At the joint operations headquarters of the Federal First Military Academy and Lanli Academy, the joint commanders, Ji Wei and Benjamin, faced each other with solemn expressions.
"The situation isn't looking good," Benjamin said. "Our individual combat capabilities and equipment are superior, but the enemy's troop strength is nearly triple ours."
Between Lanli Academy and the First Military Academy, including substitutes, they had a total of twenty-seven people. Their opponents, the five-team union, had a full roster of ninety. This meant the enemy out-mecha’d them by more than sixty units.
When the numerical gap between opposing sides was this vast, the advantage of individual skill became difficult to fully realize. Even Ji Wei wasn't powerful enough to pull off a one-man army slaughter against such odds—especially since the opposing coalition was far from weak.
Benjamin estimated that the lead team of the opposition was at least one of the top ten seeds, though he didn't know which school it was. His deduction was accurate, but he didn't realize that the five-team union wasn't just one top-ten team; it was a coalition of two top-ten powerhouses and three mid-tier teams.
With such formidable collective strength bolstered by an absolute numerical advantage, even the "power couple" of the First Military Academy and Lanli Academy could face a total Waterloo if they weren't careful.
Facing such a powerful foe, Ji Wei, the leader of the First Military Academy, straightened his collar and said calmly, "No problem. I’ll lead the charge."
He was confident that he was the undisputed number one talent in this entire league. Having already earned a military rank within the regular army, Ji Wei felt that very few of these students actually possessed abilities worth his notice.
Faced with Ji Wei’s prideful, bordering on arrogant, remarks, Benjamin frowned slightly. He naturally didn't have a great impression of the man. As a student who had already entered the Lanli Research Institute before graduation, Benjamin never flaunted his achievements. He knew all too well that there was always a taller mountain and a wider sky.
The Lanli Research Institute had a twenty-year-old Chief who, despite being aloof and keeping a low profile, represented a level of strength that the Lanli lineage took very seriously.
The rest of the Lanli team shared their leader's attitude toward Ji Wei's declaration. However, among the Lanli contingent, only Hill—the small Omega brought along as a substitute—held a different view. He stole a glance at Ji Wei, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.
*A disparity in forces, a desperate counterattack.* Hill lowered his head and clenched his fists silently. He felt he had found the perfect moment to show his worth, even though the "System" had gone strangely silent ever since they entered the holographic battlefield.
Soon, the netizens on the Star Net, who had been following the event closely, finally witnessed the long-awaited head-on collision between the two major camps. In the vastness of space, countless mechas ascended, forming ranks for a direct clash.
At the same time, the scattered remnants of other schools drifting on the periphery received a warning from the holographic system: *If you do not engage with another force within thirty minutes, you will be deemed to have forfeited.*
The organizing committee was making a statement: Winning by "camping" was not an option!
Consequently, the remaining stragglers threw themselves into the massive collision between the two camps, like fish entering troubled waters.
The battlefield became a chaotic mess, the sky filled with the silent, brilliant blooms of artillery fire.
The most eye-catching figure was Ji Wei, leading twenty-three mechas into the fray. Aside from the First Military Academy’s vice-leader, Benjamin, and the substitute Hill, who remained at the rear base, the combined forces of the First Military Academy and Lanli Academy committed everything to the front lines, launching a direct, lightning-fast blitzkrieg.
Under Ji Wei’s lead, the mecha vanguard drove straight in like a spear. They ignored the five-team union’s harassment tactics and the surrounding "small fry," pushing the advantage of their superior individual combat power to the limit.
*To catch the bandits, first catch their king!*
The five-team union’s greatest strength was their coordinated warfare, but their greatest weakness was the same: if they lost the leader who acted as the glue and coordinator, they would crumble into a heap of loose sand.
Ji Wei’s sharp eyes saw through the union’s weakness. His goal was to take out their commander!
Watching Ji Wei lead the charge on the holographic system, countless netizens felt their blood boil, especially when his lead mecha displayed unparalleled combat prowess. Youth in any era worshipped the strong, and as the Federation was currently in a phase of aggressive outward expansion, that mecha cutting through the lines was watched by millions.
When the mecha unleashed its full power, it managed to achieve a triple-kill against three enemy mechas in a single second.
"That’s impossible!" a netizen exclaimed. "How did he do that?"
Everyone knew Lanli Academy’s technological might was formidable, and based on the combat power shown during the earlier "trash-clearing" phase, the modified mechas were indeed superior to other teams. But a one-second triple-kill was unheard of.
"Cheating?" someone suspected.
Naturally, fans fired back: "They didn't need their full strength to clear out the trash! A powerful mecha pilot can draw out 200% of a machine's potential!"
"Bullshit! I’m a mecha combat major!"
"Tsk! Those who didn't make the cut are just losers. Stop pretending to be experts!"
In an instant, the internet was a battlefield of insults.
Meanwhile, only the members of the organizing committee, the instructors from the twenty-nine schools, and the strong but unlucky contestants who hadn't qualified noticed the truth: that mecha had been secondary-modified to output 200% of its rated combat capacity.
In such a short time, with such limited resources, how was it done? The creativity of the student who performed that modification could very well be a generational breakthrough!
