Legend of the Cyber Heroes
Chapter 283 - 283 63 Extracurricular Interest Classes

283: Chapter 63: Extracurricular Interest Classes 283: Chapter 63: Extracurricular Interest Classes In the ancient era, cyber martial arts had not yet been born.

Back then, the only martial arts that existed in the world were “martial arts that seem useless now,” “what is considered martial arts now but wasn’t at that time,” and “fictional martial arts.”

In the wuxia stories that were based on “fictional martial arts,” it was common to see scenes like this: two great heroes sat opposite each other, either standing still or seemingly engaging in casual conversation.

Meanwhile, in their mind’s eye, they were already engaged in a flurry of blade and sword shadows.

The outcome of this mental duel would either result in one party killing the other with a single move or the weaker party would voluntarily take a step back to avoid the terrible situation from truly unfolding.

Although these stories were fictitious, they followed a certain logic of reality in some respects.

The confrontations involving firearms are different from those with cold weapons.

Firearms rely on the instant release of chemical energy or other forms of energy for combat.

This type of energy release is something cold weapons cannot match.

Apart from the special technological creation that is the Sonicon Blade, the destructive power provided by most cold weapons is typically less than that of firearms.

Thus, the confrontations involving firearms are more likely to result in “a single strike determining the outcome,” with the danger being even greater than that of cold weapon confrontations.

Even a Cyberman with a full complement of cybernetic enhancements could, at most, withstand a few more shots.

If hit in the key transmission parts, a martial artist would still lose their ability to move, becoming constrained in the subsequent confrontation.

However, firing a gun would essentially give oneself away.

Moreover, taking the initiative to scout can also be highly likely to be counter-tracked by the opponent.

“Before firing a gun, a warrior of the Firearms Path will undergo many rounds of complex surveillance gambits,” Yuan Wenren continued, “especially on the surveillance level.

For example, some warriors would deliberately disguise the signal from their radar to mislead the opponent about their distance and scanning pattern.

Others, in a team, would carry separate radar transmitters and receivers.

Or they might simply install radar on a drone and strike via a data link without exposing their position—although the former is more commonly seen during government Houndhawk encirclement operations.”

Yuki shuddered slightly.

He was actually more concerned about the latter.

The description by Yuan Wenren reminded him of the first sharpshooter he had encountered, “Chain Missile” Gleayard.

But he quickly freed himself from this emotion.

Don’t be afraid—he told himself.

I am a hero now.

To ensure that such things no longer happen in the world, I must not be contrary; I need to absorb this knowledge…

Yuan Wenren said, “That’s what these mechanical bugs are for.”

Yuki asked, “These little robots…

mechanical bugs, are they reconnaissance drones?”

Something didn’t feel quite right to him.

Although the drones used by Gleayard were not large, at least they could be equivalent to a hundred little bugs.

“Correct, these bugs are so small that they can only carry very limited power sources, and thus their transmission power is even lower.

If there’s no third-party relay, they essentially can’t establish a data link,” Yuan Wenren said regretfully, “I heard that the government has some extremely expensive mechanical bugs that can overcome this limitation, but I’ve never actually seen them.”

“With our current conditions, these mechanical bugs are used for deception.”

“Deception?”

Yuan Wenren nodded, “Since the technology for counter-surveillance has already formed a system, there naturally exists a counter-system.

That is, to deliberately emit radar waves at a warrior, causing them to have a sensation of ‘I’ve been locked on,’ inducing a state of tension.”

Yuki scratched his head, “But what if they can’t lock on?

Master previously said that the routing algorithm he wrote isn’t very good, and the skills of these mechanical bugs are quite limited, right?

Can they really keep up with martial artists moving at high speeds?”

Yuan Wenren laughed, “That’s exactly the essence of it, little brother.

If it were in an era when ‘counter-surveillance’ was not yet mature…

no, when cyber martial arts had not yet matured, a radar wave appearing in a flash would just make a warrior think ‘is it a wide-area radar beam sweeping by,’ without any second thoughts.

Unless they sensed a very narrow beam of radar waves continuously sweeping over, they wouldn’t believe they had been discovered.”

In general, military radar can have two working states: “scan mode” and “track mode.” In scan mode, the radar emits a very wide beam, sweeping back and forth at a fixed frequency over a larger area.

Track mode radar, on the other hand, uses a very narrow beam to continuously scan a suspicious area where a target might be.

Yuan Wenren continued, “However, after the high development of cyber martial arts, things are different.

The Martial Arts Algorithm develops rapidly, with constant innovations.

A momentary radar scan can potentially return useful information, assisting the warrior in making judgments.

For those who are highly tense in combat or those who are inherently paranoid, even what seems to be a weak radar wave can make them think ‘this is a master disguising their signal attempting to lock onto me.’

“It is said that among the old generation of heroes, some proposed calling this phenomenon ‘Murderous Aura.’ But most people found the term unclear and thought it could confuse the concept of ‘radar wave,’ so it didn’t catch on.”

