Chapter 148: Beginner (Five Updates)

Ma Long hung up the Skylink and let out a sigh of relief, glancing at Zuo Xiaotang and Wuzang; sometimes, having roommates who are a bit innocent is quite nice.

After a while, Li Hao returned, and the three in the dormitory were pretending to read books.

"Zuo Xiaopang, your book is upside down," Li Hao said.

"Ah, is it? No, it isn't," Zuo Xiaotang paused for a moment.

"Alright, you three can ask whatever you want to ask. Let's get it over with all at once so you don't have to act so weird," Li Hao waved his hand.

Ma Long immediately sat up, "Hao Ge, we're just concerned about you. What exactly is the situation with A Youyou?"

"I don't know the specifics. She has already boarded the spaceship back to the Moon," Li Hao said.

"What? I remember there are only flights to the Moon on Mondays... A private spaceship?" Ma Long was stunned. Meeting Solomon made him feel like a country bumpkin, and now, in the blink of an eye, a private spaceship had appeared. This wasn't just ordinary wealth.

"How are you doing?" Ma Long suddenly felt a bit regretful that he hadn't properly mentored Li Hao; he had missed out on such a golden opportunity.

"I don't know. I really don't know. Let's leave it to fate. If it's mine, it won't be lost; if it's not mine, forcing it is useless, right, Ma Laoshi?" Li Hao laughed.

Ma Long gave a thumbs up, "Hao Ge, your mindset doesn't look like a beginner's; it has some depth. As long as you're okay, we're relieved. If you want to drink, we'll keep you company anytime."

Li Hao nodded with a smile. Since Ma Long didn't press further, Wuzang and Zuo Xiaotang were also fine.

With the qualifiers over, Tianjing Mecha Academy returned to calm. The training of the Tianjing Team did not decrease; at Zhou Naiyi's request, everyone began to improve. It felt like, in this regard, Zhou Naiyi was the real Team Leader.

The real test had only just begun. The qualifiers actually didn't count for much; it was relatively easy for both opponents to advance, and there was no reason to fight to the death. Their wins had a considerable element of "luck." Once they faced stronger opponents, what would they do if Li Hao was kept in check?

As the second-highest scorer of the Tianjing Team, Wuzang had no advantage—or was even at a disadvantage—among the top-tier teams filled with experts. At that point, where would Tianjing Mecha Academy go?

From Zhou Naiyi to Ma Long, deep down, no one wanted to lose. Since they had come this far, no one wanted to give up so much just to be a foil for their opponents. If they wanted to win, they had to become stronger.

Gravity training and EMP training were both indispensable. In fact, the one who could slack off the most was Team Leader Li Hao. After A Youyou left, he started delivering food and working part-time again, and everything returned to normal.

On the EMP, Puppet hadn't appeared for a while, but strangely, Puppet's popularity was climbing rapidly.

Because so far, everyone who had attempted the Puppet Step had failed. Never mind using an Armor Dragon, even using a Super Light Mecha with greater flexibility was useless. Some technical experts from the NUP also returned in defeat. The final conclusion was that it required a Spirit; one had to possess a Spirit like Puppet's to execute steps that were devoid of life yet filled with vitality. Many streamers and column experts from the Four Great Federations had participated in the commentary.

Meanwhile, Grosso's basic tests had successively produced S-rank ratings, but an S+ never appeared again. At the same time, no one could pass with an Armor Dragon. Even some top experts discovered that the performance of the Armor Dragon simply wasn't enough; unless one knew the Puppet Step, the final stage was a guaranteed death.

This made the Puppet Step seem miraculous, leading directly to questions about who Puppet was, which academy they were from, and whether they were Earth's ultimate weapon.

Thinking about the full comeback of the two great kings of the NUP this year, the peak state of the New Big Dipper, the rare gathering of the Three Wolves from ROM, and the Four Titans of Titan, looking at the S10 situation, Earth only had Chao Qinglong. Therefore, they had high hopes for any hidden potential, and the appearance of Puppet gave them great expectations.

During Professor Meng Ye's mecha theory class, while analyzing mecha combat steps with 3D holographic projections, Meng Ye stopped near the end of the lecture, opened his Skylink, and projected an Armor Dragon.

Instantly, the entire classroom erupted, "Puppet God!"

"Damn, don't tell me he's going to analyze the Puppet Step for us."

"Professor Meng Ye, is Puppet a warrior from our USE?"

"Puppet God is awesome!"

The Tianjing Team had achieved some results, but they really couldn't be complacent. After all, the old Tianjing Mecha Academy was a top-ten team and had once brought extreme Glory. The current Tianjing Mecha Academy was still struggling for a spot in the Mid-Season Training, which in itself was quite embarrassing. One could only say that the students of Tianjing Mecha Academy were quite tolerant, giving this new team high expectations and very rationally allowing time for the team to grow. Anyone more arrogant certainly wouldn't take it seriously, but Puppet was the only true god of Earth's EMP right now.

