World’s End: My Keyword is One More Than Others

The terrain for this assessment is a mountain forest.

The examiner's mech flashed and disappeared, but Du Ge had already captured the model of the opponent's mech in an instant.

Blade, an offensive-type mech.

Priced at ten thousand Net Coins, equipped with a piercing sword, a small mecha cannon, a pulse cannon, and two small tracking missiles, it has radar interference and body color-changing functions.

In terms of old-era military strength, a Blade controlled by an intermediate mecha pilot could easily annihilate a two-thousand-man infantry regiment with standard equipment. It is one of the most commonly used mechs by intermediate pilots.

The Petrel is an entry-level mech, almost two levels below the Blade. Typically, its weapons can't even break the Blade's defense unless it gets close enough to slash open the cockpit with a broadsword. But with the Blade's powerful firepower system, how could the Petrel get close?

The Blade's radar interference system can make it disappear from the Petrel's screen, forcing the pilot to rely on visual observation. But against visual observation, the Blade has color-changing paint.

In other words, the Blade is essentially invisible to the Petrel.

You can't even see the opponent, let alone hit it.

Moreover, the Petrel is fragile. Once hit, its mobility is reduced, leaving destruction as the only path.

The two are simply not mechs of the same era.

But Du Ge is a monster with over five million mental power.

In the Battle Network, his mental power is freed from the constraints of Lin Hong's physical body, and his perception can cover the entire battlefield, even more sensitive than radar.

To the overpowered Du Ge, the Blade's series of stealth shots were just decorations.

Qu Yaqi thought she was invisible, but her every move was like performing a pole dance right under Du Ge's nose. To save costs, she didn't even use the tracking missiles, instead using tactical maneuvers to swiftly approach Du Ge through the forest, intending to eliminate him with the mecha cannon.

This played right into Du Ge's hands. As she advanced two kilometers, Du Ge had already raised his mecha cannon and fired a shot at her.

Bang!

The Blade shuddered, and the screen showed a hit on the cockpit.

The Petrel's mecha cannon bullets couldn't penetrate the Blade's defense, but Qu Yaqi's advancing motion suddenly halted.

Damn!

It's a trap, a master!

She instinctively controlled the Blade, changing her trajectory and immediately launching a tracking missile towards the Petrel's radar position.

Against a master, don't compete with maneuvers.

Using a more powerful firepower system to suppress is the safest approach.

Qu Yaqi's reaction was quick, but just as she pressed the missile launch button, several more gunshots rang out, and her screen suddenly blurred, losing all visibility.

Radar system malfunctioned.

How is that possible?

The radar system is the mech's eyes, with defenses second only to the cockpit. How could it be destroyed instantly?

A super master!

Qu Yaqi's vision went black, and her heart ached as if it was bleeding.

Defeating the opposing candidate could earn her three hundred Net Coins, but a single tracking missile costs 150 Net Coins. The moment she fired the tracking missile, she was already not making a profit on this deal.

But now, with the radar system destroyed, replacing it would cost at least eight hundred Net Coins...

This deal was a huge loss.

Fortunately, she eliminated the opponent and could recover some costs.

Damn it, she hated these super masters who pretended to be weak!

Qu Yaqi was filled with resentment, but the explosion sound came without a successful kill notification.

Her heart skipped a beat.

Without interception and interference systems, the chance of dodging a tracking missile is only one in a hundred thousand. Is that guy an ace pilot?

Qu Yaqi's mind went blank, instinctively controlling the Blade to perform tactical evasive maneuvers.

With the radar system destroyed, she could only rely on full-screen vision to fight. The second tracking missile was radar-guided and could no longer lock onto the opponent. She had to manually lock the target to launch, but it lost its tracking function.

Facing someone who could precisely destroy the radar control system with a single mecha cannon, Qu Yaqi knew she had no chance of winning. But to prevent examiners from throwing the match, the Battle Network didn't allow examiners to end the exam early except by being defeated.

She could only choose to fight to the death.

After all.

The Blade is equipped with a pulse cannon. Once hit, the Petrel's electronic components would be destroyed, immediately paralyzing it.

And the Petrel's weapons couldn't break her defense in a short time unless it got close.

