Chapter 55, First Match

"Second brother, Mom asked me to bring you food."

Cheng Che took the huge enamel bowl filled with food and a pair of chopsticks, looked up and smiled at his younger sister, washed his face with the irrigation pipe, and then began to eat heartily.

At 1 p.m., when the sun was at its strongest and the temperature was 43 degrees Celsius, the muddy ground in the fields was scalding hot. He hid under the shade of a tree, planning to continue threshing the grain after 2 p.m.

School starts in a little over a month. My younger sister's schooling has been delayed for three years. No matter how difficult things are at home, we must save enough money for her primary school tuition this year.

Cheng Che didn't want to see her being laughed at by the other children in the village anymore, and he didn't want her to spend the rest of her life in the fields like he did.

The family still owes more than 900,000 yuan in debt, some of which is owed to villagers, and some of which is borrowed from banks by mortgaging their homestead.

In a couple of days, once the city boss comes to collect the grain, he will be able to pay back the money he owes to his neighbors in Xiangtou Village, and the remaining money will be just enough to pay for his little sister's tuition.

My younger brother will be thirteen soon, and we'll have someone take him to the city then. If he can pass that ability test, maybe he can lead our whole family to great success.

Every year during the off-season, the village organizes free viewing of the mecha league. Cheng Che heard that those mecha players can earn tens of millions of yuan a year.

That's tens of millions... Cheng Che has never seen so much money in his life.

Even if you sold the entire Xiangtou Village, it wouldn't be worth that much.

His gambling father also liked to have these unrealistic dreams when he was alive, which is why he had seven children in one go.

Cheng Che scratched his head as he faced the sun.

Actually, it wasn't just his father; most people in the village thought the same way.

Since everyone is so poor that they have no hope for the future, they might as well have more children and try their luck.

Who knows, one of these children might just hit the jackpot with their genes, pass the aptitude test, and suddenly their whole family will rise to great heights and become incredibly wealthy.

The more children a person has, the poorer they become; the poorer they are, the more they hope to win the lottery—this hope becomes a painkiller for the poor.

Cheng Che himself no longer has that chance. Back then, when he was just thirteen years old, his older brother dragged him into the city, but that broken machine tested him for a long time and finally emitted a red light.

He finished his meal in a few bites, patted the dirt off his bottom, rinsed his feet under the tap, then draped the woven bag over his body and headed back to threshing.

"Second brother, two people have come to the house. They say they want to see you."

"Huh?" Cheng Che scratched his head. "The grain buyers are here so early this year? What prices are they offering?"

"They didn't say, but those two bosses have been carrying big bags and small packages home. Brother, you should go back and check on them."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Che didn't even bother to pick up the bowl; he picked up his little sister and rushed home.

He was afraid that his younger sister had misrepresented the message; the large and small packages might mean that creditors had come to collect debts.

He had just run to the gate when he heard his mother repeatedly saying, "This is unacceptable, how can we accept this?" A brand-new luxury car, which looked very expensive, was parked at the gate.

There were two rows of stacked gift boxes in the yard, and a man was carrying things out of the trunk.

Cheng Che was completely stunned, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.

He nodded awkwardly to the shop owner who was carrying things and said loudly, "Hello, boss, have you come to the wrong place?"

Jiang Yu smiled and waved her hand, pointing to the courtyard: "I'm not the boss, the boss is waiting for you inside."

It's the hottest time of the year, and the houses in the countryside don't have air conditioning. The man standing in the yard had his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He was tall and handsome, like someone who had been cut out of a TV show.

Cheng Che had never seen such an outstanding person in real life before. He was so apprehensive and nervous that he couldn't utter a single nice word.

Fang Zhuo quietly looked at the young man in front of her.

Good, he's still alive and in good spirits.

At just sixteen years old, Cheng Che had already grown to 1.8 meters tall. Due to long-term malnutrition, he was as thin as a bamboo pole, with dark skin, and from a distance, he looked like a tall, thin black ghost from a ghost story.

But his eyes were bright, and the farm work he did in the fields had left him with no excess fat, only highly refined and solid muscles.

It was unbearably hot here. After rescuing the person, Fang Zhuo didn't want to stay a minute longer. To make a long story short:

"Hello, I am the manager of the JR team. I recently received some inside information that although you did not pass the ability test back then, your evaluation score was very high."

