The Great Escape(Part 1)

Run!

With a command from the female host, all mechas simultaneously dashed towards the exit of the arena. Since the entire diamond-shaped plaza was enclosed, mechas could only escape from the plaza exits and enter the island to have enough space to evade the starship's pursuit.

At the same time, the starship in the sky began lowering its gun barrels, slowly aiming at the mechas below.

To create a tense and intimidating atmosphere, the Expedition's gun barrels didn't descend quickly, but the vast array of dark muzzles exerted immense pressure as they moved slowly.

All mechas began to rush forward bravely, fearing they would become targets for the cannons if they lagged behind.

They jostled and pushed, vying with each other to avoid being targeted by the cannons. Since all mechas were initially lined up together, the process of rushing out of the plaza inevitably involved crowding, shoving, and collisions. The plaza was filled with crowded mechas colliding into each other, accompanied by angry shouts:

"Get out of the way!"

"Clear the path for me!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

Then came the intense sounds of tearing and collision as mecha pilots, with their weapons locked, engaged in combat in the most primitive way by swinging their arms.

Boom!

The starship in the sky finally opened fire.

A massive beam of energy descended from the sky, hitting a mecha that couldn't evade in time, engulfing the mecha in a torrent of energy. The mecha crashed to the ground, completely immobilized amidst a flurry of electrical sparks.

The mecha pilots didn't die, but they lost their mobility and were thus eliminated from the match.

The starship wouldn't use lethal weapons in the arena but instead targeted the mechas with electromagnetic cannons. Otherwise, it would be a massacre. Accidents could happen in mecha battles, but killing was strictly prohibited—all deaths were considered accidental.

Nevertheless, to maximize the spectacle, the intensity of the electromagnetic cannon's attack was only reduced by thirty percent, meaning that while it paralyzed the mechas, it also inflicted tremendous pain on the pilots, causing nerve spasms and, in severe cases, "accidental death."

All safety measures were theoretical; any minor accident could lead to casualties. Therefore, on Death Island, accidents were inevitable rather than coincidental.

More gunfire continued to rain down, creating dazzling flashes of light as one mecha after another fell amidst the beams.

A charging mecha was hit by a beam of light, swaying for a moment before suddenly emitting a bright flash, followed by a powerful explosion. The shockwave formed a huge semicircle in the arena, pushing away all nearby mechas. While those mechas had activated their energy shields, blocking the shockwave, it also resulted in a significant decrease in their defensive energy.

As for the location of the mecha explosion, besides a large number of mecha fragments, there were only scattered pieces of flesh.

"Such a pity, an accident just occurred on the field a moment ago. It seems that a mecha was hit, causing the energy engine to malfunction, resulting in an abnormal energy surge and ultimately overload-induced explosion. I must remind everyone here that mecha battles are extremely dangerous, and pilots should enter the arena only when their mecha's performance is stable. Using inferior engines like this resulting in explosions is entirely unnecessary. I recommend everyone to use the Hurricane series engines produced by the Storm Mecha Group. The Hurricane engine is stable, efficient, and safe, making it the best engine in the universe..."

The hunt continued.

Beams of light from the sky systematically targeted all mechas that hadn't managed to escape yet.

During this process, the later-arriving mechas, being closer to the plaza exit, undoubtedly had a significant advantage. The earlier mechas, farther from the plaza, found it challenging to escape initially and became the primary targets of the starship's attacks.

Among this group was Reno, who had thought that placing themselves at the front was a gesture of consideration for newcomers, only to realize at this moment that it was actually a deliberate attempt to test them. As an elimination round, the organizers couldn't possibly eliminate the capable mecha pilots at the beginning. Those mechas that had previously performed well in the mecha battles and had appeared in multiple competitions were arranged to appear last, closest to the exit. As for them, the newcomers like Reno had to fight their way through the plaza with their own abilities!

As time passed, more and more mechas crowded at the exit, turning it into chaos. Due to limited space and large mecha sizes, the mechas all wanted to leave but ended up obstructing each other, significantly reducing the efficiency of their escape.

The plaza exit became a bottleneck, blocking the path for all mechas.

While the starship in the sky continued to systematically fire electromagnetic cannons, the scene below turned into a mess. Due to the overcrowding, almost every shot hit multiple targets at once.

Everywhere echoed with the wails of despair, the dazzling flashes and smoke from mecha explosions.

"Roar!" In the global stands, watching the thrilling scene, all the spectators roared with excitement.

Some fanatical fans of the Storm League even shouted, "This is exhilarating!"

"I knew it, the Storm League never disappoints! Well done, take down those bastards!"

Sitting on the couch, watching the images displayed on the projection wall, Spade Mathew let out a crazed roar of excitement.

He threw the bottle in his hand with force, creating an arc in the air before smashing onto the projection wall, the liquid flowing down like blood, staining the screen red.

Then, he took out a box from beside him, extracting a syringe containing a fluorescent blue liquid. Aiming the syringe at his arm, Mathew injected himself, emitting a blissful groan, his eyes glowing with euphoria.

In the space age, drugs had been engineered to eliminate addiction, becoming purely numbing agents for the mind.

This led to the widespread abuse of sedatives.

Although devoid of physical addiction, being trapped in a hallucinatory mental realm for long periods weakened the will, unsuitable for true soldiers.

On the plaza of Death Island, the frenzied escape continued.

"Hahaha!" Lily's voice echoed in the crowded scene as she observed from above, "It looks like the passage is a bit narrow, making it difficult for everyone to get out. Well then... Expedition, widen the exit for them!"

With that shout, a thick barrel on the Expedition starship began to descend.

"Particle Flow Impulse Cannon! It's the Particle Flow Impulse Cannon!" someone screamed in despair.

