Chapter 24: Another Attempt

Mo Wen landed on the ground, activating his prosthetic’s target identification and attack trajectory prediction functions. He merged these with his habitual sensory methods, attempting to construct a mental map of the enemy’s fire net.

Ren Sisi, having networked in, appeared beside him, curiously studying the network within the simulated scenario.

"It’s actually a network protocol from over twenty years ago, and there isn't even any psionic shielding or professional cybersecurity engineers. Some of it is even more archaic. This script’s level of historical accuracy is truly high. I feel like if I just inserted a few homemade viruses, I could take down the entire network of this era."

Obviously, such training results would be counterproductive, so Mo Wen stopped her: "Don't do that. Follow my lead for the training rhythm."

Ren Sisi gave an "OK" gesture. "No problem! But if you don't perform well, I can still give you some advice."

"But, starting live-combat training so soon? Did you skip inertia-free maneuvering theory? Have you mastered the trio of psionic communication, psionic precognition, and mental shielding? Your psionic control should also be at the point where you can suppress energy levels without instrument assistance, right? You’ve read classics like *Prosthetic Warfare*, *The Absurdity of Humanoids*, and *Ten Thousand Battles for a Single Victory*, haven't you?"

Mo Wen said dismissively, "The text-based ones have already been force-fed into my brain via a learning device. As for the practical side, I'll just learn as I fight. I’ve already adapted to the mobility of this prosthetic."

Ren Sisi was left between laughter and tears. "Is there really a need to be this rushed? Although you’ve been targeted by corporate agents and might have some issues, as long as you don't betray them, the company will definitely protect you. Perhaps when Senior Qi Shiming is free, he might even personally discipline those agents for overstepping their bounds."

Mo Wen had no evidence and did not elaborate on his reasons; he simply stated his conclusion: "You wouldn't understand. I have a necessity to do this."

Ren Sisi did not push further. She felt she had time to slowly understand this affection-starved man before her. "Fine. Continue?"

"Continue."

The frozen world resumed its motion, and the fires of destruction fell upon the earth once more.

The shout of "Run!" rang out again. This time, Mo Wen did not charge headlong into the sky but instead advanced along the ground.

This was a simulated world; with just a tap of a finger, he could append effects to his prosthetic. Thus, Mo Wen equipped the best anti-reconnaissance coating available in the script, reducing the probability of being locked onto.

Because other targets existed and he did not draw attention to himself, the warships did not focus their fire on him. As long as he wasn't targeted by their beams, he would not die.

With his reflexes enhanced by the Dream-Creator, combined with psionic acceleration, there was likely nothing on this planet faster than him, save for light itself. Even most blast shockwaves couldn't match his speed when he dodged at full capacity.

Everything but him was so slow. He could see the earth being heaved up, mud and stone splashing; he could see shells striking the ground, exploding, and shrapnel being transformed into lethal projectiles by the shockwaves within the firelight.

This was a perilous zone where an ordinary person would die the moment they were caught in it. Even for Mo Wen when he first entered this world, it would have been certain death. But to him now, it was merely a training ground where he could stroll at his leisure.

The corners of Mo Wen's mouth curled up, unable to hide his pride in this newfound power.

However, those who, according to the script's setting, belonged to the same camp as him were not so lucky.

He saw a cyborg with a severed leg; the man reached out powerlessly, waving, wanting to shout something, but in the next second, he was struck by the shockwave of an artillery shell.

With Mo Wen’s dynamic vision, he could see the exact moment the shockwave hit the man, how his body was torn apart, his fragments flung elsewhere, only to be swallowed by the light of other explosions and merged with the earth.

An NPC had died right before his eyes.

Even though Mo Wen was faster than the shockwave, he could not save someone hundreds of meters away.

Besides, why save them?

They were just NPCs set up by the script for training... merely NPCs.

They were terrified just like real people, their expressions lifelike, indistinguishable from reality, and their desire to survive was so clear.

But the moment he restarted the training, everything would return to its original state. The moment he closed the simulation, they would all vanish.

It was meaningless.

Thinking this, Mo Wen instinctively grabbed an armored vehicle ahead.

In the driver’s seat, a man with a rugged prosthetic body gritted his teeth. The unnatural modifications tortured his nerves, but he remained fixated on the road and the sky, searching for a way to avoid the bombardment and weave steadily through the craters.

In the back seat, several children curled up, eyes closed, hands over their ears. A weeping woman covered her mouth, clutching an infant tightly in her arms.

They were so gaunt, taking up very little space, yet they still packed the back of the vehicle tightly.

They were not a family, but they all wanted to live.

However, Mo Wen had already identified the impact trajectory; in the next instant, this armored vehicle would be incinerated.

Mo Wen pulled the vehicle, even intentionally slowing his own speed, trying to avoid a scenario where he moved too fast, causing the people on the vehicle to dodge the fate of being burned, only to be turned into mincemeat by his own momentum.

Yet, once he started moving, Mo Wen realized he could only choose between two dead ends for these people.

He was a step too slow.

So, he let go. He did not kill the vehicle full of people with his own hands, but instead allowed them to vanish in the high-energy particle stream.

Apart from a deep furrow in the ground and a few pieces of vehicle debris, nothing remained to prove they had ever existed.

Mo Wen felt a momentary sense of disorientation.

"They are just NPCs," he persuaded himself.

The training requirements didn't ask him to rescue these people; it only demanded that he stop the atrocity. Therefore, his goal was to find the enemy commander and kill them.

The enemy should be in the distant city. Although this script simulation didn't include an introductory plot, it at least displayed some essential intelligence, and he could see the red dots in the distance.

The script had a touch of inevitable tragedy, but it didn't affect the training, and Ren Sisi didn't say anything.

[Your teammate Ren Sisi has died.]
[Ren Sisi's last words: Why attack the children?]

It seemed she had been affected by her emotions, attempting to protect the children, and had died prematurely as a result.

But it didn't matter; Mo Wen felt he could resolve this alone.

He charged forward at full speed, no longer caring about the refugee convoys trying to rush into the city.

But behind Mo Wen, away from the convoy, a voice with the same timbre as the one that had shouted "Run!" roared again with enough force to tear vocal cords: "I am here!"

Following that cry, a wheel of light rose. Even Mo Wen, who was charging toward the city, could feel its warmth.

He couldn't help but glance back.

Within the wheel of light was a blurry figure, infinitely small compared to the radiance.

How foolish, how senseless! To mark oneself so clearly—was he not afraid of being besieged? Mo Wen noticed that at least half of the incoming fire had shifted toward that single individual.

The figure was immediately sent flying in all directions, the wheel of light flickering on and off.

Even though he guessed that this was likely "Qi Shiming," the strongest psionicist before the era had developed into what he knew, Mo Wen couldn't help but doubt his intelligence.

In such a situation, rather than drawing so much fire, it would be better to rely on overwhelming individual combat prowess to perform a decapitation strike.

After a brief look back, Mo Wen turned away and headed toward his target at full speed.