This Setup Is Broken - This Setup Is Broken Chapter 17: Advancement

The practice room is small, and since their skills are already quite close, the limited space makes it hard for Bai Shi to create distance. Before long, Blue Wings closes in again, forcing them into close combat.

Bai Shi remembers Chi Haitian’s advice, so he keeps a close eye on Blue Wings’s movements. He focuses on guarding his joints, determined not to give Blue Wings a chance to land more than one hit.

Blue Wings grins, “Oh? Found a strategy already, lil bro?”

“Beat me first, then call me lil bro.”

“It’s only a matter of time.” Blue Wings chuckles and suddenly speeds up, his attacks becoming fiercer. Bai Shi is no pushover, quickly matching his pace with an impenetrable defense, finding openings to counter when he can.

“Honestly, you have great technique and skill.” Blue Wings says. 

“Are you really not interested in the league? It’s thrilling, plus you’d gain tons of fans.”

The Mech League is the world’s most popular competition, with massive audiences. More popular than soccer or the NBA in the real world. As a member of a league team, it’s like being a star. 

Bai Shi knows this well, but ever since that ill-timed comment, he feels a pang of regret every time he thinks of the league. Yet he can’t avoid the storyline. After some internal struggle, he asks: “What about you?”

“I’m interested, maybe I’ll go for it, but I haven’t decided.” Blue Wings replies with a smile. 

“But my account is still a low-level mech. I’ll need to level up first. By then, you’ll likely have leveled up too. Care to join me?”

Bai Shi, expressionless, replies: “We’ll see.”

He suddenly increases his hand speed, jumping back a full step, firing two blasts from an energy cannon mid-air. “Dammit, is this how the story is supposed to go? Isn’t this basically forcing me to sell organs? Damn it, I’ll take you down!”

“Hey, hey!” Blue Wings calls out as he narrowly dodges Bai Shi’s sudden attack. He swiftly dodges the blasts and retaliates with a strike of his sword.

Bai Shi blocks him, concentrating on the fight. The two become locked in a fierce exchange, back and forth, maintaining this intense clash for over twenty minutes without realizing it. 

Chi Haitian and a young man watch from behind in silence. Chi Haitian has seen a few rounds before and already has a rough idea of their skill level, so he isn’t surprised. 

The young man, however, watches in awe, feeling the impact of this match even more strongly than the one he observed earlier.

Low-level mech controls are simple, but to be able to perform at this level is remarkable. He searches for the right words and feels “genius” is the only fitting description, though cliché.

He continues observing and suddenly sees Chi Haitian take out a device and place a metal patch on Bai Shi’s temple. Recognizing it as a tester, he quickly moves closer, curious.

Chi Haitian has noticed Bai Shi’s speed and reflexes improving and wants to measure it. So he open the device, watching the numbers on the screen. The young man holds his breath, keen to know the extent of Bai Shi’s power, he soon pauses, surprised.

“B-level?” The rank is impressive, but not extraordinary. He can’t help but feel a bit puzzled.

Chi Haitian nods, his finger swiping across the screen to enlarge one section. The young man notices a sequence of numbers below the B-level, steadily increasing.

“That fast? Will he reach A-level?”

“Yes.” Chi Haitian turns off the device, assesses the battle, and leaves. 

The young man slowly follows, looking back at the ongoing fight, asking: “Aren’t you going to watch?”

“No, he won’t lose.” Chi Haitian replies calmly. Bai Shi’s earlier strike had landed squarely on his opponent’s joint, which Chi Haitian doesn’t think was mere coincidence. Given Bai Shi’s focus, he’ll have no trouble doing it again, the result is set.

The young man nods without further questions and returns to their previous conversation: “Can his mental strength reach A-level?”

“No, S-level.”

The young man’s body stiffens, his expression changing instantly.

Chi Haitian glances at him. “He’s the best candidate I’ve found, and that won’t change.”

“I understand.” The young man’s expression is serious, clearly still in shock.

“About what we discussed earlier—go handle it.”

The young man hesitates a little. “But he’s so young…”

“It’s fine. I’ll be watching.”

Finally reassured, the young man leaves quickly.

Bai Shi senses Chi Haitian’s actions, but his focus remains entirely on the battle. He controls the mech swiftly, dodging attacks, and studies his opponent intently. He seizes an opportunity to strike at the joint on Blue Wings’s left leg.

Blue Wings feels a sudden sense of danger, but it’s too late. Bai Shi takes advantage of his opponent’s weakness, unleashing all his firepower in a swift counterattack.

Having won a round, Bai Shi’s spirits lift, “Want to go again?”

Blue Wings gets up with a smile, “What do you think?”

The second round starts with the same intensity as before. Having suffered once, Blue Wings isn’t about to let it happen again.

