Chapter 3: Puppet

Li Hao did not rush to open it; he entered the machine room, sat into the cockpit, and the automatic door closed.

"Bleem Mission No. 127: Six months, 3000 EMP points."

If anyone else saw such spam, they would just delete it and be done with it; whoever could say such things was either a lunatic or had forgotten to take their medicine.

Li Hao did not pay too much attention to it, as if he were focusing on the email itself, but when he wanted to search for it, just like before, the email in the Skycom disappeared—not deleted, but vanished, without a trace left.

Li Hao did not know who the other party was—whether it was a person, a ghost, or some surreal existence; he only knew its codename was: Bleem.

The first time was on the night of Li Hao's fifth birthday, when something controlled his dreams, bringing him into indescribable worlds and putting him through all sorts of inconceivable training; the most severe time, he "slept" for a month and was in critical condition at the hospital, where they couldn't find anything wrong, and they had even notified the orphanage to prepare for the funeral, yet upon waking up, Li Hao was cured, his body healthy—even abnormally healthy—only with a ring-shaped scar near his heart; if the director hadn't stopped them, the hospital would have wanted to study him thoroughly.

This life continued for over ten years, and Li Hao had become accustomed to the other party's existence; all in all, the other party was training him with some kind of purpose and had no malice toward him; he had made various guesses, thinking the other party knew him very well, and started to wonder if it was one of those evil forces from TV using him for experiments, but as he grew older, he ruled this out because the other party's methods exceeded the current level of technology he understood, and if it were really some organization, there would be no need to go to such great lengths, and as an orphan, he had no value other than a worthless life.

It wasn't until he was 12 that the director gave him a Skycom, and the emails started coming; "Bleem Mission," the content of the missions was bizarre, ranging from finding a stray cat or dog to assassination, doing everything; fortunately, in Li Hao's view, the targets were the kind who deserved to die several times over.

Generally speaking, he and Bleem were on peaceful terms, but Li Hao wanted to test it out; once, he deliberately failed a mission, and then his heart stopped; when he woke up, he received an email, the first time he obtained information about the other party: Complete Mission No. 200, and you will receive the answer; if you fail again, you will be destroyed.

Destroyed... who do you think you're looking down on.

Although it was a bit dangerous, as his own strength increased, Li Hao repeatedly tested the edge of failure, and eventually, he mastered some things, and the Bleem missions became less dense and urgent.

Mission No. 126 was a year ago, telling him to get into Tianjing; actually, life before entering Tianjing Mecha was more exciting and rich, and this past year was the most leisurely he had spent.

Opening his eyes, he took a deep breath, and a smile appeared on the corner of Li Hao's mouth; Bleem, which had been silent for a period, was active again, and he was ready.

The EMP system displayed Li Hao's record box.

ID: Puppet Total Score: 853 Win Rate: 100%

Matches: 4900

Next to the ID hung a full-color pentagram: Survival, Output, Team Battle, Individual Battle, Mecha Pool.

At first, Li Hao just wanted to satisfy his craving, but who would have thought it would get out of hand; however, before Bleem gave him a mission, he had to control his score and could not be too conspicuous; he had ruined things by being high-profile before, almost ruining a major mission—that was a mission worth ten others.

Score control is a technical job, and believe it or not, he really found a bug.

That is the Virtual Mode; whether it is a duel or a multi-player battle, as long as one person chooses Virtual Mode, the score for the entire match is calculated according to Virtual Mode, so the battles Li Hao conducted were almost all in Virtual Mode, while he himself used Real Mode.

So Li Hao said, he was not using Virtual Mode, yet it was Virtual Mode.

The score was controlled just right, over eight hundred, inconspicuous, but it passed.

Li Hao chose Battle Mode and Arena, entering random matchmaking.

Soon the opponent appeared, and the other party also hid their personal information, ID: Eternal Starlight.

Li Hao didn't care about the opponent; both sides entered the mecha selection countdown, and Li Hao entered random.

