บท 3: Chapter 2 Puppet_1
Li Hao didn't rush to open it, he entered the control room, took his seat in the cockpit, and the automated door closed.
"Bleem Task 127: Six months, 3000 EMP Points."
Anyone else seeing such junk mail would simply delete it, convinced that the only people who could say such things were either mad or off their medication.
However, Li Hao didn't pay much attention. It seemed that he was more focused on the email itself. When he tried to retrieve it, as had happened before, the message in the Skylink disappeared. Not deleted, but gone without a trace.
Li Hao didn't know who or what he was dealing with, whether it was a person, a ghost, or some kind of surreal entity. The only thing he knew was its codename: Bleem.
The first time was on Li Hao's fifth birthday, when something controlled his dreams and took him into unimaginable worlds, subjecting him to all kinds of baffling training. On one of those occasions, he lapsed into a coma for a month and remained on the brink of death in the hospital. The doctors found no cause for it and had already informed the orphanage to prepare for the worst. Yet, when he woke up, Li Hao made a miraculous recovery, not only in good health, but extraordinarily so. The only remnant of that incident was an encircling scar near his heart. If not for the director's intervention, the hospital would have wished to study him in detail.
Living like this for over ten years, Li Hao had gotten used to the invisible entity. Overall, it appeared to be training him with a specific purpose but wasn't malicious. He had hypothesized about its identity, initially suspecting some evil force from the television shows conducting experiments on him. However, with age and wisdom, he dismissed this theory, realizing that its methods exceeded his current understanding of technology. Also, it seemed illogical for any organization to go through such complicacy for some orphan without significant value.
Everything changed when he turned 12. The head of the orphanage gave him a Skylink, and that's when the "Bleem Tasks" began. The tasks were peculiar, ranging from seeking out a pet to carrying out assassinations. Fortunately, in Li Hao's opinion, the targets were ones that deserved worse.
In general, he lived peacefully with Bleem. But curious and brave, Li Hao tried to tempt fate. Once, he deliberately failed to complete a task, and as a result, his heart suddenly stopped. When he awoke, he received an email - his first piece of communication from his unknown handler: "Complete Task 200, and you will get your answers. Fail again, and you will be destroyed."
Destroyed... Who did it think it was belittling?
Even though the stakes were high, as his power grew, Li Hao kept pushing the boundaries. Eventually, he managed to gain some insight, and the Bleem tasks became less frequent and pressing.
Task 126 was given a year ago, with a directive to gain entry into the Capital. Surprisingly, the year leading up to enrolling at the Capital Mech Academy had been more stimulating and eventful than the last year, which had been relatively calm for him.
Upon opening his eyes and taking a deep breath, a faint smile appeared on Li Hao's face. Bleem had resurfaced after laying low for a while, and he was ready.
The EMP System showed Li Hao's record.
ID: Puppet Score: 853 Win Rate: 100%
Battle Count: 4900
Next to the ID hung a full-color five-pointed star, symbolizing survival, output, group battle, individual battle, and mecha pool.
At first, Li Hao simply wanted to blow off steam, but things escalated quickly. However, he had to control his score and remain low-profile until Bleem assigned him a new task. He had already ruined things once due to recklessness almost jeopardizing a significant mission, which was worth ten regular tasks.
Score control is a technical task, and he found a bug that helped him accomplish it.
That was the virtual mode. Regardless of a solo or a team battle, if any participant selects the virtual mode, the scores of all participants are calculated based on that mode. Therefore, Li Hao fought most of his battles in the virtual mode while using the real mode himself.
That led to his statement that he was using virtual mode while still not using it.
His score was maintained well - just over 800. It was inconspicuous, yet served the purpose.
Li Hao selected battle mode and entered the random team formation in the arena.
Shortly, an opponent appeared, who had also hidden his personal information. ID: Eternal Starlight.
Li Hao didn't care who his opponent was. Both of them entered the mecha selection countdown, and Li Hao opted for a random pick.
Puppet vs Eternal Starlight
Armor Dragon Fighter 3rd Gen (USE) Specifications: Medium-sized fighter, 80-tonnes position, nuclear fission drive, standard laser gun, titanium gold sword.
Silver Knight 5th Gen (NUP) Specifications: Light fighter, 65-tonnes position, nuclear fission drive, silver laser gun, laser sword.
The two mecha fighters entered the arena, standing face to face, the countdown began. Three seconds.
3...2...1
The battle commenced.
The Silver Fighter attacked first, moving with considerable agility, indicating that the pilot was effortlessly handling the load. The fighter was swift, with speed to spare.
In virtually no time, the gap between the two fighters was reduced to twenty meters. The Silver Fighter suddenly accelerated, the mecha's shoulders swaying. However, this swaying was not an imbalance but an attempt to confuse the opponent's judgment.
Clearly, the opponent was extremely cautious.
Once the distance was reduced to ten meters, the Armor Dragon Fighter was still immobile, while the Silver Fighter had already sprung up into the air. In mid-air, the laser sword was drawn and swung down forcefully.
The Armor Dragon had no chance to dodge at this point. Mecha battles greatly differ from human battles– anticipation and reaction times are crucial. Every major championship in the Solar System Mech Tournament has highlighted the importance of taking the initiative and maintaining control. NUP was renowned for excelling at it.
The Silver Fighter pilot wasn't the least bit merciful; the speed of their laser sword strike increased drastically. At this moment, the Armor Dragon roared, and the mecha trembled, jolting forward half a step. Its left arm blocked the part of the laser sword closer to the opponent's hand, and the body moved in. Its right arm then delivered a ruthless 45-degree upward elbow blow.
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