“Being able to train your mental power to level seven before the age of twenty—this is the first time I’ve met someone like you.” Schneider shrugged and said, “You always kept a low profile. If I hadn’t asked you today, I bet you’d still be unknown.”

William Carter thought for a moment, then couldn’t help but chuckle and nod, agreeing with him.

His mental power came in a strange and unusual way, you could say it couldn’t see the light of day. If Schneider hadn’t asked today, he probably would have continued to keep a low profile.

What a weirdo!

That was Schneider’s assessment of William Carter. But no matter what, a level seven psychic is already a rare high-level talent—at least one level higher than himself.

“Hey, what’s your AOA level?”

“AOA?” William Carter was taken aback and gave a wry smile. “I’ve never played it.”

“What?” Schneider was clearly surprised and asked, “Don’t you like playing games?”

William Carter rubbed his nose, really not sure how to answer.

AOA is a mecha game on Skynet. Whether it’s the simulation or the mecha stats, it’s said to be the most realistic, and it’s one of the most popular and enduring games on Skynet.

For a young guy like William Carter, of course he liked this game. But there’s a prerequisite for playing: your mental power or physical ability must be at least level three. Otherwise, under the impact of the massive information flow, you’d either go insane or your body would collapse.

Level three mental power and physical ability aren’t high. As long as you’re a Federation citizen and have undergone systematic training, except for a few outliers, you can basically reach this requirement by the age of thirty. But for eighteen-year-old William Carter, who until yesterday was still a level two loser, how could he have joined AOA’s virtual world?

Chapter 7 Skynet

Of course, this wasn’t something he could tell anyone. He could only come up with an answer even he didn’t quite believe: “I’ve never played any mecha games. Um, I’m not really interested in them.”

“Not interested?” Schneider looked at William Carter as if he were some prehistoric creature, then suddenly smiled, pulled him toward the elevator of the experimental building, and said, “Buddy, give it a try. I believe you’ll get hooked—just like falling for a beautiful and charming woman.”

William Carter struggled a little, then stopped resisting. Not to mention he was already extremely curious, even if he really didn’t want to try, with his level two physical ability, once he was grabbed by level five Schneider, there was no way he could escape.

The experimental building certainly had advanced testing pods, but on the eighteenth floor, there were also the most luxurious gaming pods on the planet Karim.

Although connecting to Skynet only required a simple set of sensors, if you wanted to enjoy a highly realistic environment inside, then these gaming pods were absolutely essential.

Schneider was clearly a regular here, and led William Carter straight into the VIP room on the eighteenth floor.

Compared to downstairs, here there were a hundred gaming pods neatly arranged, most of them empty. In the lounge area nearby, two people were chatting.

Schneider greeted them, and William Carter recognized that these two were also celebrities in the academy.

After all, it was his first time in such a high-end place, so William Carter felt a bit at a loss. However, Schneider, who knew about his level seven mental power, didn’t mock him at all. Instead, he patiently gave him some instructions.

Clumsily getting into the gaming pod, William Carter swiped his card at the slot, only to hear a very pleasant synthesized female voice: “Sorry, sir, your card balance is less than one thousand credits. You cannot use this gaming pod at the moment. Please forgive us.”

William Carter’s face immediately turned red, but he was also shocked by the high cost here. A thousand credits—he secretly cursed—that was his living expenses for a whole month! Wasn’t this daylight robbery?

Schneider, who had just lain down in the pod next door, saw William Carter waving at him with a big smile from outside. He immediately reopened the pod cover, which had only just closed, and asked in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

William Carter lowered his head and said in the quietest voice possible, “Schneider, I forgot to bring my credit card.”

Schneider was taken aback—it was clearly the first time he’d encountered this situation. He quickly said, “Oh, sorry, I should be treating you. Go ahead and use it.”

Satisfied, William Carter returned to the gaming pod. Sure enough, the card slot next to him slowly retracted, indicating that someone had already paid for this pod.

William Carter lay down, adjusted himself to a comfortable position, and put on his own sensor.

Although the gaming pods all provided standard sensors, most people who came here brought their own personal devices. As long as the sensor’s port was connected to the pod, everything was fine.

The familiar scene appeared before his eyes again. William Carter knew he had successfully entered the virtual world of Skynet.