Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 377: Volume 5 Chapter 13 Back in Time

How fast must one’s hand speed be to fully maximize the performance of a Mecha?

Nobody knows.

Because modern technology has already brought machinery to a considerable height. At this level, the performance of a Mecha is virtually unlimited! Even with a hand speed of two hundred moves per second, no one dares to say they’ve fully utilized a Mecha’s potential.

Just like racing cars in the Ancient Earth era, the design speed was always a bit faster than what humans could achieve. No one could claim they could push the car to the design speed limit during a race.

At that time, the level of technology had already allowed humans to fly at several times the speed of sound. If they wanted, the speed of racing cars could be so fast that people wouldn’t dare sit in them!

Apart from terrain limitations, human reaction and control also limited the speed of race cars on tracks. Until the advent of the gene modification and optimization era, and the emergence of flying cars that solved issues like centrifugal force, tires, and airflow, humans finally experienced the thrill of taking corners at thousands of kilometers per hour.

The design of Mechas is similar; their strength and speed depend greatly on the user’s hand speed rather than the Mecha itself. The controlling factor in a Mecha’s performance has always been the operator. No matter how great a Mecha designer’s ideas are, if the operator’s hand speed can’t meet the requirements, these features are ultimately useless.

There’s a saying: ”Technology is human-centered.”

For thousands of years, the development of Mechas has been a compromise between technology and human control.

How to use existing hand speed to execute more commands, how to simplify control, how to make Mechas more combat-effective — this is the direction of Mecha research.

And with modern technology, a significant watershed in Mecha performance appears after control is simplified to the extreme: the difference between forty and fifty moves per second!

If a hand speed of forty to forty-five moves per second can bring out fifty percent of a Mecha’s performance, then fifty moves per second can unleash ninety percent of the Mecha’s potential!

This watershed isn’t naturally occurring within the Mecha but is created by the limits of human hand speed! Because when control is simplified to the extreme, designers base their creations on the highest hand speeds; they can only design the best products by referring to these speeds. Each additional move per second enhances a Mecha’s performance significantly!

Mechas designed with a hand speed limit of thirty to forty moves per second can only meet basic control needs, akin to ancient cars without turbochargers, high-power engines, specialized tires, or professional suspension and shock-absorbing systems.

It’s not a matter of unwillingness or inability to equip, but for those with poor skills, even having these features would make no difference; they can’t utilize these devices’ power.

Every Mecha warrior knows there’s a world of difference between Level 8 and Level 9 warriors. Across the universe, tens of thousands of Mecha warriors can reach the forty-five moves per second limit, while fewer than eighty can surpass fifty moves per second to become Level 9 warriors.

Even including non-military system Mecha masters, the number doesn’t exceed two hundred!

When hand speed surpasses fifty moves per second, the power a Mecha can unleash is beyond mere percentage increases in combat effectiveness; it’s an unimaginable realm for ordinary people.

Mecha warriors of this caliber are national treasures in any country, possessing everything the military can offer, including rights, Mechas, and privileges beyond the reach of ordinary people.

”Huff, huff!”

Fatty was running for his life, head down, while wondering why Reinhardt hadn’t caught up yet. However, his mind was entirely occupied with escaping this hellhole as quickly as possible.

After Fatty’s hand speed reached fifty-six moves per second, [Logic]’s movement patterns changed strangely. In the forest, the dilapidated [Magic Beast] dashed forward with an incredibly awkward and even extremely ungainly posture. Whether running, jumping, or dodging, it looked clumsy and awkward.

But somehow, this awkwardly moving dilapidated [Magic Beast] possessed astonishing speed and agility! As it roared past, aside from a gust of wind rustling leaves and near-by treetop sways, there was no other noise.

It seemed like a gust of wind itself.

No matter how dense the forest or rugged the terrain, it didn’t hinder this unsightly Mecha in the slightest. The uglier and more grotesque its movements, the faster its speed. It changed direction rapidly, rolling and leaping, swooping past all obstacles. No matter how narrow the woodland, it wouldn’t knock down a single leaf. Incredibly fast, agile to an insane degree!

”Fatty!” The little kid struggled to jump onto Fatty’s shoulder: ”Hey, Fatty!”

”What?” Fatty didn’t look back, gritting his teeth: ”Can’t you see Master Fatty is running for his life? If you have something to say, say it quickly!”

”We...” The little kid’s voice trembled: ”It seems we’ve shaken him off!”

”Whoosh!” A Gazalin fighter swooped over [Logic]’s head through the canyon gap overhead. Fatty shivered, flattened himself against the canyon wall’s recess without daring to move. Once his feverish excitement cooled off, he glanced at the SkyNet radar on the Mechanical Computer.