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Chapter 68

Tournament 2nd Day (2)

 

Chu Shen didn’t sit down, but remained in the simulator room. Shortly after there was another announcement.

“The battle has ended between contestants 2 and 8 with contestant 2 being the winner! It has all come down to this… Who will win, Dixxilio’anios Gatoonisga from the Nugitraaiil empire, or Chu Shen from Sparta? Find out after the break.”

In two minutes the fight would start. As Chu Shen started prepping for the fight, the was a knock on the door. Opening it there was a black-purple scaled figure.

The Nugitraaiil bowed to Chu Shen. “I am Dixxilio’anios Gatoonisga from the Nugitraaiil empire. I request that you let my brother be freed of his bonds.”

Chu Shen just stared at her for a second.

“…….What?”

“I asked if you could free my brother.”

Chu Shen shook his head. “I heard, I just don’t understand. I don’t have your brother as a captive, so how could I free him?”

The Nugitraaiil hissed in their own form of amusement. “I see. You weren’t even aware of what you did. The Nugitraaiil are a warrior race. If you beat them, then they will obey you until they can beat you. I would like for you to free my brother from such an obligation.”

Chu Shen nodded. “I can do that. I also free you from your obligation as well.”

Now it was the Nugitraaiils turn to look confused. “What do you mean, I have no obligation to serve you.”

He laughed. “Well in about ten minutes you will so I wanted to clear things up before hand.”

The Nugitraaiil blinked in astonishment before showing her teeth in amusement. “Hissss. You are an arrogant one. I will face you in battle, but I will not lose. It is unfortunate that you took my brother off-guard otherwise you might not be here.”

“Alright it’s time for the final match. Contestants, take your positions please.” The Nugitraaiil left quickly while Chu Shen climbed back into the simulation pod.

Soon he was back in the match. Just like her brothers Drethgaalos, her Frethgaalos was shaped like a box and used nanites to form it’s weapons all over it’s body.

As the crowd counted down Chu Shen prepared to end this quickly.

““Three!””

““Two!””

““One!””

““Fight!””

The Frethgaalos immediately shot upwards, but this time over twenty meters in the air. Chu Shen switched his hammer into its plasma gun mode. Heating up the plasma cannon took time but it was better to have it deployed then miss an opportunity.

Using his HUD he switched all of the dials to 100 for the first time. Suddenly his robot blurred, leaving an afterimage. It immediately appeared in the middle of the arena.

Raising both arms, lasers fired towards the bottom of the Frethgaalos. The Frethgaalos dodged left as the lasers lanced past. Bolts of energy shot downwards from the guns of the Frethgaalos as they grew out from underneath it.

Chu Shen left after-images as he moved so fast the people watching couldn’t process his speed. The energy bolts impacted beside him. At the same time the Frethgaalos dodged his lasers.

Both sides blasted at each other with only the occasional blow landing. As glowing beams of energy was exchanged, the shields on both sides quickly depleted. Suddenly a crackling ball of energy emerged from the raised left hand of Chu Shen.

A beam of purple energy shot out as a particle cannon opened fire from the back of the Frethgaalos. Both sides dodged but Chu Shen was clipped with the beam on his side.

BANG BANG

Chu Shen was sent flying backwards, leaving a crater in the ground. Suddenly several pieces of his hammer detached before flying upwards. The flew towards the Frethgaalos.

Activating his hammers [Plasma Slug Mode], a blue ball of plasma fired out towards the Frethgaalos. As the dangerous projectile grew closer, the Frethgaalos quickly moved sideways.

However, how could Chu Shen not have known this? The hammer parts in midair suddenly projected a magnetic field, redirecting the plasma ball towards their target.

The ball changed direction in midair, homing in on the fleeing Frethgaalos. Before it could do anything else, the plasma ball smashed into the robot, sending sparks into the air as it’s shields were massively depleted. The hammer parts quickly came back down to him.

Chu Shen once again fired lasers at the robot. Activating the explosives in his boots he quickly closed the distance between him and the other robot.

Knowing how disadvantageous it was to get close to him, the robot quickly sped away. Spinning around, he fired explosives from his feet at the fleeing robot and several laser beams for good measure. The explosives exploded barely a meter above the robot.

BOOM

The explosives shockwave forced the robot toward the ground. Also landing on the ground, Chu Shen closed the distance but right as he was about to reach the Frethgaalos, it shot upwards once again.

That purple light lanced out and hit him smack dab in the middle. The superheated particles blasted a hole in his chest but this time his shield did not stop the beam. As a result he kept charging forward, not being blasted backwards.

The impact gel absorbed the blast and stopped the particle beam from going completely through him. Activating the explosives at 20% of their power, he shot upwards far faster than before.

Boom Boom creak

His leg armor cracked slightly from the blow. Flying upwards at a speed the Frethgaalos could not dodge he oriented himself to fire everything he had. He fired the plasma cannon still in its previous mode, the phantom bomb at 90% power, and the energy cannon at point blank range.

BOOOOOOOMMMMMMM

The resulting explosion launched him backwards and obliterated the Frethgaalos completely. He fell downwards, his shield had been destroyed by the particle cannon and the blast ripped apart most of his front.

He fell downwards, hitting the ground hard. Green goo spread on the floor surrounding him in a puddle, eerily similar to a human bleeding out. Sparks flew from his body. Struggling he stood up, compensating for the power bleed outs.

Metal plates were stripped, still dripping with impact gel, revealing the hydraulic system underneath. Bits of metal dangled from his mangled left arm.

“Chu Shen has placed first! A twelve-year old has come in first place! Well folks, he still has to defend his title so get ready!”

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Chapter 67

Tournament 2nd day (1)

 

Chu Shen was now in the top four. With his 3rd win he was finished for the day. Going home he celebrated his victory with Leonard. By now it was 10 o’clock and Chu Shen had only had a hotdog from one of the stands for lunch.

The next morning he ate breakfast before heading to the arena at ten. It was time for the finals. First group 8 would have a total of 4 fights.

They would have 2 fights, each between two random members of group 8. Then the losers and winners of the two fights would fight each other, giving them their final ranking.

This would be repeated for all the groups until the final rankings, 1st-32nd, were decided. Then there would be an hour to have duels to advance before the rankings became permanent.

Chu Shen arrived and it wasn’t long before the tournament started.

“Alright folks, I am sure we are all eager to get started. Just like last year, the finals are going to be special! The arena will no longer be a flat surface, but instead it will shift and create landscapes!”

“As for all those worrying about missing the action because of a tree being in the way, don’t worry! Our nano-drones will be capturing the action to be displayed on your seats. Just switch between the angles for maximum pleasure.”

“Now for the fight, group 8 contestant numbers……” Chu Shen watched for a while before getting bored. Various familiar faces such as Sea Gods Wrath and Daleks Revenge popped up every now and then. It took a long time before it was finally his turn.

“Contestant 28 and contestant 13 take your positions.”

It was time for Chu Shen’s next match.

………………………………………………………………….

Xentus Viri peered at his display. Beside him was a young boy with red hair.

The young boy pointed at the display. “Who is that Mr. Viri? Why did you ask me to watch him? You know i’m busy experimenting with the nanites building program.”

Xentus shook his head. “Lucas. You’re too impatient. I still remember when you asked me to find you some friends. Well, this person just might meet my requirements. He’s smart, friendly, and doesn’t judge people. He even made friends with a clone in a heartbeat.”

Lucas looked at the screen. “He doesn’t seem that impressive.”

“Look at this then.” He brought up the specs for the robot Chu Shen built. “Keep in mind. He started learning on a 6th grade level not even a year ago. He barely knew what square roots were.”

Lucas glanced over them a couple of times. “Interesting but I think I could improve it a little. Still. To come so far in a year, I think I just might like him.”

“He lost his parents too. He was found alone on a planet the bugs had attacked. His parents had gone on a camping trip leaving him alone and while they were gone the bugs invaded. His parent’s weren’t found among the survivors or the refugees.”

Lucas kept silent. After a couple of minutes he got up and left. A small tear dropped on the floor as he walked out the door.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Bang

The enemy robot flew backwards as the hammer struck him. A dent appeared on the shield projector from the blow, causing the shield to flicker before fading out of existence. The opponent was Sir William, a robot designed to look like a knight and was a very sturdy robot.

However, it was very unfortunate that it had met Chu Shen. It had a lot of armor plating and shields. But it was like Chu Shen was made to counter this kind of robot. He could bypass it’s shield and destroy the robot itself or he could wreck it’s shields before destroying it with heavy fire.

His hammer nullified the five overlapped shields because they were the same frequency. Most of the time using shields of different frequencies interfered with each other and caused them to lose power faster.

As for memorizing the shield frequencies that interacted beforehand….. That was impossible.

They were a closely guarded secret on Sparta and as such, it wasn’t available to the public. The only way to use them was if you figured out the equation like Chu Shen had.

Chu Shen dashed forward, targeting the shield projectors. He had already destroyed the two lasers and plasma gun that had tried to shoot him. He also had his first close up look at a rail gun.

It shot a projectile at him so fast it broke Mach 7. He couldn’t see it, even with his enhanced body. It smashed into his robot and sent it flying backwards. It even took down his shields by 20%.

However, Chu Shen quickly dismantled the deadly weapon. As a result, all this valiant knight was, is a walking trashcan. It still swung the sword attached to its right hand in noble defiance.

He quickly dismantled the shield generators, leaving it vulnerable to his truly destructive powers. While his hammer was great against opponents with shields, it didn’t do as much heavy damage to armored opponents like this one. What really did the most damage was the vibrations that disintegrated the enemy from the inside out.

Because he had to break through the shield he couldn’t use vibrations to properly disintegrate the enemies robot. Instead he could bypass the shields and target its vulnerable spots like he just done.Out of respect of the noble warrior, Chu Shen shifted his hammer into its plasma cannon form, [Lancing Rain Mode]. [Lancing Rain Mode] was a very powerful attack meant for a single target.

This time instead of a shower curtain it turned into a funnel shape with the large end pointing towards Sir William. A blue glow appeared on the end. Suddenly a bright beam of energy shot out.

PSEEEEEEW PSSSSSSSHHHHHH

The beam was over a meter in diameter, obliterating the entire top half of the noble knight. Chu Shen bowed towards the smoldering remains of the robot before deactivating the simulation.

With that, he advanced on to the final round.

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Chapter 66

Tournament 1st day (3)

 

While the crowd was stunned as to the reason the hammer could bypass the shield, the other contestants were looking decidedly worried.

‘D*mn. If he can cancel out my shields, doesn’t that mean my robot is useless?’

