For Neo, there were currently two ways to use these skills.
The first was manual operation, which meant reaching out and tapping the corresponding skill on the system interface, but that was rather troublesome.
The other way was to call out the name of the skill or the line corresponding to the skill.
This method was more convenient, so Neo usually did it this way.
But he never expected that Sandrone would use this method to deal with him.
This was equivalent to Neo issuing a corresponding command to Anti-Neo III every time he used a skill, causing it to respond correctly according to the method Sandrone had set.
And this was not the first time Neo had helped with testing.
After all, this was already Anti-Neo III, so Sandrone had collected all the data from every skill Neo had just used and had also simulated countermeasures.
“Then if he doesn’t say anything, wouldn’t Sandrone lose again?”
Just as Sandrone was feeling smug, Columbina tilted her head slightly and looked at her before suddenly speaking.
“Columbina! Will you die if you don’t say anything? Besides, this is just a test to collect his data. What do you mean I lost again? When did I ever lose? Do you believe I’ll have Pulonia beat him up later?”
Columbina always managed to anger Sandrone precisely, making her so anxious that she nearly started clawing at her.
Neo naturally heard the commotion on the platform as well, so he nodded knowingly.
‘If that’s the case…’
Neo supported the shield with one hand and grasped the Cryo Vision hanging from his chest with the other.
The next moment, an icy aura slowly spread around him.
A layer of ice crystals formed over the ground, and the ends of Neo’s short black hair also became slightly frosted.
“…Using that much of the Vision’s power, doesn’t he care about his life?”
On the platform, Sandrone pulled her attention away from Columbina and looked at Neo in the middle of the testing grounds with some confusion.
Facing the cold air released by Neo, Anti-Neo III quickly reacted on its own.
The cannon barrel on its right hand slightly transformed, and blue flames then spurted from it.
Holding up the cannon barrel, it used the flames to disperse the ice crystals that had spread from the ground to the edges of its tracks.
“Phew… Vision mode really is a little cold…”
Releasing the full power of the Vision without any restraint, Neo exhaled a breath of icy mist and raised his hand.
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[Rules of Survival in the Snow: LV3]
[Can switch between Initial State and Defense State. In Defense State, defense is increased by 45%, and 3% of maximum HP is restored every second, but attack range will be reduced. In cold environments, the skill effect is doubled.]
[Upgrade condition: Has a chance to trigger when continuously and effectively restoring your own HP with this skill]
[Switched to Defense State, effect active!]
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First tapping the air to open this skill that could offset the loss of vitality caused by the Vision, Neo then charged directly toward Anti-Neo III.
Facing the cannon barrel spewing flames, Neo raised his hand and swept it out, scattering a large amount of condensed ice crystals.
The ice crystals were instantly melted and evaporated by the flames, forming a cloud of white steam that blocked Anti-Neo III’s vision.
“Blocking its vision? It’s useless. The voice recognition module can of course also locate targets by sound… Hm?”
Seeing this, Sandrone curled her lips into a smug smile, but the smile soon froze.
As Neo circulated his Cryo elemental power, large amounts of ice mist appeared in the air.
The ice mist quickly attached itself to Anti-Neo III’s surface, and the flames from the cannon barrel in its hand were simply unable to disperse it.
Moreover, Anti-Neo III could not take care of every part of its body, so ice crystals gradually formed over it, restricting part of its movement.
When Anti-Neo III tried to restore this part of its mobility, Neo was already stepping on the ice crystals covering the ground and circling behind Anti-Neo III as if skiing.
Then Neo climbed onto it from the relatively safe back, reached out and patted the core on top of Anti-Neo III’s head, and only then turned around to look toward the platform where Columbina and Sandrone were.
This was only a test.
At this point, Neo had already won.
Even without using these skills, he was still an elite member of the Fatui.
“Tch… The combat data between Anti-Neo III and volunteer Neo will be collected up to this point. Next is the firepower test. Activate that equipment for me!”
Although Sandrone really wanted Anti-Neo III to catch Neo and throw him down, she could only announce that the test was entering its next stage.
The first stage was simply to collect the combat data of Neo and Anti-Neo III.
The second stage was a firepower test for Anti-Neo III.
Although Sandrone was not very willing to admit it, Neo really was the toughest person she had ever seen in all of Snezhnaya, even tougher than the siege machine she had specifically equipped with heavy armor.
Under Sandrone’s command, scorching gas erupted from inside Anti-Neo III.
It then began transforming in place, with its four mechanical arms changing shape and resting on the ground to become supports.
Then, the crane above slowly lowered a device equipped with a huge cannon barrel, assembling it together with Anti-Neo III.
After the assembly was complete, the cannon barrel adjusted its aim toward Neo, who had returned to the position directly opposite Anti-Neo III.
It slowly began rotating and gathering energy.
