Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
The novice zone had never been so lively. The pros would sometimes play around here, and nobody would really take it seriously because they would be found out sooner or later, and the price would drop. Also, the novice zone’s mecha had a limit. As the opponents in matchmaking get stronger and stronger, even pros will slip. No pro will be so focused.
The forums were in heated discussion with all kinds of speculations. Skeleton was unique, and his style of battle was not special enough to be associated to any diamond player.
Four consecutive wins. The hype was getting stronger and stronger.
Of course, there were many onlookers who were not impressed. This kind of situation had occurred many times before, but they either all fell off very quickly, or people would find out the corresponding mecha to counter him. It was only a matter of time.
And this person’s skills were very one-dimensional, only focusing on close-range and completely failing at the long-distance aspect. This would be capitalized upon.
Basic mecha have limits, but many excellent mecha have no limits.
All these debates were irrelevant to Student Wang Zheng. He was concerned about whether the prize money for this fight would cover the internet fees, or if he would take a loss, especially since this battle did not gain him any battle experience. Hopefully, luck will be better next time.
Solon was the CT Senior Vice President of Earth, mainly responsible for the performance of Asia and the novice zone. With regards to CT, this was rather bland. The situation of the novice zone in comparison to the higher-level zones was not much.
Without exemplary performance on his part, there would be no promotion and no need to talk about the future. It was not that he did not think of ways. He tried to recruit new people and gone through college tours etc. He even invited diamond players to act as rookies. Still, there was no breakthrough. Having reached diamond level, they would not entangle themselves in lower levels just for a little bit of money, and there was no value to them. Most importantly, the player base always eventually found them out.
That was until the appearance of this fellow with the ID of Skeleton. The big screen in front of Solon was playing Skeleton’s four battles. Solon was 55 years old this year—he was very clear that at his age in this competitive CT company, he was approaching pension, and he would have difficulties holding on to his position if he did not produce something dazzling.
Regarding CT, Solon believed that he was senior and professional after having seen all kinds of pros. Yet the four battles of Skeleton deeply shocked him. He watched repeatedly, struggling in his heart.
The opportunity was fleeting. Should he go for it or not?
He knew that his competition was waiting for him to make one misstep. The moment there were flaws, he would immediately become the target of attacks. But if he played conservatively, he would eventually have to give up his position too.
Will this one work?
Solon watched the gameplay for the entire day and analyzed the data. He was not looking at the end results—four consecutive wins was common, and even more would be the same. But such detailed handling, such confidence, was certainly not achievable by the average person.
Solon had two opinions on this: either this person was either a lucky novice, or this person was in reality a true expert!
A veteran will inadvertently reveal his familiarity with battle and will naturally take the shortcuts, yet this person did not.
Regarding experts, this was easy to tell. A few maneuvers were only possible with good physical attributes; this was also the requirement to go far.
CT was easy to pick up; you could play it anytime and casually too. But if you wanted to be good at it, especially if you wanted to reach a certain high level, your body must be able to keep up with it. At the highest level, even if it was not as difficult as the real deal, it was 70 or 80 percent similar.
Ace pilots were certainly CT pros, and CT’s highest pros were five times more likely to become ace pilots. This was also the reason why the top CT pros were pretty much all military school students.
Was this person an opportunity?
The screen shut off. Solon could hear his own heartbeat. Bang.…
Slapping the table suddenly, Solon opened Skylink, “Inform the Publicity Department: meeting at 9 AM tomorrow, everyone is to be present!”
Closing Skylink, Solon immersed back into darkness.
After graduation, everything starts anew. Regarding Wang Zheng, Yan Xiaosu, and Xie Yuxin, their life goals had all seen change.
The three of them gathered in Dawn Middle School’s cafeteria. Fortunately, the three had all entered Ares Military College. With the exception of Xie Yuxin, who was entering for certain, Wang Zheng and Yan Xiaosu faced twists and turns.
Yan Xiaosu’s father seriously gave the school a sponsorship sum and Yan Xiaosu entered the Interstellar Business Department. The point was that Yan Xiaosu finally took things seriously. The banquet encounter dealt a blow to Xiaosu to the point where he did not even play CT anymore. He spent this period of time learning from his father. Dignity was not given by others!
Xie Yuxin’s goal was clear: to become a warship captain, the solar system’s general.
Wang Zheng’s was even clearer. He had wanted to be a good mech fighter since young. There were many twists and turns on the way, but he eventually got his wish.
“Boss, Little Yu, tomorrow I’m going with my father on a trip to Mars. Will be back before school reopens. For the future world’s richest man, ace pilot, and general!”
Yan Xiaosu raised his coffee cup, but no one bothered. “Damn, you’re really not giving me face. What are your plans for the break?”
“Work, train, same old. Little Yu, what about you?” Wang Zheng was truly grateful to Xie Yuxin. This fellow may appear cold all the time, but he was actually very warm hearted.
“I also have some things. Go out and broaden my horizons. Asia is not the end, neither is the Earth. It’s the Milky Way that is our world!”
