This Setup Is Broken - This Setup is Broken Chapter 9: Fierce Battle

Low-level tier three. Bai Shi quickly glances at the markings on the control panel and shifts his gaze back, feeling somewhat reassured. Although this is the lowest level of mecha, he has always trained at this level in the simulation pod. He is familiar with the basic movements and weapon usage. Now, all he needs to do is to destroy or restrain the opponent’s mecha, preventing them from pursuing and attacking him. Escaping shouldn’t be a problem.

The opponent’s mecha flies backward and crashes directly into a pile of stones, creating a loud boom and a cloud of dust. The view is suddenly filled with white smoke, making it almost impossible to see the opponent’s figure. Just as Bai Shi is about to shift to the side, he suddenly spots a burst of fire shooting up, clearly indicating the opponent is counter attacking while falling. However, due to the lack of aim, the direction is not very accurate.

He easily dodges the shot and quickly types commands on the control panel, using all his force to press the launcher. Boom! Boom! Boom!

Without hesitation, he fires three shots in a row, stirring up more dust. As the third shell hits, he draws the giant sword from his back and dives into the thick smoke. He cannot give the opponent a chance to catch their breath, he must suppress them as much as possible while in a position of advantage and aim to destroy their mecha.

Tang Xin watches nervously, repeatedly recalling Bai Shi’s words—he hasn’t piloted before, but that doesn’t mean he can’t. After mentally repeating this three times, she finally finds a reasonable explanation. Her expression changes dramatically, “You’ve only piloted in the simulation pod before?!”

Bai Shi replies expressionlessly, “Yeah.”

“You… you…” Tang Xin is stunned. “How can you be so reckless? Are you crazy? You can’t drag me down with you if you’re going to die!”

But now that things have already escalated, saying more is useless and may even affect him, so she swallows her words. She slightly holds her breath, fixating on the front, instinctively gripping the seatbelt so tightly that her fingertips turn white. Bai Shi senses her unspoken worries but remains expressionless.

“Dang it! In this situation, we have to run. Otherwise, we’ll be caught! Plus, you look like you want to be a hero, ready to sacrifice yourself. What can I do? I can’t just leave you behind! What about the harem? Will we even make it out alive?”

“Even if I really leave you behind, I still need to rely on the mecha to escape out of this hellish place, so a fight is unavoidable. So it’s better to fight now!”

The two finish their exchange in just a few seconds. While Bai Shi complains in his head, he carefully watches the screen. As the distance narrows, he finally spots the opponent’s figure and immediately raises his sword to strike.

He has been fixated on this moment since his first time in the simulation pod, training hard to perfect it. Now, he can finally execute the move of slicing through a big stone at the finish line. His technique is not only stylish and cool, but also incredibly precise. With the added speed from diving, the power is absolutely incredible.

The kidnapper, just getting up, startled by what he sees, and quickly jumps aside. The giant sword barely grazes his body, crashing into the concrete ground with a loud bang. Sending debris flying and creating a crack over a meter deep. The kidnapper’s expression turns cold as he jumps back with his mecha, raising his hand to fire a shot.

Bai Shi knows something is off the moment he sees the kidnapper dodge. He quickly retracts his sword while trying to reposition. However, the distance between them is too close, and he can’t completely avoid the shot. He gets hit on the shoulder by the cannon fire and stumbles backward, crashing into two containers with a loud boom.

His body is thrown off balance, and he hears Tang Xin’s uncontrollable scream. In the chaos, he doesn’t have the time to think and instinctively presses a few buttons, leaping into the air before the kidnapper fires again. The kidnapper’s mecha charges toward him through the smoke. Bai Shi sees that the arm and right leg of the opponent’s mecha are damaged, indicating that his attack wasn’t in vain.

“Who are you?” The kidnapper’s voice booms through the external speaker.

“I advise you to put down the hostage. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude. Opposing us won’t end well!”

Initially, he thought it was the two kids controlling the mecha out of desperation, so he didn’t take it seriously. But now, caught off guard, he realizes through several exchanges that the opponent must be experienced. He questions why they would use the same mecha model if they could sneak in so quietly.

He suddenly recalls the previous screams, and a bad thought crosses his mind: How could the kids have gotten someone into doing that? Could it be that one of his colleagues betrayed them and eliminated the other before coming to assist?

Nobody likes to be betrayed. He points his gun at Bai Shi and shouts: “Tell me, who are you?!”

“I’m your big brother” Bai Shi replies confidently from the cockpit. “Kneel and call me ‘Master,’ and I’ll let you go.”

This line is purely sarcasm, Bai Shi wouldn’t actually say it. Bai Shi knows revealing he’s a kid would boost the kidnapper’s confidence, which is not good for him. Therefore, he can only remain silent. He observes the situation without blinking, slowly backing away, as both sides fall into a stalemate.

Tang Xin breaks out in a cold sweat on her forehead and tightens her throat, “We should find a chance to run. Actually, you could have run when you fired the first shot, why didn’t you?”

“He had his arm protecting the cockpit at that time and didn’t take much damage.”

Bai Shi explains softly: “If we run, he can get up and chase us.”

“But we have the advantage by running first! We can ignore him and keep running as long as we dodge his shots, right?”

Bai Shi remains expressionless and doesn’t respond. Tang Xin waits but doesn’t hear a response, glancing at him with suspicion: “Hmm?”

