IMAO Chapter 20

Everyone shifted their bodies left and right, experiencing Star Wars in the second mode of the mecha pod for the first time. The sensations were completely different from the virtual simulator, with all tactile feedback transmitted to the body. Besides this, the difficulty of operation increased exponentially without the game’s assistance system.

Jiang Yuan was also gradually adapting to piloting the mecha in the second mode while using the gaming pod. It felt almost identical to piloting a real mecha. After some exploration, Jiang Yuan fully adjusted.

“Beep beep beep—”

Just as everyone was still clamoring for Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong to hand over their main accounts, an urgent alert sounded.

“Hey, Class 1! Are you ready yet? Hurry up, our class is all set! When are we starting? Taking so long, you’re not scared, are you?”

“Scared? I don’t even know how to spell that word!”

Class 2 chuckled and said, “Then let’s get on with it. You can choose the map!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a somewhat shrill voice deliberately provoked from beside him, “Class 1, ready to get your butts kicked?”

Hearing the voice communication from Class 2 next door, though unsure who was speaking, it instantly drew everyone’s fire. They no longer cared about Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong’s main accounts!

“Damn! Class 2 is way too cocky!”

“I swear, if we don’t make them cry, I’ll write my name Li Ze backwards!”

“We need to teach them a lesson!”

The classmates were indignant, but Jiang Yuan didn’t feel much. This kind of provocation was too childish for him.

“Let’s go, crush them!”

Class 1 students were naturally proud too. Although Class 2 let them choose the map, how could they possibly choose? So, in the end, they opted for a random map.

Countdown 3… 2… 1!

As the countdown ended, the map loaded, and in the blink of an eye, the surrounding marble floor instantly transformed into a vast desert.

Ji Rong glanced at the prompt on the mecha frame and knew they were on the planet Mala Desert.

 

This planet was an uninhabited world discovered by the Federation during space exploration.

Mala Desert had a day-night temperature difference of up to 80 degrees, making it impossible for humans to survive under natural conditions. The desert also harbored a species called the Mala desert worm.

The Mala desert worms were covered in hard scales, penetrable only by heavy weapons. These worms were clearly the dominant species of Mala Desert. From outer space, Mala Desert looked like a honeycomb, with the planet’s center teeming with these worms. Even the interior of Mala was hollowed out by them.

So when the Federation discovered this planet and explored these conditions, they abandoned plans to colonize Mala Desert, even designating it as a junk planet for a time.

However, after discovering abundant mineral resources on Mala, the planet was put to use again, with a space station established nearby.

Upon entering the game, Jiang Yuan surveyed the surrounding sandstorm and the ground riddled with holes. He raised an eyebrow, realizing his current position was exposed, making him an easy target if discovered.

Without hesitation, Jiang Yuan piloted his mecha to a sheltered place. Meanwhile, the class had already determined a rendezvous point. Jiang Yuan glanced at the location—it was impossibly far from him!

Oh well. Far is far.

Jiang Yuan resigned himself to the situation.

He was piloting the first-generation mecha, Unit 01, with the appealing name ‘Sequence 1′. Despite its attractive moniker, being a first-generation humanoid mecha meant its weaponry and performance lagged far behind newer models.

However, this mecha was the only non-variant type among the five initial mechas. The others were either beast-formed, multi-tailed, or had extra arms. Jiang Yuan hadn’t piloted those before; his previous experience with Thunder 7 was also a standard humanoid mecha, so after some consideration, he chose Sequence 1.

Although Sequence 1 wasn’t as powerful as other mechas, it had one advantage: it could use any weapon without being restricted to specific types. Most humanoid mechas shared this feature.

As Jiang Yuan flew, a sudden gunshot rang out in the distance!

Following the sound, Jiang Yuan rotated his mecha and peered through the camera. A black mecha was sprinting across the desert, pursued by three enemies!

“Bang!”

Another thunderous blast.

The black mecha narrowly dodged the attack.

Arlo, having just evaded the laser gun assault, wore a grim expression and felt like cursing. His luck was truly abysmal!

Upon entering Mala Desert, everyone’s position was randomized. Yet, he had the misfortune of spawning right next to three enemies. Immediately surrounded and hunted, even with his skills, he didn’t dare be careless and quickly distanced himself from the enemies.

