Chapter 46: Abused
Inside the bathtub, the painting was placed inside, and a bucket of strong cleaning agent was poured in, causing a lot of bubbles to form instantly.
In upscale communities, cleaning agents are used freely because they go through wastewater treatment plants. When Yang Bo lived in government housing, he used eco-friendly cleaning agents and sorted his trash.
In upscale communities, there's no need for that because wastewater treatment and trash disposal are paid for, so people just throw things away.
"What material is this canvas made of? It seems to be metal?" Yang Bo looked at the remaining canvas, but even scissors were useless.
Yang Bo filled another tub with water, then gripped the canvas with both hands as electrical energy surged through it.
Soon the canvas turned red, softened, then melted and fell into the bathtub, forming small particles that could be flushed away with water.
Yang Bo's hands were protected by light energy, so he was unharmed.
The two rolled-up paintings seemed to be made of jade, with high hardness. Yang Bo heated them in an oven, then doused them with water, causing them to shatter. After several attempts, they all broke into tiny particles.
Yang Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had taken the paintings from someone else's room to avoid being discovered that they were related to the Red Count, as the security department might conduct a rigorous investigation of the entire room, building, or community.
Yang Bo couldn't be sure if his invisibility left any traces. As long as it wasn't related to the Red Earl, in such chaos, minor matters were unlikely to be investigated. Perhaps the community management had already handled it themselves. After all, if someone went missing in the community, it would tarnish the community's reputation. As for the residents?
Who knows? In such a big mess, maybe they're dead, maybe they've left, or maybe they've gone somewhere else. It's better to mind your own business.
What Yang Bo didn't know was that no one knew what the leading commander looked like. During the live broadcast, he was wearing a silver helmet and was shot in the head by a laser gun. The high-energy laser had reduced him to powder, leaving no bones intact, so it was impossible to restore his original appearance. As for the lower-ranking ones, they were carrying a liquid that dissolved bodies. When hit by the mecha, they dissolved themselves.
The few who remained identifiable were extremely rare…
The luxury space button he bought for 800,000 was returned by Yang Bo. The energy stone was too low-quality, and when the seller refused to refund, Yang Bo simply stated he was a resident, and the seller immediately agreed…
"House prices are plummeting. Great." After tidying everything up, Yang Bo started looking for a house online. Mecha training needed to be conducted, and there were still many things to verify.
House prices continued to plummet because the Red Earl had suffered such a huge loss here. Who knew if those madmen would return?
However, the government had not yet begun its work, so houses could not be traded temporarily. This led to even cheaper prices and a significant increase in the number of listings.
"Let's start with online training first." Yang Bo opened the mecha game but didn't enter the game; instead, he started mecha training.
Currently, Yang Bo's training performance in the game was just barely passing, so he was assigned the worst Blade Mecha upon entering the game. The mecha assigned depends on the results of the simulation training assessment.
Yang Bo planned to conduct mecha combat training this time, with both himself and his opponent using Blade Mechas.
Yang Bo controlled the Blade Mecha in the game, but it felt slower than an actual mecha. The mecha was controlled with a joystick in the left hand, which handled basic movements like walking, running, and jumping. The joystick also had several buttons for controlling the radar, flight pack, and other functions.
The right hand uses a touchscreen keyboard connected to the mech's onboard computer. The command set can be customized or use the official presets.
Mechs are essentially cannon fodder in the war sequence, at least based on Yang Bo's current understanding. They are akin to infantry in modern warfare, primarily used in ground battles.
During mech battles, electronic interference and suppression can cause the intelligent systems to make incorrect judgments and react slowly, and even the onboard radar may become inoperable, forcing pilots to rely solely on their own eyesight for judgment.
When various factions compete for certain resources or other items, they all assume the same outcome: whichever side wins the mech battle claims the resources.
If this rule isn't followed, then no one will follow it, and they might as well just start with warships and blow each other up, why bother investing resources in a battle?
Boom!
In the simulated training, the opponent's strength increases once every minute. After five minutes, Yang Bo was kicked by the opponent's mech, sent flying, and landed on the ground, then the screen went black.
"Again!" Yang Bo felt that the mecha opponent in the simulated training moved smoothly and elegantly, with clean and decisive actions, as if performing a show. For the first two minutes, Yang Bo could still hold his own, but afterward, he was completely overwhelmed.
Through repeated training, Yang Bo gained a lot of insights. The opponent could make rapid turns at five times the speed of sound—how many commands would that require?
Fortunately, the Blade Mech's functional limits were set, so Yang Bo trained daily. Eventually, he treated the mech as if it were a person he was fighting, designing numerous commands himself.
Mech combat was all about speed and accuracy; there was no other way. Speed and precision had two aspects: first, hand speed; second, designing commands that could assign a single action to one or two buttons.
However, creating a command set is a complex task. Changing one command often requires modifying many others, unless you're willing to abandon some commands you deem less important.
The mech's original commands are balanced, but each mech pilot has their own strengths, so they design commands that emphasize their own preferences.
"Ten minutes!" Yang Bo sighed in relief; he had finally managed to train for ten minutes. By enduring ten minutes, he could select a higher-tier mech in the game to continue simulated training.
Yang Bo noticed the remote combat training option and decided to give it a try.
"Here we go." The opponent was the remote version of the Blade Mech. Yang Bo's screen went black within thirty seconds of entering the match.
The opponent's laser gun hits in a way that disrupts the robot's basic controls, and their predictive abilities are so strong that you can't dodge them at all.
Long-range mecha pilots require certain intelligence evolution paths that allow them to predict your movements, making you feel like you're walking into the barrel of a gun every time. It's like playing a game where the opponent is cheating—you're doomed either way.
"Let's try again." Yang Bo tried again, this time charging directly while holding up an energy shield. The opponent's laser gun fired, causing Yang Bo to hear a疯狂的警报声.
Then, in less than thirty seconds, the screen went black, and the mech lost some of its mobility after being hit multiple times in critical areas.
"Forget it, I'll stick to close combat." For an entire day, Yang Bo felt frustrated. The opponent's predictive abilities were too powerful, and he could only last a minute at most.
"No wonder there are so few dedicated long-range support mecha models, and they're all so expensive. It makes sense." Yang Bo shook his head. He'd stick to being a regular mecha pilot, a close combat mecha pilot.
"The Red Earl has announced a retaliatory attack on the Edinburgh Alliance." Yang Bo exited the game, opened the news, and saw a shocking headline. He quickly clicked to view it.
In a video, a man wearing golden armor was surrounded by eleven others in silver armor. Their golden and red hair, along with their helmets, obscured their faces, but it was clear they were inside an ancient castle.
The man in golden armor announced a retaliatory attack on the Eding Alliance and warned other nations not to interfere.
"Should we flee immediately? How should the residents escape?" Yang Bo felt uneasy upon seeing this news.
(End of this chapter)