Chapter 73: The Terrifying Progress Speed

Chapter 73: The Terrifying Progress Speed

The simulated arena within the helmet randomly shifted several times and finally stabilized as a lush, dense mountain forest.

Chen Feng heard the Artificial Intelligence prompt in his ear, telling him the match was about to begin, while the route map reappeared on the screen.

The route map wound up and down along the mountain range, a true example of a twisting mountain path with eighteen turns.

Chen Feng took a glance and felt a tingling sensation on his forehead.

So far!

421.95 kilometers!

That was ten times the distance of a human marathon!

This distance was a bit frightening.

The Azure Dragon Armor’s flight speed could break the sound barrier, so over four hundred kilometers wouldn’t take long, less than half an hour.

However, off-road long-distance running did not allow flying off the ground; one could only run.

At Chen Feng’s current level, with the boost from the Azure Dragon Armor, if he limited the acceleration he could withstand to 5G, then his maximum running speed could only reach a little over a hundred kilometers per hour.

After all, running wasn’t simple linear motion. Each footplant was a deceleration, and each stride was another acceleration.

This meant that if he wanted to complete the entire course, he would have to run for about four whole hours under high-intensity simulation.

Never mind whether he could persist for that long. Just based on his current level, he probably couldn’t even achieve a passing score.

Because the Serum’s effective time was only three hours, although the rules didn’t explicitly state it, three hours in this Simulator competition was definitely the bottom line. Exceeding the time limit would mean no score.

Chen Feng looked around. Nineteen competitors were lined up beside him.

Their simulated armor shoulders bore medals, the least of which was one star and one bar.

This meant the lowest military rank among his competitors in this group was that of an officer.

Chen Feng was quite confused. Weren’t the participants all recruits who hadn’t yet boarded the Warships? Why were these people’s ranks so high?

He thought it was very unreasonable.

Recruits could indeed increase their rank through meritorious service, but it was difficult. Only exceptionally outstanding recruits in the Base were qualified to participate in missions early.

Moreover, earning merit and increasing rank during missions was even harder.

At his Great Snow Mountain Base, there were only a handful of recruits ranked officer or above. Yet, here he was in the All-Army Competition, in a group of twenty people, and apart from him, all nineteen others were officers and above.

This was really unfair to a newcomer.

Unfortunately, the other participants at the moment were all very aloof. No one was going to explain the reason to him.

The communication channel had been taken over by the competition supervisors. Those outside who knew the details, like Professor Ouyang, couldn’t explain it to him either.

Chen Feng gritted his teeth and steeled himself to go through with it.

Crack! The simulated starting pistol fired, and the twenty operators shot forward like arrows leaving a bow.

Chen Feng was in good form. Without needing any warm-up, he instantly pushed the machine’s performance to the limit of his current control.

5G!

But right from the start, he was left behind by the others.

His limit was 5G, but others’ limits were often 10G, or even higher.

Even though the Simulator couldn’t simulate the real physical load of a 10G condition, as long as the operator correctly performed the technical movements and postures as required in a real situation, the Simulator would naturally judge the action as successful and determine that the operator in the match had achieved the corresponding maneuvering effect.

Apart from Chen Feng, the other contestants were all veterans who had practiced many times. Those daring to compete in the T800 level were the strongest among the strong, naturally capable of showcasing perfect operations.

The gap between them was obvious. The superior and inferior were immediately apparent.

“Ah, it really is too difficult after all. Chen Feng’s training time is too short, and he’s never been on the real machine. This isn’t a fair match for him at all.”

Outside, Professor Ouyang sighed.

Ding Hu nodded. “Forget it. It’s good for him to see the wider world earlier, to know there are people beyond people and skies beyond skies. It’ll save him from being too arrogant.”

“Don’t set your expectations too high. I think Chen Feng has already done very well. He deserves encouragement.”

A clear and melodious voice sounded from behind the group.

Everyone turned around and hastily saluted.

“Hello, General!”

“Greetings, General!”

Professor Ouyang approached and asked curiously, “Why are you here?”

The visitor was the top person in charge of Great Snow Mountain Base, a young Major General.

Though young, this Major General held great prestige in the military. Besides being the head of the Great Snow Mountain Base, she also held another identity as a captain of a battleship escort vessel in the Space Fleet.

The General lightly brushed back her hair. “My most favored soldier is participating in the All-Army Competition. Isn’t it natural for me to come and watch personally?”

After speaking, the General fixed her beautiful eyes on the surveillance monitor, watching Chen Feng who was straining every nerve to maintain his speed, refusing to give up. A strange light flickered in her gaze.

No one knew what she was thinking, but everyone knew she was definitely very pleased with Chen Feng’s performance.

Ding Hu’s immediate superior nudged him in the waist, signaling him to say something. As Chen Feng’s direct Instructor, it was Ding Hu’s job to give a report.

“Ahem, General, Chen Feng is already amazing, but I’m just worried that losing so badly this time will damage his confidence.”

The General shook her head, placed her hands behind her back, and slightly raised her chin. “He won’t.”

“Huh?”

Ding Hu didn’t understand the General’s words.

What did she mean, he won’t?

He won’t lose too badly?

Wasn’t he already losing badly? He almost couldn’t even see the others’ taillights anymore.

He won’t give up easily?

Meaning the General understood him better than he, Chen Feng’s direct instructor who had studied psychology, did?

That’s nonsense!

