"Is that firepower really this strong?"The sudden burst of firepower even startled Curly Hair himself. He stared at the [Red Python] in his hand with a look of shock, but that shock was quickly replaced by excitement.Strong firepower meant he had one more way to deal with enemies!"Black Guy, come out!" he shouted. "You cowardly bastard who's scared like a rat—didn't you tell me not to run? Why are you hiding?"He stood firm with his armor activated and weapon raised, his voice amplified through the mecha's loudspeakers. After speaking, he quickly circled around toward the Gladiator's position.The energy rifle's power far exceeded his expectations, so now he needed to change his tactics. The Mammoth was small in size and had thin armor, but it was more agile than other mechas. Based on the terrain, Curly Hair chose a route with cover to advance quickly, and soon he circled around to the Gladiator's side, raised his gun, and fired.The Red Python's energy core trembled, and flames spit forth, instantly engulfing the Gladiator. To avoid critical damage, the Black Guy had to lift his arm to shield the cockpit and scramble to find cover. "Damn it—how is this piece of junk pinning me down?"After circling around, the Black Guy also realized the Gladiator was too clumsy. If he couldn't close the distance, he'd just be toyed with like a monkey. He glanced left and right, then thrust his iron fist into an abandoned hovercar in the garbage heap. With a loud boom, his fist punched through the hovercar's body."Die for me!" Amid the hail of gunfire, the Black Guy piloted the Gladiator, holding the hovercar in front of him as a shield, and charged at Curly Hair while braving the gunfire.However, he clearly underestimated the Red Python's firepower.Curly Hair stood firm with his gun and armor, and at that moment, the blue, medieval-style Mammoth exuded an aura that belied its weight. The Red Python in his hands unleashed its full firepower—energy gushed forth, and a hail of bullets sprayed out. What was clearly a heavy weapon hit with the rate of fire of a submachine gun. In an instant, the wrecked hovercar was riddled with holes. The penetrating bullets tore through the vehicle, carrying shrapnel with them and leaving clear dents in the Gladiator's armor.Boom!In the next second, the hovercar finally couldn't withstand the damage and exploded. The blast sent a tower of flames into the sky, and the shockwave slammed into the Gladiator, knocking the dozens-of-ton mecha off its feet.The massive explosion also caught the director's attention, and the broadcast screen was soon split in two. One side showed the scene of several mechas fighting over the flag in the center of the battlefield; the other showed Curly Hair firing at the Gladiator.On the screen, the over-five-meter-tall Mammoth crushed the frame of the exploded hovercar under its foot, then strode out of the rolling flames with its gun raised."Fucking awesome—this is so awesome!"In the previous five matches, Curly Hair had fought cautiously. He'd never experienced the feeling of completely dominating another mecha like this. At this moment, he felt the blood in his veins boiling.The Red Python's bullets poured out onto the Gladiator without restraint. In an instant, the Gladiator's external armor was damaged. With a loud explosion, the garbage heap behind the mecha collapsed at the same time—countless mechanical scraps came crashing down, burying the Gladiator completely.Immediately, the live-stream viewers lost their calm.Wasn't it common knowledge that energy weapons had poor lethality and weak armor-piercing capabilities?This was "poor"?It just pierced through a mecha!
[Moleno: Is this an energy weapon? Is this really an energy weapon? Didn't they say energy guns can't pierce the armor of field mechas? Commentator, give me a reasonable explanation!!!]
[Brutal Mary: Oh my god—are energy weapons this powerful? No way, I'm ordering one right now!]
[A Mechanic Who Wishes to Remain Anonymous: @Brutal Mary, stay rational, Ms. Mary. This energy gun has clearly been modified. A regular energy gun could never have this kind of lethality.]
