Lu Ranxu endured the pain, breathing heavily. He looked at Su Zinan and suddenly sneered, “So what if you won? Do you think your performance score for this match will exceed 0.5?”
The Mech Championship’s points consisted of victory points and performance scores. Each match awarded 10 victory points to the winner, along with a performance score between 0 and 1 determined by multiple referees based on the match’s performance.
In other words, the maximum possible score after ten matches was 110 points. However, since performance scores were complex factoring in battle duration, mech damage, opponent strength, and other variables perfect scores were virtually unheard of.
A performance score above 0.7 was considered excellent.
Given that Su Zinan’s match had dragged on against a lower-ranked opponent, and his mech bore multiple deep bullet marks from Lu Ranxu’s attacks, his performance score would likely stay below 0.5.
Glaring at the damage on his Meteor mech, Su Zinan clenched his teeth, flushing with humiliation as he snapped at Lu Ranxu, “Who do you think you are? I’ve won four straight matches my spot on the school team is guaranteed. Do you really think a tiny performance score will affect me?”
Lu Ranxu, severely injured, could barely stand. With a thud, he collapsed to his knees. The referee urgently summoned medical robots and personnel to carry him backstage for emergency treatment.
Su Zinan stored his mech and followed to the backstage area. Standing over the pale-faced Lu Ranxu, he looked down at him and said slowly, “You alright, Junior Lu? Next time, don’t let jealousy drive you to such extremes. Without skill, you’ll only hurt yourself.”
Furious, Lu Ranxu glared up at him. “You’d better pray you don’t run into Xingze. Let’s see how far someone like you can go!”
“Yun Xingze?” Su Zinan chuckled lightly at the name. “That failure who flunked his entrance physical, got dumped by his fiancé, was disowned by his family, and still whines about me stealing what was his?”
“His skills have improved massively, and he was the one who ended the engagement!” Lu Ranxu spat. “Shut your mouth, Su Zinan!”
“What touching friendship,” Su Zinan mocked. “Don’t worry if I face Yun Xingze, I won’t go easy on him like Kalibo did. Speaking of which…” He feigned innocence, tilting his head. “Why did Kalibo go soft on him? Did they have some kind of deal?”
“You think everyone’s as rotten as you? Watch your damn mouth!” Lu Ranxu seethed. The medical staff, noticing his agitation, sharply cut off Su Zinan’s taunting.
At that moment, Yun Xingze arrived backstage. Witnessing Su Zinan’s behavior, he strode forward, his voice icy. “Get lost. Now.”
Su Zinan opened his mouth to retort, but Xingze cracked his knuckles, the sound chilling. “Unless you want a repeat of last time.”
The memory of his office humiliation darkened Su Zinan’s face. “Yun Xingze,” he hissed through gritted teeth, “pray we don’t meet in the tournament.” With that, he stormed off.
Yun Xingze ignored him, frowning as he looked at Lu Ranxu lying on the infirmary bed receiving an IV drip. For a moment, he wasn’t sure whether to scold him for being foolish or thank him for standing up for him.
“Ranxu, you…”
“I know what you’re going to say,” Lu Ranxu’s voice was hoarse and weak, but he still managed a smile. “This match wasn’t just for you; it was for me too.”
Yun Xingze was slightly taken aback.
“Xingze, you know, when I first enrolled, I was really envious of Su Zinan,” Lu Ranxu lowered his gaze and said quietly. “He’s recognized as a talented Omega with double A grades in both physical and mental strength. No matter how hard I practiced, my progress was always so slow.”
Yun Xingze pursed his lips. “Ranxu, that’s not your fault.”
“When you said you wanted to join the mecha tournament, I thought you were just acting out after your breakup,” Lu Ranxu looked up at him. “But you’re completely different now. Every step you take surprises me. You’re doing what I once wanted to but never had the courage for.”
Seeing the determination in Lu Ranxu’s eyes, Yun Xingze was momentarily lost in thought.
“When you defeated Kalibo, I saw a possibility in you,” Lu Ranxu looked at his palm and slowly clenched it. “Even without talent, it doesn’t necessarily mean defeat. So, I want to change too.”
Lu Ranxu finally clenched his hand into a fist, as if grasping something.
Yun Xingze had made the same gesture when he first arrived in this world—a symbol of his hope and thirst for strength.
Suddenly, Lu Ranxu frowned and angrily punched his thigh. “Damn it, if only I’d dodged faster—ow, ow, ow!”
Having accidentally hit his injured spot, tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
Yun Xingze was startled. “Are you okay?”
