In competitions, Yun Xingze cared more about the mecha itself—winning or losing was secondary.
But Luo Wenchuan seemed to care only about victory.
Though both of them would ultimately win their matches, Yun Xingze had to admit that, in any world, someone like Luo Wenchuan would undoubtedly become the strongest mecha warrior.
When the two emerged from their mechas, Luo Wenchuan walked up to Ike, looked at him with a slight nod, and said in an indifferent tone, “Thanks for the lesson.”
Perfect etiquette, yet carrying an elusive sense of detachment.
Ike was stunned. He had expected Luo Wenchuan to mock him, but the other’s attitude remained unchanged from before the match. After speaking, Luo Wenchuan simply turned and left.
It was a gesture of great sportsmanship, yet it made Ike feel even worse as if he had been nothing but a clown, overestimating his own abilities.
Yun Xingze watched the aloof, noble-looking young man on the field, so different from the ruthless aura he had exuded while piloting the mecha, and suddenly felt curious—what kind of experiences had shaped Luo Wenchuan into such a contradictory figure?
Under the sunlight, the tall and handsome young man retracted his beam saber mecha, while the Omegas and Betas in the stands screamed for him in frenzy.
“Ahhhh, Luo Wenchuan is so handsome!!”
“Today, Luo Wenchuan is once again the embodiment of strength and hotness!”
“Wenwen! Keep it up in the next match!”
A crowd chased after Luo Wenchuan as he left the arena, but none dared to get too close.
Yun Xingze glanced at Luo Wenchuan’s indifferent figure through the crowd and thought these Omegas and Betas were insane. Forget the rumors about Luo Wenchuan’s aversion to Omegas—just that terrifyingly cold personality alone made it baffling that anyone would call him “Wenwen.”
Were they not afraid of getting punched?
Yun Xingze couldn’t comprehend their behavior.
When Yun Xingze returned to the dorm, Lu Ranxu had also finished his match. He seemed to have won with great difficulty, utterly exhausted.
Lu Ranxu sprawled on the living room couch, lifting his head to look at Yun Xingze with a pitiful expression. “Xingze, I’m so tired. I almost got beaten into the ground today. The match lasted twenty minutes, and I only won because of a sneak attack… How did yours go?”
“Me? Mine lasted fifteen minutes. It was alright,” Yun Xingze said casually. “Matches are bound to be tiring.”
Lu Ranxu sighed. “Well, do you regret joining now?”
“Not really,” Yun Xingze mused. “I just feel like my performance today wasn’t great.”
Lu Ranxu gave him a thumbs-up. “A true legend among Omegas. I salute you.”
The first round of matches was usually the easiest. The next phase would pit winners against winners and losers against losers. After advancing to the winners’ bracket, Yun Xingze’s opponents would only get stronger.
Lu Ranxu figured Yun Xingze would be lucky to make it past the second round.
That same night, videos of the first-round matches were uploaded to the school’s official forum, instantly sparking heated discussions.
Matches with mediocre performances sank to the bottom, while the most thrilling ones were pushed to the front page.
The undisputed first place went to Luo Wenchuan’s battle, titled “Luo Wenchuan’s 10-Second Alpha Dominance.” Despite being only ten seconds long, the video had been replayed countless times by viewers, with views and clicks far surpassing all others.
“No one in our school could possibly defeat Luo Wenchuan.”
“How many military academy students in the entire country could actually beat him?”
“He’s just too strong. How come his mech is so powerful when we’re all military students?”
“Well, first, you’d need SS-grade mental and physical strength…”
Surprisingly, the second-ranked video featured a battle between two B-grade mechs, titled “Even B-Grade Rookies Can Put on an Exciting Show.”
When Lu Ranxu saw this video, his eyes widened in shock. He rushed to Yun Xingze’s room and shoved his tablet in front of him. “Holy crap, you made it to the front page?!”
Yun Xingze hadn’t even processed the news when Lu Ranxu excitedly added, “You’re ranked right after Luo Wenchuan! How the hell did you manage that?!”
