Puppet God

A post titled "Puppet God Special Thread—Does the Puppet God from the Virtual Zone Have the Ability to Challenge the Real Zone?" quietly climbed to the top of the trending discussions on the EMP Virtual Mode Forum, sparking intense debate. The post was made by a user named "Kepler Pirate King," and the thread had already garnered tens of thousands of comments.

The "Puppet" ID was quite famous in the virtual combat zone. With thousands of battles and a high score, Puppet's skill was undeniable. Despite keeping a low profile, many players had encountered him, and those who shared their experiences emphasized how terrifyingly skilled he was. Puppet was a master of multiple mecha types, and no one had ever heard of him losing. Many virtual mode experts had been defeated by him, and to this day, no one had claimed victory over him.

This raised a significant question: Is Puppet merely a casual player? If he was just playing for fun, there would be no need to hide his identity. What's the point of winning if not to show off? But no one had ever spoken to Puppet, and nobody had him on their friend list.

"I predicted long ago that the Puppet God would eventually move to real mode—he's out of opponents in virtual mode!"

"Come on, he hasn't even participated in virtual tournaments. How can you say he has no opponents? Casual play and competitive matches are completely different!"

"He's skilled, no doubt. Maybe he's from a military academy and doesn't want to reveal his identity."

"Same here, I have no respect for people like this. If you've got skills, stay in your own zone. What's the point of bullying newbies in virtual mode?"

"He's just an average player. Why are we even discussing him? Don't we have any pride in our virtual zone?"

In his dorm room, "Kepler Pirate King" sat with his legs crossed, grinning smugly as he watched the discussion unfold. "Amateurs, you lack my insight."

Zhuang Zhou, a first-year journalism major at Tianjing Mecha Academy, had initially aimed to join the Mecha Department but fell short of the required score. He settled for journalism, hoping to be close to the mecha combat gods.

The virtual zone and the real zone were entirely different worlds. Those who dominated the virtual zone often dreamed of proving themselves in the real world, but reality was harsh. Most were utterly crushed when they tried, a common fate across all federations, not just in the USE.

Zhuang Zhou often switched between "real mode" and virtual mode. When he got too tired in real mode, he would unwind in virtual mode, where his win rate was quite high, especially when it came to humbling cocky players. But all that changed when he encountered Puppet.

It was a nightmare. Zhuang Zhou had been using NUP's lightweight super mecha, an impressive piece of equipment. Puppet, on the other hand, was piloting a Kai-Dragon mecha, and Zhuang Zhou was utterly torn apart. That match left a lasting scar on his psyche. Feeling unsatisfied, he wanted a rematch but found that Puppet didn't even acknowledge challenges.

Zhuang Zhou, persistent as ever, quietly observed Puppet's ID, noting that Puppet didn't disable spectators. He followed every match, watching in awe as Puppet continued to win. In virtual mode, victory was not uncommon for military academy students, who could perform dazzling maneuvers. As the saying goes, "Don't pit your hobby against someone else's profession."

However, Zhuang Zhou noticed something unusual: a color difference in Puppet's mecha.

Zhuang Zhou had a subtle genetic trait, which he jokingly referred to as a "woman's sixth sense." It was unreliable at times, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. After repeatedly watching and comparing, he finally discovered the issue.

There was a slight color discrepancy between the two main modes of EMP. Virtual mode, which focused on entertainment, had mechas with bright, flashy color schemes. However, in every one of Puppet's matches, his mecha's colors were more muted, resembling the color palette of real mode.

At first, Zhuang Zhou laughed at himself—this was clearly impossible and illogical. Who in their right mind would subject themselves to such torture? But after half a year of observation, he realized it wasn't an illusion. Puppet was indeed playing real mode while everyone else was in virtual mode.

Zhuang Zhou tried it out for himself and immediately wanted to throw up. Although he wasn't at mecha department level, he was still a top player in virtual mode. The shift between modes felt like the end of the world.

Who was this madman playing real mode in virtual mode? And why?

There had to be a reason behind this strange behavior. Zhuang Zhou's blood was boiling with excitement—there was something odd about Puppet.

He believed that one day, Puppet would return to real mode. What would that be like?

