Chapter 74: Chapter 73: A Terrifying Rate of Progress l
Translator: 549690339
The helmet’s display randomly shifted, finally settling on a densely forested landscape.
Harrison Clark heard the Artificial Intelligence’s reminder, telling him that the race was about to begin, and the route map appeared on the screen.
The route wound up and down along the mountains, with seemingly endless twists and turns.
Harrison glanced at it and felt his head go numb.
So far!
4.21.95 kilometers!
Ten times the distance of a human marathon!
This distance was intimidating.
The Azure Dragon Armor could break the sound barrier at its top speed, and it wouldn’t take long to cover those four hundred kilometers — less than half an hour.
However, aerial flight was not allowed in this cross-country race; they could only run.
With Harrison’s current level, even with the help of the Azure Dragon Armor, if he limited his acceleration to 5G, his top running speed could only reach over a hundred kilometers per hour.
After all, running wasn’t a simple linear movement; every step involved deceleration and acceleration.
This meant that he’d have to run for about four hours in a high-intensity simulated state to finish the race.
Leaving aside whether he could even hold out for that long, he was doubtful if he could even achieve the required passing score at his current level.
The serum had an effective time of three hours, so though the rules didn’t specify, the simulation race had to be completed within three hours to be counted.
Harrison looked around and saw nineteen competitors beside him.
All of these competitors wore medals on their simulated armor’s shoulders, with the lowest rank being one-star one-stripe.
This meant that the lowest military rank among his competitors was that of a junior officer.
Harrison felt baffled. Weren’t the participants of this race supposed to be fresh recruits who had not yet boarded a battleship? Why were their military ranks so high?
He found it unreasonable.
Indeed, new recruits could increase their military rank through meritorious performance, but it was difficult, and only exceptionally talented recruits could participate in tasks early on.
Furthermore, earning promotions through tasks was even more challenging.
There were only a few junior officer-level recruits at the Black Bear Training Base that Harrison belonged to. Yet, in this all-army race, in a group of twenty people, all nineteen of his competitors were junior officers or higher.
This was truly overwhelming for new recruits.
Unfortunately, the other competitors were cold-hearted and didn’t offer Harrison an explanation.
The communication channel had been taken over by the race supervisor, so outsiders like Professor Owen couldn’t provide any information.
Harrison gritted his teeth and braced himself to begin the race.
With a bang, the simulated starting gun fired, and the twenty operators sprinted forward like arrows.
Harrison’s condition was excellent, he didn’t need any warm-up, and instantly pushed the machine’s performance to its limits.
5G!
But from the very beginning, he was left behind by the others.
His limit was 5G, while the others’ limits were 10G or even higher.
Although the simulator couldn’t replicate the physical strain of a real 10G situation, as long as the operator made the proper technical movements and countermeasures, the simulator would naturally determine the action as successful and grant the appropriate avoidance effects.
Apart from Harrison, the other racers had plenty of hands-on experience and were the strongest among the strong, naturally capable of displaying perfect operation skills.
The gap between the two sides became clear soon, and the outcome was easily determined.
“Sigh, as expected, it’s too difficult. Harrison hasn’t trained for long enough, let alone operated a real machine. This isn’t a fair match for him at all,” Professor Owen lamented outside.
Daniel Thompson nodded, “Well, it’s good for him to see the world and understand that there are people beyond his level. That way, he won’t be too arrogant.”
“Don’t set your expectations too high. I think Harrison is already doing very well and deserves encouragement,” a clear and pleasant voice sounded behind them.
They turned and quickly saluted.
“Greetings, Captain!”
“We’ve met the Captain!”
Professor Owen leaned in curiously, “What brings you here?”
The newcomer was the person in charge of the Black Bear Training Base — a young military officer.
Despite their youth, the officer held considerable prestige in the military. In addition to their role as the head of the Black Bear Training Base, they were also a captain of a battleship within the spaceship fleet.
The officer gently brushed their hair, “One of my most promising soldiers is participating in the all-army competition. Isn’t it only natural for me to come and watch?”
After speaking, the officer focused on the determined Harrison, who was doing his best to maintain his speed and not give up, and her eyes showed a glimmer of admiration.
No one knew what she was thinking, but everyone realized she was satisfied with Harrison’s performance.
Daniel’s superior nudged his waist, hinting for him to say something. As Harrison’s instructor, Daniel should report to the officer.
“Ahem, Captain, although Harrison is excellent, I’m afraid that losing too badly this time might damage his confidence,” Daniel said.
The officer shook her head, her hands behind her back and her chin raised slightly, “He won’t.”
“Huh?”
Daniel didn’t understand the officer’s words.
What did she mean by Harrison wouldn’t? Wouldn’t lose too badly?Isn’t this already miserable enough? He can’t even see the taillights of others.
Won’t give up easily?
Does that mean that the officers know him better than his own professor with a background in psychology, Professor Owen?
Bullshit!
