We agreed on mecha battles, but you're relying on your life force to become a god?

"Beep...beep...beep..."

A muffled call echoed in the living room, accompanied by intermittent electromagnetic noise.

In this era of rampant high technology, this retro-style blind sound makes people feel a strange unease.

A minute passed.

The phone continued to ring with a monotonous dial tone.

Wang Xing shrugged and looked at his mother with some helplessness: "Mom, it's still the same... My older sister can't get through nine out of ten times, I'm used to it."

Yang Xiaoxia sighed with some heartache, her expression showing a hint of worry, but she still gently comforted her:

"Ah Xing, don't blame your older sister. The situation on the front lines in the northern desert is critical. I saw on the news yesterday that two days ago, a new A-level Black Abyss descended upon the northern wilderness... The alert level on the defense line has been raised to the highest level."

"Your sister works as a security guard in the logistics department. She has to clean up so much radioactive waste and heavy equipment every day. It's common for her to go two or three days without sleep when she's busy."

"I know, Mom, I was just joking."

Wang Xing held the phone, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted.

In this world, the Abyss is the Sword of Damocles hanging over the entirety of human civilization.

Once a high-level Black Abyss descends, the surrounding area of ​​thousands of kilometers will turn into a dead zone, and the abyssal beasts that follow will be like an endless tide.

The northern desert is the first front line of the Federation's fight against the Black Abyss, and also one of the eight Abyss Kingdom Guards of the Dragon Kingdom, filled with desolation and bloodshed.

His sister survived and earned money in that kind of environment just to support his studies and get into the mecha university... Wang Xing respected her so much, how could he possibly complain about her?

Just as Wang Xing was about to hang up the phone and try again later that evening.

"Buzz—"

The satellite phone in my hand suddenly started vibrating violently, and the red signal light turned slightly green in an instant.

A holographic video request popped up.

They called back!

Wang Xing's eyes lit up, and he immediately pressed the call button.

"Whoosh!"

A somewhat unstable, pale blue light curtain opened in mid-air in the living room.

The image shows a woman with short, neat hair and a wheat-colored complexion.

She was still wearing a large, fluorescent-colored police jacket and a yellow safety helmet.

"Sis, why is it like this again?"

Wang Xing crossed his arms and glanced sideways at his sister in the holographic screen:

"Every time I call you, either the call can't be connected at all, or every ten minutes or so, you call me back using these weird encrypted lines?"

"Tell me honestly, is there something you're hiding from me? Are you in a relationship and don't want me and Mom to know?"

Wang Yue on the other end of the video clearly rolled her eyes at Wang Xing, and raised her somewhat rough fist at him through the screen:

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? Your sister works as a sentry in this godforsaken northern desert, dealing with mecha reactors and abyssal monsters all day long. Who would dare to date me if they didn't risk their life?"

"I was cleaning the exhaust valves in the warehouse, and my hands were dirty, so I didn't hear you. Enough nonsense, what brings you here today?"

Upon hearing her eldest daughter's voice, Yang Xiaoxia hurriedly squeezed in front of the camera, her eyes welling up with tears again.

"Yueyue, don't listen to your brother's nonsense. Are you eating well over there? It's gotten so cold lately, do you have any warm clothes in the northern desert? The sandstorms are even worse there, so please don't catch a cold..."

"Mom! I'm doing great. The food here in the Northern Desert is fantastic! We have monster meat with every meal. They even gave us warm clothes, it's so cozy!"

Wang Yue grinned at the camera, revealing a set of white teeth, and even patted her chest, which was covered by a fluorescent jacket, in a somewhat comical manner, to indicate that she was in great shape.

"Sis, I'm calling you today because I have something really important to tell you."

Wang Xing took a deep breath, and an unprecedented seriousness and radiance appeared on his face.

"Oh? Something big?" Wang Yue looked at him with amusement. "What's so big?"