Her shooting class was perfect, so there was still hope for victory.

The gap between the two mechs was too large to be bridged by close combat.

At this moment, although Qu Yaqi forced herself to remain calm, she was actually panicking, having lost basic judgment of the battlefield. In the blink of an eye, she forgot how Du Ge had destroyed her radar system with a few shots.

While performing various tactical evasive maneuvers, she searched for the opponent's figure through the panoramic screen.

But just as she spotted the Petrel's shadow, before the pulse cannon could be raised, several more gunshots rang out.

On the screen, the Blade's defense value plummeted.

Then, her vision went black, the scene switched, and she was already out of the exam room, with a line of red text floating before her eyes: "You have been killed."

"Impossible." Qu Yaqi jumped up. The opponent was clearly using a Petrel, equipped with a basic mecha cannon. How could they break through her cockpit with just a few shots?

There must be something wrong.

Qu Yaqi couldn't care less about her nearly wrecked mech and immediately pulled up the replay footage.

Then.

She saw an unbelievable scene.

Before she pressed the tracking missile, the opponent had already raised the mecha cannon, using burst mode to fire at least ten shots.

Burst mode has a very fast firing rate, requiring high control ability from the pilot. If not controlled well, three hundred bullets could be fired in an instant. But the opponent not only precisely controlled the number of burst bullets.

What shocked her even more was that the ten bullets hit the same spot.

One bullet couldn't break the Blade's defense, but ten bullets hitting the same spot could penetrate even the thickest defense.

The most terrifying part was that while firing these ten shots, the Petrel even performed a tactical evasive maneuver, dodging to the side at the last moment when the tracking missile was about to hit, not even getting touched by the shockwave.

The nimble evasive action made Qu Yaqi almost think for a moment that the opponent wasn't a mech but a living person.

No.

Even a person couldn't dodge a tracking missile with such nimble moves.

Is this real?

Even an ace pilot couldn't perform such precise, smooth, and seamless maneuvers!

Knowing how the opponent destroyed her radar system, she now had the answer to how they breached the cockpit.

It was the same ten-burst shot, hitting the same spot, with the last bullet penetrating through the hole made by the previous nine bullets, precisely hitting her forehead...

Is this even human?

Qu Yaqi's gaze was fixed on the image of her forehead being hit, her mind blank, completely losing the ability to think.

After a long while.

She came back to her senses and reopened Du Ge's profile.

The profile was simple, with only two lines of personal description besides the name: "Ten steps to kill one, traveling a thousand miles without leaving a trace, leaving after the deed, hiding achievements and fame. A man's romance is the stars and the sea."

Apart from that, there was only a mid-level pilot certification badge, with nothing else.

No age, past achievements, or alma mater...

He seemed like an ordinary newcomer.

But Qu Yaqi knew he was definitely not a newcomer. In reality, the opponent was at least at the ace pilot level. Qu Yaqi had been an examiner for eight months and had been defeated by entry-level mechs before, but never so miserably.

From start to finish, she was almost rubbed into the ground.

At this moment.

Qu Yaqi couldn't care less about her nearly scrapped Blade. She packed the video, quickly logged off, and went to find her instructor. She had to find out if an ace pilot could achieve this level.

...

Seeing her instructor fall silent after watching the video, Qu Yaqi cautiously asked, "Instructor, what do you think? Is this person an ace pilot?"

The instructor seemed to be brought back to reality, and when he looked up, his eyes were bloodshot: "Impossible, no one in the world can hit the same spot with a Petrel while moving."

"Not even an ace pilot?" Qu Yaqi was stunned and asked.

"Ace pilots are human, not gods." The instructor, named Zhai Dong, held the title of a senior pilot, a figure who could walk sideways even in the army. But at this moment, he seemed to have suffered a huge blow, his whole being in a state of madness. He looked at Qu Yaqi, his voice hoarse, "With top-level mechs and various aiming assists, maybe an ace pilot could do it, but if it's a Petrel, no one can..."

"But he did it twice." Qu Yaqi said.

"Can you contact him?" The instructor regained a bit of calm.