"This gun…"Kenny was also shocked by the Red Python's firepower, but his professional instincts quickly kicked in. He continued commenting: "Ladies and gentlemen, don't rush to place orders. Contestant Dickson's heavy energy gun has obviously been modified—and judging by its lethality, it's likely a forced modification. This kind of modification will drastically reduce the weapon's lifespan; it's not worth it.Kenny would like to remind everyone: this is a competition field, but more importantly, it's a battlefield. Our contestants are fighting for freedom, and even more so for their lives. They have no way out, so they have to fight with their backs to the wall. Please don't view our competition through the lens of those professional leagues with extremely high safety standards and no real danger at all."This speech not only explained the situation but also subtly elevated the status of the Death Star Flag Capture Battle."It seems you really are a talent!"In the monitoring room, Simon looked at Lin Jie with surprise. He had also watched Curly Hair blow up the Gladiator, but he didn't understand mechanics and had thought it was a normal occurrence. It was only after reading the comments and hearing Kenny's explanation that he turned to Lin Jie in amazement.From Simon's perspective, Lin Jie had clearly come to him as a last resort. He hadn't had high expectations for Lin Jie—he'd just hoped Lin Jie could repair the Mammoth. He never imagined Lin Jie would bring him such a pleasant surprise.On the other side, the battlefield.Curly Hair stood in place, holding the Red Python. His eyes sparkled with the excitement of battle.Speaking of which, this was the first time he'd eliminated an opponent in the five Flag Capture Battles so far. Before, because his mecha was completely outmatched in terms of equipment, he could only keep avoiding fights, tangle with opponents, and only join the flag scramble at the end. Then he'd rely on the Mammoth's agility and his own piloting skills to hold on until the end of the battle and claim victory.This time, personally destroying a mecha felt completely different. He stared at the Red Python in the Mammoth's hands, his eyes glowing. If he weren't still on the battlefield, he would have even jumped out of the cockpit to kiss the gun.This feeling of unbridled excitement was simply… too thrilling!"Curly Hair, time is running out…"Suddenly, Lin Jie's voice came through the radio, jolting Curly Hair awake. He looked up at the timer and realized the Flag Capture Battle had already been going on for thirty-three minutes. With a total duration of forty minutes, they were now clearly in the final stage.Crap!Curly Hair's heart skipped a beat. He turned around and saw three mechas climbing and fighting on the hundreds-of-meter-tall warship wreckage. They were now less than forty meters away from the blue flag at the top."Dammit—got held up by that damn Black Guy," Curly Hair gritted his teeth and strode toward the warship.The entire battle had seemed fast, but before it started, he'd already been hiding in the distance watching for a while. Then he'd fought the Black Guy and gone through the flanking maneuver—all of which had wasted a lot of time. The remaining time was now extremely tight.[Distance: 574 meters. Slope: 54 degrees. Few leverage points. Battle interference… Pilot Dickson, we don't have enough time to climb to the top of the warship.]"Dammit…"Curly Hair ran all the way to the bottom of the warship, only to hear the AI Kane's analysis. He couldn't help but roll his eyes.Field mechas were heavy and powerful, but their structure and thick armor doomed them to be slow and lack climbing and jumping capabilities. Even if a mecha's engines were powerful enough to lift it high, its structure couldn't withstand the impact of a dozens-of-ton machine landing from a great height.As Kane had analyzed, climbing all the way to the top of the warship under the current conditions—with constant battle interference—was simply impossible.It seemed all Curly Hair could do was watch the three mechas get closer and closer to the flag… But wait—with the three mechas having such obvious advantages, why hadn't the other mechas joined forces to target them?The answer was: they hadn't.Just as Simon had a grudge against Li Zhe's boss, the more than twenty prison tyrants participating in the Flag Capture Battle all had unresolved grievances with each other. Instead of joining forces to take down the strongest, they preferred to think, "I'd rather no one win than let them win." This was why the three mechas' advantages were so pronounced—especially in such complex terrain, where they could rely on their mechas' performance advantages to widen the gap with others.Li Zhe was currently piloting the Blaster, exchanging fire with the Red Dragon while steadily climbing upward. What he didn't notice was that at the bottom of the warship, Curly Hair had already raised his gun.As he'd thought earlier, among the three mechas competing, Curly Hair's preference was clear: "I'd rather anyone win than let Li Zhe win.""You blew up my mecha last time—now it's my turn to take revenge," Curly Hair muttered, pulling the trigger.Boom!Li Zhe moved forward steadily. He was currently the farthest ahead among the three mechas, less than ten meters from the top. Faced with the steep slope and lack of footholds, he had to pilot the Blaster to punch through the warship's deck with its iron fist, first securing itself, then trying to move toward a nearby alloy pile.These piles were used to fix small spacecraft during the warship's interstellar jumps, so they were fairly sturdy. Once he reached them, he could