Chapter 62: It’s Hard to Say Who’s Tricking Whom
Chapter 62: Chapter 62: It’s Hard to Say Who’s Tricking Whom
Yang Bo’s idea was closely tied to his current environment. Actively releasing a Skill right now carried the risk of detection, making his passive collection ability a much safer alternative.
However, he couldn’t think of many immediate applications for this passive ability, so he only tested it briefly before returning to his experiments with the active attack capabilities of Sound Waves.
He had figured out the theoretical method for attacking through objects with Sound Waves, but testing progressed slowly. The process involved calculating attack distance and material density, and required him to snap the fingers of both hands simultaneously so the Sound Waves would intersect at a specific point to generate destructive power.
"This thing is too complicated." Yang Bo’s head buzzed after testing it for a while. The process demanded immense calculations: first, the target’s distance and material; next, the material of any obstacles in between; and finally, the specific medium through which the Sound Waves traveled to ensure the waves from both hands intersected perfectly at the target location.
After finishing his tests on the Sound Waves’ ability to strike targets through obstacles, Yang Bo began experimenting with Metal Control.
He discovered that Skin Metalization was the very foundation of Metal Control. When he grasped a doorknob, he could clearly perceive the metal structure inside the lock and seamlessly manipulate it.
In other words, he could weld the lock shut from the inside or pop the door open with effortless ease.
"Jackpot!" Yang Bo’s mind flooded with potential applications. Wherever there was metal, if he could max out this Skill, he would be an absolute king.
You have a powerful Mecha? With a single reach of his hand, he could fuse its internal metal structures together, rendering it utterly immobile.
You have formidable Warplanes? He could directly alter the internal structures of their engines—let’s see them try to fly after that.
He picked up a soup spoon and watched in fascination as it morphed into a fork in his hand, then a spatula, and finally a miniature pot.
He started his experiments with these simplest forms of manipulation, gradually increasing the difficulty. He couldn’t even fathom the true upper limits of this ability.
***
Meanwhile, the Mecha game forum was absolutely blowing up. A famous small animal protection organization had live-streamed an attempt to trap and kill Bird Slayer Brother. To their surprise, Bird Slayer Brother didn’t die; instead, they suffered heavy losses themselves.
The forum users immediately split into two factions. One side argued that trapping and killing other players in the game was highly immoral—even worse than what Bird Slayer Brother had done.
The other side insisted that Bird Slayer Brother was a sick pervert and a useless piece of trash in real life, which was why he resorted to killing cute little animals.
A massive flame war erupted on the forum. The Mecha game already had a poor reputation online. Many people assumed they were playing with unregistered IPs, thinking that if their Mecha was destroyed, they could simply change their address and start over with no consequences.
However, once an IP address was flagged as ruined, a new tenant moving in and trying to play the game would discover the situation and file a complaint with customer service.
In this society, tracking down a user was incredibly simple. As a result, many people had already received court orders forcing them to financially compensate for their wrecked Mechas.
In truth, this game functioned much like old arcade machines—one machine could be used by many people. The only difference was that if a Mecha broke down in the game, it required real-world repairs.
As for those with their own dedicated IPs, they could simply memorize their login passwords, allowing them to log in from anywhere else.
Of course, if a player no longer wanted their old Mecha, they could just enter the game, pass the assessment again, and claim a new one.
Naturally, if people knew they were actually remotely controlling real-life machines, they would probably curse up a storm. The developers were essentially double-dipping—the sheer shamelessness of it was astounding.
Many players had harbored suspicions over the years, but the official response was always the same: "We aim for absolute realism."
The fiercer the arguments got, the more people wanted to join the fray. As a result, the original eight-man Advanced Mecha team ballooned to twenty players. Their primary mission was to hunt down and kill that pervert, Bird Slayer Brother. Since no one else in the game actively slaughtered small animals, this group righteously styled themselves as the Justice Gang.
