Intensity Increased

The mech simulation room at Yuheng Military Base was laid out much like the starship simulation room—no real mechs or starships, only realistic cockpit reproductions. At first glance, these cockpits looked similar to those of the virtual mechs, but the real thing was different: the mech itself might be far larger than its virtual counterpart, yet the actual cockpit was smaller.

Virtual mechs were designed without regard for real spatial constraints, built to be as spacious and comfortable as possible. A real mech cockpit, however, had the control console and various buttons up front, with a connection platform directly behind it. Once you stepped onto it, liquid metal from the mech would flow down from above, forming an exoskeleton that conformed to your body, and behind that was the escape pod. All in all, the space was fairly cramped, but it was perfectly adequate for a single pilot.

Outside the simulation room, you could set both the class of mech to be simulated and the intensity level. Generally, the students who came here knew their limits and wouldn't set the pressure simulation beyond their own capabilities. But just in case, the room had built-in safety measures: if the system detected a student's vital signs dropping dangerously due to overtraining, it would immediately shut down the simulation.

Of the hundred students who came today, only the S-ranks went straight to actual mech training; everyone else used the simulation room. By the time the training session wrapped up, Jin stumbled out with his head spinning.

Before coming to Moye Military Academy, he'd already experienced plenty of starship travel, so interstellar jumps didn't faze him—he was used to it. But mechs... that was another story.

Jin instinctively had an aversion to mechs. He'd seen Chi Ren up close on a few occasions, both with his father and his older brother, and deep down, it was probably rooted in the inferiority he felt as a royal family member whose Psychic Power Level never reached S. He'd convinced himself over time that he simply didn't like mechs.

So, before today, he'd never actively sought out mech training. This was his first time using the simulation room, and he'd set it to A-rank, 80% intensity. He hadn't expected the psychic pressure to be so overwhelming. When he came out, he had to force himself to stay upright, but he noticed that the students next to him were retching—and they'd only set theirs to A-rank at 60 or 70%.

Xu Xiqin was in a similar state, but she was visibly more disoriented. She announced she was going to find Xu Lingqu, but as she stumbled around, she nearly face-planted. Jin barely managed to steady her and guide her over to find Shen Shouli and Liu Zheng.

Today wasn't Shen Shouli's first actual mech training—he'd gotten plenty of exposure back in the Shen family, though those had all been A-rank mechs. Today, Yuheng Military Base let him train in an A+ mech for real.

When Shen Shouli came down, his face was as stony as ever—hard to tell if he was exhausted or accomplished. Liu Zheng, on the other hand, wore a rare expression of utter exhaustion, looking like she wanted to drop dead. Apparently, the ice-cold demeanor didn't transfer, it just lingered on Shen Shouli's face.

When they walked out, Xu Lingqu was already waiting for them outside.

"Big sister!" Xu Xiqin stumbled her way over, clinging to Xu Lingqu's shoulder. "Huh? You didn't try the simulation room?"

"Yeah, Commander, aren't you going to crank up the intensity for yourself?" Jin chimed in. During the trial period, Xu Lingqu was always pushing herself harder, and even after arriving at the academy, she never slacked off. It was only during the league that she'd gotten too busy and had to skip physical training, spending her time resting in the dorm—though she still made time to hit the starship sim room whenever she could.

Xu Lingqu had her left hand supporting Xu Xiqin and her right hand pulling Liu Zheng along as she walked out, answering as she went, "I did crank up the intensity for myself."

To be precise, it was Liu Ming's suggestion: S+ class mech simulation, 80%.

The moment Xu Lingqu stepped onto the connection platform, she felt pressure coming at her from every direction, overwhelming and all-encompassing. Back in the Sky Network virtual mech, when the liquid metal had covered her, she'd felt nothing. This time, however, she could clearly feel pain radiating from every limb and bone.

Something was tearing at the neurons on the surface of her skin, and every point of contact between her body and the mech's liquid metal burned like fire. But that wasn't the worst of it. The most terrifying sensation was in her brain—it felt like a hurricane had struck, sending her mind into a frenzy, cycling through countless extreme negative emotions.

Liu Ming watched Xu Lingqu's condition with a hint of nervousness.

This was the kind of pressure an S+ class mech exerted on its pilot. Back when the three of them were first developed, many S-ranked pilots would die within ten seconds of stepping onto the connection platform...

For someone who'd never piloted a real mech before, the simulation state he'd chosen for her was certainly a challenge. Even a genius like Admiral Merlin of the Federation had taken a while to get used to Chen Dao in actual combat, and someone with psychic power as high as Yin He needed multiple attempts before he could stand on Liu Ming's connection platform for extended periods.

Liu Ming, after connecting to the sim room's system, watched nervously from the sidelines, ready to cut the connection the moment anything seemed wrong. But as the full hour he'd selected came to an end, Xu Lingqu showed no signs of distress.

As the liquid metal retracted from her body, Liu Ming excitedly tried to leap into her arms—only to fall short, remembering he wasn't in a physical form and couldn't touch her. The best he could do was retreat back into the ring.

Xu Lingqu crouched down, one hand on the ground, both her body and mind still wracked with intense pain. Yet she maintained her composure, not because she had a particularly high pain tolerance, but because she remembered worse pain—pain that made this seem almost bearable.

Lake Arden's streets. She'd been born as an evolved human amidst the flames.

She stayed there for a moment to recover, and it was only then that Liu Ming noticed something was off. He hurriedly returned to the ring, his voice anxious: "Lingqu, are you okay?! I'm sorry—I set the difficulty too high for you!"

"It's not that bad," Xu Lingqu wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and stood up straight. "It is what it is."

Liu Ming was dumbfounded. "What? Really? This is your first time with a real mech, and you held up 80% simulation of an S+ cockpit for two hours... none of the other three could do that."

"Oh, is that so? Well, okay, I was actually just putting on a brave face," Xu Lingqu blinked. "It hurt like hell. I thought it was my problem—but hearing you say that, I feel better now."

She'd always heard Liu Ming talk about how Yin He piloted it through the stars with ease, so she figured her own first experience being so painful meant she was objectively weak, just like with her earlier physical limitations. But according to Liu Ming, it seemed she was actually the strongest of them all.

Liu Ming: ...

So it was true—like master, like mech.