The terrain effects of the golden sand desert forced him to expend five times the usual stamina just to move; the high energy consumption of the uranium lightsaber meant he had to channel more than forty percent of his strength into it, otherwise, even if he managed to strike a vital part of the mech, it would be difficult to inflict fatal damage; the operator of the Beta-III, Gale, started with a defensive strategy, causing Winter Demon to waste a considerable amount of stamina at the beginning of the match. The combination of these three factors ultimately led Winter Demon to gradually fall into the shadow of defeat.

With a resounding clang, Gale, piloting the Beta-III, broke through the aging “Iron Wall Sword Curtain” with a dazzling Thomas spin, followed by a sudden burst of speed. The laser kinetic blade seemed to have eyes as it collided with Winter Demon’s uranium lightsaber. Exhausted, Winter Demon could no longer perform his signature move of using minimal force to deflect great power. The uranium lightsaber was knocked from his hand, and his body was struck hard by the Beta-III’s left fist, sending him flying like a cannonball thirty meters away.

Winter Demon’s white battle armor was covered in cracks. He struggled to his feet, raised his hand slightly in a gesture of surrender—not because he didn’t want to keep fighting, but because he barely had the strength left to take another step.

When the system referee announced that the title of Champion of the God of War Tournament had been awarded to Gale, the strongest in the Mech Domain, Brian Carter habitually touched his nose and grunted, then logged off without a second thought.

Chapter 3 Shopping

After exiting Skynet, Brian Carter had been sitting alone in his room for over two hours. The defeat of Winter Demon had dealt a significant psychological blow to him. As a young man who was fanatically devoted to ancient martial arts, Brian Carter simply couldn’t accept the outcome of the Six Realms “Blade Tomb” God of War Tournament, where the Ancient Martial Domain was completely defeated.

“Has ancient martial arts really declined? Have mechs born of high technology completely replaced and surpassed humanity itself...”

This slightly obsessive thought kept circling in Brian Carter’s mind. “...Maybe it’s because of the game. If it were in reality, things might be different.”

After a while, Brian Carter shook his head and stood up, finding a reason to comfort himself for his doubts. Even though he could hardly believe it himself, he couldn’t stay depressed about this forever.

This way of giving himself an excuse to move on, even when in a terrible mood, was precisely why Brian Carter had spent most of his eighteen years in good spirits.

“Ordinary people should do ordinary things. Oh no, I almost forgot—tomorrow is Mom’s birthday and I haven’t even bought a gift yet!”

Brian Carter grabbed his wallet from the table and dashed out the door.

Qinmei Commercial Shopping Center, the largest department store in the city, was a skyscraper with 388 floors.

“What kind of gift should I buy?” Strolling leisurely into the shopping center, Brian Carter didn’t linger on the lower floors but went straight to the sightseeing elevator and pressed the button for the 300th floor.

In less than 20 seconds, the elevator had already reached the 300th floor. As the doors opened, Brian Carter was still preoccupied with what kind of birthday present to buy for his mom and didn’t notice a middle-aged man in a black uniform blocking his way.

“Sir, the shopping area above the 300th floor is open only to VIP customers. Please show your VIP shopping card.” As the VIP area sales manager of Qinmei Federal Commercial Shopping Center, Benjamin Reed looked at Brian Carter with some suspicion. With his extensive experience, he felt that the other party didn’t look like someone who would have a VIP shopping card.

It was well known that the floors below 300 at Qinmei Shopping Center were open to federal civilians, while the floors above 300 required an annual spending of at least one million federal credits at the center—equivalent to the living expenses of an ordinary family of three in the Grand Federation for ten years—and a one-time payment of a hundred thousand credits for VIP qualification before one could enter the premium shopping area. Anyone able to shop in this area was either wealthy or powerful.

Given Brian Carter’s current unkempt student appearance, it was no wonder there was doubt. However, Benjamin Reed was experienced enough not to immediately drive Brian Carter away, but instead politely asked him to show his VIP card. He clearly remembered the old Chinese saying, “You can’t judge a person by their appearance.”

Brian Carter took out his wallet, fished out a gold card with the Qinmei logo from a pile of magnetic cards, and smiled, “I heard there are dedicated staff here to offer shopping advice. Is that true?”

A crown-level limited edition VIP gold card—only 300 exist across the seven planets. It allows the holder to overdraw up to two million federal credits at any Qinmei shopping center for any reason, and up to ten million credits’ worth of goods if shopping at Qinmei.

At that moment, Benjamin Reed felt deeply gratified by his wise choice, and greeted Brian Carter with utmost respect, smiling, “I am Benjamin Reed, the VIP area sales manager at Qinmei Commercial Shopping Center. I hope I have the honor of serving you.”

Brian Carter hadn’t expected that the gold card he’d once “borrowed” from his dad would make others treat him so differently, but he was never one for pretension. He nodded and said, “Here’s the thing—tomorrow is my mom’s birthday, and I want to buy her a present. I’d be glad to have someone help me pick something out. Haha, my name is Brian Carter.”