"Gogogo!!"
"Seriously, I've experienced live-fire target practice once in reality. I wonder how it compares to the VR version."
Mo Zhi selected a uniquely designed weapon, the [Flamethrower], from the dazzling array of firearms.
It was a powerful and stable-fire rate multi-purpose submachine gun, equipped with a flamethrower nozzle beneath the barrel, in front of the trigger, making it dual-purpose and excellent.
"Load ammunition."
Following the instruction, Mo Zhi approached the virtual shooting range. The technologically advanced virtual targets were scattered chaotically at different distances in front of her.
*Clack clack!*
The bullets were loaded, the bolt was pulled back, all in one smooth motion.
Her proficiency made the Captain sigh with admiration, thinking this intern had real talent.
In reality, these were Mo Zhi's subconscious actions, possibly due to prior real-world experience and playing many FPS games, which led to her skillful execution.
*Bang bang!*
Switching to a pistol first, Mo Zhi began to experience the charm of live-fire target practice.
*Hiss!*
Despite being mentally prepared, Mo Zhi was still startled by the pistol's realistic recoil. However, as a Pilot, these were not problems.
The Pilot's bulletproof vest provided some shock absorption, reducing the firearm's recoil to a minimum. After a brief adjustment period, Mo Zhi quickly overcame the recoil issue.
Then, she spent a considerable amount of time practicing her accuracy. As a Pilot, how could she get by without good marksmanship?
VR was unlike PC, where extensive practice of hand-brain coordination could refine aim with a simple mouse movement. In VR shooting, every cell in the body needed to be involved.
Mo Zhi spent a full two hours practicing to the point of mastery in weapon handling.
Fortunately, it was a game, and there was some memory function from the game mechanics. In reality, even with an extra zero in the time, she might not have mastered it so quickly.
She understood that although this was VR and the designers aimed for players to enjoy the game rather than meticulously replicating real-world details, these elements were symbolically incorporated to allow players to grasp them.
"Very good, you may continue practicing. Afterward, proceed to the trial room."
When Mo Zhi had practiced enough, Captain Lastimosa's voice reappeared at the opportune moment.
"This familiar sense of déjà vu..."
She suddenly recalled a similar experience playing "Call of Duty" where, after mastering basic skills, she was immediately called to the ground to officially begin the main event.
It flowed naturally, without any jarring breaks.
Did the old designer want us to go through this again and again?
With a sense of trepidation, Mo Zhi followed Captain Lastimosa's virtual silhouette to the trial room.
"Excellent, there is a new trial today."
At this moment, Mo Zhi noticed the large screen behind Captain Lastimosa, displaying data tables such as [Pilot Assessment], [Previous Time], and [Targets Eliminated].
Seeing Mo Zhi arrive, the Captain continued, "The trial is two minutes."
"If you want to continue, you need to push yourself."
Then, Captain Lastimosa tapped the device on his wrist, and a humanoid virtual image appeared. He pointed to the virtual person and said, "Follow the phantom, or find another path."
[Objective: Attempt the Pilot trial. Achieve a time of under two minutes to proceed.]
"Is this a beginner's mission assessment?"
Mo Zhi crossed her arms and analyzed the large screen. "Judging by the setup, they definitely won't make it easy for players!"
"However, do I look like an ordinary player?"
Patting her proud little chest, Mo Zhi appeared full of confidence.
'Not really...'
"What?... Cough, cough..." Hearing the synchronized commentary from the chat, Mo Zhi choked.
After recovering for a while, she retorted with embarrassment and anger, "Who do you guys look down on? Watch me pass it in one go!"
Eager to regain her pride, Mo Zhi cut the chatter and rushed towards the phantom on the narrow bridge. The moment she stepped onto the bridge, the countdown timer had already begun.
Following the narrow bridge to the connected circular steps, Mo Zhi immediately used her boosters for a run-up, wasting no time.
However, because the steps were not designed in the traditional square shape, Mo Zhi's balance deteriorated rapidly at higher speeds. Her body swayed and wobbled, and she was on the verge of falling.
"Pilots must maintain balance in combat. Speed is important, but you also need to be able to hit your targets," Captain Lastimosa's helpful advice always appeared when Mo Zhi needed it most.
"We practice these skills so they become instinctive reactions."
Hearing this, Mo Zhi immediately pulled out her flamethrower and gradually slowed down her pace. After hitting the enemy targets in front of her, she sped up again.
Fast yet steady, steady yet accurate.
