When the door opened, Yun Xingze was stunned by the array of mech parts and weapons stored inside. “There’s so much?!”
“Most of it was given by the school,” Ke Lei explained. “A lot was also collected by Da Chuan during his missions. He’s from a barren planet, you know poor kids grow up fast. Some of these he sells on the black market, while others he keeps.”
“Missions?” Yun Xingze blinked. “What kind of missions?”
“Bounty missions… It’s normal you wouldn’t know. Most people can’t take them.” As he spoke, Ke Lei showed Yun Xingze some of the parts. “Da Chuan can pilot any mech, so he has a lot of parts, but his favorite is still the lightsaber mech.”
Yun Xingze’s mind automatically began assembling these parts as he looked at them.
“Da Chuan said these parts are useless to him, so you can take whatever you need,” Ke Lei told Yun Xingze before lowering his voice. “Though I suspect he just thinks your mech is too ugly and didn’t want to outright tell you to change it.”
Yun Xingze: “There’s no way Luo Wenchuan is that kind of person.”
Ke Lei waved a hand. “Just a suspicion. But given how ugly your mech is, it’s a reasonable one, right?”
Yun Xingze: “Alright, let’s drop it.”
“Oh, by the way, the fifth-round matchups seem to have been announced,” Ke Lei said, his tone turning serious. “You’re up against Su Zinan. You’d better not lose to him.”
Yun Xingze knew this was arranged by Luo Wenchuan. He nodded. “I won’t.”
“Since Su Zinan and I are both on the school team, I should be supporting him,” Ke Lei frowned slightly. “But I just can’t stand him. A few days ago, Da Chuan asked me to monitor a forum account that kept posting smear threads about you. As one of the moderators, I eventually banned it.”
“So, you’re saying…” Yun Xingze was surprised.
“Right, the person behind those posts was Su Zinan.” Ke Lei pulled up the forum interface. “These are the threads he posted before. I deleted them all but kept the evidence.”
He showed Yun Xingze the content.
The first thread was titled “Heard Chi Yu’s fiancé got admitted, anyone know his background?” It exposed that Yun Xingze had entered the school through connections, with Su Zinan pretending to be an uninformed bystander, continuously replying to push the thread past a thousand comments.
There were many similar threads, subtly mocking Yun Xingze while also taking jabs at Lu Ranxu.
From the moment Yun Xingze enrolled, over a dozen threads had been posted, mixing truth and lies to keep the gossipers guessing.
Since Su Zinan was using a burner account, no one knew it was him posting. Everyone in the thread openly called Yun Xingze a disgrace to Omegas, praising Su Zinan as the role model all Omegas should emulate.
Ke Lei remained silent for a long time before finally speaking up, “Hang in there, Xingze.”
Yun Xingze’s expression remained calm, a stark contrast to the “spoiled, temperamental, and overly sensitive Omega prince” described in the posts.
Ke Lei grew even more disgusted by Su Zinan’s shamelessness. Da Chuan had been absolutely right to ask him to ban those accounts.
Ke Lei handed Yun Xingze the warehouse key.
Yun Xingze specifically asked Luo Wenchuan whether he could use the parts inside, to which Luo Wenchuan replied, “Take whatever you need.”
Yun Xingze’s plan was to reinforce his mech’s defenses so he could withstand Su Zinan’s relentless firepower.
The Meteor mech’s offensive capabilities were terrifying; there was no guarantee he could dodge everything.
But this time, Yun Xingze wasn’t as concerned about potential damage to his mech.
His modifications were solely aimed at defeating Su Zinan.
Just as Yun Xingze finished sketching his design and was about to begin upgrading his mech in the workshop, Chi Yu suddenly showed up.
Chi Yu started with an apology for reporting Yun Xingze: “I’m sorry, Xingze. I acted without thinking. I shouldn’t have had someone report you.”
“Get lost,” Yun Xingze picked up a photon cutter and pointed it at him. “I don’t have time for you.”
Chi Yu hastily took a step back, guilt flashing in his eyes, dark circles faintly visible beneath them. His voice was hoarse as he said, “But I never meant for anyone else to find out. Withdrawing from the competition was just a cover, I’d never actually report you.”
Yun Xingze thought of Su Zinan’s posts. He knew exactly what Su Zinan was trying to accomplish, while Chi Yu remained oblivious, still believing this was just a private matter between them.
“If you’re not using your brain, donate it to someone who needs it,” Yun Xingze said coldly. “Stop wasting my time.”
Chi Yu swallowed hard, gazing at Yun Xingze with deep affection. “I only did it for your own good. Xingze, we mean so much to each other, don’t we?”
“No.” Yun Xingze resisted the urge to stab him with the cutter. “Just leave. Now.”
“Xingze, be my mech engineer. Even if you won’t get back together with me, I’ll prove my sincerity over time…” Chi Yu tried to appeal to him. “How about that?”
“Sorry, I’m already Luo Wenchuan’s mech engineer,” Yun Xingze replied icily.
Chi Yu froze, jealousy and resentment surging inside him, unleashing days of pent-up emotions.
He stepped forward, frowning. “Xingze, what has that guy given you? He’s an Omega-phobe. He’ll mistreat you, berate you, he doesn’t care about you at all! He’s just using you!”
Yun Xingze smirked, his tone mocking. “Well, he’s still given me more than you ever did.”
Chi Yu’s jealousy flared hotter. He raised his voice, unable to hold back. “Do you have to provoke me like this?”
Yun Xingze shot back, “Is it working?”
“You—!” Chi Yu was furious.
It took him a while to calm down.
In the past, Chi Yu would have stormed off, waiting for Yun Xingze to regret it.
But now he seemed to have lost his confidence.
Even if Yun Xingze became Luo Wenchuan’s mecha engineer, he had to suppress the jealousy in his heart to avoid worsening their relationship further.
“Xingze, I didn’t come to make you angry today,” Chi Yu lowered his voice. “I saw the fifth-round matchups. You’re up against Su Zinan.”
Yun Xingze looked at him expressionlessly.
“Don’t misunderstand or get jealous of course I want you to win,” Chi Yu said while gazing at Yun Xingze. “But the level difference between you and Su Zinan is obvious, so…”
“You think I can’t beat him?” Yun Xingze raised an eyebrow and sneered.
“So, I talked to Su Zinan and asked him to go easy on you,” Chi Yu said gently. “He agreed. He said if you can’t win, as long as you beg for mercy properly unlike Lu Ranxu who acted all high and mighty, he’ll consider reducing firepower and overlook you two insulting him backstage.”
“I don’t need you pleading for me.” Yun Xingze put away his mecha and turned to leave the modification room. “Tell Su Zinan for me: when he can’t win, if he kowtows ten times, I might consider sparing his life.”
“Where are you going?” Chi Yu called after him.
Yun Xingze was heading to Luo Wenchuan’s warehouse to look for more powerful weapons.
An unprecedentedly bold modification plan rapidly took shape in his mind.
Originally, he just wanted to win this match.
Now, he swore to beat Su Zinan until he was crawling on the ground searching for his teeth.
