Ten thousand I am across the heavens

The second round of elimination was even more brutal than the first, with only 8 out of a total of 50 people able to stand out. Among them, those who barely made it through the first round were eliminated almost instantly because they had too little equipment, while the heavily equipped contestants eliminated them in an instant with their fierce firepower.

Dao Tian's equipment wasn't the most extensive, but his agility was terrifyingly high. The artificial intelligence and the mecha were highly compatible, allowing him to move at high speeds through the air, leaping and bounding across the battlefield, making it extremely difficult for enemies to aim at him. He also frequently used other people as cover to obstruct the trajectory of his shots.

While there are ways to bypass obstacles, such as using missiles, the number of Gu worms that can be used for guidance is limited. With limited materials, missiles are extremely precious weapons. Unless the mechanic is exceptionally skilled, a master of the Dao of Refining, they can refine Gu on-site using limited materials. However, it's already difficult to master two different styles simultaneously, especially for someone like the mechanic whose styles are already quite diverse. To pursue another style is even more challenging; it's practically impossible to master both.

If the existing Gu worms can function 100% effectively, it can be considered a success. Creating Gu worms on the spot is too much to ask of them.

The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Strategic weapons like missiles are clearly unsuitable for dealing with such mobile targets, a judgment shared by the AI. They preemptively used their heavy firepower to eliminate those players on the verge of elimination. The mechs made the same choice. After all, AI itself doesn't employ conservative strategies. This is to ensure fairness; all AI strategies are offensive.

Dao Tian extended a pair of light blades from the mecha's arms, using their high-temperature cutting ability and his own agility to swiftly traverse the battlefield. His exceptional flexibility allowed him to easily exploit enemy weaknesses. Most human equipment doesn't integrate well with robots. Their agility is limited by the robot itself and the efficiency of human-machine interaction, making them far inferior to mechas. This makes them vulnerable on the ever-changing battlefield, easily exposed and targeted.

The moment the relatively large enemy turned around, the scorching blade had already sliced ​​into the gaps in their equipment. With the cutting of the light blade, the entire person was sliced ​​in two the instant they turned. The blade didn't touch any solid armor. It was an instant kill with almost no energy loss, and the target wasn't even one of those poorly equipped or weak individuals. It was the mechanic who had used a loophole in the competition to bring a large amount of equipment to the second elimination round. After seeing his hard-earned, excellent equipment instantly killed, the opponent completely broke down, slamming his tools to the ground and protesting loudly.

"Cheating, this is definitely cheating. Otherwise, how could he be so strong? Even a level 2 mechanic would need a long time to prepare and build this level of equipment. How could he build two such sophisticated mechs in 12 hours? This must be a conspiracy by the organizers. It's manipulation behind the scenes. They want to create a star out of thin air."

It's no wonder he made such a connection. In this cyberpunk city where money reigns supreme and capital controls everything, even public talent competitions wouldn't offer any real fairness. If the organizers believe that promoting a newcomer and creating a star will benefit them and make more money, they will do so without hesitation. And with their methods, those promoted in this way will be completely undetectable.

Therefore, his question actually resonated with many viewers and contestants. However, the organizers provided perfect evidence: the entire competition production process was strictly video-recorded to ensure that no contestants cheated. The entire video was released and uploaded online for all viewers to review. In a short time, no one detected any signs of cheating. All of the contestant's actions were consistent with someone encountering these materials for the first time and needing to adjust their original design to suit their properties. The only noteworthy aspect was the contestant's exceptional skill level and adept handling of various materials. Even when faced with a lack of certain key materials, they handled the situation with ease. This could simply be explained by superior technique. Even top-tier Level 2 mechanical forces can achieve this. We cannot accuse someone of cheating simply because they have good technique.

However, this kind of thing can't be easily cleared up or absolved simply by having evidence. It's incredibly easy for the organizers to fabricate evidence. And no one else can find any evidence to prove whether the organizers fabricated it. But few people truly care about the authenticity of the evidence; most are only concerned with whether they, as viewers, enjoy the game, whether their favorite player wins, or whether the player they've bet on will win. Undoubtedly, this competition will see many instances of bookmakers taking all the winnings. Even the event organizers didn't anticipate this.

After all, this newcomer's background check revealed no information about his skill level; he had only recently been promoted to Level 1 Mechanic. He had absolutely no actual work experience to verify. How dark a dark horse he might be, and whether he could win without any prior preparation, remained to be seen. The tournament organizers didn't significantly adjust the betting odds because of his appearance. But he undoubtedly became a nightmare for all the bettors.

Because almost no one knew anything about him, no one placed bets on this unknown figure. If he ultimately won the tournament, more than half of those who bet on the winner would have their bets wiped out by the bookmakers. Tournament organizers usually wouldn't do something like this; even if they could secretly manipulate the odds, they wouldn't be so blatant. After all, if they were always so obviously rigging the game, people wouldn't be fooled and would simply stop betting.

Dao Tian's performance was too aggressive, giving the officials a headache. Such an overpowered display could easily be interpreted as official manipulation. However, according to experienced mechanics, even if they used some tricks at this stage, it wouldn't determine the outcome of the remaining matches, because that mech's advantage was simply too overwhelming. If they were to use some truly outrageous tricks, it would only make things more obvious.

