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The mechas are divided into 532 points???
Newcomers were confused when they saw this situation. Yesterday, KID did rank first during the settlement, but their mecha points were only 195. In the knockout stage, there are a total of 32 tracks, and the situations on other tracks are also intense. For example, on the track where the Gale Team is located, nearly 170 mechas were eliminated on the first day, which is similar to KID's performance. However, what the viewers didn't expect is that after just one day, when they came to watch KID again, KID's mecha points had already widened the gap, rising from 195 points to 532 points in just one day! What's going on with the signal tower? Why are so many people running away?
[What's going on?]
[Mecha points 532, this is too unbelievable, right?]
[This is a long story; we also find it unbelievable...]
Viewers couldn't figure out the situation and had to go back to watch the replay in the live broadcast.
Rewind to 21 hours ago, KID finished the rest, and from the Old Business Center, KID headed towards the direction of the signal tower.
As the midpoint of the fourth island, the signal tower has a very high building area. Keze Floating Island is a heavily polluted abandoned area, and the fourth island is the central city of the entire floating island area. This landmark tower in the Keze region is still lit up, and mechas passing by can see that building from afar.
A total of 4159 teams participated in the Keze Floating Island competition, and only 485 teams were assigned to the fourth island. When the mecha pilots entered the registration area, they could see all the teleportation coordinates of the entire Keze Floating Island.
Any team doesn't know which teleportation point they will be assigned to. Teleportation allocation is random, but each pollution zone has fixed teleportation points that can be set up.
Ji Qingfeng asked, "Shall we go directly to the signal tower and have a fight?"
Lin Yao worriedly asked, "Is there really anyone at the signal tower? What if they disperse when our mechas go over?"
"That won't happen. The signal tower is the central point of the entire fourth island of the Keze Floating Island. Looking at the density of initial teleportation coordinates, the signal tower and the Old Business Center have the most mechas around them."
Huo Yan looked at the map and said, "Chenlin's analysis is correct. If we want to fight, we can only go to the signal tower. But we don't know what it will be like when we get there. If it's not good, we can wait until the isolation hood of the other islands is closed, and we can go there."
The signal tower, like the Old Business Center, is one of the most intense combat areas in the entire fourth island, and its intensity is even stronger than that of the Old Business Center. Because most of the teleportation coordinates intersect around the signal tower.
With a bit of luck, they would encounter a fight when they rushed over. With bad luck, the people would have already scattered when they went over.
"Directly going over is not good. It's a bit of a disadvantage." Ying Chenlin suddenly said, "We have to take a detour."
Lin Yao: "Won't we be slower if we take a detour?"
"As long as we meet more people on this road." Ying Chenlin said, "In the knockout stage, we need to get more points, right?"
Ji Qingfeng was interested when he heard this. "Can we get more points by taking a detour?"
Ying Chenlin marked several coordinates on the map. "Let's go in this direction."
The audience in the live broadcast room finally saw KID, who had been silent for a long time, start to move. When others were fighting, they rested with excellent results, pretending to be bad for nearly 7 hours. Many viewers had left the live broadcast room. Now, seeing KID heading towards the signal tower, the netizens felt that KID was finally ready to work. With their god-like perspective, they could see the most clearly, and the area around the signal tower was currently the most intense battlefield.
During the time when KID fought against the Beacon Fire Team before, an unprecedented fierce battle broke out near the signal tower. When the first day ended, the number of teams eliminated from the entire fourth island was reduced from the initial 485 teams to 275 teams. Nearly 120 teams were eliminated around the signal tower.
People in the live broadcast room didn't know what KID had discussed, but when KID headed towards the signal tower, they found that KID's route was a bit different. They didn't follow the straight line path from the Old Business Center to the signal tower, but instead took a winding route through several locations on the fourth island of the Keze Floating Island. They took the longest route to the signal tower.
Is KID's team stupid? Now there will be a fight near the signal tower, isn't it a waste of time to take a detour?