“If he wants to continue the tournament, he’ll probably need a session in the med-pod,” the medical staff said.
Wiping his tears, Lu Ranxu reassured Yun Xingze, “I’m fine, just a minor injury. Xingze, if you end up matched against Su Zinan in the next round, you have to beat him!”
Yun Xingze looked at him and after a moment, nodded slightly. “If we meet, I will.”
Yun Xingze accompanied Lu Ranxu to the infirmary, where their classmates and Zhu Feiyue came to visit. Many praised Lu Ranxu for his bravery, which delighted him so much he hardly seemed like a patient.
Seeing that he wasn’t seriously hurt, Yun Xingze finally relaxed.
Zhu Feiyue suddenly pulled Yun Xingze aside and asked, “Xingze, have you thought about becoming Luo Wenchuan’s mecha engineer?”
“Ah, I wanted to reply to him in person, but I haven’t had the chance yet,” Yun Xingze answered.
Taking this as a positive sign, Zhu Feiyue suggested, “In that case, why don’t you two meet tonight?”
Yun Xingze thought it was indeed time to give Luo Wenchuan an answer, so he sent a message: [Senior Luo, are you free tonight?]
A few minutes later, Luo Wenchuan replied: [Yes.] [What’s the matter?]
Yun Xingze responded: [About the mecha engineer position, I’d like to give you my answer in person.]
After a long pause, the other end replied with a simple “Mn.”
Luo Wenchuan’s typing style was as aloof and concise as his speech, to the point where Yun Xingze couldn’t help feeling that “this person doesn’t seem the least bit interested in hiring me as a mecha engineer.”
Luo Wenchuan had arranged their meeting at an upscale restaurant off-campus.
The place was exorbitantly priced, beyond what ordinary students could afford. Just stepping through the entrance, Yun Xingze could practically smell the wealth in the air.
This only deepened his curiosity about Luo Wenchuan’s background if he truly came from a barren planet, how could he be so loaded?!
In the original novel, Yun Xingze had only survived through the first half of the story and had no interactions with Luo Wenchuan. As such, neither the protagonist’s memories nor the world’s plotline contained any information about him.
But with Luo Wenchuan’s level of capability, surely he must have played some role in the original story?
Yun Xingze guessed that Luo Wenchuan’s major plot points probably came in the latter half of the novel.
When Yun Xingze entered the private dining room, Luo Wenchuan was already there.
The room was on a high floor, its windows offering a view of towering skyscrapers and the constant flow of flying vehicles. The Stellar Naval Academy appeared serene and beautiful under the night sky.
Luo Wenchuan sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, lifting his gaze slightly to look at Yun Xingze.
Today, Luo Wenchuan wore a simple black casual outfit, having removed his jacket. His thin shirt was impeccably pressed, accentuating his broad shoulders. His coldly handsome features took on a more refined and approachable quality against the nighttime backdrop.
After exchanging polite greetings and taking his seat, Luo Wenchuan got straight to the point, sliding several documents across the table to Yun Xingze.
“Testimonies from Karl, Director Huang, and those Alpha students who helped testify.”
Yun Xingze was momentarily taken aback. As he looked through them, he found the statements meticulously detailed including when Karl had first made contact with Su Zinan, the content of Director Huang’s conversation with Chi Yu, and so on.
These materials could not only prove Yun Xingze’s innocence but also demonstrate that Su Zinan and Chi Yu had deliberately framed him.
Yun Xingze couldn’t help but marvel at Luo Wenchuan’s efficiency. Just as he looked up to thank him, he noticed Luo Wenchuan produce another set of documents.
“These are investigation materials from last year’s match between Su Zinan and Chi Yu.”
Noticing Yun Xingze’s confusion, Luo Wenchuan added, “Chi Yu is suspected of deliberately going easy during the match, allowing Su Zinan to surpass Kalibo by a 0.1-point margin in performance scores. This secured Su Zinan the tenth-place position, the substitute spot on the school team.”
Yun Xingze froze. He hadn’t known about this. So Kalibo had missed out on the school team because of Su Zinan and Chi Yu’s scheming?
After reviewing both sets of documents, Yun Xingze gradually calmed down from his initial shock.
He understood perfectly well how significant these materials were they were enough to put Chi Yu and Su Zinan at risk of expulsion and disqualification.
What he didn’t quite grasp was why Luo Wenchuan would go to such lengths.
“Senior Luo, are you helping me?” Yun Xingze met Luo Wenchuan’s gaze, his fingers unconsciously tightening around the documents. “It must have taken tremendous effort to gather all this evidence, right?”
