Top Warzone Analyst Chapter 133

When the two first faced off, they both formed strong – but not entirely accurate -impressions of each other. Combined with the fact that both Silent Revelation and Liba were known for their extensive weapon arsenals, it seemed reasonable to expect this match to be a spectacle centered around explosive firepower.

Yet this time, Cheng Feng’s manually configured mech once again sacrificed some weapon capacity in order to ensure stronger close-range defense and better mobility.

Against a heavily armored mech, high-speed movement was an extremely effective point of breakthrough. Although she didn’t need to reach the same level of speed she used when fighting Windwing, Cheng Feng still made noticeable improvements in mobility, even adding two extra boosters mounted onto her melee weapons.

This time, Cheng Feng replaced the weapon bay on the left side of her mech with a large, razor-sharp broadsword made of a special material. Judging from this change alone, it seemed she wasn’t planning to go with her usual “art of explosions” fighting style after all.

No one could get a read on Cheng Feng anymore; people weren’t even that interested in speculating. They got it wrong every time anyway.

On the battlefield map, after that initial exchange of cannon fire, Cheng Feng relied on agile movement to dodge incoming attacks. Yu Sihe, meanwhile, immediately raised his shield in front of himself while retreating as much as possible, avoiding the blast zone and minimizing the damage he took.

The recoil from the shield forced him to slide back a step. His field of vision was obstructed by smoke and dust, everything shrouded in a hazy yellow fog, leaving him to rely on the thermal imaging system in his sensors to track Cheng Feng’s position.

That in itself wasn’t a problem – it was just that most people felt uneasy about things they couldn’t see with their own eyes.

Yu Sihe was just about to launch a counterattack, planning to use suppressive fire to restrict Cheng Feng’s movement while accelerating out of the area. As expected, Cheng Feng had arrived at exactly the same conclusion.

The biggest problem was that Cheng Feng switched weapons faster than he did.

Yu Sihe’s right hand had only just reached for the weapon behind him – before he even had time to aim, Cheng Feng’s second shell was already flying straight toward him.

Flames burst against the metal shield on impact, and right behind it came a second shot, then a third.

Yu Sihe had no choice but to lower his center of gravity to withstand the violent impacts crashing into him head-on.

The shield’s temperature rose rapidly, and a shrill warning alarm sounded from the system interface.

To be safe, Cheng Feng had fired several shots in all directions, covering every angle.

It proved that under high-pressure situations, most people’s instinctive reactions were similar – if the fire on the right was too intense, they’d dodge left; if the enemy was in front of them, they’d subconsciously retreat to widen the distance.

Yu Sihe had done some research on Cheng Feng before the match, so he stubbornly pushed forward, advancing along a curved path.

A real man never looks back at explosions.

Yet Cheng Feng’s attacks, though seemingly random and scattered, were in fact meticulously calculated down to every target point.

The moment she noticed him pressing forward, she immediately adjusted her firing trajectory – and her rate of fire was so fast it caught him completely off guard.

No matter how Yu Sihe tried to reposition himself, he felt like his very next step might land right on top of an explosion.

While trying to evade the dense barrage of fire, he also found himself forced onto the route Cheng Feng had already laid out for him.

How was this mere baiting?

This was practically leaving him no way out.

No matter how expensive the shield or how durable the alloy, nothing could withstand such relentless punishment.

So he chose to retreat.

It was Yu Sihe’s first retreat of the match – and it happened less than two minutes after the opening.

The momentum of the battle had now tilted in favor of the manual-operated mech.

“This combo sequence can absolutely be replicated. Or better yet, you could split several of the repeated firing actions into a new simplified code routine as a substitute. If you calculate the optimal rhythm for maximum firepower, it would reduce the pilot’s hand strain and also minimize operational errors.”

Mr. Luo blew away the mist rising from his thermos cup and nodded in satisfaction.

That kid, Cheng Feng – the first time he met her, he already felt she had enormous potential. Sure enough, she hadn’t disappointed him.

Being able to fully apply theory in real-world practice sounded simple, but in truth, it was an extraordinary skill.

That last round of attacks could be perfectly modeled using analytical frameworks.

Cheng Feng had flawlessly embodied the principle that offense is defense, using overwhelming bombardment to restrict her opponent’s movements and seize control of the match.

Data analysts had always prided themselves on being broad-minded – they believed in always leaving the opponent a sliver of hope.

That sliver just happened to be the grave they had dug in advance.

When the overall trend of the battle had already been shaped, did a player’s personal habits still matter?

They didn’t.

That was why stronger players were actually easier to design traps for – they were skilled enough to identify the one route that looked like survival.

Mr. Kong’s face flushed red with excitement as he slapped his thigh. “This is exactly the advantage of manual-operated mechs!”

Unfortunately, that slap landed on Mr. Luo instead.

Mr. Luo jolted in pain, nearly spilling his hot water. Mr. Kong hurriedly forced a grin and apologized, “Sorry, sorry – I got a bit too excited. Just like my student, careless about the small stuff!”

Mr. Luo had already queued up ten thousand curses in his head. What nerve does he have saying that?

How was Cheng Feng “careless about the small stuff”?

