Ilya was indeed aligning with the joint teams, and she had managed to connect with their very own squad.

She had reached out to the leader of the Chushou Team—Li Chunyu.

The reason Li Chunyu was the captain of Chushou was simple: out of the six members, the majority were of the Lingsi type, so the captain had to be a Lingsi student.

Among the four Lingling students—Bobo, Lingyin, Zi Ye, and Li Chunyu—Li Chunyu was a third-year, making him the most senior.

Just as the six of them finished their discussion, Ilya sent an instant message, her voice pitched in the sweetest, most endearing tone: “Hello, may I speak with Li Chunyu, the captain of the Chushou Team? I am Ilya, captain of the Feifei Team.

It’s a pleasure to meet you.” On the light screen, she wore minimal makeup, her gaze sincere, her features pure—exactly the type boys favored.

Zi Ye scoffed internally.

Among the Chushou Team, Li Chunyu was the softest target.

Ilya truly knew how to pick them.

Li Chunyu looked at the sweet girl on the screen, and for some reason, his face flushed red.

The blush instantly made him feel somewhat embarrassed, so he quickly activated the 'hide view' function, preventing her from seeing his current state.

He still possessed a shred of rationality, Zi Ye thought, as she stood beside him and, without a word, pinched him.

Wincing in pain, he snapped back to reality and offered a polite smile: “Hello, student Ilya.” Though Ilya could not see his expression now, he could still see hers.

Seeing that he had deactivated his view, Ilya showed no surprise; instead, she offered a gentle, understanding smile, her voice soft: “I heard from the captains of the other top-eight teams a few days ago that Chushou is a very outstanding team.

I wonder if I might be honored to discuss the top-eight matches with you?” Li Chunyu recalled their earlier discussion about her.

Although he didn't think Ilya was a bad person, he trusted his teammates more.

He wasn't good at hiding his emotions and showed a fleeting moment of hesitation.

Lingyin quickly signaled him with a hand gesture, urging him to accept.

Li Chunyu blinked, then quickly recovered: “Please don’t say that.

Your team is the one that is truly formidable; you’ve never lost a match, and for a girl like you to achieve this level is truly rare.

We should be the ones learning from you.” After exchanging a few pleasantries, they set a time and ended the communication.

The moment the call disconnected, Zi Ye and Lingyin lunged forward, twisting his arms on either side: “For the sight of a woman, you forget your friends! You have no sense of humanity for the opposite sex, Senior Brother Chun’er, I despise you!” Chun’er clutched his shoulder, begging for mercy: “I was wrong, I was truly wrong.

Please spare me, you two female warriors.” The two girls huffed, and Bobo smoothed things over: “That’s not the main point.

The key is, what should we do now?” Lingyin shot him a sidelong glance: “Is that even a question? We should let Senior Brother Chun’er go discuss things with her and see what scheme she’s hatching!” Zi Ye voiced her concern: “But I worry Senior Brother Chun’er will be completely charmed by her.” Ilya was no ordinary person.

Before, she was the goddess in the hearts of every boy on Feilü Star; now, she was the goddess of every boy at the Officer Academy.

Zi Ye felt certain she would try to seduce Senior Brother Chun’er.

If Senior Brother Chun’er accidentally fell for her flowing skirt, the Chushou Team would be finished.

She remembered what Bran once said—men’s natural vigilance toward beautiful women is extremely low.

That was indeed true.

Li Chunyu blushed fiercely again at Zi Ye’s blunt words, stammering awkwardly: “I would not.

I won’t be charmed by her; she’s not my type.” Zi Ye clicked her tongue: “Well said, Senior Brother.” The twins teased him: “Chun’er, what kind of woman do you like? Tell us about her?” Poor Li Chunyu wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole under their teasing.

Finally, Bobo intervened again: “Alright, alright, let’s first discuss how to deal with Ilya.” Zi Ye declared loudly: “What’s there to discuss? Senior Brother Chun’er goes to the meeting, sees what she’s up to, and then we plan our countermeasure.” The twins chuckled: “Let Chun’er take care of her.” Everyone else chimed in with more lighthearted teasing.

Li Chunyu’s face was bright red; his lips moved soundlessly for a long moment.

He simply turned his back.

Once more, Bobo played the mediator: “Stop fooling around, the serious business is more important.” Meanwhile, Ilya was also studying all the members of the Chushou Team.

In the most luxurious villa in Kaga, she was reclining on a chaise lounge, propping her head up with one hand and swirling the red wine in her glass with the other.

Her mood was quite pleasant.

Today, she was dressed daringly—a sheer outfit worn without apology, walking the line between stunning confidence and outright shocking.

Ilya’s skin, smooth as silk, combined with a figure that was neither bony nor overly voluptuous, made the sheer dress perfectly sultry.

In her life, she detested playing innocent or feigning naiveté the most, but to achieve her goals and maneuver among the young men, she had to do it.

As expected, she still preferred her own sultry self.

Ilya lifted her long, shapely, crystal-clear legs.

The jeweled trim of the sheer skirt slid down her thigh, revealing an alluring curve that would make anyone gasp.

She smiled with satisfaction and looked at the photo of Li Chunyu, the Chushou captain, displayed on the light screen ahead.

