In the holographic simulated starry sky, amidst the vast and boundless vacuum of the universe, a small mecha was fleeing at extreme speed.
The person piloting this mecha with such flamboyant maneuvers was the leader of the school ranked dead last among the top thirty in the Joint Competition. He was also the sole survivor of Team 29.
This one-man army was currently cursing the people who had ambushed them while skillfully maneuvering his mecha in a desperate flight for his life.
Number 29 was furious. Those ambushers were absolutely despicable! They were already powerful, yet they still had the gall to sneak-attack the underdogs. It was clear they wanted to clear the "trash" from the sandbox first before turning on each other. Their goal was to prevent the small fry from banding together to take down the giants.
What was even more infuriating was that once the contestants discovered that killing opponents yielded equipment rewards, everyone went mad.
If one could eliminate a competitor and gain an equipment upgrade at the same time, why wouldn't they?
Thus, under the tacitly approved rules of the organizing committee, a grand spectacle of "big fish eating little fish" began.
Word had it that even the First Military Academy, sitting at the top of the pyramid, had teamed up with Lanli Academy. How were the underdogs supposed to survive that?
Cursing the committee for their lack of humanity, Number 29 maintained his composure while fleeing for his life.
Although his school was famous within their own star system, they couldn't be considered top-tier when placed within the vast Federation school system. He had barely managed to squeeze into the top thirty as the "tail-ender" solely because of his individual combat prowess as a leader. Consequently, when faced with an ambush from powerful enemies, his teammates had willingly self-destructed one by one to cover his escape.
The members of Team 29 knew very well that their captain was extraordinary. To have dragged fourteen "dead weights" like them into the top thirty meant his combat strength was notable even on a Federation-wide scale. It was just a pity that the other fourteen were useless burdens.
Thus, before self-destructing to cover their captain's retreat, each member sent him their best wishes through the comms:
"As long as you hide well, the top four isn't a dream!"
"Captain, we're counting on you! Keep turtling!"
Number 29: "..." *I thank you all so much...*
And so, having broken through the encirclement thanks to his teammates' self-destructions, Number 29 didn't hesitate. He dove straight into the vast expanse of space. The rear was currently a chaotic warzone; for now, the only safe place was the enemy camp, where no one dared to poke the tiger's whiskers. A small mecha like his would be inconspicuous there.
He could be like a fish in the ocean—easy, quiet, and free.
Then... Number 29, having just broken into the enemy camp, was promptly captured by a gargantuan battleship that appeared right in front of him.
Number 29: "..." *So much for being a fish in the ocean and staying quiet.*
Why wasn't anyone following the script?!
Just as Number 29, carrying the hopes of his entire "village," thought he was about to die before his mission had even begun, he was escorted by mecha soldiers into the flagship's bridge. And then—
"Death or surrender?" Feng Zhixi asked with a beaming smile from the command seat, looking exactly like the future's number one arms smuggler who would cause the Federation military endless headaches.
"I surrender." Having a great deal of self-awareness, Number 29 raised a small white flag. With a gaze full of reverence for these "gods," he chose to join Team 18's roster without a moment's hesitation.
Staring at the massive flagship, Number 29 drooled with envy as he looked at their achievements.
Look at this! He had struggled until he was the last mecha standing, while these people had somehow secured an entire interstellar warship—and a gargantuan flagship at that!
Comparison really was the thief of joy.
Meanwhile, Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran, who had traveled all the way from the heart of enemy territory, shared a knowing smile. This first prisoner among the contestants had brought them the intelligence they wanted most.
In the era of interstellar warfare, information and intelligence were just as vital as weapons and equipment!
At that moment, Number 29, who had been incorporated into Team 18's reserve roster after surrendering, was excitedly stroking his newly acquired modified mecha while rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
*Those bastards who ambushed us... This young master is coming back with brand-new gear!*
*Wanted to gang up on me? Come at me then!*
***
Meanwhile, in the holographic simulation, the remaining twenty-eight teams were still locked in a life-and-death struggle, completely unaware that someone had already activated a "cheat code."
Actually, that wasn't quite right. There weren't twenty-eight teams left in the fray anymore.
The StarNet audience, watching the entire process, noticed that after a dizzying and chaotic free-for-all, the forces on the board were being rapidly cleared out.
Aside from a few stray cats and dogs that had managed to flee, the grand melee eventually left behind two major camps: the alliance of Team 1 and Team 30, and an unprecedented coalition of five teams.
The chattering StarNet audience didn't know yet that the Team 1 and 30 alliance consisted of the powerhouse pairing of the First Military Academy and Lanli Academy. As for the other five-team coalition, it had initially looked like a gathering of weak tail-enders huddling for warmth, but it was actually not weak at all!
At this stage, no one knew that the initiator of that five-team alliance was a regular in the tournament's top four—an old-guard powerhouse school.
However, this old-guard school was quite frustrated. Every year, they were relegated to third place, either suppressed by the First Military Academy or crushed by Lanli Academy.
The leader of this "perennial third-place" school was a formidable individual—or rather, she was a master of strategic alliances.
