After the cockpit of the mech opened, the camera robot slowly moved to the back to give a close-up of the pilot.
The young man took off his nano radiation-proof suit and removed his mental power link helmet. His forehead was covered in sweat. He shook his head lightly, and a few clear drops of sweat fell from his hair.
The camera zoomed in, and his face appeared on the big screen.
His skin was fair and smooth, flushed slightly from exercise, and his body radiated youthful energy. He wore a simple training suit, his build somewhere between the tall frame of an Alpha and the slimness of an Omega. When he climbed out of the cockpit, his movements were clean and handsome.
When his clear, bright eyes looked toward the camera, the second-year rest area fell completely silent.
After a long moment, when Yun Xingze put away his mech, the crowd finally reacted, as if waking from a dream.
“I… I didn’t see wrong, did I?”
“That face, that skin, that figure… No way he’s an Alpha, right?”
“Oh my god… is he… an Omega?!”
In shock, hesitation, and disbelief, all the second-year students started guessing the junior’s gender.
But the answer was already obvious.
No Alpha would attract other Alphas like this in an instant. And definitely not a Beta.
After a brief moment of chaos, the rest area exploded in excitement, like they had just witnessed a miracle worthy of school history.
Someone made a call: “Holy crap! The first-place winner in the first-year selection is an Omega! An Omega! Come back and see this!”
Someone else was recording the screen and muttering: “Hi everyone, I’m live-streaming the first-year selection results. I heard the top scorer is an Omega totally blew my mind…”
Someone stared in disbelief: “I… I didn’t even score better than an Omega? And a first-year?”
But the most shocked of all were Chi Yu and Su Zinan.
Chi Yu stared blankly at the big screen like he had seen a ghost. The boy on the screen looked familiar yet completely unfamiliar. All the surrounding noise seemed to fade. None of the conversations reached his ears.
His mind went blank.
For a long time, Chi Yu had been disappointed in his fiancée, Yun Xingze. After meeting Su Zinan, the strongest Omega in school, he often wondered:
Why couldn’t Yun Xingze fight beside him on the battlefield?
Why could he only cook, clean, and do chores?
Could an Omega like that really be his lifelong partner?
But when the boy climbed out of the lightsaber mech and his face appeared enlarged on the screen, Chi Yu’s heart skipped a beat.
He had never imagined Yun Xingze could look so cool and confident.
And he never thought Yun Xingze someone he thought would fail the preliminary round—would take first place!
Next to him, Su Zinan stared at the screen for a long time, jaw slack enough to fit a whole egg. His face turned green, and after holding it in for a while, he finally cursed: “Damn…”
That one word captured his total disbelief.
Su Zinan had never cursed in front of Chi Yu before. He quickly changed his words: “I mean… damn, that’s some skill! Is that really Yun Xingze?!”
Chi Yu ignored him. All his attention was on Yun Xingze.
Listening to the nearby Alphas talking about Yun Xingze’s looks and strength, Chi Yu couldn’t sit still. He stood up and walked toward the exit of the rest area.
“Where are you going?!” Su Zinan asked in surprise.
Chi Yu didn’t answer.
Su Zinan clenched his fingers, bit his lip, and quickly followed.
“It’s really him…” Ke Lei stared in shock. Luo Wenchuan beside him was also momentarily surprised.
Luo Wenchuan had seen the boy who bought the mech that night near the black market. He had assumed the buyer was a Beta or Alpha who didn’t know how to fight, and he’d been a little annoyed that his mech was sold to someone like that what else could they do with it besides reselling?
During the race, Luo Wenchuan had been watching that mech. The stunning comeback had puzzled him a bit, but he figured maybe it was just another hidden expert.
But when he saw the boy step out of the mech, he froze for a moment.
He couldn’t tell if it was because he was the previous owner of the mech… or because the boy looked far more attractive than expected… or because he was an Omega.
Either way, the surprise didn’t last long.
Ke Lei turned to Luo Wenchuan and said excitedly, “It’s him!”
Luo Wenchuan raised an eyebrow. “You know him?”
“Of course!” Ke Lei nodded hard. “You know him too!”
Luo Wenchuan gave him a puzzled look he never mentioned what happened that night.
“He’s the student who modified your mech,” Ke Lei said as he opened his terminal and quickly pulled up a website. “I found it… yep, his account is called ‘FixItWithMe,’ and I think his name is Yun Xingze.”
Luo Wenchuan quickly looked up at the big screen.
But the camera had already cut to the next contestant.
He silently looked away and calmly said, “I see.”
“I’m sure of it. There aren’t many Omegas that good-looking in our school,” Ke Lei said confidently.
Luo Wenchuan glanced at him.
“I mean, I don’t have any weird thoughts,” Ke Lei added, blushing slightly. “Just admiration.”
Then Ke Lei leaned in and whispered, “Da Chuan, I have a suggestion.”
“Speak,” Luo Wenchuan said casually.
