Chapter 438 Amusing Ourselves to Death
Players were originally curious about what surprises the new update would bring, but when they saw the tournament system, they were instantly stunned with their mouths agape.
The authorities were clearly not satisfied with selecting talent solely based on the quarterly rankings every three months; instead, they decided to create a professional tournament.
This tournament is open to the entire public; regardless of age or gender, as long as you have the passion and the skill, you can participate.
Before the tournament began, the officials thoughtfully reserved ten days of preparation time for all players, giving everyone enough time to familiarize themselves with the rules and refine their tactics.
The rewards for the tournament were even more enticing; players who made it into the top ten would not only receive certificates of honor and generous prizes, but most importantly, they would have the excellent opportunity to be exceptionally recruited into the military!
Once this news was announced, it swept through the entire Dragon Kingdom like a storm!
More people were attracted to join in, and the whole nation became immersed in this unprecedented training frenzy.
Upon learning the news of the Spirit Realm system update, other countries couldn't help but be shocked.
Foreigners were able to see the updates to the Spirit Realm system.
Whether it was the previous virtual training system or the current tournament system, they could see an independent area within the Spirit Realm, an area dedicated exclusively to the Dragon Kingdom for its practical combat training system.
Seeing that Dragon Kingdom players could use mechas in the virtual world that were almost identical to reality, they were simply dying of envy.
When the Dragon Kingdom first livestreamed the demonstration of the mechas to the entire Blue Star, the shocking visuals made players from all countries yearn for the mechas, wishing they could immediately join the Dragon Kingdom military just to personally experience authentic mecha combat.
However, the Dragon Kingdom explicitly stipulated that it would not accept foreign soldiers, and the practical combat training system was also banned for them. They could only watch helplessly as Dragon Kingdom players enjoyed themselves to the fullest in the virtual world, their hearts filled with frustration and jealousy.
"Unfair! This is unfair!"
"Dragon Kingdom, please grant us access; we want to pilot mechas too!"
"I heard that the practical combat training system feels exactly the same as piloting a real mecha, even more realistic than the Spirit Realm!"
"For sure! Otherwise, the Dragon Kingdom wouldn't be using this system to select outstanding players for enlistment!"
"God, just thinking about how Dragon Kingdom players can play with mechas and fight monsters anytime, anywhere, makes me so envious I can't sleep, not to mention that they can use this as a stepping stone to join the Dragon Kingdom military and experience real mechas!"
The strong reaction from players of other countries soon alerted their top leadership.
The top leadership was very puzzled; it was just a game, so why did it attract such high attention, to the point where the entire Dragon Kingdom was involved?
In their view, the entire Dragon Kingdom population being addicted to a game was simply detrimental to the country's production and development!
They even believed that in the face of a huge disaster, the citizens of the Dragon Kingdom were under too much pressure and had no choice but to choose this form of entertainment to relieve it.
The reason they thought this way was because that was the situation in their own countries; even their top officials were addicted to entertainment to numb themselves.
However, after some in-depth investigation, they were shocked to discover that the practical combat training system developed by the Dragon Kingdom was actually a one-to-one simulation of reality!
In other words, the Dragon Kingdom was not currently entering a state of "amusing ourselves to death"!
Instead, the entire nation was entering a massive training frenzy!!!!
This shocking discovery, like a sudden storm, gave the top leadership of other countries a real fright.
President Putin of the Polar Bear Country was equally shocked after learning this news.
He found it hard to believe that a virtual training system could trigger such a huge transformation; after all, it sounded too exaggerated.
Out of caution and curiosity, he decided to visit the Dragon Kingdom personally, hoping to experience this legendary practical combat training system for himself.
Elder Qin represented the Dragon Kingdom and warmly received President Putin.
After learning of President Putin's request, Elder Qin did not refuse.
In the view of the Dragon Kingdom's top leadership, letting President Putin experience the practical combat training system would not only enhance the Dragon Kingdom's deterrent power and demonstrate its current formidable strength to the world, but would also be conducive to stability in border regions.