Puppet vs Eternal Starlight

Armor Dragon Mech Generation III (USE)

Configuration: Medium Fighter 80 tons

Nuclear Fission Drive Standard Laser Gun Titanium Blade

Silver Knight Generation V (NUP)

Configuration: Light Fighter 65 tons

Nuclear Fission Drive Silver Laser Gun Laser Sword

Both Mobile Suits entered the Arena, the two mechas face-to-face, and a three-second countdown appeared.

3... 2... 1

Battle start.

The Silver Fighter attacked first, its footwork quite nimble, indicating the pilot felt no pressure from this level of load, the speed was fast, and there was still room to spare.

The distance between the two sides instantly closed to twenty meters, and this was the Silver Fighter; the speed suddenly increased, the mecha's shoulders swaying—this swaying was not instability, but an attempt to confuse the opponent's judgment.

It was clear that the opponent in front of him was quite cautious.

The distance entered ten meters, the Armor Dragon Mech still hadn't moved, while the Silver Fighter had already leaped into the air, the Laser Sword drawn in mid-air and slashed down with full force.

At this moment, it was completely too late for the Armor Dragon Mech to dodge; mecha combat is vastly different from humans, where prediction and timing are crucial; the entire Solar System Mecha Tournament illustrated the importance of seizing the initiative to control the rhythm, and NUP was the best at this.

The Silver Fighter's pilot did not show mercy, the Laser Sword's thrusting speed was even faster, and just then the Armor Dragon Mech let out a muffled roar, the mecha shuddered and suddenly lunged—only half a step—the left arm braced against the opponent's Laser Sword's near-hand position, the body cut in, and the right arm suddenly unleashed a forty-five-degree upward elbow strike.

Boom...

The Silver Fighter tilted back violently; although the pilot controlled it with all their might, the mecha still fell to the ground hard, the engine roaring as it prepared to pull away along the ground, yet the next second a figure flashed by.

Boom...

Explosion.

Puppet (Armor Dragon Mech Generation III) wins!

The match ended, and Li Hao was a bit annoyed; logically, the level of Real Mode should be better, so why was it so weak? It was probably because his own score was too low, also just over eight hundred; it would get better later; Li Hao kicked the opponent aside and started a new match.

Meanwhile, far away at Tianxing Academy on the Moon.

Boom...

"Damn it, he actually kicked me, can't you play fair!" Feynman hammered the door in anger, "I was careless, the opponent played dirty."

"Ha, haha, Great God Feynman, are you kidding me? There are only so many experts, even if you haven't met them, you've heard of them; Puppet, no matter how you look at it, is a newbie; holy crap, hahaha, beaten by a newbie in seconds, and they didn't even use their weapon."

Alzi, with her tall figure and sexy flaxen curly hair, laughed until tears came out, sitting on the floor without any image.

"Alzi, that didn't count just now, I want to race again!" Feynman couldn't be bothered with the gloating Alzi and hurriedly sent an invitation.

"Puppet brat, dare you fight another round? I was careless just now, this time I'll let you use one hand!"

System prompt: The other party has set up a mute, your message cannot be delivered.

Feynman was so angry he hammered his thigh; at some point, Alzi had already stood by Feynman's side, and seeing this, she laughed until she rolled on the floor, "Oh my, our dignified Great God Feynman of Tianxing Mecha has capsized; tsk tsk, what did the Team Leader say? Don't let victory blind your eyes; it looks like your vacation was really pleasant."

"Feynman, Alzi, what's so funny? Let me be happy too." A crisp voice filled with decisiveness came over; Alzi on the ground immediately stood up, and Feynman also immediately stepped out of the cockpit.

"Team Leader!"

The two stood at attention and saluted; both looked at the heroic girl in front of them, filled with admiration and a little bit of hidden affection in their hearts.

Tianxing Mecha A-level Academy, one of the ten major military academies of NUP; this time in the Solar System Tournament, Tianxing Mecha also had one person who won the "Ace" pilot title of the Mecha Tournament, the Team Leader of Tianxing Mecha, who was none other than the Dita Vantis before them.