However, this overbearing attitude sparked a rebellious streak in others. "Damn it, you’re saying we can’t kill them? Then we’ll kill them just to spite you! It’s one thing to preach in the real world, but nagging us in a video game?"
Consequently, another group arrived at Base 16. Piloting Advanced Mechas, they fired their Laser Guns—PEW PEW—hunting down any small animal in sight, be it birds or rats.
This particular faction proudly dubbed themselves the Bird Slaying Gang on the forum.
After practicing Metal Control for a while, Yang Bo prepared to log back into the game. After all, getting paid to play a video game was a pretty sweet deal.
When he logged into the forum, Yang Bo’s face turned green. He secretly cursed these people for having too much free time. Why were they targeting him? Was there an actual rule against killing small animals in the game?
"If I didn’t have leftover Miniature Hydrogen Bombs and Shock Wave Bombs, I’d change my IP immediately," Yang Bo thought through gritted teeth. These guys actually wanted to ambush and kill him? Perfect. He just so happened to need Advanced Mechas to help build a bond with the Iron Bull.
Yang Bo entered the game. This time, he chose to travel on foot, as he was busy plotting his own trap.
Mutants lurked underwater at the spot where he had blasted fish last time, making him hesitant to return. But now that a group of players was actively trying to hunt him down... Heh, they would make excellent meat shields. As long as he played his cards right and pitted these guys against the Mutants, everything would work out perfectly.
Therefore, Yang Bo piloted his Mecha at a walking pace. If he flew too fast, his pursuers wouldn’t be able to keep up.
As Yang Bo walked, the members of the Justice Gang used high-altitude drones for Tracking. They tried to guess his destination so they could formulate an ambush plan in advance.
This group was wealthy and had purchased a vast amount of intelligence. Since they didn’t yet know Yang Bo’s final destination, they held off on taking action for the time being.
The members of the Bird Slaying Gang had also spotted Yang Bo, but they had no intention of tailing him. In truth, they looked down on him. After all, he was only piloting a third-generation Mecha—a mere game Whiteboard. A Mecha Master operating such basic equipment was likely living a miserable life in the real world.
The Bird Slaying Gang was exclusively targeting the Justice Gang. Since the Justice Gang hadn’t made a move, they stayed put as well.
Along the way, Yang Bo stomped on rats and slashed at birds, having the time of his life.
"What is this Flying Skill actually used for? Logically speaking, I shouldn’t be able to fly, even though both birds and I are carbon-based lifeforms," Yang Bo thought. He had never entertained the idea that he could personally take flight, but what exactly did this Flying Skill entail?
"My access to information is too limited. The incomplete data available to F-class citizens makes a lot of things seem contradictory," he mused, well aware of the vast gaps in his knowledge.
Without a reliable source of information, he was stuck. The fat boss would never tell him everything he knew, simply because information one didn’t possess was invaluable.
Upon arriving at the lake, Yang Bo initially had no intention of actually bombing fish. After all, his swimming Skill was already maxed out. But sometimes, one had to act deliberately to put on a show.
"Haha! This jinx really went back to the same lake. I wonder if our neighbors know about this yet?" The Tiger-faced King sat in his lair, looking at the virtual footage being transmitted back. Seeing the Blade Mecha standing by the lake, he burst into roaring laughter.
"Your Majesty, our neighbors are extremely powerful. Will they blow the Blade Mecha to pieces?" one of the Tiger-faced King’s subordinates asked worriedly.
"No, because I received intelligence that the human base has deployed forty Advanced Mechas, and their target trajectory points straight toward the jinx. It looks like it’s the same group of humans who lured the Silver Armor Rhinoceros last time." With a wave of the Tiger-faced King’s hand, the virtual projection shifted to display the exact moment the swarm of Advanced Mechas took off.
Meanwhile, back at the lake, Yang Bo surveyed the aftermath of his first Shock Bomb. He then glanced up at the drone that had been tailing him from high above. "The people trying to ambush me should be arriving soon," he thought to himself. "Will the Mutants not make it in time?"