Crushing

The fat man and Mu Fan sat in the Directional Suspension Vehicle as he introduced Mu Fan to the relevant knowledge about PO.

"The place we're going is the Training Base. They'll give you basic training for the PO Battle Network there. This world has a high degree of freedom. If an experienced player enters on an alternate account, they can skip it. But I'd still recommend that you go."

Mu Fan listened very seriously, then asked, "What kind of operations do they mainly train there?"

"Mainly mecha operation and individual combat. But the latter doesn't mean much, because it's obvious whether you know how to fight or not. This place only provides simulated combat, and it doesn't really improve your skills. The purpose of this base is to help you get familiar with this world as quickly as possible."

"Mm." Mu Fan did not ask anything else.

By the time they finished talking, the two had already arrived at their destination.

"You go on in. I'm heading to the Combat Zone. I've already noted down the coordinates for this Training Base. Once you're familiar with it, just call me when you come out."

The fat man rubbed his hands together. Boot Camp was just too boring. As an old hand like him, there was nothing he could do here. Training Base? What a joke. Was he supposed to spend all day beating up dummies?

"Okay. I'll contact you when I'm out. And... thanks." Mu Fan nodded and looked at the fat man with grateful eyes.

"Don't mention it. Since we're friends, no need to stand on ceremony. I'm still waiting for you to make it big and carry me. I'm off!" The fat man waved carelessly, then charged excitedly into a nearby Teleportation Point and vanished with a flash.

Mu Fan lowered his head and looked at the light screen on his wristband. "Lemon Balloon" was already marked as being in a different area, and behind it was his rank: Silver 1 Star.

Shaking his head, Mu Fan walked into the pale blue spatial gate.

His body passed through a thin membrane. It felt cool, and then an empty, deserted corridor appeared before him.

Following the blue guiding light beneath his feet, Mu Fan walked to a metal revolving door and pressed the faintly glowing button beside it.

"Hello, new recruit 'Egg Lord.' This is Base 341 Training Center."

The muscles in Mu Fan's face twitched unconsciously. Right now, he only wanted to ask whether he could change his nickname again.

"Please select a training program. One: Individual Combat Training. Two: Mecha Piloting Training."

As Mu Fan heard the voice, he saw two options appear on the electronic screen before him. He reached out a finger.

"Individual Combat Training." Mu Fan answered decisively.

He needed to familiarize himself with both types of training. He would start with individual combat, then move on to mecha training. Mu Fan's plan was clear. If he wanted to understand this world, he had to start from the fundamentals. Just like surviving in the wilderness, he had to be cautious in everything. One wrong step could cost him his life.

The moment Mu Fan pressed the button, the entire corridor went dark. It was as if he had returned to the scene where he first encountered Black upon entering the battle network. The surroundings were dark and silent.

Soon, a point of light shone from ahead. Light leaked through the metal revolving door. Amid a series of clacking sounds, the corridor around Mu Fan disappeared. He stamped his foot against the ground—it was the familiar flooring made of special composite materials. A beam of light enveloped a ten-meter radius around him, while everything beyond remained pitch-black.

It feels so real! Mu Fan was secretly alarmed. The sensation was as though he had returned to his nights hunting in the deep forest.

No, something's wrong! What is this atmosphere, this sense of pressure?! Why is my heart pounding so hard?

Whoosh!

"Who's there?!" Mu Fan spun around sharply. He was no longer that quiet, low-key youth. At that moment, his back arched slightly, and the bones in his arms crackled faintly.

A figure flashed through the shadow on his right. If not for Mu Fan's extraordinary senses, he would not have noticed it at all.

Mu Fan clenched his fists and lowered himself even further, like a wolf preparing to pounce. Then another heartbeat sounded.

What's going on? It feels so real. Even the abnormal pounding of my heart whenever I encountered danger in the wilderness is being faithfully reflected in the PO world. But the fat man never said it was this realistic.

Huff! Another shadow flashed past. Mu Fan whipped his head around. He could see in the dark, yet he still could not see the end of his surroundings or make out the shadow's appearance. He could sense that it was deliberately staying in the blind spots of his vision.

There was no one there again. Suddenly, Mu Fan's pupils contracted. He ducked low and tilted his neck slightly, and only then did the sound of something cutting through the air reach his ears. It was an ambush attack so fast it had nearly reached its limit.