"He was just a random candidate I encountered. After the exam, he left. Unless we retrieve his data from the Battle Network server, I can't know who he is." Qu Yaqi said, "But retrieving data from the Battle Network server requires at least a central-level person with that authority!"

"..." The instructor was silent for a moment, "Xiao Qu, go back to the Battle Network immediately, look for his profile, see if there are any clues. I'll try to report this upwards, see if we can check his data through the database."

"Instructor, for someone taking a mid-level pilot exam on the Battle Network, is it worth it?" Qu Yaqi was startled and said.

"It's very worth it. If he can do it on the Battle Network, he can do it in reality too, which means one thing: he has mastered a special training method." The instructor said, "This training method could potentially elevate our pilots' skills to a higher level."

"Instructor, is it possible that this cultivation technique is already mastered by ace pilots, and we just don't know about it?" Qu Yaqi asked.

"In two years, the main forces of the Hill Civilization will arrive. At the critical moment of human survival, if there were new training methods, the central command wouldn't hide them. They would have been distributed to all schools long ago." The instructor glanced at Qu Yaqi and said, "So, this method is likely something he mastered himself."

"Oh." Qu Yaqi responded, "Is it possible he found a loophole in the Battle Network?"

"Then it's even more necessary to report it." The instructor smiled wryly, "The Battle Network is the crystallization of all human technology, capable of replicating all human technology within it. Don't forget, if we can't defeat the Hill Civilization, the Battle Network is our last retreat. Everyone's data will be uploaded into the Battle Network. Ultimately, we will destroy Bi Xing and wander into the universe. If there's a loophole in the Battle Network, it would be a disaster for us as well."

"…"

Qu Yaqi fell silent.

The role of the Battle Network was announced to the world when the Hill Civilization invaded, but no one wanted to admit it.

When the empire first issued this announcement, it caused many riots. Many people even declared they would coexist with Bi Xing, after all, living as a bunch of data wasn't much different from being dead.

Until finally, Bi Xing and the Hill Civilization's vanguard forces reached a stalemate, Bi Xing captured the opponent's spaceship, and people saw hope in defeating the Hill Civilization. The Battle Network issue gradually subsided, entering a stage of national preparation for war.

But as a backup plan, the data upload plan for the Battle Network continued to proceed in sync.

"Xiao Qu, if it's really a Battle Network loophole, you've made a great contribution." The instructor smiled and said.

"Instructor, I prefer to live as a person, not as a bunch of data." Qu Yaqi sighed softly, murmuring, "I'm still young, there are many things I haven't experienced... Instructor, I'm going online. I won't be an examiner in the mid-level area anymore. I'm going to strive for senior pilot status, practice my skills. If I can find Ten Steps to Kill One, I'll ask him to be my mentor."

Before she finished speaking.

Another young man hurried over, glanced at Qu Yaqi, and excitedly showed the portable computer on his wrist: "Instructor, let me show you something good..."

"I'm busy." The instructor's mind was full of Du Ge's matters, interrupting him and turning to leave.

"Instructor, this might be a treasure of a newcomer, you'll regret not seeing it." The young man said, "A newcomer in the entry-level exam used a Petrel to instantly kill a mid-level pilot. Everyone thinks he got lucky, but I think his combat awareness is terrifying..."

"Petrel?" The instructor stopped.

"Pei Lie, what's the newcomer's name?" Qu Yaqi asked.

"Ten Steps to Kill One." Pei Lie casually said, "A very cliché name."

"Instructor, it's him." Qu Yaqi said.

"Play the video, let me see." The instructor turned around.

"You know him?" Pei Lie looked at the two curiously and opened a pinned video with a smile, "The guy who uploaded this video is also a talent, the title is quite catchy 'Reversal, mid-level pilot tries to toy with a newcomer, but gets instantly killed three times'..."

The instructor and Qu Yaqi weren't focused on the name. As soon as the video opened, they concentrated on the video, then witnessed the spectacular scene of Jian Weiliang being instantly killed three times.

The video had many views, but most left comments about luck.

"Instructor, it's him." Qu Yaqi said, "He probably just passed the entry-level exam, bought a mech casually, and came to clear the mid-level pilot exam."

