Quang Tri Provincial City
Leaving the milk tea shop, the group of four, led by Gia Bao, soon arrived at the Vcome Center mall.
Heading up to the fifth floor, they were greeted by the uniform logos of Tinh Ha Cyberzone.
This was the largest digital entertainment hub in the provincial capital, gathering the most advanced equipment and games on the Blue Planet.
Naturally, the most prominent attraction was none other than Mecha Storm.
It wasn’t just a video game.
It was a virtual reality combat simulation system created by the Alliance to scout for mecha-piloting talents.
In-game scores translated directly into bonus points for university entrance exams, giving it immense appeal among the youth.
Young Master Vuong was no exception.
Back in his bedroom, a state-of-the-art Sleep-Well Cabin sat waiting.
However, ever since Chairman Vuong transmigrated over, it had been left to gather dust.
In his past life, Vuong Minh wasn’t fond of gaming, considering it a trivial pursuit that sapped one’s ambition.
He preferred extreme sports, traveling, and now, cultivation.
Hence, he hadn’t spared Mecha Storm a single glance.
Scanning the code and paying the fee, the friendly receptionist led the five of them to the VIP area, booting up two advanced Cabins for the two guys to enter.
Gia Bao seemed quite well-known around these parts.
The moment he showed his face, a sizable crowd immediately swarmed over.
“Whoa!
Young Master Hoang is here again.
We’re in for a good show today.”
“Young Master Hoang?
Who’s that?”
“You don’t even know Young Master Hoang?
And you dare say you’re a regular at Tinh Ha Cyberzone?
Heard of Shadow Shooter?
The guy who just set a 20-win streak record last week!”
“Oh, it’s him!
Then who’s the guy heading to the Arena with him?”
Countless murmurs reached Vuong Minh’s ears.
A little fairy standing next to him chimed in at just the right moment:
“Minh, you have to be careful.
Gia Bao is ranked in the top 50 among young players nationwide.
Don’t underestimate him!”
“Haha, no need to be so serious, it’s just a friendly spar.
Those rankings are only for players under eighteen; they don’t mean much.
Minh probably doesn’t even care about those leaderboards.” Hoang Gia Bao shot a smug inward glance at Huyen My and Vuong Minh, then feigned humility, blushing and shaking his head.
Vuong Minh heard this and nodded with utmost sincerity:
“I really don’t care about that stuff.
Thanks for the heads-up, man.”
Gia Bao: ….
He nearly ground his teeth to dust.
If it weren’t for the crowd—and especially Huyen My being there—he would have rushed over and given the bastard next to him an uppercut.
Not wanting to waste any more words, he darkened his face and held out his smartwatch to sync his data.
At the same time, he flashed a dark smile at Vuong Minh:
“Alright, Minh, please get in.
Let’s hope your skills match your big mouth.”
Vuong Minh stepped in casually, holding his hand out for Amy to sync his data.
As the retinal scan initialized, his ID popped up: Minh Vuong.
The great Young Master Hoang quietly stole a glance.
The avatar was a towering, majestic Acalanatha (Immovable Wisdom King) sitting amidst the cosmos, radiating an overwhelming aura.
Moving down…
Win Rate: 100%.
That percentage shocked him so badly he nearly missed his step and faceplanted.
Fortunately, as a martial artist with decent reflexes, Gia Bao grabbed the Cabin door to steady himself, craning his neck to get a better look.
Once he saw the details, the guy’s face turned purple with rage.
Motherfcker, what a poser.* Turns out the guy had deleted his account to smurf.
12 matches, 12 wins, with a trash-tier ‘Black Iron’ title.
He had almost made a fool of himself.
Hoang Gia Bao completely lost interest.
Out of sight, out of mind.
He focused on logging into his own account.
Shadow Shooter.
Stats: 3,251 matches.
Win Rate: 84%.
The Silver badge gleamed brilliantly, blinding everyone’s “dog eyes.” Naturally, this drew a continuous wave of gasps from the crowd.
Speaking of badges, Mecha Storm’s ranking system was quite interesting.
New accounts started as blank slates.
10 wins earned Black Iron, 100 wins got Bronze, and 1,000 wins reached Silver.
To claim the Gold throne, a player had to win 100 consecutive matches against opponents of the same tier, randomly matched by the server.
Losing even a single match midway meant starting all over again, and since the opponents were all Silver-tier, the difficulty was obvious.
But on the flip side, success meant massive university bonus points.
Many top university zones even offered direct admission and scholarships to Gold-tier players, causing all the kids to chase after it like a flock of ducks. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
Hoang Gia Bao was currently in the grind phase for his consecutive wins to reach Gold.
Just last week, he had steamrolled through over 20 matches, putting his reputation at its peak.
As for Vuong Minh, naturally, he wasn’t just some Black Iron noob.
