All eyes swiveled toward Zi Ye, who instinctively shrank behind Li Chunyu, whispering meekly, "It wasn't me."

Bent had practically shoved her onto the firing line; she was going to be resented by every single classmate in Ling Si! Bent, you’ve caused me no end of trouble!

The staff member asked with a smile, "Is that true? Classmate Zi Ye, have you received formal training in mecha combat?"

Zi Ye waved her hands rapidly. "That's not true. My major is in Mecha Maintenance. For mecha, being able to pilot one is already an achievement. Combat is like a cloud on the horizon for me—something I can only gaze upon from afar."

The staff member’s gaze swept over the twins’ faces. "Then…?"

Zi Ye sighed helplessly, steeling herself to explain, "Actually, Mr. Blane, Teacher Tang Wen’s assistant, taught me. Mr. Blane excels at mecha combat. One day, on a whim, he wanted to teach me fighting. Too bad I wasn't capable. It just so happened that Classmate Bent was present, so he learned from that session."

The explanation carried a degree of plausibility.

Many knew Blane had been a special forces soldier, possessing considerable mecha combat skill, whereas Tang Wen, the true master of mecha warfare, had never displayed this ability publicly.

Therefore, the blame had to fall squarely on Blane.

As Zi Ye spoke, she silently hoped Tang Wen wouldn't be too upset later, or her life would become difficult!

As soon as she finished, Li Chunyu immediately jumped in, looking expectantly at the staff member, and asked, "Mr. Blane is Teacher Tang Wen’s assistant, and Teacher Tang Wen is a professor at Ling Si. If we count it that way, then Ling Si didn't actually lose, did they?"

The staff member chuckled. "Of course, Ling Si didn't lose. Today's match was simply an exchange among students from the Ling Si division. Although Classmate Bent is a student from Dong Dian, he was still representing Ling Si, so there’s no need for arguments."

The crowd collectively shot the staff member looks of sheer disdain.

Who was it just moments ago proclaiming this a clash between the aces of Ling Si and Dong Dian?

And who was it that declared this battle would be recorded in Kaga’s history?

Staff member, can you not be so fickle?

Still, everyone grudgingly accepted this explanation. Only Li Wei remained visibly disgruntled, clenching his fist, "Bent, I will absolutely defeat you in the finals!"

Before Bent could reply, Aikes grinned widely. "Classmate Li Wei, next time, your opponent will be me."

The elimination round finally concluded, and everyone packed up and headed back to school.

The next phase involved all qualifying teams from the Kaga region—over two hundred teams in total.

However, this stage required no physical participation from the students. Instead, the selection process involved reviewing each school’s final team plan proposals, design schematics, and the final prototype mechas. Only 64 teams would be chosen to proceed to the next round of the intergalactic competition.

This selection process spanned a month, allowing Zi Ye a temporary respite from all her mecha-related anxieties. She ate well, drank well, and dutifully attended her classes.

Ling Yin, however, was not nearly as idle.

As soon as they returned to school, Ling Yin tracked down Bai Wendon, who had been missing for quite some time.

It turned out Bai Wendon had actually returned to his home in a distant galaxy during this period.

Upon finding him, Bai Wendon confessed almost immediately, offering little resistance. However, he made no mention of the Phileas team, only claiming he was consumed by envy and spite, wanting to see the crestfallen faces of the Chu Chu team when they failed because the Chu Chu team had too many capable members.

Ling Yin found his confession odd, but the exact nature of the conspiracy mattered less to her than securing a witness.

She and Bobo organized the evidence and filed a formal report with the competition officials: the Phileas team had plagiarized.

Although the Phileas team had not reached the finals, they had at least made it to the elimination round. Had it not been for the plagiarism, every member would have received a decent reward. After Ling Yin's report, they received nothing.

The core tenet of the Mecha Grand Prix was to encourage originality. With both human testimony and material evidence in hand, such despicable behavior by the Phileas team could not be tolerated. Their eligibility and awards were immediately revoked, and the incident was publicized throughout the school with disciplinary action threatened—including expulsion for any repeat offense.

Thus, Phileas finally quieted down.

However, during the Chu Chu team gathering, Ling Yin stated, "This matter isn't settled. These people who surfaced are just low-level pawns; the mastermind is still out there. We need to be extremely cautious and ensure no one exploits any loopholes."

Zi Ye beamed happily. "Ling Yin, it's wonderful having you here. Momma won't have to worry about my competition anymore."

Ling Yin struck a triumphant pose, hands on her hips. "Our goal is the number one team in the galaxy! Who cares about some Alers Phileas? We are claiming first place!"

While they were celebrating, the principal culprit of Phileas, Alers, slunk away from the crowd. He piloted his shuttle into Docking Bay 3 of Kaga Space Station 2, picked up an individual inside, departed the station, and navigated into the vast expanse of the starry sea.

Once the space station was out of sight, Alers brought his shuttle to a halt. He walked to the lounge area and knelt down, bowing his head in apology. "I am sorry, Young Mistress. I failed to complete your mission."

Seated on the lounge sofa, legs crossed, was a stunning woman whose pout could instantly take a man's breath away. With a delicate flip of her slender hand, she sent a transparent crystal glass smashing onto the floor by Alers's feet, her voice icy. "Then you still dare to see me?"

She was clad in custom haute couture, the ingenious splicing of velvet and satin executed with flawless perfection. The color coordination was unparalleled. Yet, the viciousness etched across her face now severely marred her exquisite makeup and the flawless aura projected by her luxurious attire.

Alers dared not even draw a full breath, meekly retrieving the shattered crystal glass and placing it back on the coffee table. If not for the thick carpet muffling the sound, the glass might have shattered into a thousand pieces.

The beautiful woman lifted the glass again as if to smash it, but paused, silent for a long moment, before suddenly sighing, "Never mind. I wasn't counting on you achieving much for me anyway."

Alers would have felt a slight relief if she were angry; but her lack of anger, coupled with this tone of resignation, sent waves of sharp pain through him. Yet, he couldn't offer comfort, only murmur, "I apologize. This was my fault this time. I will not make such a mistake again. I will definitely drag them down."

The woman gave a slight, wry curl of her lips. "You failed once. Do you think they won't learn caution?"

Alers stiffened momentarily. The woman continued, "Keep a low profile for a while. That will be the greatest help you can give me."

Alers looked up, incredulous. Was she abandoning him? Forgetting everything else, he pressed, "What about what you promised me?"

The woman let out a chilling laugh, using a finger adorned with elaborate nail art to gently hook his chin. "That was conditional on your success. Have you succeeded? What did I say initially? If you fail, do not come to see me."

Alers’s face turned ashen, but he refused to give up, pleading with a mournful expression, "Young Mistress, I beg you, please. This contract is incredibly important to me. If I can't secure it, my father will disown me!"

The woman’s laughter was musically sweet. "What concern is that of mine?"