-control?" Zi Lan’s expression turned serious upon hearing this, "Alright, I’ll snipe him. You seize the chance to get close!"

"Don’t worry, with your help, that kid is as good as dead!" Wang Yidao quickly maneuvered to turn around, dodging to the side of a building, preparing to charge in.

With a remote sniping expert like Zi Lan watching, whether facing him head-on or being distracted by Zi Lan, they both had ample opportunity, even if the kid had triple micro-control, it wouldn’t help.

At worst, they could trade one for one.

"Is there a companion?"

Fang Zhen noticed Wang Yidao suddenly hide by the side of a building, sensing something was amiss.

Soon, Fang Zhen noticed a flash of fire from afar and instinctively dodged back, barely avoiding the incoming bullet.

"Range support!"

While dodging, Fang Zhen also saw Wang Yidao charging out of the building straight towards him at a speed nearly on par with Meng Gang earlier.

"Pretending to be Li Ranxing! This time you’re dead for sure!"

Wang Yidao rushed forward with a heavy shield, not caring what Fang Zhen planned to do, knowing that whether Fang Zhen dealt with him or Zi Lan, one of them would succeed.

The moment Fang Zhen emerged, he unhesitatingly fired three shots at the distant Zi Lan.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The distant Zi Lan was equally unfazed, quickly firing two shots in return.

Bam! Bam!

Two bullets hit the two bullets Fang Zhen fired, but couldn’t stop the third bullet from Fang Zhen.

Boom!

With no time to dodge, Zi Lan was directly shot in the head.

"Chose Zi Lan?"

"Then die!"

Wang Yidao was not surprised by this; dealing with someone with a shield wasn’t easy to snipe. He swiftly raised his Battle Saber, rushing at Fang Zhen who was less than a hundred meters away.

In less than a second, Wang Yidao would be upon Fang Zhen, but Fang Zhen’s bulky Mecha moved with the swiftness of a leopard, turning rapidly and retreating smoothly, like a true leopard, with speed that rivaled Wang Yidao’s melee Mecha.

"How is this possible!"

Watching the distance between them not shrinking but instead widening, Wang Yidao was stunned.

Between the two, who was the melee Mecha?

Even with his heavy shield, he shouldn’t be outpaced by a Remote Mecha!

"Succeeded!"

Fang Zhen was equally ecstatic seeing his Mecha sprinting, not expecting the Leopard Shadow Step learned from the Descent of High Martial to work.

Though he had only intended to try it out, it surprisingly worked.

Thankfully, his intense practice had turned Leopard Shadow Step into an instinct, now mastered 53%, with every step imprinted in his mind.

Even though the Mecha couldn’t exert force like the Leopard Shadow Step, its powerful structure didn’t need to mind the recoil.

With the Leopard Shadow Step’s technique, the Mecha’s speed increased by about 10%, still slightly faster than the melee Mecha with a heavy shield.

"Damn!"

Wang Yidao got angrier watching Fang Zhen get further away. He discarded his heavy shield, boosting his speed drastically, catching up and closing the distance to fifty meters.

For Mechas over ten meters tall, this distance was practically face-to-face combat.

"Hit him!"

Fang Zhen, seeing Wang Yidao without the shield, swiftly leapt into the air, firing three shots at Wang Yidao.

Wang Yidao reacted swiftly, swinging his Battle Saber.

Clang!

He deflected one bullet, but at such close range, couldn’t block the remaining two.

Boom!

One bullet to the head, another to the chest, Wang Yidao was dead beyond saving.

"Finally got him," Fang Zhen exhaled deeply, relieved after taking down Wang Yidao, as he would have been killed if not for the lucky use of Leopard Shadow Step·Modified.

After dispatching Wang Yidao, Fang Zhen turned his attention to the blue melee Mecha battling five kilometers away.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Three shots in quick succession, with bullets reaching the side of the blue melee Mecha in under two seconds, arriving almost simultaneously, making evasion impossible for Chen Ya, who was in intense combat.

"Get lost!"

Chen Ya was furious.

Divine Skill Eight-leaf One Slash!

In an instant, six of the eight slashes repelled Li Ranxing, with two slashes deflecting two bullets, but one bullet pierced the neck, causing the Mecha to disintegrate, resulting in death.