TSA Chapter 62

This time, the randomly assigned virtual combat was a vast desert filled with swirling yellow sand. The barren landscape provided no places to hide, but the sandstorm in the air obstructed visibility to some extent.

Han Xiao’s mecha did not have stealth capabilities, yet as soon as he entered the virtual battlefield, he vanished from everyone’s sight. While the human eye couldn’t track him, machines could—his speed was simply too fast. Combined with the sandstorm’s interference, this created an effect that made him appear nearly invisible.

Zhang Shuo activated his mecha’s radar scan, trying to lock onto Han Xiao’s position. However, Han Xiao moved so quickly that each radar scan showed a completely different location than the previous one. It wasn’t just his exact position that was indeterminate—his entire movement trajectory was impossible to predict.

Seated inside his mecha, Zhang Shuo felt an overwhelming sense of suffocating fear for the first time. It was as if a sharp blade was suspended above his head, and he had no idea when it would fall.

Without hesitation, Zhang Shuo launched three heat-seeking missiles. The X3 model, being defense-oriented, wasn’t equipped with many weapons or ammunition. It only carried three of these heat-seeking missiles in total, and he had just fired all of them.

It wasn’t that Zhang Shuo was reckless. Given that his radar couldn’t lock onto Han Xiao’s position, he couldn’t be certain that a single missile would be effective. By launching all three at once, he at least reduced the chances of Han Xiao escaping unscathed.

Han Xiao increased his speed again, luring the three heat-seeking missiles into a loop before charging straight toward Zhang Shuo.

Zhang Shuo instantly realized Han Xiao’s plan. In this desert map, there were no obstacles to take cover behind—so Han Xiao must have decided to use Zhang Shuo himself as an obstacle to block the missiles.

But Zhang Shuo had no intention of sitting there and waiting for defeat. He immediately activated his shockwave generator. This device emitted powerful shockwaves through the air, dealing massive damage to everything within a certain range.

Knowing Han Xiao’s incredible speed, Zhang Shuo worried that if the shockwave’s radius wasn’t large enough, Han Xiao might evade the attack. So, he maximized the shockwave’s power, expanding the attack range to 500 meters. At Han Xiao’s current speed, he would have no way to escape.

This large-scale attack would consume nearly 45% of his mecha’s energy, but if it meant defeating Han Xiao, it was worth it.

The massive shockwave erupted, sending waves of yellow sand flying in all directions. Even the wind seemed to halt for a brief moment. The three heat-seeking missiles exploded upon contact with the shockwave—but Han Xiao seemed to have vanished.

Just as Zhang Shuo was wondering what had happened, his vision suddenly flipped, and his mecha was sent crashing to the ground.

The spectators had witnessed Han Xiao’s unbelievable maneuver—an extreme display of skill. He had accelerated with the three missiles tailing him, drawing them within approximately 250 meters of Zhang Shuo before abruptly reversing direction. It was as if he had calculated the precise speed of the shockwave. The moment the shockwave struck the missiles and triggered an explosion, Han Xiao used the resulting fire and black smoke as cover, diving underground. He then surfaced right behind Zhang Shuo and launched an attack with his energy cannon.

Han Xiao’s Y17 mecha was speed-focused, meaning it sacrificed most of its heavy weaponry and defense. To maximize his agility, Han Xiao had even removed several weapons, leaving him with only a single energy cannon.

The energy cannon had a relatively short range and moderate damage. While it couldn’t pierce the heavily armored X3 mecha, it delivered a powerful impact.

Even though Zhang Shuo was securely strapped into his mecha’s central control cockpit, the sudden overturn still subjected him to significant impact forces. His shoulders, waist, and other areas restrained by the harness began to ache.

Although this was a simulated battle, the pain felt in combat was transmitted through the simulation pod—meaning at this moment, Zhang Shuo’s pain was very real.

Zhang Shuo didn’t understand how Han Xiao had avoided his attack, but having finally pinpointed his opponent’s location, he recovered from his shock and attempted to counterattack—only to be interrupted by a piercing alarm.

“Warning! Warning! Thruster damaged! Thruster damaged!”

He had no idea when Han Xiao had managed to sabotage his mecha’s thruster.

A mecha without thrusters was like a person who had lost their legs—almost incapable of movement. This was especially true for the X3, which, due to its reinforced armor, was significantly heavier.

Zhang Shuo refused to go down without a fight. Since Han Xiao was still within range, he activated another shockwave attack, this time limiting its radius to 100 meters.

Shockwaves radiated outward from the X3 mecha, making it nearly impossible to evade. But Zhang Shuo himself was positioned in the absolute safe zone.

Yet Han Xiao was simply too fast. Once again, he burrowed beneath Zhang Shuo’s mecha, completely avoiding the attack.

It was clear that Han Xiao was well-versed in the X3 mecha’s specifications. He had predicted Zhang Shuo’s reaction and identified the one safe spot that could completely negate the shockwave.