"We'd like to see if you have the potential to play in matches. Would you be willing to come back to the training base with me?"

"Of course, we definitely won't let you make a wasted trip. I just transferred two million to your mother's card. If it doesn't go through, we'll take care of sending you home."

With a loud notification sound indicating a transaction had been processed on the senior citizen's bank terminal, the family's excitement was palpable.

A debt that would take a lifetime to repay can now be easily resolved in minutes, and a large sum of money has even been added to the account.

Cheng Che's mother burst into tears on the spot, pulling her three young children to kneel down before Fang Zhuo. If Jiang Yu hadn't stopped them in time, they would have already started knelt on the ground and kowtowed.

Cheng Che gripped his hair tightly, too overwhelmed with joy to speak immediately. He opened his mouth several times, but the lump in his throat prevented him from uttering a sound.

He could only nod heavily, gesturing with his hands to show his willingness, and wiping away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

He'd be willing to do anything, let alone be selected to play in a competition, he'd even be willing to be a slave to his boss.

He had only ever seen big bosses who casually tossed out millions in TV dramas and novels before; he never imagined that such an unreal scenario could actually happen to him.

Sitting awkwardly in the van, Cheng Che looked at his assistant who was driving and couldn't help but feel a surge of envy.

Working for a boss like that must be so wonderful...

If he fails this potential test again, he would be happy to stay in the boss's team as a cleaner or a porter.

As the commercial vehicle drove onto the deck of the interstellar train, Cheng Che's heart pounded faster and faster.

He had never been involved in mecha competitions in his life. The closest he had ever been to that world was when he touched the outer shell of a holographic virtual pod in a shopping mall when he went to the city.

I heard that the huge virtual reality pod costs more than ten million yuan, and just playing for an hour costs a thousand yuan, which is equivalent to several months' harvest for farmers like them. Cheng Che never dared to hope that he could actually sit in it one day.

As the massive factory gate slowly opened, Cheng Che was first choked by the smell of burning industrial components, causing him to cough several times. Then, he was surprised to see two enormous mechs, each over ten meters tall, standing against the wall.

He looked around in shock and found that there were not only mechs, but also priceless energy stones piled up in baskets like ordinary pebbles, and a training virtual pod in the corner.

What is this? Is this a dream?

Isn't the Lone Star League supposed to be held entirely in virtual pods? Many small teams don't even have physical mechs, so why are there two of them here all of a sudden?

Cheng Che walked blankly toward the nearest mecha, stroking its cold, hard outer shell in awe, beneath which lay a dense array of mechanical components.

Each gear set meshes precisely, and the high degree of precision in the coordination of these parts is what allows the mech pilot's movements to be displayed with extreme accuracy.

At this moment, the core oil storage tank of the mech was removed, revealing the complex energy pipelines inside that were coiled and twisted like blood vessels. An energy stone emitting a pale blue halo was placed in the original location of the oil storage tank.

"Never touch the energy stone on the ground with your bare hands, it's corrosive to the skin."

After reminding the other party, Yang Yurong walked up to Fang Zhuo as if to claim credit:

"Boss, I have some good news for you. My research direction is correct. At the current pace, I estimate we can start the verification experiment before the end of next week."

Fang Zhuo's gaze lingered on the two mechs. It was the first time he had ever seen real mechs from this world. He frowned and asked:

What is this smell?

"Oh, it's just the smell of energy evaporating during power supply. It's not very toxic, and we old engineers are used to it."

Fang Zhuo turned to Jiang Yu and said, "Purchase a batch of gas masks, and ask the manufacturer when they can deliver the new virtual reality pods. Oh, and also, see when the other team members will arrive."

Jiang Yu checked the message on the foldable terminal again: "They'll be here in ten minutes."

This batch of JR team players were all recruited by the previous owner. They are all veteran players from the sixth division and have signed contracts worth at least four million yuan a year. This salary is definitely above average in the Duxing League.

Looking at tJR's past financial statements, you can see that the previous president did have some money, but it was far from enough for him to pull the team from the single-star competition to the secondary league.

When he first arrived at Star Alliance, the previous president spent over 80 million to buy five competition-level virtual pods. Then, using his X-ray vision ability, he quickly selected five promising newcomers and confidently embarked on his journey to conquer the Unique Star League.

