The Me of Now Is Very Strong

[Synchronization rate: 44%]

[Physical essence: 89%]

[Spiritual Essence: 66%]

[Psionic Essence: 100%]

[Electrolyte material: 5]

[Hui Stone Currency (within the term): -4500 (see medical insurance for billing details)]

Six hours have passed since Meteor began his VR training.

He has been fighting against two typical individuals, and he can't get past this hurdle. According to the statistics of his combat records, he can indeed defeat an enemy in a one-on-one fight, and if he performs exceptionally well, he can be unscathed. However, when facing two enemies at the same time, the situation changes drastically.

As the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands.

If the strength of the two sides is vastly different, it is indeed possible to fight against many enemies with one's own strength. Many methods can be used to destroy the enemy's fighting spirit and to take advantage of the terrain to avoid the disadvantage of being outnumbered.

However, the Shinto People's violent apparatus does not have the concept of "breakdown of will"; they are not afraid of death.

With the enhancement of the brilliance stone and the spirit, the meteor's power output is similar to that of the executioner's elemental essence; in terms of individual combat strength, the two are very close.

Once the battle becomes a one-against-two situation, it will be one-sided. Meteor simply has no way to deal with two telepathically connected cyborgs in such a narrow space on the same horizontal plane.

Their teamwork was seamless, with almost no missteps in positioning. Their relentless attacks became increasingly tight, and once A Xing began to be on the defensive, his escape route became increasingly smaller.

In the first hour, Meteor had almost no strength to fight back; he would be torn to pieces by the executioner's sword in less than fifteen seconds.

By the second hour, his mental state had deteriorated further. Most of the time, he was cut in two by the enemy's greatsword after only one strike, and he could no longer maintain even the most basic concentration.

In the third hour, things improved somewhat. He seemed to be gradually adapting to the combined attacks of the two enemies. The timer numbers were also slowly increasing, from half a minute to a minute. In the end, he lasted a full minute and forty-five seconds before giving up his life.

In the fourth hour, the kid lost it again, as if he had forgotten everything he had just learned. He had forgotten how to dodge, how to escape and save his life. If he tried to fight back with the Mingde Remains, he would immediately lose his life.

In the fifth hour, he unleashed astonishing combat power, almost exchanging blows for blows to deal with the enemy's attacks. If he couldn't handle two at the same time, he would kill one as quickly as possible before dealing with the other.

This tactical approach did help Meteor gain an advantage, but each time he had to entrust his life to Lady Luck; if anything went wrong during the execution, he would not survive.

In the sixth hour, A Xing fell into a sleepwalking state again. Shimura Chidō repeatedly restarted the VR to repair the warrior's soft body and saw A Xing rush into the training room without hesitation. From clear and courageous eyes to dejected, fearful, and utterly defeated, it only took a few seconds for this round to end.

"Bu Liuxing" Shimura Chidō waited anxiously outside the room, silently murmuring A Xing's real name.

The frail old man was amazed by the meteor's resilience. He had only heard of the deeds of nameless warriors in myths and legends. In the history of the underworld, these Divine Dragon warriors had never been defeated.

However, Bu Liuxing has now died more than four thousand times, with his fastest defeat taking only 1.75 seconds.

"Let the Hot Wind help you?!" Chido kindly reminded him, "Let the Hot Wind activate your pain inhibitor?"

The pain inhibitor is a protective measure of the VENOM apparatus.

It can protect Homo sapiens from pain, eliminate pain sensation in extreme environments, and allow the host's nerves to function normally without ignoring pain.

Eight years ago, when Jiang Xueming began to forge his physical body, he clearly told Liuxing that pain was a terrible enemy. Intense pain could cause muscle spasms, loss of consciousness, vomiting, weakness, and ultimately, loss of the will to fight.

However, Jiang Xueming never intended to cut off his pain receptors. Pain is a protective mechanism, and Xue Ming's ability to endure pain is beyond that of ordinary people. The same is true for Liuxing—his older brother had almost personally taught him how to fight pain.

"No need! Qian Tang!"

Having just lost his head, Bu Liuxing was resurrected from the spawn point once again. This time, instead of rushing in to die, he sat down cross-legged with an imposing air.