[Why is their route so strange?]
[Isn't it faster to go directly to the signal tower?]
However, such doubts only lingered for half an hour until they saw KID encountering the first lone mecha, and this mecha plunged into the encirclement of KID, who was fully armed.
[Is the luck of this mecha too bad?]
[Escaping from the signal tower, and now it ran into KID?]
However, with the first one, there soon came the second one. Then the viewers suddenly discovered that most of the teams that suffered damage or defeat from the signal tower had surprisingly chosen the route that KID took a detour around.
The commentator saw this and said in surprise, "Is KID calculating the route...?"
Calculating the route is one of the most common tactics in the knockout stage.
The knockout stage is a points-based competition. Having strong firepower doesn't guarantee victory; the most crucial factor is how many mecha points can be obtained. It's different from the promotion match or ranking match where several teams are squeezed into a pollution zone, and opponents are hard to find by wandering north and south. In the knockout stage, due to the dense formation of teams and the division of areas, the probability of confrontation between teams increases. It has a different way of playing than other formats of matches. In the knockout stage, to win, you can only encounter more mechas and get more points.
Experienced mecha teams will calculate walking routes from the moment they enter the arena. They calculate which route will encounter more teams to get a higher chance of winning. Teleportation coordinates have calculability. The specific battle areas can be circumscribed from the intersection range of various coordinates. At this time, powerful teams can harvest a wave, just like in other knockout tracks. Teams like Gale and YDS use this method to quickly calculate the optimal solution.
But KID, who is used to fighting recklessly, this is the first time he has seen KID actually use his brain to calculate the forward route?
[Can he calculate all the opponents into the route?]
[How is this calculated?]
The head coach of the Gale Team saw this scene and suddenly realized, "No, he's not just calculating the route, KID's command is calculating the route of the teams retreating from the signal tower. They are moving in this direction according to the retreat route."
Normal route calculation is used to calculate the location of the confrontation. However, KID's route calculation involves an extra step. They are indeed going to the signal tower, but they are going along the route that other teams have evacuated from the signal tower. This means that along this route, they can not only reach the signal tower but also clear out the teams that have avoided battle due to mecha damage.
"But can this be calculated?" the person in charge of the Gale Team asked.
The head coach immediately pulled up a map of the venue and marked several coordinates. "Those gathered around the signal tower are teams that are ready to fight. The goal of the knockout stage is to get more points. All teams try to get higher points while avoiding their own losses. If you were one of the evacuating people, which direction would you retreat? You wouldn't go to a place with a lot of pollution, you wouldn't go to a place with fewer obstacles, and you might avoid places where battles might break out... " The head coach marked off the locations involving this information on the map. "There is definitely no one going to the east of the signal tower; there is pollution there. There are few buildings to the north, all of which are small buildings unsuitable for hiding. So, the remaining directions are west and south."
Assistant coach: "And the Beacon Fire Team must have cleared the road they came from. Other teams don't know the Beacon Fire Team's path and might avoid unknown routes, but KID knows... so they can go in the direction of the southwest of the signal tower."
After marking all the coordinates, they were surprised to find that this route mostly coincided with the one KID took, only KID's route was more detailed.
Gale's head coach looked at the scene and said, "KID's command, this step is clever."
Not all teams would choose this route for evacuation, but certainly, some teams would choose the optimal route for evacuation. KID's command calculated this step; he analyzed the psychology of other teams' route choices during retreat, walking along the direction they evacuated.
The process of advancing is the process of engaging in battles.
Sure enough, after KID encountered the second and third mechas, the audience in the live broadcast room suddenly discovered that the teams evacuating from the signal tower, as long as they chose the direction towards the Old Business Center, almost all overlapped with the route KID chose.
Teams that had just experienced battles and suffered damage, encountering KID, who had fully armed mechas and rested for 7 hours, was undoubtedly walking into a lion's den.
[If it weren't for the competition system, I would have thought they had X-ray vision.]
