Yao Si finally understood why a robot was inferior when compared to abilities. A robot’s locomotion skills were extremely poor and were prone to being damaged. If an individual with an ability were to get hurt or catch a cold, they would get better just by enduring it. Even if they managed to lose a limb, they could still continue fighting with their ability. On top of that, bloodlings possessed incredible self-healing properties.

Even though robots could be repaired and were able to withstand heftier damage, they were after all a single entity. Even the most intelligent microchip would be deemed useless after extreme damage to its components. A small problem could collapse the entire system, like crashing into a wall and not being able to extract itself.

During her attempt at operating it, even walking had showed up to be difficult, and Yao Si’s passion extinguished instantly. She finally understood the academy’s reasoning for using a stimulation; it was to prevent beginners from destroying too many robots.

Robots were a controlled weapon in the Galaxy. The cost for each robot was high and not everyone was allowed to buy them. Even though there were plenty of robot construction companies on the galactic web, the application process was complicated and extensive. At the very least, students like her were prohibited from buying any robots.

Yao Si glanced at the pile of tech she had destroyed. Just thinking about the costs brought her pain, and she silently decided to enter the simulation class. Even though her dad was rich, she couldn’t just waste his money like that!

–

The First Academy had the perfect simulation system that was almost identical to the real experience. But due to the robot competition, there was a huge crowd waiting for its turn to practice. Since Yao Si was a bit late, there was no way she could get a turn to practice.

Sadness filled her at that thought.

“Your Highness, you can enter the galactic web for awareness training,” Bai Yi suggested.

“Awareness training?” Yao Si paused. What’s that?

“Awareness battle is the same as the robot stimulation. They’re both linked to the galactic web, but the academy’s stimulation can train your muscle memory while awareness training is more to hone your speed and accumulate experience in operating a robot.”

“Galactic web!” Yao Si’s eyes lit up. “You mean I’m able to train whenever through my optical computer?”

“That’s right!” Bai Yi replied nonchalantly. “Robot awareness training is rather common, so there are many battles on the galactic web. Your Highness, haven’t you seen it in the awareness plaza?”

“Er…”

Yao Si’s mouth twitched. She knew about the galactic web flat screen plaza and the awareness plaza. They were basically two access channels, one being the pop up screen that she used frequently and the other was the one she saw when her awareness entered the galactic web directly.

It was similar to reality and could be seen as another world, just like the web game she had played previously. However, she had never entered using her awareness, ever since the horror of being trapped in the game for a whole month. Ever since then, she had feared that history would repeat itself…

“I rarely enter the awareness plaza.”

“I’ll be your guide then!” Bai Yi tapped his chest with reassurance. “Your Highness, don’t worry. I’m well versed in robot stimulation and its details. I even made it to the top hundred for the galactic competition.”

He tapped open his optical computer and sent her a party invitation with eagerness.

Yao Si hesitated slightly. But since she had nothing to do and couldn’t just head back to destroy more robots, she accepted the invitation. Almost instantly, the weightlessness she hadn’t felt in a long time engulfed her. The next second, she arrived in a foreign location.

She glanced around. It seemed like she was in a passageway, but instead of a road, there was a glowing ground under her feet, its rays scattering around her. The sides of the passageway weren’t covered with familiar advertisements, but buttons and symbols Yao Si couldn’t understand. There were plenty of people moving to and fro, much more than back on Eternal Brilliance.

Yao Si started to study the crowd. Everyone was dressed differently and had varying physiques and looks, and even the mosaics on their faces were different…

Wait a minute! Why are their faces hidden? 

She took a closer look and saw that it wasn’t just one person like that. More than 80% of the people in her surroundings had their faces covered by a mosaic.

Er… is this a popular face feature in the galactic web?

“Eh, Your Highness, why are you still in the default setting? Haven’t you adjusted it yet?” a familiar voice asked.

Yao Si turned to see a boy with a head full of blond hair and a pair of antlers looking at her with alarm. He was dressed in clothes which kept changing colors and resembled a rainbow.

“Who are you?” A neon lamp spirit?

