In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

When Gu Yi first heard that "Snake Ring" was going to develop a new generation of combat mechs, she showed extraordinary excitement, muttering things like "Mechs are my romance" that no one could understand.

I had only seen her with this expression before, when she was paralyzed in the abandoned "Prism" hospital.

Xia Xiaomao was also present at the time and gave her opinion on the proposal.

Generally speaking, she wasn't a big fan. In her opinion, a lightweight exoskeleton was more suitable for individual combat than a bulky, heavy mech, and it would also make her more agile.

This immediately infuriated Miss Black Rabbit, and the two engaged in a lengthy debate about the topic that lasted for hours.

At that moment, Mr. Xu, who was present, twitched his eye and thought, "Sisters, you usually can't even last this long when you're having sex, so why are you so energetic at this strange point in time?"

But he always enjoyed watching pretty girls pull hair, so in the end he just quietly watched the show.

Ultimately, neither side could convince the other, and they each held their own opinions. It was at that moment that Gu Yi made a harsh statement.

"Once my mecha is finished, I'll pull it out and give it a try! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Her bold and unrestrained spirit made it seem as if she were the chief engineer.

Xia Wuyou's answer to this was also very simple.

"Just try it."

From then on, the two remained friendly in other matters, but once the topic turned to this area, they immediately began to dislike each other.

I considered you my best friend, yet you turned against me on a core issue?

Looking at it this way, today's competition seems unavoidable.

only.

"...Why do you seem even more excited than us?"

Gu Yi and Xia Wuyou, who were looking at each other, suddenly seemed to realize something and turned their gazes to Xu Shi.

"The new generation of mechs has just been unveiled. Shouldn't that be something to be excited about?"

Mr. Xu looked completely innocent.

"Pooh."

The two of them spat at him in unison, "Do you even believe what you're saying?"

However, they were aware of Xu Shi's wicked sense of humor, so they let him be.

The real battle to clear the name is what's happening right now.

"Don't say I'm bullying you, Gu Yi."

Xia Wuyou still showed her concern as an older sister, saying, "I will try my best not to use my abilities later."

Otherwise, wouldn't I just be bullying you?

"No need, Sister Xia."

Miss Black Rabbit snorted, "Otherwise, it wouldn't be honorable for me to win against you."

Having said all that, everyone knew that the two were about to go all out.

And that was exactly what happened. As soon as she stepped onto the training field, Gu Yi launched the first attack.

The lights on the pink mecha's chest illuminated, and the colossal machine shot out like an arrow!

Xia Wuyou frowned upon seeing this, clearly not expecting the other party to be so fast.

However, she was a seasoned veteran and reacted quickly, enveloping herself in a gravity field and floating lightly in the air to dodge the attack.

"It's not over yet."

Gu Yi’s deep voice came from the mecha. Then, he turned around and launched dozens of miniature missiles from his arm!

As the saying goes, small things can be cute. Although these missiles are only as thick as a forearm, they are all in service at the "Snake Ring". Who doesn't know that these are the "Jiangxiao II" missiles that were newly developed three months ago?

A single one is enough to level an area the size of several football fields; dozens combined are as powerful as nuclear bombs.

It's only because this training ground was built with a force field protection system that it could withstand such a bombardment. Otherwise, let alone ordinary places, even a slightly weaker C-level city-state might not be able to withstand such a barrage if there were more of them.

"Are you serious?!"

Xia Xiaomao clearly hadn't expected the little black rabbit to be so big right away. With a clench of her teeth, she instantly expanded her domain, managing to collapse all the explosives without any serious damage.

Clearly, this level of attack couldn't harm her, not even before she had used her full strength.

A near-SS-rank "Ascensionist"—that's terrifying!

Yes, everyone says that the level of superpowers has been growing imperceptibly over the past three years, but if we really want to say who touched the threshold of SS first, it would probably have to be Xia Wuyou.

Three years ago, she already had the strength to compete with Cheng Gujian, a true SS-level expert. Now, she has improved even more. Under the gravity field, let alone whether she can contend with her, it is unknown whether she can even escape alive.

"Master, Master... Hmm?!"

Just as the group was engrossed in watching the game, an untimely voice rang out, but it quickly turned into a gasp.

"Why did they suddenly start fighting?!"

Seeing this scene, Pan Feng was deeply shocked. "Master, why are you just watching? Stop them!"

"Why are you still so reckless?"

Xu Shi chuckled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "It's just a normal sparring match, why are you making such a fuss?"

Pan Feng is quite different now than before. If she was still following in Xia Wuyou's footsteps before, she now resembles her quite a bit. She is radiant and energetic, with the agility unique to athletic women.

The resemblance is somewhat similar, mainly because she has also changed into the uniform of the "Snake Ring" field operations department and has also obtained a custom-made lightweight exoskeleton mecha. If an unfamiliar person were to take a look, they might actually mistake her for Xia Wuyou.

"That's the mentality..." Xu Shi couldn't help but complain in his heart. He's the second-in-command of the field operations department now, so what's with this hectic attitude?

It can only be said that this child's fighting ability and cunning are roughly inversely proportional... She has managed to get to where she is now despite opposition, but she has earned it entirely through her own hard work.

