Because Jiu Nian had gone on strike for nine years.

After hanging up with An Jun Lie, Zi Ye felt an immediate lightness of spirit.

—No matter the time or circumstance, having An Jun Lie near always made Zi Ye incredibly relaxed, as if even if the sky fell, someone was there to hold it up for her. She placed Douzai on the swing and happily pushed it.

Who knew that creature was prone to motion sickness? After less than a few minutes, Douzai started squeaking and tumbled off.

Zi Ye picked it up. The creature opened its mouth and promptly threw up a coating of metal all over her.

Various semi-molten metals—gold, silver, gray—were mixed together, looking three times more repulsive than ordinary vomit and exuding a thick metallic odor. Fortunately, Zi Ye was quite familiar with that smell. With practiced speed, she scraped the metal off, collected it, cleaned the creature's body, and changed her own clothes. By the time she was tidied up, it was nearly noon.

Zi Ye’s heart fluttered; An Jun Lie would be here soon.

She could eat the food An Jun Lie cooked with his own hands again, and she could roll around demanding cuddles.

Just as she was thinking this, her comm chimed.

She cheerfully opened the screen. "Alien, have you arrived?"

"When did you start calling me an alien?" A strange voice came from the comm. Zi Ye paused, then looked closely. Holy cow, it wasn't An Jun Lie; it was Jiu Nian!

Jiu Nian, with a narcissistic air, declared, "Even though they think my work resembles aliens, I think it looks great."

Zi Ye replied, “...Please allow me to retract the word 'alien'.”

Jiu Nian flashed a grin, which immediately crumbled into a look of frustration. "Zi Ye, Zi Ye, I don't want to do this anymore."

Huh?

Zi Ye was surprised. "How come? Weren't you doing fine?"

—Since he joined, Meng Ya Group had released two new mechs, and the first escort vessel was about to launch. What was this nonsense?

Jiu Nian complained, "I'm too depressed coming to work every day! The entire Design Department building—besides me, only cleaning robots show up for work!!"

Zi Ye wiped a bead of cold sweat. "Isn't your assistant working too?"

Jiu Nian scoffed, "The assistant doesn't count. Seeing the same face every day, what's the point?"

Zi Ye pondered for a moment and offered sincerely, "...Actually, Jiu Nian, as long as you submit your projects on schedule, whether you are physically in the office or not shouldn't be a major issue. The Design Department is very open-minded about that."

Jiu Nian exploded. "Don't you understand? I want them to come to work, not for me not to work! If I don't work, where will I go?"

He paused, then added, "Especially you. I've been here almost three months, and I haven't even seen your face once."

Zi Ye conceded helplessly, "Fine, I’ll head back right now so you can see me. Deal?"

Jiu Nian whined and carried on for a good while before finally achieving his goal, saying haughtily, "That's more like it."

Zi Ye had no choice but to pack up. As she set off for Ke Lai, she messaged An Jun Lie, "I'm heading to Meng Ya Headquarters. If you haven't left yet, don't bother coming over."

After wasting half a day talking sense into Jiu Nian back at Meng Ya Group HQ, the weekend was over, and Zi Ye had to trudge back to school.

The list for the interstellar finals of the Mech Competition had been released, and Team Chu Xia was on it.

This time, Team Chu Xia would be competing against teams from one hundred renowned schools across the galaxy for the final championship.

After the first round of open qualifiers, Team Chu Xia successfully broke into the top sixty-four.

The main format for the finals was Mech PK.

Throughout the finals, each team was granted an additional twenty thousand in reserve funds for the maintenance, repair, and modification of their mechs.

This tested not only the pilot’s abilities but also those of the designers, armorers, and technicians. One of Zi Ye's favorite activities was modification.

Before a match, teams drew lots. Once the official results showed their opponent, Ling Yin would investigate the rival team's strengths, Bobo would prepare the materials, Zi Ye and Li Chun Yu would carry out the corresponding modifications, and then one of the twins would step up to face the enemy.

Generally, each team featured one primary pilot and one secondary pilot, with the secondary pilot only entering the fray if the primary pilot was unable to compete.

Team Chu Xia, however, was different.

Aix Bent always used Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who would pilot, and since they all wore identical team uniforms and looked exactly alike, not only their opponents but even Bobo and Ling Yin couldn't be certain which twin was fighting until the battle commenced.

This made many opposing teams want to spit blood.

—Because it was impossible to devise a strategy tailored to a specific pilot beforehand. At best, they could only prepare two sets of counter-strategies, one for each twin.

Unluckily for them, Aix Bent were master manipulators. They were intimately familiar with each other's combat styles and occasionally deployed surprise ultimate moves to throw off their opponents. After a few rounds, opponents could no longer distinguish one from the other. Dealing with one was effectively dealing with two.

They expended massive resources and energy with negligible results. Within days, murmurs circulated among the competing teams: Just don't meet Chu Xia, please don't meet Chu Xia!

