Novel Bin Chapter 5: Brittleskin
When it launched, the Wargod’s Covenant galaxy finale gained great popularity in the Milky Way Alliance. Together with numerous young girls’ participation, the finale every four years became one of the top ten most viewed programs in the galaxy
It couldn’t be helped; young people decided the mainstream culture.
In every battle, based on their performance, the winner is awarded points on a scale of 1 to 10, and the loser receives a deduction of 1 to 5 points. When a player reaches 1,000 points, he or she will be able to fight in the promotion battle. If the battle is a success, he or she will advance to become a bronze player, and at the same time earn the right to compete in the ladder tournament.
Professionally speaking, players who reach this point are finally not beginners anymore.
Players are divided into five levels according to their strength: bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond.
The strongest ten diamond players on each planet are known as the kings.
You have to know that even though a planet has only ten of these people, their influence is almost on par with idols and celebrities.
As for Yan Xiaosu, although he was always bragging in front of Wang Zheng, he had in fact not even received the title of inexperienced beginner.
The 1,000 points promotion battle is very important because the moment the player loses, he or she receives a direct deduction of 50 points and will have to re-accumulate that amount again. In order to aboid this, opportunistic people will hire a master for help. The prime example being Yan Xiaosu.
Xie Yuxin was another one of Wang Zheng’s and Yan Xiaosu’s friends. He was totally different from the both of them. Xie Yuxin had a genetic score of 90, and although his name sounded very feminine, he had a cool and handsome appearance. A lot of people did not understand, how could a person like Xie Yuxin be in the company of people like Wang Zheng and Yan Xiaosu. It simply made him look low-class.
Currently at Brothers Net Cafe.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please wait for a little while. My brothers will be here very soon." Yan Xiaosu was busy apologising.
"Tall-Handsome-Rich, hurry up, we are paying by the minute."
"I understand, thank you very much!"
Yan Xiaosu couldn’t afford to be disrespectful, he had gone through a lot of trouble to hire these three bronze level players to help him through this hurdle.
Initially, it was settled that Xie Yuxin was to join in. Apart from being handsome, this guy was also capable. The only reason why he had not gotten promoted was because he played very little.
"It doesn’t matter if that person does not know how to play, just let him stay in the base."
"I understand. Don’t worry, Sir, I will make it clear to him."
The three people on the video screen nodded. Three bronze level players could easily abuse five beginners.
This difference in strength was like the heavens and the earth.
CT was easy to pick up but difficult to master. It had no physical burden, and to operate it well required one to possess half the capabilities of a formal pilot.
Wang Zheng arrived after a while. He only had some basic understanding regarding CT. Even if one had never tried it before, he or she must have witnessed others play it, Wang Zheng included.
"Boss, you are still the one I can rely on most at times like these. Hurry now, this stage is yours. Go in and register a number; the captain will give his commands soon."
These helpers were very expensive, and they charged by the minute, so Yan Xiaosu didn’t dare to delay any further.
Wang Zheng walked into the simulation cockpit. Needless to say, it looked similar. No wonder so many people liked it. He put on the apparatus consisting of a head ring, two wrist and ankle rings, and suddenly a burst of light filled his eyes and then in front of him appeared a lady with unearthly beauty.
CT’s game guide. She was very adorable and nice. It was said that a lot of male players were smitten by this beautiful lady.
"Welcome to Wargod’s Covenant. Please confirm your ID and choose the mech warrior that you need."
In front of Wang Zheng’s eyes appeared five shiny mech warriors. He knew that they were not real, but Student Wang was still overwhelmed with awe.
As for the name? Wang Zheng suddenly smiled. I’ll call myself Skeleton, then!
Beginner players were provided five types of armor:
Demon Wolf Type V (Assassin)
Beast Type 3 (Tank)
Bata Type 5 (Warrior)
Hunter Type 3 (Sniper)
Wargod No. 1 (Optional Weapons)
The Demon Wolf and Beast were beast-type series. The Demon Wolf was extremely flexible, suitable for hilly and other complex terrain; it was played as an assassin. The Beast was extremely sturdy, specifically used to break fortresses. Bata and the Hunter were humanoid-type mecha. Bata was a balanced warrior and it was also the military’s most commonly used training mech. It had already been developed to the current fifth generation. The Hunter was a sniper type, excelling at concealment and sniping from a long distance.
Wargod No.1 was a humanoid mech specially used by novices. There was nothing special about it. It was easily understood by the novices and that was it. The weapons that were available to be chosen from were a titanium knife and laser guns. They were the most common variants used by novices who used them to battle with the computer mecha.
"Get that beginner to choose quickly. Don’t waste too much time," a voice said. ID: Mad Warrior. His main account was a bronze grade 2. It was the highest among the three bronze-level players, and his temper was also the worst.
Yan Xiaosu quickly nodded. "Boss, any choice will do; we just need you inside to fill the number of players."
Wang Zheng originally planned to understand more first, but seeing Yan Xiaosu being so anxious, he just chose Wargod No. 1. That name sounded the coolest.
After a flash of light, the five mecha on their team appeared. A small window displayed the information of the other four teammates.
Yan Xiaosu’s ID was Tall-Rich-Handsome, unranked, Beast Type-3, a thick skinned, ferocious, assault mech. However, mobility was its weakness. Yet, given Student Yan’s cowardly character, this was not surprising.
Wang Zheng was using Xie Yuxin’s account. This account’s ID was Xie Yuxin. Needless to say given this guy’s character of consistency, he ended up using his own name.
The other three players’ profile pictures had a bronze light around it. This was a symbol of their identity.
