The limit of human reaction time was 0.1 seconds. Ordinary people simply could not reach that figure, while trained individuals could approach it. But the closer one got, the more the difficulty increased geometrically.
This was textbook knowledge, and Mu Fan naturally knew nothing about it.
He only heard Black explaining, "According to my calculations, once your effective operation of the control panel's mechanical keys exceeds 400 inputs per minute, continuous micro-adjustments through system command signals will allow you to make the mecha perform unimaginable movements."
"This is the difference between operating a mecha and operating the human body. This is also where the appeal of mecha operation lies! Don't look at me like that. I copied that line straight from Dingchuan Academy's course materials."
Mu Fan looked at Black speechlessly as Black continued rambling.
"Footwork Technique—Phantom Flash—was a skill developed in fantasy-style combat on the PO Battle Network. It can be used after the simulation level is reduced to 60%. Proficient users on the battle network can use it within the 65% to 70% simulation range, while the best can reach 80%. That is why it is considered a skill that does not exist in reality. But according to my calculations, this skill is feasible in reality."
Black's eyes once again projected a light screen of the control panel. The cockpit of the rx-16 Type was much roomier than that of the eh01, and Mu Fan focused on the projection beside the combat screen.
"Watch carefully. This is the control panel in front of you. It is 667 mm long and 374 mm wide, which means you must perform semicircular operations centered on your elbows. According to calculations, Phantom Flash requires an APM of 500 before initial control can be achieved through continuous command cancellation. The PO Battle Network has simulation restrictions, so I require you to pass Level 40 gravity training as soon as possible in reality. Only then will your hand speed make it possible to use Phantom Flash in actual operation!"
"Because of their massive weight, mechas possess enormous inertia, making it easy for opponents to predict your attack route. Phantom Flash footwork was born from this. By issuing, interrupting, then issuing commands again, the system continuously refreshes data commands within its limit without creating a dead loop. This forces the mecha to change direction the instant an action begins. That is Phantom Flash! Watch the video."
The screen changed, and Mu Fan saw two mechas fighting on a plain. A white mecha crouched halfway down in the distance, holding a Gauss Rifle and firing continuously. Every shot blasted a crater roughly two meters wide into the ground. The two obviously mismatched wings behind the mecha showed that it was a fantasy-type mecha.
A kilometer away, a dark red mecha was charging forward at high speed with a Magnetic Oscillation Blade in hand. At first glance, it seemed to be moving in a straight line, but on closer inspection, its movements were strangely bizarre. Whenever a metal round was about to hit it, it would make an eerie, disordered change in direction and lightly evade the shot.
"Watch carefully. This is the Disordered Folding Step, an advanced real-world mecha technique. Maintaining an APM above 350 is the basic threshold for operating it." Black explained attentively from the side.
"Pay attention. After the next disordered change in direction comes the skill you are going to learn—Phantom Flash." Black suddenly raised his voice to warn Mu Fan.
Huh? Mu Fan's eyes widened. On the screen, after the red mecha changed direction, the white mecha opposite it actually fired two shots in rapid succession. The second bullet even caught up alongside the first, both aimed precisely at where the red mecha's feet would land.
There was no way to dodge? It looked as though the red mecha could only be hit by that bullet. Once a Gauss Rifle struck its foot, its movement would inevitably be impaired. After that, it would become a stationary target for one-sided slaughter.
Yet before Mu Fan's astonished eyes, the red mecha suddenly turned into an afterimage mid-charge and appeared behind its own route of advance!
It completely defied the laws of physics, completely ignored the inertia of a heavy mecha charging forward! It abruptly appeared on the path it had already passed, as if the footage had been rewound!
"What was that?!" Mu Fan was genuinely shocked.
"Hand speed beyond the limit! It completely exceeds what the human body can endure—continuous operations of more than eight keys per second with one hand, spanning a control panel over 65 centimeters wide! For an ordinary person to reach that figure would inevitably mean torn muscles, but your muscle density happens to be fully capable of bearing it."
"This is the first skill I'm going to teach you—Phantom Flash!" Black shut off the light screen and blinked at Mu Fan.