"Hot Wind, bring up the data I've compiled."

[No problem.]

Meteor pouted angrily, crossing her arms as if she had suffered a great injustice.

"How much time has passed?"

[It's been seven hours already, kid.]

A bright projection light source burst forth from his right arm, projecting numerous images and texts onto the floor. These were data on the wounds left by A Xing's more than four thousand deaths, including the depth of blade cuts, fatal and non-fatal wounds, and the condition of each limb was clearly visible.

A Xing lowered his head and silently recited the text and images.

"The nerve center of these metal lumps' exoskeletons is their weakness. From their backs to the cerebellum, that alloy steel shell can paralyze them instantly."

"But how do I get to this thing?"

"If I'm constantly fighting two opponents, it'll be difficult for me to find an opportunity to get behind them."

"To seize the center line, to channel power into their thick chests, and to pierce through this nano-armor, I need Berloberg, but Berloberg is with Wolf—in fact, I've even lost Iron Knight, and that cane isn't with me."

"Are we going to settle this with fists? If you're unarmed, fighting bare-handed is like a lamb to the slaughter for an armed enemy."

Shimura Chidō asked nervously, "Bu Liuxing, do you want to rest for a bit?"

"Old man! I'm already resting!" Bu Liuxing roared, sounding extremely agitated. "I'm already resting!"

Grandpa Qiantang was so frightened that he involuntarily took two steps back. He found it hard to imagine what changes had occurred in the young man's inner world.

For six long hours, the nameless warrior was in a living hell, the agony he suffered before each death hammering into his nervous system.

"Meteor, do you really intend to rely on your mortal body to deal with these two executioners head-on?" Shimura Chidō said with a half-joking, awkward laugh, "Even Hot Wind himself couldn't do something like that. Although he's right, the Shinto People won't listen to your martial ethics—if you go to the Electronics Museum to steal something, you'll definitely be surrounded and attacked. You can run away, though."

"Grandfather Qiantang!" Meteor was extremely excited. He grabbed his disheveled hair and shouted, "I've escaped!"

Qian Tang: "You escaped?"

Meteor nodded vigorously.

"Ah! I've escaped countless times already!"

"I lost countless times in the VR training arena, and I ran away just as many times!"

"Every time I fail, I feel frustrated, and I feel inexplicably wronged!"

Meteor clenched his fists--

"--Why? I hate losing! I hate losing all the time! Why are these two annoying guys so fast? Is there really no way for me to win? Is the only way to close the gap between us is by installing mods?"

[Kid, I advise you to get your artificial body modified as soon as possible. Installing some modules won't hurt; you can also use the essence of the Holy Beast to defeat these enemies.]

Meteor shook his head vigorously.

"No! I don't want this!"

"Whether it's a hardware prosthetic body or a software prosthetic body, these things are products of Shinto City. How dare I presume to defeat the enemy using something they created?"

[Whatever you like]

"If you're afraid of pain, then don't feel pain. If your fists and feet aren't as good as theirs, then replace your limbs with steel. If your weapons aren't as good, then get even better weapons. Can all of this be bought with the memories in my head? In the end—am I going to become a [typical person] too?! Do you want me to become like you, Hot Wind?!"

Meteor gritted his teeth, recovering some strength from the torment of nerve damage. He continued to mutter to himself, reviewing the details of the game.

"Their escape speed certainly can't keep up with the explosive power they display when they suddenly start moving. I can make an effective judgment only in the first six rounds—because in the first six rounds, the two executioners' attack routes are in the same direction."

"Bu Liuxing, you must remember, you absolutely must remember."

"These two electronic brains have 21 initial decision-making options. They can only coordinate to attack me from the same position, and there are only these 21 combinations. After six rounds, depending on my dodging positions, 377 different variations will emerge."

"I need to write these things down and then explore more possibilities."

"But this problem-solving approach is too inefficient. Meteor, you need to memorize these basic movement models of Artificial Intelligence first. Their arm span and leg length are all cut from the same mold. They are the children of Hot Wind."

"Then forget your previous problem-solving approach; that's how you've always done it."

