To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 348: Chapter 217: The Plot Begins (Part 2)_2

Teddy Bear listened to the set of rules with relish and then asked, “So what rewards will there be after a successful challenge?”

“You will get various mecha parts, various chips, and prize money. Some of the fixed NPCs will have predetermined drops, so as long as your basic skills meet the standard, you generally won’t have to worry about getting stuck.”

As he explained the situation here to Teddy Bear, Monkey piloted the mecha, entering the combat arena.

The first opponent had already been arranged, and somewhat helplessly looked at Teddy Bear entering, whispering, “Don’t hit too hard when we fight later, the repair costs are quite expensive.”

The opponent’s frail appearance made Teddy Bear feel very sympathetic, and he quickly said, “Don’t worry, I definitely will… I’ll be damned!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the opponent raised a fist and launched it towards Teddy Bear.

If Teddy Bear hadn’t dodged sharply, he would have been smashed to pieces.

After Teddy Bear dodged, Monkey slowly said, “This guy is very deceitful. He pretends to be weak at the beginning and then takes the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. Many people say this guy is the most despicable grunt in history, even more grunts have died at its hands than on the upper levels.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

“You dodged it.”

Upon seeing that the flying fists hadn’t exploded Teddy Bear’s head, the opponent sneered and thrust a sharp knife from his right elbow, then pounced toward Teddy Bear.

But while it was still in mid-air, Teddy Bear had already grabbed the opponent’s head, and then violently slammed it to the ground.

After that, Teddy Bear pulled on the opponent’s legs, repeatedly smashing them on the ground, each time creating a deep dent in the steel floor.

After a dozen or so times, the opponent had become battered and a weak voice arose from within, “Sorry… I was wrong, take this!”

The opponent spat out a corrosive liquid that flew towards Teddy Bear.

They were too close, but what should have been a sure hit was dodged by Teddy Bear, followed by his angry voice, “Do you think I’d fall for the same trick twice?”

“… I was wrong, this time for real.”

“Whatever!”

After pulling out the opponent’s cockpit and tossing it aside, Teddy Bear smashed the opponent’s mecha into pieces in front of him, and then huffed up the stairs towards the 995th floor.

“Well done,” Monkey said from inside the cockpit. “These pilots are either cowardly, bad, or both cowardly and bad. But the worst one has been taken care of, so it should be easier from here on out.”

“Can kids even play this game?”

“Kids enjoy it even more, whereas it’s some adults who end up crying and complaining they’ve been betrayed.”

“Is the mental age reversed where you come from?”

Muttering complaints while continuing upward, Teddy Bear entered the 995th floor and saw the mechas there looking very anxious.

Without waiting for the start signal to appear, one of them launched a shameless sneak attack, swinging its briefcase-like sledgehammer in a whirlwind that left Teddy Bear’s heart pounding.

“What’s up with that one?” Teddy Bear asked.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“It’s the workaholic of 995, tormented by its inability to do 996. I’m not sure who Tang Mo is satirizing, but it looks pretty pitiful.”

“Isn’t this just a struggle bitch? Your game is quite incisive with its implications! Take this!”

Snatching the weapon back from the opponent, Teddy Bear used a briefcase to scatter the opponent and then continued climbing.

In the beginning, their tower climbing was quite smooth.

After every victory, they would get some spare parts, which allowed for further enhancement in strength after being swapped out.

And every hundred levels, they could take a break, repair the mecha, get a sum of prize money, and then continue.

The prize money was rather small at first, but after entering the 700th floor, the amount began to increase, and based on Teddy Bear’s performance in battle, additional rewards could be granted.

In this process, Teddy Bear’s strength also kept increasing.

He gradually took control over the mecha battles, and his coordination with Monkey improved more and more. They understood when to act freely and when to follow Monkey’s commands. Their teamwork became more skillful, and their own strength also grew stronger.

When Teddy Bear stepped into the 500th floor, it noticed that the environment had changed.

