Ziye was seething, ready to lash out at the first person she encountered just to vent her anger. She never expected that she would be the one getting thoroughly thrashed in the end! The most critical element in mecha combat is composure; one must never rush things. Ziye was so intent on dominating her opponent that she neglected her own defense during her aggressive approach, leaving herself wide open. Her opponent was a calm individual who seized the opening and hammered her mercilessly. By the end, Ziye was coughing up blood from the sheer force of the beating.

She rubbed her aching forehead as she walked out of the Virtual Pilot Training Base, rolling twice on the soft carpet before grabbing a cushion from the sofa and muffling her voice into it. "Xiao Dou, I lost so badly," she grumbled.

Xiao Douya, who was deep in the database of some unknown legion on the desk, merely lifted its head upon hearing her, then merrily resumed its exploration, completely ignoring her.

Ziye felt utterly dejected. Even Xiao Douya wouldn't pay attention to her!

She pondered intensely whether she should dive back into the Virtual Pilot Training Base to find someone to beat up. In her current state, the probability of her being the one thrashed was even higher. Ziye had to admit that her current mental state was rather precarious. Just a few days ago, she was riding high, sweeping through opponents, and now the tables had turned, and she was the one being dominated. It was like falling from heaven straight into hell; pretending she wasn't close to cracking was a lie.

Ziye climbed up, took a shower to clear her head, and decided to wait until her composure returned before making any plans. She had missed quite a few classes recently and could catch up now.

She casually clicked on a course video for Energy System Control, but just as she was about to start watching, an alert chimed—it was Alexbent, whom she hadn't seen in ages.

Ziye instantly sprang back to full energy, cheering, "Are you two done with your special training?"

Alexbent flashed a cool two-finger salute—it was unclear if it meant "V" or the number two—"That's right! Little Ye'er, where are you? We're coming over to mooch a meal!"

Ziye was about to tell them her location when she paused. This place was slated to be the future headquarters for the Silver Seal People. Letting them over might not be ideal. And as for Tang Wen's research institute, nobody got in without a pass personally issued by him; even the Supreme Commander of the Star Federation would be turned away.

Alexbent definitely couldn't get in.

So, she changed her mind. "I'll come to you instead. I have a few questions about mecha combat I need to ask."

Alex immediately understood. "About the duel?"

Ziye was surprised. "You know about that?"

Bent chuckled. "Chun Niu told us. He thought you were training with us. Come on, we’ll give you some pointers to beat that guy until he’s spitting teeth!"

Hearing them, Ziye’s confidence surged back. With the ace pilots from Dongdian Military University advising her, she should be fine, right?

Alex’s expression turned serious. "We are very strict. Send us the video of your recent fights first—one win and one loss."

Ziye agreed; it made sense. It took her about ten minutes to travel from Cole to Kaga. If they watched the videos first, they could start analyzing immediately when she arrived, saving valuable time. She selected two clips: one showing her combat sequence against the 1500 unit, and the other detailing her humbling defeat by Platinum Tycoon.

After sending the videos, she briefly messaged Chao Xun and Blan, grabbed Xiao Douya, and headed for Lings.

It was class time, so the campus was nearly deserted, save for the occasional few who were clearly skipping. She parked her shuttle on the landing pad of the Dongdian Military Base and, as soon as she stepped off, saw the twins waving at her.

Unchanged over two months, the twins were surprisingly bulkier than before. In the 15° C weather, they were wearing sleeveless tops, revealing hard-earned muscle, and they were significantly tanner.

Alex noticed Ziye’s gaze lingering on them and clapped a hand onto her shoulder. "Crushing on Brother? Think I look more masculine now that I'm darker?"

Ziye rolled her eyes. "Narcissist!"

Alex burst into loud laughter.

Bent chose to ignore his companion. "The training base application was approved, Little Ye'er! Let's go PK!"

Ziye immediately trotted after him like an eager puppy.

After a few steps, Bent added, "Rylatis took a leave of absence."

Ziye was blank for a moment before remembering the girl she’d had a spat with previously. She was startled. "It wasn't because of us, was it?"

Although Rylatis had struck first and she had been forced to defend herself, they hadn't shared an enmity so deep that they wished each other dead. If her absence was due to her, a nagging guilt settled in her stomach.

Alex ruffled her hair. "Silly Ye, she took leave because she’s pregnant!"

Huh?!!!

Ziye’s eyes snapped wide open in shock, hoping Alex was joking, but Alex showed no sign of jesting, saying wistfully, "She came to find me before taking leave and asked me to run away with her. She said she didn't love that man, and if I’d accept her, she’d leave everything behind to go with me."

This...

Ziye was speechless; was the world turning into a fantasy novel?

Bent, walking ahead, looked back with a smile. "Too bad. She called out 'Bent' when she was talking to my brother."

Ziye instantly understood.

The twins had distinct personalities, and while they loved dressing identically, they secretly yearned for someone to be able to distinguish them. If Rylatis could recognize and separate them, even once, perhaps she wouldn't have been treated this way by the twins.

Ultimately, this was a consequence of her own actions.

Ziye extended her hands and patted each of their heads in turn, teasing, "There, there, don't dwell on it. Big sis is treating you to dinner."

The words were barely out when she was met with the twins’ synchronized look of contempt.

Upon entering the training base, the twins didn't immediately lead her to the combat zone. Instead, they sat down in the lounge area outside, flanking her with one on either side.

After ordering fruit juice, Alex activated the virtual screen on his omni-computer. "Ye-Ya, you haven't been studying mecha combat for long, right? To reach this level is quite impressive, but..."

Bent pointed to the video clip of her performance that Alex had pulled up, continuing, "...your weaknesses are as obvious as your strengths. When facing a truly powerful opponent, like the Platinum Tycoon type, you don't even get a chance to dodge."

Huh?

Ziye was confused. She had always thought her biggest flaw was simply not reacting fast enough, which is why she was powerless against Platinum Tycoon. Wasn't that it?

However, Alexbent were jerks; they refused to explain in detail and instead shifted the topic to Platinum Tycoon, praising him effusively. "That pilot is the strongest I’ve ever seen, aside from our Commander. Fighting him must be exhilarating!"

Ziye brightened with excitement. "Your Commander can match the Platinum Tycoon?"

If she could learn mecha combat from An Junlie and then challenge Platinum Tycoon? The thought made her heart race a little.

Alexbent puffed out their chests proudly. "Of course! Our Commander is absolutely the best; otherwise, how could he have trained us to be this amazing?"

Ziye whined, "If I learn from you guys, won't I just become your Commander's grand-disciple? That makes no sense!"

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