Luo Wenchuan remained silent; his expression unreadable.
Seeing no response, Yun Xingze thought to himself that he might have overinterpreted things perhaps Luo Wenchuan had simply wanted to investigate these matters for his own reasons.
At that moment, Luo Wenchuan suddenly spoke, his voice cool yet carrying a note of earnest anticipation.
“The first document proves your innocence while ensuring those who framed you receive due punishment.”
“The second document is enough to invalidate Chi Yu and Su Zinan’s competition results, potentially getting them disqualified.”
Luo Wenchuan spoke all this in one breath, causing Yun Xingze to slowly widen his eyes in surprise.
“I was indeed planning to do this,” Luo Wenchuan paused, lifting a glass of water with his slender, pale fingers and taking a small sip, “but then I heard Su Zinan did something particularly outrageous during his match against Lu Ranxu today.”
It took Yun Xingze barely a second to grasp the deeper implication behind Luo Wenchuan’s words.
And this implication, more than all the documents combined, left Yun Xingze utterly astonished.
“So, you mean…” Yun Xingze held his breath, tentatively asking.
“As the captain of the school team, I have a special privilege,” Luo Wenchuan said calmly. “During the campus mech tournament, to assess the strength of top contenders from each grade, I can request the organizers to arrange a match. Of course, this privilege can only be used once per season.”
Yun Xingze’s suspicions were confirmed.
Luo Wenchuan really intended to…
“I’ll arrange for you to face Su Zinan in the fifth round,” Luo Wenchuan said slowly, his thin lips parting. “If you’re willing.”
Yun Xingze’s heart pounded wildly at that moment.
He had indeed wondered, what if he didn’t get a chance to face Su Zinan in the later rounds? How would he avenge Lu Ranxu?
Now, it was as if Luo Wenchuan had seen right through his thoughts, placing this opportunity right before him.
“Of course, you can refuse and choose to have Su Zinan disqualified now,” Luo Wenchuan took another sip of water, his gaze never leaving Yun Xingze. “The choice is yours.”
Yun Xingze swallowed hard.
Currently in his heat cycle, facing Su Zinan would undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage.
Yet, he still wanted to challenge Su Zinan immediately.
Under Luo Wenchuan’s steady gaze, Yun Xingze nodded slowly but firmly.
Luo Wenchuan studied him for a moment, as if unsurprised by the answer, and a faint smile curled at the corners of his lips.
Then, he produced a box of suppressants, its packaging exquisitely refined.
Looking at the suppressants, Luo Wenchuan said quietly, “These are side-effect-free suppressants.”
The very same suppressants Lu Ranxu had mentioned the kind only nobles could afford, still in development.
And Luo Wenchuan had casually brought out an entire box!
Yun Xingze had received too many shocks tonight, making him wonder if he was dreaming. Why would this supposedly Omega-phobic, aloof iceberg go to such lengths to help him?
Clenching his fingers, Yun Xingze looked up at Luo Wenchuan and said earnestly, “Senior Luo, you’ve helped me so much. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“Earlier, I mentioned wanting you to be my mech engineer,” Luo Wenchuan lowered his eyes, speaking softly. “But many days passed without a reply from you. So, I wondered… perhaps my sincerity wasn’t enough?”
His voice trailed off, tinged with a hint of dejection.
In truth, Luo Wenchuan had been waiting for Yun Xingze to reach out these past few days. When no response came, he even began to suspect Yun Xingze had already decided to work for someone else.
Yun Xingze never expected Luo Wenchuan to say such words, leaving him momentarily stunned as he stared at the other.
“If you agree, your starting monthly salary will be three hundred thousand,” Luo Wenchuan said calmly, suppressing the emotions in his eyes, enunciating each word clearly. “Raises will be based on performance, with no upper limit.”
When Chi Yu had previously offered Yun Xingze three hundred thousand-star coins, Yun had thought it was an exceptionally high amount no other student at the school could possibly offer more.
But now Luo Wenchuan was showing him what it meant that “there’s always a higher mountain.”
The phrase “no upper limit” acted like a paralyzing spell, leaving Yun Xingze dumbstruck.
The next moment, Luo Wenchuan neatly pushed the box of inhibitors and all the documents toward Yun Xingze.
Yun Xingze’s voice came out hoarse, almost unrecognizable:
“No upper limit is too much, Senior Luo…”
Luo Wenchuan then leaned back slightly, straightening his posture. His narrow eyes fixed on Yun Xingze as his Adam’s apple bobbed, his thin lips parting slightly. “Then do you think this level of sincerity is enough, Junior Yun?”