The meteor kept nagging at itself, repeatedly emphasizing the same points.

"You get stronger every hour, and you have to relearn everything every hour."

"If the starting positions change, and they're not side-by-side but one in front of the other, my chances of winning will be even lower."

"So, Bu Liuxing, let go of your mental path dependency, and stop memorizing the move list—you're not fighting an executioner! You're fighting yourself!"

You must be stronger than you were a minute ago, stronger than you were a second ago.

"With every breath, you must become stronger, faster than Artificial Intelligence can learn."

Shimura Chidō stared at the boy with his mouth slightly agape, speechless.

Bu Liuxing has a strong learning ability. His six years in the library have changed him, turning him into a brute with a touch of intelligence.

"The only thing I can't be sure of," Meteor looked at her right arm, "Is this arm. My fluctuating spirit state is definitely related to you, Hot Wind."

He observed the display panel of the VENOM device, one of which was called [Synchronization Rate]. This value refers to the synchronization rate between Liman model and Homo sapiens.

The Artificial Intelligence of the VENOM organization is generally an electronic brain created by scanning the human brain.

Meteor's electronic brain should also be a ghost created by Bu Liuxing's brain, scanned by VENOM. It was supposed to be another A Xing, capable of taking over A Xing's body according to the synchronization rate, helping A Xing work, and continuing to use the real world's body to carry out production activities while A Xing sleeps or enters [Extreme Bliss Space].

Synchronization rate is very important to the people of Shinto City, much like the unity of spirit and body emphasized in psionic technology. Only when the spirit and body are synchronized can the power of the soul be invoked for assistance.

Apart from extremely special cases like Jiang Xueming and Jason Megan, all other VIPs possess the ability to command Soul Power and treat it as a second limb.

At this moment, Meteor seemed to be possessed by Hot Wind —he gained a strong arm, but it was difficult for him to keep in sync with the spirits, and it also became difficult to call on the spirits to help him fight.

The existence of VENOM is like installing a psionic controller on people. The Black Stone controls people's spirits and creates the Liman model, which has psionic properties. It is a low-quality [standard soul power] - even if they temporarily lose consciousness, as long as the synchronization rate is high enough, the ghost in the body can still take over the body and continue to act.

After much deliberation, the meteor negotiated with the spirit residing in its arm.

"Now you have to listen to me! Hot Wind!"

What?! You want to be the boss?!

Meteor: "You must believe me, I am stronger than you."

[Ha! This is interesting! This young man.]

"I know your pain, I've seen a part of your memories." Meteor grinned, feigning a fierce expression. "You live in my veins, you're constantly searching my memories—aren't you?"

[Yes]

"Then you should understand that only I can help you. Now I've changed my mind." Bu Liuxing clenched his fist. "I think the same way you do—to smash this city to pieces. But the scene we envision seems to be a little different."

[Well.]

Meteor confidently gave the middle finger and controlled his right arm to make an international friendship gesture.

"You must be Grandfather in your eighties or nineties, Hot Wind. I don't know much about you, but I can piece together a complete story."

"You are a warrior, and you have many undeserved titles; many people regard you as a great leader."

"Your city, due to various reasons and ravaged by natural and man-made disasters, has been forced into the hands of Artificial Intelligence —under Artificial Intelligence management, people have indeed survived and are materially prosperous with no worries about food and clothing."

"But they also fell into this hell woven by the Shinto People, becoming ghosts who can never be reincarnated—Brother Ping An once told me, do as much as you are capable of."

"If you lack the ability but insist on interfering in other people's causes and effects, you will only suffer the consequences and create trouble for yourself."

"But I'm a born megalomaniac!"

Meteor gently tapped his nose with his left Thumb.

"Setbacks and hardships are nothing to me. Could you really have endured that kind of VR training? You probably wouldn't have been able to take it after dying a few times! But I gritted my teeth and persevered! My willpower is extraordinary! Originally, I only wanted to complete my trial mission and bring Ahei and Ping'an back to the station, but now it's different. I'm going to carry your mission on my back too!"

