The two A-level instructors from the Mecha Department and the Wingman Department were responsible for the first assessment.
The instructors who could teach at the Alliance Army Academy were undoubtedly the elites of the military. All the S-level instructors in the academy were retired officers who had fought in the Zerg tide with real guns and bullets, and would not participate in these kind of playful assessments.
Although A-level instructors have no battlefield experience, they are also elite members of the top troops in each war zone. They are specially hired to teach and will return to the team after the training is over.
For the students of the military academy, facing the A-level instructors whose abilities were limited to 30% by mechas and being able to last for fifteen minutes was already worth showing off.
Even Shi Ji, who was the top observer during the heyday, only ended up in a tie when he and his partner Sheng Yi challenged the A-level instructor.
The best result in the academy is Ye Hanfeng. During the half year when Shi Ji was missing, Ye Hanfeng and his partner have always been at the top of the list. Just half a month ago, he used tactics to force the instructor to increase the suppression ability of the wingman to 35%.
In the challenge competition, it can be considered a glorious victory.
"Why bother? Go up and lose a game on purpose, and then you'll be upset if the operator dumps you?"
Beside Ye Hanfeng, his mecha operator sneered disdainfully: "It looks so good, and it even has a prosthetic leg. It's useless anyway..."
Ye Hanfeng couldn't help but frowned.
"Okay, I won't say anything." His mecha operator shut up. After a while, he couldn't help but ask Ye Hanfeng, "What do you think of him? Can he really get a place?"
Ye Hanfeng said: "I don't know."
Because of Sheng Yi, he never had a good impression of Shi Ji, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of Shi Ji's original strength.
Even though Shi Ji's score had obviously dropped a lot in the next final exam, Ye Hanfeng still instinctively felt that Shi Ji's true strength should not be limited to the level he displayed when partnering with Sheng Yi.
…
But these words undoubtedly could not be said in front of Sheng Yi.
When they first entered school, Ye Hanfeng and Sheng Yi were not familiar with each other and had mentioned it once unintentionally.
Sheng Yi's reaction was extremely intense, and the two of them almost became enemies because of it. After that, whenever they met, they would inevitably have a tit-for-tat fight.
On the contrary, within half a year, Sheng Yi's grades plummeted, and he had lost his previously arrogant temper. His eyes were no longer on the top of his head, and his relationship with Sheng Yi inexplicably eased a lot.
In front of him, Sheng Yi had a fight with someone and was bruised and limping. He was in a very bad state. When he heard that Shi Ji was going to take the test with an automatic mecha, Sheng Yi was so angry that he rushed down to question Shi Ji.
Ye Hanfeng forcibly pulled him back and pressed him into the audience seats.
"What on earth are you angry about?"
Ye Hanfeng still couldn't understand it. He turned his head and looked at Sheng Yi: "Don't you just want him to stop controlling you?"
Sheng Yi was speechless for a moment, clenching his teeth tightly, his face turning blue and white.
Ye Hanfeng looked at Shi Ji's inconspicuous wingman.
If Shi Ji could really tie or even win in the next match, he would become their opponent and compete with them for a spot in the special forces training.
Ye Hanfeng needed more information, so he asked Sheng Yi, "You said he received special training from your father. Was there any result from the special training at that time?"
"Of course not!" Sheng Yi was angry and annoyed, "All his strength was given to him by his father! He is the one who failed to tame him! He is an ungrateful bastard! He turned his back on me..."
Ye Hanfeng frowned.
Sheng Yi's mecha was inherited from his father, and his father's training should be the same as Sheng Yi's combat habits—large-scale combined single-soldier breakthroughs, relying on powerful force to blast through the gap, which is a standard assaulter's style of play.
But what Shi Ji chose now was apparently the sniper's blade mode.
Ye Hanfeng asked: "Who is he? Before he came to your house..."
In the battle area, inside the slowly rising protective shield.
Shi Ji flicked the wing flash lights twice.
is the military's special light signal for requesting communication. The A-level instructor on the other side was ready and made a call: "What's up?"
"Hello." Shi Ji said gently, "This is my first time working with a mecha, so I'm not yet proficient enough."
The A-level instructor was already used to this kind of assessment and didn't take it seriously: "Don't worry, we have the people under our command and will control it well."
"I don't have any."
Shi Ji apologized: "I'm sorry... I haven't been allowed to fight like this for a long time."
The A-level instructor was stunned.
They began to look directly at the wingman for the first time. Before they could see anything, Shi Ji had already pulled the joystick and hovered above the left side of the mecha: "If possible, please put aside the strength restrictions and attack the defense system."
Shi Ji: "If you need to stop, please let me know at any time."
The two A-level instructors were both a little surprised. They had also heard of Shi Ji's name and had seen Shi Ji and Sheng Yi fighting together.
