His Match Is an Interstellar Monster

Chapter 12: Famous After One Battle

Even without a mech or a psi-body, Xiao Sa still had the option to choose a weapon.

The newbie room offered a variety of common weapons available on the market, both melee and ranged. Hardly anyone would be foolish enough to try and go toe-to-toe with a mech’s tough alloy exterior using something like a laser gun.

With a quick glance at the array of weapons, Xiao Sa casually commanded Haino, “Choose a weapon that maximizes my strength.”

“Nano alloy gauntlets. They efficiently convert mental energy into strength, with the highest concentration of power.”

Xiao Sa nodded. Although it was only a C-grade, it would suffice for now.

He clenched his fingers into a fist, and a pair of alloy gauntlets instantly appeared on his hands, with a row of sharp short steel spikes protruding from the knuckles.

Xiao Sa walked to the center of the arena, twisted his wrists, and lightly tapped the gauntlets together, producing a dull thud sound.

He extended a hand toward the dark red mech across from him and wiggled his fingers, “Come at me.”

Seated in the mech, Vinci was both annoyed and amused by the provocative gesture, “Where did this guy come from? Can’t win but still putting on a show?”

Using ranged weapons against someone without a mech felt like bullying.

Vinci thought, *Forget it, taking a newbie too seriously would just make me look bad.* He gently pushed the joystick to the right, lowering the output power to around 30%.

“I can end this with one punch.” Confidently gripping the control stick, his double-A grade psi-energy spread like a spider web, firmly connected to every neural link port inside the cockpit.

The three-meter-tall dark red mech moved gracefully, locking onto the black-clad figure in the center of the arena. It accelerated, raised its right fist, and was about to strike Xiao Sa—

To everyone’s surprise, Xiao Sa remained motionless. He neither dodged nor avoided.

The spectators in the newbie room’s viewing area let out a collective sigh of disappointment.

“Is it over so quickly? I thought the streamer was just playing around. Pretty boring.”

“Is he really giving up because he can’t use a mech?”

“There’s no way he’s actually a rookie, making me feel like a fool for expecting a good show.”

The barrage of comments in the viewing area continued, but none of it affected Xiao Sa’s actions.

"Are you going easy on me? You're really slow."

He watched the oncoming red mech, took a deep breath, and raised both fists. His concrete spiritual energy took on a faint white-gold hue, flowing down his arms and enveloping the alloy gauntlets entirely.

His fists now looked like two glowing orbs.

Fist meets fist, human hand against mech.

Xiao Sa stepped back with his right foot, stomped the floor, spun his body, and channeled all his strength into his right fist, smashing it into the charging mech’s fist!

"Boom—"

A deafening boom echoed through the arena, leaving the spectators' chat blank for several seconds.

As the simulated dust settled, Xiao Sa was forced back three steps. He relaxed his fist and shook his numb hand, a grin of exhilaration spreading across his face. "That was amazing, so intense!"

At that moment, inside the cockpit, Vinci sat with his mouth agape, his jaw nearly hitting the floor. "How is he still standing? What about the system referee? Why didn’t it declare me the winner?"

He rubbed his eyes hard, making sure he wasn’t hallucinating, but Xiao Sa remained calmly standing in place, even having the nerve to wave and taunt him again. "Come at me again, why don’t you?"

Vinci’s face flushed with anger. "Where did this freak come from?!"

The spectators’ chat was now flooded with “Holy crap,” and the share buttons on the viewers' screens were almost smoking.

"This guy actually has some moves. I’m the fool here!"

"Dude, your fists are so tough... I mean, your gauntlets."

"It’s unthinkable to withstand a direct hit from a mech’s punch! Even a broken bone would be an understatement against a mech!"

In the viewing area of the Future Eye Research Facility, Landis and his group wore similarly astonished expressions.

Duke Lot’s face twitched. What the hell is going on?

Caro pushed up his glasses and blinked. "Commander, is the mech not properly calibrated?"

Landis shook his head, his eyes fixed on the screen. "The mech might just be testing him out. It’s too early to draw conclusions."

Before he could finish speaking, the red mech launched its second attack.