Zhuang Zhou monitored Puppet's activity daily, even checking during late-night bathroom breaks to ensure he didn't miss anything—until yesterday, when it finally happened.

Yes, Puppet had fought in real mode!

The first opponent was an ID called "Eternal Starlight." Though their profile was private, Zhuang Zhou, an EMP enthusiast, recognized this as the training account of NUP's Tianxing Mecha Academy prodigy, Feyman. What was expected to be a fierce battle turned into something unbelievable—Feyman was utterly destroyed by Puppet. It was like seeing someone meet God.

After the Tianxing Mecha Academy's defeat at the last Mecha Tournament, supporters from the USE had been holding onto their anger, hoping to reclaim their honor. Following the tournament, EMP virtual mode's online player count surged by 300%.

Zhuang Zhou was ecstatic. Puppet was likely from the USE, given his preference for USE's medium-sized mechas. This subconscious bias was telling, as other federation members would have little reason to make such choices.

Zhuang Zhou became deeply interested in this person. If Puppet had participated in the last tournament, would the outcome have been different?

With the forum post gaining traction, Zhuang Zhou opened Tianxun, pulled up his interface, and posted a second thread: "Puppet's Real Mode: Seven Consecutive Wins Compilation."

The simple, unassuming title was accompanied by a compilation video he had painstakingly edited overnight. Perfect.

Leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head and legs crossed, Zhuang Zhou smiled. Sometimes it's more fun to let people figure things out on their own. If nobody did, he'd use a small account to drop some hints.

For now, he would just let things simmer.

It wasn't long before his dorm mates returned. All of them had passed the Tianjing Mecha Academy's rigorous entrance exams, and the excitement was palpable. Zhuang Zhou closed Tianxun. He knew big players maintained a bit of mystery, and he believed Puppet thought the same way.

"Tianjing's resources are incredible. Guess who I saw today?"

"Who?" Zhuang Zhou was always good at playing along.

"Qingtong, the Goddess Yi, and Senior Sister Shengman—the three goddesses together! They're all amazing in their own way. Absolutely stunning."

As soon as someone mentioned beautiful women, especially famous ones, the first-year students immediately got excited. Zhuang Zhou, however, wasn't too interested. Though he was studying journalism, which had its fair share of gossip-hungry students, he considered himself above such things. He had higher aspirations. His sixth sense told him that he had uncovered a whale of a story.

Somewhere, a humble part-timer finished delivering takeout, buttered up his boss, collected his day's wages, and returned to school feeling satisfied.

It was still early, and after reaching 3,000 points in Bleem, it was clear there would be bigger tasks ahead. He wasn't doing this for the points; there was clearly a bigger mission. The truth was getting closer, and he wasn't afraid to push things forward.

After grabbing a quick bite to replenish his energy, Li Hao arrived at the EMP building. Now that the semester had officially started, the building was bustling. During school days, only mecha and starship students could use EMP facilities. Everyone else had to go elsewhere, and those places typically only offered virtual mode.

Li Hao waited about ten minutes before getting a training room. EMP's scoring system awarded more points for consecutive wins, but it also became progressively harder to earn points as you went. Reaching 3,000 points wasn't easy, but Li Hao aimed to maintain enough matches when possible. His rough estimate was that things were manageable.

He logged into the system.

Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding~~~~~~~

A flood of notification sounds filled the room. Li Hao frowned. What's going on? He opened his inbox—friend requests and match challenges were pouring in. Li Hao spent a while clearing everything to the trash before disabling friend requests and match challenges altogether.

He just wanted to quietly grind his rank and hoped to encounter some decent opponents today.

"Puppet, you've entered matchmaking mode. Please wait patiently..."

The system's voice prompted, and Li Hao closed his eyes to rest.

Meanwhile, over at Tianxing Mecha Academy on the moon, in Mecha Theory class, Feyman looked as red as a boiled lobster. A teenage prodigy, Feyman had entered Tianxing Academy and become part of their combat team, achieving impressive results along the way. Life had been smooth sailing for him, but the "insult" he had endured yesterday was unprecedented. The frustration was eating him up inside. He had faced strong opponents before, but never had he been so humiliated.

Alz had tried to comfort him, but it was no use. Feyman was just