Silicon Invasion

The battle commenced the instant both mechs stepped out of the safe zone. Such was the nature of long-range artillery mech warfare. A 500-meter diameter battlefield was nothing to modern weaponry.

Both sides' radars locked onto each other immediately. Then, "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh," tracking missiles shot out, leaving thick trails of smoke.

These guys, accustomed to long-range artillery duels, equipped themselves with nothing but long-range attack systems and anti-long-range attack systems. It looked like a heated battle, but in reality, most of the work was done by the auxiliary AI. Compared to close-quarters combat of the same level, the amount of manual operation was incomparable.

But for a small-town internet cafe team, one couldn't ask for too much.

The battle lasted for a little over seven minutes. In the end, Uncle Niu, leveraging the Thor's advantage in chassis weight, exhausted the Bluebird's ammunition reserves and secured the victory.

The score: 2-2.

The pressure was now on Luo Rui.

Whether he'd be going home with one hour of game time or three depended on this moment.

During the break between matches, Luo Rui relaxed his body and tidied up the snacks on the table to avoid waste.

"Luo, it's up to you now."

Uncle Niu said with a smile as he watched Luo Rui take over. He was in a good mood, as they hadn't messed up yet.

Luo Rui nodded in agreement and climbed into the game pod.

"What's Starry Sky Esports up to? Are they so poor that they have to take advantage of the event organizers?"

Although Luo Rui didn't share his game screen during practice, anyone at倾城 Internet Cafe with working eyes couldn't help but notice the mechanical arm flailing around.

"Maybe they're cramming at the last minute."

Someone nearby sarcastically chimed in.

"Haha, if you don't work hard usually, do you think practicing a little now will make a difference? Who are they sending out next?"

"They've had some personnel changes recently. It seems an old member left the team, and they brought in someone through connections. Rumor has it he's a junior majoring in mech piloting."

"Which school?"

The captain paused, sitting up slightly to show his concern.

"I think it's Dongning."

"Then it's not a big deal. The top players from Dongning were all signed a long time ago. The rest aren't worth worrying about." The other person breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like he'd overreacted.

"That guy is probably a slacker. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to pull strings."

"Perhaps he spent all his time playing when he was in school, and now that there's a competition, he's realizing he's almost forgotten the command keybindings. He's probably practicing frantically."

"Haha, that makes sense."

Many team members echoed in agreement, feeling victory was within reach.

However, the captain, having dealt with Uncle Niu for many years, felt that Uncle Niu was a reliable person and wouldn't let his team members make such a joke. There must be other hidden reasons.

"Monkey, go find out what's going on." After thinking it over, the captain ultimately chose to be cautious. He called over a team member and instructed him to gather information.

The distance between the two locations wasn't far, and the circle wasn't large. Many of the team members had friendships in private. Fighting to the death on the field and bragging over dinner off the field were common occurrences.

Monkey was quick-witted and had many friends. Receiving the instruction, he quickly approached a staff member on the Starry Sky Esports side: "Da Bao, want a cigarette?"

"..."

"Captain, don't shoot, it's me." In less than ten minutes, Monkey snuck back with a grin, starting with a line from a comedy sketch to lighten the mood.

The captain nodded. If he was in the mood to joke around, it seemed the problem wasn't too big.

"Captain, you wouldn't believe what's going on with the other side."

"What is it? Is there a lot of twists and turns?"

"It's extremely twisted. The new guy they got, Tian Junli, is indeed a junior from Dongning."

"The one who's practicing?"

"No, let me finish. Tian Junli got into a fight with someone a few days ago. He originally planned to have a debut, but he crashed and burned. His cockpit got blown up."

Monkey tried hard to suppress his laughter, his winking and eyebrow-raising making him look very lecherous: "As a result, the young man lost face and went missing. He even turned off his comms for today's competition and didn't even show up."

"Oh? Is that so? Then who are they sending out next? That guy surnamed Liu?"

"Liu Zhengxin's level isn't even good enough to be a main player. We still have two main players who haven't played yet. Who could he beat?"

"Then they're giving up?"

"No." Monkey first shook his head, then said mysteriously: "You know, this world is full of coincidences. Just now, they actually found the guy who beat up Tian Junli in the audience, then offered him some benefits and pulled him in as a substitute."

"Then what are you laughing at? If he can beat that guy surnamed Tian, his strength must be even greater. This isn't good news for us."

A team member said in confusion.

"Hey, don't worry. There's more to the story." Monkey reassured the person to be patient, found a stool to sit down, and struck a storyteller's pose. He even looked a bit like one, except he was missing a clapper.

"Tian Junli lost not because he wasn't strong enough, but because he was trying to show off. He chose a Swift Rainbow to fight the other guy's Warrior 7 in close combat, head-on, and then got completely destroyed." The information Monkey received, no one knew how it was spread, had a bit of discrepancy from the truth. This way of putting it made Luo Rui's combat power seem implicitly weakened.

"Even so, that guy's strength shouldn't be underestimated. Warrior 7 only has a slight advantage in a head-on fight when the pilots' skill levels are comparable. And someone who's good at close combat probably isn't too bad at long-range artillery either."

The captain shook his head, not understanding what Monkey was laughing about.

"Captain, there's more to it. That guy is actually a high school student who only knows how to play Warrior 7. Tian Junli basically walked right into a trap." Monkey chuckled.

"There's such a thing?" The captain also laughed: "No wonder my left eyelid kept twitching today."

No matter how well you play Warrior 7, you can't break through the mech's limitations. Its mobility can't keep up with long-range artillery unless the pilot's skill difference is too great. Otherwise, it can only be a target.

But then he thought, having known the guy surnamed Niu for many years, he was usually reliable. Knowing this situation, if he still insisted on sending this person in, there must be a reason.

Their intelligence still had omissions.

Hearing the captain's analysis, Monkey laughed again: "Captain, I also found out about this. Of course they know Warrior 7 doesn't have a chance. That's why they're having that kid practice a new mech."

"..." Everyone was speechless. This was absurd to the extreme.

Everyone had been in this industry for so many years, and they had never heard of practicing a new mech right before a competition.

"Who are they looking down on?"

"Yeah, Monkey, is your information accurate?"

Monkey straightened his neck: "Of course it's accurate. Although that kid didn't share his game screen, the event organizers can check the game records through the backend. I snuck in and took a peek just now. The records show he's doing the newbie tutorial."

"..."

"What mech is he practicing?"

"Swift Rainbow!"

"..."