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Character ListQiao Zhiya: Half-elf, half-dwarf MC.
Chu Rong: Marshal ML.
Chu Yan: ML’s younger brother. Is the same age as MC, currently attending intermediate college.
Chu Huai: ML’s older brother, he’s in politics.
Xiang Kun: Chu Yan’s mortal enemy. Xiang Hui’s younger brother. Mecha manufacturing student.
Xiang Hui: A colonel. The Xiang family’s current heir. Xiang Kun’s older brother.
Yuan Xiu: Chu Yan’s bestfriend.
Liu Hongzi: One of Chu Yan’s enemy. Xiang Kun is currently affiliated to him.
On the next day, the final competition of the fifth-grade mecha driving competition officially kicked off.
The competition lasted for five days, and the first three days were random matching points competitions. One point was awarded for every win, while one point was deducted for every loss. Students need to reach 100 points to qualify for the tournament. For those who failed to qualify, their result would be ranked according to the points they got.
For three days, the game time was eight hours a day, and the maximum time for each game was ten minutes. If there was no winner after ten minutes, the system will judge the winner based on the damage inflicted and the degree of the damage to one’s mecha.
Deducting the intermission time from the total eight hours, as long as the student kept competing, there’s about 40 battles a day. Even if they keep winning, it would take almost two days to accumulate enough points to qualify.
During breakfast, Qiao Zhiya made up his mind after learning about the competition system. He was very worried, “How can you bear such a long battle? If the mecha is damaged during this period, won’t you be unable to participate in the subsequent qualifying competitions?”
Chu Yan and Yuan Xiu were taken aback when they heard his question. Then they all laughed out loud, and hurriedly helped him to understand how it actually worked.
It turned out that the school has a self-developed competition program using the VR World. The random match points competition in the first three days was not a real mecha battle, but a virtual battle. The mechas used by everyone in the virtual arena were the standard ones provided by the system. It ensured the  fairness of the competition – so it was 100% skill-based, but it also made sure that the student’s mecha wouldn’t be damaged early. Plus, virtual simulation wasn’t as tiring as the real one.
Qiao Zhiya suddenly realized, shaking his ears in embarrassment, and continued to ask, “Then how do I watch the match? I thought everyone was competing in the training hall…”
“Yes, it was indeed done in that hall. Because it is a virtual competition, the competition process will be synchronized to the school’s client. You can write down the student numbers of me and Yuan Xiu. After the competition starts, you can directly search for our numbers to watch it. Plus, the school also invited the family of the student’s, so the audience will be lively.” Chu Yan patted him on the shoulder and continued explaining with a smile, “To make you less bored, how about I solve the battle in a day?”
“One day?” Qiao Zhiya was flabbergasted by Chu Yan’s confidence. He asked, his face full of confusion, “No, if it takes ten minutes for one match, in eight hours you can only…”
“Who said it will take me ten minutes for one measly match?” Chu Yan interrupted him. He looked at Yuan Xiu and smiled confidently, “One minute is enough to deal with those rookies.” There were only a few in the whole grade who could match his strength. For him, fighting those normal students was just one-sided abuse.
After breakfast, Chu Yan and Yuan Xiu went to the information building of Campus A, where the virtual competition was held. Qiao Zhiya returned to the dormitory, opened the school client, and found the viewing page. He entered Chu Yan’s student number in advance, and entered his audience-only view to wait for the match to start.
At exactly eight o’clock, the picture appeared in the dark room on time, and an ordinary standard mecha appeared in the middle of the screen, with Chu Rong’s student number displayed on the top of the mecha.
Qiao Zhiya subconsciously held his breath. Just by looking at the words “Randomly matching opponents” displayed in the middle of the screen, his palms were already sweating nervously.
After Chu Yan’s opponent was decided, the screen changed, and Chu Yan was teleported into the battlefield. Opposite of him, stood a mecha that looked exactly like him, but had another student number on its head.
After the ten-second protection time passed, the two mechas rushed together.
Thirty seconds later, Chu Yan easily defeated his opponent and scored his first point.
Qiao Zhiya: “…”
He silently wiped off the sweat from his palms, remembering what Chu Huai once said that Chu Yan likes quick battles. His expression became calm – if he wins at this speed, Xiao Yan would indeed qualify soon.
Afterwards, Chu Yan continued to play in this efficient one-hit kill mode, accumulating points crazily. By the end of the four-hour battle time in the morning, he already racked up more than 50 points, and was ranked first in the standings. The second placer, Yuan Xiu, has a big difference in points compared to Chu Yan’s – it was more than ten.
During this period, he still had time to chat with Qiao Zhiya who was watching the game for a long time. He also wasted some time waiting for the system to match his opponent, so this result could be said to be very scary, but also very impressive.
Qiao Zhiya was so excited that he counted the time and rushed out of the dormitory to the information building, found Chu Yan and Yuan Xiu, and happily invited them to the cafeteria for a big meal during the break time.
