Splintering the Star Network
By @john1208
Daksa doesn't know why he is running, only that plasma fire is scorching his heels. A peerless internal alchemy prodigy from an ancient era, he wakes up in a fragile, futuristic body mid-chase and dives into the nearest Virtual Star Network pod to escape. He expects a sanctuary; instead, he drops right into a live galactic broadcast, standing unarmed before the reigning mecha champion. Refusing to be intimidated by a clunky metal toy, the fiercely proud Daksa picks up a digital wooden stick meant for scenery, channels his Neigong, and shatters the opponent's photon shields with a single strike. The impossible victory shocks the galaxy, but Daksa's explosive debut triggers a horrifying realization: a synthetic virus is actively eating his nervous system. He has a strict, rapidly ticking time limit before his brain liquefies. To survive, he must conquer the Zenith Tournament alongside his secretive hacker friend, Toran, and a rival pilot, Mireya, who is determined to dissect his physics-defying techniques. With his time running out and the galaxy's deadliest mechas hunting him, can flesh and ancient qi truly outlast steel and lasers?
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