Looking at the No. 1 observer who was once so successful but unfortunately fell into decline due to injury, they could hardly tell whether Shi Ji was serious or just uttering a harsh word.
…
The next moment, Shi Ji's wingman disappeared from their radar.
The instructor who specialized in wingman was shocked.
When he realized what had happened, cold sweat instantly broke out through his training uniform.
He pulled up the joystick, letting the wingman fly up immediately, and pulled off the communicator to notify the main armor: "Defense! The enemy wingman has entered the radar blind spot, exchange detection vision-"
When the mecha's field of vision was cut off, his wingman shook violently and the alarm light on the control panel lit up.
The infrared detection on one side was destroyed.
Shi Ji's wingman appeared right behind him, and the mecha piloted by the instructor immediately followed up. The huge metal shell made a roar, and it aimed at one of Shi Ji's wings and launched a highly destructive tracking missile.
This type of missile has an automatic positioning and tracking system and, generally speaking, will not be used on students during assessments.
But after just one encounter, they quickly realized that 's flying ability was definitely not what a military academy student should have.
The mecha instructor activated the jet, preparing to take advantage of the gap when Shi Ji was dealing with the tracking missile and reach the same altitude with his wingman.
The next moment, Shi Ji's wingman made a move that was completely beyond their expectations.
The nose of the wingman was pitched up to the maximum, the tail of the whole aircraft was in front and the nose was behind, almost leveling in the opposite direction, and at the same time, it quickly turned its head to the left. In the ultra-high-speed flight state, the tracking missile had no time to react, and even had no time to re-aim, and continued to advance at high speed on the original trajectory.
The gap was opened, and the academy instructor's wingman had just leveled off right in front of the tracking missile.
The missile that was originally aimed at Shi Ji went straight towards his own wingman!
The mecha instructor's face changed, and the speed of the thrusters reached the limit, and the huge mecha blocked his wingman tightly.
The missile slammed hard into the battle-hardened, high-strength metal casing.
…
The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.
The audience was in complete silence. Ye Hanfeng's mecha operator's eyes widened, his face turned pale, and his mouth opened, unable to speak.
Ye Hanfeng frowned silently and slowly clenched his palms which were oozing with cold sweat.
Fifteen seconds.
Shi Ji directly used the Cobra maneuver that they were strictly forbidden to try, and he refined this performance move that was more of a gimmick than practical significance, giving it the most straightforward tactical significance.
The tracking missile launched by the instructor's mecha would have directly destroyed the instructor's wingman if it had not been blocked by the mecha at the last second.
Shi Ji didn't even coordinate with his mecha. He just used his flying skills and strong combat awareness.
Ye Hanfeng suddenly realized something was wrong. He looked towards the field and stood up suddenly.
That silver-gray mecha... didn't move at all!
Shi Jigen did not give any coordination orders to the mecha. He only relied on his wingman. In just fifteen seconds, he almost let the instructor's mecha use a missile to blow up his partner!
In the field, Shi Ji's wingman resumed normal flight status, circled briefly, and returned to his own mecha.
Shi Ji turned on the communicator again.
"Next, I will wait for ten seconds before entering the formal combat state."
His tone remained unchanged, still serious and gentle: "Please lift the restrictions and do your best to protect yourself."
…
The two instructors looked at each other helplessly through the protective shield and simultaneously cancelled the 30% attack power restriction program.
The wingman instructor urgently dealt with the destroyed infrared detector. With cold sweat still oozing from his forehead, he reset the parameters and looked up at the countdown on the sidelines.
The students could only see that Shi Ji was terribly strong, but they could not have a clearer understanding until they came into contact with a real battle.
The instructor of the wingman major is also an elite observer. He was born in the wingman corps directly under the imperial capital, won prizes in the military district, and once persisted to the third stage in the special operations team selection.
Just now, he almost had a vague illusion.
It was as if he had met again those freaks in the special forces who had been selected through layers of selection, had top talents, and had been polished bit by bit through countless training and actual combat, becoming ridiculously strong.
…
Shi Ji and his mecha were silent.
The mecha was silver-gray, with streamlined blade wings and camouflaged anti-detection paint. It was almost half the size of the instructor's mecha.
The mecha was completely controlled by the AI program, and there was no one in the cockpit. On the empty seat was a frontal portrait of a kind dolphin provided by an anonymous enthusiastic person.
… The two instructors could no longer tell what they were feeling, and they thought the photo was outrageous or funny.
The clock on the sidelines ticked down and jumped to the final “10”.
The bright red tail lights that represented the mecha's resting state suddenly went out, and the jet thrusters started, instantly reaching the limit of speed.
The instructor specializing in wingman focused his mind and stared at Shi Ji's movements intently.
This time, Shi Ji did not perform any difficult flying operations.
In the observation device, the wingman and the mecha together formed an indestructible blade, cutting straight into the core energy area of the instructor's mecha.
