Silicon Invasion

The difference was indeed significant. In just under ten minutes, Xiong Wu defeated three opponents with an ease that made the North Mountain Academy's internal challenge seem difficult.

"Damn, he really is the ace they introduced first. So impressive."

"Xiong Wu is a top student from our school. Back in high school, he was unbeatable throughout the province."

"Amazing, amazing, but the opponents are a bit weak."

"Hong Erjia's level is already pretty good."

"Haha, we're too strong!"

"No regrets joining HX in this life!"

"No regrets…"

"…"

Xiong Wu's three consecutive victories filled the HX netizens watching with pride and a sense of honor, flooding the live stream with a neat barrage of comments.

Soon, the fourth match began.

But instead of Xiong Wu, it was Kong Xiang who stepped onto the stage.

"What's going on? Wasn't Xiong Wu on a winning streak? Why the substitution?"

"What's the situation?"

"Damn, Xiong Wu conceded, saying he was physically exhausted."

"…So little stamina?"

"This is ridiculous. The previous three matches weren't even intense. How could they have drained his stamina?"

"The physical fitness of modern college students is concerning. Xiong Wu, as a mecha pilot trainee, actually…"

"Yeah, how can he go to the battlefield like this?"

"Xiong Wu, you * * * * *"

Upon learning the reason for Xiong Wu's absence, the previously orderly barrage of comments erupted. Some were cut off halfway due to excessive typing, while others, with bad tempers, simply started cursing.

However, new voices soon emerged in the comments.

"You guys don't know anything. Hong Erjia has a good relationship with us. Shaving his head clean would inevitably be exploited by the Limei Federation. Xiong Wu's actions are a tactical surrender, giving Hong Erjia some face."

"Exactly, international relations require considering all aspects. It would be easy for Xiong Wu to win five straight, but such a slap in the face would require a lot of effort to recover from later."

"Actually, we're not afraid of a slap in the face, but we're afraid of someone deliberately stirring things up. If they pressure us into making small moves against them, it's better to avoid it beforehand."

"I see, Master, I understand…"

"666666…"

In a vast, dimly lit room of several thousand square meters, countless computers were lined up, the bright screens particularly striking in the darkness, reflecting the shadowy figures in front of them, creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

A man with a 'strong man' hairstyle wiped the sweat from his face, then picked up the microphone in front of him, the hidden amplifiers in the room carrying his voice to every corner.

"Everyone, work harder today. The other side has a large number of people, but we have a mass base. We must hold on!"

Suddenly, a dark figure darted up: "Team leader, should we ban those who are cursing?"

"Ban those who are simply cursing, but leave those who are angry at our failure. They are all patriots, don't accidentally hurt them."

The dark figure scratched his head. This requires differentiation, which is a bit troublesome. AI can't distinguish these, so it has to be done manually.

"Team leader, doing this will leave me short-handed."

The dark figure spoke the truth. The team leader thought, there were indeed not enough people. However, with so many forums and posts, it was impossible to completely screen them all.

"Assign the third team to him first, prioritizing the top websites with high traffic."

"Understood."

As the power of human weapons grew, like Pandora's box, they deterred each other, maintaining a fragile peace. But the killing and gaming have never stopped. In the unknown virtual world, multiple parties come and go, like fighting a war without smoke.

Fortunately, the Limei Federation has accumulated too many lies since its founding, greatly reducing its credibility. Their original network army, which was all over the world, has also become sluggish. Especially among HX netizens, the vigilance against this type of network army is extremely high, and it is now difficult to be deceived by lies.

Therefore, Xiong Wu's wave of rhythm was ruthlessly suppressed and disappeared as soon as it emerged.

Back in the viewing area, Xiong Wu was greeted with enthusiastic applause. He had made a good start, showing the power of a great nation while leaving some leeway.

Kong Xiang used the long-range fire mecha Moyu. Its first opponent's mecha was actually Warrior III. Moyu's firepower was already very weak, and encountering such a tough opponent made Kong Xiang, who wanted to have a very nice debut, feel very frustrated.

Fortunately, Warrior III's mobility in front of Moyu was like a child's clumsy walk, making it impossible to even touch Moyu.

⊥ New ⊥ Small ⊥ Say ⊥ At ⊥ Six ⊥ 9 ⊥ ⊥ Book ⊥ ⊥ Bar ⊥ ⊥ First ⊥ Post!

In a normal match, it would take five minutes or so, but Moyu directly fired through one and a half ammo reserves before seizing a loophole in Warrior III and destroying it.

Fortunately, from the perspective of ordinary viewers, the sound and light effects of this match far exceeded the previous ones, making it the most exciting one so far. Kong Xiang also gained a large number of fans as a result.

The fifth player was unremarkable, choosing the Archer III, long-range fire exchange. There was nothing worth elaborating on. The difference in mecha generation made this match have no suspense.

Since then, the HX team achieved a successful first battle, and the country also began to promote them, causing more and more people to pay attention to this competition.

The information of each player was dug up. Xiong Wu and Kong Xiang, having shown their faces, naturally received the most attention. Luo Rui was originally the most low-key one, but someone actually re-posted the hotel incident, so his popularity directly reached third place.

Fortunately, Qiao Bin and Ji Ran took the stage in turn the next day, and the new players' matches almost completely attracted the heat. With the assistance of the cyber security team, Luo Rui's popularity was successfully suppressed, and the accounts that distorted history and wrote essays were all banned.

As a result, by the third day of the competition, careful people still noticed something was wrong.

"Huh, why hasn't that Luo Rui taken the stage yet?"

"Yeah, it should be his turn in the order, why is it Xiong Wu and Kong Xiang again today?"

"Could he be a freeloader? It is said that this person has a very strong background. Yesterday, there were rumors about his hotel incident, but today all this information has been deleted."

"Indeed, I saw it too. It's all gone today. I can't even find relevant news when I search directly."

"Amazing, could this be some rich second generation or official second generation taking this opportunity to gild themselves?"

"Possibly, otherwise why have the others taken the stage, but he doesn't have to?"

"Maybe he's an ace, and the ace should be kept for the final appearance."

Although this melon-eating crowd's guess was extremely close to the truth, in this context, coupled with the tone revealed between the lines, and the playful expression at the end, all indicated that he was just satirizing and did not guess the truth.

"Haha, do you believe it? Anyway, I believe it…"

"Haha, we must believe it, otherwise there is no way to explain it."

"I don't even know if this ace will take the stage by the end of the competition."

In just one day, the rhythm that had just been suppressed was brought up again. Zhang Zhi was a little worried about Luo Rui, but Luo Rui just smiled. He had already experienced cyber violence once, and this time he wouldn't get so easily angered.