Yun Xingze returned to school after getting his mecha, feeling very happy.
The next day was the deadline to register for the mecha competition. Early in the morning, he went to the registration point, submitted his form, and had the staff record his personal information and mecha type.
When they found out that Yun Xingze was an Omega and that he would be using a C-class lightsaber mecha, the staff looked at him in surprise. “Are you sure you want to sign up? If you register but don’t attend the preliminary round, you’ll lose credits.”
Yun Xingze nodded. “I’m sure.”
Of course he wanted to join—this was the best chance to experience piloting and studying mechas.
After signing up, Yun Xingze brought his mecha to the training center. He found an empty hall and wanted to test the machine’s performance. When he released the mecha, he was surprised by how new it looked. The shop owner had said it was damaged before, so he thought it would be worn down. But now it seemed like 150,000 credits was a total bargain.
The black lightsaber mecha wasn’t perfect in design, but it looked sharp and sleek—somewhat similar to Luo Wenchuan’s mecha. Although in terms of performance, it was clearly the cheaper version.
Yun Xingze entered the cockpit to test the controls. His current mental strength was still C-class, so matching with a C-class mecha felt much more suitable and smoother compared to using a B-class one.
The lightsaber mecha activated its anti-gravity engine and leapt into the air. It drew the lightsaber hilt, and plasma shot out from it, forming a glowing sword within a magnetic field. Just slicing through the air made a faint buzzing sound.
Yun Xingze stared at the sword in front of him. He had imagined this moment countless times—wielding a real lightsaber with a real mecha—and now it had finally come true.
Lightsaber fighting was related to swordsmanship. In his past life, Yun Xingze practiced many combat styles in the simulation pod, but due to limited physical strength, he could only do a few symbolic moves now.
From the spectator seats, some students noticed the mecha.
“What is that lightsaber mecha doing?”
“Looks like it’s doing a combo… but those moves are weird. Never seen them before.”
“Lightsaber mechas usually have simple moves. This one looks really complicated.”
“But kind of… cool?”
Yun Xingze had studied how to improve classical swordsmanship for use in mechas. He tested it on this machine and found it was possible, though mechas weren’t as flexible as human bodies—so there was room for improvement.
Besides the lightsaber mecha, Yun Xingze also checked out the scouting mecha he got for an extra 30,000 credits. It was almost brand new too.
His conclusion: “The shop owner is a good person.”
Back at the dorm, Yun Xingze told Lu Ranxu about registering.
“What? You really signed up?!” Lu Ranxu couldn’t believe it. “You fainted during practice yesterday. I thought you were going to give up…”
“I was going to,” Yun Xingze scratched his head, “but Luo Wenchuan gave me a huge amount of money, so I bought the mecha.”
“Luo Wenchuan gave you money and you decided to join the competition because of that? Couldn’t you just…” Lu Ranxu suddenly paused. “Wait—what?! Who gave you money?!”
“Luo Wenchuan…” Yun Xingze was startled by his reaction. “I helped him modify his mecha.”
There was so much information that Lu Ranxu had a hard time processing it. After a while, he hesitated and asked, “So, you modified Luo Wenchuan’s mecha, and not only did he not get mad, he gave you money as a reward?”
Yun Xingze nodded.
“How is that possible?!” Lu Ranxu grabbed his arm. “Let’s not even talk about when you learned to modify mechas—he’s Luo Wenchuan! The guy who hates Omegas the most!”
“Hates Omegas?” Yun Xingze was surprised. “He’s an Alpha—why would he hate Omegas?”
Normally, Alphas looked for Omega partners.
“I don’t know, but people say he never lets Omegas get close to him,” Lu Ranxu said seriously. “Some say he’s cold, others say he has Omega-phobia. Since the beginning of school, he’s never been close to one.”
That was why Lu Ranxu was shocked Luo Wenchuan gave Yun Xingze so much money.
“Maybe he was just being professional and didn’t care about my gender,” Yun Xingze said. “Besides, whether he has Omega-phobia or not doesn’t matter to me. I’m just fixing a mecha.”
Lu Ranxu thought that kind of made sense, and then started asking when Yun Xingze learned to modify mechas.
Yun Xingze told a long story—basically lying that he had always secretly loved mechas, but never pursued the dream because of his engagement. Now, he was finally free to chase it, blah blah blah…
To his surprise, Lu Ranxu was moved and held Yun Xingze’s hand. “Xingze, love has really changed you. It’s made you stronger.”
“…This has nothing to do with love,” Yun Xingze replied.
The preliminary competition would happen in three days.
Registered students would go through training before the competition to understand the rules and avoid accidents.
Class E had twenty students who signed up—one-third of the class. It sounded like a lot, but other classes had more than forty. In their grade, almost 200 students from the Mecha Department signed up.
The training was held in a simulation room. When Yun Xingze arrived, he saw Lu Ranxu.