Bai Shi doesn’t expect it to go so smoothly again. He knows Blue Wings will try to strike back, so he strategically leaves a few openings, baiting his opponent. 

After a few moments of entanglement, he reveals another small opening, letting Blue Wings strike as he prepares an energy cannon. He watches closely, dodging at the last second, then fires with a blast that sends Blue Wings flying.

He doesn’t give Blue Wings time to recover, rushing forward and quickly ending the round. With two consecutive wins, Bai Shi finally feels satisfied.

Blue Wings jumps up from the ground, not looking discouraged. He says with a smile, “I should probably head out. Lucky for me, this is the virtual net—otherwise, that would’ve been rough.”

Bai Shi knows Blue Wings doesn’t spend all day online, he comes by every now and then. Remembering Chi Haitian’s speculation about Blue Wings’s real combat experience, Bai Shi asks curiously, “What do you usually do?”

“Study, train, sometimes watch matches.” Blue Wings says.

“The playoffs are coming up soon. Have you watched it? Who are you rooting for?”

“Haven’t really watched it.”

Blue Wings is surprised, “Are there players in the Battle Arena who don’t like watching the league matches?”

Bai Shi looks at him, thinking: “I play this for practice, okay? Besides, I’ve got bigger things to do—maybe even keep the peace in the universe one day. I don’t have time to watch them.”

Seeing Bai Shi’s silence, Blue Wings suggests: “You should check it out—it’s intense and inspiring. If you think it’s fun, you could join me in the league someday.”

Bai Shi replies with a blank expression: “Even if I agreed, there’s no guarantee we’d be on the same team. The clubs might not want us at once. Even if they did, we probably wouldn’t be starting players. We might just end up on the bench.”

“That’s true. How about we form our own team? Got anyone else in mind? Honestly, I’d love to play against the team from the Royal Academy. They’re our age, I’d like to see who’s stronger.”

“Start a team? Are you serious? Can’t you just go pick a fight with them yourself instead of dragging me into this?!” Bai Shi is horrified, realizing that his own offhand comments have pushed the storyline forward again.

After a few seconds, he tries reasoning, “It’s hard to find people, and setting up a club costs money. Where would we get that much money?”

Blue Wings thinks it over and reassures him: “No worries, we’ll find a way.”

“Find a way? Yeah, right! Are you expecting me to sell a kidney? And one kidney is not even enough for this—you’re not thinking we all sell organs, are you? That’s just nuts!”

Bai Shi stands in silence, thinking: “Just leave already. I don’t even want to talk to you.” 

Blue Wings doesn’t notice his mood, says goodbye, and leaves quickly. Bai Shi exits the room, plays a few rounds in the Battle Arena before logging off to eat. He continues in the simulation pod in the evening.

Life continues as usual. Chi Haitian watches Bai Shi and Blue Wings’s matches closely. He notices that Bai Shi’s mental power increases faster during real matches. 

Chi Haitian reduces Bai Shi’s standard mental training and adds more Battle Arena time instead. Bai Shi has no objections, but ordinary opponents don’t interest him anymore, so he slows his winning streak. 

Whenever he sees Blue Wings online, he heads to the practice room with him until one of them logs off. Blue Wings seems to enjoy this too and sticks around fully. Gradually, the two build a friendship.

Days pass, and Bai Shi’s mental power makes significant progress, reaching close to A-level. The young man once came by, already aware that Bai Shi has the potential to reach S-level, is no longer surprised at his rapid improvement.

With only a month until New Year, Blue Wings gets busier and is rarely online. Bai Shi spends more time playing in the Battle Arena. 

His mech has already leveled up to first level low-tier, which doesn’t differ much from second or third level. With his solid skills, handling opponents in the low-tier leagues becomes easy.

After several consecutive days of playing, Bai Shi finally hears the long-awaited notification sound. 

System Announcement: Congratulations to player [Supreme Dunce] for achieving a 500-win streak.

A 500-win streak! Such a high win count is extremely rare and impressive in the Battle Arena. Other players quickly open his ID and are shocked to see the key details: Under 18 years old, in the arena for less than two months, zero losses, and a 500-win streak.

The entire zone erupts in chatter. Several managers from a newly established club also hear the news and are stunned. They contact their young master immediately and, looking at his floating hologram, say: “One of the two we watched last time just hit a 500-win streak.”

Sitting on a luxurious high chair, Song Ming Yuan clicks his fingers, narrowing his eyes slightly. “How long did it take?”

“Less than two months.”

“I mean his actual game time. The system should have records, look into it. Also, bring out that account I asked you to prepare.”

The managers are briefly confused. “Are you planning to…”

“Yes. I’m heading to the Bell System.” Song Ming Yuan stands and ends the communication.

“He’s coming personally?” The managers exchange glances, uncertain of his intentions. Finally concludes that it is useless to predict their young master’s thoughts.