‘This…This is terrifying. I concentrate my robot on its defense! With this, I can’t win!’

‘How does he do that? I wonder…. Could it be he found a way to disrupt the shield through magnetic pulses?’

Such were the thoughts of the other contestants. While most worried what this meant for their fighting style, a select few were curious on how he accomplished such a feat. If they could figure out how, then would they be able to come up with a counter?

Chu Shen their concern written on their faces as he sat down. He smirked. It was so simple yet almost no one had thought of it! The way he canceled the shield earlier was this.

His hammer vibrated at certain frequencies. By vibrating at the exact opposite frequency of the opponent’s shield the two frequencies canceled each other out!

The oscillator changed the frequency while his robot scanned the opponent’s shield frequency. This was the real reason why he decided to use a hammer. To test out this idea!

All of the contestants were separated into brackets of eight. Each group had people with a similar win-lose ratio. For example. Chu Shen was in group 1 with a 2-0 count. However number 17 was in group 4 with a 0-2 count. Group 2 had a 1-1 count and so did group 3.

However the ones who won their first fight but lost the second would be in group 2 while those who lost their first fight but won their second would be in group 3.

Chu Shen could be considered as a very troublesome opponent. Of course others probably had hidden cards that wouldn’t be revealed like Sea God’s Wrath that unleashed that unexpected missile attack.

Chu Shen waited for another two hours. Finally it was time for the third and final round. With this there would be 8 groups made of 4 contestants. The next day they would be fighting to see what their specific rankings would be. Then they would do the challenges.

This time Chu Shen wasn’t called first. Instead he had to wait until the sixth fight was done. “Alright contestant numbers 28 and 1, please take your positions.”

Chu Shen faced the robot swarm. Yes, a swarm of robots. About twenty in total. They were small cylindrical robots about half a meter tall. Two lasers were jutting outwards from the front. The body was gold and had golden half spheres studded on the outside. It looked just like the Dalek from Doctor Who.

As expected from someone who named their robot swarm, The Daleks Revenge.

““Fight!””

Chu Shen activated the shields and then immediately dodged. The daleks had immediately taken off, firing lasers at him. They swarmed upwards, flying through the air in a complicated swarm.

Chu Shen had no idea how he was able to control that many but they were very troublesome. As he started firing into the swarm, his blasts would hit a dalek. However, as he started to wear down the shield another dalek would fly in front of the beam, letting the dalek recover it’s shield.

He was barely managing to dent the enemy. Using the explosives he shot upwards. When he became level with the daleks he started shooting towards them in a zigzag pattern. Right foot boom. Flies left. Left foot boom. Flies right.

He quickly closed in on them. Suddenly the daleks stopped their complicated maneuvers and made a wall. All of them fired the lasers at him! It was a wall of sixty lasers from the two lasers on the front and the one on the dome that looked like the head.

Shielding himself he blocked the lasers he couldn’t dodge and closed in the gap. Aiming with his left hand he shot the energy burst cannon. As the ball of crackling energy flashed into the swarm of robots, it obliterated one of the robots!

Bang Zzzzt

The energy ball smashed through two of the daleks, the third dalek’s shield flashed but managed to block it. Chu Shen fell to the ground as the explosives in his feet needed to cool down.

Unfortunately he couldn’t use his hammers shield nullifying property properly in a fight like this. For one, each dalek had a different shield frequency. For another, locking on to one in such a formation was impossible.

Chu Shen sighed. Another one of his trump cards was needed here as well. Grabbing the head of his hammer, the outer edge of nanites molded to his arm. Activating yet another icon, he pointed it at the swarm of daleks.

The seemingly solid shaft split apart, forming a showerhead like bottom.

PSEEEEEW

Streams of bright blue superheated plasma flew into the air. The showerhead like opening might seem funny, but it wasn’t a laughing matter. The superheated plasma flew upwards in a stream that seemed to go everywhere.

The daleks couldn’t dodge it, every single one had some plasma strike it. The plasma sizzled on the shields as it burned through it. The shields quickly disappeared but the plasma fell to the ground without burning the robot themselves.

Chu Shen grinned. His plasma cannon could fire in different modes, giving rise to different effects. This one he called [Scatter Rain Mode] and shot out dozens of medium power shots.

Taking aim once again he fired. However the daleks quickly shot everywhere, dodging some of the shots. Another six were destroyed, taking the total daleks down to 11. He unhooked the hammer from his arm when his plasma cannon ran out of ammo.

Chu Shen went to fire again with his laser when five of the daleks charged towards him while firing. Dodging their fire his eyes widened as a dalek appeared in front of him.

“Exterminate! Exterminate!” A metallic voice called out which Chu Shen picked up with the audio receptors in his robot. Sensing danger he used the exploding boots to shoot backwards. Not a moment too soon either.

BOOOOM

The dalek promptly exploded. As it went off his shield immediately went down from 44% to 12% on the first layer. The other four daleks quickly shot towards Chu Shen, continuing their pursuit.

“Tch. So annoying.” Chu Shen frowned as he once again shot up into the air, making sharp turns as explosions went off with every move. He couldn’t fire the plasma cannon again, it took a while to charge up.

He laid down a swathe of plasma using the plasma welders on both arms. The remaining 6 robots that weren’t suicidal weren’t slacking either. Instead they were firing lasers at Chu Shen while he flew, constantly needling his shield.

The 4 daleks chasing him ran into the quickly dissipating plasma. When it did, the daleks started melting from the star-hot plasma.

Fzzzzt

Two of them sparked as their electronics were damaged. The other 2 had their appearance warped but they still chased Chu Shen. Unfortunately his boots were quickly overheating from the explosions. If he continued to use them, then the metal might become warped, causing a jam.

Changing some of the icons and dials on his HUD he pointed his foot towards the six daleks clumped together. The operator, apparently assuming that he was trying to change direction again didn’t do anything.

They were wrong.

An energy bomb flew out of the tube on the bottom of the Duralloy plated foot. It struck the group of daleks, promptly exploding.

BOOOOM

How could the Phantom Energy Bomb dispenser be used as a just a transportation mode? Previously Chu Shen had turned the bombs down to only 5% of their normal strength. This bomb that hit the daleks was at 50%, the highest it could go without depleting its powercell seriously.

The four daleks closest to the explosion were ripped to shreds. The other two flickered with energy before being thrown through the air from the shockwave. The daleks had barely managed to regenerate their shields which saved their lives but now their shields were gone once again.

One of the remaining daleks spiralled out of control, sparks flying as the shockwave apparently knocked something loose. It fell to the floor, smoke rising from it’s body.

Zzzzt Sssssss

A crackling blue ball of energy once again shot out and smashed into the other functioning dalek.

BANG

It was ripped to shreds. Chu Shen turned around to deal with the other daleks but while he was distracted taking out the 6 daleks, these last two had gotten closer.

BOOOOM

One blew up while the other hung back. Chu Shen flew backwards from the explosion. The fact that he was still in midair didn’t help him at all. As he fell though he fired both lasers at the one remaining dalek, causing two holes to burn through it.

Boooom

It blew up as something critical was hit. Apparently the plasma from earlier melted it’s shield projectors so it was completely unprotected. Unfortunately because of shooting down the other dalek, he didn’t have enough time to slow down his descent. Also, his shields were severely weakened from the explosion earlier, causing them to fail.

Because of the explosion hurling him downwards he hit the ground very hard. For the first time his robot was injured, a dent appearing in his left shoulder. Thick green goo oozed from it for a second before stopping.

“Contestant 28 has won once again! Give Chu Shen a round of applause folks, apparently he is the favorite for bringing home the trophy. It’s time for some other matches folks. Contestant numbers….”

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1. N/a

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Chapter 65
Tournament 1st Day (2)

While Chu Shen sat down, 2 rows behind him a human figure looking at him. Human, except for the gray scales and cat like eyes.

“Ssso. What do you thinksss.” The gray scaled figure leaned over and whispered to the blackish-purple scaled figure next to him. A forked tongue flicked out as he talked.

“Hisss robot isss ssstrong in clossse quartersss. Defenssse isss ssstrong asss well. Hisss long range fire isss weak if not given time to charge.”

“Agreed. Ssso, keep at long range and dodge hisss burssstsss of firepower?” The gray scaled figure questioned.

“Yesss. Take to the ssskiesss, it will accomplisssh both. I sssaw no hint of flight capability but be careful.”

“For the glory of the empire!” The gray scaled figure saluted the other with one clawed hand on his left shoulder.

“For the glory of the empire!” The blackish-purple figure saluted back.

Unknown to Chu Shen, these scaled figures that were discussing strategies to beat him were the lizard folk from the Nugitraaiil empire. It was not just idle wondering. The Robo Games had released a bracket for betting and Chu Shen would be contestant number 3, the gray scaled Nugitraaiil’s, opponent if he won his next fight.

His number was called shortly after Chu Shen had sat down. The gray Nugitraaiil smiled, exposing razor sharp teeth.

Fighting was what they lived for after all.

………………………………………………………………………..

Chu Shen sat back and observed the other 15 fights. All of them were interesting and definitely unique. 11 of the 32 contestants chose to use humanoid robots including him. Other strange robots like the drone swarm were used as well.

What he did notice was that of the 32 contestants, 27 had flight capabilities. The other fights took a little over three and a half hours. It might seem like a long time until you consider the fact that there was 15 fights and each took about 14 minutes.

Finally it was time for the second round. They would first determine the top 8, then the top 4. After that the losing 16 contestants would also fight for the top 8, then top 4. The next day the specific ranks would be fought out. Finally the challenges would commence. With that, the Robo Games would end.

Chu Shen was called up. “Alright, let’s go ahead and get the next stage of the games going! In the first arena is numbers 28 and 3. In the second arena is numbers Take your positions.”

Soon the robots were on the stadiums floor. This time was different though. The arena was cut in half with a solid wall cutting the arena in two. To save on time, after the original fights, there would now be two fights at the same time.

Chu Shen faced his opponent, a large rectangular robot. It had no limbs or protruding parts, it looked just like a box. He remembered it from it’s fight earlier. It had used nanites to form various weapons all over it’s chassis.

The opponent had never breached it’s shields, which were very strong. The robot, called Drethgaalos, was fast and could hover about five meters off the ground.

The announcers introduced the robot’s names in both arenas before they counted down with the crowd.

““Three!””

““Two!””

““One!””

““Fight!””

Chu Shen activated his shields and stayed back for a couple seconds, to see what the Drethgaalos would do. The robot also activated it’s shields before the bottom part of it pulsed blue.