"You know him?" Pei Lie asked curiously, "Qu Yaqi, if you know him, can you introduce him to me? I feel like he's a super master..."

"He is indeed a super master, with human-machine integration, terrifying combat awareness." The instructor murmured, "Now, I can confirm, he wasn't cheating."

"..." Pei Lie was confused.

Qu Yaqi silently opened the video she recorded.

Then.

Pei Lie was stunned: "Damn, ten bullets hit the same spot, is this guy even human? Which ace pilot is pretending to be a newcomer to mess with you?"

"Ace pilots can't achieve this." The instructor glanced at the two and said, "Let's go, we'll enter the Battle Network."

"Instructor, aren't you reporting this?" Qu Yaqi asked.

"The opponent didn't intend to hide. He cleared the entry-level and mid-level pilot exams in one day, so he's likely to continue challenging upwards. We'll guard him online, we should be able to catch him." The instructor looked at Qu Yaqi and said, "Xiao Qu, upload your video too. Doesn't he want to make a name for himself? We'll help him, saving me the trouble of reporting!"

"Alright!" Qu Yaqi nodded, about to upload the video, but was stopped by Pei Lie: "Yaqi, wait."

"What?" Qu Yaqi asked.

"Use a more sensational title, or no one will watch." Pei Lie chuckled, "I've already thought of a name, 'Ten Shots to the Soul, a beautiful pilot was entered ten times in the same spot by a man'..."

"..." The instructor instinctively looked at Qu Yaqi's body.

"..." Qu Yaqi's face flushed red, glaring at Pei Lie in annoyance, "Pei Lie, you're asking for it!"

"Yaqi, don't blame me, I learned this from that guy named Feng Chen. If he hadn't come up with an eye-catching title, who would watch a newcomer's entry-level exam? He posted more than ten identical videos, each with an eye-catching title, and in such a short time, the views have reached hundreds of thousands."

Pei Lie chuckled, "Aren't we trying to make Ten Steps to Kill One famous? Without a catchy title, who would watch your video? Are we going to pay for traffic?"

"But you can't use such a title!" Qu Yaqi's face was red, "What do you mean by entering the same spot ten times, how will others see me?"

"Just tell me if what I said is true!" Pei Lie's smile was quirky, "Besides, aren't you short on money? You're the subject, if this video goes viral, the money earned will at least cover your ten months as an examiner."

Not mentioning money was fine, but as soon as money was mentioned, Qu Yaqi's eyes lit up. She bit her lip, "Then use this?"

"Make a few more." Pei Lie said, "Add another one like 'So satisfying, a beautiful examiner was pierced with two holes by a student in the exam room...'"

"..." Qu Yaqi was stunned, her face even redder, but her hands didn't stop, quickly editing the title and uploading the two videos she recorded to the Battle Network.

On the side.

The instructor watching the two operate had a dark face, taking a deep breath: "Pei Lie, Qu Yaqi, when you go to the battlefield in the future, don't say I'm your instructor."

...

The people on Bi Xing had never seen such sensational titles.

After Feng Chen bought some traffic, the video went viral shortly after being uploaded, with a retention rate of 97%.

Most people laughed and watched for fun.

But those with a bit of talent focused their attention on Du Ge's maneuvers.

...

Imperial Capital University.

Gu Qingyan and her bestie Shen Yuning were also watching Du Ge's video.

Both were geniuses in the Mecha Combat Department and inseparable, known as the "Twin Blossoms of Mecha Combat."

Shen Yuning said, "Incredible! This reaction speed is amazing!"

Gu Qingyan said, "It's not just reaction speed, his control over the mech has reached a human-machine integration level. Before he fired, the mech was already leaning back, this move can at least make his shooting speed 0.5 seconds faster than others. This level of operation is at least an ace pilot, we can try this move later..."

The two were analyzing Du Ge's moves.

Suddenly.

A line of golden text floated across the screen, "Quick look, Ten Steps to Kill One has a new work, piercing a beautiful examiner ten times in the exam room."

"…"

Gu Qingyan and Shen Yuning exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.

Gu Qingyan sneered, "This guy's skills are indeed not low, but using such distasteful methods to hype, his character is too low-grade!"