A metal weapon! Danger!

Another whoosh came. The instant he heard it, Mu Fan knew it was already too late to dodge. He tensed the muscles in his forearm and raised an arm to block.

Hiss, it hurt. It was the solid feeling of metal striking flesh. Mu Fan felt as if his bones were about to break.

Is this really still a virtual world? The rookie training difficulty the fat man mentioned is actually this high?

Whoosh! Before he could think any further, a faint abnormal sound suddenly came from beside his ear.

It had moved to his left again. Mu Fan spun around alertly.

How insidious! Catching sight of the Metal Short Rod cutting through the air from the corner of his eye, Mu Fan gritted his teeth. He instantly dropped low, planted both hands on the ground, and explosively kicked off with all his strength. He sprang up like a cannonball and drove out a vicious punch.

But Mu Fan seemed to have forgotten that this was the PO Battle Network. He had yet to accurately grasp how much his strength was weakened in the virtual world. Thus, he could only watch as the Metal Short Rod smoothly changed direction in midair and rapidly enlarged in his vision.

Bang! Mu Fan felt his skull crack beneath that blow. He felt his consciousness scatter from the violent strike. The brain's compulsory fear response when facing death crushed his senses and perception in an instant. There was the helplessness of losing control over his body, and his... boundless attachment to life.

In that instant, the enormous shock to his consciousness surpassed even the pain of his skull shattering and his brains bursting apart. Was I really dead just like that?...

Hm? Why was his consciousness still there? Wasn't the person lying on the ground himself? A tiny whirlwind suddenly rose and swept his "corpse" from the ground into it. Then the "corpse" shattered into motes of light within the whirlwind before suddenly reforming. A pull dragged him into darkness, then turned him toward the light.

So this is death? Mu Fan lowered his head and looked at his completely unharmed body. He touched his head to make sure it was fine, and lingering fear rose in his heart.

Thankfully, this was a virtual world.

"How did death feel?"

When the voice came from behind his back, its unhurried tone made every hair on Mu Fan's body stand on end. Yet he did not turn around. He restrained his instinctive reaction.

"Tsk, tsk. Such a reaction on your first time." A trace of mockingly approving praise mingled with that calm tone.

Only after Mu Fan confirmed that his body sensed no danger did he turn around.

A figure emerged from the darkness. It was a blackness deeper than the night itself. Step by step, it gradually approached. Mu Fan heard no sound at all. This person's control over the muscles in his legs was simply terrifying.

The figure cloaked in darkness stopped at the edge of the central light. Though he was closer now, Mu Fan could see him even less clearly. He only saw a pair of ghostly green eyes revealed beneath the hood when he raised his head.

"Kid, welcome to the rookie Training Camp. I'm the instructor here. Relax, rookie." His tone remained calm, as if introducing himself were no different from drinking a glass of water.

Whew. Mu Fan had nearly forgotten again that he was in a virtual world.

"Hello, Instructor." Mu Fan had always been respectful toward those who taught him.

"Mm."

The PO Battle Network was absurdly realistic. Even system characters could imitate tones of voice.

"Is this the rookie Training Camp?" Mu Fan kept feeling that something was off.

"Yes."

"Are you my combat instructor?"

"Yes."

"How should I address you?"

"Fighter." The figure waved a hand boredly.

"Fighter Instructor?"

"Mm."

"How do we train next?" Mu Fan set aside the questions filling his mind.

"One more time. Remember to come back tomorrow when you log in." Before Mu Fan could respond, the figure swung his left arm, leaving an afterimage. The familiar howl of the short rod came with the sound of bones shattering.

"So... insidious." Mu Fan blocked the rod with his arm, but his bent arm and collapsed ribs hurt so badly that he could barely speak.

"Today's training is over. Remember to come tomorrow." With a backhand swing, the familiar sensation returned—the same helplessness, with nowhere to dodge. Mu Fan once again experienced the feeling of his skull being smashed apart by a heavy blow.

The figure watched Mu Fan dissolve into light before him as if he had casually swatted a fly to death.

The corner of the Fighter Instructor's mouth curled upward beneath his hood. Then those ghostly green eyes faded back into the darkness, and his soft murmur vanished into the absolute blackness.

"Heh, Fighter... interesting..."