Brian Bolton had just walked a dozen steps when he heard a collective gasp of surprise from the crowd, immediately followed by all sorts of incredulous exclamations.

　　“Whoa~~~”

　　“Holy crap!”

　　“Damn, is that a Wolf Demon Type-1 mech?”

　　Brian Bolton looked up and saw that the screen was looping a battle video. On one side was an ordinary Wolf Demon Type-1 mech, and on the other was a top-tier White Phantom of the regular ranks. In the video, the Wolf Demon mech tore off both arms of the White Phantom and then kicked it flying—this was exactly Brian Bolton’s gameplay footage.

　　“Heh~~ That was fast.” Brian Bolton smiled.

　　To ignite the public’s enthusiasm for mech battles, the military had been collecting all sorts of spectacular maneuver videos for wide promotion. Brian Bolton’s previous video might not have been much in the eyes of experts, but in this game center, it was already a rare masterpiece and was naturally selected.

　　Of course, out of respect for privacy, the character IDs in the video had been blurred, so what everyone saw was just a pure display of maneuvers.

　　The crowd’s admiration didn’t stir any feelings in Brian Bolton’s heart. These two maneuvers were too simple—any somewhat famous expert on the interstellar battlefield could pull them off, nothing special. What he pursued wasn’t the praise of bystanders, but true, strategic-level combat power that could change the course of battle.

　　After a few more steps, Brian Bolton noticed his steps were getting heavy, and a faint soreness was appearing all over his body. Looking down at his body, as thin as a stick, he sighed softly, “At fifteen, I really am too weak.”

　　When he reached the entrance, the audience in the hall let out another collective gasp.

　　“It’s still that Wolf Demon mech!”

　　“Damn, I can’t believe the Wolf Demon can be so imposing. I’m going to try it!”

　　“Don’t be stupid! It’s not the Wolf Demon that’s awesome, it’s the pilot inside! If you try, you’ll just get wrecked!”

　　“Who are you calling a dog!”

　　“Whoever takes the challenge is the dog!”

　　“If you’ve got guts, 1v1 me in ‘Hero’!”

　　……

　　Ordinary people, unaware of the real crisis at the front lines, were always this cheerful. Brian Bolton shook his head and sighed. By now, he had reached the door and looked up at the sky. It was a little after four in the afternoon, the weather was clear, not a cloud in sight, making him feel refreshed and at ease.

　　Just as he was about to move forward, his personal computer on his wrist chimed with a “ding-dong.” Looking down, he saw a new deposit—an amount of 2,000 yuan.

　　The note under the deposit read: Game Promotion Fee. The payment was from the game center behind him.

　　“Not bad, not bad.” Brian Bolton was quite pleased. To ordinary people, this money was just a small compensation from the game center for using his personal battle video, but Brian Bolton knew very well that behind this reward system stood the Earth military.

　　The better the performance, the more money would come in later. If he had started a livestream this time, with his recent performance, his earnings could have broken ten thousand—and that was only because he wasn’t famous yet.

　　“Hmm, for the next raid mission, I’ll start a livestream.”

　　Although his father doted on him, the family wasn’t well-off, and paying for his schooling was already pushing their limits. In his previous life, after joining the The Bolton Family, his finances had improved a lot, but in this life, Brian Bolton didn’t want to use the The Bolton Family’s money. First, he didn’t want to be looked down upon for no reason, and second, he wanted to prove to the The Bolton Family that Nathan Bolton’s son was no good-for-nothing!

　　Thinking of this, Brian Bolton quickened his pace toward the nearby school. He wanted to find a quiet place to experience how much the Rage Points had improved his physical fitness.

　　The school was Dawn High School in C City, not far away—just 300 meters from the game center. Brian Bolton was fifteen, currently a first-year student in high school. The academic workload wasn’t heavy, and since it was Friday, classes ended at two in the afternoon, so he had come out to play games.

　　He soon reached the school gate. After a facial scan to clock in, Brian Bolton didn’t pause for a second and headed straight for the dormitory.

　　Because it was Friday afternoon, many students had gone home for the weekend, so there weren’t many people at school. As he jogged forward, a voice called out from his side, “Hey, Brian Bolton! Wait for me!”

　　Brian Bolton turned around and saw a chubby guy huffing and puffing as he ran over. He immediately recognized him: “Buddy, didn’t you go home for the weekend?”

　　Buddy, whose name was David Carter, was Brian Bolton’s classmate and desk mate, and a die-hard fan of ‘Hero.’ But he was too fat, his piloting skills were terrible, and his game rating, like Brian Bolton’s before, was a total noob.

　　“Go home my ass. My parents are getting divorced, it’s too annoying at home. I’d rather stay at school.” David Carter had already run up to Brian Bolton, hands on his knees, panting heavily. He was 1.7 meters tall and weighed 170 pounds—a real Buddy, out of breath after just a few steps.

　　Looking at this Buddy, Brian Bolton couldn’t help but sigh deeply. This was Buddy Carter. Now, he was just a classmate, but on the future interstellar battlefield, the two of them would become life-and-death comrades.

　　What he remembered most was five years later, when they defended the Lyra Fortress in the Northern Wasteland sector together.

　　“Brian Bolton, do you think we’ll die?” Back then, Buddy Carter was no longer a Buddy; all his fat had turned to muscle through hard training. When he spoke, one of his arms was badly twisted—a price paid for forcing his mech to perform an over-limit maneuver.