[They're directly harvesting along the way!]
The teams in the knockout stage come from all over the Dawn Galaxy, with varying levels of combat readiness. There are many weaker teams, and mechas have experienced some wear and tear. KID defeated teams like Fire, and now facing other small teams from Dawn, there's simply no one who can stop them.
KID's route was a wave of feasting, encountering any team along the way, engaging in battles with them. How long they walked determined how many mecha points they obtained. This long detour was quite worthwhile; by the time they reached the signal tower, they had already obtained nearly 50 mecha points.
Upon entering the signal tower, KID used the same tactics as before, replaying the trick they used in the Old Business Center. The trick was not new or old; as long as there were people in the Keze Floating Island who hadn't fallen for it, this trick could still work.
The teams around the signal tower had already experienced several battles. Mechas on-site had more or less suffered some damage, and the situation where mechas from different teams were deadlocked was barely maintained. KID's entry directly disrupted this situation, scrambling the situation where teams were mutually restraining each other. On the field, everyone couldn't tell which side the gunfire was coming from and which teams were involved.
After a chaotic wave, the entire situation around the signal tower changed completely.
But the teams around the signal tower were not easy to deal with; they had been in this area for a long time. Apart from some weaker small teams that were disrupted by KID and thrown into chaos, some teams with a bit of strength quickly determined the positions of KID's mechas in the sky. They began to find ways to flank from the rear.
KID's tactic of sowing confusion was effective, but the only drawback was that all the mechas were too scattered. Once the position of a mecha was exposed or targeted, that mecha became an easy target, easily surrounded by others.
Seeing other teams taking action, the viewers in the live broadcast room initially thought that KID's banditry would be punished by other teams. However, when others began to flank from the rear to encircle KID's long-range mechas, KID's mechas seemed to have noticed this problem long before the other teams acted. They had already distanced themselves, using the terrain around the signal tower to evade attacks. Because KID's six mechas were all dispersed, the teams that reacted only chased the nearest KID mecha. The problem became evident when the viewers saw that a total of six mechas were targeted, but the teams on the field, realizing KID's problem, were each on guard. The battle was dispersed, and the moment they were about to hit KID's mecha, KID blinked out of sight, hiding in the blind spots of their vision. The subsequent attacks couldn't keep up, allowing KID to escape.
In addition, some teams that hadn't reacted continued to fire, causing the area around the signal tower to be filled with smoke. They locked onto KID for a short time but were disturbed by others before they could act.
[No, why could KID escape like that?]
[The six mechas couldn't catch Trace?!]
[Yan was detained, but he's a tank with shields!]
"The difference in strength is too great. The gap between the top 16 teams and ordinary teams is too significant," the commentator said when he saw this. "In the previous mecha union with the old format, top 16 teams were not allowed to participate in the knockout stage, and this is one of the reasons. If the top 16 teams were completely separated into multiple tracks, the difference in the quality of their mecha pilots and resources would be too significant, leading to the kind of one-sided problem we see now."
The top 16 teams in the Dawn Galaxy, compared to the nearly 100,000 ordinary mecha teams participating in the knockout stage, were the top-notch teams. In a direct confrontation, a single top 16 team could block several ordinary teams.
Differences in strength, resources, coaching resources... Many professional mecha pilots in the union aspire to reach the top and climb higher in the league as one of the paths to the top.
[If Beacon Fire were still here, KID definitely wouldn't dare to act so recklessly.]
[Don't talk about it; Beacon Fire is gone.]
If it were Beacon Fire in this situation attempting to encircle KID, it's clear that KID would fear Beacon Fire's strength and choose to retreat. However, there were no stronger teams around the signal tower, and the previous situation was just small teams fighting each other. Now, a big boss had entered, and either they would join forces to sanction or they would have to lose mechas in KID's chaotic tactics.
The commentator said, "In the current situation around the signal tower, unless these teams completely unite, they can still sanction KID."
