Chapter 48: The Art of Long-Distance Combat

“Oh, finally it’s my turn.” David’s voice came through.

“Nine Leaky Fish, can you stop talking nonsense and hurry up?” Li Daoran replied, his tone unfriendly.

“Alright, alright. I’ve been holding it in for a while. Since energy attacks aren’t affected by wind speed or other external factors, calculating the direction of this kind of shooting is actually quite easy. It’s roughly on that high mountain about 153 kilometers from you. So, your most important task right now is to hide yourself. In long-range combat, the main thing is to conceal your position. Once your location is determined, you’ve already lost half the battle.”

“I’ve already been spotted.”

“No worries, your energy shield still has more than thirty seconds left, enough time to find a place to hide. Right now, they’re not shooting because they’re calculating your shield’s duration. If you don’t hide, once the shield disappears, their attacks will come one after another, and you’ll definitely lose—dead and gone.”

“You know time’s tight, yet you still have the mood to joke?” Li Daoran retorted irritably.

“No rush. Right now, they must be locking onto you. Now, take out your big sniper, stand your ground, and find them. If they’re gathered together, that’s best. If not, you’re probably done for. Don’t bother struggling.”

Ignoring David’s banter, Li Daoran took out his sniper rifle and, sure enough, saw a mech in the direction David indicated on his screen. But where were the other four? They weren’t grouped together. He adjusted the sniper’s direction and found the other four mechs nearby. Fortunately, they weren’t too far apart.

“Aha, not good, not bad. Now’s the time to show your real skills: five shots in one second. Block their vision, then hide. If even one of them locks onto your position, you’re basically finished. That’s the cruelty of long-range duels. Numbers matter. Hahaha.”

“Shut up.” David’s deliberate laughter annoyed Li Daoran to the point of distraction.

“Don’t be nervous, Daoran. I’ve noticed you’re always too tense. It’s just a game, nothing you can’t lose. Flick your sniper, spray them in the face. With our tech, five shots in a second isn’t realistic, but a mech’s energy weapon is different. With negligible recoil and uninterrupted firing rate, as long as you’re fast enough, it’s no myth.”

“Alright, I get it. Just shut up.” Li Daoran took a deep breath and glanced at the shield’s remaining time: ten seconds.

He flexed his hands, confirmed his direction once more.

The Silver Leaper dropped from the air to the ground, and in that instant, Li Daoran moved. The Silver Leaper tapped the trigger five times in quick succession, slight adjustments in movement sending five energy blasts flying. Then, with a leap, he executed a seamless set of actions. But David’s sigh echoed in his ears.

“Well done, but it still failed. Your last two shots were angled wrong—just a tiny bit off. At such a distance, a small error becomes a huge miss.”

As soon as David finished, countless small energy blasts suddenly shot from the other side of the crater. It turned out Li Daoran’s talkative teammate was still alive, and as Li Daoran landed, he also chose to fire. His mech was the Heavy Firepower Seventh Generation, Stardust, equipped with an integrated machine gun system.

The endless stream of energy blasts swept from left to right, forcing the enemy to move. There was no need to activate their shields against this attack, and even if they did, the visibility issue would make it impossible to keep tracking Li Daoran.

“Hey, five shots in a second? Who do you think you are, War God Li Qing?” The teammate’s voice chimed in.

“You’re not dead?” Li Daoran asked in surprise.

“Not dead, but almost. I can’t escape, so you’d better win. Those three bastards—won’t make money with me, damn it, since that’s how it is, I won’t let them profit either.” His voice was furious and indignant.

“Gentle Breeze, I’ll remember you. I’ll add you as a friend later, let’s duo together.” Li Daoran glanced at his ID.

“Haha, good, I’ll wait for you, superstar. Don’t forget!” Gentle Breeze immediately changed his tone, sounding relaxed.

“Alright.” With that, Li Daoran swiftly moved through the mountains.

“Well, you’re still alive. Those five fools only focused on you, forgetting there was one they hadn’t bribed. But this kid can’t escape; his position’s locked. Anyway, now it’s our time to perform.” David said.

“What do I do now?” Li Daoran asked. He was still unfamiliar with long-range combat.

“It’s simple now. Find their positions again, but this time, don’t sneak up—play with them properly. A long-range duel can still be a one versus five.”

Li Daoran deployed the Bee Radar, guiding it toward the enemy’s position while he moved through the mountains, occasionally using his sniper to search for their locations.

“Don’t rush. Wait for them to attack, then you’ll know. Long-range duels are all about patience. Look at Gentle Breeze—he’s firing happily now, but he’s already a dead man. They’re not retaliating because you’re still hidden. Once they find you, they’ll act.

Wait until their patience runs out and they attack, then you can deduce their positions. But you must be quick. Remember, mechs aren’t like humans. A person can’t move far in a second or two, but a mech can cover a huge range in that time. If you move too slow, you won’t even see their shadow—that’s your chance. Don’t fire a single shot, just play hide and seek. Heh, this is the game. Once you lock their positions, you’ve won.”

“This is too slow. I’d rather sneak up and take them out.” Li Daoran felt overwhelmed by the complexity and couldn’t help but speak up.

“No, if you sneak up, you lose. The opponents aren’t like at the start; they’re clearly an experienced group. In this match, eight actors—looks like you’re being targeted badly. They must have already dispersed. Your shield is gone, and if you can’t confirm their positions, attacking rashly will get your location locked, and you’ll lose.”

Li Daoran scratched his head, feeling the difference in high-level play.

“Mech technology: speed is external, awareness is internal. You’ve got the speed, but your awareness isn’t enough. Before, you easily faced unorganized teams—poor formations, no cooperation, picking them off one by one was normal. Now, awareness and team ability matter more. But we’ll talk about that later. For now, teach the opponents a lesson.” Chen Ming’s deep voice came through.

The battlefield was now silent. Li Daoran lay prone in a large cave atop the mountain. Gentle Breeze had stopped firing, his energy spent, feigning death. He didn’t surrender because he knew he still had value, like acting as bait.

The five opponents were scattered, their locations unknown. The scene was enveloped in a strange calm.