Real Environment

Half an hour later.

Li Yi and the others, who had arrived at the venue some time ago, finally heard the central AI announce that the martial arts competition was about to begin.

Accompanied by a voice that was ethereal, melodious, and slightly seductive.

Countless beams of light converged in the sky above the venue.

Following that.

A beautiful woman dressed in a white feathered gauze dress materialized in the center of the light.

This was a holographic projection of the AI, one of the Jade Pool Celestial series.

She spread her sleeves and spoke lightly:

"Welcome, Class of 2198 Mecha Trainees, to this ship."

"I am the main AI for Cabin No. 12, the Jade Pool Azurefruit Celestial."

"The virtual reality for this rookie martial arts competition is entirely generated and calculated by me."

"All actions of the participants will be recorded by me throughout the event, broadcast in real-time, and subject to the supervision of all ship citizens."

"Absolute fairness, absolute justice."

"Please, new trainees, take your seats according to your assigned numbers and put on your virtual reality access helmets."

"During the competition, the helmets will supply you with corresponding nutrients to sustain your life."

"If you are already equipped with a Mech-Cap, you can switch the information transmission port by selecting the mode."

"This round is a point-based system. Killing an enemy or having an enemy surrender will earn you all of their points."

"Voluntarily withdrawing from the competition mid-way will result in a 50% reduction in points. Those with 0 points will not be penalized."

"The entire competition will last for 72 hours. Now, the countdown begins. Please access your virtual reality helmets as soon as possible. Those who enter after the time limit will be directly awarded 0 points!"

After a moment of disorientation, Li Yi opened his eyes again and found that the scene before him had changed dramatically.

Deep night, a vast wilderness.

He himself was standing on a large, protruding rock.

He immediately scanned his surroundings but found no other figures.

It seemed to be a random spawn mode.

"My physical condition and senses feel about the same as usual, that's good."

If his senses were weakened, his advantage would be significantly reduced.

After all, his combat skills were already perfected.

The continuous absorption of memory fragments had also boosted his mental level considerably, making his reaction speed much faster than ordinary people.

However, what he hadn't expected was that the virtual reality simulation wouldn't involve piloting a mecha.

It seemed that this first round was more about basic physical qualities and combat skills. Perhaps only by fighting through the thousand carefully selected elites with these fundamentals would one be qualified to pilot a divine mecha and most likely gain its recognition.

Li Yi's thoughts raced, and he felt that such an arrangement was not unreasonable.

He then took another look at his surroundings and the terrain.

He reached out and grabbed a handful of soil, feeling it carefully.

The soil quality was quite similar to the soil found in the wilderness of Mars.

Perhaps this virtual reality was an ecological environment calculated based on Mars as a blueprint?

"Huh?"

Li Yi's eyes moved, and he noticed that about fifty meters ahead, between the dense jungle, there was a faint trace of an artificial track.

He immediately jumped off the giant rock, traversed the jungle, and approached the track.

Due to the complex terrain, Li Yi wanted to get a clear understanding of the actual surrounding environment, so he didn't travel at full speed.

Three minutes later, the unique reflection of the track's special material became increasingly bright.

After walking for a while longer.

Indeed.

A ground track that had been artificially developed appeared before his eyes.

It was a track that could connect all the major bases on Mars!

With Li Yi's familiarity with the tracks of various locations, combined with the direction of the stars in the sky, he quickly calculated his current position.

In the vicinity of Base 11!

This virtual reality was simulating the environment around Base 11!

Interesting, those from Base 11 now had a home-field advantage.

"Absolute fairness? Absolute justice?"

Li Yi thought about the Azurefruit Celestial AI's broadcast, feeling a sense of absurdity while also reminding himself not to hold out hope for such a complex and intertwined organization.

As he was contemplating this.

Whoosh!

A stone flew towards him at high speed.

Li Yi calmly dodged the incoming projectile.

But this was only the first wave.

Immediately following, over a dozen stones attacked from different angles and in sequence.

Li Yi continued to dodge, weaving left and right, easily evading them all.

He was about to charge forward in one go to secure first blood.

Suddenly, the flying stones stopped, and a voice called out:

"Not bad, your alertness, reaction speed, and agility are all good. You're worthy of becoming our partner, how about it, want to join us?"

Li Yi looked and saw three young men emerge from the bushes with faint smiles.

"Only a few minutes into the match, and you've already teamed up?"

"Exactly. Smart people know that cooperation is paramount in the early stages."

A young man with delicate features, almost feminine, took two steps forward first, closing the distance with Li Yi.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Long Guanri, from the Base 23 Power Clan."

"We'll gain an advantage by banding together early on, and then we can fight each other once we reach the top ten. That way, at least we can guarantee ourselves a spot in the finals, right?"

The other two beside him remained silent, standing with their arms crossed.

Li Yi shook his head. "What you say is good, but I refuse."

Compared to three teammates whose backgrounds were unknown, it was better to get three points first.

Moreover, they had started with a relentless barrage of flying stones. If it were someone else, they would have already been eliminated in this virtual reality.

Long Guanri's expression darkened:

"Good advice doesn't sway a stubborn fool!"

He clenched his fist and signaled to the two beside him, then advanced to surround Li Yi.

"Considering we'll be colleagues later, I won't let you lose too miserably, but you can forget about getting any points!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Long Guanri spat out a mouthful of blood, which flew far, leaving him slumped against the wall, his face pale.

Beside him, the other two were also struck in vital spots by Li Yi's casual punches, dissolving into light particles and slowly disappearing from the virtual reality.

"How are you so strong?"

Seeing this, Long Guanri's face filled with terror.

Li Yi walked over slowly and said casually:

"I didn't expect you all combined to be so weak either. You're from a Power Clan, aren't you? Why don't you have any special skills from your clan's inheritance?"

Long Guanri's expression was grim.

He did have clan skills.

But in his current state, how could he possibly use them?

"Let me go, spare my life, and I can guarantee that after the competition, I'll ensure my clan members won't bother you."

Long Guanri gasped.

Li Yi looked surprised. "You're in a state where you're only a few minutes from death, and you can still manage to keep yourself alive?"

"I have clan skills. It just takes some time. After resting for two days, I can fight again."

Li Yi shook his head. "The benefit of me letting you go is just your verbal promise to restrain your clan from causing trouble, which sounds very unreliable. If the martial arts competition has to consider this and that, wouldn't it mean that ultimately, only members of the Power Clans would take the top ten spots?"

"Then how about this, I'll buy my point from you. I'll offer 100,000 Star Credits, and I'll transfer it to you immediately after the competition ends. How about it?"

A strange glint flashed in Long Guanri's eyes.

Li Yi had to admit, he was a little tempted by that number.

But the competition was being monitored by the Azurefruit Celestial AI, and outsiders were also watching at all times.

Perhaps the moment the transaction was made, he would also be reported for a violation.

Tsk, what a treacherous trap.

"Goodbye."

Li Yi's foot flicked out, striking Long Guanri's throat and finishing him off directly.