Back in the apartment, Ziye opened the duel profiles, scanned them quickly, couldn't bear to look further, and tossed them to Little Sprout. "Extract the key points for me."

Little Sprout was sprawled on the table, playing dead.

Ziye poked it; it merely grumbled, rolled over, and fell to the floor.

She couldn't help but sigh. Even the little thing was frightened?

Staff members were positioned on either side, and Mei Jing was currently undergoing an investigation by them.

As the challenger, he was treated severely. The staff meticulously questioned every detail of his family background and upbringing, fearful that he was fighting for personal revenge rather than academic pursuit.

Mei Jing was so irritated he wanted to explode.

Fortunately, his self-control was decent; despite his arrogance, he did not lose his temper with the personnel.

After the staff left, Mei Jing sat in place for a while, took a sip of water, and turned to enter the inner room.

In the inner room, Du Shuangyu had both feet propped up on the surface of the Jin Si Nanmu table, leaning back against the chair. A sidelong glance caught sight of him pushing the door open, and Du Shuangyu spoke with a tone steeped in arrogance and confidence: "I guarantee your duel application will pass smoothly."

Mei Jing smoothed away his proud expression and replied humbly, "Thank you, Young Master."

Du Shuangyu nodded. "Prepare thoroughly for this duel. You must show her your dominance immediately!"

Mei Jing didn't take Ziye seriously. "Rest assured, she’s just a girl from the Armor Repair department. I will definitely beat her until she’s spitting teeth."

Du Shuangyu lowered his legs, sat up straight, scrutinized Mei Jing’s face, and his tone sharpened slightly: "Don't speak too definitively. She is a direct admission student from the Mecha Academy. Her physical conditioning is also formidable. You must be completely prepared before the duel!"

Mei Jing hadn't undergone basic military training with Ziye, so he didn't know her true depth, but Du Shuangyu had suffered losses at her hands and remembered them clearly.

Mei Jing was merely a probe he sent out.

It would be best if he won, but if he couldn't, he should at least gauge her limits.

Ziye...

Du Shuangyu silently mouthed the name. By then, don't blame him, Du Shuangyu, for being ruthless!

Du Shuangyu was strikingly handsome, but when he was deep in thought, an intensely gloomy expression naturally surfaced, chilling those around him.

Mei Jing felt the room temperature drop considerably and quickly straightened his posture. "Yes."

Du Shuangyu tapped on the light-brain, and the virtual light screen on the wall opened. He played the latest promotional video from Ling Si, freezing the frame on the scene where Ziye and Tang Wen stood side-by-side building a mecha model. "Look at her hand movements; they are quite professional. If she maintains this speed during mecha combat, you'll need to be cautious."

Mei Jing snorted dismissively. "It's just a promotional video. Even the best effects can be manufactured."

Du Shuangyu stared intently at the screen, watching Ziye and Tang Wen's nearly identical movements. He remarked casually, "Who knows? What if it's real?"

Only then did Mei Jing pay close attention to the promotional video. The movements of the two were extremely fast, and this particular segment was very brief. He replayed it three times, then followed along, mimicking the hand gestures and actions shown on the video.

After finishing, cold sweat had already soaked his spine.

If that speed was genuine, then he and she were on entirely different levels!

Du Shuangyu noticed his expression and inquired, "What is your hand speed ranking in the Mecha Combat department?"

Mei Jing, drenched in cold sweat, replied, "Top fifty."

There were five hundred students in the Mecha Combat department; being in the top fifty was already an excellent result. Du Shuangyu deliberated briefly. "The post-production likely increased the speed by about 30%. No matter how skilled the Armor Repair department is, they can’t surpass the top rank of Mecha Combat."

Mei Jing just gave an "Mm" and remained silent.

Du Shuangyu was displeased with his attitude and turned his head, only to see Mei Jing staring blankly at the virtual screen, seemingly researching something. Du Shuangyu didn't call him; he crossed his arms and leaned against the table, waiting for him to snap out of it.

After a moment, Mei Jing turned back. "Young Master, do you think she and Tang Wen look a bit alike?"

Du Shuangyu raised an eyebrow, shifting his focus from their hands to comparing the two from head to toe. In the end, he also felt the two shared a similarity.

Not in appearance, but in temperament.

It felt like they were cut from the same cloth, from start to finish.

Their auras were so aligned.

Du Shuangyu tapped the desktop. "I'll go check if they have any blood relation."

The procedures for the duel application were tedious, but the timing was set quickly: one month later.

When Ziye received the notification from the school, all she wanted to do was curl up on her ** and play dead. Why did she agree in the first place? Could she still back out now? After more than a week of arduous effort, she grasped a truth: squeezing out time for practice was genuinely difficult.

She closed her eyes and mentally crossed off robot research and completing assignments on the Mecha Movement Forum.

Fortunately, she only needed one month to focus on practicing mecha combat; otherwise, she would collapse sooner or later.

Little Sprout swayed leisurely on the windowsill, watching her miserable face.

If people didn't court death, they wouldn't die—why couldn't they understand that?

Helplessly, she sent an urgent communication to Li Chunyu.

Li Chunyu had already heard about her impending duel. He shook his head helplessly. "On Ling Si, it's better to keep a low profile. Once a person becomes famous, trouble follows. You can't be low-key anymore; you had better prepare mentally to deal with problems."