This time, Wen Xi didn’t be overconfident again. He initially intended to push the control lever to 100% energy but hesitated. He thought it would be too humiliating to be frightened by just one punch, so he adjusted it to 70%.

"I must have underestimated him just now. I won’t give this guy any chance this time." He took a deep breath and maneuvered the mech to lift off, the jet streams under its feet allowing it to stay airborne for an extended period.

The red mech drew its pulse gun from the side and, fully enjoying the advantage of air superiority, unleashed a barrage of fire at Xiao Sa on the ground.

The entire arena was engulfed in grayish-white simulated electronic dust, with only a faint glimpse of the black-clad knight rolling and dodging awkwardly on the ground.

"This is over. How can someone on the ground fight against something in the sky? Can a fist reach as far as a long-range pulse gun?"

"The pilot may be shameless, but that red battle armor is really impressive. Is it a new model that hasn’t been released yet? I’ve never seen it before."

"It’s fun to dominate a weak opponent, as long as I’m not the weak one."

Seeing that Wen Xi had completely taken control of the situation and was chasing the black knight around the arena, Duke Lot finally let out a sigh of relief.

The Star Network had already arranged for a marketing team to record and take screenshots, ready to release promotional articles. As soon as public attention focused on these newly developed combat mechs, advertisements would follow. Once they hit the market, the investment group’s stock price increase was almost guaranteed.

If they successfully gained favor with the imperial military and secured large-scale procurement and replacement, the returns would be ten times the investment.

Unfortunately, this opponent was too weak to demonstrate the new mech’s combat capabilities.

Duke Lot thought with regret, hoping his son would be smart enough to know what to do now.

Standing next to him, Landis, with his arms crossed, watched the red mech show off its power in the air on the holographic projection. He furrowed his brow slightly and shook his head. "It’s full of vulnerabilities."

As a strong pilot of S-class mechs, he could quantify all the movements of this red mech into data.

Although these new battle armors had increased efficiency and attack power, the trade-off was a reduction in movement speed, and even heavy weapons were left out.

Wen Xi was showing off flashy moves that only AA pilots can perform, but they offered no practical benefit in real combat.

Hasn’t he noticed that the black knight, despite being suppressed, was still alive and well?

After dodging a round of fierce attacks, Xiao Sa, who was running rapidly across the field, rolled on the ground and, with one hand on the floor, crouched on one knee in the center of the arena.

Wen Xi, with his mental energy heavily drained, was panting and drenched in sweat, yet still excited. "Well? Not giving up yet? I won’t hold back anymore from now on."

"I’ve got a good handle on things now..." Xiao Sa narrowed his eyes, fixated on every movement of the red mech, each angle of the gun, every firing interval, and its dodging patterns.

"Haino, log this: movement speed 40 to 50, peak 57, pulse gun attack interval 0.5 to 0.8, inertia turning to the right, angle 23, flight distance 3..."

A pale blue, translucent visor appeared before his eyes, the physical representation of the Lightning Brain within the arena.

Xiao Sa's sharp gaze, like a precision instrument, analyzed the red mech’s capabilities and the pilot’s true strength through naked-eye observation alone.

As he rapidly recited a series of data, the powerful computing ability of the brain exposed all of Wen Xi and the red mech’s secrets on his visor.

"Xiao Sa, do you want me to analyze the opponent’s weaknesses? It wouldn’t be a rule violation. ^_^"

"Not necessary." Xiao Sa casually brushed the bangs from his forehead back, shaking off the sweat, a cool, metallic sheen gliding over his silver mask.

Under the mask, his brows furrowed slightly, and his lips curled into a smirk as his eyes sparkled with fiery battle intent. "I’ve got it."

In the cockpit, Wen Xi, confident of his impending victory, felt he had demonstrated enough. "One last strike will finish you off!"

As the red mech repeated the same spinning and drawing his gun movement, Xiao Sa suddenly stomped the ground with a force that nearly caved in the arena floor, leaping high into the air—

His speed increased to another level, fast enough to leave almost no afterimage. Wen Xi instantly lost target lock, and when he refocused, Xiao Sa had stepped on the barrel of the gun he was holding with pinpoint accuracy!