The Solo Star Competition is an internal tournament within Star Six C. The number of registered teams varies each season, typically ranging from ten to twenty. It is held four times a year, with one team advancing to the secondary league each time.

However, during the year that the new trademark was registered, the previous president tried three times and failed each time.

Clearly, even in the bottom-ranked division where the overall level is relatively low, making it out of the Duxing League is far more difficult than the president thinks.

After failing to advance the first time, the new president quickly bought two veteran players to strengthen the team, hoping that this move would make the points look a little better next season.

However, after losing one small competition after another and with no income for a long time, his balance soon ran out. So he had no choice but to sell the virtual pod he had bought secondhand and use the money to replace the remaining newcomers with more experienced players.

But all that effort not only failed to bring the team to the second-tier league, but it also hastened his demise.

When Fang Zhuo took over the factory, all that was left inside was a dilapidated virtual pod that had been handled by many people.

Seeing the five contestants peeking in from the doorway, Fang Zhuo beckoned to them.

The shortest guy among them looked around as soon as he came in—in his memory, the team owner was obviously dirt poor and wouldn't even provide them with accommodation, and made the five of them train in the same virtual pod.

How did they suddenly become rich in just a few days?

Not only were A-class mechs installed, but ten of the latest racing-grade virtual reality pods were also placed against the wall.

If these weren't rented, this whole setup would cost at least several billion yuan. There aren't many team owners in the entire 6C Star region who have such a large budget.

The short man was overjoyed. He greeted the boss with a smile, put on a gas mask, and started circling the mecha.

"Which of you is in the long and short blade position?"

"Me, me, me!" The short guy quickly raised his hand to answer. He was the last one to be signed into the line, so it was normal that the boss didn't recognize his face.

The boss becoming rich overnight is a fantastic thing. The availability of a virtual pod for each player greatly increases their chances of making it into the secondary league. Most importantly, the players' living standards are about to experience a qualitative leap.

If he makes more of an impression on the boss in the future, he might be able to get a ride in a luxury car.

The short guy was rubbing his hands together, seemingly already envisioning his wonderful future life living in a spacious, river-view apartment.

"You go back first, Cheng Che. You and the other four people play a game in the virtual pod."

This time, not only were the original five players of the JR team surprised, but Cheng Che also widened his eyes and seemed a little flustered:

"Boss, I've never been inside a virtual reality pod before..."

The short man, who had been excluded by the boss in just a few words, chuckled softly upon hearing this.

This boss has only been rich for a few days, and he's already starting to promote new talent so quickly.

But even if you want to promote someone, you have to see if you can actually make it happen...

These players, who have been playing in the Unicorn League for many years, either passed the ability test early on or were enrolled in mecha training courses worth over 100,000 yuan by their families from a young age. Mecha is not something you can just pick up and use anytime.

Even a top genius like Lin Yuzheng trained for several months before officially going on the field to compete. How could someone possibly learn how to operate a mecha with mental power all at once without any instruction?

The newcomer looked dazed, with dirt still on his trouser legs and dark skin. No wonder he'd never even touched a virtual reality pod before.

Does the team owner underestimate the complexity of mechs, or has he become so desensitized after three consecutive seasons of losses that he actually wants to recruit someone like this into the team?

Every game in the virtual pod will automatically be broadcast live. The remaining four people's accounts were previously of high rank, so the opponents they were matched with would definitely not be bad either. If this live broadcast recording were sent out, people would laugh at them to death.

Seeing that the team owner had also entered the virtual pod to watch the game, the short guy lingered in place for a while and did not choose to leave.

He grinned and pulled out his foldable terminal, intending to see how the comments section was criticizing this newcomer.

It's been a long time since I've had such a funny free laugh.

Anyway, he signed a full-year contract, so even if he's benched, it's not a loss for him; the boss will still pay him.

Once the boss realizes the huge gap between professional players and ordinary people, he will definitely wake up and bring him back.

A virtual match only lasts about half an hour, and the boss's time to back out is probably shorter than the time it takes him to go home and back. In order to avoid being called back to training on his way home, he decided to squat by the door and watch the whole match.

It is often difficult to match high-level players with opponents; it took nearly ten minutes for the system to find them a suitable opponent.

The short man leaned against the door, bored, watching as the eerie blue light from the six racing-grade virtual reality pods lit up one after another.