“Mm… There’s Moon Matrix power inside?”, Columbina keenly sensed something.
“That’s not all. Although this equipment may not be able to be used many times yet, I’ve poured all kinds of the most active powers into it. If an ordinary person gets hit by it, they can only pray for good luck.”
“I want to see just how tough this guy can be. Although his willingness to participate in the tests is very helpful to me, after so many tests, he hasn’t been injured even once. Where does that leave my dignity?”
Sandrone crossed her arms over her chest, and by the end, she was gritting her teeth.
If she had not decided from the beginning to build an Anti-Neo siege machine based on Neo’s data, she would have simply sent Pulonia out.
She believed that if it were Pulonia, Neo would definitely end up injured.
“…”
Feeling the power gathering inside the cannon barrel, although Neo needed to rely on his Vision to wield elemental power, he could still sense how terrifying it was.
Looking at the ice shield in his hand, Neo felt that without the Absolute Defense from the first time, even if he used this shield to block the attack, he would still be injured to some extent.
Although being injured was not a problem for him with [Rules of Survival in the Snow] activated, since he could recover in just a few seconds, in his original agreement with Sandrone, if he participated in all the tests without being injured, Sandrone would have to agree to one condition from him…
Thinking of this, Neo took a deep breath.
‘Luckily, I obtained a new skill while fooling around some time ago…’
Thinking this, Neo placed the ice shield on the ground beside him and clenched his right hand into a fist.
“By the name of Landau!”
“…Hm? What Landau? Isn’t he called Bronn?”, When Neo spoke, Sandrone looked at Columbina in confusion from the platform.
“I don’t know either, and his name is Neo, not Bronn.”, Columbina shook her head innocently.
“Having endured the ice and snow, this will is forged, never to end!”
Neo heavily stepped forward with his left foot.
The ice crystals covering the ground within two meters around him were shattered by the step.
Then he raised his clenched right hand high before smashing it heavily into the ground.
The next moment, a huge ice wall directly rose from the ground in front of him.
Like an impassable natural barrier, it stood upright in the testing grounds and divided the entire field into two.
Even the crane above was knocked aside by the rising ice wall.
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[Everlasting Wall: LV1]
[Creates a huge ice wall in front to block attacks and provides shields for all allied units. Shield strength is calculated according to your defense value and skill level. Has 250% absorption effect against Cryo damage.]
[Upgrade condition: Has a chance to trigger when all allied units given shields have all their shields broken at the same time]
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The skills Neo obtained from the system all came from games he had played before transmigrating.
Therefore, the effects of these skills tended toward their actual in-game performance rather than their lore settings.
The several skills Neo had used previously were all like this.
As for “Everlasting Wall,” although its actual effect in the game was simply to provide shields for all allied units, like Zhongli’s C2, its animation genuinely created a huge ice wall directly in front.
Therefore, the system retained this effect.
Besides creating shields, it could also create a huge ice wall to block attacks and divide the battlefield.
BOOM!!!
After Everlasting Wall appeared, the elemental mixed cannon Sandrone had installed on Anti-Neo III finally fired, directly blasting into Everlasting Wall.
Various chaotic and active elemental powers, together with Moon Matrix power, formed a complicated reaction.
The roar made the surrounding Fatui soldiers cover their ears.
Some of those closer to it were almost blown away, and the entire mechanical research institute trembled along with it.
After the dust dispersed, a small gap had appeared on the surface of Everlasting Wall, but it had not been penetrated.
Just like the shield provided by Everlasting Wall, the sturdiness of Everlasting Wall’s ice wall was also related to Neo’s defense.
At this moment, Neo had activated “Rules of Survival in the Snow,” providing an additional 45% defense.
“Ahhh?! Damn it, what is with this level of elemental power? A Vision shouldn’t be able to do this, right?”
Discovering that even her proud new weapon could not penetrate Neo’s ice wall, Sandrone angrily grabbed the hair hanging down in front on both sides of her head.
“Pfft…”
Noticing her furious appearance as she tugged at her hair, Columbina could not help raising a hand to cover her mouth and giggling.
At this point, the test was over.
Several Fatui soldiers came forward and helped Neo remove the devices strapped to his body for monitoring his data, looking at him with admiration.
As for Anti-Neo III, it had clearly overloaded after firing one shot, and the explosion of the elemental mixed cannon had also affected itself.
The cannon muzzle seemed to have suffered some damage as well, and it had already been taken away for repairs.
“Lady Sandrone, the test is over. Everything went smoothly.”
After retrieving his military coat and putting it back on, Neo finally came to the platform where Columbina and Sandrone were and reported to Sandrone.
“It’s not like I can’t see it. I know.”
Sandrone gritted her teeth, but she could not bring herself to lose her temper, so she could only respond.
