Amid the illusionary transit, Mu Fan appeared in Brother Fatty's VIP room. The room was about twenty square meters, with two Combat Teleportation Rings off to one side. At the moment, Brother Fatty was gloomily sunk into a soft leather sofa, watching a fighting video.
The instant he saw the white flash, Brother Fatty immediately put away the video and came over with a miserable face. "I got wrecked! I got set up! I... Hahahahaha, why are you still wearing that little vest? Didn't you finish your training?" Brother Fatty had been complaining, but the sight of Mu Fan still rocking that flashy newbie look instantly broke him.
Mu Fan's cool expression nearly fell apart at once. Fortunately, Brother Fatty did not notice. Thinking back to that metal rod that had casually smashed toward him, impossible to dodge, his head still seemed to ache faintly.
"...Yeah, it's over. But I think I still need to learn more basic operations. I might be going there often in the future."
Mu Fan could actually say such things without changing expression.
"That's good." Brother Fatty did not think much of it. "So, have you learned mecha operation? You definitely went straight to mecha training, right? I told you fighting didn't mean much to you."
"...Yeah," Mu Fan squeezed out a single word.
"Then quit dawdling. Hurry up and fight. I'll start you off with Generation 1 Mecha. No matter how well you play these things, they can't make much of a splash. They're slow, and the maps are small. Perfect for getting you started." Young Master Harry wore an expression that said he was doing Mu Fan a huge favor, then patted Mu Fan's shoulder with grave sincerity.
"There, see that Combat Teleportation Ring? Step inside, confirm the Combat Room, and you'll be in." Brother Fatty thoughtfully jerked his chin toward the ring beside them.
"Fine." Mu Fan felt like he was being forced onto the stage. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and go.
"You scrubs, watch Brother Fatty slaughter everyone in the newbie room! Tremble! Hahahahaha!" With a vicious expression, Brother Fatty licked his lips and stepped into the teleportation ring.
"Mu Fan, battle preparation confirmed. System matching initiated."
"Beep. Match successful. Combat Room: A4J1507. Combat level: Generations 1–2. Combat map: Eight Square Kilometer Boulder Area. Players: 8v8."
Mu Fan and Brother Fatty instantly vanished from the room, then appeared above the map. For the moment, teammates could not see one another. From God's Perspective, Mu Fan looked down at the area below. Jagged giant boulders lay scattered across a plain, while small raised hills and shipwreck debris separated the terrain into areas large and small. It felt somewhat like a boulder maze.
System countdown: 2 minutes.
Please select a mecha.
Mu Fan looked at the list that appeared before him. Hmm... it was a very, very long list, with everything from Generation 1 to Generation 7. Beyond that were nothing but black question marks.
Unfortunately, they were all gray...
Then Mu Fan swiped right. The gray Generation 1 Mecha page slid away, and at last, a colored mecha icon appeared.
Available for use!!
Mu Fan was a little excited, but also helpless. Why? He had no idea how to operate it. Of course he was excited to finally have access to a mecha, but once he remembered that he knew nothing at all, he felt helpless. He was also too embarrassed to tell Brother Fatty outright.
Confirm selection of this mecha? The system displayed a prompt.
Of course he would confirm. It was not offering any other options.
"Selection confirmed: First Generation Humanoid General-Purpose Heavy Machine—EH01 Type."
After Mu Fan confirmed, the icon rapidly enlarged, and a mecha resembling a human skeleton appeared before him.
Mu Fan was around 1.78 meters tall. This... thing, which could barely be called a mecha, was around six meters tall.
What was especially bizarre was that this mecha was completely different from the ones he had seen in Brother Fatty's Sky Communicator videos. How should he describe it? It looked more like a skeleton.
A description appeared beside the mecha: Real-Type Mecha. A First Generation Unit ground mecha used before humanity broke through the atmosphere—the Humanoid-Driven Skeleton EH01 Model. Originally intended for civilian use, it was later converted for military use due to its replaceable component design. This mecha used mechanical operation, with mechanical levers supplemented by a 178-key control panel.