climb onto the observation tower closer to the top. Then, relying on the Blaster's power, he could jump the eight-meter gap directly onto the top of the tower.However, before he could take the next step, his visual feed suddenly flashed red—his mecha's lower body had come under attack."It's that guy again…"Li Zhe turned around and saw Curly Hair shooting from behind. Fortunately, military mechas had thick armor, and the distance was great, so the Blaster hadn't taken serious damage. Li Zhe gritted his teeth, and the Blaster exerted all its strength, leaping directly toward the nearby alloy piles.But in the next second, Li Zhe froze.The moment he jumped, Curly Hair shifted his target, and bullets poured onto the alloy piles he was trying to land on. This warship was already a wreck from the war, so most of the piles were already damaged. Under Curly Hair's barrage, most of them collapsed quickly—the remaining ones were simply not strong enough to support the Blaster's massive weight.As a result, Li Zhe's foot slipped, and he slid straight down the warship. The dozens-of-ton steel behemoth tumbled nonstop, crashing through many structures on the deck before finally slamming into the ground with a roar."Dickson!"A roar came from the dust. First, the lights inside the mecha turned on, and then the Blaster walked out of the thick smoke. Inside the cockpit, Li Zhe's eyes were venomous, and a trace of blood hung from the corner of his mouth.Military mechas prioritized practicality, so their external armor was extremely thick. Coupled with the buffer from crashing through many structures along the way, he had landed safely. However, the massive impact had still injured his internal organs.Worse, with so little time left in the match, he had no chance of climbing back up. Curly Hair had single-handedly ruined his almost-certain victory."Bastard! You like shooting so much, don't you!" Li Zhe gritted his teeth, grabbed the mecha-mounted machine gun hanging from his waist, and aimed directly at Curly Hair.In the next second, 60mm bullets—like small grenades—poured out, carving a straight line into the ground as they raced toward Curly Hair. The terrifying firepower shattered the Mammoth's energy shield almost instantly."Dammit!" Curly Hair cursed, rolling sideways to take cover behind a meteorite. But the meteorite didn't provide the protection he'd hoped for. In the blink of an eye, Li Zhe's bullets pierced through it, whistling past the Mammoth's body."Come out! Come out and fight!" Li Zhe roared, his victory slipping away making him furious. The dozens-of-ton Blaster held a gun in each arm, and the massive ammo belts inside the mecha fed the guns nonstop. Shell casings clattered to the ground as he advanced.The 60mm armor-piercing bullets slammed into the meteorite relentlessly, punching hole after hole into it."There are no other shelters nearby. This meteorite won't hold for long. You have to fight back—otherwise, both you and the Mammoth will be riddled with holes," Lin Jie's voice rang out again at this critical moment."Fight back? How the hell do I fight back!"Trapped in the hail of gunfire, the Mammoth's body was already damaged, and Curly Hair was under immense pressure. Of course, he knew he had to fight back—but with this kind of firepower, what could he use? Even if they exchanged fire head-on, the Red Python's firepower couldn't hurt the Blaster…Wait a minute!Firepower! A spark flashed in Curly Hair's eyes. He glanced sharply at the Red Python in his hand. The gray-white gun body lay quietly in the Mammoth's grasp, its setting just on "Normal Mode," and the energy core still had nearly half its power left."Let's take a gamble!"Curly Hair gritted his teeth and switched the setting to "War Mode." Even though Lin Jie had warned him that War Mode risked a barrel explosion, he didn't have a choice now.Cranking the power to maximum, a hint of madness flashed in Curly Hair's eyes. He turned around, stepped out from behind the meteorite, aimed the gun at Li Zhe—who was advancing toward him—and pulled the trigger hard.At this moment, it was gun against gun, bullet against bullet.A real man's duel!Hum—Suddenly, the Red Python's energy conversion device let out a roar like a ferocious beast, frantically draining energy from the core. The nearly 800-jin gun body began to tremble violently.In the next second, destructive bullets erupted from the muzzle like a volcanic eruption.Boom—The rate of fire was so fast that the sound of each shot merged into one. The energy in the Red Python's core plummeted at a visible speed.Li Zhe's firepower was swallowed up in the blink of an eye. Countless energy bullets slammed into the Blaster's body, sending sparks and black smoke flying everywhere. The Blaster was knocked back repeatedly, as if hit by a warship, until it was smashed into the garbage heap and completely engulfed in smoke.Crack!A soft sound rang out, and the Red Python's fire stopped. This gun was a defective, decommissioned model after all—its energy core couldn't withstand such high-power output and shattered outright.Everyone's gaze was locked on the Blaster, which was swallowed by the smoke.One second, two seconds…Finally, the smoke cleared, revealing the scene inside.The Blaster's right arm and head had been blown off, and its entire external armor was covered in dents of varying severity. The most damaged part was the cockpit—the chest armor was completely torn open, revealing Li Zhe, who was unconscious inside. No one knew if he was alive or dead.The Blaster was half-buried in the garbage heap, emitting a burnt smell and wispy black smoke.In an instant, the dark web live-stream chat exploded!