"I usually just charge through and attack with my blade."
"In this match, I'm using the grenade launcher and projectile barrage. The flight core isn't working well, the projectile lag is too much."
"Just go full crazy overdrive (smirk)"
"Viper charged in, Viper has a huge advantage!"
"Sister Zhou is quite strong, Viper is the hardest boss!"
...
"Huh?"
"Why can't I move?"
Sister Zhou couldn't handle the praise. Before the broadcast of the compliments was even finished, she had stepped into Northstar's chain trap.
Viper, as an upgraded version of Northstar, possessed chain strength far beyond that of an ordinary Northstar.
The heavy pressure from beneath her feet trapped her above the deck, turning the Viper's mobile target into a stationary one. He wouldn't let this opportunity pass.
*Scrape!*
The old cunning one leaped up, boldly appearing in Sister Zhou's sight.
*Thump, thump, thump!!*
Six rockets shot out from behind him, their pale trails of flame rapidly striking Bt's face.
*Boom, boom, boom!!*
As the six rockets flew towards her, Sister Zhou hastily erected an energy vortex, barely fending off the first wave of attacks.
Before she could recover, a fist-sized anti-armor round ripped through the air, its sharp tip glowing red from air friction.
This was Northstar's exclusive core charged shot, possessing power comparable to a sniper rifle.
Viper had managed to conceal this move within the initial salvo of six rockets, a truly vicious and cunning tactic.
It's over!
Caught off guard, Sister Zhou knew she was in trouble.
*Rumble!!*
The next second, brilliant sparks erupted from Bt's chest, his shield shattering on contact. Two and a half of his five thick health bars instantly vanished.
*Bounce!!*
*Screech!!*
The immense impact directly snapped the chains that bound Sister Zhou. Bt's entire body was shoved back over two meters, leaving a trail of sparks and lightning in its wake.
"So painful!"
Sister Zhou, affected within the cockpit, gritted her teeth and cried out. If not for the cockpit's protection mechanisms and the pilot's excellent equipment, this single blow would have been fatal.
"This Viper is truly malicious; he was aiming for me inside the cockpit!"
"I can't stay on the defensive like this anymore!"
Sister Zhou gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "Experienced old cunning ones are too troublesome. I need to replenish my state first; I can't take another hit of this magnitude."
Retreating to the side, she picked up the battery dropped by the recently defeated powerful enemy, and Bt instantly revived to full health.
However, a shadow of worry still lingered in Sister Zhou's heart. Glancing around, she saw only batteries for replenishment near the flames she had just extinguished.
This meant she had only one more chance to resupply, after which there would be no room for error.
This was the first time since entering the game that Sister Zhou had been so badly beaten right at the start of an engagement.
"I can't just wait to be defeated; I need to attack!"
With a loud shout, Sister Zhou charged forward.
Upon seeing Viper, both sides raised their weapons and fired simultaneously!
*Rattle, rattle, rattle!!*
*Tak, tak, tak!!*
The large-caliber machine guns spewed fiery red muzzles, forming a dense hail of bullets above the deck like a rain curtain.
It was truly magnificent!
Sister Zhou moved as she fired, and so did Viper.
Using the deck's cover, the two traded blows, chipping away at each other's shields without truly depleting their health.
"Viper unit 1 is seeking cover. Raza unit 4 has entered the target zone. Deploy."
Clearly, he had no intention of engaging in a meaningless war of attrition with Sister Zhou.
Simultaneously, a notification came from Bt: "Overdrive Core connected."
"Then what are we waiting for?"
"Let's take him down!"
Sister Zhou's heart stirred, and she unleashed her full firepower. She had held back this pent-up frustration for too long, and now was the perfect opportunity to unleash it during this direct confrontation to deal significant damage.
Such opportunities were rare.
*Tak, tak, tak, tak, tak~~~~~*
In its berserk mode, the Expedition became a Gatling gun of great compassion, though it lacked a rotating barrel or blue fire, its firing rate and projectile volume were no less.