"It seems you are all very concerned. Puppet has almost become the spokesperson for the Armor Series. There's still some time left, so let me tell you about it," Meng Ye laughed. "The Armor Series can be considered the origin of human mecha, a masterpiece by Master Jiabo. It covers the three mainstream models currently in use. The design of these three mecha conforms to ergonomics. Master Jiabo's design principle pursues the concept of Man-Machine Integration, focusing on the pilot's performance. However, with the advancement of technology and the replacement of mecha, these three types have gradually lost their mainstream status and are jokingly called the Fries Brothers. But recently, a player named Puppet has shown a trend of using the Fries Brothers as mainstream."

There was another round of cheers from the audience. The rise of the Armor Series was the pride of Earthlings. Let others be arrogant; Earth was the origin of humanity. No matter how strong other federations were, don't act cocky in front of your parents.

"As you all know, I support Master Jiabo's philosophy. Actually, the NUP is fine, but the development trends on Mars and Titan are a bit skewed. Of course, I'm not telling everyone to practice the Armor Series; in terms of overall performance, the Armor Series is still lagging behind..."

"Professor, then why is Puppet so strong?"

"Yeah, he has used the Armor Series to continuously defeat S-rank players and even got an S+ on Grosso's test?"

Meng Ye smiled, "I don't know who Puppet is, but anyone capable of such operations must be a T0-level player. In my database, Earth really doesn't have such a person, and they have definitely awakened the Golden Zone and can skillfully master and control it. So, don't imitate him; instead, learn the combat philosophy he brings. Today, I will briefly talk about the Puppet Step."

The virtual projection replayed the final dodging steps of the Grosso test. No matter how many times they watched it, the students felt their blood boiling, wishing they could immediately pilot a mecha and fight for three hundred rounds.

"There are many people imitating it now. It looks like there's nothing difficult about it—just irregular limb movements—but why can no one do it?"

The audience chattered; in fact, many types had already been analyzed on the EMP.

Meng Ye signaled for silence, "In my opinion, the Puppet Step has three cores: first, prediction; second, rhythm; and third, counter-prediction."

The classroom quieted down. Wuzang nudged Li Hao, "Don't doze off, the key point is here. Ma Laoshi is quite skilled in theoretical analysis."

"Prediction is easy to understand: making an estimate of the strikes an opponent can deliver. Even complex attack patterns have routines. To achieve this, first, you need talent; second, sufficient experience; and at the same time, a heart without fear. Only then can you make the calmest predictions. Puppet has already verified this in many matches. I believe he is likely not a student from a formal academy, but rather someone from a special military department. This machine-like calmness must be the result of long-term, repeated training," Meng Ye said. "The second point is rhythm. This is the core of the Puppet Step. Many people only notice the anti-human and visually bizarre movements, but they ignore one point: his movements are not only bizarre, but the timing of his strikes is also distorted. Most people make predictions and instinctively act immediately, but he doesn't. Look closely: he predicts, and then he acts according to the frequency of the attack. In other words, he can perform 'multiple predictions.' This is also the core of the Puppet Step."

This was the ability displayed by a super warrior when facing multiple opponents, requiring powerful Mental Power and Space Ability for structural framing.

In the slow-motion footage, Puppet's movements were continuously broken down, while the trajectories of the Laser Cannon attacks were shown. The perverted part of Grosso was its rhythm, especially targeting the super warrior's predictive ability and astonishing mobility.

Puppet's rhythm looked bizarre, but when combined with the attacks, it was as silky and beautiful as art. There was a strange cadence within the mecha's movements, and this cadence was the core of the dodging.

"Multiple predictions plus multiple muscle memories—this person is undoubtedly a super pilot and may even be the secret weapon our military is preparing for S11," Meng Ye exclaimed.

The audience was silent. Meng Ye continued, "The third point is something I have recently realized. The terrifying thing about the Puppet Step is not just his dodging ability, but his ability to counter the attacker's rhythm. If your opponent is performing this kind of dodging movement, it will definitely affect the attacker, and this kind of influence is very dangerous in actual combat. This is something we currently cannot master. If there is a one-on-one match in the future, it will definitely be tested. But I think if Puppet really is the S11 ultimate weapon, it's better to keep it hidden; you can't reveal all your trump cards. The top experts from the other three major federations have very strong learning abilities. If used too many times, they will eventually adapt."

Meng Ye laughed, "Alright, today's class ends here. I suggest everyone continue with normal training. Just watch these inhuman moves; trying to touch them without reaching a certain level will actually have the opposite effect. Also, all astonishing insights are not formed overnight. Even Puppet must have undergone rigorous training to have such abilities."

Wuzang nodded repeatedly. He also didn't believe in any sudden emergence without reason; it was just that others hadn't seen the hard work put in behind the scenes.

"... Hao Ge, Hao Ge, class is over." Wuzang was a bit helpless, feeling like it was post-breakup syndrome. Ma Laoshi had warned them not to mention A Youyou, and it would naturally get better after a while.

If you don't experience heartbreak, can you even call yourself a man?

"Ah, so fast?" Li Hao yawned.

"Hao Ge, let's train together after dinner; it will make you full of energy!" Wuzang patted his biceps, "Want to touch them?"

Li Hao's face darkened, "Forget it, you keep at it."

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