"First punch."

Xiao Sa delivered a powerful downward punch with his right fist.

The impact was so intense that Wen Xi’s arms, gripping the controls, went numb. The mech’s arm felt like it was holding a tank instead of a gun.

"Snap—" the pulse gun made a faint crisp sound, and the most fragile tube cracked, rendering it useless.

"What?!"

Before Wen Xi could react, Xiao Sa pushed off the gun barrel and leaped again. He flashed over the mech’s shoulder and landed on its back, moving like lightning.

"Second punch."

This time, Xiao Sa's fist struck the mech’s right knee joint heavily and firmly, a deep thud echoing through the arena.

Wen Xi felt his right side lighten and lost balance, falling to one knee, his right hand still raised in the gun-holding position.

The joints of the limbs are almost universally known weaknesses of all mechs, but a skilled pilot would never allow an enemy to exploit these weaknesses so easily. Clearly, Vinci was not among them.

The audience's stream of comments instantly flooded the screen:

"What’s going on? How did it turn into a marriage proposal during the fight?"

"Amazing, disarmed in just two punches, and he managed to turn the tide?!"

Vinci's blood boiled, and once he came to his senses, he immediately counterattacked. However, in Xiao Sa's eyes, with his speed fully engaged, each of Vinci’s movements was as slow as a snail, and his predictable actions were anticipated.

"Three strikes."

Xiao Sa's gaze was focused and cold, like a cold, unfeeling machine counting off, as he once again slammed down a fist, repeating the same move on the left knee joint.

Now, Vinci was on both knees, performing a grand bow.

The chat section was filled with laughter:

"Hello everyone, let me wish you a happy New Year in advance! [Festive Red]"

"Just proposed and now bowing to heaven and earth together?"

"Don’t kneel to me; it won’t end well."

By now, Vinci was completely enraged, his face flushed red with both embarrassment and anger. He was like a lit fuse on a dynamite stick.

In his rage, he pushed his strength to the limit, ignoring the red warnings of unstable mental energy on the screen, and launched a frenzied attack on Xiao Sa, both arms firing lasers and the chest-mounted micro particle cannon unleashing shots as if energy were limitless.

At his feet, a massive mutated man-eating flower, seemingly emerging from the ground, had several thick, thorny vines waving in the air, recklessly attempting to surround Xiao Sa.

"How shameless, using a mech and still summoning a mental entity! Isn’t this a three-on-one fight?"

"With this level of piloting, I could scatter some grain on the control panel, and my hen would do better."

"Why is everyone insulting the mech operator? Doesn’t the other side have a voice to comment?"

Faced with such intense attacks, Xiao Sa’s situation quickly became perilous.

The spectators were on edge, anxiously wondering why he was still hiding his mental entity. Why not bring it out and have a head-on snipe?

His face showed no fear, but he grew fiercer in battle. A low laugh escaped from beneath his silver mask: "So, you can summon plant-type 'battle pets.' Interesting."

Haino's voice promptly corrected him in his ear:

"Xiao Sa, that's a mental entity; almost everyone has one. Except you."

Xiao Sa: "Who asked you anyway?"

He snorted. Isn't this just a manifestation of mental energy?

"Hum—" An inaudible ripple spread from Xiao Sa, instantly enveloping the entire arena.

Whether it was the red mech, Wen Xi inside the cockpit, or the man-eating flower with its gaping mouth on the ground, all fell within his mental domain.

Instantly, Wen Xi's man-eating flower seemed to have its throat grabbed. The once aggressive vines wilted, as if something heavy was pressing down on it, bending the stem.

This strike hit Wen Xi like a bolt of lightning. The mental network connected to the control port became extremely sluggish, as if stuck by some magnetic field. Nausea surged up, and he retched several times.

Wen Xi clenched his teeth and further drained his mental energy, urging the man-eating flower to spew venom at Xiao Sa.

However, his mental energy had already been excessively consumed in the earlier performance, and now the backlash felt like needle pricks, causing pain that made him clutch his head.

His greatest advantage in the mech was his double-A-level mental energy control, but now that advantage was lost, exposing his immature operational skills and physical weaknesses.

