Since Liu A'dou had promised to teach him, Zhan Jun couldn't sleep well all night. He tossed and turned, too excited to rest, and by the time the morning light started to show, he was out the door, wearing two dark circles under his eyes.
"Sure enough, I shouldn't have stayed up all night," Zhan Jun thought as he seemed to be seeing things. Why was there a military-grade humanoid mecha, the KG7, in his yard?
Rubbing his eyes, he still thought he must have been seeing things. "No, no, I better splash some cold water on my face and calm down."
He walked past the mecha and into the kitchen to wash his face. Standing in the yard afterward, he realized it was definitely not an illusion. His whole body tensed up. Why in the world was this thing here?
"Zhan Jun, are you awake?" Liu A'dou stood up from the cockpit. The cockpit door was below the head, and moving the head aside allowed entry or exit.
"Brother Liu, where did you get this from?" Zhan Jun asked, his face darkening. Possessing military equipment privately could get you in serious trouble.
"I stole it from a military base out in the suburbs."
"Stole it?!" Zhan Jun's face darkened even further. Was this guy out of his mind? Was he really this honest about it? How in the world did he even manage to steal something like this?
"I thought about it all night and realized the best way for you to survive in the military is to learn how to pilot a mecha. Not only do you need to know how to drive, but you also need to be the best at it. Otherwise, even if you join the military, you're still doomed," Liu A'dou explained. "So I plan to teach you how to pilot a mecha like a pro, making you a true master of the battlefield."
He said that, but how did he steal such a big thing? Zhan Jun was almost losing his mind.
Liu A'dou jumped down from the cockpit. "You should go buy breakfast. I still need to make some modifications to the mecha. After that, while the roads are clear, I'll go steal some parts and upgrade this iron monster."
"..."
Zhan Jun had no idea how to react to this guy, who spoke so casually about stealing things. Did this world even have any laws?
But in the end, Zhan Jun still went out. Since the mecha was already stolen, even if he returned it now, he'd probably still face consequences. For now, he needed to hide the fact that there was a mecha in the yard. If it was just his eldest sister, he could handle it. His second sister lived in the school dormitory, and his third sister lived in the military dormitory, so it would only be his eldest sister. It would definitely be fine.
Zhan Jun bought breakfast for the family. When he got back, his eldest sister had already woken up and was looking at the mecha in the yard.
"Eldest sister, this, this..." Zhan Jun was unsure how to explain, even though he had planned to deceive his eldest sister. But when it came time to speak, he hesitated.
To his surprise, his eldest sister said, "Xiao Liu told me about it. This is the latest gaming console. Although it takes up some space, don't worry about it. They're guests, after all. I didn't realize that game consoles have become so realistic these days." She said, puzzled.
"This is the deluxe version, which is why it's so big. The regular ones aren't like this," Zhan Jun quickly said, wiping sweat off his brow in relief.
"Little brother, don't forget about school. I'll tell Xiao Liu that if you skip school, you won't get to play on the console," she said, sounding like a mother.
"I know, I know. I'll go to school," Zhan Jun replied, totally dismissive. After all, summer break was almost here, so he didn't care much about school.
After breakfast, his eldest sister went to work. Liu A'dou called Zhan Jun out into the yard. "I can tell you're worried. You're afraid of dying on the battlefield. Since you want me to teach you, I'll teach you how to survive in battle: kill your enemies."
"..."
"First, I'll help you modify this KG7, and at the same time, I'll teach you how to predict the enemy's movements, along with a technique called Zero Field."
Zero Field was originally a type of illusion that appeared as a racer developed in the 'High Intelligence Formula Racing' game, where it seemed like the racer could see the path their opponent would take to overtake. However, in the Magic Box Space, an upgraded version of this appeared. After entering the universe, Zero Field became a combat skill that only the best pilots could master.
In the animation, the racer's speed increased rapidly. Their body surpassed speed, and their brain's thinking went beyond the limits of speed. During the race, before the opponent could react, the racer had already 'seen' what was coming. In reality, this phenomenon was caused by a combination of rich racing experience and high-level driving skills that triggered a hyperactive brain cortex.
This type of brain activity puts enormous stress on the body, but if a person can break through the resistance of their brain to this activity, they can master this extraordinary "prediction" ability.
"Starting today, you will follow my instructions for a series of training. If you're lucky, you could master this ability in a week. It's not that I'm not teaching you other abilities, but in this world, it's impossible for you to walk away like I can. Being too special won't be beneficial to you, but Zero Field is very suited for you on the battlefield."
Zhan Jun didn't have any grand ambitions. He just wanted to protect his three sisters. "If I need to fight and survive, I'm not afraid of piloting this can."
"I guarantee you'll survive."
With that agreement, Zhan Jun's painful training journey began. The training was tough, mainly focusing on getting Zhan Jun to adapt to high speeds. He had to be able to see, hear, and judge clearly while moving at high speed. Then, it was all about getting used to piloting for combat—training for more than 10 hours a day.
Zhan Jun skipped classes for several days but began to gradually sense the Zero Field. He wore a simple power suit, forcing himself to move quickly, with a simulation training device on his head. Every part of his body was being trained.
During this time, Zhang Yan came to visit, but Zhan Jun didn't meet her. He was completely focused on training. He had a feeling that war was about to begin, especially since Princess Asseylum of the Vers Empire was scheduled to visit New Luyuan City next week.
Liu A'dou also saw the news and knew that if this visit was exploited by those with ulterior motives, it would definitely be used as an excuse to start a war.
So, Liu A'dou intensified Zhan Jun's training and used Ripple to stimulate his brain every day.
On the night before the princess's visit, during dinner, Zhan Jun's eldest sister was on the night shift, Ada ate in her room, and Liu A'dou and Zhan Jun had dinner together.
The meal was lavish, with Dongpo pork, Liu A'dou's favorite dish, which was fatty but not greasy and melted in his mouth. He couldn't help but eat a few extra pieces. The portion of fat was just right. Liu A'dou reached for a piece with his chopsticks, but Zhan Jun was faster, so Liu A'dou thought, 'Alright, I'll pick a piece with more fat and less lean.'
But then, he noticed Zhan Jun suddenly switch chopsticks and go for the exact piece Liu A'dou had selected.
?
Looking up, he saw Zhan Jun grinning at him. Liu A'dou understood. This kid had already started using the Zero Field technique. It seemed like his 10 days of effort hadn't gone to waste.
Liu A'dou smiled slightly and acted quickly, grabbing his food back into his bowl before Zhan Jun could get his hands on it. "If you want to compete with me, you're still too green."
"Brother Liu, do you think something will happen tomorrow?" Zhan Jun asked about the visit of Princess Asseylum.
"Something happening is a good thing. That way, both sides will have an excuse to start a war, right? Earth's upper class and Mars both want to fight. Mars needs resources, and Earth needs Mars' technology." Liu A'dou replied. Although there was a huge gap in technology, that didn't mean Earth's elites or the Earthlings themselves didn't want to fight. The damage Mars had caused to Earth couldn't be solved with a single agreement. Earthlings were also bearing it.
After hearing this response, Zhan Jun became even more worried.