Immediately it shot upwards, far higher then it did before. Fifteen beams of red energy shot downwards as lasers grew from the side of the Drethgaalos. The energy beams though were half as big as the Sea God’s Wrath.

It hit Chu Shen but he quickly moved out of the way, avoiding a disastrous buildup of heat. Blue bursts of pure energy streaked towards him as an energy cannon popped out on the underside of the robot.

Chu Shen returned fire as he kept weaving and dodging. The both did the same. It was a basic stalemate often found in the Robo Games. Two robots firing at each other while dodging.

An icon lit up on his HUD. Pointing his left hand he fired the energy burst cannon at the flying robot. A familiar crackling blue ball of energy shot towards the Drethgaalos.

But it didn’t hit it. The second the barrel of the energy burst cannon lit up, the Drethgaalos immediately flew towards the ground. The ball of energy barely missed the robot but miss it did.

Chu Shen cursed at the slowness of the robots processor. He saw the Drethgaalos start to drop and immediately tried to correct it. However the robot was a touch too slow, causing it to miss by a hairs breadth.

The first layer of both shields was starting to fail. While the power of the enemies lasers was lacking, they were like piranhas. Slowly devouring his shields one bite at a time.

Sighing he decided it was time. He activated another icon on his HUD along with his hammer’s kinetic generator. Then for the first time he activated the oscillator. Finally he flicked the dial controlling the Titan Hydraulics to 100.

Running towards the flying robot he gave up on shooting at it.

…………………………………………………….

The gray Nugitraaiil smiled, exposing his pointed teeth. By now everything was going according to plan. His shields had barely dropped below 90% while the other robot had taken a lot of hits over the past ten minutes. It’s shields were starting to flicker.

The empire would certainly have a lot of pride in being able to beat one of these humans in their competitions. Suddenly the robot stopped shooting and ran towards him.

Growling in excitement, the Nugitraaiil closed in for the kill. Obviously this was a desperate last ditch effort. As he rained death on the robot, everything suddenly went wrong.

…………………………………………………….

Chu Shen activated the explosives underneath his feet. As he did he jumped upwards. With a BANG he shot upwards like a bullet. As he passed by the hovering machine, he flipped his robot around and used the explosives again.

Shooting downwards he swung his hammer. Instead of a burst of colors as the hammer struck the shield there was a loud CLANG BANG as the hammer struck the robot’s chassis and completely tore it in two.

As he hurtled towards the ground there was a BOOOM as the two parts promptly blew up. Flipping back around tiny explosions helped slow him down. He landed on the ground, slightly denting it as he fell to his knees from the powerful impact.

“Well… I…. I don’t know what to say. But we all know the result. Contestant number 28 has won!” The announcers were definitely stunned. Other sounds rang out, slightly muffled, from the other arena, at odds from the quiet arena.

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Chapter 64

Tournament 1st Day (1)

““Fight!””

Chu Shen immediately ran towards Sea God’s Wrath while brandishing his hammer. He ducked as a beam of red energy lanced towards where his head had been. The red beam of energy followed him downwards.

Rolling forwards he activated his robot’s shields. Transparent blue energy covered his robot’s body while a darker blue energy formed in a square on his left hand. Then he started charging his energy and plasma cannons.

Three beams of energy lanced out towards Chu Shen as he came out of the roll. Using the shield on his left arm he blocked two beams while the third hit him on the chest. Both shields flared bright blue as the beams hit them.

100%, 99%, 98%. The first layer of his arm shields power dwindled at about one percent every three seconds. Aiming with his right arm a red laser beam shot out and hit Sea God’s Wrath.

Unfortunately the two shields it had activated, covering the entire front of the robot. The shield also flared brightly as the energy hit it. Chu Shen started running sideways as the energy hit him. The crab also shuffled sideways.

Neither shook off the others weapon but it helped both parties. A laser does damage by burning through the opponent. While the shield blocks the laser it does not dissipate all of the lasers heat.

This means a laser can double it’s damage if it continuously hits the opponent. By running they disperse the heat that is collected from the laser. Chu Shen focused on blocking the majority of the enemies laser with his left arms shield.

After 4 minutes of continuous pounding, one of the enemies lasers went out. Most likely it was close to overheating. Luckily with Chu Shen’s use of the Impact Gel IV it absorbed the heat radiating off the laser, making it harder to overheat.

Chu Shen immediately ran forward. The robot’s started off with a distance of 200 meters. He reduced it to 185 meters with his first dash. While the third beam cooled off he reduced the distance to 20 meters within 8 seconds.

The third beam shot out once again but another one of the lasers shut off. Sea God’s Wrath scuttled backwards it wasn’t slow but Chu Shen’s robot was too fast. The distance was closing slowly at two meters per second.

After he closed in he started up the kinetic generator inside the hammer. It started vibrating at tremendous speeds.

Ding

One of the icons on his HUD lit up. Chu Shen grinned, though the robot couldn’t mimic such a motion. Rolling diagonally the beams missed his robot. As he came out of the roll he pointed his left hand and fired the energy burst cannon.

A large blue ball of crackling energy shot towards the Sea God’s Wrath. By this point they were only 20 meters from the wall around the arena. The blue ball of energy shot out so fast that the robot couldn’t dodge.

With a large BANG Sea God’s Wrath was flung backwards from the explosion. The shield blocked any real damage but the impact still knocked it backwards.

The robot hit the back of the arena. As it did Chu Shen still rushed forward. Using his eye movement one of the gauges jumped up from 20 to 50. Sliding on the ground he slipped beneath the robot’s shield. Swinging the hammer blunt end first it smashed into the limb holding the shield.

CLANG CRASH ZZZT

Sparks and bits of metal flew upon the violent collision. The metal dented inwards and almost ripped off the robot. The shield flickered before disappearing. Half of the robot was now unshielded.

Chu Shen slid completely under the robot, reaching the arena’s edge. Kicking off the wall there he backwards, swinging at the robots other arm.

Unfortunately it moved out of the way quickly, some of the pointed legs stabbing into Chu Shen though they glanced off due to the shield.

Normally even such a strong blow would not cause the shield to fail. Cause it to weaken yes, but not fail. The reason for this was the vibrations. The hammer actually vibrated at the exact frequency that most superconductors disintegrated.

Most people used superconductors since they lost very little energy. Using the partial shields also helped conserve energy. Because the shields covered less area, it became stronger and less energy was used.

Smacking the ground with his left arm, Chu Shen flew up into the air, doing a somersault in the process and landed on his feet. Checking his HUD he still had 44% of his shield arm and 60% of his body shields left. He also had another two minutes before the energy cannon could be used.

Running forward Chu Shen took off once again at the enemy robot. Apparently having learned its lesson, it immediately started running while keeping away from the walls.

Small hatches opened up on the robot’s main body. Over 30 small missiles flew out and shot towards Chu Shen. In response Chu Shen raised up both hands and aimed towards the missile cloud.

A cone of star-hot plasma shot out at the missile cloud engulfing it.

BOOM.

As soon as the plasma touched the missiles there was a large explosion. Chu Shen was pushed back a couple inches from the shockwave. Most of the shrapnel was vaporized by the plasma and the explosion.

The three beams of energy once again fired at Chu Shen. Now his shields were at 31% and 42% respectively. Running forward he caught up with the robot. Firing the lasers in both arms he aimed towards the unshielded parts of the robot.

As it twisted and turned, trying to protect those parts of it, Chu Shen leapt upwards. Landing on the robot itself he turned the dial, which he had brought back down to 20 earlier, up to 80.

Swinging the hammer spiked end first, it turned into a blur.

RIIIP SMASH CLANG ZZZZT BOOOM

Loud sounds echoed out as the hammer ripped through the top of the robot, through the gun turrets on top, and on into the robot’s power cells. As the power cells were ruptured they immediately blew up.

The entire robot blew up sending shrapnel everywhere. As the hammer made contact with the chassis of the robot, Chu Shen kicked off and flew upwards. He had been aiming for the center of the robot, the most likely place for the power source of the robot.

Firing the modified plasma welders he created a shield of plasma below him. As he did the hammer he let go of continued it’s course and blew up the robot’s powercell.

With the plasma neutralizing any dangerous shrapnel, only the shockwave and fiery blast itself caused Chu Shen to take damage. He flew upwards before eventually landing on the arena floor.

Both his shields first layers were gone. The second layer of his arm shield was at 73% while his body shield was on it’s third layer at 99%. Activating the magnet on his arm, his hammer which was halfway across the arena flew to him.

It landed in his hand with a Clang. As it did, Chu Shen finally took notice of something.

“And the Sea God’s Wrath has gone up in a fiery explosion! This battle was intense!”

“I agree Drexil. This fight was over in less than 10 minutes, only 3 seconds over the fastest duel in the history of the Robo Games!”

“Wow! Using a hammer is new though.”

“Definitely. Anyways, this round is complete. Numbers 14 and 3 please get ready!” The floor covered all of the debris and his robot. The simulation cut off as his robot copy was taken to the recycler, so they didn’t waste materials. Leaving the control center Chu Shen sat down to watch the next match

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Chapter 63
Xentus Viri Is Intrigued

Chu Shen and the contestant, a human teen named Corvius, went into the control room. There was actually 2 of each room the attendant had mentioned. That way in case the contestants both used the same control method they could both fight.

Chu Shen went to the simulation room while Corvius went to the vid-screen. Inside he immediately went into the simulation after inserting his data for Mirror of The Void.

Upon entering he was immediately put into a pitch black room. A heads-up-display (HUD) appeared in front of him. Various dials, readings, and icons appeared on it. This was the reason behind his robot’s name, Mirror of The Void. The robot was literally a mirror image of himself!

A voice suddenly echoed out in the dark space. “Alright folks it’s time for the fight! As you can see on the screen Chu Shen has chosen the simulation control method for his robot. Corvius however is using the tried and true R/C method. Let’s go ahead and get it on!”

Rumbling sounds was picked up by his robot’s audio systems. The robot was lifted by the ground upwards towards the ceiling. The ceiling parted to reveal bright light. It was like gladiators being brought to the coliseum in the Roman days!

After a couple seconds Mirror of The Void was standing on the arena. The enemies robot, called Sea God’s Wrath, stood on the opposite end of the arena. The enemy robot was silver with a wide round base for the robot’s main platform, just like a crab.

It had no pinchers but two shield generators instead. Large energy guns were on top of it, each on a swivel base. There was over a dozen legs underneath that ended in spikes. Small protrusions all over the robot.

Obviously they were sensors. The rule was that the contestants can use the control rooms but the video and hologram feeds must come directly from the robot’s sensors. This way if there was a blindspot in it’s coverage the contestant couldn’t cover it with his own eyes.