The wingman gave an urgent warning, and the mecha instructor responded immediately. The huge anthropomorphic mecha quickly retreated, with one arm firmly blocking the energy area in the front chest. At the same time, the instructor's wingman also quickly cooperated and dived to intercept the silver mecha behind Shi Ji.
The silver mecha swooped down and fought back, briefly separating from Shi Ji's wingman, leaving a tiny gap.
The huge humanoid mecha reacted quickly, firing two medium-range missiles at Shi Ji's wingman.
With the scorching air current so close at hand, the wingman climbed at a high angle to the limit.
The instructor of the wingman major's eyes lit up: "Now!"
No matter how good the wingman is, if he evades an attack, he will inevitably lose his speed and altitude advantages.
Shi Ji and the self-driving mecha had not yet gotten used to each other. AI driving has always lacked maneuverability. As long as they could take advantage of the gap left by the enemy, it would be possible to directly shoot down Shi Ji's wingman!
The instructor's operation was far more precise than that of the students. Following the instructions of the observer, the seemingly clumsy mecha was incredibly flexible, dodging and weaving into the gap neatly.
In the cockpit, Shi Ji's expression was calm, but his eyes were deep and sharp.
At the moment when the wingman stalled, the silver machine hit the wingman and was hit by the extremely compressed ultra-high-speed airflow.
Shi Ji's wingman turned with the help of the airflow, and its flight path changed instantly.
The instructor who specialized in wingman had never seen this kind of operation before. His eyes widened in astonishment, and his expression changed instantly: "It's a trap, activate the protective shield, retreat to the 18 o'clock direction—"
He didn't have time to give further instructions.
Shi Ji had just destroyed the infrared detection on his side. There was no prompt from the radar, but the dazzling laser emitted by the silver mecha had already appeared in his field of vision.
The wingman instructor dodged hastily, but Shi Ji was faster than him. He quickly turned the tail nozzle to the axis, blocking his retreat.
At this time, the huge humanoid mecha was unable to dodge and collided with the silver mecha.
In this almost face-to-face melee, the advantages of the AI-controlled mecha were finally highlighted to the extreme.
—The machine has no fear. Even in the most dangerous situation, its self-protection will not affect its operating accuracy. It will only prioritize destroying the most important target.
With a loud bang, the energy compartment on one side of the humanoid mecha was blown up, and half of the thrusters were instantly extinguished.
The silver mecha took off again and circled steadily behind Shi Ji's wingman.
The wingman instructor stared at the situation in disbelief, with cold sweat running down his forehead.
He made an error in judgement.
The opening given by Shi Ji was too confusing. He directed the mecha to attack, but ended up leading it into a trap.
Why would an observer of this level serve as a wingman for such a long time for an assault-type mecha that only knows how to fight bravely? !
In the cockpit, Shi Ji distractedly checked the functions of the silver mecha and raised his head again.
…
In his sea of consciousness, Yu Tang had just finished chewing the third tablet of motion sickness pills as if they were candy beans.
He had intercepted more than a dozen rounds of harsh instructions from the anti-OOC program. He let out a light breath and rubbed his sore wrist.
"Host, an abnormality has been detected in the audience."
The system said: "It's the mecha operator who is partnered with Ye Hanfeng... His name is Xin Qiang, and he doesn't want Shi Ji to win."
If it was the strength that Shi Jiyuan had shown before, Xin Qiang would not be so nervous.
However, Shiji's current performance has simply exceeded the comprehension of these students. Once he enters the selection training, he will become a most formidable and powerful opponent.
"He's going to use a high-powered searchlight. Being directly exposed to light of that intensity will cause a person to temporarily lose their vision."
The system asked: "Do you want to process it in advance?"
Yu Tang knew what was going on and shook his head: "No need."
The system was a little worried: "Although this is not a regular battle and there are protective measures, this situation is still very dangerous for the observer in Blade Mode..."
The sharpest part of a knife is the blade, but it is also the part that is most vulnerable to damage.
If an unexpected accident occurs, even if they are able to protect Shi Ji's body, Shi Ji's wingman may be injured and unable to successfully participate in the next training.
"Our little S7 fought his way out of the insect swarm."
Yu Tang rubbed his wrist slowly. He was still distractedly staring at the screen, ready to intercept the next wave of program instructions at any time: "The mecha that Senior Zhan makes will not be just a knife."
The system didn't understand and just flashed a small red light vaguely, floating beside him.
Yu Tang raised his head and glanced at the light screen.
…
The combination of Shi Ji and the silver mecha has already secured victory in this battle.
During the battle, Shi Ji even had some energy left, giving the AI ample opportunity to demonstrate its intelligent control.
