Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 2036: Ning’s Continued Victories

Ning corrected the torso, returned the Mecha to its previous position, and continued along the same general route as though the exchange had barely interrupted him.

Someone among the watching students muttered, "He didn’t even stop."

Lorna said nothing. Her attention remained fixed on the screen.

Ning traveled farther. His distance score continued rising, and because he had barely wasted fuel or ammunition, the simulation had not yet forced him into any difficult resource decisions.

A third machine appeared from between two pieces of wreckage.

Ning’s left arm began rising immediately.

His targeting system settled over the figure, and for a moment, he was ready to fire before something in the incoming signal made him stop.

The encoded radio pattern was different.

Human.

A Mecha.

Ning lowered his weapon without pulling the trigger.

The other machine made no attempt to attack either. Its own identification systems had recognized Ning’s signal, and the two machines passed one another without any exchange beyond the automated radio signatures confirming what each of them was.

Ning watched it disappear behind him and continued forward.

The asteroid field opened ahead of him, still filled with moving debris and whatever else the simulation intended to send his way.

Ning kept going.

The farther Ning traveled from the starting point, the more aggressively the simulation began changing around him.

The asteroids that had previously followed relatively predictable paths now moved along far less convenient trajectories, with some tumbling through the field at strange angles while others changed direction after glancing off larger pieces of debris. Broken machinery drifted between them in dense clusters, forcing Ning to account for dozens of moving objects at once rather than simply choosing a clean path through open space.

The enemies became harder to deal with as well.

Earlier Mekharans had revealed themselves well before they entered effective firing range, giving Ning plenty of time to confirm their radio signatures and prepare his attacks. Now they remained hidden behind asteroids, wreckage, or inactive machinery until the last possible moment, sometimes appearing close enough that waiting for a complete identification signal became dangerous.

Even the radio system had become less reliable.

The encoded patterns separating human Mechas from Mekharans still existed, but interference from the surrounding debris and simulated electronic disruption meant the signals took longer to resolve. A machine could appear in front of Ning and remain unidentified for several seconds, forcing him to decide whether to evade, engage, or wait until he knew exactly what he was looking at.

Ning adjusted accordingly.

He was no longer traveling in anything resembling a straight line, but his movements remained far more efficient than those of the earlier cadets. Whenever he had to make a sharp correction, he tried to use the momentum he already possessed instead of fighting against it, and when an asteroid forced him away from his preferred route, he immediately recalculated the next several movements rather than wasting fuel trying to return to the original path.

His fuel consumption had increased, though not enough to concern him.

More importantly, he still had plenty of ammunition.

Ning had fired so few unnecessary shots that the counter remained much higher than it had for any of the others at the same distance, and that allowed him to engage enemies without worrying about whether every encounter would leave him closer to running dry.

Another Mekharan emerged from behind a broken engine assembly.

Ning confirmed the signal, waited until a rotating section of metal passed between them, then fired through the opening the moment it appeared.

The bolt struck the enemy through the upper torso.

A second enemy appeared farther ahead, partially concealed behind an asteroid. It fired before fully exposing itself, but Ning had already noticed the movement and shifted just enough for the attack to pass beside him.

He returned fire once.

Another hit.

Another increase in points.

Outside the simulation, the students were beginning to pay more attention to the score than Ning was.

It had already risen far beyond where most new cadets normally reached, yet Ning showed no sign of slowing down or becoming desperate.

Lorna stood near the main display with her arms folded.

"He still has more than enough ammunition to continue," she said. "And his fuel expenditure is lower than it should be at this distance."

Someone beside her asked, "How is he doing that?"

"He is planning his movement before he needs it," Lorna answered. "Most cadets burn fuel correcting mistakes after an obstacle forces them off course. He is making smaller adjustments early enough that he rarely needs those corrections."

The simulation continued increasing the difficulty.

Ning encountered another cluster of enemies and dealt with them one at a time, never firing before the identification signal became clear enough to justify it. One Mekharan escaped behind an asteroid before he could get a clean shot, but Ning did not waste ammunition trying to hit something he could barely see.

Another came closer.

Ning destroyed it.

The asteroid field grew denser until even Ning had to spend more fuel navigating through it, but the increase remained manageable. He still had enough to travel much farther if the simulation allowed him to survive.

Then something unusual appeared ahead.

Two mechanical figures emerged from behind a large piece of wreckage almost at the same time.

They were already fighting.

Ning immediately began raising his weapon, but the radio signals made him stop.

One was human.

One was Mekharan.

The problem was that he could not tell which one was which.

The two machines were locked close together, rotating around one another while exchanging strikes and short bursts of fire. Their bodies were similar enough that visual recognition was nearly useless, and the radio signals kept overlapping as they moved.

Ning narrowed his eyes.

The identification system tried to separate the two sources, but every time it began isolating one signal, the machines changed position again and crossed through each other’s paths.

The safest option was obvious.

Ignore them.

He could continue forward, preserve his ammunition, and avoid the risk of destroying a human Mecha by mistake.

Ning made the opposite choice.

He would leave only when this issue was resolved.