It may seem like the NUP won a great victory, but every single battle was extremely difficult, and there were many times they nearly lost; it was only because their Team Leader led the team to constantly move forward that they have the Glory they possess today.

"Straighten your clothes, we have a guest." Dita Vantis held very high prestige in Tianjing Martial Arts and was also a star-level figure, a presence possessing beauty, wisdom, and strength alike; at this moment, the goddess revealed a doting smile, leaving the two men dumbfounded and slightly distracted, this...

"Arths, come out. Although these two guys are a bit stupid, they do have some strength."

A figure in sportswear slipped in through the door, wearing large sunglasses and keeping their head down; as soon as they looked up, Feynman and Alzi were both stunned, and just as they were about to jump up, Dita at the side let out a cold snort, causing the two to cover their mouths, yet they still rushed over, "Arths, I'm your fan of ten years, please give me an autograph!"

"Get lost, Arths has only debuted for seven years, three months, and eighteen days. Princess Arths, my name is Alzi, Sniper of the Tianjing Mecha Martial Arts Team, it's an honor... Ouch, Team Leader, why are you kicking me?"

Arths's fair, jade-like pretty face revealed a sweet smile, "Sister, you cannot treat my fans so roughly."

The hearts of both Feynman and Alzi were practically melting; hearing the voice through the Sky-Link was already beautiful, but hearing it in person like this was simply refreshing to the spirit.

... Sister?

If they were the type with a good relationship, shouldn't they call each other 'older sister'?

Could they be blood-related?... The two really do look a bit alike, wow, what kind of lineage is this, it's too awesome, the Team Leader has hidden this too deeply.

"Arths is my cousin; you two just need to know that. If a third person finds out, you can seriously consider the consequences. She wants to see what your combat situation is like," Dita said. She knew she couldn't hide it; these two guys were too gossipy.

In an instant, both men were like they had been set on fire, "I'll do it! As swift as the Wind, killing with a single strike, the pillar of Tianjing Martial Arts—Gun God Alzi, is willing to serve you."

"What's there to see about shooting cold shots? Watch me, a real man should go head-to-head with real blades and real guns. Arths, I am the Vanguard, let me perform for you!" How could Feynman be a coward? The opportunity to perform in front of his idol had arrived; not to mention anything else, if he could shake her little hand and get an autograph after the fight, he could definitely brag about it for a year.

"Forget it, five-second man, I don't know who just got insta-killed by a rookie."

"Get lost, that was an accident just now, I was careless..."

"Feynman, pull up the match from just now," Dita said coldly. The temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.

Feynman and Alzi immediately sobered up. Although she was a girl, the word 'gentle' absolutely did not apply to the Team Leader; her seriousness and strictness regarding training were beyond imagination. Losing? Carelessness?

Not allowed.

Although unwilling, Feynman still pulled up his match from just now, and Arths also curiously watched the "real life" of the Mobile Suit pilots.

In the match replay, the Silver Knight charged toward the opponent, then leaped into the air, completely seizing the initiative. Arths, who had also crammed many matches due to the Mecha Tournament and had played in Virtual Mode herself, had some eye for it; this Silver Knight had already gained the advantage.

However, the next scene exceeded everyone's expectations; in the blink of an eye, the Silver Knight was finished.

"Team Leader, I admit I was careless. The opponent didn't play by the rules, they ran after hitting, and then..."

"Feynman."

"Yes, Team Leader."

"If this is your attitude, fight again and you will die even more miserably," Dita said. "The USE lost, but it was mostly because of their arrogance. The next tournament is the real test; a three-peat will go down in history."

Feynman and Alzi were stunned, looking at each other.

"In terms of performance, the Armor Dragon Third Generation is inferior to the Silver Fifth Generation. It's three times slower. When you launched your attack, the opponent didn't move, but look at the line of sight—magnify the local area ten times. See that? Their head micro-moved. They didn't strike because they believed they could see through you completely," Dita said.

The Silver Knight attacked, and the Armor Dragon lunged forward half a step.