All three of them had some longing. The Earth was too small, and the universe outside was vast. It was unimaginable to stay in this place for the rest of one’s life; one had to move out.
After mankind entered interstellar sailing, many great adventurers were born, like the great navigators Magellan and company from a long, long time ago. The world of the unknown drives human desire to bigger strides forward. The three youths were naturally not content just staying on Earth for their entire lives.
Yan Xiaosu was very clear that if he did not want to sell sanitary napkins for the rest of his life, he would have to make changes. Wang Zheng and Xie Yuxin’s goals were clear. Actually, Xie Yuxin and Yan Xiaosu had advised Wang Zheng before that if he was looking for good development, being a mech warrior was not the best option in reality. It was torturous, dangerous, and very hard to succeed.
The treatment towards the air force was a lot better than that of the land forces, but Wang Zheng’s character was as such.
Yan Xiaosu and Xie Yuxin both embarked on their journeys. They could enjoy the vast sky. Undoubtedly, this would bring them new experiences, and Wang Zheng was happy for them, but he had his own things to settle.
Needless to say, without the two by his side, Wang Zheng was rather lonely.
Skylink had two messages waiting. It was definitely not from Little Su and Little Yu. What other friends did he have?
Both messages were very unexpected. One was in the inbox that he used only when he registered for CT. Opening it, there was a middle-aged man.
“Nice to meet you, Player Skeleton. I am Vice President of CT Earth, Solon. I hope to talk to you about the future.”
Wang Zheng shrugged his shoulders. D**n, what morals did this guy have? To think of trying to scam a poor fellow like himself. Wang Zheng was not courteous to people like this, so he immediately replied with one word: “scram!”
He quickly deleted the message. People like this should be rounded up and beaten!
The other message was even more unexpected, turning out to be a message from Ye Zisu.
“Student Wang Zheng, I would like to talk to you. Do you have time?”
Based on memory, Ye Zisu’s expression was sincere, but Wang Zheng’s first reaction was no.
After the previous incident at the Shangri-La Hotel, he had not seen Yue Jing. Whatever fate they had together had been doomed. While this Ye Zisu was not as extreme as Yue Jing, what did they have between them to talk about?
Since she took the initiative to invite him, he pretty much had no reason to be afraid.
“Time and place.”
Wang Zheng replied with a message. Just as he was preparing to take a shower, Skylink rang again.
“Two in the afternoon today, pavilion by the school lake.” Ye Zisu’s reply was brief too.
The location was not bad. Could it be that she was thinking of throwing him into the lake?
Wang Zheng shrugged indifferently. Actually, if it was not a last resort, he really was not willing to be at loggerheads with girls. The earlier incident was rather horrible, but it was because Yue Jing had gone too far. It had nothing much to do with Ye Zisu.
At 1:50 in the afternoon, Wang Zheng reached the meeting place. He and Yan Xiaosu knew this place like the back of their hands, but perhaps they would not come here as often anymore in the future.
Unexpectedly, Ye Zisu had already arrived. Today, Ye Zisu was wearing a white t-shirt, very simple, no logo, and a blue miniskirt below. Her long hair was tied simply and in front of her chest. It has to be said that the way she was dressed looked very comfortable.
Seeing Wang Zheng, Ye Zisu smiled. “I thought you wouldn’t come.”
Wang Zheng laughed. “We’re school mates after all. At the most, you’ll throw me into the lake, but just remember to fish me back out.”
Ye Zisu was surprised for a moment, then she smiled knowingly. She bowed towards Wang Zheng. “Regarding the recent events, I am sorry. I apologize to you.”
Wang Zheng waved his hand. “Actually, it was nothing much. There’s no right or wrong in these matters. Besides, it had nothing to do with you.”
Ye Zisu shook her head. “I definitely played a part in it. Little Jing, actually, she is only a little prideful. This incident dealt a rather major blow to her. She’s changed schools. However, we are still school mates and I am also a freshman at Ares College’s Mecha Department. Wang Zheng, we will be school mates once again.”
Ye Zisu extended her hand. Gazing at her little, white hand, Wang Zheng gently shook it, feeling like something was a little off. The Old Merchant also often said to be careful of sweet words and a dark world. Today’s Ye Zisu can be said to be the model of a goddess, except maybe she chose the wrong partner.
“How did you know I made it into the Mecha Department?”
Ye Zisu smiled, gently pulling at her hair that was blown by the breeze. “I’m not sure if you believe me, but I believed that you could be a mech warrior from the very start. Regardless of whether you could make it into Ares College, there has never been a person who insisted more on unrelenting training, rain or shine.”
Wang Zheng was surprised for a moment. “How did you know?”
“Oh, you are too focused. You’re not the only one who likes morning exercise.”
Ye Zisu was another one who insisted on training. She noticed Wang Zheng a long time ago. Once, there was a rainstorm. Ye Zisu was resting in the dormitory thinking that that person would not go for training. However, through the telescope, she saw Wang Zheng in the rainstorm working out loudly. That smile in that big rain, she still remembered it till this day.
