"Can we force a disconnect, or just unplug the power?" Irwin asked.

With even the dean present, the people in the mecha simulation training room became even more aware of the seriousness of the situation.

“No.” The technicians present shook their heads. “Simulator No. 01 has established a 100% neural link with the driver. If we unplug the power now and forcibly disconnect the link, it will cause irreversible damage to the driver’s nervous system.”

"How serious will the damage be?" Erwin asked. Surely it can't be worse than brain death?

"The severity... could lead to intellectual disability," the technician replied.

Goodness, Irwin thought he would rather have chosen brain death.

"Isn't there a way to log out?" Wang Desheng asked. "As far as I know, the mecha simulators in the academy all use an intranet, and it's the kind that's physically isolated. How could it connect to 'Warfire'?"

"This was an oversight on our part. We found this on the mech simulator's server." The technician placed a USB drive on the table. "That's what connected simulator number 01 to the network."

“In other words…” Erwin stroked his beard, “it was done by someone from within the academy.”

"Notify the school security team to seal off all entrances and exits of the academy. No one is allowed to leave the academy without my order." Erwin waved his hand, and several uniformed personnel immediately stepped forward. "Immediately seal up the surveillance video of the mecha simulation training room and send it to the security department."

"Is there any way to get the trainees out safely?" Erwin asked the technicians after giving his instructions.

“Unless the trainee voluntarily withdraws, our communication lines are blocked by the plug-in, making it impossible to contact the trainee in the cockpit,” the technician replied. “The USB drive is just a carrier; although it has been unplugged, the plug-in inside has already been installed into the system.”

"Our people are working hard to remove these plugins from the system, but we need time. These plugins are very stubborn and keep recurring..."

"How long will it take?" Erwin interrupted the technician.

"Uh... about, about one or two hours." The technician said somewhat nervously.

"One hour or two hours? I need a definite answer!" Irwin said sternly.

"This, this, an hour and a half!" the technician said through gritted teeth. He didn't know how long the plugin cleanup would take, but he had no choice but to proceed.

“It’s too long. An hour is enough for a driver to die several times in ‘Warfire’.” Wang Desheng said as he started taking off his coat. “Start simulator number 02 and install the plugins on the USB drive as well.”

"What are you going to do?" Erwin tilted his head and looked at Wang Desheng.

“I caused this, so I naturally have a responsibility to resolve it.” Wang Desheng still smiled optimistically. “Since we can’t contact him from the outside, I’ll go find him from inside.”

"Warfire" is a simulated war online platform.

Some people may consider Warfire as an online game, but it is more than just a game.

The sheer size of the platform's database astonished all the players involved. The simulation system's realism in mechs, warships, national terrain, and even the smallest details like plants and trees, as well as the impact of terrain and weather on combat, was indistinguishable from reality.

This is practically a virtual world built to a 1:1 scale.

Some people actually live in this virtual world; an unknown person in real life might be a millionaire in "War".

"Warfire" is an international platform where people earn points through mech battles. These points are equivalent to in-game currency and can be exchanged for real-world currency at a 1:1 ratio.

However, very few people would exchange War Points for Gold Coins. To loyal players, the virtual world is no different from the real world; so why let their wealth shrink tenfold and return to real life?

The high degree of realism in "Warfire" has attracted great interest from many countries. Some mech soldiers train in it, since compared to real mechs that consume tens of thousands of dollars' worth of energy per training session, "Warfire" only requires a few dozen dollars' worth of electricity.

Demonstration training complete. Enter battle mode?

Zhang Fan has completed the so-called beginner's tutorial and has a basic understanding of piloting a mecha.

Isn't it just Evangelion?

Zhang Fan now suspects that the people who invented these mechs copied ideas from Earth.

Once the pilot enters the spherical capsule, the neural solution inside connects the pilot's nerves to the mech, directly supplying oxygen to the pilot's lungs. It also helps to mitigate physical attacks during combat and serves as a life support system.

Zhang Fan felt like a baby still in the womb. He was surrounded by "amniotic fluid," and the cable connecting his neck to the metal external spine was the "umbilical cord."

"confirm."

Zhang Fan didn't hesitate to enter the battle; the tutorial wasn't enough, so a battle was definitely more exciting.

The Level 5 mecha fighter "Dark Earl" has issued a challenge to you. Do you accept?

"agree."

People are coming to me so quickly, is this game that popular?

What Zhang Fan didn't know was that the mecha arena on Ryan's capital planet was in an uproar.

"Wow, the bounty hunter 'Dark Earl'! He's back again!"

"Who's so unlucky this time?"

"Kira Yamato? Who's that guy? Never heard of him."

"0 wins, 0 draws, 0 losses? A complete novice, why is the Earl targeting him?"

"Holy crap! 100% nerve pain linkage, this could kill someone!"

"Holy crap! This is 100% nerve pain perception. Is this guy a complete newbie, or is it an alt account of a top-tier expert?"

"Who cares! We'll just have to go and see!"

In the real world, there are many people who like "Warfire" but can't afford a "Warfire" emulator. These people gather in mech battlegrounds, similar to internet cafes, to rent the equipment inside.

In the game "Warfire," characters are forced to log out upon death and cannot log back in for 24 hours. This has led to the emergence of people who are essentially "shills." They are hired by the owners of the mech battlegrounds to kill other players in "Warfire" and force them to log out, thereby increasing the number of times the emulator runs and allowing the owners to earn more money.

Later, it evolved into killing other players to obtain war points, which could be exchanged for real-world currency, or being hired as an assassin to earn commissions, thus giving birth to the "bounty hunter".

A flash of white light appeared, and Zhang Fan saw a completely black mech appear opposite him.

"So you want me to defeat this guy, right?" Zhang Fan drew the DIY molten double swords from his back.

"You're going to die a horrible death today," said the black mecha "Dark Earl." "You've offended someone you shouldn't have."

"Real players? I thought they were NPCs!" Zhang Fan channeled the mech's energy into his twin swords, turning them fiery red. "Playing against the AI ​​is so boring, this is perfect."

"Hey little bro, come on, let me have some fun!"