"To be able to execute such an explosive lunge, that falls into the range of high-level control," Arths suddenly said. This meant the opponent was definitely not a rookie.

The next part was the key: the high-level control lunge, the position locked tight. The Armor Dragon Fighter's left arm blocked the Laser Sword's near-hand area, which meant most of the force of Feynman's attack lost its point of impact. The follow-up attack directly knocked over the Silver fighter. To directly knock down a Mecha requires control of force and angle. Feynman's reaction was fast; he wanted to use high-level control to maintain balance and then use kinetic thrusters to open up distance. This was a textbook-level crisis operation.

However, it seemed to be completely within the opponent's prediction. The distance he opened up just happened to expose his weak point. The opponent's preemptive movement was only a tiny bit faster, but it was just right. A kick was delivered. In slow motion, it was exactly in the gap where the Mecha was in a state of Weightlessness, effectively delivering the head right in front of the opponent.

The Silver Knight's head was kicked right off. Even in low-tier matches, this kind of operation was an insulting, lopsided defeat.

The entire set of movements was ruthless and decisive. From prediction to execution, it was done in one go, simply hanging the Silver Knight up to beat him.

Feynman and Alzi were no longer joking around; cold sweat had broken out. They were both experts, and at this moment, they realized the problem. But Feynman was still carrying anger; this kind of attack was like dribbling the ball through someone's legs—it wasn't just a matter of winning or losing anymore.

Arths could understand some of it, but the core was unclear, and she looked at Dita with a puzzled expression.

Dita was also very doting toward her cousin; who could not like Arths?

"Arths, the Silver Knight's defensive power is not bad. Feynman is a Vanguard; his defense and tolerance are very strong. Even if he was careless, he shouldn't have been knocked completely off balance by a single elbow strike from the opponent. His handling was also correct. Generally speaking, it is impossible to kick off the head of a Mecha, but in that situation, the Mecha had completely lost its balance, and Feynman chose to pull away to break free, leaving the Mecha itself in an out-of-control state. Look!" Dita reversed the footage and pulled up that kick.

"After the elbow strike, the Armor Dragon directly performed a preemptive movement prediction, a quick small side-kick, seizing this opportunity of being out of control to form a side-kick Guillotine. Feynman, the opponent wasn't insulting you, but insulting our Tianjing Martial Arts. This score must be settled!"

Feynman gritted his teeth tightly, "Yes, Team Leader, it is my fault, I am willing to accept punishment."

Dita nodded. As a Team Leader, she had to be decisive, "Go accept your punishment in a moment: five times gravity, ten kilometers. Alzi, look into this person."

Alzi at the side shrugged helplessly, "Team Leader, I just checked. They hid their personal profile; I can only see the ID, called Puppet. I haven't heard of such a person in the last two years, and they kicked Feynman as soon as the match was over. It feels intentional."

In the EMP, some people use their real names and some use IDs. Of course, many hide their profiles, but once you reach a certain score, it's impossible to be unknown; you will always leave traces. Besides, if you aren't arrogant when you're young, what kind of young person are you?

"Feynman, continue to challenge them. The score for Tianjing Martial Arts must be settled. Alzi, you look for experts who are good at using the Armor Dragon; there will definitely be traces. Hmph, Earthlings like to use these sneaky little tricks."

Top experts generally are proficient in various Mecha; at least they must master the basic performance, even if they don't use them themselves, they might face them in the future. And there will be several types they are good at. To operate well, it's not just simple shooting accuracy or fierce attacks; the person and the Mecha must match each other and reach a certain level of tacit understanding. Someone who can use the Armor Dragon like this is nine times out of ten from the USE, and there won't be many of them.

"Yes, Team Leader, but it's a bit strange... Team Leader, they didn't forbid spectators..." Alzi was also a bit confused.

The other three people present also looked at each other. Hiding personal information but opening it up for spectators—what kind of bizarre operation is this?

"Open it, project it."

(Dear readers, please give this old author's new work a little follow!)