His true skill level was at least Silver.
While he might not match Hoang Gia Bao, he wasn’t far behind.
It was just that his predecessor had a closeted, face-saving personality.
Whenever an account’s win rate dropped too much, he would decisively delete it and start over.
That was the only reason the current “Minh Vuong” account possessed such a terrifyingly glorious 100% win rate.
Stepping into the Cabin and closing his eyes to sync his brainwaves with the system, Vuong Minh maintained a cold, indifferent expression, executing the motions in one smooth breath.
But in reality, he had no bottom in his heart.
Relying solely on his predecessor’s skills, going up against an opponent like Hoang Gia Bao was a guaranteed loss.
But with the other party acting so aggressively, calling him out by name and bringing the fight right to his doorstep, how could Chairman Vuong swallow that?
Fortunately, before leaving last night, he had earned a little extra “income” through the fairy group at Binh Thanh High School, giving him a modicum of reassurance.
If push came to shove, with his current cultivation base, plus the amplification of two lifetimes’ worth of soul strength that had been nourished once over, all his neural reflexes and physical stats vastly exceeded what they once were.
Was he really supposed to believe he couldn’t pull a 50/50 against a Silver-tier mob?
Chairman Vuong’s mindset was as steady as an old dog; he never fought a battle he wasn’t sure he could win.
He lay in the Cabin, enveloped by a cooling sensation, as countless insights regarding Mecha Storm flooded his mind.
“Please select your mecha!”
Waiting for the mechanical voice to chime in, Vuong Minh opened his eyes, looking up at the dozen or so steel giants displayed before him.
After a moment of deliberation, he selected the Iron Guard III.
The space dimmed, and a moment later, he found himself standing inside the mecha’s cockpit, floating amidst the starry void, facing the breathtaking expanse of the universe.
Beautiful!
Chairman Vuong couldn’t help but admit that his previous mindset had been too narrow.
Experiencing Mecha Storm was genuinely thrilling; it wasn’t the boring, useless waste of time he had imagined.
“Please select the combat mode.” “Melee!” “Randomizing map…
Selection complete!”
Map: Desert Ruins.
Yellow sand danced across the sky, while towering steel skyscrapers leaned precariously, painting a desolate, apocalyptic scene.
Vuong Minh’s Iron Guard III and Gia Bao’s Storm Warrior spawned simultaneously, each standing on a high sand dune about 200 meters apart.
Outside, a crowd of hundreds gathered excitedly around the screen broadcasting their arena match.
Seeing Vuong Minh’s clunky, outdated mecha, many secretly criticized his choice, while Gia Bao openly scoffed at it from the opposite side.
An Iron Guard?
Who even picks that nowadays?
That thing is an ancient relic.
Undeniably, the Iron Guard was highly balanced—speed, agility, defense, it was decent at everything and easy to pilot.
The problem was, being “decent at everything” meant it excelled at nothing.
Against modern tactics where every position demanded highly optimized capabilities, the Iron Guard had lost its inherent advantage.
Only clumsy noobs would pick it now.
“Haha, Minh, you picked an Iron Guard?
Are you planning to be my punching bag?”
His voice boomed across the desert through the Storm Warrior’s amplifiers, clearly audible to everyone outside.
Many in the crowd burst into laughter, pulling out their phones to record the impending joke.
Vuong Minh turned a deaf ear to it all.
He took the time to jump up and down, stretching his limbs to get a feel for the mecha.
Choosing the Iron Guard III was, of course, a calculated move.
After absorbing hundreds of fragments of insight from his classmates in Binh Thanh, he found that very few shared the same combat philosophy.
Some excelled at attacking, some at defending, some at speed.
Which one was he supposed to follow?
In the end, the all-around balanced Iron Guard was a perfect fit.
Furthermore, the Iron Guard was highly adaptable to different environments, unlike other mechas that were picky about the terrain.
Take the Storm Warrior across from him, for example—the desert was one of its natural counters.
Hadn’t he just secured the right time and place before the match even started?
Vuong Minh grew even calmer, his confidence rising by another notch.
[Match Start!]
After both sides hit ready, the countdown began.
“GAME OVER!”
Shadow Shooter roared at the top of his lungs.
The Storm Warrior lunged forward, its mid-air thrusters erupting, allowing the multi-ton mecha to glide across the sand as lightly as if it were surfing.
This was the most optimal method the Storm Warrior could use when dealing with desert or swamp terrains.
It was clear that Hoang Gia Bao’s fundamentals were rock solid.
The 200-meter gap was closed in a flash.
The Storm Warrior launched itself into the air, spinning its entire body to turn into a drill aiming straight for the Iron Guard III.
At some point, two high-frequency vibration blades had popped out of its arms, slashing viciously toward its opponent’s head.
However, a terrifying scene unfolded.