"This...?" Benjamin, who had also noticed the anomaly, was shocked. He had personally modified the mecha Ji Wei was piloting. He knew exactly where its performance limits were, yet in Ji Wei’s hands, it was exceeding those limits.
How was that possible?
Benjamin couldn't figure it out until a thought suddenly struck him. When he was modifying this mecha, there had been one other person acting as his assistant—Hill!
*Hill?* Benjamin turned back, somewhat dazed, and for the first time, he clearly saw the fanaticism in the eyes of the Omega he had thought was merely sweet and cute.
In those emerald-green eyes, there was raw, naked ambition.
***
"Where did this monster come from?" As the commander of the five-team union and the leader of the "Perennial Third" school, the female Omega was forced into a tactical retreat under the cover of her teammates.
However, the stragglers scavenging in the chaos were like sharks smelling blood. They swarmed forward—these were lone wolves with high individual skill who didn't care about the consequences; their only goal was to take someone down with them.
Just as almost every spectator thought the first clash between the two giants would end with the five-team union suffering losses and being forced to retreat, a sudden change occurred.
A viewer on the Star Net screamed in shock: "Look! Enemy fleet incoming!"
In a sector of space that had previously only seen mecha skirmishes, a massive interstellar warship suddenly appeared. The colossal vessel blotted out the stars, its shadow completely engulfing the mechas locked in combat.
It was an invincible titan. Beneath its shadow, the contestants' mechas looked like mere ants.
In the dead silence, the hangars on the underside of the flagship opened. Wave after wave of combat drones and strike craft descended, covering the sky and surrounding the mecha combat zone.
The massive formations of flight craft roared past, their intersecting fire creating a blanket of artillery that paved the stars with brilliant explosions.
Ji Wei: "..."
The Perennial Third Leader: "..."
Benjamin: "..."
The rest of the Star Net spectators: "..."
The "enemy attack" ended as quickly as it had begun. These small combat craft moved in perfect synchronization, sweeping through like a hot knife through butter. When they roared past, nothing was left alive on the battlefield.
Forget Ji Wei and his one-second triple-kill; even Benjamin and the others in the far rear didn't escape.
The sudden battle had started and finished in less than a minute. It was a textbook demonstration of what a true lightning war looked like, instantly making Ji Wei’s previous "lone hero" charge look like a children's game.
In less than a minute, a total wipeout!
Ji Wei: "!"
The Perennial Third Leader: "!"
Benjamin: "!"
Star Net Viewers: "!"
*So... who is the champion? Did anyone see?*
After a deathly silence, someone on the Star Net posted a soul-wrenching question: "Did anyone see which team survived until the end?"
No wonder the first rule of the competition was "whoever survives to the end wins." They had been too naive! Far too naive!
The turn of events on the holographic battlefield happened so fast it left the organizing committee stunned. They finally realized something was wrong and turned to glare at the old Principal.
*What happened?!*
Wasn't the "enemy attack" condition only supposed to trigger when only one team was left? They wanted to see how far this year's champion could go, not how fast they could die!
At this moment, facing the committee's interrogation, even the old Principal was a bit stunned.
*What, did I forget to change the settings again? That shouldn't be right...*
Just as the confused Principal was about to take the blame, the old Marshal, who had been sitting quietly as a mascot, spoke up: "The match isn't over. There is still one team left. The *real* enemy attack is about to begin."
Hearing this, the committee members hurriedly looked at the holographic screen. There, behind a long, shocking list of teams marked with red zeros, was a single team still at full strength.
Full strength? Team 18?!
Wait, what the hell were those "Substitute 1, 2, 3, 4" labels on Team 18?!
At that moment, the viewers on the Star Net, the teachers and students of the various schools, and the contestants who had been relegated to spectators after their "deaths" all focused their gaze on Team 18—the team that had finally bared its true fangs after clearing the board.
Simultaneously, the simulation's main AI recognized the command. The "Enemy Attack Mode" was finally triggered passively. A system-generated capital ship, leading a massive fleet, warped into the star system.
The hidden "Easter Egg" the old Principal had set was finally activated!
Aboard the logistics starship, Ji Yeran watched the scene and gestured to the four stragglers he had just recruited. "Let's go."
No. 29, who had just witnessed a round of "dimensional strikes" and thought he was useless, looked up in a daze. "Boss, where are we going?"
Ji Yeran looked back and smiled, his tone relaxed and casual. "To a fight."
***
**Glossary**
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 万年老三 | Perennial Third | A nickname for a school that consistently ranks third, never reaching the top two. |
| 擒贼擒王 | To catch the bandits, first catch their king | An idiom meaning to solve a problem by capturing the leader. |
| 降维打击 | Dimensional Strike | Originally a sci-fi term (from *The Three-Body Problem*); refers to an attack from a higher level of power that makes the opponent's defense irrelevant. |
| 苟胜利 | Camping for victory | "Gou" (苟) means to play stealthily or survive by hiding; "camping" in gaming terms. |
| 蓝礼研究院 | Lanli Research Institute | The prestigious research arm associated with Lanli Academy. |
| 季崴 | Ji Wei | Leader of the First Military Academy team. |
| 希尔 | Hill | An Omega substitute in the Lanli Academy team. |
| 十八号战队 | Team 18 | The team consisting of the protagonists (Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran). |
