Chapter 22: Bombing Fish
"Out here in this vast world, eating and sleeping are what matter most—everything else, we'll take it step by step."
The next day, Yang Bo was assigned to clean out a small storeroom. Inside, the room was crammed with all kinds of books—including scandalous, shame-inducing pictorials—and a scattering of ancient optical discs. It was as normal as it could get: for a low-level cleaner at Anzhijie Services, your job was to handle those unsavory, "hidden" items belonging to celebrities and elites. Yang Bo guessed that Anzhijie Services was nothing more than a company that did the dirty work. He suspected that cleaners with higher clearance might even be involved in outright criminal activities.
After finishing his shift, Yang Bo took the bus home. On his ride, he passed a massive building under decoration. On closer look, it turned out that the iconic songstress Li Aido was holding a concert there—in a grand, dome-shaped entertainment center.
Li Aido—a girl with a doll-like face, a petite yet attractive figure, and a remarkably ethereal voice—had long been rumored to have "awakened" a certain vocal gene. In his previous life, Yang Bo had been a die-hard fan of hers—even though back then he was nothing more than an insignificant nobody who never even managed to join her fan club. But now that he'd taken over, he no longer chased stars; he simply appreciated a good performance.
Back at home, true to his routine, Yang Bo first took a long, cleansing bath—using the opportunity to discharge his built-up energy. He couldn't help but notice that his strength felt far greater than before; the water in his bathtub had become noticeably warmer (thankfully, the tap was left running, or it would have boiled over).
"35%—so my body is currently storing roughly 1,750 units of electrical energy. Not too much, but it's a start," he muttered.
Later, he logged into the Mech World game—unaware that his reputation as "Bird Slayer" had already spread like wildfire on the forums.
Bird Slayer had first burst onto the scene by slicing tiny birds in midair with a five‐meter mech blade. Then he'd progressed to mowing down grasslands, setting entire prairies ablaze, and wreaking havoc on the environment. Eventually, his actions even forced a B-level infiltrator to reveal himself—and that, to many, was perfection.
But his luck ran out when the base's defense system simultaneously obliterated both the infiltrator and Bird Slayer! (Occasionally, some players get caught in collateral fire from the defense system—but that happens very rarely.)
According to data analysis, today Bird Slayer's grass-cutting escapade would net him at least 500,000 gold coins.
Yang Bo also took some time to research B-level infiltrators. These infiltrators were a specialized branch within the enemy forces, experts in stealth, camouflage, and ambush. Their weapons? Bio-mechs—machines grown from biological material that could amplify a gene-enhancer's innate powers. In the Federation, research on bio-mechs was strictly forbidden for reasons unknown.
After poring over the in-game mall and conducting some online searches, Yang Bo eventually decided to purchase a type of impact bomb—designed to be used against monsters hiding in caves. The bomb, which produced a tremendous shockwave, cost 10,000 gold coins apiece. Yang Bo bought three of them. (In truth, he had his eyes on a micro hydrogen bomb as well, but that one set him back 100,000 gold coins per unit. He reasoned that he'd try the impact bomb first; if that proved ineffective, he'd then consider the micro hydrogen bomb. Though, he wasn't planning to use the micro hydrogen bomb to actually cause an explosion—instead, he intended to dismantle it and use its toxic components to wreak havoc on small animals.)
After all, the game officials touted Mech World as a highly free-form experience—so why not pretend you don't realize it's all remotely controlled?
Armed with his three impact bombs, Yang Bo set off. His basic, entry-level mech lacked any flight capability, so it simply strode forward with its long, powerful legs, thundering across the endless plain of overgrown grass and shrubs. There were even patches of swamp—but for a mech equipped with a rocket backpack, not even a swamp posed any threat. Besides, his mech's radar system provided guidance on which path to take.
However, as soon as Yang Bo's mech left the base, it was spotted. Low-level mechs like his were exceedingly rare—most had been modified extensively—so his plain, unmodified rig quickly drew attention. Yang Bo longed to upgrade his mech, but doing so would cost a fortune. For instance, installing a flight booster was a one-time-use, disposable upgrade. Moreover, Yang Bo wasn't interested in hunting mutants or gene-polluted creatures; he was content with picking on ordinary animals without additional modifications.
After traveling over 200 kilometers in about half an hour, Yang Bo's mech showed signs of wear—he felt physical soreness and reckoned that the trip cost him at least 500 credit points. "This is a dangerous area—be careful," he warned himself as he checked the map. Danger ratings in the game were determined relative to your mech's level.
There was a vast lake whose edges were completely obscured; the surroundings were overgrown with grass, and hardly anyone ventured there. Although his mech was waterproof, it wasn't recommended for underwater operations because all its functions would be severely diminished—there were specialized underwater mechs for that purpose.
"Damn, if only this kind of bio-search radar were available on Earth, fishermen would fight over it. Not only could it detect the size of a fish, but also its species," Yang Bo commented as he activated his radar. The small radar on his mech had different detection ranges and depths depending on the environment.
Since electric eels typically live in freshwater rivers, Yang Bo soon detected one—a solitary eel about 50 meters away in a lake approximately 3 meters deep.
"This is a bit tricky—a single electric eel isn't exactly worth dropping a bomb on," he mused. "Maybe I should develop a new, energy-efficient fishing system?" "Better to observe first," Yang Bo decided, taking his time to scout the area.
Unbeknownst to him, less than a kilometer away, hidden within a clump of shrubs, a small gray bird was silently watching his mech. And hundreds of kilometers away, in a neatly maintained underground space, a virtual screen displayed the silhouette of Yang Bo's mech.
"General, shall we strike now?" a voice boomed from the underground command center. The facility was impeccably organized. A man with horn-like protrusions on his head shouted.
"Not yet. That fellow who's detected our senior spy must have his reasons. These shameless bastards even allow remote-controlled mechs—over the years, we've lost real men, while the enemy only loses machines," the general replied. The general was an imposing, muscular middle-aged man, nearly two meters tall, his body bulging with muscles. His face was covered with yellow-black fuzz, his nose was large, and his beard gave him a tiger-like appearance.
If Yang Bo ever saw him, he'd realize this was one of the mutants featured in the game's official propaganda—gene-mutated individuals, or simply mutants.
"General, I'll go capture a live one. Even a low-level mech is better than a pile of raw materials," cooed a curvaceous woman. Her voice was soft, yet her hands looked like claws, covered in gray fuzz—even though the rest of her body was normal.
"Not yet. Wait a bit," the general dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
At that moment, Yang Bo had walked along the lakeside for a while. "This is getting complicated—these electric eels are everywhere!" he thought.
The key for Yang Bo was to achieve his goal with minimal cost; defeating each eel one by one was far too slow. No one else could afford to do that—if someone were to start a fire, it would trigger two master-level skill gains, making individual farming less appealing.
"Damn, if only I were piloting a battleship, I could obliterate this entire lake with a single shot," he mused.
"Seems I have no choice but to poison them. I recall that some bombs contain extremely toxic raw materials," Yang Bo resolved. He planned to scout further, then figure out a method. Some chemical substances are incredibly toxic—and if necessary, he could use them. After all, if the game is truly a highly free-form experience, then let freedom reign. For now, he'd pretend he didn't know it was all remotely controlled.
(End of Chapter)