Right at that moment, Professor Ouyang, who had been staring intently at the ground projection, suddenly made a soft sound of surprise.

“What is it?”

Ding Hu quickly asked.

Professor Ouyang looked up at the data monitor above and hissed, “He adjusted the simulation realism upper limit of the Simulator to 5.5G.”

“Huh? What’s he thinking? Last-minute cramming is futile!”

Ding Hu clicked his tongue.

Sure enough, on the screen, after Chen Feng raised the parameter, because his technical movement wasn’t standard, the system judged that he had to take a fall. Then the projector displayed his simulated image stumbling on the ground, tumbling forward in a roll.

Within the Simulator, Chen Feng himself, under the control of countless mechanical arms moving wildly like a host of demons, spun in place like a little top.

Ding Hu turned his face away, unable to bear watching.

It was just too pitiful.

Originally, Chen Feng started slower than others and his top speed was slower too. He had already fallen far behind earlier. Now with a fall, the gap grew even larger.

But something surprising happened. After rolling several dozen meters out on the mountainous terrain of the simulated arena, Chen Feng pushed off with one hand, adjusted his posture with the momentum of the spin, and once again charged forward.

“Why is he still at 5.5G? This won’t do; he’s going to fall again if this continues.”

Professor Ouyang, who had been monitoring the parameters, clutched his head in despair.

The General shook her head. “No, at least in a 5.5G environment, he won’t fall anymore.”

Under everyone’s gaze, Chen Feng’s steps had completely stabilized, and his speed had increased slightly compared to before.

“Are you saying he only fell once and then adapted to the limit acceleration of 5.5G?”

An onlooker Instructor in the crowd exclaimed in surprise.

“An amazing genius. This motor coordination, this comprehension, it’s truly unbelievable.”

Yes, Chen Feng had learned the Azure Dragon Armor to his current level. His past three training sessions, especially the third where he piloted the old mech, the skills and experience he mastered were completely inapplicable now.

The two had entered completely different realms, yet he easily accomplished maneuvers difficult for ordinary people to understand.

There was only one explanation: this was indeed talent.

But Chen Feng himself didn’t know. His mind simply had no room for idle thoughts. He was just unwilling to obediently admit defeat. He just wanted to try and see if he could, during the match, try to push his own limits as much as possible.

Even if he lost, he shouldn’t lose too disgracefully.

“6G. He has raised the parameter again!”

Professor Ouyang acted like a commentator, promptly announcing Chen Feng’s latest move.

“Warning, Corporal Chen Feng, number 89757. You have performed an extreme operation exceeding your training experience. It is recommended you lower the parameter to prevent injury.”

Right at that moment, the electronic judge’s prompt tone sounded in Chen Feng’s helmet. At the same time, he ate dirt again with a fall.

But having fallen more, he was more experienced. He simply curled his whole body into a ball and rolled straight forward.

He rolled another several dozen meters before finally regaining his footing and continuing to run forward at 6G speed.

The observers outside could also hear the machine’s reminder that Chen Feng received, making them especially anxious.

Meanwhile, Chen Feng answered decisively, “Reject adjustment. Reject prompts. Do not interfere.”

“Command received, Corporal Chen Feng. Are you activating Individual Autonomous Mode? Similar reminders will be blocked thereafter.”

“Activate.”

After speaking, Chen Feng raised the parameter again to 6.5G.

“Is this guy crazy? Won’t he ease up a bit?”

Someone in the crowd cursed, calling him a beast.

Ding Hu sighed helplessly. “He might have seen the gap ahead is too large, afraid that adapting will waste time.”

“Professor Ouyang, if Chen Feng continues like this, approximately how long until he gets injured?”

The General spoke up again.

Professor Ouyang narrowed his eyes for a long while before finally shaking his head. “It seems he won’t get injured. This guy is exploiting a bug in the Simulator.”

The General: “How so?”

“Once he falls, he doesn’t even try to regain balance. Instead, he curls his body into a ball and rolls forward. If this were a real battlefield, during the roll he would definitely hit something, or his head would bump against protrusions along the way. But this is just a Simulator. The lowest life support system settings have the highest priority. The Simulator’s mechanical arms cannot simulate the posture of a rock to attack him. So as long as he curls up his body in time, he won’t get injured.”

The General was stunned for a moment, then gave a slight smile. “What a sly guy, exploiting a loophole in the machine. But this is reasonable after all. Machines are ultimately machines, existing to be used by humans. His truly most unique point, however, is that he only needs to fall once to adapt to the operational feel under a new acceleration state. So if it were the real machine, he could master it too.”

Ding Hu’s eyes welled up with tears. “Yes, only one fall.”

Back in his day, every time he increased by 0.1G, he had to at least…

Eh, better not recall those unbearable memories.

“What comes next is the crucial part. This is an off-road long-distance run. The terrain later will become rugged and uneven. The operational difficulty will suddenly increase. Because he cannot blindly accelerate to the limit, it’s best if each footplant lands on a high point. So he will have to constantly find the most perfect acceleration state, light when needed, heavy when needed, and also accurately grasp the optimal maximum distance for each leap.”

Professor Ouyang explained. “It’s difficult. Truly very difficult.”

An experienced veteran participant added from the back, “There will also be frequent directional change requirements, and obstacles to avoid.”

The General nodded, continuing to watch the holographic projection with her head held high. “Let us wait and see.”