"Great, you grasped it very quickly."
"Keep it up! Youāre doing fantastic!"
This is what you call a true mentor.
...
At a quarter past five in the afternoon, amidst a joyful atmosphere, the one-hour stock market teaching session came to an end.
Since Ren Zhong suggested continuing with mecha combat training in the evening, the two of them decided not to go out for dinner. Ju Qingmeng was asked to send six high-nutrient meals via drone, with each of them eating three portions.
Ma Xiaoling, feeling very satisfied with what she had learned, said while scooping up the semi-liquid from her meal, "Ren Gushen, you truly are impressive. I feel like you taught me so much today. Many concepts that I only vaguely understood before suddenly became clear, youāre really good at teaching. I should now have about one-third of your power. I actually still have a few thousand left, if not, Iāll go back tonight and..."
Ren Zhong quickly waved his hand, "Stop! Iām warning you, youāre just a beginner. Here, Iām teaching you for free. But if you really enter the market on your own, youāll definitely be taken to school!"
"Is that so?"
"Of course, if you could make money just by learning for an hour, wouldnāt everyone in the world be a billionaire? The stock market is a zero-sum game, if someone gains, someone else must lose. So, who do you think is losing?"
"Alright. Thank you for the reminder, Ren Gushen."
...
Fifteen minutes later.
"Oh my god, youāre too slow! You need to aim! You have to anticipate!"
"Hey, I just slightly shifted my position. My helmet is different from yours; the only weak spot is the communications antenna shielding at the rear side, about the size of a thumbnail, and you canāt hit it. Why are you in such a hurry to shoot? Youāre just giving me the advantage of reload time. Wait until I expose the panel before you make a move!"
"Aim for the weak spot, aim for the weak spot. Iāve said it so many times!"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I predicted your move earlier and subconsciously redirected the reactive armor energy from my chest to my waist. Thatās not a weak point."
...
Nine oāclock at night.
The twin moons hung high, and all was silent.
Ren Zhong lay flat in the training ground like a dead dog, his visor lifted, eyes lifeless and dazed.
Ma Xiaoling sat cross-legged beside him, and seeing him like this, finally felt a bit of conscience and encouraged him, "Even though you were defeated by me one thousand four hundred fifty-four times today, you actually did a great job."
Ren Zhong: "Thank you for your compliment, Teacher Ma."
"Didnāt you feel it? When we first started training this morning, you were still somewhat clunky in controlling the Third Level exoskeleton. This is fatal in actual combat. But during the last match, your control was very proficient, almost at the level of someone whoād adapted to this new equipment for at least half a month. You almost touched the hem of my garment."
Ren Zhong came back to his senses, forcing a smile, "You sure know how to praise people."
Ma Xiaoling chuckled, "I just learned it from you."
Ren Zhong: "But I lost, and lost quite badly. The renown of Fourth Level warriors is well-deserved. Iāve figured it out. The reason you could crush me with only half of the power output is because of the Five Senses Resonance. Your vision, hearing, smell, taste, and touch have established a complete connection with the armor, and your delay time is extremely low. Your handling of the exoskeleton armor has truly reached the level where itās as natural as your own limbs. You truly have become one with the armor. This is something that isnāt reflected in power output."
Ma Xiaoling was initially taken aback, "Yeah, how come I didnāt think of that!"
Ren Zhong rolled his eyes and continued, "Iām also a bit surprised; I didnāt expect a Fourth Level mechanical warrior at full strength to be so powerful."
Ma Xiaoling burst into laughter, "Well, youāve thought too much! Not everyone is like me. Do you know why Iām known as the strongest in Starfire Town?"
"Why?"
"Because my Five Senses Resonance has already reached the Perfect Level. The Sixth Sense, which is Combat Intuition, has also started to bud. My current carrying power is 9100, just waiting to painstakingly raise it to ten thousand, and Iāll immediately upgrade to Fifth Level."
"What! Isnāt it said that reaching ten thousand kilowatts is a must to activate the Sixth Sense?"
"Because my last name is Ma! Our family is very strong. My ancestors... letās forget about that. Looking at your previous equipment, youāve learned Sid Meierās Armored Insights, right?"
"Yes."
"What do you think of Sid Meier? Strong or not strong?"
Ren Zhong nodded, "He can kill Fifth Level while being a Fourth Level, very strong."
"I donāt lose to Sid Meier. Although thereās no longer a chance to spar with him, thatās how I feel myself. Ordinary Fourth Level warriors arenāt qualified to be compared to me."
Ren Zhong took a deep breath, "I see."
In his heart, he thought, although Ma Xiaoling is not an ordinary person, Fourth Level professionals indeed have unique attributes. I should still advance cautiously.