Boom!Hardly had Kenny finished speaking when a deafening explosion roared, and smoke and fire erupted instantly. This was a battle of life and death—no one owed anyone courtesy. As a cannonball detonated, those dozens-of-ton steel behemoths in the arena finally bared their fangs."Get the hell out of my way!"Li Zhe's Blastor mech, wielding a massive mounted machine gun, unleashed a torrent of fire to suppress an opponent charging toward it. He piloted a standard military mech—thick armor, heavy weight, high energy output, but relatively clumsy and with little maneuverability in close combat. At the start of the battle, when everyone still had ample energy, getting tied up in close quarters would negate the military mech's energy advantage entirely.At that moment, the 40-ton steel frame advanced slowly, machine gun blazing. Shells over 50 millimeters in diameter spattered across the ground, only to be drowned out by the thunderous roar of gunfire.Clang!Metal crashed against metal. The enormous impact sent an invisible gale swirling outward in all directions.Curly Hair had also clashed with an opponent. His luck was poor—he'd run into one of the three most formidable mechs: the only racing-grade mech among them, named Red Dragon.True to its name, the mech's outer armor was a bright crimson. Its 6-meter-tall humanoid frame was sleek and well-proportioned, with various weapons concealed beneath its armor. Cyan indicator lights flickered across its body, and it was even equipped with a specialized high-tech combat blade.When it engaged Curly Hair's Mammoth in close combat, it was like a trained professional boxer overwhelming an ordinary person. Despite the gap in weight and energy level, Curly Hair raised his alloy blade to parry—only to be forced back step by step under the pressure.[Enemy mech exceeds ours in weight class and energy level. Recommend disengagement immediately.]Kane's analysis and advice came quickly."I know," Curly Hair replied. His face was fully covered by his helmet's visor, so his expression was invisible—but the gravity in his voice was clear.Pushed back over ten meters, the Mammoth's leg armor slammed into the junk mountain behind it. Finally, Curly Hair twisted the blade of his alloy sword, angling it to redirect the Red Dragon's blade aside. He piloted the Mammoth into a rapid roll to the other side; the 30-ton frame ground a furrow into the earth as it moved.Once back on its feet, the armor on its left hand flipped open, revealing a black metal tube—it was a flamethrower. This was likely a standard weapon on all entertainment-grade mechs: low energy consumption, low risk, but with dramatic visual effects. If there was one flaw, it was that it dealt almost no real damage.Whoosh!A surging wave of flame sprayed out, drenching the Red Dragon's body—but it did nothing to stop the mech. With a flash of its blade, the enormous crimson machine charged again."Damn it!"Curly Hair gritted his teeth, raised his blade to meet the attack head-on, then used the momentum to retreat further. He turned and fled. The racing mech outclassed the Mammoth in every stat; even with his higher mechanical synchronization rate, Curly Hair was outmatched in one-on-one combat. He had no choice but to keep retreating."He's being suppressed," Simon said, watching the live feed."Yeah," Lin Jie replied."He's up against the racing mech.""Uh-huh.""Aren't you gonna do something?""Nope," Lin Jie said flatly.How can you be so calm? In the monitoring room, Simon stared at Lin Jie—who was sitting at the console, playing a game on a tablet—and felt his expression twitch uncontrollably. In the short time since the battle began, this "support" mechanic might as well have not existed."Don't rush. Rushing won't help," Lin Jie said, not looking up from his game. "As a racing mech, the Red Dragon's total cost is even higher than a military mech. The Mammoth is at a disadvantage in energy level, weight, and agility—there's no room for fancy moves. All Curly Hair can do right now is stall.""Stall until when?""Until a third mech crashes into their fight… or until the Red Dragon's Pilot realizes he can't take down Curly Hair quickly," Lin Jie explained. Just then, he beat the game level. He tossed the tablet aside casually and added, "The big shot backing the Red Dragon doesn't have any conflicts with you, right? So his top priority is winning the battle—not destroying the Mammoth to keep you locked up. And if his goal is to grab the flag, he'll definitely give up attacking Curly Hair and switch to seizing the flag as time goes on."I hope you're right… Simon watched Curly Hair get pushed back further and further on the live stream, his gaze growing grave. It turned out that even a powerful figure like him couldn't stay completely calm when faced with the temptation of freedom.Boom!Elsewhere, the battle raged on. Over a dozen mechs—each weighing 30 tons or more—rumbled across the ground, shaking the earth so violently that even the live stream camera wobbled.Curly Hair raised an energy shield to block a hail of bullets from the Red Dragon. Just as the Red Dragon's Pilot was about to charge again, a voice came over the radio: "Hook, that's enough. Don't waste too much time on this mech—you're already too far from the battlefield center.""Got it," Hook—inside the Red Dragon's cockpit—nodded at the radio. He glanced at the Mammoth one last time, then turned and left. After their skirmish, he knew it would be impossible to take down the Mammoth quickly."Huff…"Curly Hair let out a quiet sigh of relief as he watched his opponent depart. He lifted his alloy blade to inspect it—faint cracks had already appeared on the metal, and tiny arcs of electricity flickered across its surface, wisping off thin smoke."Kane, status report on the mech?"[Minor misalignment in some components—within correction range. All systems functioning normally. Intelligent core computing stable. Remaining energy: 62%.][Given the 40-minute duration of this battle, if we maintain the same high-intensity combat as earlier, our energy will likely not last until the end. I recommend avoiding close combat as much as possible in the short term to conserve energy and switch to long-range attacks.]"This is a pain in the ass…"Listening to Kane's report, Curly Hair frowned. The Red Dragon's specs were clearly a notch above the Mammoth's. In just seven or eight minutes of close combat, they'd burned through a third of the Mammoth's energy—and the battle had only just begun. There were still thirty minutes left.I need to lay low for now… Curly Hair glanced around, then retreated further while no one was watching. He made his way to the edge of the battlefield, hiding behind a massive meteorite. He pulled the energy rifle he'd been carrying at his waist free.For a mech like the Mammoth—outclassed in every stat—the only way to win was to avoid fights, bide his time, and wait until the end of the battle. When everyone else's energy was depleted, he could emerge and try to take down a weaker opponent. That was how he'd won his first two matches.Now, hiding in the distance, he could only test if the energy rifle in his hand would work—if it could help him deal heavy damage to one or two enemies."Time to see what you're capable of," Curly Hair muttered, examining the "fake Red Python" in his hands. He peeked half his mech's body out from behind the meteorite and took aim.At that moment, Lin Jie finally put his feet down from the console and sat up straight.
