Ram Him!

"Where should I go now?" Mu Fan was a little troubled. Fatty wasn't online at night, so should he go to the Combat Hall?

Mu Fan decisively stopped overthinking and directly teleported at random to the nearest Combat Hall.

"Please select single-player battle or two-player battle."

Single-player battle. Mu Fan had already made up his mind. Since Black wasn't around, he would find an opponent and get some practical experience. He had been practicing hand speed and footwork these past few days. As for weapon techniques, he had not started learning them yet. He only knew a downward slash and a straight thrust.

Please choose a battle mecha, player "Egg Lord." The system prompted Mu Fan to select a mecha.

"Huh, the eh01 really is gone. Now there's only one rx-16 mecha." Looking at the light screen before him, Mu Fan saw that his Mecha Hangar contained only a single rx-16. Wasn't that the one from 341 Base?

Well, there was no helping it. This was the only one. Mu Fan tapped the mecha with his finger.

"Player confirmed. Matching will now begin."

Mu Fan's figure instantly vanished from the hall and entered mecha battle matchmaking.

"Ding. Match successful. Room number: 119769s. Map: Desert Dunes (Small). Number of combatants: 2. Mode: Public."

The rx-16, holding a red shield and a metal longsword, appeared in the wasteland. The bulky, clumsy melee mecha stood in the vast desert. Opposite it was a mecha carrying an electromagnetic Pulse Rifle more than three meters long, with a pair of wings spread from its back. It had jet-assisted equipment! Golden streams of light flowed down its body, making it seem like an emperor standing amid the desert. It was the firepower king among Fifth Generation Mechas—the Winged Serpent Mecha, and one fitted with Ejection Wings at that.

Mu Fan did not yet know that he had been matched into the fantasy-type mecha bracket. The opposing mecha had Ejection Wings even in a ground battle—it was clearly cheating. But in the fantasy-type Combat Zone, if you cheated, then I cheated too. That was fair, and that was what made it fun.

Yet at that moment, yellow sand whipped through the air as a realistic-type rx-16 Sword Shield Mecha stood foolishly in the desert. Its blue-and-white paint job was low-grade to the extreme. Windblown sand struck its body, adding a touch of tragic grandeur!

The pilot of the outrageously flashy golden mecha was completely dumbfounded. What was the pinnacle of showing off? A heavy sword without an edge, great skill appearing effortless! Who had such taste that they modified their mecha into something like this? Even the fantasy-type system defaults were probably stronger than that thing.

"HAHAHAHAHA! I'm dying of laughter!" Miss Wang happened to randomly click into a public battle's spectator teleport and appeared in the spectator room for match 119769s. She had just seen the blue-and-white Sword Shield Mecha appear in the desert, foolishly holding up its sword. "Sure enough, the PO Battle Network is full of joy."

Then Beautiful Girl Little Nuonuo saw that mecha raise its alloy shield as if facing a great enemy, lifting its longsword in vigilance. The golden mecha opposite it silently raised its electromagnetic Pulse Rifle and walked toward the rx-16 in tiny steps.

Inside the cockpit, Mu Fan looked tense. Fortunately, this was an rx-16, the mecha he was most familiar with right now. He would first test some movements. He had no idea that a player with the image of a short, chubby girl was watching him with great interest.

Thus, in Miss Wang's eyes, the Sword Shield Mecha named "Egg Lord" spread its legs, traced a semicircle, and shifted slightly to the left. It was like a huge turtle sidestepping sideways.

Whew. The desert terrain was acceptable. The mecha's footing had not gone off balance.

"HAHAHA, its name is actually Egg Lord! This big bear look is killing me with cuteness. Is this a newbie who just learned how to walk?" Watching the oversized Sword Shield Mecha sneakily sidestep again, Miss Wang nearly doubled over with laughter. Like someone who had discovered an amusing pet, she stared without blinking at the mecha that looked stupid and clumsy in both name and appearance.

The Winged Serpent Mecha player was speechless. If you didn't want to let me shoot a stationary target, you could have just said so. Was there any need to mock me like this? Moving sideways made you a moving target?

So he stopped, raised his electromagnetic Pulse Rifle, and prepared to fire a burst. Twenty shots in two seconds. The enemy armor was so thick that firing for a few more seconds should do it, right?

