Zi Ye quickly rented a shuttle, reporting the whole incident to her Out-of-Sheath teammates while giving them the hospital where the twins were, instructing them to check on them, and heading to the space station dock specified by Red Hair.

Stopping, opening the hatch, Red Hair entered, the door closed, the engines ignited, and the request for departure filed—the entire sequence executed flawlessly in under a minute.

Five minutes later, the two were in space.

Zi Ye sat in the captain's seat, daring not to look back.

Red Hair shook her head at the sight, moved to the co-pilot's seat, and drawled, "Little Stink, you must be wondering why I helped Chucks, right?"

Zi Ye's fingertips twitched, terrified that the next words she spoke might reveal a truth too much for her to bear.

But Red Hair only asked, offering no immediate explanation.

Zi Ye exhaled silently with her back to Red Hair, halted the shuttle, turned around to face her, and said, "Yes, I can't figure it out."

Red Hair leaned back against the chair, stating coolly, "A few days ago, someone came to advise me to pay attention to attendance in class, that I needed to be present for the lessons I was supposed to teach. I agreed."

Zi Ye understood immediately.

Red Hair always instigated fights during her classes; Ilya must have seized upon that point. As long as the twins attended class, there would be an opportunity for an attack.

Seeing Zi Ye's expression shifting like a kaleidoscope, Red Hair couldn't help but laugh again. "Someone else came and told me that if any situation arose during class, I should just pretend not to see it."

Zi Ye glared at her. "And you agreed to that?"

Red Hair nodded. "That's right, I agreed."

Zi Ye pressed anxiously, "Why?"

If there were a significant enough benefit, it would be easier to understand, but without any gain, why would Red Hair help them?

Red Hair took a deep drag from her cigarette, then blew the smoke directly into Zi Ye's face. Seeing her flustered state, she patted her shoulder and said, "When you start something, you must see it through. Since they wanted the twins hurt, I fulfilled their desire."

Zi Ye angrily batted her hand away, frustrated. "But if you hurt them, what about the Mecha Tournament?!"

Red Hair laughed heartily. "Do you think the Angel Domain has no doctors on Kaga? Do you think the twins won't have their hands healed before the competition? If the twins were smart, they would immediately fake a major disability. When the media shows up, they'll be exposed, and no enemy or rival would dare make a move under the media's gaze. They’d be safe then."

Zi Ye conceded the logic, but she still couldn't accept the fact that Red Hair had harmed the twins.

Red Hair wanted to say, "I know how much force to use," but she always disliked explaining. Instead, she stood up and declared, "Starting tomorrow, I am leaving Kaga."

Zi Ye froze instantly. "Why?"

Red Hair moved close to her, suddenly pressing her proud chest against Zi Ye's shoulder. "Sister likes it." With that, she shoved Zi Ye aside, took the captain's seat, and commanded, "I'll use the shuttle for a few days, then return it. Now, I'm taking you back to the hospital. Which space station are the twins in?"

Zi Ye had no choice but to relay the space station details.

Red Hair kept her word. Upon arrival at Space Station Four, she kicked Zi Ye out of the shuttle and sped away.

Zi Ye watched the shuttle's silhouette vanish, and for some inexplicable reason, she suddenly felt that the steel-reinforced space stations she once admired now felt cold.

Especially the space stations on Kaga; no matter how much warmth was tried to be infused, it was still fake. Steel was steel, cold to the touch.

Her heart, too, felt utterly chilled.

Before coming to Kaga, she had only looked up to it as the fortress of the strongest academy in the galaxy.

Here, she met Tang Wen, and Red Hair also arrived.

At that time, she felt immensely fortunate.

She had a good mentor, good friends, and someone who could shield her if the sky collapsed.

But the good times were short-lived; Tang Wen suddenly left.

Before she could shake off the gloom of Tang Wen's departure, Red Hair dropped another bombshell—she was leaving too.

Although Zi Ye wasn't entirely satisfied with Red Hair’s explanation for injuring Aexbent, when Red Hair announced her departure, Zi Ye looked up at the various mechas and warships gliding across the dome above the space station, and a sense of release washed over her heart.

