The cheers in his ears grated.
"Here for me specifically?"
Lin Mo's Adam's apple bobbed. He forced his voice low and steady, sounding coolly indifferent. "What do you want?"
"My combat AI requires a performance test. To collect better data, fight me at full power."
What the hell, a combat performance test? Wait… right, I remember. Wasn't it G4 in the original… whatever—that's not the point. The point is how to survive…
Hiss… so this is what it feels like to have a reputation beyond your strength.
Whoever was behind G1 must have wanted to use him to collect combat data—improve the machine—without thinking G1 could actually beat KING.
After all, this was the "strongest man on the surface."
The more he thought, the heavier the pressure.
Nerves tightened; his heart thumped—"dong! dong! dong!"—the Emperor Engine roared to life!
"What's that sound?!"
"The Emperor Engine—Lord KING's Emperor Engine!"
"My god! I actually heard the legendary Emperor Engine with my own ears!"
"Die, you bucket of bolts—Lord KING is in combat mode!"
The crowd was ecstatic. Seeing a legendary S-Class hero was rare enough—seeing him fight in person sent them into a frenzy.
"Hey, what's with this, KING! That posture full of openings—get into combat mode!"
G1's eye flashed brighter, voice suddenly louder.
"Give me your all, you trash! Beating you covered in openings means nothing—the data has no reliability."
"Only data collected from an all-out opponent is useful!"
Lin Mo's eyes lit up. Right—if we don't fight, then there's no fight. He exaggerated his openings.
"Damn you—enter combat mode at once!"
G1 shifted toward a frenzy—but could do nothing about a KING whose stance was riddled with "gaps."
Yes yes, that's it; then we don't have to fight. Lin Mo was giddy—his Emperor Engine even softened a notch.
Just then, the red-haired kid snorted. "Hahaha, are all you robots stupid?"
The blue-haired kid chimed in, "Yeah—everyone knows the Emperor Engine means Lord KING is in combat mode."
"Don't underestimate him looking full of openings. They're flawless! Attack any one of them and you'll trigger Lord KING's fatal counter!"
"That's KING—the undefeated on earth, the strongest on the surface!"
The two boys played off each other perfectly, their voices ridiculously persuasive.
"I see." G1's electronic voice hummed. "Turn oneself into the greatest trap—lure an attack and counterkill. A high-level tactic. Data updated."
Its huge metal head turned; the red eye flared.
"Come, KING! Show me your flawless killing blow!"
Lin Mo looked at the two clowns and nearly spat blood.
Are you two actually on the other side—or did you just eat too many red beans?
"System, use [Bad Luck Coin] on G1."
With no other choices, Lin Mo used his lottery prize, [Bad Luck Coin].
[Bad Luck Coin]
[Type: one-time consumable]
[Effect: After being tossed, designate a target (not yourself). Within the next hour, the target will suffer one intense "misfortune" matching its strength.]
With Lin Mo's mental confirmation, an illusory old-style coin engraved with a crying-clown face flipped in his mindscape, turned into a thread of light, and sank into G1.
At once, a faint violet aura spread over G1's metal body—a harbinger of misfortune.
Mortal eyes couldn't see it, but in the System's view it was clear.
Now it was a matter of waiting for the coin to proc. He'd have to stall G1.
Decision made, Lin Mo looked up into G1's burning gaze and spoke again—this time forcing deep resignation into his voice:
"I refuse to fight you here."
"Why?"
"Do you fear death?"
Lin Mo shook his head gravely.
"You want reliable combat data, right? But there are too many people here. I'd have to split my attention protecting them—I couldn't go all out."
He paused, staring G1 down, and said, word by word:
"Under this kind of constraint, even if you fought me, the data you collect would be inaccurate—meaningless trash data. Do you understand?"
G1's eye flickered. "You have a point. In that case, let's find a place with fewer people."
It sheathed the greatsword and prepared to leave.
"Uuu… Lord KING… even now he's thinking about us ordinary folks…"
A sentimental auntie had already been moved to tears.
"So noble! That's the bearing of an S-Class hero!"
"Lord KING is the true hero!"
"Everyone hear that?!" The red-haired kid jumped out again, pumping his fist.
"Lord KING can't go all out so he won't endanger us! We mustn't be a burden! Everyone, back to the edges—let Lord KING cut loose!"
"Don't worry, Lord KING!"
The blue-haired kid shouted to Lin Mo, full of zeal: "No one will get in your way! Fight with peace of mind! We'll cheer from a distance!"
Before Lin Mo could react—he didn't even have time to shape a silent "stop"—the crowd, spurred by the two boys, retreated with unprecedented efficiency.
In barely a dozen seconds, a vast open area had been cleared perfectly.
Lin Mo stiffly turned to the two "heroes."
The red and the blue were beaming, thumbs up: Don't worry, leave it to us!
A vein rose slowly and clearly at Lin Mo's temple.
He regretted it bitterly.
He should have used the [Bad Luck Coin] on those two idiots.
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (168 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (170 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (68 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (110 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (60 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (90 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it