Height: 6.2 m
Weight: 8.77 t
Classification: Ground-Based First Generation Mecha
Maximum running speed: 45 km/h
Weapons: Replaceable attachments—120mm Shoulder Cannon, Arm-Mounted 52mm Gatling Machine Gun, Alloy Samurai Sword.
Engine: First Generation Power Cabin AA accessory fuel cell.
System rating: F- long range, F defense, E- close combat, F- mobility.
Looking at the skeletal frame that seemed to be made from a pile of metal, Mu Fan had only one impression—stupid, clumsy, crude!
Could this thing even be driven? Three black lines seemed to appear across Mu Fan's forehead.
Please confirm weapon selection, the system dutifully prompted.
"Select the Samurai Sword. Discard the rest." Mu Fan did not hesitate. According to the system prompt, removing the shoulder cannon and Gatling machine gun would reduce the weight by around 0.6 tons and slightly improve mobility. For a First Generation Unit, even the tiniest improvement was an advantage.
"Selection confirmed. Will the pilot enter the cockpit?"
"Confirm."
He stepped into the elevator, and when he appeared again, he was already inside the cockpit.
The cockpit of a mecha over six meters tall should have been fairly spacious, but... this mecha was a skeletal frame. Mu Fan was positioned where a human spine would be. The cramped space contained thirteen red-and-blue mechanical levers on either side, 178 control keys arranged in a semicircle across the front keyboard, a one-person seat, and the battle screen lit up before him.
How was he supposed to operate this!?
Mu Fan had no clue. He sat in the hard driver's seat, staring worriedly ahead.
The system did not care about any of that. "Countdown begins. Five, four, three, two, one... deploying."
Mu Fan instantly felt the weightlessness of jumping off a cliff as he was dropped directly from hundreds of meters in the air. The metal mecha could not eliminate the adrenaline rush brought on by the planet's gravity.
"So thrilling!!!" It was Mu Fan's first time encountering mecha combat, and the feeling before battle made every pore on his body feel innately comfortable.
But! If he was dropped from that high up, would the mecha not shatter on impact?
Watching the ground draw closer and closer in his view, Mu Fan could barely stop himself from shouting.
"Pssst." The mecha's leg cushioning system activated.
There was cushioning, but there was no point expecting this First Generation Mecha to offset much impact. Having any cushioning at all was already good enough.
"Bang!" The EH01 Type mecha crashed heavily onto the ground, and Mu Fan was jolted hard inside the cockpit as well.
"This mecha's already junk, and every descent feels like bungee jumping. We should really go complain on the PO forum."
"Quit screwing around. If they were going to change it, they would've done it ages ago. This is what real combat feels like. You want a Generation 8 experience from a Generation 1 Mecha? What the hell do you know?"
"What do you know? You idiot."
"Your uncle."
Mu Fan was completely dumbfounded. What were those voices suddenly coming through the cockpit? Why were these people arguing?
"Enough. Check the battle map. Everyone, focus on evasion first. Gather at points A and B, then fight on two fronts. Good luck, everyone."
Another voice came through. This one was clearly much more reliable. Mu Fan nearly suspected he had entered the wrong place.
"OK, I'm going to A," said the first player to speak.
"I'm going to A too."
"Get lost. Don't follow me."
"Get lost. Say one more word and see if I don't become the Commissar Squad!"
"...You idiot."
The two mechas cursed as they charged toward point A. On the map in the lower-right corner of Mu Fan's battle screen, he saw two green dots heading for point A.
"Seriously, is everyone in a Level 1 room a trash-talk king?" This time, Mu Fan clearly recognized Brother Fatty's voice.
"What the hell are you?"
"You scrub."
Brother Fatty snapped. "You xx."
Mu Fan was completely speechless. Was this really the first mecha battle of his life?
Before you continue