Hebrew had never encountered such a situation before.
In previous matches, once Hebrew unleashed his ultimate move, his opponents would immediately fall into complete passivity.
Hebrew deployed his threads at an astonishing speed, coupled with his ability to enter stealth mode. Often, before his enemies could react, the entire arena would be littered with deadly traps.
Yet Hebrew never dreamed that his ultimate move would be dismantled so effortlessly by a mechanical beast!
Of all the threads spread across the arena, only a small section in one corner remained intact. The rest were full of gaping holes, large and small.
He stared dumbfounded at his painstakingly laid “heavenly net” being torn apart like this, his heart aching. These nano-threads weren’t cheap, after all!
Yun Xingze urged Hebrew to surrender, but the latter gritted his teeth and stubbornly chose to press on.
In the next moment, Hebrew decisively abandoned his plan to redeploy the heavenly net and instead charged straight toward Yun Xingze.
The Shadow Mech vanished from the arena once more.
With time running out, Hebrew’s attack was clearly aimed at eliminating Yun Xingze for good.
However, before Hebrew could reach him when they were mere meters apart, the mechanical beast silently appeared between them and hurled the “ball of yarn” it had been holding directly at Hebrew.
The projectile struck Hebrew’s head. The damage was minimal, but the humiliation was immense.
Clenching his jaw, Hebrew drew his chains, determined to dismantle both mechs one by one.
The chains shot toward the ugly cat, but the feline didn’t even dodge.
Just as the crowd braced to see Hebrew smash Yun Xingze’s mechanical beast to pieces, something astonishing happened.
The “yarn ball” that had hit Hebrew didn’t fall off, it clung stubbornly to his mech’s shoulder.
Hebrew’s eyes widened in shock.
Soon, he saw transparent threads being gathered in the ugly cat’s paw. The sudden transformation of the “yarn ball” indicated these specially crafted nano-threads were undergoing electromagnetic induction.
Hebrew paled; how was this possible?!
How could that ugly cat possibly have  an electromagnetic induction device?!
Before he could even attempt to free himself from the threads, the ugly cat leaped into the air, flipping several times to wrap the threads even tighter around Hebrew’s mech arm.
The nano-threads, now razor-sharp from electromagnetic induction, could slice through metal like butter.
Hebrew’s shadow-coating was already being scratched apart by the threads, rendering his stealth mode useless.
Frantically, Hebrew tried to untangle the threads from his arm, but despite his efforts, he couldn’t break free.
Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead as he fought down panic, telling himself repeatedly: If he could just disrupt the ugly cat’s electromagnetic induction and destroy these nano-materials before they grew sharper, he could still win this match.
The audience outside collectively held their breath, eyes glued to the broadcast screens.
Members of the Gikot Academy team were too tense to speak, while those from Starsea Naval Academy silently cheered Yun Xingze on.
On the Star Network, NCLM’s official site was livestreaming the match, allowing students from various military academies who couldn’t attend to watch from their schools.
The Omega Mech Association had even organized a group viewing for all its members.
Due to the slight broadcast delay, everyone had just witnessed Chi Yu being eliminated from the match.
Lu Ranxu’s fingers clenched tightly into his palms, his nails digging painfully into his skin.
Beside him, Su Zinan rolled his eyes. Though ostracized and seated in the farthest corner, his reaction was no different from the others as he muttered under his breath, “What a useless waste, Chi Yu.”
Soon after, the one-on-one battle between Yun Xingze and Hebrew sent Lu Ranxu’s heart pounding wildly.
Though the ugly mechanical cat performed impressively, Hebrew’s strength was nothing to scoff at—both sides fought fiercely, neither willing to yield.
At that moment, an Omega suddenly opened his communicator and shouted, “He won! Xingze defeated Hebrew!”
Lu Ranxu turned around in shock, eyes brimming with disbelief and joy, unable to stop himself from exclaiming, “Seriously?!”
“It’s true! The campus forum is flooded with posts about it!”
With trembling hands, Lu Ranxu opened the forum; his screen instantly filled with titles like Yun Xingze is Insane!, Holy Shit, What a Comeback!, Absolutely Legendary—Yun Xingze Turned the Score Around!, MVP: Yun Xingze’s Mechanical Beast, and so on.
Lu Ranxu swallowed hard. Just then, the broadcast screen reached the decisive moment of the match.
After the mechanical beast entangled Hebrew’s mech arm, Hebrew true to his S+ ranking made the bold decision to sacrifice the mech’s outer coating, forcibly peeling off the wires along with the shadow paint from the arm.
That level of decisiveness and nerve far surpassed what someone his age should possess.
Everyone in the Omega Association held their breath.
The next second, Hebrew gripped his shadow greatsword and shadow chains, thrusting straight for the throat of Yun Xingze’s mech!
Yun Xingze dodged swiftly but soon found himself at a disadvantage.
Hebrew pressed his attack relentlessly.
Then, in the blink of an eye—
Hebrew’s shadow mech crashed into an invisible net!
It was part of the “Heavenly Snare” Yun Xingze’s mechanical beast had deliberately left behind while dismantling the wires earlier.
Hebrew’s eyes widened in shock.
Bang! Bang!
Yun Xingze, lying in wait, fired two clean shots at Hebrew, knocking him to the ground.
Hebrew’s shadow mech collapsed and was swiftly seized by mechanical vines, dragged out of the arena.
The last yellow beam representing Gikot Military Academy flickered out.