"Sister, I won the championship in the Chengdu Hundred Schools Competition yesterday," Wang Xing said calmly.

On the other end of the video call, Wang Yue's smile suddenly froze.

"What...what did you say?"

"Not only that, sis."

Wang Xing straightened up by the dining table, and his internal energy surged slightly for a moment.

Although separated by thousands of miles, that surging confidence emanating from within pierced through the blurry holographic screen:

"I just fused with the top-grade supplement from the champion of the Hundred Schools Competition at noon today... I am now at level 8.5 in terms of Qi and Blood."

"Clang!"

On the other end of the video, it seemed as if some heavy tool had fallen onto the subway floor, making a loud, jarring thud.

Inside the holographic screen, Wang Yue's spirited eyes were fixed on Wang Xing, her lips trembling slightly, and two lines of tears slid down her cheeks in an instant.

"Level 8.5..."

"Number one among 100 schools..."

Wang Yue's voice trembled, and tears streamed down her face like beads from a broken string.

"Good...good lad..."

"Your sister's hard work in the northern desert was not in vain; she certainly did not disgrace your sister."

"Sister, don't cry, this is a joyous occasion." Wang Xing looked at the screen with some heartache.

He knew that his older sister was stationed on that dangerous border, and her biggest worry was his mother and him at home.

Wang Yue took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, and said solemnly:

"Ah Xing, listen to me."

"You won the championship among 100 schools, which means you'll receive a mandatory 20-point bonus in the college entrance examination. Combined with your usual total score, if nothing unexpected happens, you're very likely to get into a mecha university."

"But! That's not enough!"

Wang Yue's voice became extremely serious:

"Among the Federation's four top mecha universities, the elite mecha majors that truly involve interstellar exploration and abyssal warfare have unimaginably high entry requirements."

Even with those 20 bonus points, without the 15% bonus from Void Element Power, your score won't be exceptionally high. Without truly outstanding results, you can't freely choose any major.

"Therefore, you still have to participate in the upcoming provincial civil service exam, and... you must give it your all!"

"Provincial civil service exam..."

Wang Xing narrowed his eyes slightly.

My older sister is truly experienced; what she said was the same as what Lü Yun and the principal said.

The provincial civil service exam is very important to me.

"Yes, the provincial civil service exam!"

Wang Yue's eyes burned with fervor as she said, "The Hundred Schools Competition is merely an internal selection process within Rongcheng, while the Provincial Examination is the ultimate clash between all the hidden geniuses of the entire province and even several surrounding large cities!"

"If you can achieve an extremely high ranking in the provincial exam and deliver a performance so outstanding that the entire Federation cannot ignore it, you might even be directly admitted to one of the four major mecha universities."

"At that time, you will not only be able to choose the best, most promising and most suitable major for you at the Mech University, but the school's resources will also be completely open to you."

"Ah Xing, the Hundred Schools Competition is just one step on your path to becoming a mecha master. There's still a long way to go before you truly reach the top. You absolutely cannot afford to slack off!"

Listening to his sister's passionate and hopeful words, Wang Xing's fists clenched tightly without him even realizing it.

The divine tiger microparticle on the right thumb seemed to sense the host's soaring fighting spirit deep within his heart, and once again emitted a high-frequency resonance.

"Don't worry, sis."

Wang Xing raised his head, revealing a flamboyant and confident smile:

"I've already won first place in all 100 schools, and first place in the provincial exam... will only be mine!"

"Good! You've got guts! No wonder you're my brother!"

Wang Yue laughed and cursed, her tears still wet, but her mouth was already stretched to her ears.

"Alright, I can't chat with you guys any longer. I need to clean out the next scrap yard; the satellite frequency is about to be jammed. Mom, Xing, wait for my good news at home!"

"beep--"

The screen cut off in an instant.

The holographic screen transformed into countless blue light spots, dissipating in the old living room.

………………

the other side.

Thousands of miles away, in the northern desert.