She was clearly meticulous to the extreme.

Only by being so careful down to the smallest detail could she weave a giant net like this – one that looked wild and chaotic, yet left absolutely no escape.

Mr. Kong pondered for a moment and said, “It looks like manual-operated mechs still have some advantage over Liba.”

Mr. Luo’s expression remained unfriendly. He deliberately shifted his seat further away and shook his head.

“No. Ordinary mech pilots can’t output damage like this under pressure. They can’t plan such a precise route in such a short time. Cheng Feng must have done prior infantry analysis during training.”

Mr. Kong’s expression turned serious, as if weighing something difficult. In the end, he gritted his teeth and forced out a few words. “Then we learn it too!”

Mr. Luo let out a quiet: “Heh.”

Did they think commanding B-class systems was that easy?

From the video came Cheng Feng’s voice. Mr. Kong looked away and refocused on the center of the battlefield.

Cheng Feng was calling out, “Hey, wait! Can we not keep circling around like this? Can you move a bit to the left?”

Yu Sihe replied, “Alright.”

But Cheng Feng continued unleashing a barrage of fire that blotted out the sky.

Yu Sihe kept edging to the right.

“Friend!” Cheng Feng’s voice sounded distorted amid the chaos, like low-quality audio played from a distant loudspeaker across time itself. “I’m serious! Can we just pause for a second? I don’t lie.”

Yu Sihe answered in a low voice, “Fine. Wait until I finish this shot.”

Yu Sihe finally found an opportunity to counterattack. Using his shield for cover, he turned sideways and drew the cannon from his left arm, preparing to fire.

In just a split second – barely a blink – Yu Sihe glanced back at his control panel, only to realize that Silent Revelation had already closed the distance at high speed without him noticing.

At such close range, Cheng Feng’s bombardment had indeed stopped to avoid self-damage.

For a moment, the world felt as though it had sunk into a vast, silent ocean – utterly still and oppressive.

Yu Sihe’s ears, long accustomed to explosions, were briefly emptied of sound, only to be suddenly filled again by the chaotic noise of a full-speed manual mech charge.

He hesitated slightly. Before he could switch to a melee weapon, Cheng Feng had already crashed into him.

All he could do was raise his right arm horizontally, using the shield to brace against the center of his mech.

The two machines, under Cheng Feng’s unrestrained momentum, slid backward along the uneven ground, their contact points emitting a piercing screech.

“I told you to stop!” Cheng Feng shouted.

The left side of her mech was empty; a large blade was mounted on her right arm instead.

The thrusters on the back of the blade were already activated, slashing directly toward the joint of Yu Sihe’s left arm before he could retract it.

“I don’t lie!”

Electric sparks crackled and burst in the air.

Even though Liba-class armor was heavily reinforced, the vulnerable joint couldn’t withstand the pressure of the high-energy blade. Half of the metal arm was severed and crashed to the ground.

Cheng Feng let out a grin. “Heh.”

Yu Sihe couldn’t catch his breath; blood rushed straight to his head. The irritation in him was instantly ignited by Cheng Feng’s infuriating little laugh.

Without hesitation, he used that momentum to pull his shield back.

He could still turn this into a kill.

Yu Sihe’s mind remained clear.

Calm down. Losing one arm didn’t even amount to 20% damage. The probability that Cheng Feng had exposed herself so willingly wasn’t that high.

He decisively discarded his shield. His right arm transformed into a sharp metal spike, and from a concealed angle, he thrust straight toward the center of the manual-operated mech.

Close combat against a Liba?

Even for a manual-operated mech, one had to avoid going head-on in terms of raw force against Liba. And Liba was packed with melee weapons to begin with.

Weapon transformation wasn’t exclusive to manual-operated mechs!

Cheng Feng noticed Yu Sihe’s movement – but she didn’t dodge.

First, her forward momentum hadn’t fully dissipated; if she tried to evade awkwardly, she would expose a gap.

Second, the center of the mech was the fatal point for sensor-based mechs, because that’s where the cockpit was located.

But that wasn’t the case for manual-operated mechs.

Yu Sihe’s full-power thrust struck its target with shocking ease – far smoother than he had expected, almost as if there had been no resistance at all, until something abruptly caught and locked his arm halfway in.

The strange sensation caused the tense muscles in his face to relax outward for a moment, forming a bizarre expression. But when the monitor view zoomed in and he finally saw what was happening, that expression instantly shifted into shock and panic.

The manual-operated mech had cracked.

Two tightly connected structural components of the mech had slid apart, revealing a gap.

He could even see his own sharp metal drill emitting flickering blue-violet high-voltage arcs.

Was that really something he was supposed to be seeing on the battlefield?!

Cheng Feng sighed.

“Honestly.”

“You found the easter egg.”

“I was talking to you, and you still tried to sneak an attack?”

The central cannon of the manual-operated mech was already aimed directly at Yu Sihe’s cockpit.

“Goodbye, friend.”

That final line was swallowed by red light and a thunderous explosion.

Fragments of the mech rained down through the air. Silent Revelation also suffered some damage from the counter-impact, but still happily spun once around the map, enjoyed the victory title, and then exited the match.