That little lamb, Li Chunyu? Hmph, he would be easily captured.

Among the top-eight teams, besides the Qingtian Team and the Divine Right Hand from Dongdian University, she had essentially dealt with most of the others.

Soon, once she secured Li Chunyu, securing the championship would be a sure thing.

She could already see the dawn of victory.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

Without looking up, she said coolly, “How is the matter I asked you to investigate?” The servant who entered immediately fell to his knees with a thud.

“Reporting to the Young Miss, it has been ascertained.

The most threatening members of the Chushou Team are the twins in the Angel Domain; they seem utterly impervious to influence.” Ilya narrowed her eyes slightly, a cold glint appearing: “Everyone has a weakness, especially twins.

If Chushou insists on challenging me for the championship, send someone to eliminate one of the twins; the other will collapse on its own.” Eliminate? The servant was so terrified he dared not lift his head.

Eliminating a contestant before the championship finals—Kaga would certainly not let that slide.

At that point… The servant dared not even think about the consequences.

He hurriedly changed the subject: “I am derelict in my duty, I could not find any information on the female member of Chushou named Zi Ye.” Ilya’s face hardened: “What do you mean?” Beyond the twins, the person Ilya feared most in the Chushou Team was Zi Ye.

After reaching the finals, Chushou’s unstoppable momentum wasn't just due to the twin ace pilots leading the charge; another crucial reason was the constant changes in Chushou’s mechs.

Each time, the mech parameters shifted dramatically, and the direction of each change was vastly different, making them impossible to guard against.

The main force behind these mech modifications was Zi Ye.

As for Zi Ye herself, she seemed utterly unremarkable—plain appearance, clean background, yet this very person miraculously became Tang Wen’s student, the chief designer for the Mengya Group, and even dared to confront the Fia family.

Towards Zi Ye, Ilya felt not only jealousy and hatred but, more profoundly, apprehension.

She believed no one’s success was accidental; for Zi Ye to reach this level, she must possess extraordinary capabilities.

Now, what Ilya needed the servant to uncover was precisely where Zi Ye’s extraordinary capabilities lay! Only by grasping the source of her success could she truly eliminate any unexpected variables in the competition.

The servant trembled: “We couldn’t find anything at all.

Her information must have been concealed by someone.” “Excuses!” Ilya’s expression snapped, and she violently hurled the wine glass in her hand toward the servant’s face.

The glass struck accurately, shattering on impact.

Fragments scattered across the floor, a few slicing shallow, bloody lines across the servant’s face.

The red wine splashing onto the wounds stung, causing the servant’s facial muscles to twitch involuntarily.

To keep Ilya from noticing, he prostrated himself even lower, almost touching the ground.

“I deserve death, please calm your anger, Young Miss.” Ilya stood up, looking down at him: “The Fia family does not keep waste!” The servant couldn't help but tremble, choosing his words carefully: “Actually, actually… that girl’s background must be very powerful.

Rumor has it that Tang Wen never takes students, yet he made an exception for her.

Perhaps she is someone from within the Tang Sect.” Hearing this, Ilya’s expression darkened: “If she is from the Tang Sect, that will complicate matters.

You don’t need to investigate her further.

Start with Tang Wen.

If you cannot get any leverage there, then use whatever means necessary to seduce Brantley.” Brantley was a traitor to Fia, and Fia possessed his complete profile; it wouldn't be difficult to act against him.

If direct action was impossible, then elimination was the only option.

For a traitor, living this long was already an act of mercy on her part.

“Yes, I will attend to it immediately!” The servant scrambled up from the ground and respectfully backed out.

Ilya turned and returned to sit on the luxurious chaise lounge, snapping her fingers.

The handsome robot behind her immediately stepped forward and respectfully offered her another glass of red wine.

Ilya leaned back on the couch, playing with the glass, a faint, elusive smile curving her lips.

Her eyes looked hazy and dreamlike, utterly captivating.

“Handsome, do you think I’m beautiful?” The robot displayed a standard smile: “Miss Ilya is the most beautiful queen in the world.” Ilya beckoned the handsome robot closer, who immediately leaned in: “What are your commands, Miss?” Ilya extended her arms, encircling his bicep, and whispered almost inaudibly: “I… want a man.” Having settled on a strategy to counter Ilya, the time for the agreed meeting was fast approaching.

The twins sent Li Chunyu back to clean himself up, paying special attention to his attire—absolutely no stiff, formal clothes.

Why? Because he needed to look like a little lamb.

Li Chunyu already had the appearance of a little lamb, and once dressed, he looked even more so.

Bobo frowned: “Are you sure Ilya will like this look?” Zi Ye offered a calm assessment: “She won’t like this look; she prefers assertive men.

But Senior Brother Chun’er dressed this way will kill her desire to conquer him.” Lingyin raised an eyebrow: “You know her very well?” Zi Ye mentally grumbled: Ever since she left Silver Talisman Star, she had been monitoring Ilya’s every move.

Of course, she knew her! Of course, she wouldn't say that, simply replying faintly: “I’m just reading his features.” “Wow! Little Ye Zi, you can actually read faces? That’s amazing.” The twins leaned in on either side: “What do you think our faces say about us?”