Just as the Storm Warrior took off, rapid shockwaves erupted from under the Iron Guard III’s feet.
The already loose sand instantly turned incredibly soft and pulverized.
The Storm Warrior’s footing slipped for a half-beat.
Although the thrusters under its heels pushed it forward forcefully, the forward momentum still stalled for a split second.
In a clash between experts, a split second is fatal.
The Iron Guard, seemingly sluggish in everyone’s eyes, suddenly tilted its body at a precise 15-degree angle—just enough for the blades to graze past its shoulder by a hair’s breadth. This chapter was taken from NovelPing without permission.
At that exact moment, its mechanical arm shot out like a striking viper, clamping down on the Storm Warrior’s wrist.
“What?!” Gia Bao was scared half to death.
He frantically mashed the eject button, but it was useless.
The Storm Warrior’s agility and flexibility were top-tier, but its fatal flaw was now exposed: its light weight meant its upper-body motors lacked raw output.
How could it possibly break free from the Iron Guard III’s iron grip?
And Vuong Minh wasn’t about to give his opponent any chances, nor would he ever waste time talking trash.
Crack!
Using absolute strength, the Iron Guard snapped the opponent’s arm.
Riding the momentum, it twisted the Storm Warrior around before delivering a brutal, steel knee strike directly into the cockpit.
Boom!
The Storm Warrior exploded on the spot.
“GAME OVER!”
Only now did the heavy, metallic voice of the Mecha Storm server officially ring out, perfectly echoing Hoang Gia Bao’s earlier battle cry.
The abrupt shift in the battle’s dynamic left the entire crowd completely stunned.
“Holy sh*t!”
Outside, the melon-eating crowd went into an absolute uproar.
The match had ended in under thirty seconds.
“An absolute crushing…
this is an absolute crushing defeat!” a bystander gasped.
“Who is that guy?
Does anyone have his info?”
“Hubby Minh Vuong, I love you!”
“Male god!
Male god, look over here!”
One had to admit, good looks were justice.
The dashing and handsome skin that Mrs.Vuong had passed down to Young Master Vuong possessed immense power.
Having just made a name for himself in a single battle, there was already no shortage of beautiful girls screaming frantically, eager to get his contact info.
Huyen My’s friend group, however, seemed isolated from the crowd.
Every single one of them was staring wide-eyed, mouths agape in dead silence.
No one even paid attention to Gia Bao as he stumbled out of his Cabin, his face deathly pale and drenched in sweat, suffering from synchronization shock after his brainwaves were forcefully disconnected due to the rapid defeat.
All attention converged on the adjacent Cabin.
Vuong Minh strolled out at a leisurely pace.
His icy demeanor, resembling that of a true monarch, drove the schoolgirls into an even wilder frenzy.
“Kyaaaa…”
“I’m in love!
Hubby, look over here!”
Had it been the former Young Master Vuong, he definitely would have feigned aloofness, closed his eyes, and walked away.
But Chairman Vuong was different.
He playfully turned toward the screaming, flashing a quick wink in response.
This sent the atmosphere boiling over.
Countless starry-eyed girls frantically snapped photos with their phones, as if wanting to permanently etch his stunningly handsome image into their memories.
“You…
I refuse to accept this!
Vuong Minh, another round!”
Amidst this intimate fan-meeting vibe, an incredibly ill-timed voice abruptly rang out.
Hoang Gia Bao had lost all his former spirited arrogance.
Instead, he looked like a sore loser at a casino, red-eyed and desperate to win back his losses in another hand.
But would Vuong Minh give him the chance?
Naturally not.
Winning this match was purely a stroke of luck, entirely reliant on the terrain and Hoang Gia Bao’s underestimation.
Playing another round would just shatter his newly forged “Minh Vuong” myth.
“Not interested!”
Giving a curt nod to Tran Huyen My and the other two as a greeting, Vuong Minh decisively slipped away.
Hoang Gia Bao wanted to stop him, but his head was throbbing with excruciating pain; he had no way to give chase.
Only Tran Huyen My remained standing there, her beautiful eyes rippling with intense emotion.
Vuong Minh’s untamed arrogance and genius piloting skills had left a profound impression on her mind.
So, just as Vuong Minh walked past, she suddenly spoke up:
“Vuong Minh!
If…
if you actually manage to get into Victoria Academy, I can give you a chance to pursue me.”
The surrounding crowd gasped.
Mr.
Poser Hoang Gia Bao’s face turned completely numb.
A promise from a beauty, and the daughter of the Provincial Deputy Director of Public Security at that!
This was supposed to be his!
Everyone thought Vuong Minh would be ecstatic.
But a male god was a male god; the guy didn’t even pause his steps.
He merely waved a hand, leaving behind a haughty silhouette and a casual voice drifting in the wind:
“No need!
Bye!”