Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

```

Thinking about speeding up, his movements easy to be executed improperly and thus deformed.

Each action had to be carried out in an orderly manner, which obviously left not enough time.

The first mecha had no prior experience to draw from, and now found itself in this predicament.

In the beginning, they wasted too much time on executing each move in a steady, standard fashion, and even though the completion rate of their current actions was above 95%, there wasn't much time left.

"Not enough..." Bai E didn't look closely, but even with just a two or three-second glance, some kind of familiar intuition instantly deemed the first group of mech pilots to have received a "death sentence".

"Do you see any tricks?" Rose asked somewhat excitedly.

She liked challenges.

The failure of teammates only intrigued her more.

"Rhythm."

The designated time was not particularly tight, and the military standards for soldiers who were only required to operate mechas to achieve some basic tactical objectives on the battlefield were not difficult.

What mattered was the rhythm.

Don't be in a hurry; don't be scared; just do it methodically...that was all that was supposed to be done, plain and simple.

Simple?

Bai E himself was surprised by the confidence that seemed to come out of nowhere in his mind, but that was the intuition his brain gave based on all the information at hand.

Overflowing with confidence, even to the point of exploding.

Perhaps, this selection process was not just about qualifying for the military's official mech pilot roster or performing in front of the emissaries from the Mechanical Court. It was more...to induce the birth of a "mech spirit".

Who knows if there was any difference in quality or strength in this thing, but a better performance presumably was always good, right?

Even the subconscious that could connect to that intangible will let Bai E faintly sense—the quality of a performance wasn't just about the technical aspect, it also involved personality and stylistic elements in conduct.

Confidence... strength... full of leadership...

These elements seemed they could benefit that yet unawakened "mech spirit".

A boundless impulse surged in Bai E's heart, and under that seemingly swelling confidence, he suddenly pressed an electronic button at his side.

"What are you trying to do?" Rose's eyes widened instantaneously, wondering what the somewhat odd-looking Bai E was planning to do today.

The button was like a raised hand to speak switch; in such a context, what could raising one's hand to speak possibly entail?

I quit?

I want to increase the difficulty?

"Speak," came the instructor's dispassionate voice from the speaker.

"I request to go second in the obstacle challenge."

"..." The instructor, sitting in the SUV, squinted his eyes, looking at the number indicated by the flickering yellow light under the sign—W0721.

That seemed to be...the mecha number for those two artificial human pilots.

Was it Bai E? What kind of shenanigan was this kid up to now?

Even if they didn't know initially, by now, with the example set by the first group of pilots, these kids should understand the later they go, the more they can learn from the "predecessors'" experiences.

Their order had been arranged with this thought in mind, placing the older reserve mech pilots at the forefront and those with less training later, striving to give everyone an almost equal chance of selection.

And now... why would someone want to push to the front?

Incomprehensible.

But even so, this kind of voluntary request to increase difficulty is something any military person would like to see.

Being proactive is the attitude a soldier should have.

Especially when he caught a glimpse of the expression on the face of the silent Mechanical Court official beside him who, upon hearing this request, curled the corner of his mouth ever so slightly. The instructor felt he sort of guessed what Bai E's intent was—

To attract the attention of the Mechanical Court official.

The Court's officials also favored such forthright demonstrations of ambition, but the premise was...having the actual ability.

So he responded softly with a cool voice, "Granted."

The brief communication ended, and all the soldiers who heard this conversation subconsciously looked towards the mecha originally lined up towards the back of the group.

Upon receiving the instructor's order, Bai E and Rose controlled their mecha to move forward, to the very front of the line.

"Boom! Boom!"

Come to a halt.

```

Even as she coordinated with Bai E on the movements, Rose was now filled with question marks.

She didn't fear challenges, but she felt that today's Bai E was just too weird…

"What exactly are you trying to do?"

As time passed and they executed more actions with the mecha, the initial sense of indulgent confusion had long since disappeared. Bai E's lips were curled into a confident and casual smile as he looked ahead and replied, "Very simple… to set an example for them."

"We'll execute perfectly once, and those behind us should be able to learn something, right?"

Confidence overflowed.

The smile on his lips was particularly captivating, making Rose's eyes blur for a moment, before she violently shook her head to force herself back to reality, "Fine… since you've decided, I'll follow your lead."

Although she wasn't afraid of challenges, it didn't mean she felt overly confident the first time she came in contact with a mecha. Continue your saga on My Virtual Library Empire

But since it was Bai E's decision… whatever it was, she would follow along.

"Anyway, just make sure to keep up with my rhythm later."

While experiencing that sense of communication and interaction, it seemed as if the mecha she controlled was also giving some kind of… evaluation? of the mech pilot's maneuvers.

To Bai E's performance it remained noncommittal, but to Rose, also operating the machine, that concept-less, language-less "evaluation" started to become less polite.

It could probably be summed up in two words—utterly unskilled.

"Oh~" the evident disdain instantly made Rose's blood boil.

Looking down on me, are you?

With a sidelong glance at Bai E, Rose gave a teasing flick of her eyes.

"Second group, get ready…" The instructor's voice pulled back the scattered thoughts.

"Begin!"

At the command, the mecha's body instantly activated.

People from the Mechanical Court, who had been sitting quietly in their seats, had, at some unknown point, straightened up with keen interest to watch the overall picture captured by the drones on the display screen.

The mecha transitioned from stillness to motion, seamlessly.

Walking, jogging, Z-shaped running back, small jump, big jump, side-step, swallow turn…

The mecha sped along a predetermined track across the unmanned wasteland, with the slightly trembling ground being the only backdrop at the moment.

A series of standard technical maneuvers were executed in succession.

Not too fast, nor too slow.

It all looked as orderly and methodical as the first group, step by step.

But in the occasional moment of distraction, everything flowed as smoothly as a stream of water.

Nothing special, just simply… smooth.

Smooth…

So smooth that by the next moment of distraction, the blue and white painted mecha had already been standing at the finish line, the exact time of its arrival unknown.

And in the minds of everyone present, the technical maneuvers executed before were still replaying in their heads.

Even Rose, who had been coordinating with Bai E from the start, was still staring at her own hands in her cockpit, seemingly dazed and lost in thought.

Strange…

Too strange…

No wonder Bai E said to keep up with his rhythm; today's movements… executed with unbelievable smoothness, as if they didn't require any thought at all.

At certain key moments, Rose even felt that even though she hadn't issued any coordinating commands, the mechanical levers she controlled in her hands seemed to gain their own intelligence and began moving on their own.

Often it was unclear whether she was controlling the mecha, or the mecha was leading her.

Naturally…

It was like… like it was a real human body.

Any movement made was just an unthinking instinct.

"Crash!"

The side door of the off-road vehicle flung open suddenly, and a burly man leaped out from the vehicle.

His gaze crossed the distance to rest on the silent mecha at the finish line.