The four of them once again put their hands forwards. Han Yu stared with red eyes at the scissors his hands had formed, so angry that he wished to just chop it off. Why did you play scissors? Why did you play scissors? Damm*t, couldn’t you have stretched out three more fingers? His entire face a rictus of violent fury, passers-by who inadvertently looked in their direction were instantly sent scurrying back three feet away in fear …
‘My luck is just too horrible!’ Han Yu was so frustrated he was gnashing his teeth. The other three had all played rock; he was the only one to play scissors. According to the rules, he was instantly relegated to the final spot, becoming the last person to fight this round. It sounded great, as he would be the finale act, but the problem here was that the four people before him were all like godd*mn bloody wolves and tigers … would they even give him the chance to come out and fight? Would they? Would they? Would they?! Even thinking with your butt you would know that this was absolutely impossible.
“This round doesn’t count!” All worked up, Han Yu demanded this outcome be repealed. Having lost so badly, he had long stopped acting like a gentleman who would never regret a play he had made.
Mu Shaoyu and Qiao Ting, who had been standing beside Han Yu, did not hesitate to grab Han Yu when he displayed such petty behaviour. They summarily tossed him out of their circle — since you have lost, then scram and stay at the side and be quiet. What do you think you’re doing blabbering nonsense here?
They were not so stupid as to let a competitor who had already been defeated have a second chance to overturn the results.
Zhao Jun, who already had the right to the opening fight in hand, consoled him with some unholy glee in his tone, “Oh Han Yu, let it go. You’ll still have a chance next round!” This sort of insincere consolation was like sprinkling salt on an open wound, instantly enraging the already sullen Han Yu. With a roar, he leapt at Zhao Jun.
The two of them did not use any physical skills, relying solely on the strength of their bodies to grapple with each other. That stance and that momentum … it was truly the epitome of classical wrestling.
Qiao Ting, Mu Shaoyu, and Ling Lan all wore calm expressions, completely indifferent to the ruckus beside them. The gazes of the three were extraordinarily cold, radiating with powerful fighting spirit. No one was willing to give up on the two slots left among the first three to fight in this round. They all knew that no matter who would be the first three to fight, those three would definitely not show any mercy and give the two members after them the chance to take the field …
“Ping, Ling, Pang, Lang —— Cai!” shouted the three of them in unison, playing their hands at the same time …
Draw!
Draw!
Draw!
Ten consecutive draws were enough to show how fierce the battle was among the three. None of them were willing to ease up and take a step back.
“Senior Qiao, you are the number one of our military academy. You are most suited to be the last to fight.” After a long fruitless struggle, Ling Lan threw a cold glance over at the stern-faced Qiao Ting beside her and began to prod at him verbally. In order to obtain victory, Ling Lan had made a sneaky move!
“Yeah, Qiao Ting, you’ve already fought for two consecutive rounds already. You can’t keep all the good things for yourself — that’ll incite the wrath of the heavens! It’s time you take a rest. It’s our turn now.” Mu Shaoyu’s eyes lit up at Ling Lan’s words and he immediately jumped on board to put pressure on Qiao Ting.
Qiao Ting’s gaze narrowed at their words, revealing a flash of coldness. He asked in return, “Junior Ling, as a junior, you should know how to respect your elders. How can you fight with your seniors?!”
“Yes, yes, Junior Ling, just cede these two matches to your seniors, okay?” Mu Shaoyu also felt that what Qiao Ting said made sense, so he instantly jumped ship to stand on Qiao Ting’s side, turning against Ling Lan.
Fight, fight! Only this way would he be able to sneak profit amidst danger 1and obtain a spot among the first three to fight … Mu Shaoyu’s eyes glittered,glee blooming in his heart 2 as he did his best to fan the flames between his other two competitors.
Qiao Ting and Ling Lan had already locked horns — their sharp gazes clashed against the other’s, neither willing to back down.
Just as Mu Shaoyu thought that the two would definitely decide a winner between the two of them, they both suddenly turned to look at him and shouted in unison, “Rock!”
Mu Shaoyu’s reflexes were extremely fast — without conscious thought, his hand had already stretched out to obediently play rock.
Looking down at the paper Qiao Ting and Ling Lan had both played, Mu Shaoyu was livid. He pointed a shaking finger at the two of them, looking to be on the verge of fainting as he said, “You two actually tricked me! That’s too shameless!”
Sob sob sob … and these two were their public and internal regiment commanders too! Where was their moral integrity? Where, where, where?! Mu Shaoyu was bawling in his heart, silently berating himself for having such quick reflexes, accidentally falling for their trick just like that.
“Idiot!” Qiao Ting and Ling Lan glanced coldly at Mu Shaoyu, scorn in their eyes. With that standard of his, actually thinking to fan the flames between them and benefit from their discord 3 ?
Mu Shaoyu was an old rival of Qiao Ting’s, so Qiao Ting was naturally well aware of Mu Shaoyu’s strengths and weaknesses. As for Ling Lan, after this period of observation combined with the data Little Four had gathered, she too had learned of Mu Shaoyu’s characteristics. Qiao Ting and Ling Lan both knew very well that, among the three of them, the easiest person to handle would be Mu Shaoyu. If the two of them really went after each other, it would definitely end with an internecine outcome, which would just ultimately benefit Mu Shaoyu.
The two of them were intelligent people — of course they would not give Mu Shaoyu the chance to profit from their discord. When the two of them had locked gazes, they had already come to a mutual agreement to work together and trick Mu Shaoyu.
Reeling back their disdainful gazes, their eyes met once more as they focused on the final battle between themselves.