Outside the arena, Caro stared at the holographic projection in amazement. "Incredible, I've never seen anyone suppress a mech with just a pair of alloy gauntlets! Even if it's just a micro mech, it's still a mech!"

The third prince, Mo Ang, after a moment of astonishment, had a gleam in his eyes. "Where did this guy spring from? This year's Heavenly Ascension Arena is full of surprises."

Landis watched the black knight's every move intently. His hands uncrossed from their relaxed position over his chest, and his right hand habitually rested on the gun at his waist, his upper body leaning forward slightly.

His expression was serious, revealing a hint of interest. "I doubt I could do the same if I were him."

Caro laughed. "Commander itching for a fight? But you're the top-ranked player in the Heavenly Ascension Arena; you wouldn’t be matched with a newbie."

By this time, the number of spectators had multiplied tenfold. The audience’s attitude had shifted from merely watching the spectacle to a shared hope that the black knight could create a miracle of defeating a mech with his bare body.

"Hit him! I've never liked the red mech!"

"If you win tonight, I'll livestream doing a handstand and eating a [censored item]!"

Watching as the tide of attack and defense reversed in an incredible turn of events, Duke Lot couldn’t remain seated any longer. He pulled the base commander to the side and issued a few stern commands. The commander, with a helpless expression, nodded repeatedly before hurrying toward the control room.

In the arena, Xiao Sa was targeting the knee joint of the mech.

Just as he was about to cripple one of the mech’s mechanical legs, the malfunctioning red mech rose to its feet once more, and its nearly depleted energy was instantly restored.

The system referee did not issue any warnings, and the spectators had no idea what was happening. The screens were filled with regretful sighs. It seemed only a mech could breach another mech’s defenses!

"Xiao Sa, the data on the other side is clearly abnormal. It’s a bit strange; the sub-processors should have detected it."

Dodging the mech's attack, Xiao Sa shot back, "Aren’t you the mainframe? Isn’t the arena under your jurisdiction?"

In the real-world virtual cabin, Haino's projection always stood beside Xiao Sa. He shrugged, lifted his chin, and spread his hands.

"I have countless tasks to handle every day. For such a minor issue, the sub-processors have dedicated personnel. If I don’t actively allocate resources, the sub-processors won’t report back."

Xiao Sa’s eyes grew cold as he stared at the red mech, squinting. "I’m a newbie. It’s really unfair to cheat against someone like me."

"Little newbie, do you want me to report them for you? I can kick them offline immediately. ^O^"

"That wouldn’t be interesting."

Xiao Sa’s tongue ran over his dry lips. A potent, aggressive pheromone lingered around him, forcibly repelling the venom and vines that approached.

A powerful mental force steadily gathered in his fists, faintly glowing with a sharp, light golden hue.

Xiao Sa’s agile form leaped onto the mental entity’s flower stem, casually grabbed a thick vine and lashed it out, wrapping it around the red mech’s neck. He stepped on the vine as if it were solid ground, finally reaching the mech’s rear neck.

He lightly touched it with his alloy-clad fists, a mischievous smile curling his lips. "Newbie punch."

Xiao Sa aimed at the power system device on the rear neck and the cockpit behind it, hammering down with all his might.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boomboomboom!"

The terrifying sound of metal collisions reverberated continuously in the arena, so deafening it was as if it would pierce through the spectators' eardrums.

The spectators in the viewing area stared with wide-eyed disbelief as Xiao Sa punched the mech repeatedly, their eyes bulging out. The chat section erupted with comments:

"Mom, I think I just got a cyber godfather!"

Outside the arena, Landis couldn’t resist stepping forward, his icy blue eyes gleaming with the fighting spirit of a veteran warrior. A subtle warmth at the back of his neck prompted him to instinctively unbutton the top button of his shirt, seeking to ease the heat from his rising fighting spirit. Black flames instantly appeared beside him, his excited pet raising its tail high.

The Stellar Network was flooded with numerous new posts every second, all sharing a similar title—A dark horse in the newbie room: the Black Knight! Who is this enigmatic figure?!