A large red wall appeared between the two robots. Chu Shen reached his right hand back. With a clang a metallic staff hit his hand. Clenching the object tightly he withdrew the object.

A metal hammer 1 meter long with the head having a blunt and spiked side. If Leonard was watching he would instantly recognize it’s familarity. It was extremely similair to the hammer he used to fight with the bugs.

“Alright folks it’s a great match to start off with. We have Mirror of the Void on the left and Sea God’s Wrath on the right. When the divider disappears the match will begin.”

“In three!” There was no reaction from the divider.

““Two!”” The announcer and crowd called out. The wall turned yellow.

““One””The wall turned green.

““Fight!”” The wall disappeared.

……………………………………

Xentus Viri sat in his office. Cold air blew on him from the vents above. ‘Heh. Somethings just can’t be improved. We still use air conditioning even a thousand years after it was invented.’

Sighing he reclined in his chair.

“How is his progress Genie.”

A female voice with a metallic tinge to it replied back. “He has taken a unique approach to building his robot. I believe it may catch many by surprise.”

He sat up in his chair with an eyebrow cocked inquisitively. “Oh? Do tell what’s so interesting about it.”

“He chose an Eclan Model Humanoid Robot chassis. Then he put in it a Titan Incorporated hydraulic system.”

He rubbed his chin in thought. “I see. The Eclan focus on fast responses. They use superconductors for their robot’s circuitry. The Titan Incorporated use the most powerful hydraulic systems, their often used on gas giants.”

He looked up at the ceiling above him. “Neat but not unique. It’s been done before.”

“There is also other abnormalities. He filled the inside of the chassis with Impact Gel IV. It’s excellent for neutralizing kinetic damage and is resistant to extreme cold and heat. Because of this it is often used in escape pods.”

He nodded. “I see. So it’s to protect the delicate insides from anything that gets past the armor.”

“It has Dura-steel I for amor.”

“Really? That stuff is good but not great. Cheap too. I assume that’s the reason he got it. Budget must have been running low.” He was leaning forward in his chair now.

“The robot has Dura-steel V for leg armor though, starting halfway below the knee. Installed in it’s legs is a Phantom Energy Bomb dispenser. It can create energy bombs of various charges. The bomb chute exits at the bottom of the foot.”

“What? Now why would he do that.”

“I calculate a 32.1323% chance that it is for launching long range explosive attacks. There is a 11.1129% chance that it is to make up for lack of maneuverability. It has no air-transport method.”

He frowned. “You d*mned calculator. Any other goodies?”

“Yes. There is two class 3 shields on the left arm. They seem to be at the exact frequency to interact with each other. With it, the shields can strengthen each other making them stronger by 151.1%.”

“Coincidence? No… Most likely he worked out the equation for matching frequencies to share the dispersion of energy. As the energy disperses it changes frequencies to the exact one of the other shield, causing it to lose less energy and give a boost to both shields. Clever.”

“It is confirmed that it is not a coincidence. There is three class 2 shields covering the entire robot’s body. They all interact with each other in the same way. Each are a different frequency than the ones on the arm.”

“Ah. Give me a list and location of everything else.” Xentus Viri put his hands on the desk and started drumming on it with his fingers.

“On the top of the left forearm is the shield generators. On the side of the forearm is a RSC Inc. Laser, on the other side is an RSC Inc. energy burst cannon. On the underside is a plasma welder from the lab. It has been modified with extra plasma banks and can now spray a cone of plasma.”

“The right forearm has the exact same set-up but without the energy cannon and shield. Instead there are power-conducts and magnetic grips in the robots palm.”

“The unique part is the weapon that was hand-made inside the lab. It is a 1 meter long hammer. It is made of Dura-Crystal V, very strong and expensive. Over 30% of his budget went towards the hammer. The head has a blunt side and spiked side.”

“The shaft is partly hollow and has a Sparta Plasma Charge Cannon in the handle. There is also a magnetic generator to attract it to the hand and power receivers.”

“Wow. A souped up medieval weapon. Unique but ultimately it can’t penetrate a shield. I assume that’s where the other weapons come in.” His fingers tapped out a steady beat.

“That assumption is wrong. The head of the hammer has a kinetic generator and a frequency oscillator. The sensor package for the robot includes X-Ray, normal visual spectrum, echo-location, and frequency scanner.”

His fingers stopped beating. “Oh. So that’s his game.” He looked at the holo-screen that was showing the current match of the Robo Games.“You are right once again you d*mned calculator. It’ll catch them off guard.”

Xentus Viri smirked.

“This is going to be fun.”

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Chapter 62
Pre-Tournament

Bang

A loud sound echoed out as a 1 meter tall robot was sent flying backwards. As it hit flew out of the arena it dissolved into pixels before disappearing. A 1 and 1/2 meter tall black robot stood in the middle of the arena. It looked exactly like a human in black armor.

Chu Shen disabled the simulation. The entire arena including the area around him dissolved like snow in sunlight before revealing a plain white surface an inch or two above his head.

He removed the metal band around his head and got out of the simulation pod. Standing in front of the pod was the same robot as the one inside of the simulation! The attendant was in a chair beside it as well.

The attendant stood up. “Alright, let’s get back to the meeting room. The meeting starts in 30 minutes. Go ahead and send Mirror of The Void back to the workshop. ”

Chu Shen nodded. “I’ll do that now.” He fiddled with the small tablet in his hands. As soon as he was done, the robot immediately straightened up before marching fluidly out of the room. Looking at it march out Chu Shen had a thoughtful expression. ‘Five days sure don’t last.’

The attendant and Chu Shen went to the elevator and arrived at the meeting room soon. Sitting down in the chair with his number, 28, he waited for the meeting to start. He played around on his tablet while waiting.

“Alright, all of the contestants are here.” The main judge walked up on stage like last time. “Now it is time to explain some specifics of the tournament.”

“There are exactly 32 people in the tournament this year. We are going to have a bracket competition with the winners advancing up the bracket while the losers battle each other for their placement in the competition.”

“First we will have the 16 beginning matches chosen by the AI’s to have the closest possible match. After that we will have another 16 matches. 8 of the matches will be the winners and the other 8 will be the losers.”

“The next day we will have the final matches to determine the exact rankings inside each group of 4. For example if you won the first match but lost the second then you will only be able to be placed in 5th-8th place.”

“After the rankings have been settled we will have placement challenges. If you wish to fight someone within the 5 rankings of you both ways you can challenge them to a fight. If you do then they must accept. If the challenger wins they take that person’s ranking. Of course, this only applies if the winner is higher ranked than the other.”

“You may challenge anyone however if they are more than 5 rankings apart from you, they can refuse to fight. For example. If 8th place challenged 3rd place, they would have to accept. But if 8th place challenged 1st place they could refuse.”

“You may challenge as many people as you want. However, if you lose you cannot challenge another person. The challenge part of the Robo games can only last for 4 hours so be quick.”

“Now that you know the rules it is time to start. We will transport you and your robots to the arena right now. There we will clone your robot and start the games. Be prepared, the games start in 30 minutes.”

“Go with your attendants to gather your robots and head to the arena. May the best engineer win!”

““May the best engineer win!”” The contestants echoed. With that they all filed out. Chu Shen swiped at his tablet a couple times before going over to the attendant.

“Alright. Mirror of The Void is coming down to meet us. He should be here in a minute or two.”

“Good. Such a weird name though” The attendant smiled at Chu Shen before turning around. “As soon as he comes down tell him to follow me so we can get you to the arena.”

“Great.” After a while the elevator popped open with a ding revealing Mirror of The Void. Tapping a couple times on the tablet the robots head swiveled to lock onto the attendant. After that the robot marched behind the attendant and stayed a couple meters behind.

“Alright, come with me.” Following the attendant they walked out of the building where there was a line of empty hover-trucks. They walked down the line to the hover-truck with the numbers 28 on the side. Opening up the back, Mirror of The Void climbed in.

The truck sank down a couple inches. After that Chu Shen and the attendant got into the cab and drove off. As they did Chu Shen glimpsed a huge crab-like robot coming out of a large door on the side of the building they just left. They quickly drove out of sight.

…………………………………………….

The arena. A large disk of flat space made of non-conductive metal. Obstacles could pop up randomly inside. Large walls, ramps, and entire buildings could form suddenly.

There was also a large crowd in the stands. The stands themselves were separated from the arena by a wall and by class 5 Vehicle Shields none of the weapons the robots here were using could penetrate it.

The attendant landed the hover-truck in front of a gray square building that was attached to the arena. “Here we are. This is the control center. Inside are various types of methods that are used to control the robots.”

“Things like simulation rooms, holo-projectors, and vid-screens are all provided so that the contestants can control their robot. Each person is filmed inside their control room and broadcasted out to the universe. Exciting right?”

“Yeah.” Chu Shen looked decidedly nervous.

“Well, most people are here to see the robots fight up close and personal. Not many people pay attention to the engineer’s until the end where the engineer’s and robots go up to receive their prizes.”

“Of course you will take your robot out to meet the announcers, Charles Kenith and Drexil Gargot for the Robo Games. Remember to wave at the crowd or something when they call your name.”

“Anyway let’s go.” Chu Shen led Mirror of The Void over to the control center. There they scanned the robots in order to make the copies they were talking about.

Chu Shen was led out to the stands of the arena along with Mirror of The Void. Outside there were other contestants with their robots. There was all kind of weird robots. His robot looked normal compared to most.

Soon all 32 contestants were gathered along with their robots. As soon as they were a large countdown appeared in front of them. The countdown started at 10:28. 10:27, 10:26. It was counting down the time until the Robo Games started.

When it reached 0 the entire arena shifted beneath them. The entire group of contestants was raised up by the ground beneath them, including their robots, until it was even with a large floating platform above the arena.

Inside the platform was a handsome blonde man and a gray skinned humanoid with a protruding bone crest on his forehead behind a wooden desk .

The blonde man spoke first. “Alright folks, this is Charles Kenith here with Galactic News. Today we are at the Robo Games. A contest where contestants under the age of 22 build their own robot to fight to the death in a series of duels.”

“Here are their contestants along with their robots, or robot unit names. Contestant number 1 Joseph Gonzalez from Sparta, age 21 with his robot The Daleks Revenge, obviously a Doctor Who Fan. Contestant number 2 Dixxilio’anios Gatoonisga from the Nugitraaiil empire, age 19 with her robot unit Frethgaalos…. Contestant number 28 Chu Shen from sparta, age 12 with his robot Mirror of The Void…. That is all of our contestants.”