In the afternoon game, Chu Yan met several players who were within the top ten of the standings, and fought a few battles for five to ten minutes. The speed of gaining points slowed down, but it still increased steadily. By the end of today’s game, he only needed five more points to qualify – all his matches ended in his victory.
After getting this result, Qiao Zhiya was even more excited than Chu Yan himself. He hurriedly prepared dinner and fruit for him, told him not to play too late, and ordered a full set of leisure massages for him. He wanted Chu Yan to relax, so he would be full of energy for tomorrow’s matches.
Chu Yan, who had never had such an experience of being this pampered by his family during an exam, was first flattered, then embarrassed, and finally moved. He hugged Qiao Zhiya’s thigh, and while howling, he decided in his heart that such a good saozi must not get away! His erge must marry him! He will make sure of it!
Qiao Zhiya looked at his aggrieved and touched look, patting his head with complicated emotions. He sighed as he thought, ‘Xiao Yan is still a child… he definitely needs extra care.’
At ten o’clock in the evening, Chu Rong’s good night message came on time.
Qiao Zhiya sat upright on the bed, and when Chu Rong’s figure appeared in mid-air, he spoke solemnly first, “Chu Rong, we need to talk.”
Chu Rong, who was distractedly flipping through the documents, frowned at the words, withdrawing his gentle look. He looked at the blond youth with deep eyes, and answered with an equally deep tone, “Qiao Zhiya, if you can’t give a reasonable explanation for your very inappropriate attitude now, I will talk to you when you come back here for vacation.”
Inappropriate attitude?
The seriousness on Qiao Zhiya’s face was instantly broken. He tugged at his clothes helplessly, his ears trembled nervously, but still tried to maintain a “serious” look that actually appeared sullen for Chu Rong. He replied, “I think my current attitude is very suitable for the topic I am about to talk about.”
A topic that was very suitable for this expression of “I want to talk about breaking up with you?” Does this damned Bald Chicken want to run away?
Chu Rong closed the document, sat upright, put his hand on the armrest of the chair and tapped it lightly. With an inscrutable look, he lightly ordered, “Alright, say it.”
Maybe he has been too indulgent to the Bald Chicken recently. It actually caused him to have some thoughts that he shouldn’t have. So in fact, Bald Chicken’s insistence on staying in school to watch Xiao Yan’s competition after the holiday is a kind of temptation? Tentatively leaving Chu’s house, out of his sight——
“This year’s final competition is Xiao Yan’s last competition in the Intermediate Academy. Next year, he will prepare for the Military Academy’s entrance exam.” Qiao Zhiya said seriously, suppressing the nervousness when facing Chu Rong’s cold face. He still put on a brave face as he continued, “As Xiao Yan’s parental-figure, shouldn’t you pay attention to Xiao Yan’s performance in school? I have noticed that other students’ competition rooms have parents entering and watching, but Xiao Yan’s competition room is always only me alone. As his older brother, can you watch? Tomorrow is the weekend, so I think… y-you shouldn’t have work to be done, right?” At the end, he couldn’t help but soften his tone, and his serious expression collapsed. He looked up to Chu Rong with an adorable and pleading look.
Chu Rong’s finger pointing at the handrail froze, and the more he listened, the more unpredictable his expression became. He squinted his eyes and looked at the youth, and looked at the trembling pointy ears. He wanted to ask why Qiao Zhiya used that kind of expression, but instead he asked, “ …Is this what you want to talk about?”
‘Tell me to watch Chu Yan’s final match?’
“Yes, yes.” Qiao Zhiya nodded. He was so frightened by the Marshal’s unpredictable attitude that he stuttered, and asked back almost immediately, “W-what else?”
‘Don’t tell me… my attitude is inappropriate for this topic as well…?’
Ancestor Chu finally understood why Qiao Zhiya looked like that. He didn’t want to admit it, thinking about Qiao Zhiya “going independent” frightened him. He even entertained the idea to scare off the stupid Bald Chicken if he ever had that dangerous thought.
“Okay, I’ll go to watch it.” He nodded, agreed to the invitation very eloquently, then pointed to Qiao Zhiya with deep eyes and a cold tone, and said quietly, “And you, after the holiday, I have something to talk to you about.” After speaking, he hung up the communication directly.
Qiao Zhiya was so frightened by Chu Rong’s parting words that his heart almost stopped. He stared blankly at the half-empty space where the hologram was seen for a long time before standing up and turned back to his room.
‘What does the White-Haired Monster want to talk to me about? That, such a terrifying expression… is it possible that he discovered my origin?’
‘No, no, no, I have been obediently going to school recently, without doing anything suspicious. It is impossible for the White-Haired Monster to find out my origin. He should want to talk about other things.’
‘The only unusual thing is… helping Xiao Yan to repair his energy bl–’
‘Oh shit.’