Bai Shi carefully observes the opponent’s movements, his hands on the launcher, ready to attack at any moment. After a moment of silence, he says: “During simulation training, whether facing obstacles or virtual monsters, it’s always face-to-face, got it?”

Tang Xin reacts a few seconds later, shocked: “So you aren’t familiar with dealing with attacks from behind?”

“…Yeah, not very familiar.” In fact, he hasn’t trained in that area. He believes if the opponent continuously bombards him from behind, he’ll be hit and fall in less than ten seconds. That’s why he wants to disable the opponent’s ability to act before running away.

In the past six months, he has focused on the basics, only learning simple movements. The only big move he has mastered is the “dive and slice the big stone” he just performed. He can’t do moves like rolls or flips, and although his shooting accuracy is high, it relies on the target not moving too much. Otherwise, it’s still useless.

Of course, he can’t express such despair. To maintain his image and stabilize morale, he decides to keep pretending to be profound. Tang Xin’s mind is in chaos, “Wait a minute, the simulation pod has various scenarios. How could you not be familiar… How long have you been training?”

Bai Shi slowly replies: “About half a year.”

“Only half a year?!”

Tang Xin is shocked and angry, unable to hold back any longer. “You really are looking for death! Have you gone crazy?!”

Bai Shi reminds her, “…You can think about it from another angle. If I can control a mecha and fight against people after only half a year of practice, it means I’m a genius.”

“Get lost! At a time like this, who cares if you’re a genius?! All I know is that you’re playing with your life!” Tang Xin screams. “And you dragged me down with you!”

“Calm down, I can’t concentrate.”

Tang Xin chokes on her words. The fact that he can achieve this level during his first time controlling a mecha. Especially at such a young age, makes her realize he has talent. But when it comes to life and death, she is too anxious and too scared, so she can only convert all her emotions into anger.

Bai Shi is quite satisfied with her awareness and calmly praises her: “Good.”

Tang Xin gets even angrier, instinctively wanting to explode. But then she catches a glimpse out of the corner of her eye, she shouts: “Watch out!”

Bai Shi has always been attentive to the opponent’s movements, so he sees the person in front of him firing. He quickly dodges, he notices the opponent seems to have run out of patience and doesn’t intend to waste time anymore, the person decides to attack first.

Bai Shi doesn’t have much skill. At this time, he can only rely on firepower. While quickly retreating, he shoots wildly. Perhaps due to some protagonist’s halo effect, he quickly hits the opponent and feels thrilled. Without hesitation, he fires two more shots while retreating for his life.

The opponent seems to have taken some damage, taking a moment to recover and rise into the air. Just then, another mecha suddenly appears on the other side, charging toward him.  Bai Shi’s heart skips a beat, and Tang Xin’s face turns pale: “This is…”

Bai Shi knows what she’s thinking and nods gravely. They have dealt with two kidnappers, one is injured, and the other is unconscious. So either one has recovered or the other has awakened from the blast and is coming to help with their remaining mecha. It’s two against one. He speeds up, looking for opportunities to shoot, but the combined firepower of two is too much.

He quickly gets hit, instantly flying backward, crashing into the forest below. Breaking several trees in a row and dragging a long trail. The cockpit shakes violently. Both of them are kids, they can’t handle it at all. Tang Xin crashes into something and nearly has no time to scream before fainting. Bai Shi is in a bad situation too, slumping in the cockpit and barely managing to open his eyes.

The two mechas in mid-air chase after him as he falls. One raises its cannon, while the other holds a sword, quickly diving down to strike him. Bai Shi’s pupils constrict, he isn’t sure whether this person intends to split open the cockpit or to kill him.

He feels that moment stretch infinitely, many images flash before his eyes. His refined yet cunning older brother, those jerks in the group chat, Chi Zuo whom he hasn’t seen in half a year, his grandfather and uncle Xiao waiting for him, and unfinished novels…

“Am I going to die?”

“No, I… can’t die!”

He suddenly sits up straight, quickly inputs commands, and the mecha kicks off, narrowly avoiding the opponent’s sword. He then stands up and shifts sideways, dodging the cannon fire. At the same time, he draws his giant sword, blocking the incoming strike. In just two seconds, he escapes three dangers and engages them in battle.

His mind is intensely focused, and he feels theopponent’s movements slowed down, he starts to counter attack seriously. The two kidnappers have already discussed along the way and guessed that the opponent might be a kid. They are both shocked. However, upon witnessing his smooth moves and quick reactions, their expressions change immediately.

Can an ordinary kid… achieve this level?

“…Who are you?”

“I’m your dad. Tremble before me, kids!” Bai Shi responds with sarcasm in his thoughts, continuing to fend them off.

The two kidnappers don’t get an answer and quickly decide they can’t delay any longer. One of the damaged mechas charges through the gunfire and crashes into him.

“Dang!” Bai Shi didn’t expect them to try a desperate move. He can’t dodge in time and falls again. Everything spins around him. He feels like he has passed the most exhilarating phase. Even knowing that one of the opponent’s feet has already stepped on him, he still can’t lift his arms to fight back.

He weakly lets his hand drop, feeling that he is going to die. But then he hears a series of booming sounds. He looks up to see a bright red mecha suddenly appear, slicing through the two kidnappers effortlessly and slowly approaching him. “Who is this…?” His vision gradually blurs, and he can no longer hold on, quickly slipping into unconsciousness.