Would teams unite? The answer is no.
In such a chaotic environment, everyone was afraid of being stabbed in the back. Not to mention joining hands to sanction a strong team in such an environment.
[What if they don't sanction?]
Soon, KID, accumulating more and more advantages, showed everyone the consequences of not uniting to sanction.
KID controlled Lucy's Quicksand Enhancement Cannon, which acted as a kind of booster. She could enhance the sniper cannon of the artillery mecha, and similarly, she could double the effect of the energy cannon of the medic mecha Sink.
Although the three long-range mechas were spread out in different directions, Lucy didn't waste energy every time she fired the booster cannon. She followed behind the two long-range mechas very flexibly. Whenever Trace or Sink were ready to fire, she could switch to the booster cannon very timely to keep up with the rhythm.
This was equivalent to the three mechas being able to fire in three directions. With other mechas chasing KID, the direction of KID's movement changed faster, and only when others controlled KID's mecha could they barely control the pace of the attack. However, once this control effect passed, subsequent control couldn't be connected, allowing KID's mechas to escape. They faced the mixed enhanced cannons attacking from unknown directions.
High-toughness mechas could withstand it, but for the fragile artillery mechas and stealth mechas, facing the enhanced sniper cannon, a single shot could raise the damage level of a mecha, nearly 60%, from the edge of being eliminated to 80%, completely eliminating it from the match.
The commentator was somewhat surprised when he saw this: "Lucy's reaction speed is very fast."
[She can coordinate with the cannons so quickly; isn't that very impressive?]
[A control mecha with such coordination capability is terrifying. I didn't realize Lucy's coordination ability was this strong before.]
[I wanted to say this earlier in the Old Business Center; Lucy always hits the booster cannon so accurately, too powerful.]
Jiang Simiao, seeing the barrage discussing Lu Xi, touched his nose somewhat proudly. Of course, that was the case. In the past, Lu Xi's coordination speed was only half of what it was now, but it depended on who she supported among the artillery mechas.
The rhythm changes in the attack by You Su were the fastest among all of KID's mechas. He was aggressive and fierce, with a violent playstyle. Lu Xi had cooperated with You Su for almost a year, playing in the league and even going to the Pollution Zone. As a control mecha always following You Su, she had unconsciously kept up with You Su's combat rhythm.
The quiet-looking girl didn't lose to anyone in terms of effort.
As the battle became more and more intense, more and more mechas were eliminated.
The teams around the signal tower finally realized that something was wrong. After finding out that they couldn't control KID, they changed from trying to sanction KID to figuring out how to evacuate from the signal tower. After the battles they had just experienced, the buildings around the signal tower had been bombarded by the mecha pilots, completely changing the situation.
Wanting to evacuate meant having to face KID's gunfire while retreating. Even so, many clear-headed commanders decisively ordered the tanks to provide cover, directly evacuating from the signal tower under artillery fire.
"What the hell? Why are so many people running away?"
"Isn't it better to stay here and be bombed out by others?"
The first team to run away had already left, but other teams that hadn't had time to run away yet faced KID's pursuit.
From KID's perspective, the teams around the signal tower were all targets. The mechas with higher damage levels dared not confront KID's mechas head-on. KID didn't fear them; they even advanced under artillery fire to collect mecha points. Other teams tried to retreat, but KID persisted in chasing them. If they could collect head points, they would; if they couldn't, they would try to damage the mechas.
The battle at the signal tower lasted for more than ten hours. Some teams managed to escape in time, but those who didn't were decapitated in the chaotic melee and battles with KID. Mechas arriving from other areas could see several mechas fleeing from the signal tower from a distance, and the mechas following them mercilessly attacked.
By the time other latecomers entered the live broadcast room, the signal tower battlefield was reaching its conclusion. KID's mechas had an average of 40% mecha damage, but they harvested a large number of mecha points in this wave of clashes. Most crucially, KID's medic mecha was still intact. After this wave passed, they could have the medic mecha repair the others, revitalizing KID's team.
