Under Pei Zhe's relentless, tempestuous assault, Li Wei was steadily forced back.

Everyone could see it clearly: Pei Zhe was destined to win.

At that point, Li Chunyu would only need to step forward to offer congratulations, hand him a tissue to wipe his sweat, and the task assigned by Zi Ye would be complete, essentially without pressure.

He stood up and began walking toward the rear.

The audience buzzed with conversation.

"I never expected Pei Zhe to be so deeply hidden; Ling Si’s ace was simply fragile! I’ve learned something today."

"Pei Zhe actually possesses such explosive power—I'm starting to fall for him!"

"We thought it was a huge upset that Dong Dian wouldn't make the top four this year, but it turns out Ling Si is just as weak."

"Doesn't Ling Si still have Chu Xiao?"

"Tch, didn't they have two of Dong Dian's aces on their team? If Dong Dian's aces also get defeated by Pei Zhe, now that would be a hilarious turn of events."

...

Li Chunyu felt deeply uncomfortable.

Seeing Ling Si's ace defeated in such a deceitful manner felt like an insult to all pilots.

Regardless of anything else, he held onto one unwavering belief: Chu Xiao must defeat the Fei Fei team!

As he walked outside, a massive cheer erupted suddenly from the spectator stands, laced with cries of "Fei Fei is mighty!" He turned back to see that the outcome had been decided.

Qing Tian Team's Li Wei had fallen and could not get back up.

On the massive screen, only Fei Fei Team's mecha stood there, impassive and expressionless, forever concealing the pilot's true feelings within.

Li Wei did not emerge from his mech for the salute, and neither did Pei Zhe.

The crowd surged forward from behind. Li Chunyu broke into a run toward the pilot exit. It was still relatively empty out there. He reached the exit just in time to see Illya supporting Pei Zhe as they walked out.

Pei Zhe was drenched in sweat, his face ashen.

Li Chunyu saw clearly that Pei Zhe’s steps were unsteady, almost unable to stand on his own; without support, he likely would have collapsed right there.

Without a word, he rushed forward, congratulating them: "Congratulations on becoming the first team to advance."

Illya looked somewhat anxious, and her demeanor toward Li Chunyu was cool, but she was unwilling to ruin her reputation at this moment. She forced a smile: "Thank you. Good luck to you both. Pei Zhe is a bit tired; we need to leave now."

Li Chunyu pretended to just notice Pei Zhe then, expressing surprise: "Why so much sweat? You fought so hard just now, it must have been exhausting." As he spoke, he pulled out a tissue and handed it to Pei Zhe, "Wipe your sweat."

Pei Zhe held tightly onto Illya with both hands and made no move to take it. Illya reached out, took the tissue, and wiped her own brow. "Thank you."

Li Chunyu nodded, stepped aside, and let them pass.

Illya took two steps with the tissue and tossed it into a nearby waste receptacle.

Li Chunyu waited until they were well away, then immediately darted toward the bin and began rummaging through the trash!

The interstellar waste receptacles had a self-decomposition function. By the time he retrieved the tissue, it was already halfway broken down. Thankfully, he had given him plenty of tissue; half the sweat residue remained.

He let out a breath, mission accomplished.

Chu Xiao’s match against Fero University was in three days, so there was no immediate rush.

Once Li Chunyu had the tissue, he immediately contacted Zi Ye. Without hesitation, Zi Ye rushed to the bio-laboratory, cut the tissue in half—using one half for a quick, makeshift test—and put the other half on a transport ship destined for that pervert.

The quick test primarily aimed to analyze the composition of the sweat. After testing, Zi Ye filtered out several elements from the sweat. Comparing the resulting elements with the seized medication that the pervert had previously prepared, the similarity was indeed over 50%.

Li Chunyu watched anxiously from the side. Once she finished testing, he asked, "Well?"

Zi Ye’s face was grim: "It’s almost certain he was injected with a poison needle."

Li Chunyu was shocked: "He actually managed to hide this from the competition organizers. What if we face him in the championship final?"

Zi Ye shook her head: "No rush. Let's focus on the match against the Fero University team in three days first. I'll compile the data later, and then we can discuss it."

She truly did not want to say that the after-effects of this type of poison needle were devastating. Even if Pei Zhe could clear the toxin within three days, his body would never recover to its pre-injection state.

Zi Ye couldn't fathom what attraction a mecha competition championship held that would make Illya do something so damaging to a pilot’s health!

From another perspective, if Illya would ruin a pilot’s body for the sake of a competition, just how ruthless was she?!

Li Chunyu assumed she needed more time to calculate the exact long-term consequences, so he said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was too hasty. Take your time. The twins have gone to find the mentor to analyze today's combat footage, and Bobo and the other haven't returned yet. Shall we eat first and then continue, okay?"

Zi Ye nodded and went to eat with him.

She needed time to calm down.

She needed to temporarily put the matter of the poison needle aside; thinking about it made her temples throb.

Seeing her pale complexion, Li Chunyu didn't press the issue. After dinner, he took her back to her apartment to rest.