Unlike the previous electromagnetic cannons, the Particle Flow Impulse Cannon was highly destructive, with formidable power.

Seeing the starship activating the cannon, panic spread among the crowd.

The barrel slowly aimed at the passage, and with a burst of white light, a powerful shockwave hit above the passage, causing the entire alloy wall to collapse, falling from the sky.

Alloy bricks rained down like a shower, smashing onto the mechas below. Combined with the shockwave, all mechas crowding the passage were swept away.

However, this was just the beginning. The electromagnetic waves on the starship started again, targeting one mecha after another near the passage. Mechas were hit time and again, unable to evade, watching helplessly as alloy bricks fell, burying them completely.

One "accident" after another!

The more perilous the environment, the more it showcased the skill of the pilots.

A crimson mecha leaped agilely like a swallow, evading the falling alloy bricks as if flying through a stormy night, heading out of the arena. It dodged as many bricks as possible and activated the energy shield when necessary, continuing to fly, ultimately breaking through the chaos and flying out of the arena.

Others attempted to follow suit but were buried by the falling bricks before they could escape, succumbing instantly.

"Get out of my way!" Amidst furious roars, a golden bull-headed mecha charged forward, like a massive bowling ball, smashing through all obstacles in its path, and surged out. It lacked the agility of the crimson mecha but displayed wild power that frightened everyone.

Behind this rampaging mecha, a black spiky mecha emerged from the chaos. It lacked the agility of the red mecha or the wildness of the golden one but had its own treachery—it constantly maneuvered, using other mechas as shields while dodging and blocking falling rocks and incoming electromagnetic cannon fire.

When a mecha barely avoided the cannon's impact, it failed to notice the black mecha sneaking up from behind, seizing it and tossing it aside. As the electromagnetic wave struck, the black spiky mecha darted through the rubble, swiftly disappearing into the plaza.

Amidst the wreckage, the roaring gunfire, the fleeing chaos, and the mechas shattered by various accidents, everything unfolded before Reno's eyes, shaking his nerves.

Although he knew the probability of death in such leagues was high, facing death head-on for the first time made his heart tremble.

As the gunfire thundered around him, his brain momentarily blanked, unable to think or act.

Only when a mecha in front of him was blasted into a flurry of electric light did Reno snap out of it.

He realized that if he continued to dawdle, his fate would be nothing but elimination or death.

And he didn't want either of those outcomes.

Gritting his teeth, Reno began to operate his mecha.

But only then did he realize that he couldn't effectively control the Silver Wing Angel.

The control system required a clear mind and steady hands. Despite Reno's efforts, the immense shock had left him mentally shaken, causing his hands to tremble and his reaction time to diminish significantly. As a result, he fell once again without suspense.

"Oh!" Lily, who had been closely watching the Silver Wing Angel, burst into laughter, "Our adorable little puppet finally moved, and look at his first move, he fell again!"

"As I said, he's just a rookie! I doubt he'll even make it out of the plaza," Lily laughed loudly.

"Get up, Reno!" Nora and others who were also following the event shouted together.

Mockery, scorn, encouragement, all sorts of voices converged into a cacophony, penetrating the mecha and reaching Reno's ears. Despite the chaos, Reno seemed to understand, lifting his head and looking into the distance.

Then he saw Lily's exuberant face, Nora's concerned expression, the starships wreaking havoc in the sky, and the mechas paralyzed under the electromagnetic cannon fire.

More and more mechas fell.

The masters had all left, leaving only the rookies behind.

Reno looked at the sky and murmured, "Are you looking down on me? Perhaps you're right

, I am indeed a rookie. I lack great strength, agile reflexes, or extraordinary speed, but at least I have a brain..."

His hands suddenly flew over the control panel, creating a flurry of phantom movements.

The Silver Wing Angel stood up, suddenly soaring into the sky.

"He's up!" Little Dot and others exclaimed excitedly.

Then they all froze.

"Where is he flying to?"

On the diamond-shaped plaza, the Silver Wing Angel soared straight into the air, heading towards the floating platform, towards the host Lily.

Lily hadn't reacted until the colossal figure completely filled her field of vision, then she realized what was happening.

She shouted, "No!"

The massive hand of the Silver Wing Angel reached out, grabbing her body like a little chick, holding her in its grasp, and descending downwards.

A cannon aimed at Reno hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn't fire.

If that shot hit the Silver Wing Angel, the overflow of energy would have killed Lily in an instant!

Although just a host, the gunnery officer on the Expedition decided to be cautious until receiving orders.

The Silver Wing Angel tumbled from the sky, clutching Lily, acting as a shield, as Reno rushed towards the edge of the arena!

"No, let me go! Let me go!" The poor host screamed frantically, her voice transmitted to every audience member through the microphone on her clothes, stimulating everyone to call out. Of course, there were also angry accusations and insults, mostly from the passionate fans of the sexy host. But more audience members cheered for Reno's crazy act.

Having witnessed countless mecha explosions, the audience had been eagerly awaiting something new, and Reno's actions undoubtedly brought them great surprise.

"Well done, rookie!" Countless voices cheered, and the data collection center of the league immediately reflected the audience's reaction on the statistical screen, showing that the audience was ecstatic.

"Cease fire on that mecha, we need them to continue the show!"

Seeing such positive response data, the league's director was so excited that he was on the verge of going crazy, hysterically ordering the starship to redirect its cannons, ensuring Reno's safety—destroying what the audience loved was akin to destroying one's own wallet and future!

The gunfire from the starship suddenly diminished, and the widened passage increased the chances of mechas escaping. A large number of mechas began to surge out of the arena, fleeing into the depths of the island.

Reno sprinted out of the plaza, through the passage, toward the depths of the island.

At this moment, the first round of the preliminary competition's Great Hunt officially began!