Having watched the replay in the live broadcast room, the viewers were silent. They hadn't expected KID to be so ruthless, plotting a route to harvest along the way and intensifying their tactics upon reaching the signal tower. Now, they understood why other mechas were allowed to escape – this chaotic scenario was a gift to KID in terms of points. Those who didn't escape would be harvested by KID. Who wouldn't run?
KID, standing at the signal tower, was like a big boss. With such performance points, unless there was someone on the other six islands who could harvest points like KID, when the other floating islands merged, KID would securely sit as the first on the Keze Floating Island race track.
[Even with 40% damage, they dare to charge in for kills?]
[It's only the second day, and there are only 178 teams left on the fourth island...?]
[I thought YDS blocking the road and blocking others was ruthless enough...]
[YDS is still kind; KID is ruthless.]
Inside the arena, other teams dispersed in different directions to escape, and mechas chased by KID thought they had run into bad luck. Just as one mecha was about to escape the signal tower, it was suddenly ensnared by a stealth mecha from behind, pulling it back.
[So miserable.]
[Tanks move too slowly; it's normal for them to be caught up.]
[He should have run in the direction of the Little Bear Team; the tank from the Little Bear Team had already left.]
As they watched the mecha being dragged away, the viewers felt a sudden sense of pity.
Jiang Qingfeng, using the loudspeaker, said, "We told you not to run; why did you run?"
The mecha pilot angrily activated the external loudspeaker and said, "Robbers are not as good as you guys!"
Lin Yao, who followed behind, looked innocent, "Where did we rob? Robbers steal things; we don't steal anything, okay?"
Seeing that other teammates had all run away and that they couldn't compete with KID, the mecha pilot simply gave up, "Eliminate the mecha directly. You might as well just rob; don't find so many excuses."
[Indeed, robbing would be better.]
Lin Yao said, "The key is that you guys aren't valuable. The most valuable thing about you is the mecha points."
Jiang Qingfeng also felt tired of chasing and just held onto the mecha, saying, "Don't say we're heartless. If you have something more valuable than mecha points, we'll let you go. Chasing you also consumes energy; we can't let our brothers return empty-handed, right?"
The caught mecha pilot was speechless and directly threw an energy tube to the ground, saying, "How much energy can you get by chasing me? I'll give you this energy tube; will you let us go? Eliminate us if you want; don't find so many excuses."
[Hilarious, chasing him really won't consume much energy.]
[If KID is so easy to talk to, would they let him go for the energy?]
[Brother understands; he's just pretending to be weak.]
While the live broadcast room was discussing, KID suddenly stopped.
They looked at the caught mecha pilot and the energy tube in front of him, then raised their heads to look at the cameras positioned high up. The two of them exchanged glances.
Lin Yao: "You want to bribe us, breaking the rules."
The mecha pilot said, "Bribe my ass. The union only restricts the number of energy tubes mechas can carry, and the system is broadcasting during the match. If there were really a problem, the union would have stopped it long ago. Otherwise, how would you trade energy between you and your teammates if your energy is not enough?"
The Union's supervisory team members, who were also monitoring the information in the live broadcast room outside the camera, were bewildered.
Indeed, carrying a large amount of energy before entering the arena was a violation. It was also a violation to hide or store a large amount of energy before entering. However, there were no rules stipulating that mechas couldn't use teammates' energy if their own energy was insufficient after entering.
Live broadcast room viewers: "?"
Why aren't they taking action?
In the distance, several mechas from KID saw that Jiang Qingfeng and Lin Yao had been chasing for a long time without returning. They quickly rushed over in the direction indicated by the radar and saw a mecha running away from the two. They immediately pushed their thrusters to the max.
You Su, upon seeing this, raised his sniper rifle, locking onto the escaping mecha in the distance.
"Brother You, hold on!" Jiang Qingfeng shouted, "He paid up!"