Although the current international situation was already clear and few people dared to provoke the Dragon Kingdom, letting foreign leaders truly feel the power of the Dragon Kingdom undoubtedly had significant importance for maintaining regional and even global peace and stability.
Under the careful arrangement of the staff, President Putin walked into the practical combat training system.
When he first entered the system, he looked around and felt that the scene here was not much different from the Spirit Realm he was familiar with.
President Putin had long been aware of the realism of the Spirit Realm; although the Spirit Realm was extremely realistic, compared to the real world, there were still some subtle differences.
Therefore, when he put on the Second-Generation Mecha, although he was somewhat shocked internally, it was still within the range he could accept.
However, it was not until he came out of the practical combat training system and Elder Qin arranged for him to personally operate a real Second-Generation Mecha that he truly realized the power of the practical combat training system.
The feeling of operating a mecha in the practical combat training system was exactly the same as using a real Second-Generation Mecha in reality.
Whether it was that familiar mechanical tactile sensation, the smoothness of operation, or the control over the various functions of the mecha, everything was exactly the same.
This magical experience left President Putin amazed; he couldn't believe that even though it was his first time wearing a real Second-Generation Mecha, it was as if he had used it countless times, and he could skillfully perform various operations.
After President Putin slowly took off the Second-Generation Mecha, Elder Qin smiled and asked, "How was it, President Putin?"
President Putin pondered slightly for two seconds, a slightly bitter smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he sighed with emotion: "It is said that we, the Polar Bear people, are a fighting nation and have always been proud of our combat strength, but now it seems that the true fighting nation is none other than your Dragon Kingdom!"
"With such a practical combat training system that is infinitely close to reality, coupled with large-scale national competitions, the Dragon Kingdom will surely be able to cultivate a large number of outstanding soldiers in the future."
"In time, other countries will likely be left in the dust."
Elder Qin smiled calmly, and the two stood together on a high platform, overlooking the vast land and mountains of the Dragon Kingdom.
Elder Qin said slowly: "Our Dragon Kingdom possesses a long cultural history of five thousand years, and within this, it has been accompanied by five thousand years of baptism by war."
"We have always been a nation that loves to fight; it's just that in the past years, we have been seeking peaceful development and have deliberately suppressed this nature!"
President Putin nodded slightly, a look of contemplation in his eyes, and asked: "So now..."
Elder Qin still wore a calm smile on his face and didn't say anything more, but that smile seemed to convey an unspoken message!
The Dragon Kingdom was no longer hiding its strength and was ready to present itself to the world with an even more powerful posture!
Simply put, no more pretending, it's a showdown; we are invincible, do as you please!
Not long after President Putin left, the highly anticipated Dragon Kingdom Mecha practical combat training tournament was held as scheduled.
This tournament was like a grand carnival, attracting many contestants from all over the country to participate enthusiastically.
From the grassroots district competitions to the slightly larger city competitions, then to the increasingly fierce provincial competitions, and finally to the national competition, the tournament proceeded in layers, and it was brilliant.
The entire competition process lasted for nearly a month, setting off a wave of enthusiasm across the country, which could be described as an unprecedented grand occasion.
In this fierce competition, many powerful contestants emerged.
The strength displayed by some contestants even far exceeded the average level of military soldiers.
This was not to belittle the soldiers of the Dragon Kingdom military, but one had to admit that some people seemed born to pilot mechas!
They possessed unique talents in mecha operation, as if God had favored them particularly, bestowing upon them this special ability.
The initial plan of the tournament was to select the ten strongest contestants and recruit them into the Dragon Kingdom's mecha troops.
However, as the competition deepened, the tournament organizers discovered that in this contest filled with experts, the number of excellent contestants was far more than just the top ten.
The top one hundred, or even the top five hundred contestants, were all the best of the best.
On this day, Elder Zhao found Elder Qin again in a hurry, with a serious expression, and said: "Old Qin, our tournament format this time has a huge error!"