“I’m Bai Yi,” he replied. He seemed to recall something as he brushed his hair back with a face full of pride. “How is it, Your Highness? Doesn’t my pseudo image look good? My hairstyle, skin color, and exterior are all limited edition, capturing everyone’s attention. You can’t even get your hands on it anymore! How is it, are you impressed?”

“Er, yes…” More like shocked, in a kind that stings my eyes. I never realized that other than your naggy nature, even your aesthetic judgment is flawed. 

“Your Highness, the pseudo image can be modified with your thoughts.”

Yao Si glanced down at herself and saw a snowy white ball of fluff. It had two short fluffy paws.  Am I a… bunny? Does everyone start like this?

She silently thought of visual adjustment. As expected, an alternate sight appeared before her with her current bunny image and a row of options to modify her appearance, her race. There was even a clothing shop option.

Was this… the galactic version of QQ fashion?

Yao Si didn’t bother picking things out and just clicked onto the random option. The next moment, the bunny took on a human form. It had average appearance, the kind that would blend into a crowd. Yao Si accepted the look with satisfaction.

A confirmation of the change appeared before her [Galactic user 3838438, your new image has been saved successfully!]

–

What’s with this string of numbers? Am I being insulted again?

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

“Your Highness, the web name can be edited,” Bai Yi reminded her.

Yao Si felt her mouth twitch. She hurriedly clicked onto the contact surface to change her name.

[Your web name has been changed to: Ancestor. Ancestor, we wish you a pleasant time!]

Mmh, it looks much better!

“Your Highness, your nickname… is so fitting!” Crazy Fan Bai Yi complimented instantly, his face filled with sincerity.

She lifted her head to glance over his head, and fell silent.

“Mmh, yours is fitting as well.” Such a perfect use of sarcasm. “Oh right, where is the robot awareness training ground you mentioned?” she mentioned the matter for which they had come.

“Its over at the armor grounds.” Bai Yi brought her to the side with a row of cursors, clicking onto the two sword logos at the top.

With a buzz, the brilliant lights and vibrant colors flew by, and the originally silent surroundings filling up with noise.

The street disappeared, and they arrived at an ancient arena. There was an even larger crowd there, each person wearing an excited expressions as they cheered in the direction of battle.

Yao Si turned toward the middle, and a bright screen caught her eye. Different matches flashed on the screen, with 1v1 battles taking up the majority of the space. There were also group matches with the maximum of five contestants.

Bai Yi began his introductions. Awareness training was actually a virtual robot match that would allow participants to gain battle experience. There were three levels: advanced, intermediate, and beginner. Ever year, the Galaxy would host a battle in which the top ten contestants would win attractive prizes. The Top 100 thus were all experts in operating robots.

“The champion seems to be Abyss Battle God. It’s already his fifth championship,” Bai Yi said as he pointed toward the screen. In a nonchalant tone, he added, “I heard that he belongs to the Alliance army with a physique of Level SSS, so him retaining his title for that long isn’t too surprising.”

Yao Si nodded. If he was an expert pilot in real life, it wouldn’t be difficult for him to win the seemingly game-like training.

“This is the one I admire the most.” Bai Yi pointed to a black robot in the third place with excitement. “Black Lighting, he’s the black horse this year. He’s been hiding his identity, so no one knows who he is. I heard that his first match was against the tenth place, and that victory made him famous instantly. He managed to climb from the tenth position all the way to the third place in no time.”

“He’s that good?” Yao Si asked.

“Of course!” The excited youth nodded vigorously. “His win rate is 100% which is even higher than that of the the first place Abyss who has 95%! He’s the first person who has managed to enter the ranking with a 100% win rate and can potentially beat Abyss to become the first champion with a perfect win rate.”

He’s a long standing champion. That is indeed impressive.

Yao Si studied the black robot carefully, but the surroundings were too dim so she wasn’t able to make out his appearance. All she could see was a blob of black mess with a shining triangle at the side .

“What’s this?” Yao Si asked while poking it with her finger.

Bai Yi paled and shouted out “You can’t touch that!”, but it was too late. White light flooded Yao Si’s vision, and the next second, she was transported to an arena.

Right before her was the pure black robot that she hadn’t been able to make out just seconds ago!

[Black Lighting has accepted your challenge request!]

F*ck!