Xia Wuyou never protected her when it came to her future or status. He taught her the skills, and she was free to strive for what she wanted. This kind of restraint was even a bit inhumane. You know, even a strict teacher like Xu Shi would occasionally show favoritism to his silly disciple, giving her extra help or pulling strings.

Fortunately, Xiao Feng did not disappoint her mentor. She overcame all the doubts and silenced many of the veterans in the field department, such as the other action team leaders.

"Oh."

Hearing him say that, Pan Feng finally felt relieved.

It wasn't that she was overreacting; it was just that she had always been a little afraid of Gu Yi... Who told her to call Gu Yi a "winter melon" without thinking? Ever since then, she had been bullied by Gu Yi quite a bit. Given their seniority, she could only accept it with a wronged expression.

But compared to that, her master's heroic figure attracted her more. She rarely saw her master fight seriously, so she had to cherish every opportunity.

Meanwhile, the sparring match between Xia Wuyou and Gu Yi also reached a stalemate.

It must be said that although Miss Black Rabbit's mecha has many features, with missiles on the left and laser cannons on the right, it is true that it can hardly even get close to Xia Wuyou.

However, it is not easy for Xia Wuyou to cause her any harm—even within her domain, Gu Yi's mecha can still move freely.

It's obvious that this mech has been specially modified to defend against such supernatural forces.

"Did you perform this treatment on every single 'Xuanyuan'?"

Xu Shi looked at Jiang Chengcheng and asked seriously.

"Where would we find so many resources?"

Jiang Chengcheng's answer was straightforward: "It's just that I put extra effort into Xiao Gu Yi's unit. The ordinary 'Xuanyuan' can't reach this level; even with anti-gravity protection, it wouldn't be this easy."

"However, it does have basic defenses, such as fireproofing and waterproofing, and other features will be adjusted according to the intended use."

What she said was realistic. Admittedly, a lot of new materials have been obtained through diplomacy in recent years, but it is still unlikely that a mecha of Gu Yi's caliber can be mass-produced.

Even so, it was still beyond her expectations. What does it mean to be able to fight Xia Wuyou to a draw? Slightly weaker "Ascensioners" would probably be beaten to a pulp.

She answered while taking notes—she also hoped that the two of them could give their all so that she could collect more complete and effective data.

"When did Madam Gu become so amazing...?"

Pan Feng was still in a state of great shock, and upon seeing this, he unconsciously murmured to himself.

"She's never been weak."

Xu Shi nodded slightly. Making things might be a bit troublesome, but Gu Yi's control over these machines was first-rate.

If he wasn't mistaken, the other party was currently controlling the form of the mecha with their thoughts, just like "consciousness upload." Once connected, the mecha could take corresponding actions with just a thought from him.

This near-zero-latency driving method is naturally far superior to manual driving, especially for someone like Gu Yi with abundant mental strength. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she and the mecha have become one.

If you're bad in actual combat, it's because your physical fitness can't keep up. But if you think about it, it's not that difficult. The reason you're not at a disadvantage is precisely because of this. To some extent, Miss Black Rabbit in her mecha form has already made a great leap in combat power from one to one hundred.

Naturally, this pink little mecha can also be regarded as her exclusive weapon.

At least for now, that's definitely the case; it might change once the overall level of the mech legion improves.

However, on the other hand, this mech will definitely receive further upgrades by then, keeping it at the forefront of technology at all times.

Xia Wuyou's "Suwei" is just like that. The set she wears now is no longer the same as the one she wore in the Hualan Empire. Over the past three years, she has undergone no less than a hundred upgrades, and it has become more and more in line with her own personality.

Ming Vision

While thinking, Xu Shi also came up with a name for the special weapon.

What? You're saying Gu Yi doesn't want him to name her?

She's gone too far?! I say so!

"Actually, I've been thinking about whether I should give Xu Ying's abilities to her as well."

Watching the intense battle raging on the field, Xu Shi muttered to himself.

Because Xu Ying's abilities are well-suited for this area, of course, I'm referring to her secondary ability... Gu Yi's level is already extraordinary. If she can add precise control over the mecha puppetization, could the synchronization rate directly reach 100% with zero latency?

"It's not that it's impossible, but there's a difference between controlling a puppet and piloting a mecha. Directly transplanting it might not be very effective."

Jiang Chengcheng thought for a moment and said, "That depends on how much progress Qingyan's research has made."

Xu Shi shrugged. "That's true."

The two busiest people in the past three years are probably Jiang Chengcheng and Xie Qingyan, mainly because they each hold multiple positions, and all of them are important ones.

Besides clearing away the "rust fog," Xie Da Meiren is currently working on directly modifying the samples of superpowers, so that she can provide the most perfect solution for those without superpowers who need a second superpower.

This gene-editing method was not something anyone had thought of before; she only came up with the idea in the last year. Once it can be realized, the achievement will be immeasurable.

The overseas expansion in recent years has greatly expanded the reserve of supernatural ability samples in Night City, or rather, "Prism," which has been of great benefit to Xie Qingyan's research.

Many ideas that previously only existed on paper or in our minds can now be put into action.

The only drawback is that the research on the ability insertion and removal has made little progress so far. This is still too difficult. Xie Xiaogou has complained more than once about how far-fetched he was back then. Now that he's made such a bold statement, he'll be laughed at if he can't deliver...