‘Could it be that Chu Rong is blaming me for secretly adding a magic circle to the energy blade? No, it shouldn’t be. I didn’t even tell Chu Yan about that, let alone Chu Rong.’
Thinking hard to no avail, the simple dwarf boy was so frightened that he couldn’t eat well or sleep soundly, and even the fact that Chu Yan qualified for the finals with a complete victory the next day couldn’t make him jump in joy. Chu Yan and Yuan Xiu were concerned and asked, but he denied everything and only said that he was afraid his mood would affect their future matches.
At ten o’clock in the evening, Chu Rong’s good night message didn’t come. Qiao Zhiya changed from waiting anxiously to being depressed. Half an hour later, he climbed onto the bed and wrapped himself in a quilt. After sending Chu Rong a good night message, he closed his eyes and fell asleep pitifully.
In the study room, Chu Rong looked at the newly sent message, and knocked on the table irritably—no, he couldn’t give Qiao Zhiya the carrot all the time… plus this stupid Bald Chicken didn’t even initiate the call. He shouldn’t… reply it…
‘It’s really hard being a guardian…’
After another day of rest, the highlight of the competition finally arrived.
There are a total of more than two hundred qualified students. The school’s examination system divided the students into four groups according to their strength. First, there will be an elimination competition within the group, and then the five winners from each group will compete for the final top 20.
Chu Yan perfectly avoided his friend Yuan Xiu and his old rival Liu Hongzi, and entered Group D with the largest number of players alone.
Qiao Zhiya came to the training hall early to find a seat, waited for the game to start, and looked forward to Chu Rong’s arrival. They hadn’t contacted each other for two days, this was the first time this happened this long. He was not used to it.
Other students came to watch the tournament one after another, and the parents of some qualifying students also rushed over. The seats around him gradually filled up, and the training hall became more and more lively.
At eight o’clock, the competition officially started. All the students entered the arena and came to their respective battle areas, waiting for the competition to start.
Qiao Zhiya withdrew his gaze from the entrance of the training hall, and pulled the strap of the communicator. Chu Rong couldn’t come… probably busy again…
Then, there was a sudden exclamation from the edge of the crowd, followed by suppressed whispers and excited screams. Both the competitors and the teachers all looked at this commotion. Then, after they saw what caused it, they looked like they had seen a ghost.
Xiang Kun, who deliberately changed his seat so he was behind Qiao Zhiya and was about to “stimulate” Chu Yan during the game, also widened his eyes and almost fell off his chair in fright.
What, what’s going on? Why did that evil spirit of the Chu family come here?
At a glance, Chu Rong saw the lost little figure lying on the front railing. That stupid Bald Chicken has slumped ears, making Chu Rong’s brows furrowed. He forcibly suppressed the impatience of being looked at by everyone like a monkey, although his expression still froze. He walked over quickly, treating everyone around him as air.
The turmoil in the arena was too obvious. Qiao Zhiya was a little confused at first, then his heart jumped when he noticed Chu Yan’s expression, directed to his seating area. He wanted to turn his head to look but didn’t dare.
‘Is it the White-Haired Monster? Is he really here? Didn’t he ignore my request? If n–’
“Why do you look like that? Sit down properly.” A familiar indifferent voice sounded above his head. Then his back collar was pulled, pulling his body closer into contact with a firm chest with a familiar scent.
“Chu…” He murmured, and finally couldn’t help turning his head, and then he let out a low cry of surprise after seeing that familiar cold face with impatience. He turned around and hugged the Marshal’s arm with bright eyes , looked up at him, and said happily, “Are you here? Are you really here? I, I—”
“Shut up, you’re looking stupid now.” Chu Rong’s bad mood finally got better, and he sat down next to Qiao Zhiya. On the chair, he turned his head and glanced coldly at the eavesdropping onlookers. His eyes stopped on Xiang Kun, then he turned around and frowned and tidied up his hair. He raised his voice to all the onlookers, “Concentrate on watching the game.”
Qiao Zhiya was so happy that he got carried away. He sat down obediently and nodded vigorously when hearing Chu Rong’s command – which wasn’t directed to him, “Okay, let’s watch the game. Come on, Xiao Yan! If you win, I’ll treat you to lunch!”
Affected by Chu Rong’s strong aura, the people around them immediately bolted away. Even the seats next to them were immediately vacated. They honestly fixed their sights on the arena, and no longer dared to look around again.
‘It’s really Chu Rong, damn it, this final competition is really exciting.’ An audience member thought.
On the arena , Chu Yan looked at his erge and his future er-saozi sitting next to each other, and his heart was full of vicissitudes of tears—he was competing, while those two were being all lovey-dovey. According to his previous experience, after the competition, he definitely would be criticized by him… My God, this was simply the worst end of his semester…
At the same time, the communicators of some parents in the Intermediate College received messages from their own children: [The evil god of the Chu family came to the school to watch Chu San’s game! The atmosphere was terrifying! Help!]