Yuki scratched his head, “What does ‘Murderous Aura’ mean?”

He felt that the concept was indeed quite unclear.

Yuan Wenren pondered for a moment, “Hmm, it’s said to be a cultural concept…

I’m not too clear on it either.

However, I do know that sometimes, the more experienced you are in Jianghu, the more susceptible you are to this move.

Even in close combat fighting, this move has its effects.

It’s said that if one can discern the pattern of the opponent’s Martial Arts Algorithm, and then have these Mechanical Bugs emit radar waves at specific angles, it can make the opponent feel ‘like a Firearms Path master is targeting my vulnerabilities.’ Even if he rationally knows this is a ruse, his instincts can’t ignore it.”

In fact, the effect is far greater than what Yuan Wenren herself described.

Yuan Wenren is a master of the Firearms Path, slightly weaker at close combat fighting.

Therefore, she doesn’t know that in the hands of some masters, the illusionary formation made by these Mechanical Bugs can make an enemy feel as though attacks are coming from all directions: up, down, left, and right.

After all, even a Close Combat Warrior like Xiang Shan has laser rangefinders and speedometers on his body.

Yuan Wenren’s mechanical engineering isn’t very good, so she can’t produce sufficiently tiny Mechanical Bugs.

She could only pre-set up some medium-sized transmitters that were capable of simple movements.

This restricted her ability to adjust based on the enemy’s movements in real-time, occasionally missing some particularly good opportunities.

But even so, Yuan Wenren herself has used this tactic on the old continent more than once to achieve victory from a position of weakness, pulling off an impossible turnaround.

“So, if Master gets entangled with a master next time…

I can carry a radar with a bit higher power and shine it from afar.

First, to indicate the target for Sister Yuan, and second, even if we can’t lock onto the opponent’s master, at least we can annoy him a bit to distract him, creating an opportunity for Master.

It could even cause confusion, ‘Those weak signals just now came from the Mechanical Bugs, so this strong one now must be from a Sniper,’ just like that!” Yuki suddenly had an epiphany and looked at Yuan Wenren.

Yuan Wenren nodded, “That’s one way.

But as I also told you, even though long-distance firearms duels seem calm, life and death are equally on a knife-edge and are not any safer than close combat fighting.”

Yuki, however, got excited, eager to rummage through the junkyard right now to cobble together a radar to test, “As long as my movement technique is good enough, and my Concealment skills are superior…

But such a great tactic, why has Master never taught me this?”

“The senior is probably worried about your safety, right?” Yuan Wenren said as a matter of course.

Both of them were unaware that, in fact, the reason was largely that…

Xiang Shan had forgotten.

Since his revival, the Firearms Path masters Xiang Shan had faced could really only be counted as Gleayard.

And Gleayard, in pursuit of that “most advantageous hundred meters” in the Firearms Path, therefore did not engage in the customary scouting and counter-scouting plays of long-distance firearms duels.

Xiang Shan truly lacked a trigger to remember this detail.

But now, with the help of memories from Tao Enhai, he did start to remember more.

“If my movement technique were better…” Yuki was even more excited.

Seeing his enthusiasm, Yuan Wenren did not want to dampen his spirits.

She said, “At the very least, you should wait until you are more proficient in movement technique and Concealment…”

Yuki said, “Please teach me, Senior Sister Yuan!”

Yuan Wenren scratched her head, “Didn’t the senior also arrange some studies for you?”

Yuki said, “That’s not a problem!

Normally when studying, I’m always proactive in asking Master questions—ah, except for those strange bits of knowledge from the last few days.

Anyway, I definitely won’t fall behind on the tasks Master gives me!

I want to learn even more!”

Yuan Wenren thought for a moment, “That could work.

Prepare yourself, tomorrow I can take you to experience a bit of ‘firearms’ counter-training…

But you must ensure you don’t fall behind on the coursework your senior has set for you.”

Yuki was delighted, “Yes!”

The next day, Yuan Wenren, in a new Prosthetic Body, and Yuki entered the interior of the city, turned at a few streets, and arrived in front of a Martial Arts School.

Yuki looked puzzled, “Martial Arts School?”

Yuan Wenren nodded, “Although there are many government Houndhawks in the Martial Arts School’s Star Academy, Heroes do not shy away from visiting Martial Arts Schools to train.”

“Why is that…” murmured Yuki, lowering his voice to a whisper, “I thought our Martial Arts were better than theirs…”

“Purely in terms of skill, the Martial Arts School also has its experts,” Yuan Wenren said.

“They don’t have to cultivate Inner Strength, learn how to avoid government surveillance, or produce their own weapons and Prosthetic Bodies.

These people devote all their time to Martial Studies, and their external strength is indeed formidable.”

“And the reason they can’t defeat the Great Heroes is either because of overwhelming Inner Strength or superior Prosthetic Body performance—they also can only use competition Prosthetic Bodies.”

Yuki felt as if his worldview was being challenged again.

“Besides, when it comes to the introductory teaching of a Martial Art, no one is more professional than the Martial Arts School.”