Most of the contestants waved at the crowd or bowed. A couple of the non-human contestants did other things such as flaring their neck frills or shaking their tail. Chu Shen waved like his attendant suggested.

“Alright, now that you have been introduced to all of the contestants let’s get this party started. The contestants will be sitting in the dugout over there until it’s their turn to fight. Then you will go to the control room while your robot is brought out to fight.”

The gray skinned figure, Drexil Gargot, took over for Charles Kenith and pointed to a section of the stands that was right next to the control center. As a matter of fact there was even a hallway that connected them.

“While their being seated let’s go ahead and show some of the highlights from the last Robo Game.” As the crowd was distracted by the violent display the contestants robots were taken into storage while they were escorted to the dugout.

“Now that everyone’s ready, let’s announce the first contestants numbers. Numbers 28 and 6 please get ready to fight.”

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Chapter 60

Competition

“So, you decided to call back huh?”

“Yes Mr. Viri, I have.”

“Hmph. Learned some respect did ya? Well too bad! I found myself another mechanical protegee and he’s going to get my offer instead! At least he’s more respectful than certain ungrateful brats.”

“If you didn’t want me, then why did you give me your phone number then?”

“Because I wanted to hear you as you realized you gave up on a once in a lifetime opportunity. Ha!”

Chu Shen’s face scrunched up and he looked at Leonard. They were both huddled around his desk while Xentus Viri was on the line. Leonard had volunteered to guide him in the conversation.

Leonard muted the phone from their end. “Don’t worry. He’s obviously just trying to make you nervous. Just ask him what you have to do to get in. Depending on what he asks you can decide. Otherwise we just have to negotiate or give up.”

Chu Shen shook his head. “No way. Like he said this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I might be able to get a similar offer but not one as good. I have to get this.”

He un-muted the phone. “Mr. Viri. I know I was rude to begin with but how was I supposed to know who you were? I only arrived on sparta 9 months ago and have spent all that time studying.”

“Not my fault. I told you who I was and you didn’t even check out my story. You dismissed me, so I am dismissing you. Simple, see?”

“Listen Mr. Viri. I would really like to accept your offer. If you won’t let me tell me what I need to do in order to get accepted.”

“….” There was a long awkward silence that followed after he asked the question. Chu Shen and Leonard exchanged helpless shrugs after the first 5 minutes. What else could they do but wait?

After almost 20 minutes there was a muffled bump. “Alright.” Xentus Viri’s voice came from the desk. “I have decided. In order to have the lab along with the unlimited budget I ask you to do two things.”

“I have already discovered you are exceedingly smart and have a vested interest in engineering. What you need to prove to me now is that you can indeed create something otherwise the lab would go to waste.”

“So prove to me that you can create something. I will pay for you to enter into the Robo Games. It’s a simple competition where you must use a limited budget to build a combat robot which will fight the other robots. The deadline for entrance is tomorrow so be ready.”

“If you can get 3rd place I will give you a fully stocked lab, however you will have to pay rent. 2nd place will earn you the lab with rent at half price. 1st place will earn you a free fully stocked lab.”

“As for the second thing. There is another competition called Pod Racing. It’s a popular racing game based off a real classic. It’s the same thing, a limited budget to build a racing vehicle.”

“Once again I will pay for your entrance fee but since this involves racing you will have to have a pilot. You can, of course, pilot it but if you want to hire a pilot you will have to pay for that yourself.”

“The Robo Games will last five days for construction and another two days for the competition. The Pod Racing will be three days after the end of the Robo Games.”

“As for the rewards…. 3rd place is a set amount of credits for materials. Could be a single credit, or it could be a thousand. It really depends upon how impressed I am with your performance. 2nd place is ten times the amount as 3rd while 1st is unlimited amount of credits.”

“However, everything including the lab and credits must be going towards verifiable projects and not gambling debts or making alcohol. Not that you would do something since you are so young but I still have to put it out there.”

“So, do we have a deal?”

Chu Shen immediately replied back. “Give me a minute and you will have my answer.”

“Nuh-uh. Decide now.” But as Xentus was talking he was already pressing the mute button.

He looked at Leonard. “I think you should go for it. It seems to be perfect if you manage to get to the top three in both. Just ask him what happens if you lose.” Chu Shen nodded and un-muted the call.

“What happens if I don’t place in any of them?”

“Simple. I come back in another 2 years after you instruct yourself some more before giving you the same offer. You won’t even have to pay me back. It’s no skin off my nose, it’s only a eight hundred credits after all.”

“I agree then.”

“Great. Look the games up and go to the registration booths. Show them my business card I gave you, it’ll be proof that you’re the one they need. Anyways, see ya. P.S. There was no other kid. Hahahaha”

Chu Shen shook his head. “He just has to get the last word in doesn’t he?” He said to Leonard.

Leonard just sighed. Then he stood up. “Oh well. Anyways we still have some time wanna register today or tomorrow?”

Chu Shen leaned back in the chair. “Tomorrow. How about today we just relax.”

“Fine with me.” Leonard replied.

“Let’s go eat ice cream then! I’m starved!”

“………”

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Chapter 59

Xentus Viri

Chu Shen’s mouth dropped to the ground in shock. Really!? Just who did this man think he was? “What? Why would I do that?”

“Simple really. I can give you a lab stocked with anything you want along with a blank check to buy anything else.” The old man replied back without losing momentum.

“Really, and how are you going to do that huh?” Chu Shen said sarcastically.

“Well, if I couldn’t then no one could. Trust me kid, I can offer you better facilities than anything anyone else could. I’m not the chief engineer of Sparta for nothing.”

“What?” Chu Shen asked in astonishment.

The weird old man puffed his chest with pride, making the stains on his clothes stick out. “Yes I am the chief engineer of Sparta, Xentus Viri!”

Chu Shen facepalmed. Of course he wasn’t the chief engineer of Sparta. He was just a whackjob with some of the best enhancements he had heard of. Ushering up his courage he started towards Xentus.

It was sad really when a twelve year old kid had to act more mature than a normal adult. “Alright, thank you for your time Mr. Viri but I think it’s time for you to leave. Can you go now? Come on, out you go. Here take this with you.”

Chu Shen started to gently usher him out while picking up his cable and pushing it into his hands. “Wait, you’ll regret this I swear! Just hear me out, come onnnnnnne.” Xentus whined he was pushed out of the room and towards the door.

He complained the entire way telling him it was a mistake to tell him to leave until they reached the door. “Hold on! If you really want me to leave then i’ll go. Just take this okay, call me if you change your mind. My offer still stands.” He shoved a metallic silver business card into his hands. With that he walked the rest of the way out and left.

Chu Shen shut the door leaned on it as he slowly slid to the wall. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead. The entire time he was scared that the whackjob would attack him. Luckily he wasn’t that crazy.

After a couple seconds he recovered. Glancing over at his pizza he shook his head. After that experience he was definitely not hungry.

…………………………………..

Since he was done learning, he had to decide what to do with his time.

With his newfound freedom he immediately decided to explore a couple things like music and food. Chu Shen loved the candy the most. He spent a week exploring the city and everything it had to offer. He even spent some time diving in the ocean.

Eventually though he received a call from Leonard.

Ring Ring

Chu Shen who was eating some sherbet at an ice cream parlor tapped the small communicator clipped onto his ear. “Hey Shen, it’s Leonard. Mind if I swing by to check up on you?”

He put down his spoonful of sherbet as he replied. “Yeah. I’m having some sherbet right now though. Have you ever had any? It’s delicious.”

“Hehe. At least you’re finally getting out of your house. I thought you’d be cooped up in there for the rest of your life.”

“Nope. Just taking a little vacation.”

“Anyways I’ll be there in about an hour.”

“Great, I’ll be at home waiting.”

“Bye.”

“See ya.” Chu Shen immediately dug back into his sherbet. There was still an hour left, plenty of time left for another bowl of ice cream or two.

…………………………

A while later, and a small brainfreeze, Chu Shen went back to his apartment and waited until Leonard arrived.

“Hey Shen, how’s the studies going?”

“Good, just finished the trigonometry module.” A small lie but one necessary to not stand out.

“Man, you are one smart cookie. Bet you’re parents spent a fortune on genetic mods.” After he mentioned that Leonard immediately looked apologetically at Chu Shen. “Oh…. Sorry that’s insensitive of me. Anyways they haven’t found your parents yet but we’re still looking.”

“Don’t worry. I am confident they are alright. Just keep trying for me alright?”

“We sure will.”

After that they continued talking, just small chit chat about how they had been since the last time he had visited a month ago. Soon they started up a game of Galactic Conflict, a first person shooter with holographic displays. Truly an epic game outside of Virtual Reality.

They played for five hours after which they both decided to go to bed. It was about 10 O’Clock after all. Chu Shen set-up the couch which was a pullout bed. Then they crashed.

“Hey Shen, what did you do to the AI?” Chu Shen, who was in the middle of breakfast shrugged.

“What do you mean, I didn’t do anything.” Leonard shook his head.

“You must have, otherwise the panel to access it’s braincase wouldn’t be off.” Chu Shen’s had an ‘aha!’ moment. He had never figured out how to put the panel back on, so it just stayed off.

“Oh yeah that. Interesting story, you see there was this weird old guy…” He quickly told his tale of how Xentus Viri had come in and messed with the case and shoved him around.

After he finished he expected Leonard to scold him or laugh it off but Leonard said nothing. Instead he showed a weird expression. “He said he was Xentus Viri?”

Chu Shen nodded. “You saw him hack the AI using his hands? And all the information was correct?”

He nodded again. “Yeah, his hands were going so fast they were a blur.” Leonard blew out a breath and leaned back in his chair.

After a couple seconds he looked at Chu Shen. “Well, that was the real deal. That ‘weird old man’ is Xentus Viri, the eccentric Chief Engineer of Sparta.”

What???!!!!

Chu Shen was blown away by that simple statement.

Chief Engineer of the nation that was leading in technological advances? How outrageous was that!

Leonard didn’t stop there though. “Xentus Viri is a little weird as you saw. He is very eccentric and more than a little boastful. However he is a brilliant scientist. If he offered you a lab with unlimited resources he can undoubtedly back it up.”

“If you’re interested in that kind of thing you’d best call him back. He’s offering you a really good offer since the learning module was a 1000 credits anyway.” Indeed the learning module was expensive but it also included all the books he needed for his education in an ebook format.

Leonard studied Chu Shen’s shocked face. “So, are you going to take his offer?”

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Chapter 58

Weird Old Man

Chu Shen sighed as he leaned back in his chair. “Ahh. Finally finished. I can’t believe how complicated it is.” Seven months. This was how long Chu Shen spent learning.

