Chapter Three: Perfect Cooperation—"I Take Back What I Said"

The gate slowly rose, revealing a large horde of Satans before them.

“I’d really like to know—why are there so many more Satans this time than just now?” Mingchuan asked in a small voice after taking in the scene.

“That’s only natural. Once two people have perfect synergy, no number of Satans can faze them. What, are you scared?” The voice system replied haughtily.

“Scared? Not really. It’s just, there’s still one glass door that hasn’t opened yet,” Mingchuan responded calmly.

“Uh... really? Sorry, I missed one button.”

“You’re not even a real voice system! How do you forget to press a button?” Mingchuan shot back, exasperated.

“Don’t complain, the door’s open. I’m done talking to you, bye!” The voice system quickly excused itself.

“Oh no, I haven’t even drawn my blade yet!” Mingchuan hurriedly unsheathed his sword. Just then, several gunshots rang out, and the Satans in front of him dropped to the ground. “Focus on fighting the monsters—what’s the point of all this talking?” Wenxin, expertly maneuvering her mech, called out.

“Alright, we’ll talk later.” Mingchuan chuckled to himself, then swiftly cut down the monsters ahead.

Ten minutes later, the majority of the Satans had been slain or incapacitated. Mingchuan couldn’t help but comment, “Wenxin, why do you always use a gun? You do have a blade, don’t you?”

“Why do you care? I just like guns, okay?” Wenxin replied in a coy tone.

“Fine, at least your marksmanship isn’t bad.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that!” Wenxin replied, proud—just as a bullet shot straight toward Mingchuan.

“Ow, that hurt! Took a bullet in the back—was that you?” Mingchuan called out.

“Uh... sorry about that,” Wenxin replied apologetically.

“I take it back, your aim’s not that great after all. Now my shield’s down again,” Mingchuan sighed.

“What do you mean ‘again’? Was your shield hit before? That’s weak,” Wenxin teased, stifling a laugh. “You’re not so great yourself!”

“No, it’s just that when I took down those ‘Venom’ Satans earlier, I got sprayed with their blood,” Mingchuan offered a weak excuse, which didn’t sound convincing. “Besides, you used a gun, so of course you didn’t get hit.”

“Uh... alright, let’s just clear this level first, okay?” Wenxin quickly wrapped up the conversation, afraid Mingchuan might say something else critical about her.

Meanwhile, Mingchuan thought, “When you can’t win an argument, you just leave—turning off the voice system, too. Honestly.”

A little while later, after another battle that held no suspense for Mingchuan or Wenxin, the voice prompt sounded again: “Congratulations on completing the trial. Now it’s time to show you how to retract your mechs.”

“Retract the mechs? Alright, let’s hear it,” Mingchuan said to himself. But by then, Wenxin had already retracted hers. “Take your time, I’ll rest for a bit,” she called out.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! That fast? The instructions haven’t even started yet! Can you at least respect the rules of the game?” Mingchuan said, a little embarrassed.

“Never mind her. First, look for a button shaped like a watch,” the voice instructed. Mingchuan searched and finally found a circular band around his right wrist, with a watch symbol on it and the word “watch” inscribed.

“I think I found it,” Mingchuan murmured.

“Then press it.”

Mingchuan did as instructed, and instantly his mech disassembled, dissolving into what looked like a string of code or numbers. As Mingchuan stepped out from the numbers, they streamed into the circular band on his right wrist, which promptly morphed into the shape of a watch, fastening securely around his wrist.

“So that’s how it works, but—”

“But nothing matters now. Let me show you the teammates who traveled here just like you.” Suddenly, a floating elevator descended from the ceiling, carrying a man in an instructor’s uniform. From his voice, it was clear he wasn’t the same person as the previous voice system.

“Teammates who traveled here like us? Show us!” Mingchuan and Wenxin called out anxiously.

The man said nothing, just walked to the end of the training ground and pulled down a lever...

------Author’s Note------

TK here again! Since this is just training, it’s intentionally easy. Next time, after I introduce Mingchuan’s teammates, we’ll have a real, proper battle. I hope readers don’t give up on TK just yet—the exciting parts are coming. As for updates, check the dates—you’ll notice my schedule is Thursdays and Sundays. So, at least until the end of winter break, the novel will update every Thursday and Sunday before 8 pm. Don’t worry!