At this point, Professor Owen, who was staring at the ground projection, suddenly let out a soft exclamation.
“What’s wrong?”
Daniel Thompson quickly asked.
Professor Owen looked up at the data monitor above and hissed, “He’s turned up the realism limit of the simulator to 5.5G.”
“What’s he thinking? It’s too late for last-minute adjustments.”
Daniel Thompson was shocked.
Sure enough, after Harrison Clark turned up the parameters in the projection, the system judged that he should fall for not doing a standard technical move, so his simulated figure stumbled and rolled forward on the ground.
In the simulator, Harrison Clark himself was spinning in place like a small top under the control of countless mechanical arms.
Daniel Thompson turned his head away, not bearing to watch.
It was too cruel.
Originally, Harrison Clark was slower to start and had a slower top speed than the others, and he had already been left far behind. Now he had fallen and was even farther behind.
But surprisingly, after rolling for dozens of meters in the simulated mountain terrain, Harrison Clark stabilized himself with one hand, adjusted his posture along the rotating momentum, and rushed forward again.
“Why is he still at 5.5G? It won’t work, he’ll fall again.”
Professor Owen, who had been monitoring the parameters all along, held his head in despair.
The officer shook his head, “At least in a 5.5G environment, he won’t fall again.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Harrison Clark’s pace had completely stabilized, and his speed had slightly increased from before.
“You mean he only fell once and adapted to the 5.5G limit acceleration?”
An onlooking instructor exclaimed.
“An amazing genius. This level of physical coordination, this comprehension, it’s truly incredible.”
Yes, Harrison Clark’s learning of the Azure Dragon Armor had reached a totally different level than his past three training sessions, especially the third time when he drove the old-fashioned mech, and the skills and experience he had mastered were no longer applicable.
The two were now in completely different fields, but he easily achieved something that most people would find incomprehensible.
There was only one explanation: this was indeed a talent.
However, Harrison Clark himself didn’t know this. His mind had no time to think about it, he just didn’t want to admit defeat so willingly. He just wanted to try and see if he could increase his own limit as much as possible during the race time.
Even if he lost, he didn’t want to lose too badly.
”6G now. He’s turned up the parameters again!”
Professor Owen acted like a commentator, reporting Harrison Clark’s latest actions in a timely manner.
“Warning, Corporal Harrison Clark, No. 89757, you have made extreme operations beyond your training experience. It is recommended that you readjust the parameters to prevent injury.”
At this moment, the electronic referee’s prompt came through Harrison Clark’s helmet, and he fell face-first into the mud again.
But having fallen several times, he gained more experience and chose to roll forward with his body curled up.
Only after rolling dozens of meters did he stabilize his posture and continue running forward at 6G.
The observers outside could also hear the machine reminder that Harrison Clark received, and they couldn’t help feeling anxious.
Meanwhile, Harrison Clark quickly replied, “Refuse to readjust, refuse prompts, don’t interrupt me.”
“Received command, Corporal Harrison Clark, do you want to activate the personal autonomous mode? Similar reminders will be blocked.”
“Activate.”
After saying that, Harrison Clark raised the parameters to 6.5G.
“This guy is insane! Can’t he slow down a bit?”
Some people in the crowd cursed.
Daniel Thompson helplessly said, “He probably sees himself falling too far behind and is worried that adapting will take too much time.”
“Professor Owen, if Harrison Clark continues like this, how soon before he gets hurt?”
The officer spoke again.
Professor Owen narrowed his eyes and shook his head after a while, “It seems he won’t get injured. This guy has exploited a bug in the simulator.”
Officer: “How so?”
“Once he falls, he doesn’t even think about regaining his balance but curls up and rolls forward. If this were a real battlefield, he would certainly hit something while rolling, or hit his head on protruding objects along the way. But this is just a simulator, and the lowest life protection system settings have the highest priority, so the simulator’s mechanical arms can’t simulate the posture of a stone attack on him. As long as he curls up in time, he won’t be injured.”
The officer was stunned for a moment, then smiled, “What a cunning guy, taking advantage of the machine’s loophole. But this is also reasonable. Machines are ultimately machines, existing for humans to use. His most outstanding quality is that he only needs to fall once to adapt to the operation at new acceleration. If it were a real machine, he could control it.”
Daniel Thompson was in tears, ‘Yes, he only needed to fall once.”
Back in the day, he needed to…
Forget about the unbearable past.
“The key now is the next stage. This is a cross-country long run, and the terrain will become more rugged and uneven further on, making the operation difficulty increase sharply. He can’t simply rely on the limit acceleration. Ideally, he should land on high points every time, so he has to keep finding the perfect acceleration state, light when needed and heavy when necessary, while accurately grasping the perfect jump distance.”
Professor Owen explained, “It’s very difficult, really very difficult.”
Experienced veterans participating in the race added, “There will also be occasional directional changes and the need to avoid obstacles.”
The officer nodded and continued to watch the projection with his head held high, “Let’s wait and see..”