Her eyes gleaming, she looked at Aix’s hands: “It’s not too late anyway, how about we practice a bit more?” Seeing their excitement, Li Chunyu said, “I’ll come too.” The four moved in unison, boarding Ziye’s shuttle craft, and with a whoosh, they flew to Lingsi’s pilot training base. Aix changed into his pilot uniform and, without wasting half a second, immediately brought out the Platinum Tycoon.

Just as he was about to board, Ziye pulled him back, pleading, “Can I try it out first?” Aix patted her head, “Go, go, you still have a duel to fight!” Without another word, he ushered her toward training. Seeing Li Chunyu watching him with a smile, he struck a cool pose, “I swear to the Vice Commander, I absolutely will not let your Platinum Tycoon suffer even the slightest damage; you can rest completely assured.” Li Chunyu smiled faintly, “It’s fine; once I bring it out, I won’t worry about it.” He then turned to Spent, “Teach me how to pilot a mech while you’re at it?” Spent readily agreed.

What was supposed to be a restful evening was reignited at the training base because of the Platinum Tycoon, plunging them into intense practice. Aix had long struggled to grasp several maneuvers performed by the Platinum Tycoon pilot in the video.

Now, sitting in the mech himself, re-examining those movements, it was clearly much easier than before. Three hours later, piloting the Platinum Tycoon, he managed to replicate the set of moves from the video.

Although his execution lacked the drawn-out, commanding grandeur seen in the video, and there were minor flaws in the details, the overall similarity was already about five or six tenths. Ziye stared, tongue-tied.

These twins truly were geniuses! Even Li Chunyu was secretly astonished; having such talent in the Angel Domain meant limitless future prospects!

For the final three days, the trio served as Ziye’s sparring partners. Dongan Military Base No.

3 effectively transformed into a private practice arena for the four of them. Ziye was deeply grateful for their daily practice sessions, yet simultaneously felt a pang of guilt.

Was it right to have the three of them skip class to train with her? The twins were used to skipping, so it didn't matter to them, but Li Chunyu was a model student at Lingsi, known for excellent character and academics—was it really okay?

Li Chunyu calmly shook his head, “It genuinely doesn’t matter.” Seeing how unconcerned they were, Ziye stopped declining and decided to treat them to dinner as a reward. The result was predictable: she never managed to pay for a meal.

The Aix-Spent brothers were always one step ahead. In their words, “Little Sprout, you are our Commander’s benefactor, which makes you our benefactor too.” They also expressed deep regret, wondering why An Junlie hadn't made a move sooner; otherwise, Ziye would be their junior sister now, and someone like Tang Wen could just stand aside!

Ziye was speechless. Aix and Spent were also profoundly grateful to Li Chunyu; based on his single word, he truly managed to bring the Platinum Tycoon model mech over from the legion—that gesture alone was enough!

As the duel date drew nearer, Lingsi University released an official announcement on campus, featuring side-by-side photos of Ziye and Mei Jing. Next to the towering Mei Jing, Ziye looked incredibly delicate!

Since it was an open duel, Lingsi made no secret of the event, treating it as a full-fledged competition, complete with hosts and a dedicated venue. As for promotion, none was needed.

The entire school went wild upon seeing the announcement. The two major camps—male and female—were openly confronting each other, and a few exaggerated couples even broke up over it, vowing not to reconcile until the duel concluded.

Ling Yin and the others saw the announcement and became incredibly tense. Mei Jing’s height presented too great an advantage; many believed Ziye was doomed.

But the female students refused to accept it, leading to escalating commotion. Ling Yin and her group grew so anxious that they immediately became Ziye’s cheerleading squad, cheering her on.

Girls of the Mecha Engineering Department versus the Boys of the Mecha Combat Department—could a miracle happen? Everyone was pondering this question.

Regardless of the noise outside, Ziye paid it no mind. A duel was about results delivered through strength!

She deliberately reviewed the data Li Chunyu had provided her. Besides Mei Jing’s personal profile, it contained a string of terrifying statistics that forced her to be absolutely focused.

She tasked Little Sprout with performing a detailed analysis of the dueling mechs, checking if there were any flaws or gaps in her training. The duel was scheduled for Friday afternoon at four o’clock.

Friday was precisely when Tang Wen was due to arrive at Lingsi for classes. On Thursday night, Blan notified Ziye, saying Tang Wen would return to Lingsi Friday morning and wanted to see how her practice was going.

Ziye felt a twinge of guilt. These past few days, she should have been studying under Blan, but she had snuck back to train with the twins.

Now that Tang Wen was arriving, she was doomed, wuwu… She explained the situation to the trio, and all three immediately perked up. Li Chunyu, in particular, was both nervous and excited.

“Teacher Tang Wen is here! I need to go back and prepare first.” As he spoke, he was already running, and by the time he finished, he had vanished.

The twins exchanged a look and said in unison, “We need to go back and prepare too.” Ziye’s eyes widened: “You guys too?” The twins gave a mysterious smile and offered no explanation. Seeing that the time was right, Ziye decided to head back to the apartment as well.

After she left, Aix and Spent’s expressions turned serious. Aix mused, “Brother, do you think we can still snatch her away from Tang Wen now?” Spent naturally understood what he meant.

They had known Ziye before Tang Wen, but they hadn't seized the opportunity, allowing Ziye to become Tang Wen’s student. Tang Wen served the Interstellar Federation; if Ziye followed him in the future, she would very likely end up at the Federation Research Institute.

Seeing Ziye piloting an Institute shuttle craft these past few days had been torturous for them. If they had been resolute in pushing her to interview at Dongan and arranged a mentor from the Angel Legion for her back then, she might already belong to the Angel Legion now!

Fortunately, Ziye hadn't officially joined any legion yet; they still had a chance. The training over the last few days clearly showed Ziye possessed immense talent.

Such talent absolutely had to be retained, especially since she had once saved An Junlie and knew his martial arts! Now that Tang Wen was arriving, it was time for them to prepare their countermeasures.

On Friday morning, when Tang Wen stepped out of the shuttle craft, he was met by the enthusiastic welcoming party of Ziye, Li Chunyu, Aix, and Spent. This turnout even surprised Blan slightly.

He stepped forward: “Students, Teacher Tang Wen has just arrived and is slightly fatigued. We will meet at the Mecha Pilot Training Base in half an hour.” The four responded with a synchronized, disappointed “Oh,” but remained standing firm.

Seeing Ziye lowering her head, Blan called out to her, “Ziye, come here for a moment.” And just like that, Ziye fell in step beside Tang Wen, while Aix, Spent, and Li Chunyu were utterly ignored. The three exchanged a look and sighed helplessly.

Arriving at the base’s lounge, Tang Wen removed his glasses, letting his approachable facade melt away to reveal an icy frost. “How has the training been?” Ziye shivered internally.

How could this guy change so fast!