His total lit duration: 32 minutes and 6 seconds.
Now, only about five minutes remained before the match’s end.
Around the arena, only a single blue battle light still burned.
The tournament had a special rule. After the team battle concluded, any remaining lights would shine brighter than before.
The sole remaining blue beam blazed dazzlingly, its shield emblem gleaming brilliantly, leaving the entire audience wide-eyed in awe.
The referee announced that Starsea Naval Academy’s total team lit duration was 1 hour, 7 minutes, and 7 seconds, while Gikot’s was 59 minutes and 51 seconds.
Starsea Naval Academy had successfully secured victory in the second team battle.
On the massive screen, the score shifted from 1-3 to 3-3.
Though Gikot’s students never expected Starsea to reverse the score at such a critical moment, they still applauded sincerely, acknowledging Yun Xingze’s spectacular performance.
Lu Ranxu and the others couldn’t hold back their cheers, wishing they could rush to the arena and clap for Yun Xingze in person.
“Xingze is Starsea Naval Academy’s pride!”
“And the pride of all Omegas!”
“The only reliable person at the critical moment turned out to be Yun Xingze…”
“I’ve said it before,” Su Zinan muttered in the corner, his expression cold though the corners of his lips lifted slightly. “Alphas are all useless trash.”
No one paid him any attention, but that didn’t dampen his current good mood. At least this proved that giving Yun Xingze that list had been the right decision.
The members of the Starsea school team also cheered for Yun Xingze’s hard-won victory, with Oliar nearly clapping his hands raw.
Under the organizers’ escort, Yun Xingze returned to the main arena.
As soon as he entered, someone approached him with a bouquet of flowers.
It was an Alpha with dark green hair, wearing the uniform of Noah Military Academy someone who looked vaguely familiar.
“I prepared this especially for you,” Ming Xiao said with a clean smile, his lips curving upward as he gazed at Yun Xingze with admiration. “Do you remember me? I’m Ming Xiao, the volunteer who picked you up at the airport. You performed amazingly. Your skills seem way beyond A-rank.”
“Thank you,” Yun Xingze replied, flustered as he accepted the flowers. “I didn’t actually think you’d come to watch the match.”
He had assumed Ming Xiao’s “I’ll watch your match” was just politeness.
“I hope I can ask you for more advice someday,” Ming Xiao said, looking at him with reverence. “I want to become a mecha warrior like you.”
It was rare for an Alpha to say such things to an Omega.
Yun Xingze smiled. “With enough effort, you can do it too.”
After speaking, Yun Xingze walked into the arena with his teammates, not noticing Ming Xiao’s thoughtful expression.
Chi Yu, standing nearby, asked, “Who was that pretty boy? Why did he give you flowers? Does he have ulterior motives?”
Yun Xingze ignored him.
When he returned to the waiting area, his teammates rushed forward to hug him.
Aixili teased, “Wow, your popularity’s soaring. You’re even getting flowers now.”
Richard stepped forward, studied Yun Xingze for a moment, then pulled him into a firm embrace. “That mechanical beast of yours was pretty interesting I never expected you to beat Hebrew like that. I underestimated you. We owe this win to you.”
The look in Richard’s eyes had shifted from faint disdain to keen interest.
After this team match, Richard suddenly realized that Yun Xingze might perform even better in solo matches.
He then praised Caleb, adding, “You and Xingze; that cat of yours worked well together.”
But his expression darkened when he turned to Chi Yu.
Richard glared at him coldly and gritted his teeth. “We’ll settle this later.” Chi Yu lowered his head, visibly resentful.
After exchanging hugs with everyone, Yun Xingze scanned the crowd for Luo Wenchuan.
But Luo Wenchuan wasn’t in the waiting area.
“Da Chuan went to his match,” Ke Lei whispered to Yun Xingze. “He asked me to give you this.”
Yun Xingze blinked as Ke Lei handed him a sweat towel and a bottle of functional sports drink his favorite flavor.
As he took them, he noticed a note from Luo Wenchuan:
“You were brilliant today, little mecha engineer. Wait for me, we’ll celebrate the victory together when I return.”
Yun Xingze’s finger accidentally brushed across the paper, smudging the still-fresh ink that had clearly been written recently.
Unable to help himself, Yun Xingze curled the corners of his lips upward.
Although Luo Wenchuan’s written words carried some arrogance, they inexplicably brought him joy.
On the field, the referee announced the final match was about to begin.
Luo Wenchuan versus Cheng Zheng – a match full of highlights in its own right.
Cheng Jun’s ability was SS rank, while Luo Wenchuan’s was SS+, putting them on nearly equal footing.
Before the match began, Cheng Jun approached Luo Wenchuan to shake hands, his voice cool: “I didn’t expect my teammate’s mistake would lead to this final match against you. This time, I’ll win for Gikot.”
“Sorry,” Luo Wenchuan replied coldly, “but there’s no way I’m letting you win this match.”
Though usually aloof, Luo Wenchuan had always maintained some humility – which made this uncharacteristically bold declaration take Cheng Jun by surprise.
After a pause, Cheng Zheng quirked his lips in a half-teasing manner:
“They say you’re modest and steady, but that doesn’t seem to be the case now? Is it really worth it for those teammates of yours with such uneven skills?”
Luo Wenchuan pressed his lips together, his gaze drifting momentarily toward the waiting area outside the arena before returning.
His voice held a rare warmth that made Cheng Jun wonder if he’d imagined it: “Of course it’s worth it.”