“Yun is an Omega, but he knows how to modify and pilot mechs,” Ke Lei said seriously. “Most importantly, he needs money. You’ve been looking for a personal mech technician, right? I think he’d be great.”
A personal mech technician was someone who modified, repaired, and designed mechs for a single warrior and during the contract period, they worked for no one else. On the battlefield, many soldiers had one. Sometimes, they even lived or died together.
Of course, that kind of extreme situation was rare.
Luo Wenchuan glanced coldly at Ke Lei but didn’t reply.
“I know you don’t want an Omega as your mech tech,” Ke Lei went on. “But as long as he takes inhibitors on time, he’s no different from a Beta, right? Plus, with his skill, he might get into the school team. If that happens, you’ll see him all the time…”
Realizing how weird that sounded, Ke Lei coughed and corrected himself. “I mean, it’ll make teamwork easier.”
After a pause, Luo Wenchuan turned and walked away. “No need.”
“Hey, if you don’t want him, I’m going to ask him myself,” Ke Lei said. “I want to do better this year, and I was planning to find someone to modify my mech.”
Luo Wenchuan looked back at him and asked, “You got money?”
Half teasing, half serious.
Hiring a personal mech tech was expensive modifications and designs needed materials.
Ke Lei’s face stiffened awkwardly as he followed. “I was just thinking… if my dad gives me a little funding, even one month would be worth it…”
Luo Wenchuan didn’t change his mind.
He thought to himself he wasn’t crazy enough to hire an Omega as his mech tech. Even if the other person’s skill surprised him.
Besides, that modification was just a small adjustment to the elbow bearings. It might’ve been a coincidence.
Still, Luo Wenchuan did agree with one thing Ke Lei said Yun Xingze probably would make it onto the school team.
As the two left the rest area, Yun Xingze just arrived at the entrance.
Applause and cheers sounded around him, congratulating the junior who set a new record for Omegas.
Only now did Yun Xingze realize so many second-years were watching the race.
Which also meant…
Just as expected, the moment he stepped into the rest area, a tall figure blocked his way.
Chi Yu looked at him with a complicated expression and frowned. “I didn’t expect you to learn how to pilot a mech… and even get first place.”
His voice was full of surprise.
For the first time, Chi Yu didn’t look at Yun Xingze with disdain.
Yun Xingze looked up at him and said coldly, “Move.”
He tried to walk past, but Chi Yu blocked him again.
Seeing Yun Xingze’s cold face made Chi Yu feel unexpectedly uncomfortable. He even missed the way Yun Xingze used to smile at him.
Su Zinan saw Chi Yu’s reaction, and jealousy flashed in his eyes. But he quickly covered it and smiled. “Congratulations, Yun. I didn’t think you knew how to pilot a mech. And you got first place what great luck.”
“Thanks. And congrats on your tenth place. Also lucky,” Yun Xingze replied flatly, returning the fake compliment.
A first-place congratulating a tenth-place full of sharp sarcasm.
Su Zinan’s smile faltered. He struggled to keep it on his face.
Chi Yu thought Yun Xingze was being jealous and quickly explained, “Su Zinan and I are just friends. You don’t need to be so upset.”
Su Zinan’s smile grew even stiffer, but he said, “That’s right. Yu doesn’t even see me as an Omega. We’re best buds. Even if you two get together, I’d still give you my blessing.”
But deep down, he was filled with a sense of crisis.
“Save it,” Yun Xingze said impatiently. “I’m not trying to break you up. You two are perfect for each other.”
Chi Yu was even more convinced Yun Xingze was jealous. He looked at him and said, “Xingze, there’s no need for things to get this bad. I told you if you just study hard and behave, I won’t make you drop out, and I won’t look down on you…”
Chi Yu said this because today’s Yun Xingze, in some ways, fit his ideal Omega more than Su Zinan did.
“That’s not your decision to make, is it?”
An old and strong voice interrupted. Both Chi Yu and Su Zinan froze.
Zhuo Feiyue walked to Yun Xingze’s side he had just arrived.
Not long after, Oriel and Lu Ranxu also entered the rest area.
“Xingze is now E-Class’s number one student, the top seed of the first years,” Oriel said to Chi Yu, sarcasm in his voice. “You really think you’re in a position to tell him to study hard?”
Lu Ranxu looked at Su Zinan, his expression full of contempt. “Some people really need to think about their own skills.”
A three-strike combo of mockery left Chi Yu and Su Zinan frozen in place. The stares around them made it even harder to stay.
Looking at Yun Xingze’s cold face, Chi Yu suddenly became angry and sneered, “Let’s see how far you first-years can go. You only won with dirty tactics. You think the next PK rounds will be that easy? When the four grades compete together, the moment you face us, you’ll be eliminated!”
“Face you guys?” Yun Xingze raised an eyebrow and smiled for the first time at Chi Yu. But his dark eyes carried a chill.
“Perfect,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