“You signed up too?” Yun Xingze was surprised.
“That’s right,” Lu Ranxu said seriously. “I thought about it—we’re good brothers, so I’m joining you.”
Yun Xingze felt warm inside. “Thanks, Ranxu…”
“At least if you get beaten up, I can carry you to the medical room like last time,” Lu Ranxu added.
“…No need,” Yun Xingze said. He never wanted to go there again—it was too shady!
“Our class is a bit behind the others,” Zhuo Feiyue told the students, “but there are fifty slots for the preliminaries. You should still dream big. Who knows—maybe someone in front of you will fall down.”
The group suddenly got pumped up.
“The prelims are obstacle races,” Zhuo Feiyue explained. “You can attack other players, but I don’t recommend it—unless you have no choice. Because while you’re fighting, someone else could pass you.”
Yun Xingze watched past videos and saw that fighting was indeed rare. The tracks had obstacles like small-caliber cannons, mechanical beasts, minor star beasts, and maze-like routes. They weren’t fatal, but very tricky.
In these situations, teamwork was best, and fighting wasn’t a smart choice.
After explaining the rules, Zhuo Feiyue let everyone enter the simulation pods to practice.
These pods had the same requirements as real mechas in terms of physical and mental strength, but you could experience all sorts of combat without real danger.
Once Yun Xingze entered, the screen showed a lifelike forest. There were options to set his mecha type and mental strength level.
When everyone was ready, Zhuo Feiyue pressed the button. Obstacles appeared in the training field.
On his large virtual screen, a row of mechas stood at the starting line.
A sharp synthetic female voice spoke:
[Simulation training ready. Map D2281. 20 players. Training will begin after countdown. All participants, please prepare!]
Yun Xingze listened carefully. After the countdown, everyone activated their mechas, rushing to the front.
But Yun Xingze took his time. He followed behind several larger mechas, keeping a safe distance. When the ones in front were attacked, he quietly slipped past them.
Of course, the cannon fire hit everyone equally. If hit, the pain level reached about 10%. Even that was pretty hard to bear.
Soon, many students were out—some hit by cannons, some attacked by beasts, some crashed into trees.
Those left kept going. Yun Xingze had no cover now, so he abandoned his earlier strategy and broke away from the group to avoid fights.
It worked—his C-class lightsaber mecha rushed ahead and became the leader.
Zhuo Feiyue was surprised watching the screen. Compared to when Yun Xingze first activated a mecha, this was much easier to accept.
After twenty minutes of training, only four or five students remained. Yun Xingze’s mecha began to slow down.
As the best Alpha in class, Aurel quickly caught up. He was just about to smile when a fast-flying mechanical beast came at him. He had no time to react—it was going to hit his head!
A lightsaber slashed out and cut the beast in two.
Aurel’s fear turned into shock—Yun Xingze’s reaction speed was insane!
Because of the beast, Aurel fell behind again. Yun Xingze was about to reach the finish line.
But just then, his mecha suddenly stopped and stumbled, almost falling.
Zhuo Feiyue quickly looked at his simulation pod.
Sure enough, the door opened, and Yun Xingze stepped out, drenched in sweat, gasping, “Mr. Zhuo… I’m out of energy…”
Zhuo Feiyue called over a small medical robot to give him a nutrient shot. “Do you need the medical room?”
“No need.” After the shot, Yun Xingze looked better.
“It’s a pity,” Zhuo Feiyue said. “If you didn’t use that slash, you could’ve made it.”
“It’s not the real competition no big deal,” Yun Xingze replied casually.
Aurel came out of his pod. After hesitating, he asked Yun Xingze why he helped him.
“Didn’t want your head to fly into me,” Yun Xingze joked.
Everyone laughed. Aurel looked embarrassed, but then couldn’t help smiling too. Even though it was just a simulation, that one slash made him feel like he had been saved from death.
After resting, Yun Xingze thought to himself, An Omega’s physical strength is still a weakness…
Still, he and Aurel were the only two in their class who lasted twenty minutes.
As training ended, Yun Xingze wanted to head back with Lu Ranxu, but Zhuo Feiyue stopped him.
The old man pulled him aside with a serious face. “Xingze, this prelim is very important for you.”
Yun Xingze nodded. “I’ll take it seriously.”
But he was confused why only say this to him?
The next words solved the mystery.
“Because of what happened with Chi Yu, the school board is thinking about expelling you. I said they were being unfair, and told them you’ve changed. I said you’re joining the mecha competition.”
Yun Xingze swallowed nervously, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
“The board told me to tell you this: If you fail the prelims, you must leave Starsea Military Academy.”
Zhuo Feiyue’s voice was heavy. “So, you need to fix your stamina problem in three days and pass the prelims. Understand?”
Yun Xingze never imagined this competition would decide whether he stayed in school.
After a moment, he nodded firmly. “I understand.”