Glancing at the word “rookies” in the title, Yun Xingze twitched his lips. “Guess I don’t deserve it.”
Lu Ranxu initially thought it was just a fluke; maybe Yun Xingze’s mech was so ugly it stood out, boosting the video’s popularity. But the moment he pressed play; he was instantly hooked by the match. His emotions surged with every move the two mechs made, his breath hitching in suspense.
After watching, Lu Ranxu remained speechless for a long while before mechanically turning to Yun Xingze. “And you call this a bad performance?!”
Meanwhile, in the mech training facility, Chi Yu was also watching the match.
He had originally wanted to check the ranking of his own battle video, but when he saw the second-place entry, he scoffed. Guess only flashy, entertaining fights get attention these days.
He was about to scroll past it, but his finger inexplicably tapped on the video instead.
When he saw the familiar yet bizarrely ugly mech, it took him a few seconds to recognize it wasn’t that Yun Xingze’s lightsaber mech?!
Before he could even process the shocking modifications, the intense clash between the two mechs completely captured his focus.
Within just fifteen minutes, Chi Yu was glued to the screen by the constantly shifting tides of battle. Every time Yun Xingze’s mech was in danger, tension flickered in his eyes.
In the video, the silver mech’s lightsaber came within centimeters of the colorful mech. Chi Yu clenched his fists nervously only to witness Yun Xingze’s mech pull off an unbelievable reversal.
Chi Yu’s jaw dropped unconsciously. Long after the match ended, he still hadn’t recovered, finally muttering a stunned, “Holy shit.”
If not for the fact that both mechs were B-grade, he would’ve sworn this was a battle between super A-grade machines.
How the hell did Yun Xingze improve so much?!
Just then, Su Zinan entered the training area and, noticing Chi Yu watching a match, smiled as he approached. “Yu, checking out your own battle footage?”
Chi Yu shook his head.
Su Zinan’s smile brightened. “Mine, then? Though I didn’t perform that well.”
“True, you didn’t,” Chi Yu replied absentmindedly. “Honestly, how is Yun Xingze’s match only second? What’s so great about Luo Wenchuan’s ten-second clip? Any S-grade mech pilot could pull that off.”
Hearing Chi Yu praise Yun Xingze, Su Zinan’s expression darkened instantly.
After a moment, he adjusted his expression and handed a list to Chi Yu: “Yu-ge, the second-round grouping is out. It seems like Xingze got a bit unlucky.”
Chi Yu froze for a second before hurriedly leaning over to scan the list for Yun Xingze’s name.
The winner’s bracket had no shortage of strong competitors, and Yun Xingze’s second-round opponent was an Alpha named Kalibo, who specialized in piloting Comet Mechs. His skills had already reached A+ level, just one step away from S-rank.
Compared to Ike’s Comet Mech, Kalibo was undoubtedly far more terrifying.
Chi Yu frowned. “Kalibo? That red-haired lunatic Alpha?”
“That’s right.” Su Zinan covered his mouth with concern. “Oh, I just remembered apart from Luo Wenchuan, Kalibo has never lost against a Lightsaber Mech. In the first round, he dismantled a Storm Mech until only the cockpit remained.”
The match Su Zinan mentioned had also trended on the homepage, ranking in the top five. Countless students in the comments lamented that Kalibo was a terrifying madman, second only to Luo Wenchuan as the opponent they least wanted to face!
Chi Yu’s frown deepened.
For some reason, he suddenly began to worry about Yun Xingze’s situation.
“Yu-ge, if you’re worried about him, why don’t we go watch his match together? Our schedules don’t overlap with Xingze’s anyway,” Su Zinan said thoughtfully. “We can cheer him on and see how he plans to defeat Kalibo.”
Despite his words, Su Zinan’s eyes sparkled with barely concealed excitement.
He couldn’t wait to see Yun Xingze get dismantled until only his cockpit remained.
Then Chi Yu would finally understand the strongest Omega in the entire school could only be Su Zinan.