ID: Mad Warrior, Demon Wolf Type V
ID: Just love bullying beginners, Bata Type V
ID: Never Admit Defeat, Hunter Type 3
All three of them were the helpers that Yan Xiaosu hired with money. There was no doubt that their captain was Mad Warrior.
He had already gone through these sorts of promotion battles a few times. Basically, as long as they played it safe, there won’t be a problem. The three of them were responsible for doing the fighting, the other two rookies only needed to follow behind to finish up the robots.
But.....all three of them were dumbfounded when they saw Wang Zheng’s choice of mech.
"Holy s**t, dude, why is that guy using Brittleskin? He must be crazy!" Mad Warrior said, totally annoyed.
"What is a Brittleskin?" Wang Zheng asked, totally ignoring how angry Mad Warrior was. Wang Zheng was extremely curious. This was the first time that he was in such a situation.
A few people had silent expressions. "From under which rock did you crawl out from? F**k! Later on, while you are inside the fortress, don’t come out, don’t say anything, just stay inside."
"Tall-Handsome-Rich, the difficulty of survival is high, so double our payment!" Mad Warrior said.
Yan Xiaosu wiped his sweat. "No problem. Thank you, Sirs, I’m really sorry to have troubled you."
Student Yan was too anxious. He had forgotten that Wang Zheng had never touched these kinds of things, so he quickly gave Wang Zheng an explanation on it.
Although the name Wargod No. 1 may have sounded awesome, it had no use in combat. It was not that this mech wasn’t good at all; its performance was actually acceptable. Its offensive and defensive capabilities were balanced, but the biggest problem was that the mech had no energy shields and no protective armor. It was equivalent to fighting while totally naked, completely unsuited for brawling. If he was not careful, he would definitely end up as cannon fodder.
In team mode, it was five against five, and each side had a fortress. The forts would regularly produce robots to attack the opposing team. The key to winning was to destroy the other team’s fortress.
In free matching, you could invite your friends to help you, but no one knew who their opponents would be; it was entirely up to luck.
The five opponents appeared. Wang Zheng didn’t give any crap about the scornful gazes; he couldn’t describe his feelings right now. He never would have thought that the game would feel so realistic. No wonder so many people were attracted!
The countdown to the battle began.
Ten...nine...three...two...one.
With a flash of light, everyone entered the battlefield. Everything just felt like reality. His four teammates all prepared to fight, but Wang Zheng, however, was just like an infant.
He dreamt about piloting mecha all the time, but he had never thought that he could fulfil his dream in this way. Wang Zheng carefully took one step out.
Dong...
The absolutely visceral feeling of the mech stepping onto the ground reverberated around him. Wang Zheng looked up to the sky, truly feeling like shouting.
This felt so f**king great! No wonder Yan Xiaosu could be so obsessed!
By now the other four mecha had already marched out. The three bronze players were leading while Yan Xiaosu stayed in the middle to bring up the rear. Yan Xiaosu was also excited.
Only now did they remember that they had forgotten about Wang Zheng.
On the screen, Wang Zheng was moving Wargod No. 1’s arm, raising his head, twisting his ankle, slowly taking each step.
Mad Warrior and his friends noticed Wang Zheng’s situation too. "Tall-Handsome-Rich, which kindergarten is this lovely baby from?"
Yan Xiaosu held back his anger. He wanted to fight back, but he couldn’t offend them, especially because he was an officer from the Hunter Legion.
"Heh, Sir, my bro is here for the first time. Please forgive him."
Those three people had accepted Yan Xiaosu’s money, meaning they needed to solve his problem, so they had no right to mad. But in fact, the three of them felt resentment too. If the other beginner had some idea on how to play, he might’ve been able to help relieve some of the burden. But as it was now, it was equivalent to their team being without fifth player.
The opponents were pushing forward too. Given Yan Xiaosu’s experience, the opponents matched against them wouldn’t be too unskilled. However, needing to fight against three experienced players, the opponents would likely still have to concede.
Wang Zheng suddenly sped up. The mech shook suddenly and almost toppled over, but inside the cockpit, Wang Zheng bursted out laughing like a child finding his favourite toy.
Even though this wasn’t a real mech, Wang Zheng couldn’t help but be fascinated.
On the other side, the robots were fighting the cannon fodder from the castle. Their cannons rumbled vigorously and flames spat out in every direction.
In the rear, Wang Zheng was learning to walk just like a toddler.
Wang Zheng didn’t follow them forward. Since his task was to stay here, then he would stay here. In the future, if he had more spare time, he would play this. Ever since he had been abused by Skeleton, Wang Zheng had learned to be more relaxed about things. You should just enjoy life while you can.
As they were capturing the middle lane, a big fight broke out in the centre of the battlefield. The communications were blaring with Mad Warrior’s reprimands.
"Tsk, there is an expert on that side. Everyone, be careful!"
Mad Warrior was a professional. They had to win. After all, this would affect their reputation, and reputation was important when doing business, because it spreads by word of mouth.
Yan Xiaosu’s veins were pumping, they had actually encountered opponents of the same level. This had turned into a hard-fought battle. But he did not believe that the opponents were able to spend as much money him.
Indeed, the opposing team only hired two, but the rest of the players’ skills were better than Yan Xiaosu’s, and they had more people.
There was chaotic fighting in the middle. Yan Xiaosu’s laser gun fired off a fierce shot when the alarm suddenly sounded.
"Tall-Handsome-Rich, retreat quickly! You’re out of position," shouted Mad Warrior, but it was too late.