Zi Ye tossed and turned on the sofa, her mind a chaotic mess, her thoughts drifting somewhere unknown. This was the first time she had encountered a victim of the poison needle.

And yet, he appeared in this state.

Should she try to stop it?

But on what grounds could she possibly intervene?

Zi Ye buried her face in a cushion—so soft and yielding it felt almost unreal. A single strand of hair drifted into her nose, causing her to sneeze involuntarily. Lifting her head, she saw Douzai staring at her with wide, curious eyes, as if asking, "Where is my little bean sprout daddy?"

Zi Ye lost all desire to sleep and got up, cradling the creature.

After some time spent training, Douzai had learned to retract its teeth and no longer licked her indiscriminately, though it still nudged into her embrace.

Zi Ye stroked its head and murmured, "Our kind has appeared. What should we do?"

She was the first generation; Douzai was likely the third or fourth, and Pei Zhe the fifth.

She gave a wry smile—the poison needle of the Phia family lineage had truly spread far!

Douzai was a glutton; it only knew how to eat, not how to think. Its reply was just two chirps of "Jiji."

Zi Ye slumped back onto the sofa in defeat. Her finger scrolled through her contact list and suddenly stopped on An Junlie’s name. After a moment of internal debate, she decided it was too trivial a matter to bother him with and gave up the idea, setting the comm unit aside and holding the pitiable Douzai close to rest.

Without her little sprout, she didn't even have someone to talk to.

How tragic.

"Douzai, if only you could talk..."

The second match of the Final Four: Chu Xiao VS Fero University Team.

Before the match, Aix and Bent reviewed Fero University’s combat videos again, then asked Professor Budika, their guiding instructor, for a thorough analysis from start to finish. Afterward, the two practiced against each other. As they were about to take the stage, both felt completely confident.

After the brutal battle between Li Wei and Pei Zhe, Zi Ye had calmed considerably regarding the Chu Xiao vs. Fero University match.

As long as they weren't resorting to underhanded tactics, everything would be manageable.

Due to the twins' unique participation, every Chu Xiao match featured a segment that captivated the entire audience: the twins' Rock-Paper-Scissors match!

On this day, half an hour before the start, the two commentators energized the crowd, then called Aix and Bent, dressed identically, to stand at the front of the stage. They smiled and asked, "This time, which one of you plans to step up for the PK?"

The twins answered in unison: "Old rules."

The host chuckled: "Alright, let’s do the old rules again. Three, two, one!"

Having stood under the strong lights for a while, the twins knew how to present their most handsome angles to the audience. Then, they raised their hands for Rock-Paper-Scissors.

Bent won. He hugged his brother tightly and then raised his hand high, visibly excited.

The host smiled at Bent: "Is this the older brother or the younger?"

Bent replied with a calm smile: "I am the older brother, Aix."

The entire venue erupted in cheers.

Afterward, Bent was teleported to the medical examination room, while Aix moved to stand with the Chu Xiao members below the stage.

They had not announced anything beforehand. Except for Zi Ye, none of the Chu Xiao members realized anything was amiss. Zi Ye knew that the fewer people who knew, the better, so she kept silent and sat with them to watch the battle.

The twins had been meticulously groomed before taking the stage, making them look even more identical than usual. Even Zi Ye found it hard to distinguish one from the other. At this point, continuing this feint would definitely throw the Fero University Team into disarray.

If Fero University believed he was Aix, and deployed tactics specifically designed to counter Aix, it would be entirely disadvantageous for them. However, they absolutely dared not assume he was Bent, which immediately weakened their psychological stance.

On the arena floor, victory depended not only on skill but heavily on psychological warfare.

If Chu Xiao hadn't had the twins, treating the pilots as ordinary competitors and countering maneuvers as they appeared on the battlefield might actually have worked out better.

As Aix stepped down, Zi Ye immediately gave him a thumbs-up: "You two are brilliant."

Aix placed his arm across her shoulder, composed: "Naturally."

Seeing no trace of worry, Li Chunyu couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you worried about Aix?"

Aix secretly smiled, but maintained a serious expression: "Worrying won't help. It's better to relax a bit."

Just as he spoke, both mechas were simultaneously teleported onto the battlefield.

The PK officially began!

The cunning Bent started by using Aix’s style, launching a barrage of attacks at Fero. The Fero pilot instantly became convinced it was Aix and immediately adopted highly targeted countermeasures, neutralizing every move.

Li Chunyu watched, his heart pounding.

Ling Yin frowned: "Damn it, those annoying Fero guys have studied Aix’s moves too thoroughly—"

Before she could finish, Bent’s cannon barrel swiveled mid-air with lethal speed and precision, striking the Fero mech directly in the chest.

Bang—

Sparks flew.

The powerful impact forced the Fero pilot to retreat nearly a hundred meters before he could finally regain his footing.

"Nice one!" Ling Yin cheered loudly, then suddenly realizing that move wasn't Aix’s signature, she glanced over at Aix. Aix waved his hand: "It’s totally normal for brothers to share a few moves!"

Zi Ye couldn't help but laugh, poking his arm: "You two are too wicked."

Aix made a face at her: "Don't say that, it hurts my feelings."