After half of the energy warehouse was destroyed, the mecha completely lost its air territory, and the power of the weapons it was equipped with was greatly weakened. Without the protection of the mecha, the wingman was sandwiched between Shi Ji and the silver mecha, leaving him with almost no room for resistance.
In just a few minutes, Shi Ji had destroyed the wingman's internal detection radar.
"What are you doing with the radar?!"
Without the radar, the instructor of the wingman program was completely in the dark. He could only rely on the narrow field of vision to fly around in the air in vain. Some even said angrily: "Shoot me down!"
Shi Ji was stunned.
He had never been allowed to surpass the main mecha. This order was too harsh, and it had become a subconscious habit for him even when he was intercepted.
Before the mecha battle is over, he cannot cross the line and destroy the opponent's wingman.
Shi Ji was silent for a moment, then asked softly, "Is it possible?"
Wingman instructor: "..."
Yu Tang knew who he was asking, and couldn't help laughing. He coughed in his mind and said, "That's right."
Yu Tang had already stretched his wrists and rolled up his sleeves: "Don't worry, it won't be a big deal."
When he gave the answer, Shi Jiyi could vaguely sense that the familiar and strict prohibition popped up in an instant, but it failed to erase the warning like it did every time it was issued.
-Almost at that moment, the ban was completely blocked and intercepted, strangled into basic data, without any aftereffects left.
As long as you shoot down the opponent's wingman, the battle is over.
Shi Ji raised his hand and adjusted the sight of the laser weapon.
…
The next moment, something strange happened suddenly.
A dazzling white light that was blinding to the extreme shone from the audience seats.
Suddenly, a flash of snow appeared before Shi Ji's eyes.
The wingman instructor had not encountered such a strong opponent for a long time. He was not angry about the failure. Just as he was about to contact the dean, he saw a dazzling light and his heart sank.
… A bunch of bastards!
In normal combat mode, the use of strong light to disrupt the battle from the audience seats was indeed condoned by the academy. After all, the battlefield was full of dangers and anything could happen.
But just now, he urged Shi Ji to knock him down as soon as possible.
The temporary blindness caused by the high-intensity searchlight will last at least two to three minutes in the field of view of the sight.
"Don't move, we'll handle it!"
The wingman instructor pulled over the communicator and quickly explained: "Don't move. The wingman should be able to stay in the air for one minute. We will send a rescue plane to pick you up..."
"No need." Shi Jiwen said.
The wingman instructor was stunned.
Shi Ji closed his eyes. He held the joystick precisely without any groping.
He was too familiar with the movie console.
During the battle just now, Shi Ji had already imprinted the entire battle area in his mind.
He circled the wingman for half a circle and asked the wingman instructor: "Do you still need me to shoot you down?"
Wingman instructor: “?”
Shi Ji aimed the laser weapon at the instructor's wingman again.
When the radar detects an enemy target, it will give a short "beep" tone to prompt you.
In a fixed sector-shaped area, the radar's scanning speed is fixed. The angle of the target on the plane can be determined by the interval between prompt sounds after the start of scanning.
By overlapping the detection areas of the three radars and building a three-dimensional model in your mind, you can determine the exact location of the target.
was a skill that observers needed to master ten years ago.
The technology content of wingmen and mechas at that time was far less than that of today. When the insect swarm was the densest, it could almost block out 90% of the sunlight. In the near-dark environment, the observer needed to use such complex calculations to give the mecha the most accurate guidance.
The wingman instructor was stunned for a while, then laughed in anger: "Alright, alright... Fight quickly, getting shot down is better than admitting defeat."
Shi Ji pressed the laser launcher.
The instructor finally finished the fight. He breathed a sigh of relief and landed his shaky, smoking wingman. "The last time I was beaten so badly was more than ten years ago when I participated in the special operations team selection training and met a wingman named S7... Who are you?"
Shi Ji was about to control the wingman to land when he heard a question on the communicator and was suddenly startled.
His men missed their target for the first time.
The wingman's course deviated slightly and narrowly missed the protective shield, but before the rescue plane below could react, the silver mecha had already taken off again.
Like the dolphin, the silver-grey mecha shut down its combat mode on its own accord, and all of its sharp blade wings that had torn apart the outer shell of the opposing mecha and blasted through its energy compartment were tamely retracted, catching him steadily.
…
In the audience, Ye Hanfeng turned off the high-intensity searchlight.
He didn't expect his partner to do such a thing. He pulled Xin Qiang and threw him down heavily, then turned around to look at Sheng Yi.
"It's not something your father could teach him."
Ye Hanfeng: "If you weren't there as an observer, he could defeat a small swarm by flying a wingman alone."
"Although your father is affiliated with the military, he is only a senior colonel. Why can he raise an observer of this level in his own name?"
Ye Hanfeng frowned. He looked at Sheng Yi, who was blushing and looking dazed and embarrassed. "Have you ever asked who he is?"