Though their year was divided into three classes, the division was random and unrelated to test scores. Class 1 couldn’t necessarily dominate Class 2. Despite their boastful words about winning, everyone knew it was a 50-50 chance and impossible to predict!

They were all elites. Arlo wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could easily take on three opponents alone. He might have dared to fight one-on-one, but being chased by three was a different story.

Fighting was out of the question; he could only run.

No matter how he left the game, he absolutely couldn’t be the first one out. He couldn’t bear that embarrassment.

Arlo glanced at the rear view, dodging another attack from behind. He noticed a small blue dot on the map nearby, and his eyes lit up.

He was saved!

Elated, Arlo flew towards the blue dot, noticing it was also approaching him. Scanning the ID, a string of numbers, Arlo immediately recognized it as Jiang Yuan.

Arlo’s excitement instantly vanished!

Jiang Yuan was using his secondary account and was piloting one of the five initial mechas. Against the three heavy mechas behind him, an initial mecha had no advantage except agility… and it couldn’t penetrate their defenses! It was practically useless!

[Black Earl]: “Jiang Yuan, three heavy mechas are following me, one of them is a defense-type. Don’t approach me, retreat immediately.”

Hearing Arlo’s words, Jiang Yuan paused briefly, glancing at the disheveled Arlo, and asked, “Are you sure you don’t need my support?”

Arlo replied helplessly, “No need. You’re using an initial mecha. One hit and you’re done. You’d better head to the rendezvous point!”

[7592101]: “Fair enough. I don’t have suitable weapons to breach their defenses anyway.”

Arlo smiled bitterly, momentarily stunned. He did have armor-piercing weapons, but the issue was that to completely break through a heavy mecha’s defense, one must strike its weak points. If the target were stationary, he’d be 100% confident of hitting it. With just one opponent, he’d have a 70% chance. But now, three mechas were pursuing him!

The communication was shared, allowing anyone who wanted to listen to hear their conversation. Ji Rong naturally overheard Jiang Yuan and Arlo’s exchange. After confirming Jiang Yuan’s position, he frowned in displeasure, feeling the game system was targeting him!

Why were Jiang Yuan and Arlo so close, while he and Jiang Yuan were poles apart?!

It was simply unscientific!

Ji Rong asked gravely, “What’s the situation over there?”

“Three pursuers behind me. Jiang Yuan’s weapons can’t penetrate their armor. They keep chasing me.”

“Looks like I’ll really be the first one out,” Arlo chuckled wryly, accelerating away from Jiang Yuan while speaking over the comm.

Other classmates’ voices chimed in over the voice communication—

“No way! Hang in there, Arlo! Wait until we kill this lone Class 2 guy before you die! We’re about to catch him!”

“Yeah! We can’t lose face like this! Hold on!”

Arlo responded helplessly, “Alright, I’ll do my best. Hurry up!”

Meanwhile, the three pursuers chasing Arlo taunted, “Hey, Black Earl! If you’re a real man, don’t run! I’m recording this, hehe.”

Arlo’s mecha replied dryly, “Don’t try to provoke me. I won’t fall for it!”

Seeing their taunts were ineffective, the three continued their pursuit. Poor Arlo watched as another mecha suddenly appeared right in front of him, while the three behind instantly accelerated, trapping Arlo’s mecha in the middle!

Arlo lamented, “Brothers, I’m really going to be first blood. Heaven has abandoned me! I’m surrounded by four mechas! I’ll stall as long as I can, hurry up!”

Arlo’s skills were decent, so he didn’t immediately fall. However, the enemy, relying on their tank-like mechas, unleashed a powerful laser bomb attack. Although Arlo dodged most of it, his mecha was damaged and on the verge of collapse.

Seeing the mecha’s warning alerts, Arlo’s heart sank, and his face darkened. He thought to himself: This time, he really couldn’t escape. He was truly going to be the first one out. It was so humiliating!

Just then, suddenly, the Star Battle announcement’s pleasant female voice rang out—

[7592101] First Blood!

Double Kill!

Killing Spree!

Rampage!

Arlo stared at the fallen mechas on the ground, completely bewildered!

What on earth just happened?

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.

You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get access to advance chapters and the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.