He not only learned math but also scientific theory, physics, robotics, engineering, and other such things, All of it entwined together to create a categorized and defined perception of the universe.

Honestly it was really amazing. As far as utilizing their surroundings they were geniuses. Unfortunately they lacked understanding of other factors. They couldn’t detect certain forms of energy such as elemental Qi.

Compared to his own universe this one lacked some basic types of Qi. Water, earth, and air Qi was really lacking. Fire, lightning, and ice Qi were found though. Pure examples of these types of Qi would be the sun, plasma, and absolute zero.

Honestly it was because of the vast amounts of Yang Qi that lead to such a thing. The concentration of Yang was multiple times more than his own. Of course he knew that Yin and Yang were the basic buildings block of the universe but that was only when it was balanced.

Here there were vast amounts of Yang Qi, but Yin Qi seemed to be barely there. Solitary Yang leads to death as everyone knows. It might explain the reason why all the life here was found only on planets that shielded themselves from Qi.

By blocking Yang Qi the small amounts of Yin and Yang Qi that still managed to get through were able to create a sort of balance on the planet. Thus leading to life being formed where Qi was so thin that it barely passed the ability to make life.

Of course that was his only his theorization based on his understanding of Qi in his realm. It could just be different realms rules as Master Ti Wu had told him.

Knock Knock

Chu Shen looked up with cheese and tomato sauce dripping down his face. He was in the middle of eating some pizza, another one of his favorite foods since he discovered it.

‘Eh, it’s probably Leonard. Kinda weird though, he usually calls.’ He got up and walked to the door with the intention to open it. Previously Leonard had visited him a couple times though he always called him.

He started to open the door but just as it cracked open it was shoved open with gusto, causing him to fall backwards. Rushing into his home was a person who could only be described with one word.

Weird!

It was an old man with white hair that stuck up everywhere. He had on blue jeans, a red polo, and a lab coat on as well. Splotches of color, food stains, and encrusted objects decorated all of his clothes and some of his hair was discolored as well.

Chu Shen wasn’t as surprised at this as he was the fact that he had been pushed backwards. Even if he was caught by surprise he was still very strong! But this person still pushed him backwards! He was most definitely wary of his uninvited guest.

The weird old man had a tablet clutched in his left hand. He was staring at the tablet without even looking at Chu Shen. He tapped it with his right hand. “Come one, come on. I know you’re here…..yes! There it is.”

Immediately he walked down the hallway towards Chu Shen’s office. Chu Shen stared at the man flabbergasted. This was completely unexpected! Who barged into someone’s home looking for something and didn’t even say hello?

Helplessly he followed the weird old man to his office. Once the weird old man was inside he completely ignored the desk and the holo-projector. Instead he went over to a side of his office and stopped there. He tapped his tablet for a second and waited.

Suddenly a small panel on the wall popped off shocking Chu Shen. Inside the panel was a black cube. The weird old man pulled a cable out of his pocket. Plugging the cable into his tablet and then the black cube, he sat down in front of Chu Shen’s desk.

The weird old man cracked his fingers as he stared at the tablet’s screen.“It’s been a minute but here goes.” His fingers turned into a blur that Chu Shen could barely see. He was astonished.

This old man was just too weird. First he actually pushed Chu Shen backwards. Now he was able to move so fast that his hands were a blur even to him. A strange sense of danger came over him, similar to when he fought the bugs.

Ding

“Aha! I knew a low-level AI couldn’t stand up to me!” The weird old man exclaimed excitedly at the sound. “Alright, let’s see just what it is that d*mned calculator dragged me out here for.”

“Started seven months ago. Trigonometry done, hyperphysics calculation done, basic engineering module done with no physical examples completed, advanced engineering module the same, spatial physics with simulations done, bla bla bla bla bla. Basically everything related to physical tech or cybernetics completed within seven months from a basic elementary skill level.”

Chu Shen listened to the old man with a blank expression. He was just too numb after everything that happened to be surprised at him hacking into his personal records.

The weird old man looked up from the tablet and right at him. “Hmm? Oh, didn’t see you there. Hey do you know where I can find the person who completed this learning module? You see, this learning module is one that I personally designed so I want to know who finished it in such a short time.”

Chu Shen looked at him for a couple seconds before slowly raising his hand. “What? Why are you doing that, you’re not in school boy. Just tell me where the person that completed the module is.”

He shook his head and pointed at himself. “You, you’re the one that completed the module?” Chu Shen nodded. The old man looked at him for a second before suddenly darting forward. Chu Shen only saw a blur before he felt a prick on his arm.

There was another blur and suddenly the old man was holding a small cylindrical tube. Looking at his arm there was a small spot of blood where the old man had taken his blood.

He looked up at the man who had put the needle in his arm, for that was indeed what the tube was. “What the heck was that!?” He yelled at the old man. Who knew what he had put in him.

The old man had switched the cable from the black box to the tube. He waved dismissively at Chu Shen as he studied the tablet’s display. “Oh quit whining, it wasn’t that bad. I only took a couple drops of blood, nothing to get worked up about. Hmm. Seems you really are young.”

“Nothing to get worked up about? You come into my home, you hack into my personal datafiles, and then you take a blood sample. What do you think this is!” Chu Shen knew this person was dangerous but he couldn’t stand his presumptuous attitude.

“It’s not like I did anything illegal. I mean you did sign the terms and conditions didn’t you? All I’m doing is checking the learning module and the effect it has on your health, all of which was stipulated in the document.” The old man generously explained as he looked at Chu Shen.

“Anyways kid. You have enormous talent so how about my offer? I want to give you a once in a lifetime opportunity. What do you say?”

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Chapter 57

A Warrior’s Soul

They went through the legal procedure at the visitors center where he was vouched for by Leonard and had to sign a waiver stating they were aware of the risks the planet imposed. Afterwards they left inside a small skimmer.

Apparently all of those black dots Chu Shen had seen weren’t cities. Those were just research facilities and defense platforms that were scattered all over the planet.

Surprisingly enough for a planet that was supposed to be most technologically advanced in the known galaxy, there was very little technology on display. Instead they tried to preserve most of the planet as a natural habitat.

Most of the cities were spread on the large oceans, deserts, or even floating above the ground. The biggest facilities however were on the three moons of Sparta. Located there was most of the factories they used to make their specialized products. There was also many off world companies.

The city Chu Shen wanted to go to was a fairly large town over the ocean. There he planned on using the rest of his credits to buy a small house and live there while studying the technology.

Previously he had looked at some of it onboard the ship but that was honestly just a glance. He only knew what they were and what they did. Nothing more, nothing less.

He had informed Leonard of his plan and he agreed to it. Leonard decided to help him get everything set up before they parted ways. After all, he lived here before and had some catching up to do with old friends and family.

The skimmer landed at the large town of Thermoplyae. It was a large metal disk over a couple hundred meters in diameter filled to the brim with large towers. Some of those towers were 30-40 stories tall! Normally the disk would sink under the weight but the antimatter fueled gravity repulsors kept them afloat.

After they arrived Leonard kept his word and helped him find a person willing to sell their apartment. Apparently there were no individual houses within this dense urban floating landscape. Instead many of the tall buildings were in fact apartment buildings.

Chu Shen bought a small one person apartment. Of course, he couldn’t buy an apartment legally so he had Leonard buy it for him and then paid him back. It wasn’t technically illegal for him to live there by himself so long as there was an AI program.

The apartment though came complete with its own environment system. It included a small fusion bottle, water, and waste recycling along with a food processor, all state of the art.

He bought it for 800 credits which was actually a little expensive according to Leonard. For comparison a single meal is usually 10 micro-credits. Each credit is worth 100 micro-credits, meaning Chu Shen bought the small apartment for exactly 80,000 micro-credits.

The average cost for such an apartment was 70,000, meaning there was a difference of 100 credits, an incredible difference really since a small interstellar spaceship cost 1000 credits.

Ignoring the price, Chu Shen was happy with his new home. It was on the very top floor, apartment number 2049, floor 20. His house consisted of a small kitchen/dining room combo, a living room, small bedroom, and an office.

After they inspected the house and bought it, Leonard helped Chu Shen buy a couple of things. A tablet, house AI, biomass used for the food processor, recipes, holo-projector, furniture, and some decorations were most of the things they bought.

Afterwards Leonard helped him set up a series of learning programs which he uploaded to the AI. He stayed for another week until he confirmed Chu Shen was able to live by himself. After leaving behind his contact number he left to visit his family.

Chu Shen waved goodbye as the skimmer took off, silent but the sound of air being cut through by the aerodynamic car. After he left Chu Shen sighed in relief.

“Finally I can get to work!” This entire time he had been repressing himself so as to appear like a normal kid, or at least, mostly normal. Chu Shen walked back to the office and opened up the learning programs.

Immediately he started flipping pages and looking at mathematical formulas as he began to learn in earnest. The pages were displayed for only a couple seconds before they flipped. In that couple of seconds Chu Shen saw everything that was on the page, memorized it, and then completed any problems on it.

Within an hour he immediately completed all the math up to a high schoolers level. After that he slowed down slightly. It might seem outrageous but actually it was quite normal. A martial artist was extremely fast upon breaking through to the Martial Realms. It wasn’t just their bodies though.

Their perception of the world around them shifted as well. Their brains abilities such as memory and computing was multiple times better than before. Mostly due to the soul. The soul was the lifeblood of martial artists and everything was directly or indirectly related to it.

The soul was what allowed a cultivator to control Qi and manipulate. A genius was someone whose soul grew at a faster rate than others. As a result of the soul growing a person would be able to control more Qi than before.

That was the reason why using beast cores and pills to advance was dangerous. If their soul wasn’t strong enough to control the Qi then it might become unstable and destroy their internal organs. Instead it was mostly used to replenish lost energy or to heal wounds.

Of course those with special constitutions like our dear Chu Shen here was an exception. Qi was a foreign substance to the body and had to be forced into it. But those with special constitutions did not have to forcefully control Qi, instead it willingly did as it was guided to do.

This meant that unlike other people who had to worry about foundations and having absolute control over their Qi, Chu Shen only had to worry whether his body could handle the amount of energy.

The ways to cultivate the soul were simple. Enduring through hardship, learning, being pressured by outside means, or life and death situations. It was also found that the period the soul grows the most is during the first 8-30% of the warriors lifespan.

It normally would be ages 8-30 but as a warrior became more accomplished in the martial path then their lifespan would become longer. As a result, the period of soul growth also expanded. While no one knows why this happened, it was widely accepted and taken advantage of.

Chu Shen studied day in and day out. Taking breaks every now and then to eat and rest. One couldn’t be busy all the time or they would eventually break down. He couldn’t cultivate though.