The unilaterally formed firepower net even surpassed their previous exchange. Dense bullets hammered onto Viper's mecha surface, blooming into small red flowers.
Although the damage was small, the sheer volume wore down Viper's health bar by a full three bars.
"So satisfying!"
Sister Zhou's face lit up with joy, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Giving them a taste of their own medicine, the feeling of revenge is truly wonderful!"
"Villain has a core, two o'clock direction," the hit Viper calmly analyzed.
'Will this boss eat batteries too?'
'I just knocked him down to half health, and he's flying in the air and won't come down. I can't hit his core, so I can only use missiles to wear him down. This thing can regenerate shields, and its damage to me is very high.'
'This thing is disgusting, you can't hit him even when he's accurate!'
'I died several times in this stage. Later, I found out that this guy doesn't come down when he's at low health. I'll rush in and get close. If he doesn't come down, I'll use Expedition's tracking missiles. When he fires projectiles, I'll switch to my 'Raza' mode to block, find several cover points, and then I'll pass. Then my playtime limit will be reached. Sister Zhou, hurry up, I want to see the end of this chapter.'
'Are my friends all logging off one by one? It's only noon, are you guys playing since midnight?'
'Of course, I don't want to wait a moment longer, I'm so excited for the ending.'
.........
At this moment, the chat in Sister Zhou's stream became lively. Some players, forced to log off due to playtime limits, felt they hadn't played enough and joined the audience to continue watching the streamer's battle.
Streamers generally choose suitable time slots to capture both the midday and evening peak traffic, so they tend to come online a bit later.
After all, it's the same for everyone; there are only eight hours of VR game time. Therefore, streamers who have a faster initial clear rate will gain more traffic.
The unknown always attracts the deepest desires of the human heart.
"Don't worry, everyone. At this pace, I'll definitely clear this stage, and maybe I can quickly get through the next one too."
After a beautiful counter-attack, Sister Zhou's confidence soared.
"Status is good, status is good, Fox unit 10." Viper, with only two bars of health left, remained calm.
At this point, Viper had ascended into the sky, entering his domain.
*Boom, boom, boom!!*
"Warning, detected unit damage."
Bt began issuing urgent alerts.
Facing the agile and swift Viper, Sister Zhou's health was once again pushed below half. She prepared to use her last battery.
"Let me treat you to some dirt." Viper began to provoke, having never lost a home-field advantage.
The two engaged in several exchanges under extremely unbalanced conditions. Viper sustained some damage, and his health was pushed down to about one bar.
Sister Zhou was also not doing well; her recently replenished state was once again pushed below half.
"Severe damage, warning, warning."
Bt's synthesized voice had no emotional fluctuations, yet it carried an unusually tense emotion.
Facing this seemingly dead end, only a desperate gamble remained.
"This thing, after dropping below half health, refuses to land and plays the home-field advantage like a wild card, right?"
"Then I'll cheat too!"
Sister Zhou switched to her powerful core and said coldly, "Did he ask my tracking missile system first?"
She had held back a trump card, saving it for this very moment.
*Ssss, ssss!!*
*Ssss, ssss!!*
*Ssss, ssss!!*
It took four or five waves of marking rounds to finally leave three imprints on this slippery fellow.
Now!
The moment the forced lock was triggered, Sister Zhou immediately fired six rocket pods with GPS navigation locks.
*Boom, boom, boom!!*
The hit 'fly' could no longer maintain its composure. Smoke billowed from its boosters, and Viper's figure wavered precariously in the air.
Viper: "Viper unit 1 is out of control! Ejection seat out of control! Crashing! Mayday, Mayday, crashing."
"Yes!"
Watching Viper crash and fall with her own eyes, Sister Zhou's face broke into an irrepressible smile. She exclaimed excitedly (in a Klee-like voice), "Viper, you think you're good at fighting?"
"What's the use of you being good at fighting!"
"When you're out here, you need power, you need connections."
"Which street are you from?"
"Viper: My name is Viper. If you don't like it, you can call me old cunning one. I don't mind."
"Oh~"
"So you're Little Bie Shan!"
........