From the top sixty-four down to thirty-two, then sixteen, and finally the elite eight, Aix Bent’s Rock-Paper-Scissors game grew more refined, and Zi Ye’s modification skills became more flawless. Work that previously required Xiao Dou Ya’s assistance, she could now complete independently, and the smoother she performed, the better the results.

It was only then that she truly understood why the Mech Competition was celebrated galaxy-wide.

Every single person followed the process from the very beginning: design, fabrication, combat, identifying issues during the fight, performing repairs or modifications, and then returning to combat. Again and again, facing new problems in every match, each resolution yielded new knowledge. Through the continuous accumulation and consolidation of this knowledge, their capabilities constantly improved.

Zi Ye finished modifying the mech, confirmed the test data met ideal parameters, and high-fived Li Chun Yu. "This modification kit is a complete success; passed on the first try. Senior Brother Chun'er, you are getting better and better."

Li Chun Yu humbly replied, "Not at all. You are the amazing one. I think in another year, you will completely surpass me."

As the two were exchanging compliments, Ling Yin came dragging Bobo back. Without even stopping for a sip of water, she announced, "We've checked all the top eight teams. A few look incredibly strong. Everyone, gather 'round for a discussion?"

At that moment, Aix Bent was sparring in the pilot training facility. The two took turns piloting the Chu Xia model, simulating opponent strategies, working even harder than everyone else.

Zi Ye used her comm to summon them. The six gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

Among the top eight, there were two teams from Lingsi: Chu Xia and Qingtian, both of whom had clawed their way back from the resurrection rounds. Dong Dian also had two teams, the Academy for Officers had one, Angel University had one, the Interstellar Women's Academy had one, and Philo University had one.

Ling Yin activated her optical computer screen and displayed the members of Team Feifei from the Academy for Officers. "Nothing about this team is the strongest, yet they haven't lost a single match since entering the finals, and their wins have been exceptionally smooth, while the other seven teams all struggled significantly. I met the captain once; she’s beautiful, but extremely calculating. I suspect there’s something fishy going on between her and Team Aless."

She tapped the image of a seemingly pure-hearted girl smiling sweetly at the top of the list with her stylus. "That’s her—Iliya."

The moment Zi Ye saw Iliya's picture, her face instantly went pale.

All the hatred and pain from the past seemed to find their source, deeply rooted within her. She felt waves of cramping in her stomach. Zi Ye would recognize Iliya even if she were reduced to ashes!

Li Chun Yu, sitting next to her, noticed her distress first. "Xiao Yezi, what's wrong?"

Zi Ye clutched her stomach and crouched down on the floor, sweat pouring down her forehead like a waterfall. She closed her eyes in agony, her breathing becoming ragged and weak. Bent saw this and urgently called out, "Get her to the hospital, fast!"

Zi Ye gripped his hand tightly, as if all her strength resided in that thin wrist, which was trembling slightly. With immense difficulty, she managed to gasp out one sentence, "Don't go. I'm fine."

Li Chun Yu asked with concern, "Then what should we do?"

Zi Ye took a deep breath and slowly stood up from the ground, her back already soaked with sweat, but she managed to compose herself and offer a faint smile. "It's okay, I'm better now."

Ling Yin pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from her forehead, then brought her head close to touch it. "She doesn't seem to have a fever."

Zi Ye sat back in her seat, facing the concerned looks of everyone. A wave of warmth washed over her heart. It was this very warmth that helped her overcome her instinctive fear of Iliya.

She had always known Iliya was at the Academy for Officers, but her focus had been primarily on the mechs, leaving diplomacy to Ling Yin and Bobo. Thus, she only learned today that her great enemy from the past was about to cross paths with her again.

Looking at the pure beauty smiling sweetly in the photograph, she scoffed internally. Iliya was still as good at pretending as ever. But she was no longer the Zi Ye of the past!

She told herself silently: This time, no matter what tricks Iliya uses, she will not succeed!

Zi Ye picked up her water cup and moistened her throat. "We must be extremely cautious with this team. Iliya is a master of deception. We need to join forces with other teams."

Bobo strongly agreed with this assessment. "We can ally with Team Qingtian. Team Qingtian was very grateful to us after the resurrection round. If we unite to defeat the other teams and then contend for the championship and runner-up spots between us, they shouldn't object."

The twins chimed in, "Don't forget, we are from Dong Dian."

Ling Yin exclaimed happily, "If we unite the four teams from Lingsi and Dong Dian, defeat this girl and the other three teams, it would be even better if we then compete for first, second, and third place!"

Li Chun Yu was reluctant to pour cold water on his cheerful teammates, but he said, "Dong Dian might not be willing to cooperate with us. After all, they've always viewed us as their strongest competition. If they defeat us first, dealing with the few students from other schools would be a trivial matter."

Everyone exchanged glances. Zi Ye raised her hand. "It doesn't matter who we ally with, as long as we can secure an alliance. But among all these teams, Iliya's team is definitely the strongest, and she is undoubtedly already attempting to form alliances. We must act quickly."

-RS