Dao Tian's mecha was indeed demonstrating unparalleled advantages at this moment. In the first round, the existence of the destructive tank, built without regard to cost, meant that its mecha itself didn't show much advantage. However, in the second round, when everyone's starting point difference wasn't so large, the mecha's advantages finally became apparent.

While many of his opponents were forced to fight on the ground, he skillfully flew through the air. His fuel consumption remained entirely within manageable limits, ensuring he could maintain high-speed flight throughout the entire battle.

Meanwhile, the energy weapons in his palms and the lightsabers on his arms are not consumable items, but rather consume energy. The massive energy provided by the core reactor is enough to sustain a considerable amount of combat, although it's not as extreme as a Dao Yuan reactor. However, thanks to the high-energy materials provided by the organizers, this mech's endurance is definitely not weak.

While seemingly lacking in explosive power, when facing truly resilient enemies, he can be seen launching a laser emitter from his arm. The red laser beam contains energy several orders of magnitude greater than his previous weapons. With a mere sweep, an enemy is instantly sliced ​​in two. However, after this attack, the laser emitter overheats and is ejected, landing on the ground and becoming unusable. This is one of the very few consumable weapons he carries. At close range, it can cut through almost any enemy armor. His agile movement allows him to remain virtually unscathed in close combat.

Several players who were considered top contenders were instantly defeated in their matches against him.

Those guys who had painstakingly amassed a bunch of equipment by exploiting loopholes in the competition, preparing to dominate in the second round of eliminations, never imagined that they were no different from those unfortunate souls who hadn't managed to gather any equipment in front of this mech. They were all destined to be instantly killed; the only difference was the weapon the mech used for the kill.

At this point, advancement largely depends on luck. Those who are lucky enough to avoid encountering this guy have a chance to advance. Those who are unlucky, no matter how strong they are, may still be indiscriminately killed by him.

However, some people created equipment that was extremely adept at escaping. Different people had different strategies. Those who piled up their defense and attack power, attempting to secure a final spot through direct combat, all met with disastrous results. But those who relied on agile movement, quickly evading enemy pursuit, and thus surviving until the next round without focusing on kill counts, actually gained the upper hand this time.

Dao Tian's mecha couldn't use clone techniques, nor did it have any specially manufactured additional drone units. While he could catch up to those extremely agile opponents, he mostly didn't waste time pursuing them. With so many slow-moving targets on the ground, why waste time targeting those jumping around?

In the chaos of battle, the eventual victor quickly emerged. His mech was invincible and advanced. Upon successful advancement, the paint on his mech was barely damaged, and almost none of his opponents posed a threat.

The remaining contestants who advanced all passed the test by showcasing their speed and flight abilities. However, even with these strengths, the humanoid forms revealed after the test all appeared as burly men over 2 meters tall. This size allowed them to carry more weapons, which provided a significant advantage in the final elimination rounds. At this moment, many were whispering amongst themselves, because emerging from the mechs was a beautiful young woman, only 1.5 meters tall. She even skipped and hopped onto the arena with a youthful air, loosening her long hair that had been tied up at the back of her head. In contrast, the other contestants were completely bald, resembling bald, burly men. The reason was simple: creating hair was extremely troublesome, even with tools, and time-consuming. In a race against time, no one had the time or inclination for that; it was better to design a bald human form, saving time and allowing them to create more weapons.

This left the muscular men with nothing but their underwear on, nothing else. The robot girl in front of them, however, was dressed in a specially designed, highly mechanical outfit. Although it didn't seem to have much fabric, its exquisite detail was undeniable.

"What a pity. The reason it was so dominant earlier was probably because the puppet was small enough to give the mecha enough space. Now, this exquisite puppet will probably be torn to pieces by those muscular men on the stage. Even if the maker's skills are superb, with such a large size difference between the two sides, there's no chance of it putting up a fight."

Many spectators, including the judges and referees, shared this thought. The final round of eliminations was incredibly brutal. Physical advantages were meaningless. The muscular men, far taller and heavier than the girl, held a significant advantage in a one-on-one fight. The judges could already picture these men's fists revealing massive six-barreled machine guns beneath their wrists. In contrast, the girl's slender frame made it impossible to discern any hidden weapons. If it came down to close combat, relying solely on fists and kicks, she had absolutely no chance of winning.

Regardless, the competition will eventually begin. Some people feel sorry for the doll girl, while others can't wait to see the exquisite doll being dismantled into pieces.

The first round of eliminations. Dao Tian wasn't too unlucky; he encountered an opponent of medium build, just over 2 meters tall. His opponent had used lightweight flight gear in the previous round to ensure agility. Therefore, the puppet's own size couldn't be too large or heavy; otherwise, even with flight gear, it wouldn't be able to fly. Even so, the size difference between the two was as stark as that between an adult and a child. A massacre seemed imminent, a typical battle about to begin. The girl-form mecha, however, adopted a fighting stance that baffled everyone. She formed a sword shape with her fingers together. No mechanical equipment was displayed, yet it seemed as if something could be released from her fingertips.

[To be continued]

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