It made sense, especially when Qi was lethal to humans in this realm. Every time he thought of this he sighed, he was missing out on a lot of cultivation time. ‘Oh well, everything comes at a price’. Such was Chu Shen’s thoughts on the matter.

What was really odd was the fact that Master Ti Wu did not talk to him at all. Not even a peep was heard from him in the period that he used studying. Unbeknownst to him was the fact that it wasn’t that Master Ti Wu didn’t want to talk to him, but rather he couldn’t.

Master Ti Wu had not saved up a lot of energy so as to not hold his disciple back. Unfortunately he was not aware that Chu Shen couldn’t cultivate here. While he was researching a couple of things inside the Voids Hand’s library the entire library flickered.

Realizing that the power was starting to run out, Master Ti Wu tried to find out the problem. After he realized it he started to immediately curse himself and his foolish disciple.

Normally using the library wasn’t a drain on the power stored because the Voids Hand used surrounding Qi. Since there was no Qi surrounding it, it started using up the stored power.
Now there was barely enough to keep him alive since he was like a leech inside the library. There wasn’t even enough energy to send a message to Chu Shen! Otherwise he could have him give some energy. So with great reluctance he went into a deep slumber, cursing his foolishness all the while.

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Chapter 56

Sparta

Chu Shen had only one word to describe the sight in front of him. Boring. There was nothing here but lines! After they emerged from the portal they were in a line on the other side.

They waited for almost an hour in the little skimmer with nothing to do but wait. Sparta was indeed a very advanced place but it was also very sensitive as well. If one of their enemies got ahold of some of their secrets it could spell disaster for the galaxies future.

Because of this, security was very tight. Everyone was scanned several times by specialized equipment. They were even put through truth scanners and asked if they meant to steal, spy, or otherwise harm anyone on Sparta.

Chu Shen didn’t have any problems with the security. Even the truth scanners wasn’t a problem. After all, he was here to simply learn about their technology. And that didn’t include their most advanced technology that they kept secret either.

Rather, he merely wanted to experiment with a couple things. At heart he wasn’t a martial artist. Instead he was an artificer. His dao, his path of cultivation, wasn’t centered upon fighting but rather construction.

After they finally got out of the security, Leonard led him to a shuttle where they flew down to the planet. As they approached Chu Shen felt an enormous pressure. He sensed a source of power so immense that he could barely stand up.

He looked outside the shuttles windows for the source of power. Then he saw it.

It was a large jewel. It hung there, just floating in the void of space. It had splotches of blue and vast swathes of green, white, and orange. Black dots speckled the landscape.

Chu Shen knew what it was. It was Sparta, in all its glory. Sparta was a vast planet with gravity over 10 times that of earth. It was a huge planet. Contained within was many different climates, all of them harsher than the norm.

There was the scorching deserts, the freezing tundra, and the tropical forests were all inhospitable to humans. Or rather regular humans. The enhanced Spartans were able to easily handle the various climates and tremendous gravity.

Despite how big it was, because of the colonization effort, the atmospheric pressure was equal to Earth’s. Disregarding this, the gravity itself was enough to reduce a normal human to a bloody pulp.

The black dots Chu Shen could see was cities and training facilities. All of these together made up the huge planet called Sparta. However, none of these things captured his attention.

Oh no, what really captured his gaze was the shimmering yellow field that surrounded the planet. It was hazy and almost completely transparent. He gaped in astonishment.

This. This was. AMAZING!!!

A formation that actually used the universal laws! Qi, when circulated in certain ways or interacting with certain materials could interact with the universal laws. These laws made the Qi not only stronger and more powerful, it could even have some mysterious effects and allow the manipulation of the universe itself.

Chu Shen had previously considered these people as barely having any great accomplishments. Their personal strength was horrendous and their machines barely let them have any combat capabilities. Of course they had some powerful machines but they weren’t in abundance. But this changed everything!

As an Artificer he was experienced in arrays and inscriptions. There was barely any difference between the two though. The difference being an inscription affected a weapon, while an array effected the surrounding area and people.

Using his experience in arrays he instantly knew that what was being used to set up the array. It was the hundreds of large black balls hanging in the space between the planet and the array. As Chu Shen marveled at the huge and powerful array Leonard saw his amazement.

Coming over Leonard looked out the shuttle window. “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” Chu Shen nodded, though what he was admiring was the complex array and not the tinted shield.

“It’s one of a kind. Sparta was made over 500 years ago by the early wave of human settlers. Honestly they were scientists who were fleeing persecution by religious zealots. They landed here and successfully colonized the planet. They adapted themselves to be able to live here.”

“All they really wanted was to be able to research in peace but they knew they had to protect themselves after what happened earlier.Knowing their fate if they were found by the Islamic Empire they created an army of clones, training them to be the best. “

“Of course, after they found out the Pure Ones was destroyed they established trade routes with the rest of the galaxy. They still have the clone army, though the size has been said to have been reduced.”

“They made many of the technological breakthroughs we use today and still lead humanity in science. This forcefield is the only Class 9 planetary shield to date. It can even make the entire planet intangible.”

“There’s nothing anyone can do to destroy it. They even made the shield modulate the sun’s rays to be yellow instead of red, so they can remember how the sun looked on Earth.”

Chu Shen had an astonished look on his face when he heard this. Intangible? This effect could be accomplished through ghost or spatial laws, both of which were rare.

This shield, if it could be replicated, was undoubtedly a great treasure!! Estimating by the strength of it, it was as powerful as a barrier made by a Nature Stage Cultivator!

Chu Shen sighed and shook his head. There was no way he could ever discover how this array worked. Obviously it was a well kept secret otherwise it would not be ‘one of a kind’. If they wouldn’t let him, then Chu Shen wouldn’t snatch it. Even if he wanted to he didn’t have the capability.

It was best to dismiss such idle thoughts. Instead he focused on the beautiful sight in front of him. He stared at it as they gradually approached the array, sighing at the grandeur of it.

Eventually they reached the array. The shuttle came to a stop before a hazy blue glow appeared around it, much like the yellow one around the planet. The hazy glow was the signature of a forcefield. The shuttle slowly moved forward, merging with the forcefield.

It went through the forcefield. After it did the view of Sparta was unblocked. The shuttle swiftly accelerated towards the planet. It approached a section of the planet that was covered in dense forest and was right by the sea.

The shuttle slowed to halt above a large black building. The entire thing was just like a giant black brick. There were no decorations, just a large square building.

One end of the building opened up to receive the shuttle. Soon after the shuttle descended, landing inside a fairly large hangar that was brightly lit. After it landed the occupants, including Chu Shen and Leonard, were escorted off the shuttle.

The reason why it landed here instead of on the planet or one of its cities was simple really. Safety. Everywhere else the cities were not protected. The gravity would kill anyone who was not protected.
Here they were asked whether they could cope with the gravity or they would give them personal anti-gravity devices. With it they could survive the planet’s harsh gravity.

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Chapter 55

Civilization

Chu Shen looked at the general for a second before shaking his head. “What is an ancient race?” He asked with a puzzled look.

The general had a disappointed look. “Sigh. It’s nothing. Just some wild rumors really. Supposedly there are ancient beings that can accomplish anything. They can manipulate time and space, the very fabric of reality. They’re supposed to be nearly immortal and capable of controlling the energy around them.”

After the general explained what he meant Chu Shen nodded. “Thank you general for the explanation but I am truly not one of the ancient race. So, what’s going to happen to me. Everyone seemed concerned that I was on the ship so I guess I am not going back there.”

It seemed that he may not be the only cultivator in this realm. It was best to stay low and try to not provoke anyone, lest they turn out be an expert.

“It’s true that bringing you here to the frontlines was not the best idea but it was the only option your ship’s captain had. If you agree we will provide you with transport to the closest civilized station around here. Along with the transport we can give you a couple thousand credits, enough to live comfortably for a long time.”

“Okay, is it alright to join the party outside then if we are done then?” Chu Shen’s eager face gave him away.

The general laughed at the kids expression. “Haha. Of course of course. Who am I to defy a kid’s chance of fun? Go on then, enjoy the celebration!” He shooed him towards the door with a large smile.

Chu Shen quickly left and ran down the street. The guard on the bench and the hovercar were long gone. He joined the crowd and enjoyed himself. He tasted the wonderful food and listed to the strange, yet beautiful, music they had. Life was good.

…………………………………………………………

Two days later he was reclining in a chair when he felt a small jolt. Just as he was wondering what it was a blue screen popped up in front of him along with a short beep. He read the message.

They had arrived.

It was just like the general promised. First he gave Chu Shen a genetic scan and registered him with the Galactic Bank. It was a company that was founded by the alien races that were already amongst the stars. It had deep roots and used credits, the common currency of the galaxy.

Now all he had to do was wave his hand above a gene reader to pay, or withdraw credits from the bank. Because it was based on his genetics, it was impossible to fake or steal his money.

They paid him well for his services. 4,851 credits worth to be precise. It was originally going to be 3,000 but the townspeople heard of him and gave him a pleasant surprise.

Now he was on his way to civilization. Chu Shen was absolutely fascinated with technology, as they called it here. On his world everyone was obsessed with cultivation related crafts. But here they focused on building without using anything related to Qi at all.

No formations, no heavenly material, beast cores, none of it. Instead they found a way to build things capable of harnessing Qi all by itself in various forms. As an artificer he was naturally curious.

So he was going to the most technologically advanced place possible. Sparta. There they had the best in medical, entertainment, and war technology. Their entire society was based off of war. Defensive war, but war nonetheless.

There was a knock on the door. “Hey kid, we’ve arrived. Get ready because we’re going to be leaving in about ten minutes.”

“Thanks, I’ll be ready.” Chu Shen called back. It was Leonard Maximus. After hearing that he was leaving for Sparta he decided to travel with him. He said he was going back to his homeworld anyways so taking him along wasn’t a problem.

Chu Shen grabbed his small bag of clothes. He didn’t need to carry it but if he showed up in different clothes then questions would be asked. No one needed to know all his secrets.

He stepped outside and closed the door. Leonard stood there in a red polo with blue jeans on. He himself was dressed in a a T-Shirt with the words PWN’ED in bright green lettering with frayed blue jeans on. He looked like an average kid.

“Ready, Shen?” Leonard had taken to calling him that. He explained that he felt awkward saying his full name all the time.

He nodded. “I am. Let’s go.”

It had been easy. The ship Chu Shen had been on took them to a nearby station within 5 hours. Afterwards they went to a transfer station. These huge stations opened up portals to a corresponding station somewhere else.