"Training begins now. With your left hand, press the 45 keys in the first row from left to right in sequence twice. Then start pressing every other key, twice!"
"Faster! Faster, a little faster!"
In the silent factory beneath the night sky, the bonfire flickered. The youth sat quietly against the wall, yet within the sea of his mind, his eyes had already turned bloodshot! The nerves in his hands were sounding alarms from the unbearable strain!
apm160...
apm195...
apm226...
Mu Fan's hands had begun to ache faintly, but he gritted his teeth and persisted. He had no idea that Black had secretly tampered with the mental pressure monitoring chip in his real-world Helmet and directly bypassed the system's supervision. This meant that if Mu Fan did not log out, he could face genuine danger.
Whether his eyes were open or closed, the control panel filled his mind. Black had drilled him until he memorized the layout of its keys by heart.
At first, the keys Black called out followed a pattern. Once Mu Fan gradually became able to barely complete them, Black immediately increased the difficulty, with a very clear reason: he could not keep dodging backward forever. The enemy's attack routes were multidirectional, and the difficulty of one-on-one combat versus one-on-five combat increased geometrically.
So, as Black supervised him and raised the training difficulty, he added one-key disorder, then two-key disorder... until now, when he had added Three-Key Disorderly Steps.
Mu Fan did not know that the system's backend had recorded his APM as exceeding 230. He only heard Black say he had failed, followed by a jolt of powerful electricity. From a numb tongue at the beginning to facial paralysis now, Mu Fan could not even spare the attention to wipe away the virtual drool leaking from his mouth.
Black was practically a demon from hell now. During training, he completely forgot all sentiment and was even more sadistic than that Fighter Instructor!
Effective APM: 235! This was already the standard of a Federation junior pilot... but Mu Fan had no idea.
Mu Fan only heard that he had failed! When several disordered keys came in succession, he spent more than 0.2 seconds thinking, resulting in a chain of incorrect inputs.
It was not even half of what Phantom Flash required!
Mu Fan's eyes reddened. Under the pressing strain in his mind, his brain actually brought him into that Blood-colored Vision again, that sensation of having everything under control.
The sounds he heard slowed down, slowed down. "h7, l19, z2..." As the commands came, his left hand accurately pressed those keys without a single mistake, leaving a blur of hand movements over the control panel.
Black suddenly announced, "Effective APM: 297!"
Mu Fan was delighted. With the support of Blood-colored Vision, his APM on the PO Battle Network had reached a level he had never dared imagine. He had actually completed this set of operations without a single error!
Applied to the mecha, the rx-16 Mu Fan was piloting advanced along an irregular arc. Although its movements were not yet smooth or natural, the basic outline of the motion was already visible!
Mu Fan did not know how many days he had left, but he understood deeply that he had to achieve this hand speed beyond the limit!
"Mental state declining detected. Training terminated." As Mu Fan's left hand swept across the keyboard again, his surroundings suddenly shifted and vanished. Black forcibly ended his training.
"It is now 2:08 a.m. Your concentration has lasted more than two hours, and your mental condition has begun to decline. You are no longer suited to continue training. I recommend resting first. Tomorrow, you will need sufficient stamina for Gravity Room training. Of course, as the host, you may activate it again." Black looked at Mu Fan.
"I'll listen to you. Stop it. We'll continue tomorrow."
In the end, Mu Fan's APM was locked at 303. Unaware of it all, he soon entered deep sleep to the sound of his own snores.
On the PO Battle Network, Black appeared before the Fighter Instructor and met the dim green eyes beneath his hood. "Mu Fan has run into trouble."
"..." The dim green flames in the Fighter Instructor's eyes flickered.
"If you still refuse to teach him your trump card, the host will be gone!!" Black's tone was unusually grave.
"Don't worry." In a low, hoarse voice, the Fighter Instructor once again produced that short staff. It spun and spun until it became a blur. As the green arcs traced by its ends gradually joined into a circle, two Sickle blades glowing green suddenly appeared! Then he vanished into thin air!
Only a faint echo remained. "He is my disciple."
P.S. Who is the Fighter Instructor based on? Hint one: not a movie character.
Before you continue