This failed attack had cost Zhang Shuo another 15% of his mecha’s energy—leaving him with only 40% remaining.

Han Xiao’s mecha hovered openly in mid-air, almost tauntingly. Although it made no sound, its presence exuded pure provocation.

Zhang Shuo knew that the shockwave would no longer be effective, so he activated all the X3’s available weapons—plasma gun, laser cannon, railgun—and launched a frenzied attack on Han Xiao’s mecha.

But none of it worked. Han Xiao dodged every single attack with ease, his movements so fluid that it looked like he was dancing gracefully through the air, completely unbothered.

At the same time, Han Xiao continued firing his energy cannon at Zhang Shuo. With his thruster destroyed, Zhang Shuo had no way to dodge, leading to a rather comical scene—his X3 mecha was sent tumbling across the battlefield like a rolling ball, over and over again.

Inside the mech’s control cabin, Zhang Shuo was thrown around so violently that he felt completely disoriented. His forehead and face were bruised and bleeding, and he even suspected that his ribs might be injured. Yet, despite these injuries, none were fatal, and aside from the destroyed thruster, his mech was still operational—far from the level of damage required for the AI to declare his loss.

“Warning! Warning! Left wing damaged! Dual tracks damaged! Balance system damaged!”

“Warning! Warning! Remaining energy below 15%!”

The mech’s intelligent alarm system blared sharp warnings, making Zhang Shuo’s head ache.

Without a thruster, without a balance system, and with his left wing damaged, his mech was no better than a turtle with its limbs cut off—its body still intact but utterly helpless. Han Xiao’s photon cannon kept blasting him across the battlefield, making him roll uncontrollably, unable even to flip himself upright.

He could easily imagine the ridiculous scene the audience was witnessing. The thought of it made him regret his choices immensely. If he had known this would happen, he would have just picked a high-offense mech like before. Even if he lost, at least he would have gone out in a blaze of glory instead of being stuck in such a humiliating, one-sided beating.

And yet, he couldn’t even accuse Han Xiao of doing it on purpose. After all, the Y17 mech only had a photon cannon as its sole weapon. What else was Han Xiao supposed to use?

But was it really unintentional?

Zhang Shuo didn’t believe it for a second. He had already sensed Han Xiao’s hostility back when they exchanged glances on the platform before the match.

Han Xiao must have planned this! He had deliberately chosen the Y17 mech, intentionally removed all other weapons—even basic energy blades—leaving only a photon cannon. Against most mechs, the photon cannon might deal some damage, but against the X3 model, it could only send it flying without causing any real harm.

But that only made things worse for Zhang Shuo, who was sitting inside the control cabin. Since this was a fully immersive battle simulation, all sensations were transmitted as if they were real. Right now, he truly felt like he was covered in bruises, battered all over, and possibly suffering from a fractured bone. Until the match ended, the pain would persist.

If he wanted to put an end to this torment, the only option left seemed to be surrender…

But the mere thought of conceding to Han Xiao made his blood boil. It reminded him of the day he had been forced to apologize to Ran Qi.

That forced apology had already cost him his dignity. If he now surrendered in front of a live audience, where would he even put his pride? And once the match ended, the battle recording would be uploaded to the Star Network, where the entire Empire could see it! How could he let that happen?!

Zhang Shuo took a deep breath and pressed a red button on the control panel—the mech’s self-destruct mechanism.

The AI was strict in its rules for determining victory and defeat. A match would only be forcibly ended if the mech was severely damaged or if the pilot was critically injured and unable to continue.

While the self-destruct mechanism existed, it was rarely used in simulated battles because the AI would only declare the match over after the explosion and after assessing the mech’s and pilot’s condition. The pilot would experience the real sensation of near-death pain upon detonation.

Zhang Shuo’s situation was unprecedented—his mech was only 30% damaged, and he was merely lightly injured, yet he still refused to surrender and instead opted for self-destruction.

“Zhang Shuo has activated mech self-destruct. The match is over. Han Xiao is the winner,” the referee announced.

Han Xiao had achieved an almost flawless victory—his mech didn’t even have a scratch.

Thunderous cheers erupted from the audience as they celebrated the winner.

Zhang Shuo’s face was dark as he stepped out of the simulation pod, his gaze toward Han Xiao filled with hatred. But upon seeing the crowd rushing excitedly toward the battle stage, he quickly lowered his head, hiding the emotion in his eyes.

After greeting the enthusiastic audience, Han Xiao walked to the stands, smiling as he looked at Ran Qi. “I won.”

“Mm… congratulations…” Ran Qi’s cheeks inexplicably turned a little red.

“How about we make something good to eat tonight to celebrate?”

“No problem…”

Watching them laugh and chat so naturally, Zhang Shuo’s eyes burned with fury.