Qiao Ting and Ling Lan were completely ignoring him now. Knowing that the outcome had already been set in stone, Mu Shaoyu mournfully squatted in a corner in the backstage area, comforting his poor little wounded soul. He silently bit on his little handkerchief 4 , poking at the ground grumpily, thinking: Villains, villains, they’re both villains …
Ling Lan and Qiao Ting’s contest proceeded in a tense silence. Together, they threw out their hands and both of them played rock …
Ling Lan raised her head and said, “Senior Qiao should play paper!”
Qiao Ting’s eyebrows lifted — when did this Junior Ling become so kind, willing to let him win?
And then Ling Lan continued to say, “I’m very interested in scissors!”
D*mn you and your scissors — aren’t you just trying to beat me? Qiao Ting replied with a stony expression, “Well, I like to play rock!” Got you! Punk!
Ling Lan raised her head to look calmly at Qiao Ting, her eyes so bright that Qiao Ting’s heart was already shouting that things were not good …
“Senior Qiao is too kind. Actually, I like playing paper!” And with that, Ling Lan did not wait for Qiao Ting to respond, immediately walking over to the staff member to report their line-up for this round.
“This punk!” Qiao Ting’s teeth were aching from his frustration. He was so bloody irritating! Actually setting up a verbal trap … just a moment of inattention and the other had taken advantage of it. Still, he was still part of the first three to fight, so Qiao Ting wasn’t all that displeased. He just felt that it was a shame that he had not managed to suppress Ling Lan a little.
Seeing that Ling Lan had gone up to submit their line-up, Han Yu, who was already tired from fighting, finally stopped, and Mu Shaoyu had also recovered from the mental blow he had received to stand up once again. The two of them shared a commiserating look, mourning their misfortune together. They knew very well that they would not have any screen time again this round. The three people before them … leaving aside Qiao Ting, who needed no mention, even if they did not want to admit it in their hearts, they had no choice but to acknowledge that the other two were indeed stronger than they were by a little. It was a very remote possibility for them to make a mistake and lose …
Just like that, amidst the sorrows of Han Yu and Mu Shaoyu, the curtains rose on the matches between the First Men’s Military Academy and the Jingan Military Academy …
On the large screen, the names of the first pair to fight appeared. When they saw Zhao Jun’s name, the Jingan Military Academy could not help but curse mentally. What in the world was up with the First Men’s Military Academy’s line-up? Sending their second strongest to fight right off the bat?
In the audience’s eyes, Ling Lan, who had been hiding her true strength all this while, ranked third or fourth among the five representatives of the First Men’s Military Academy for this group mecha combat event. They believed that she was only a little stronger than Han Yu, at about the same level as Mu Shaoyu but weaker than Zhao Jun by a little. And of course, she could not be compared at all with the ace operator Qiao Ting.
This misperception of the audience was due to Zhao Jun performing so well in the single mecha combat event, forcing a draw with an ace operator at just special-class operator level himself. This result was just too shocking, leading everyone there to believe that Zhao Jun as a special-class operator was an existence who had no rival below ace level. As such, it made complete sense for Zhao Jun to be considered the second strongest in the First Men’s Military Academy after Qiao Ting.
Zhao Jun’s appearance crushed the hopes of the Jingan contingent for the first match. How could they compete against someone who could force a draw with an ace operator? With this fearful mentality before the fight had even begun, the Jingan mecha operator behaved extremely cautiously from the very beginning of the match. Initially quite strong, he actually only managed to display 70 to 80 percent of his true strength due to this negative mindset.
This caused the difference between Zhao Jun and him to be highlighted even more starkly. Zhao Jun, who had initially intended to have a grand all-out fight, efficiently struck the opponent’s cold weapon from his mecha’s hands after only 20 moves, easily obtaining the first victory of the round.
Having lost the first match, the Jingan Military Academy could only place their hopes on the second match. For this match, they hoped that Qiao Ting would be the one to appear because they had placed their second weakest member there in hopes of wasting the strength of the strongest mecha operator of the First Men’s Military Academy. Then again, they also hoped that the First Men’s Military Academy would send out someone of average strength so they could win a match first …
After a 15-minute recess, the dark large screen finally lit up again to display the following words: “The First Men’s VS Jingan — 2nd match: Ling Lan VS Zhu Jing.”
“It’s Ling Lan! That super newbie who created a new technique!” The appearance of Ling Lan’s name caused a commotion among the audience. The response of the audience was even more passionate than when Zhao Jun had taken the field — it looked like the appearance of a new technique had indeed earned Ling Lan some degree of fame within the Federation.
The Jingan Military Academy saw who the First Men’s Military Academy had sent and their hearts sank. Compared to Ling Lan, they really wished that it could have been Han Yu or Mu Shaoyu instead, because they were very familiar with those two, having studied their operation style and attack methods very thoroughly, even having conducted targeted training with them in mind. Up against them, Jingan was confident that there was the possibility of victory …
But this Ling Lan was very mysterious — he had not participated in the single mecha combat event, and in the group mecha combat event, he had only come out to fight two times thus far. These two times had shown Jingan his excellent long-range skills as well as his perfect foundational attacks … but that was all!
Everyone knew that a special-class operator could not only have mastered some basic attacks; they must have some sure-kill special techniques which were a mark of being a special-class operator … this was undoubtedly a dangerous thing. If they did not know what special moves the opponent was proficient in, they would not be able to prepare any special defences. Therefore, it would be very easy for the opponent to flip the tables on them at a critical moment. This was another reason why Jingan was so apprehensive of Ling Lan.
“I hope Zhu Jing can perform well and win us this match!” Jingan’s strongest mecha operator, who was also their representative team leader, finally placed their hopes on Zhu Jing. If Zhu Jing could successfully take this match, then they would have hopes of obtaining the final victory.