Since arriving in this world, Yun Xingze trained both physically and mentally every day. He actually improved quite quickly—much faster than before. However, time was short and improvement limited. To pass the preliminaries, he needed a good strategy.
When Yun Xingze played “Mecha Star,” he understood the competition rules well. He kept thinking about the pros and cons of team matches versus solo matches. Team play allows help through obstacles, but if the team chooses the wrong route, all three members lose time. They must stop and discuss before changing direction, which delays them more. If someone gets hurt, the delay is even greater. Solo play gives freedom you can change routes quickly if you hit a dead end but you also face risks alone if attacked.
So, Yun Xingze decided on a hybrid strategy that combined the best of both.
[Starsea Military University Mecha Competition Preliminaries – First-Year Group: Race Start!]
With the clear female voice, the timer began. Though all students were freshmen, many were strong pilots especially those from Mecha Combat Class A; almost every student there had piloted a mecha before enrollment.
Not long after the race began, different groups formed. Outside in the teacher’s viewing area, Zhuo Feiyue watched his students. On the digital map, first-year mecha units were marked in different colors Class E’s were blue. Before the race started, he had noted the locations of Yun Xingze, Aurel, and Lu Ranxu. Although their combined strength wasn’t huge, if they cooperated well, they could make it into the top 50.
Zhuo Feiyue watched, expecting a coordinated effort. The screen shifted to show the perspective of these three mechas. In speed races, teams usually choose small or medium mechas. Yun Xingze used a medium-sized lightsaber mecha, Lu Ranxu a small meteor mecha, and Aurel a medium storm mecha. Together, they covered melee, ranged fire, and defense a standard team setup.
One teacher next to Zhuo teased, “Why are you watching so closely? Your students probably can’t pilot mechas well. They can’t compare to Class A. Wait ’til next year.”
Zhuo Feiyue replied, “They’re different they’re some of the better students in our class.” His class usually underperformed, but this time he strangely felt confident.
Two minutes in, they hit the first obstacle medium star beasts. Zhuo Feiyue was excited, imagining teamwork to defeat the beasts. Instead, he saw the three dots scatter running in different directions. It looked like each one fled alone. Team dissolved.
Zhuo Feiyue froze. The other teacher laughed, “I’ve never seen such zero teamwork!” Zhuo coughed and replied, “Avoiding battle can be wise.” The forest was maze-like, full of obstacles. Splitting up made no sense. He frowned.
Inside the forest, Yun Xingze used a remote radio to coordinate with his teammates. “Aurel, take the west side; Ranxu, take the east; I’ll cover the center.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
Their strategy was a middle ground split but connected. Each person followed a nearby team in different areas. If someone found a tough obstacle or dead end, they marked it red on the map and informed the others. If they found a clear route, they marked it green.
This way, each of them knew not only their own area but also the nearby ones. They could move to safe zones quickly when needed, then return to their area later.
Their routes had to be adjusted continuously to stay aligned sideways without overlapping too much maximizing information use.
“Aurel, you’re drifting west move a bit toward me.”
“Ranxu, speed up and add more markers.”
Yun Xingze had the most map markers. He was quick to react and spots, covering a big part of the forest. Aurel marked a lot too. Ranxu marked fewer, but still did well.
Zhuo Feiyue stared: those three who looked like they were running separately were actually working with strange, silent harmony avoiding almost all obstacles. How did they do it?
When others got trapped, these three quietly reached the lead group. Obstacles grew more difficult. Yun Xingze saw the team he followed surrounded by mechanical beasts and quickly moved to a safe zone Aurel had marked, then looped back to the center.
Then he saw no teams in front. He messaged his teammates and they regrouped, ready to tackle the last few kilometers.
“We’re almost there,” Yun Xingze said. “Let’s handle the remaining obstacles together.”
Aurel was amazed: “Holy are we really going first?! Yun Xingze, you’re awesome!”
“Much easier than I expected!” Lu Ranxu praised him. “You’re so good!”
Just then, engines roared behind them it was Class A’s team. Yun Xingze had followed them earlier and thought they were fast. Now they caught up quickly. Zhuo Feiyue saw orange and blue dots meet trouble was coming.
“Be careful!” Yun Xingze warned.
As expected, Class A’s meteor mecha fired a smoke cannon and many small rounds unsafe, but enough to stop them for a moment.
One A-class pilot turned on his speaker: “Class A No.1 get outta our way, lol~” Then the orange dots raced toward the finish.
Yun Xingze’s group had to dodge fire and worry about monsters lured by the noise. The smoke was thick, making direction unclear they had to rely on the mini map.
“This is messed up!” Aurel was furious. “They fire a few rounds then run? Have guts fight!”
Lu Ranxu was upset too: “We could’ve passed cleanly, why pull this?”
Zhuo Feiyue clenched his fists watching the frozen blue dots as the large pack closed in.
Yun Xingze didn’t answer. He rushed out of the smoke. “They won’t hurt me unless I let them.”
He told his teammates: “Follow my path.” Then he used his remaining stamina to push ahead alone.
“What are you doing?!” his teammates asked.
“To show those three what ‘lol’ means.”
Yun Xingze’s voice was cold and determined. Soon only his back was visible Aurel and Ranxu tried to keep up, but he kept pulling away. They realized he had been pacing with them earlier.
“Damn,” Aurel muttered, “Is this even an Omega?”
Near the finish, cameras captured both groups approaching. Second-year students could tell by colors: Class A vs. Class E battle. It was surprising enough that E-class could reach the top group, but then the clash blew everyone away.
Though Class A took the lead, a blue dot suddenly surged in speed, racing toward the three orange dots like crazy.
“What is that E-class guy doing?!” everyone stared at the screen in shock.
