235: Chapter 235 Just do it!

Bold black titles were prominently pinned at the top of every authoritative media account.

Countless netizens, who happened to be scrolling through their phones on their way home from work, in cafeterias, or on their dormitory beds, found their fingers frozen mid-air.

Their pupils dilated sharply, and their brains felt as if someone had forcibly pressed the pause button; even their breathing stagnated at that moment.

Then, the brief silence was completely shattered.

Irrepressible gasps and screams erupted like a wildfire across subway cars, office cubicles, and university dormitories nationwide!

"Holy crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"Mecha Pilot Selection!? Official announcement!? Is this for real?!"

Immediately, the comment Lin Yuan had replied to on his personal social media account that morning flashed through everyone's minds.

He had just said it would be implemented soon this morning.

At six in the evening, a national-level red-headed document was shoved right in their faces!?

Is this the efficiency of the National Team?!

Is this the weight of God Lin's words?!

With fingers trembling violently from excitement, countless netizens clicked into the announcement page like crazy.

The text of the announcement was extremely concise, without a single redundant word, every line exuding the cold hardness and rigor characteristic of official government writing.

"To meet the construction needs of the all-domain defense system in the new era, and to accelerate the implementation of large manned Large Mecha equipment and the reserve of professional talent..."

"After deliberation, it has been decided to officially launch the selection process for mecha pilots across the entire military, effective immediately."

"For specific implementation details and assessment standards, please refer to the attachment."

"This announcement is hereby issued!"

Those few short lines made countless people's scalps tingle.

And at the end of the text, right below that bright red official seal, was a downloadable attachment link.

Everyone's eyes locked onto the attachment at the very bottom titled 'Implementation Plan for the Selection of Mecha Pilots for the Entire Army (Trial).pdf.'

Then, tens of millions of fingers reflexively tapped heavily on that link.

Before long, the attachment finished downloading.

Upon opening it, a document over a hundred pages long was loaded.

"..."

Countless netizens who were about to enjoy their meals fell silent for a moment after seeing 'Total 128 pages' marked in the bottom right corner, followed by a collective wail.

"Oh my god, over a hundred pages?!"

"Who can finish reading this! I didn't even read this many words for my college entrance exam's Chinese reading comprehension!"

"It's over, it really has become a civil service exam now. Are we going to get an Administrative Aptitude Test and Shenlun package next..."

However, Xia Country's netizens never lacked unconventional ways to solve problems.

Just a few seconds later, those quick-witted users simultaneously tossed this thick PDF directly to the Artificial Intelligence 'Longzai' and sent impatient commands—

"Longzai! Help me summarize the key points of this document! I want the most concise and straightforward plain language version!"

Relying on Xia Country's world-leading computing power network, Longzai didn't keep them waiting long.

Just a few seconds later, an extremely refined yet comprehensive summary of the plan was clearly displayed on countless screens.

The first batch of netizens who finished reading the summary had their eyes bulge; their breathing became heavy, and their hearts hammered against their chests like drums.

Then, with bloodshot eyes, they ecstatically shared everything they saw in the comment sections of major platforms across the internet.

"Holy shit! The target audience for the mecha pilot selection isn't just active-duty soldiers; even new recruits about to enlist are included!"

"Wait, even new recruits can participate?! Does this freaking mean that as long as I sign up for the army, I'm eligible to compete for a seat in that cockpit?!"

"God Lin is awesome! The country is awesome! I thought this kind of national treasure would definitely be reserved for those elite soldiers, but now you're telling me we have a chance to touch it too?!"

Shocking! Thrilling!

This sudden sense of participation completely ignited the obsession with giant mechas in the bones of Xia Country's netizens to the extreme.

However, amidst the near-uncontrollable revelry.

A comment with a completely different tone suddenly emerged.

"Brothers, don't be so quick to get excited. Look at the assessment content first, okay?"

"These assessment requirements are too numerous and insane! The physical fitness test must reach the elite level, and then there's neural response threshold, 3D spatial perception, G-force tolerance... dozens of items!"

"I'm getting dizzy just looking at the table of contents! This isn't selecting pilots; this is freaking selecting supermen! Ordinary people will be filtered out in the first round!"

As soon as this complaint appeared, it quickly drew a collective outcry and rebuttal from a large number of excited netizens.

"Nonsense! Those are Large Mechas dozens of meters tall! You think you're driving a mobility scooter for the elderly?"

"Exactly! If just anyone could pilot it, one step and half a street would be gone. How could the country trust you with such a national treasure?"

"Think it's hard? Let me translate what a mecha pilot is for you—it's someone sitting inside a giant steel beast dozens of meters tall, throwing punches on behalf of 1.4 billion people!"

"If you can't even cross this small threshold, what right do you have to sit in that cockpit?"

These words were powerful and resonant, striking a chord with everyone.

Just then, an even more heart-wrenching and realistic comment was quietly posted.

"Don't just stare at the selection requirements; that's just the baseline for piloting a Large Mecha. The point was never the requirements, but the people you're competing against!"

"This is about screening through millions of candidates in the entire army to find one in a thousand or one in ten thousand!"

"You not only have to meet the standard, but you also have to out-compete the ruthless people in the same arena."

"After all, the number of Large Mechas is limited; it's definitely not going to be one for every person!"

Seeing this comment.

The entire noisy comment section fell silent for a few rare seconds.

"..."

"Holy shit, does this mean not only are there many requirements, but I also have to compete like crazy with those freaks in the army?"

"It's over. I feel like my mecha dream has shattered before it even began. How am I supposed to compete with those Special Forces Kings who do weighted cross-country runs every day..."

However.

Just as some began to waver and prepare to give up.

A reply full of passion and audacity was liked like crazy and pushed to the very top.

"What's there to fear about the competition!"

"Did you guys even read the plan carefully?! Didn't you see it clearly states there's a tiered competition mechanism?!"

"Veterans against veterans, recruits against recruits! Groups with different years of service will never be mixed together for a brutal elimination!"

"I admit, my current physical fitness can't compare to those elite Special Forces Kings at all."

"But do I even need to compete with them?!"

"I only need to be stronger than the batch of Green Recruits who enlist at the same time! As long as I'm stronger than the comrades around me, that spot is mine!"

"As long as it doesn't kill me, I'll train like there's no tomorrow!"

"Just do it!"