The Northern Desert Defense Line, the Seventh Heavy Armored Fortress.

"Smack."

Wang Yue closed the military special satellite terminal in her hand without expression.

The moment the call ended, the smile on her face vanished instantly.

Instead, it is a terrifying aura, cold as a blade, that can only be honed after struggling on the brink of death countless times amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Whoosh—"

She casually made a sweeping motion in the air beside her.

The projected background image of the "dilapidated logistics warehouse" disappeared instantly.

The real scene was revealed.

This is not some low, shabby old warehouse at all.

Instead, it is a heavy mech standby and maintenance cabin located 100 meters underground, constructed from three-meter-thick nuclear-resistant lead plates and mithril alloy!

Above the head.

Countless enormous overhead cranes were operating at full speed, sparks flying everywhere in the dark steel space.

A super-heavy attack mech, modified from an engineering mech, standing 35 meters tall and weighing over 300 tons, called "Mountain Cutter," stood quietly to one side.

"Company Commander, a high-frequency abyss energy wave just swept across, and our quantum defense barrier experienced three short-term discrepancies."

A serious-looking adjutant, covered in mud, strode forward, gave a crisp military salute, and looked at Wang Yue with some concern:

"The phone call just now...didn't reveal the military's coordinates, did it?"

"Don't worry, it's an old line, protected by the highest security bureau's quantum key distribution system, it can't be leaked."

Wang Yue casually tossed the satellite terminal to her adjutant.

Then, she took a deep breath and ripped off the fluorescent logistics vest she was wearing, which had the words "Northern Desert Alert" written on it, to conceal her identity.

He casually tossed the vest into a nearby storage box.

Beneath the vest was a set of meticulously buttoned, perfectly straight without a single wrinkle, earthen-yellow military uniform symbolizing the northern desert region.

On each of her shoulders, a golden star emblem made of pure titanium alloy shimmered.

The regular army of the Dragon Kingdom.

On the northern front, the 7th Vanguard Mech Battalion, the 7th Mech Company... Company Commander: Wang Yue!

She walked to the coat rack and took down a black tactical cloak covered in the dust and sand of the wilderness.

"Splash—"

The tactical cloak settled firmly on her shoulders.

Wang Yue turned around, her sharp, hawk-like eyes piercing through the fortress's massive holographic observation window, looking out at the desolate, sand-swept, pitch-black land beyond the fortress.

On the distant horizon, a massive, dark crack several kilometers wide resembled a wound in the earth, constantly spewing forth billowing dark red mist.

In the hazy mist, countless abyssal monsters, each the size of a house, roared deafeningly, attempting to breach the steel defenses that humans had built in the northern desert.

"Company Commander, the tactical computer shows that the energy response of 'Greedy Mouth' Black Abyss has reached its peak."

"In ten minutes, the first wave of the abyss is expected to reach Sunset Valley, on the outskirts of our defense zone..."

"The staff officer suggested that we should rely on the fortress's heavy railguns for defense..."

The adjutant reported with a solemn expression.

"Defense?"

Wang Yue let out a cold laugh, her bloodshot eyes, filled with endless killing intent, fixed on the darkness ahead:

"My younger brother won first place among all schools in Chengdu, and his Qi and Blood level broke through to level 8.5."

"He's only eighteen, and he's already working so hard."

"How could I, as his older sister, embarrass him in front of these scoundrels?"

She slowly put on the helmet, and the moment the visor closed, the cold, engineering mech voice rang out in the maintenance bay:

[Pilot Wang Yue detected, brainwave compatibility: 92.5%, super-heavy [Mountain Cutter] mech, warm-up complete.]

"Pass on my orders!"

Wang Yue's voice came through the helmet's speaker, cold and full of iron-blooded power:

"Seventh Steel Company, all personnel boarding!"

"Follow me, drive out of the fortress, and five kilometers outside Sunset Valley, crush this tidal wave... to pieces!"