Although it was still an arena, this arena was now full of spectators, some of whom even held up its name and chibi illustrations of its Mecha, suspended in mid-air on a scoreboard that also displayed the names of it and its opponent.

Once it officially entered, it found that many people around were shouting its name, and the overwhelming cheers made Teddy Bear feel as if it had become a star, relishing the sense of being the center of attention.

“Reaching the 500th floor means you’re a decent pilot, and this floor is where you must take on a challenge,” Monkey explained to Teddy Bear. “Many players say this moment is very important; walking from the cramped and dim corridors to here, greeted by cheers, the emotion it brings ranks second among the most memorable moments.”

“What’s the first?”

“It’s when you defeat the Artificial Artifact Spirit of the Union Mecha. That battle is extremely brutal and the difficulty level is high—the completion rate is less than 7%, meaning that out of a hundred players, only seven can pass through successfully.”

“That difficult, huh!”

“Moreover, we’ve now interfered with the plot. On top of the original difficulty, we also have to factor in the world’s suppression power, which makes it even harder.”

Aware of the difficulty it was about to face, Teddy Bear felt its power furnace about to stop.

However, it then confidently said, “But no worries, our seamless cooperation will certainly see us through without a problem.”

“…Perhaps. The 500th floor is a major hurdle; let’s get past it before anything else.”

Unsettled by Monkey’s attitude, Teddy Bear felt an ominous premonition about the Union Mecha’s Artificial Artifact Spirit.

Upon seeing the Mecha of the 500th floor, Teddy Bear’s power furnace faltered again.

The guy opposite seemed quite normal, but Teddy Bear could tell that there was no pilot inside.

“Monkey, that guy…”

“Yes, that’s an experimental Artificial Artifact Spirit. It was sent to the Tower of Competition to collect data, and we have to defeat it to keep moving up. According to the original plot, once a player defeats it, it would trigger an alarm in the Union Mecha, and they would detect the presence of an Artifact Spirit on the player’s Mecha, which leads to the real Artificial Artifact Spirit showing up.”

“What if I don’t show up?”

“Ordinary players can’t get through. But even if they do manage to win, they would still be suspected of having an Artifact Spirit, and the Artificial Artifact Spirits would still come after them. They get captured and studied by the Union, and if nothing’s found, they’re thrown into the recycling bin, waking up to the sole Artifact Spirit storyline.”

“You guys have played to this extent? And you can’t even defeat the Artificial Artifact Spirits?”

“Nope, the boss’s AI settings are too strong. In the plot, it’s only the unique Artifact Spirit itself that can restrict the Artificial Artifact Spirits with its privileges. But with you here, we might stand a chance.”

“The pressure keeps mounting!”

“I’m not bothered by it, but as for you…”

“Don’t scare me, I get it!”

Mustering courage, Teddy Bear walked forward, feeling an unprecedented level of nerves.

The armor of the Mecha opposite was a gray melee type. Upon seeing Monkey enter, it said nothing, saluted, and then assumed a fighting stance.

Amidst the cheering of the audience, Teddy Bear somehow started to calm down.

The opponent had already collected a lot of data and seemed to be no different from an extremely skilled pilot, its approach was agile and light-footed, and the performance of its Mecha was several times better than Teddy Bear’s own.

However, upon seeing its opponent, Teddy Bear felt an odd sensation.

It seemed like it could give commands to the opponent.

As the opponent drew nearer, this feeling within Teddy Bear grew stronger, and it desperately wanted to issue a command to the adversary to see just how far it could go.

Failing would be quite embarrassing, but the impulse had become unstoppable, and ultimately, Teddy Bear looked at the opponent and said, “You, kneel down!”

No sooner had the words been uttered than the opponent knelt down in front of Teddy Bear, under the watchful eyes of all present.

And at that same moment, in a laboratory beneath a distant planet, an artificially created consciousness suddenly awoke.

The story had finally begun.