It's Not Easy To Be a Man 210+

456

456 Quandary and Decision!
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Qiao Ting wanted to distance himself and enter long-range combat mode. Lin Xiao, who had done his research on Qiao Ting, did not want to let him do as he wished. As soon as Qiao Ting moved, Lin Xiao reacted quickly, moving along with him. Of course, Lin Xiao did not retreat but moved forwards instead, and his speed was not much slower than Qiao Ting's.

Lin Xiao's long-range attack was also very strong and so he would be able to hold his own in a long-range showdown. Thus, even if he could not obtain victory at that time, he could at least remain undefeated till the end of the match, and then the final outcome would be determined by the points each contestant still had at that moment. However, Lin Xiao knew that his chances of winning with this option were not high. Showcasing his long-range attack skills in front of an opponent whose long-range skills excelled over his own was foolish — from the perspective of the judges, the decision would be obvious. Without question, the victor would be Qiao Ting.

There was not a single contestant who had fought his way to the finals who did not want to reach the very top. No one would choose an option which they knew for certain would end in a loss for themselves. Likewise, Lin Xiao would not choose that way either. In the afternoon, before the match, he had consulted with his instructors, and they all felt that there was no chance in long-range mode; his only opportunity laid in close combat.

Qiao Ting's specialization in long-range combat was no secret. His close combat skills could be said to be good too, but when compared to a true close combat specialist, his skills were really nothing much. And Lin Xiao's close combat abilities were really pretty close to that of a close combat specialist — if the fight was brought into close range, Lin Xiao believed that Qiao Ting would definitely be no match for him.

The key was whether he could drag the fight into close range, just like how Qiao Ting's victory would depend on whether he could put some distance between them to attack from long range.

Both their objectives were very clear — one wanted a long-range fight, while the other wanted a close-range fight. And so the two of them were in a deadlock, one flying away at top speed, while the other chased him fervently. Originally, Qiao Ting's long-range mecha should have had a certain advantage in terms of speed, but Lin Xiao's mecha just so happened to have been modified to improve its speed; thus, Qiao Ting was unable to wrest free of the other anytime soon. After flying four to five laps around the field, this stalemate remained unbroken ... neither side could do anything to the other.

On their sixth lap, Qiao Ting sighed internally. Truly, this Lin Xiao was not that easy to handle, but he had long made provisions for this type of situation ... in mid-flight, he drew a short compact gun from the fixed slot at the back of his waist and took aim at Lin Xiao who was still flying desperately after him.

It was a beam handgun, a standard weapon for close-combat mecha. Its range was extremely limited, only suitable for close-range shots, barely usable in mid-range, and completely useless at long range. It was a gun so normal that people tended to overlook it, but it now left Lin Xiao in a quandary.

The distance between Qiao Ting and himself was precisely the optimal shooting range for this beam handgun. Although the range of a beam handgun was short, its power was decent. In particular, the beam handguns exclusive to ace mecha had even greater power — if someone was hit continuously for three seconds by the gun, their beam shield would be overwhelmed and their mecha would show signs of damage. Six seconds of consecutive shooting would deal irreparable damage to a mecha.

"Hells, why would a long-range shooter have this trifle of a handgun for close-combat mecha with him?" Lin Xiao was taken by surprise. He had never imagined that Qiao Ting would have such a weapon on him, which was why he had dared to chase after him without any worry ... he just could not understand why Qiao Ting would choose to equip this close-combat weapon, a beam handgun which even he did not think much of before this match, as one of his combat weapons.