Super Gene

Seeing the Sky Warrior approach, Han Sen wasn’t going to fall back or be intimidated. Eagerly, he thrust forward to meet with it, his own laser sword in-hand.

The SKTS lacked mobility in comparison to the opposition, however. The speed and thrusting capabilities were inferior to the model he was going up against, which put him at a disadvantage when it came to the needs for agility, and there’d be no way around that.

Still, Han Sen wasn’t fazed by this. At the end of the day, he firmly believed, the victor was determined by the operator’s skill. Everything boiled down to how well the operator controlled their machine in the thick of things, from the delicate ballet of movement to the timing of attack, and all the little things in between. It wasn’t too far off battling without being inside such a machine.

Han Sen might not have been able to drive as well as Xie Yuxin, and the lack of recent practice with warframes would usually result in a loss and the opponent being stronger.

But Han Sen had a higher fitness and a better level of judgment, and with that, he was going to even the odds.

Xie Yuxin was only an evolver, so her fitness wasn’t even comparable.

Of course, fitness was not the end-all, be-all of warframe operation. His higher fitness level would help to close the gap, but he still needed to control his warframe well. And that came down to raw, simple talent with the machines.

Han Sen’s skill with the warframe was still a little rusty, though, so he knew he had to rely on his fitness and judgment to help even the odds.

The audience were chatting a lot before the match, but when the fight began, they all fell silent.

“Weird. This guy looks sloppy, but then, why is Xie Yuxin having a hard time defeating him? This should’ve been over real quick.”

“Is she playing poorly on purpose?”

“No way.”

The SKTS was inferior on all fronts, and it wasn’t being operated as smoothly as it could have been. The audience was primarily composed of self-asserted professionals. They might not have been the best in existence, but they really were proficient and knowledgeable when it came to watching and using warframes. They could all clearly see that Han Sen was a little rusty.

But the Sky Warrior, despite all its bells and whistles, and the fact it was taking every advantage, seemed to be the one getting beaten back. It was a perplexing sight, and for all intents and purposes, it should not have been happening.

Xie Yuxin, on the field of play, was unsure of what was going on herself.

Because Han Sen hadn’t used a warframe in a long time, so he often made mistakes. Yet in a warframe fight, a mistake could very well be fatal, and a killing strike could come before the operator even acknowledged the blunder they had made. Knowing and understanding the constant mistakes he was making, she felt as if she should have destroyed him several times over by now.

But as time went on, she realized she couldn’t. She wished to take advantage of every slip Han Sen made, but whenever she tried to, she was unsuccessful. It was frustrating, and it was starting to get her flustered. She almost thought he had to be purposefully playing with her.

When Han Sen made a mistake, it almost seemed deliberate. He’d slip in a spot she didn’t expect him to be, or he’d simply be too far away for her to reach. Some mistakes even enabled Han Sen to dodge her attacks.

This battle was starting to stress Xie Yuxin out, as it was unlike anything she had ever had to deal with before. If she was to be beaten by someone who was much stronger, plain and simple, that would be fine.

But this opponent was, for all accounts, supposed to be much weaker. And yet, no matter what she tried, she could not defeat him. She knew she could, and she knew she should have been able to, but she just couldn’t.

She kept on attacking, not realizing she had been pushed into a corner.

Han Sen found himself having a lot of fun with his warframe, and it took him back to his days in the military school.

“Am I getting old, thinking about the past? Nostalgia is the quotidian beast of aging,” Han Sen thought.

Han Sen was using Heavenly Go to dictate his movements.

Han Sen made many mistakes, but he was able to predict each move his opponent was going to make, which had his mistakes fall in spots where he would be fine. Han Sen wished the fight would last longer, and he found it disappointing that he was so close to finishing her off.

Xie Yuxin kept on attacking without reprieve, unaware of where Han Sen had led her.

The audience, seeing everything, knew the Sky Warrior would be backed into a corner soon, and when that happened, her abilities would be severely limited.

“What’s going on?” Yu Shaoqing asked.

The professionals in the audience were not the best operators out there, and even they were perplexed by what had happened. Yu Qianxun was in a league of her own, so if anyone could elucidate the bewildering proceedings, it’d be her.

Yu Qianxun helped to clear things up by saying, “You have unwittingly tried to hustle an elite.”

“No way! He makes too many mistakes to be considered an elite. If we made those mistakes, the coach would be yelling at us until he was blue in the face.” Yu Shaoqing didn’t believe what he had been told.

Others were of a similar opinion, not believing Han Sen was a pro.

Yu Qianxun went on to say, “You might operate your warframes better than he does, but on a real battleground, this man would kill you.”

“Are you pulling my leg? Is he really that good?” The struggle to believe her was real.

While they were talking, the Sky Warrior was pushed into a corner. And when she herself realized what had happened, it was too late for her to do anything. The SKTS struck her warframe, breaking it completely.

Xie Yuxin exited the holographic machine with red eyes.

She was not afraid of losing, but it felt as if she had been misled. The opponent was weak, and she had not at all anticipated such a defeat.

She was an adult, though. Her eyes were very red, but she did not cry.