Indeed, the leader of this team that was sweeping through the battlefield was a female Omega. She was the year-group president of the Logistics Management major at that perennial third-place school. She used her intellect to make those personally powerful Alphas and Betas submit to her management.
A clash between the powerhouse alliance and the "Perennial Third-place Revenge Squad" was imminent.
On StarNet, as the situation became clearer, the public's interest soared. Everyone was speculating: which schools did these remaining teams belong to?
And where was Ben Military School, the one ranked above Lanli Academy and the First Military Academy when the committee released the list before the match?
Given that the combat styles of the First Military Academy and Lanli Academy were so easy to identify, once the situation stabilized, it didn't take much thought for the StarNet audience to guess that the 1-30 alliance was indeed them.
No one had expected those two perennial rivals for the championship to choose to join forces.
So the question remained: which schools made up the five-team coalition that could stand against such a powerhouse alliance? Was Ben Military School among them?
At this point, not only the StarNet netizens and the students and teachers watching from various schools, but even the team instructors of the twenty-nine schools on the isolated island and the committee members themselves were curious.
To ensure fairness, the identification numbers were randomly assigned by the system on-site. Even the committee members wouldn't know which number corresponded to which school until the final champion emerged.
This year's competition was playing with everyone's heartstrings.
Among all the committee members and instructors, the old principal, acting as the host, was perhaps the most composed.
Unlike the other committee members who were busy analyzing the situation, the old principal had guessed where his school's students were the moment he saw the current state of the board. They were simply too easy to recognize.
*These brats are being too arrogant; this won't do...*
After silently grumbling in his heart, the old principal turned around and found a certain old fellow looking at him as well.
The "old fellow" being grumbled about—the current Federation Marshal—used his eyes to ask the old principal: *Is it them? The students from Ben Military School's ace major—the Interstellar Combat Command Department?*
The old principal smiled smugly and signaled with his eyes: *See for yourself.*
The Federation Marshal shook his head, a surge of infinite interest rising in his heart. Back in his day, he hadn't been able to endure the curriculum of the Interstellar Combat Command Department and had been forced to apply for a transfer.
That's right—no one knew that the Old Marshal himself was an outstanding graduate of Ben Military School.
Everyone in the committee, except for the old principal, assumed the Marshal had come to observe in order to find a successor. After all, the Old Marshal was getting on in years. Given the Federation's current fragmented military and political system, rather than finding someone from another faction, the Marshal would prefer to cultivate his own protégé. And the quality of students in this Joint Competition was indeed far higher than in previous years.
For instance, the leaders of the First Military Academy and Lanli Academy.
It wasn't surprising that Ji Wai and Benjamin were highly regarded or even recognized. These committee judges had sharp eyes; they could tell at a glance how the "seed" players they had favored before the match were performing.
The only thing that surprised or even shocked them was the commander-in-chief of that five-team coalition. Although she still appeared slightly green, one could see she had an excellent foundation in coordination and logistics. If such a person were tempered in the military for a while, she would undoubtedly deliver a brilliant performance.
Just who was the commander of that five-team coalition?
While everyone else on the committee was focused on the grand showdown, only the old principal of Ben Military School and the Old Marshal—who had come specifically to support his alma mater and observe—noticed something peculiar outside the main fray.
After all, compared to the 1-30 alliance and the five-team coalition, which both maintained full rosters, there were still at least five or six teams on the holographic display whose numbers hadn't dropped to zero.
The remaining members of these teams might be just one or two people, but they were all individuals with formidable solo combat capabilities. These "lone brave soldiers" would take a heavy toll on anyone they encountered.
Unwilling to waste time and energy on these scattered stragglers, the two giant alliances collectively turned their sights toward each other, as both were still at full strength.
Consequently, including the StarNet netizens who were eagerly anticipating the upcoming head-on collision, no one noticed that there was another team of just two or three "stray cats" that hadn't suffered any casualties. In fact, they had somehow mysteriously gained a substitute member.
No, it was more like they were gradually gaining a few scattered substitutes, but the rate of growth was so slow and subtle that it was completely inconspicuous...
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 季崴 | Ji Wai | Leader of the First Military Academy team. |
| 本杰明 | Benjamin | Leader of the Lanli Academy team. |
| 联合大比 | Joint Competition | The inter-school tournament the characters are participating in. |
| 吊车尾 | Tail-ender / Dead last | Slang for the person or team in the last position. |
| 苟 | Turtle / Hide / Play safe | Gaming slang for playing extremely cautiously to survive. |
| 万年老三 | Perennial third-place | A school or person that consistently ranks third. |
| 合纵连横 | Strategic alliances | A reference to the "Vertical and Horizontal" alliances of the Warring States period; refers to clever diplomacy and maneuvering. |
| 星际作战指挥系 | Interstellar Combat Command Department | The elite major at Ben Military School. |
| 联邦元帅 | Federation Marshal | A high-ranking military official and alumnus of Ben Military School. |
--- blank ---
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
Starry Rebirth: The Warden and the Outlaw’s Interstellar Revenge | Chapter 25 | Recruiting the Strays | Novela.app | Novela.app