Mu Fan stared at the opposing mecha and suddenly noticed the golden mecha raising its arm on the battle screen. Completely on instinct, Mu Fan's left hand swept over the control panel while his right rapidly shifted the control lever.

The instant the Winged Serpent Mecha raised its gun and pulled the trigger, that bulky fool opposite it actually moved first, charging forward with an odd gait.

"Oho, you're counter-charging? What, do you think you're fighting natives on some primitive planet?" The Winged Serpent Mecha player finally could not hold it in and blurted that out over the public voice channel.

Pfft. Miss Wang, who was drinking PO Battle Network virtual soda, sprayed it everywhere.

No, I have to tip and cheer him on! Such a cute, clumsy bear couldn't just die like this. Even if he died, he had to die gloriously!

System notification: Spectator "Beautiful Girl Little Nuonuo" tipped 188 Star Coins to cheer for player "Egg Lord." Message: Egg Lord is mighty! Charge over and ram him to death!

In the PO Battle Network public Combat Zone, if a spectator tipped more than 100 Star Coins, the message would be played by voice on the battlefield. If it exceeded 1,000 Star Coins, a five-second image of the tipper could be projected above the battlefield. There was only the enthusiastic Miss Wang in this room right now. Seeing such a majestic, clumsy bear charge so bravely, she could not help but feel her blood boil. She slapped her thigh and rewarded him, leading to the scene just now.

Mu Fan, who had been focused on controlling his mecha, had his concentration directly interrupted by those words. 188 Star Coins! Those words slipped into his ears when he least expected it, and Mu Fan became distracted.

With one mistake in his movements, the rx-16's right foot failed to follow through, and it tumbled directly to the ground.

"Tatatatata!" A dense barrage of impacts rang out. Fortunately, its left arm was raised. Since Mu Fan had not been controlling the shield much, it had remained upright before its chest and blocked most of the bullets instead.

"Energy shield reduced by 8%." That was the good thing about a Sword Shield Mecha—it could take a beating. Without the physical protection of the alloy shield, that attack would probably have reduced the energy shield by over 30%!

"Oh no, Big Egg Lord—no, Egg Lord, get up already! Ram him! Ram him!" Miss Wang, sipping her drink, opened her eyes wide in anxious excitement. She slapped again, and another 188-Star-Coin tip with a voice message was sent out. Only after doing so did she realize something. Could these two be putting on an act for her? But after thinking about it, that seemed unlikely. If they could act that realistically, she would accept it.

The player inside the Winged Serpent Mecha was about to cry. Missy with the pretty name, why don't you tip me instead? That idiot on the other side sidestepped twice and fell down once, and he had already earned two 188s. That wasn't fair! Enemies needed encouragement too!

Thrown off balance mentally, the Winged Serpent player held down the trigger and entered pulse-charging mode. He was going to cripple that big fool in one go. This time, he aimed at the head that the alloy shield did not cover. He would smash that imaging device first!

Hearing the system notification for another tip, Mu Fan quickly refocused. He would look into the 188 Star Coins later. Taking a deep breath, he rapidly adjusted his breathing into a steady rhythm. His whole being became like an ancient well without ripples. A strange warm current surged through his body, flowing through his limbs, his facial features, and finally converging in his brain. He began to perceive everything around him with clarity.

Mu Fan unconsciously began circulating Dark Breath without realizing it. In reality, as Mu Fan remained in a reclined sitting posture, a faint green glow rose from his limbs, dispersed, and merged with the night.

First layer of Dark Breath!

Mu Fan began to cast aside distracting thoughts, his gaze becoming clear.

This was a more reliable martial technique. It did not bring the hunger and ferocity that came after using Blood-colored Vision. At this moment, Mu Fan was calm as ice.

His left hand became a breeze, his fingers dancing over the control panel like elves. All five fingers precisely pressed one button after another, carrying a strange rhythm. The movements were natural and unending.

His eyes contained only the semicircular control panel. Within one second, five sets of movements were divided in his mind into sequences of button presses and mapped onto the control panel. He did not notice the APM counter quietly recording at the side, displaying constantly fluctuating numbers:

311, 324, 337...

**********

PS: Thanks to readers "Yesterday's Beauty" and "Poetic and Picturesque, Ren Xiaowei" for the 10-coin tips!

A piece of good news: next week, the novel will receive a category strong recommendation, AA, and a Sanjiang potential recommendation! Li Ge could not have come this far without everyone's support. Thank you!