"But I think differently from you—you just want to bury the past, destroy this history, and never think about letting these souls rest in peace. You have no compassion, no sympathy, and no love. As you said, you are a wandering ghost, so you have to listen to me."

"Whether it's ordinary Homo sapiens, typical humans, or atypical humans, whether it's Artificial Intelligence with personality or something else, even virtual life in an electronic museum, I believe they should all have a complete life—a life without death is incomplete."

"Commander of the Fēngfēng Battle Group, do you know who I am? It's your honor to fight alongside me, because with my arrival, you need not fear or panic—everything will be alright."

[You're fucking arrogant.]

"I did what you couldn't." Bu Liuxing raised an eyebrow and laughed, "My partners and I defeated more than three hundred war gangs of the Madness Butterfly Sect, and wiped out countless other Religious order. The BOSS originally wanted to design a medal-awarding uniform for me, but because there were too many medals to fit, Ming Ge and I refused this useless ceremony—you should know this."

[That's right]

"So you have to listen to me, I'm a combat expert." Meteor retracted his middle finger and glanced at the display panel on his right arm, where the [synchronization rate] was visibly rising.

Shimura Chidō couldn't hear the sound of the Hot Wind. The old man only knew that Bu Liuxing said some strange things to the artificial body's arm, and then he saw the kid taking off his clothes.

Meteor took off his shirt, discarded his Iron Knight, and, shirtless and bare-handed, prepared to continue training.

--The cane was originally his only weapon, but after so many repeated trials, Meteor realized that it had become a burden. If he didn't put down his weapon and fight with his spirit, he wouldn't be able to achieve his breakthrough.

"It's very quiet."

"Hot Wind, you're even cuter when you're not talking."

The Rose Shining Stone at the VENOM mechanism on the right arm began to emit flames.

"Spirit! Respond to me!"

Meteor swung his arm and threw a punch, and a bright red armored arm suddenly emerged from the skin as his fist swung.

The striking red armor was a feature that revealed a portion of the meteor's spirit.

"--Success! It's available whenever I call!"

Shimura Chidō was both nervous and excited. Although he didn't know what had happened, judging from the aura emanating from that kid, he was like a hero who had overcome his inner demons and was about to start the first round anew.

"Want to continue, kid?"

The same tattoo as Xue Ming's was branded on Meteor's back; it was the inscription "[Fate favors the brave]".

A Xing didn't turn around, but gave a Thumb to the person behind him.

"I endured so much suffering just to say this—something Ming Ge once told me—it's a confidence and arrogance I could never have."

"I'm very strong right now!"

Shimura Chidō activated the battle simulation program once again and opened the cage door.

Fifteen seconds later, the meteor died again.

Qian Tang was still bewildered. This kid had just made so many grand pronouncements, and this was all?

But when Ishimura came to his senses, he realized that this time was different.

Meteor moved much faster, and without hesitation, she took off her clothes and threw away her cane, seemingly unaffected by the nerve damage caused by the defeat, and strode towards the battlefield.

The two executioners arrived as scheduled, and the battle began again.

Meteor opened its arms methodically, and besides its two arms, its illusory spirit body had grown half a torso, soon to have a complete upper body.

Only through repeated tempering can tough steel be forged. Failure is not terrible; the sharpening of the file will only make it stronger.

Seven hours and fifty-four minutes --

--Ishimura Shimura Chidō stared wide-eyed as the timer numbers kept breaking records.

This time, the nameless warrior held out for more than four minutes, and he was unarmed, having to fight two fully armed men.

With a "beep," the kill alert sounded, and Shimura Chidō instinctively went to restart VR to prepare for the reborn Bu Liuxing.

But then another kill alarm went blank in Ishimura's mind, and he seemed unable to comprehend what had happened in the training room.

A bloody arm climbed up the high wall of the room. A Xing climbed onto the outer edge of the cage and sat there, holding a fresh spine with the exoskeleton nerve center of the executioner, almost breaking the artificial nerve and the iron shell into several pieces.

Three! Give me three next time!

After uttering these words, Meteor's eyes blazed with fierce fire. A crimson humanoid spirit stood beside him, its armored form and limbs resembling those of a rhinoceros beetle.

They didn't move at all.