Unfortunately each station used up vast amounts of energy to be opened even once. It was expensive and the UBF couldn’t afford the cost to transport their ships en-mass, plus the fact that they weren’t very far off anyways.

Leonard rented a two person skimmer, a personal transport that looked like a hovercar only good for low distance travels. It was common practice to rent skimmers for trips through transfer stations where there was a corresponding skimmer lot.

The skimmer business was owned by a single man named Henry Jehosha, making him one of the richest men in the humans galaxy. They got on the skimmer and rode towards the portal. It was a fairly small ring only meant for the skimmers.

There was a much larger ring available for cargo transports but they were much more expensive than the one they were going through. Chu Shen watched out the window in amazement at the sights.

Ahead of them the ring lit up with a blue glow as a small blue vortex appeared in the very center. Soon it spread to fill the entire ring, the very outsides appeared turbulent and chaotic. The skimmer shot through the portal and immediately the blue vortex disappeared without a trace.

This happened five times before it was their turn. One skimmer behind the one crossing tried to move forward but was bounced backwards by a barrier that shimmered red. Obviously a forcefield was keeping them from crossing illegally.

The machine started up. As Chu Shen observed the opening of the whirlpool he started comparing it to the Thousand Miles Formation that he knew of. They were both different and alike.
They crossed through the vortex. A cold sensation ran across his spine, causing him to have goosebumps. Then they were through.

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Chapter 54

Ancient Race

Chu Shen wasn’t able to help with any of the cleanup. The general found out about a civilian running into the fray, especially a kid, and threw a fit. Of course, he was soothed by the fact that he could more than hold his own.

The general had a lot of questions about how this kid was able to do what he did. Curious didn’t even begin to describe it. This kid picked up from a backwards colony world was able to destroy thousands of bugs, more than even his own unit could.

The more the thought about it the more the general wanted to meet this weird kid. Chu Shen had gone back to his room after the reinforcements had arrived and was inside for two hours.

He mostly spent the time meditating, reflecting upon the battles. He was definitely not happy with himself. His Qi control was sloppy and leaked everywhere. Some leakage was impossible to avoid but he was using almost twice the Qi it normally required.

He was too slow and didn’t have enough awareness. Several times he barely dodged death at the last second. Especially with the plasma blasts. He frowned. Chu Shen had truly underestimated them this time.

The main reason he underestimated them was because he had never taken one of the blasts head on. For some reason they never fired the huge plasma bombs. If they had Chu Shen would have been more prepared than before.

As he kept reflecting off of those mistakes a chime sounded. It was coming from a wall on his cabin. “Computer, what was that noise?”

“That was the room’s messaging system. Would you like me to read the message out loud?”

Chu Shen nodded. “Yes please.”

“Acknowledged. Message as follows.” The computer changed voices. Now it was a deep but smooth voice. “ I am General Irving of the UBF. I have seen the recordings of your exploits on the field and would like to… Hold on. He’s just a kid. He won’t understand that. Okay now how do you delete it? I can never really figure these things out. Uhhh… Here it is.”

“End of message.” The computer’s voice was back to normal. Chu Shen was really confused now. What was that all about? After about ten minutes there was a knock on the door.

He went over and opened it. Standing there was a broad shouldered man in a military uniform and a buzzcut. The man nodded at him. “Hey kid. The general wants to have some lunch with you. Nothing fancy just a little thank you for what you’ve done. Do you want to come?”

Chu Shen figured this was what the man that had messaged him was going to ask him. He nodded. “Yeah. I’m feeling kinda hungry.”

“Great. Follow me.” The guard left and headed towards the roof. Once there they arrived next to a hovercar. It was similar to a hovercraft but was built for luxury and was decorated. Clearly it was ornamental.

They got in and flew towards the center of the compound. Inside the compound there was huge celebrations going on. The miners were all out celebrating for all they were worth. And why wouldn’t they?

It looked like they were all going to die but here they were, not a single one of them dead. Their mining operations weren’t even damaged. Once the bugs were completely gone they could start mining immediately.

Of course they were saddened by the soldiers passing and honored their sacrifice. But that was it. They didn’t know them and wouldn’t grieve too much.

Chu Shen flew over the celebration. Looking down on all the happy faces, he wished he could be down there as well. He sighed. Sometimes being a martial artist was just too awful.

Soon they reached a small out of the way restaurant. Outside the restaurant there was three soldiers in a parade uniform and inside there was only a middle aged man in non-descript casual clothes with a buzzcut eating a cheeseburger. (Chu Shen didn’t know what it was until he picked up a menu.)

The hovercar landed in front of the store and Chu Shen and the soldier got out. The soldier saluted towards the middle aged man, who he assumed was the general, before taking up position on a bench across from the restaurant.

Chu Shen came in and walked to the generals table. The general smiled at him and put down his cheeseburger. “Hi, I’m General Irving of the UBF. Go ahead and sit down I just wanted to discuss with you a couple things.”

“Okay.” Chu Shen replied simply and sat down. He picked up a menu and ordered a cheeseburger, the same as the general. As he waited for his order to arrive the general just looked at him.

After his cheeseburger arrived a second one arrived for the general. They both sat down and ate their burgers. Chu Shen was startled at the flavor of the cheeseburger.

It was salty, and juicy. It was beyond what he had ever tasted. Nothing he had even thought of tasted this good. He took a second bite and just savored it with a sort of childish glee. The general saw his look and smiled.

It couldn’t be helped. When such an innocent looking kid smiled in such a cute way it was like an angel descending from heaven. Chu Shen eventually ate the rest of the Cheeseburger and then looked at his plate in disappointment. He licked his fingers in sadness, trying to get another taste.

Chuckling, the general ordered Chu Shen another hamburger while he sipped some water. After he finished the burger off they waited in a kind of unbreakable silence.

Finally the general’s curiosity got the best off him. “So. You’re name is Chu Shen right?”

Chu Shen nodded. “Yes, my name is Chu Shen general. Thank you for the cheeseburgers.”
“Your welcome. Anyways Chu Shen, I just wanted to ask you one question. Are you one of the ancient races?”

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Chapter 53

The End Game

Chu Shen wiped out thousands of bugs. He was actually able to kill more bugs with one move than the tanks in the back. But he couldn’t be everywhere at once. Soon his group was the only ones that could still hold their position.

After another three hours, the retreat came to a stop. This was their last line of defense. If they didn’t hold out then the entire population, along with them, would be wiped out. Chu Shen and his fort stayed where they were, to be the vanguard for the defense.

They tried their best but it wasn’t going to be enough. Chu Shen’s fort was attacked by a wave of tanker bugs. This time instead of rushing forward they spurted plasma at the group.

Chu Shen saw this and reacted immediately. Because of his null Qi he was able to absorb Qi from the atmosphere so his energy was at about 97 percent. He circulated his Qi, activating the <Universe Shield>.

A circular gray shield appeared in front of the fort. It was a wavery, almost waterlike gray and chinese characters were inscribed on it in a darker shade of gray. The whole thing was basically transparent. Chu Shen had studied the skill but never practiced it, resulting in him having a weak grasp on it. He could barely use it to block an attack equal to himself otherwise he could fight above his level depending upon just this shield.

The bright blue plasma balls hit the shield. Three hit the shield in a row before five impacted it together. At first the shield only flashed as it became more opaque. But when the five plasma balls hit it immediately shattered as a large hole was burned through it.

The plasma balls were not quite as bright as they were before but they were still headed for the ship. As it did Chu Shen had a panicked expression on his face. He had truly underestimated these bugs.

The plasma balls combined attack was similar to a fire-attribute Martial General warrior. There was no way he could block that.

Honestly it was a miracle that Chu Shen had weakened it and that was only possible because the plasma did not arrive all at once. With that his null Qi could absorb the energy and strengthen it before the others arrived.

He now only had 57 percent of his strength left. The took about forty percent of his energy to activate. Gritting his teeth Chu Shen once again activated the shield. This time he also deactivated the energy blade and focused all his attention on the incoming plasma ball.

The shield once again appeared before him, but this time it was smaller and its form was more solid. Chu Shen manipulated his shield so that he could concentrate its energy on a smaller spot.

Once again the plasma balls hit the shield. It flared and became gradually more and more solid as the plasma impacted the martial art. After a couple seconds it was no longer like a translucent outline but rather like a giant was holding a shield in front of them.

The plasma was eventually absorbed. The shield stayed there as Chu Shen collapsed in exhaustion. He managed to forcefully keep himself awake and stared at the incoming bugs.

The tanker bugs fired another salvo after they were joined by twenty more tanker bugs. The combined attack made the shield flicker but it stayed put. Leonard along with the nanite squad went out and attacked the tanker bugs. The cyborg ran to Chu Shen and grabbed him.

He was placed over the cyborgs shoulders as he ran away. Leonard and the nanite squad suddenly ran back towards them. The ship unearthed itself and troops started boarding, just like Chu Shen had before with Leonard.

The cyborg jumped inside a hovercraft that flew down. The pilot flew the hovercraft backwards towards the defense line. They had lost the support of the tanks some time ago since they could have been flanked from the sides once their line collapsed.

Fortunately they had Chu Shen who replaced the tanks and thinned the horde considerably. Chu Shen and they cyborg flew over hordes of bugs. The hovercraft banked left as it avoided a plasma ball. They flew over their defensive line and landed behind it.

Chu Shen had recovered enough to stand and walk after the short flight. Shrugging off the help of the cyborg he got out of the hovercraft and jumped on top of the ship’s defensive structure.

The comm attached to his shoulder automatically switched him to the local soldiers channel. “WOOOHOOO” “YEAH, BLOW THOSE BUGS TO KINGDOM COME.” “COME ON, ROAST THOSE COCKROACHES.”

He was taken aback by all the sudden screaming on the channel. Normally it was the officers giving orders, or people asking for help. Now it was full of joyous yells. But he soon saw the reason why.

BOOM BWOOM ZZZZT

Explosions sounded off in the distance. Turning he saw large explosions and lights plow through the remaining bugs. The sky was ripped apart as missiles and energy beams flew to the ground from orbit.

Chu Shen was finally able to get an answer as to where the fire was coming from. Space. It was finally here. The reinforcements.

They rained fire down upon the bug swarms, eliminating them in vast swathes. When they arrived they immediately destroyed the various anti-space bugs first. Then they rained down death on the birthing bugs, destroying their hope for swarming the planet.

Of course, it didn’t end things there. Afterwards they destroyed the bugs in the open and the troops were sent to scout for hidden bugs. The colonists knew they were saved and that it was only time until they could return to their normal lives.
Everything was looking up.

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