She secretly decided that next time, she would definitely make Neo suffer.
She had to modify Anti-Neo IV to a level equal to Pulonia.
The current tests were no longer simply tests.
Now that she was secretly competing with him, she only wanted to make Neo suffer a setback during the tests.
But according to their original agreement, she could only use the Anti-Neo series of machines, so she could only modify them.
“Hehe, then, Lady Sandrone, do you still remember our agreement? This is the tenth test. I still haven’t been injured at all. According to the promise, you have to agree to any one condition I give…”, Neo rubbed his hands and asked expectantly.
“Huh? How dare a mere lieutenant like you make demands of me…”
“Forget it. Tell me. What do you want?”
Sandrone was somewhat displeased, but when she saw Columbina beside her opening her mouth as if she wanted to say something, she immediately changed her words.
“Hehe, actually, it’s like this, Lady Sandrone. Could you let me turn the wind-up key on your back? I’m really curious what it feels like!”
Neo rubbed his hands and looked expectantly at the wind-up key slowly rotating on Sandrone’s back.
“?”
“Pulonia, beat this disrespectful guy up for me!”
Sandrone raised an eyebrow and immediately raised her hand, giving the command to the giant robot that had been standing by in the back.
Upon receiving the command, Pulonia immediately stepped forward.
“Wait, wait, Lady Sandrone, I was joking. Although I really do want to ask you to have Mr. Pulonia beat me with a punch as hard as it can, the harder the better!”
Neo hurriedly waved his hands, then looked at Pulonia and explained to Sandrone.
He was only a small lieutenant.
Facing Pulonia, who was beside Sandrone, he indeed had to address it as an adult or superior.
“…”
“Did he hurt his brain just now?”, When Neo waved his hands and stopped Pulonia, Sandrone could not help turning back to ask Columbina after hearing what he said.
“I don’t know. Let me try.”
Upon hearing this, Columbina stepped forward.
Under Neo and Sandrone’s gazes, she raised one hand and gently placed it against Neo’s forehead to feel it.
‘Her hand feels so soft…’, Feeling the soft touch against his forehead, this thought appeared in Neo’s mind.
“He seems fine.”
After a while, Columbina withdrew her hand.
“…”
“Pulonia, do as he said. Give him a punch. Put some force into it!”
Coming back to her senses, Sandrone immediately gritted her teeth and gave Pulonia the command.
After receiving the order, Pulonia continued forward, raising a fist larger than a sandbag and preparing to smash it toward Neo.
“Wait! Change the position!”
Neo hurriedly jogged around to Pulonia’s side and stood in front of Sandrone.
“Alright, come on.”
“…Put some force into it!”
Although she did not know why Neo had run to stand in front of her, Sandrone still had Pulonia continue the attack.
Although she was only using her fist, she believed this punch would definitely be enough for Neo to suffer.
After receiving the command, Pulonia turned around and stepped forward, throwing a heavy punch.
Neo hurriedly raised both hands and crossed them in front of himself.
Bang!!
The terrifying force sent Neo flying backward, his entire body crashing into the wall.
Sandrone had anticipated what Neo was planning and had immediately dodged when she sensed something was wrong, so she was not hit by Neo.
[The host blocked Pulonia’s attack for “Sandrone” and obtained a number of lottery draws…]
[Drawing now…]
The voice of the system rang out in Neo’s mind as he crashed into the wall.
Although he had transmigrated eighteen years ago, the system had actually only awakened two years ago.
Its name was the “Damage-Blocking System.”
And not long ago, Neo had completely figured out its rules.
As long as he blocked an attack from an “other main character” for a “main character,” he could obtain a reward.
The greater the attack power, the stronger the attacker, and the higher the attacked character’s importance to the plot, the better the reward.
Moreover, aside from the protagonist, for every main character, Neo could only obtain a reward the first time he blocked an attack for them.
An attack initiated by the same person could also only trigger a reward once.
Over these two years, Neo had accidentally discovered a loophole in the system’s rules.
That was, when calculating an attack, the system did not count Neo.
As long as that attack would continue forward and hit a main character, it would be considered an attack against the main character.
Therefore, Neo could deliberately attract an attack, then run in front of a main character and block the attack, just like he had done now.
However, this kind of method that leaned more toward fooling around did not have a high chance of drawing a good reward.
After all, the attack power also determined the upper limit of the reward.
[Lottery complete. Obtained skill “Cariah-Style Riposte”]
[Cariah-Style Riposte: LV1]
[When holding a shield, swinging the shield at the precise moment can negate all non-physical ranged attacks and convert them according to their original attack power into automatically fired Glintblades. The initial number is 3 and increases with level.]
[Upgrade condition: Has a chance to trigger when a precise parry eliminates a ranged attack]
After Neo slid down from the dented wall, the system’s lottery also produced its result.