Ziye sensed meaning behind his words. "Did you experience this before?"

Li Chunyu smiled faintly. "Yes, I did. You absolutely must not lose this duel. After a loss, everyone will want to step on you. It will be difficult for you to recover then."

If she won, the effect would be the opposite.

Those inferior to Mei Jing wouldn't dare challenge her lightly, and those superior to Mei Jing often couldn't afford a loss, so they probably wouldn't seek her out for a duel either.

In a way, Ziye was fortunate because she had Tang Wen backing her.

On the other hand, she was perhaps the most tragic, as the more famous Tang Wen became, the more hardships she would encounter.

Li Chunyu pitied her but could not do much for her.

Because this was a difficulty she had to resolve independently by standing by Tang Wen’s side.

As long as she could successfully place herself at the pinnacle of Ling Si, she would become a legend.

Ziye understood this deep down, but she just needed someone to vent to. She whined, "My mecha combat skills are trash. What should I do?"

Li Chunyu hardened his resolve. "You must study! Even if you have to skip other classes, you must learn!"

Ziye sighed softly. "I know. Do you have any good teachers to recommend?"

Li Chunyu thought for a moment. There were several decent instructors in the Mecha Combat department, but cramming for a month under a teacher's tutelage seemed impractical. He knew a little mecha combat himself, but it was based on the unified training of the Huaxia Corps, which wasn't suitable to teach her.

"Find Aikesbent!" Li Chunyu finally remembered them and confidently recommended, "Dong Dian’s mecha combat ranks first in the stars. They are Dong Dian’s ace pilots; you can ask them to teach you."

Ziye felt despair.

The twins were away in special training!

She thanked Li Chunyu, leaned back on the sofa, and counted the days—they wouldn't return for another two weeks.

Starting training then would likely be too late.

At this point, her only recourse was Little Sprout.

Letting Little Sprout act as her instructor, PK-ing for a month in the Virtual Pilot Training Base—she refused to believe she couldn't handle one Mei Jing!

If she could encounter a pilot of the Platinum Tycoon caliber, her progress would only accelerate!

She never expected fate to favor her so much; during that week's lessons, Bran directly announced, "This month's curriculum is learning to pilot mechas."

Ziye was ecstatic.

What did it mean to search high and low for something only to find it without effort? She finally understood—this was better than pie falling from the sky!

More than that, she felt a warmth in her heart.

It’s because he remembers Mei Jing challenged her that he’s teaching me!

Bran’s expression softened slightly. "You don't need to. Just call me Bran."

Ziye nodded vigorously, overjoyed. "I’d be too willing! I’m so happy! Thank you, Bran, thank you, Teacher Bran."

She then remembered a potential issue. "I’m not old enough; will that be a problem?"

Bran was unconcerned. "Age doesn't dictate everything. The standard for piloting a mecha is whether the body can withstand a four-times gravity field. As long as you meet that, there's no issue."

A four-times gravity field? Only four times!

Ziye was so thrilled she almost rushed forward to hug Bran.

This was the best news imaginable. On Silver Talisman Star, she could withstand a ten-times gravity field; a four-times field was definitely not a challenge.

Bran was surprised by her excitement. After informing Tang Wen, they headed to the force field chamber together.

The Research Institute was fully equipped with a complete set of force field chambers, which they could enter anytime for a quick session, like taking a sauna, to practice the body's and spirit's endurance.

Bran explained as they walked. "Piloting an ordinary mecha requires passing through a three-times gravity field; military mechas require four times. Ordinary mechas aren't worth learning, so I won't teach you; we'll go straight to military mechas."

Ziye nodded and took note.

Tang Wen, walking ahead, suddenly turned back. "My requirements aren't high. It's enough if you can pass the six-times gravity field."

Ziye was momentarily speechless.

Right, this requirement was genuinely not high.

Ziye thought for a moment and asked, "Bran, how many times can you pass?"

Force field chambers always had a front door and a back door; entering through the front and exiting through the back led directly into the next level of the force field chamber.

Bran didn't answer, continuing to walk without pause—one, two, three, four—he didn't stop, nor did he even glance back at Ziye. Ziye followed him, passing through effortlessly.

Tang Wen didn't look like a pilot at all; facing the four-times gravity field, he showed no change in expression, walking forward leisurely with one hand in his pocket.

Ziye secretly glanced at him, feeling astonished. Was Designer Tang a master of mecha combat?

Reaching the six-times gravity field, Bran deliberately slowed his pace. Seeing Ziye's expression remain relaxed, a slight change flickered in his eyes. Ziye made a face at him, indicating she was perfectly fine.

A long time ago, Tang Shan had told her that piloting a mecha placed a certain pressure on the body, and if physical conditioning was inadequate, it could easily cause harm. The force field strength endured was consistent with the forces exerted while piloting a mecha; the more intense the field one could withstand, the easier mecha piloting would be.

On Silver Talisman Star, Tang Shan used to throw her into the central force field to spin around for no reason.

That was why she could stand before them so easily today.

In that instant, Ziye felt overwhelming gratitude toward Tang Shan.

Not just because he had taken her in, but because of his foresight.