This was perhaps the technique Captain Lastimosa wanted to convey to her.
The small objective was completed, and ahead lay a ninety-degree slope, or rather, a break. She could only cross it by using a double jump with the help of the vertical wall.
*Scrape!*
*Scrape!*
She stowed her weapon, accelerated, and performed a double aerial jump, all in one fluid motion.
"This won't stop me."
After successfully crossing, Mo Zhi even had the leisure to strike a pose.
'This is nothing... already showing off?'
'I have a feeling the architectural design of the entire trial ground is very profound.'
'Mo Zhi, look at the countdown timer in the top right corner.'
...
Hearing the prompt from the chat, Mo Zhi instinctively glanced at the time and panicked, "Holy crap, thirty seconds have passed!"
Mo Zhi dared not delay any further, turning and continuing to charge forward.
As she passed the platform ahead, a few grenades were automatically reloaded, but Mo Zhi paid no attention to these details, focused on charging forward.
A wall blocked the path ahead, sealed at the top, with only a space less than a meter high at the bottom.
"I'm familiar with this challenge, it's for practicing sliding!"
Mo Zhi shouted excitedly as she took down the enemies emerging from behind the wall, "Sliding is my specialty, watch me perform this time!"
*Chik chik chik!!*
She took a few steps back for momentum, and within two meters of the wall, she straightened her body, exerting force with her waist, forming a sharp thirty-degree angle with the ground.
With the assistance of her boosters, Mo Zhi smoothly slid through the obstacle with a stylish slide.
It was dark inside, and bright outside.
Entering the cave caused a fraction of a second of visual disparity, rendering her unable to see anything.
When Mo Zhi's vision recovered, the enemy simulation targets that suddenly appeared startled her, "Oh my god!"
Her blood pressure surged, and her heart pounded.
"Who designed this little cutie? You scared me to death!"
"By skillfully utilizing your Pilot helmet, you can mitigate the temporary blindness caused by the visual disparity," Captain Lastimosa coached after Mo Zhi suffered a setback.
"So, it was my own fault for not setting up the helmet parameters beforehand..." Mo Zhi, feeling incredibly awkward, wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. As she navigated the obstacles inside the cave, Captain Lastimosa continued to encourage her:
"Remember, wall-running makes you faster."
"The Captain probably can't stand it anymore, he's even revealing tips."
Mo Zhi glanced at the countdown timer from the corner of her eye. There was still one minute left. "Wall-run, wall-run..."
She surveyed the environment of the trial ground. The arrangement of these walls did not seem like a path designed by carbon-based life forms. It seemed like a path from any angle, yet not a path.
Even the zebra crossings were on the ceiling.
By using the walls for propulsion, Mo Zhi instantly felt lighter. Simultaneously, due to the high jump, her field of vision widened, allowing her to see more enemy targets and even calculate a more time-efficient route in an instant.
Leaping back and forth between walls was much faster than her methodical approach on the ground.
Countdown 30 seconds!
No more time!
Mo Zhi didn't care if this was considered cheating. She directly used wall-running to leap back and forth between the walls. Within ten seconds, she saw the finish line a hundred meters away.
After eliminating the enemy targets on the high platform, Mo Zhi successfully completed the mission within two minutes, finishing almost at the last second.
[Congratulations on your completion!]
[Based on your trial performance, the difficulty has been set to 'Beginner Novice'. You can change it at any time using the pause option.]
"Defamation! It's defamation!"
Mo Zhi repeatedly waved her hands, unable to accept the result.
Beginner Novice?
Wasn't that an insult?
"Not bad, you've barely passed. You still have a lot of room for improvement," Captain Lastimosa, being highly tactful, used very gentle wording.
He comforted her, "Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so you should use different weapons and practice a few more times."
Mo Zhi nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes."
"The scoreboard has more suggestions to improve your skills."
Captain Lastimosa reappeared in front of a screen opposite the scoreboard, pointing to the large, light blue display. "Warm-up complete. If you want a real challenge, you can race against other phantom Pilots."
"Be careful, the ones recorded here are the top Pilots from SRS."
"If you can win, you can be considered half a Pilot."
Mo Zhi understood this statement. She explained to her viewers, "Isn't this just a leaderboard of all the players' training records?"
Following Captain Lastimosa's gaze, when she saw the records on the giant screen, Mo Zhi was completely dumbfounded.
"What the hell?!"
"Are these a bunch of beasts?!"
...