Whether it was Tang Wen or Red Hair, everyone came to Kaga with their own objectives and pursuits; once those were achieved, they would naturally depart.

Life is only responsible to oneself.

Still, she would not forget that once, she had a mentor named Tang Wen, and a teacher named Zi Hong...

Returning to the hospital, Zi Ye was nearly buried by the crowd. Goodness, the landing pads were crammed with airships bearing media logos, and the hospital entrance was blocked.

Red Hair was right; star pilots sustaining injuries right before the competition had become major news, and the media, smelling blood, had descended en masse.

She couldn't get in!

Zi Ye dialed Ling Yin's speed-dial from a corner. "Are you in the twins' ward? How are things inside?"

Ling Yin whispered back, "Where are you? I'll come find you."

Zi Ye gave her location, and soon, Ling Yin emerged from a side path, leading Zi Ye into the hospital. As they walked, Ling Yin boasted smugly, "Look, this operation of mine was a huge success! All the media are clustered here. Let's see how that wretched Ilya deals with this!"

Zi Ye's face darkened. "You did this?"

Ling Yin grinned, feigning modesty. "Not entirely. When that huge incident happened during your combat class, it had already spread. Big Sister just gave it a little push, hehe, just a little nudge!"

Zi Ye wasn't sure whether to laugh or say something.

Currently, her focus wasn't on the magnitude of the news, but on the severity of the twins' injuries.

After listening to Ling Yin ramble on, Zi Ye seized a pause in her breath to ask, "How are the twins now? I didn't have time to ask the doctor when I left. When can they recover?"

Hearing the question, Ling Yin said nothing but covered her mouth, giggling.

Zi Ye felt irritated by her laughter and nudged her shoulder. "Hurry up and tell me! Don't you see I'm worried?"

Ling Yin laughed for another long moment. Seeing they were alone, she grabbed Zi Ye's wrist, positioning herself away from any surveillance, and quietly wrote on Zi Ye's palm.

Zi Ye was confused at first, but as she read on, she understood everything.

It turned out the twins’ severe injuries were fabricated by the doctors. They had only suffered superficial skin abrasions.

Ling Yin also mentioned that the doctor was affiliated with the Angel Domain...

Zi Ye finally pieced the facts together: Ilya sought Chucks to trip up the twins, using Red Hair as cover. Red Hair, somewhat aligned with the twins, deliberately agreed to Ilya's request, successfully executing the disruption but skillfully avoiding vital areas, leaving only minor injuries. The twins, being highly intelligent, immediately went to their allies' hospital and deliberately produced medical reports of severe disability, cementing the tragedy of their 'maiming.' Ling Yin, upon learning the situation, promoted it from behind the scenes, causing the swarm of reporters and media to descend. Before the competition, Ilya certainly wouldn't dare touch the twins again; the world was finally quiet.

After thinking it over, Zi Ye concluded: this group hadn't planned everything beforehand; they simply reacted optimally and quickly based on the unfolding events. She, Zi Ye, was the only fool.

It was likely that Red Hair was leaving Kaga because of this incident. A fight resulting in student injury during class was considered a tertiary teaching accident; regardless of circumstances, the course instructor would be held accountable. She had truly misunderstood Red Hair...

Zi Ye felt a pang of regret, remembering her earlier lack of understanding toward Red Hair.

In reality, Zi Ye had only guessed part of the truth.

After the Chucks incident, the police arrived and took Chucks away, along with the instructor, Red Hair, to the accident investigation center.

Chucks readily confessed to his actions: he wanted fame. The twins were celebrities, and by defeating them by any means, he felt he would achieve fame.

The twins were indeed celebrities.

Chucks had indeed beaten the twins, but now, his reputation was ruined. He wasn't a cadet at the academy, so he couldn't even claim he did it for the Fei Fei team.

Given the situation, the police expressed deep regret and temporarily detained him.

Next was the handling of Red Hair. As a Kaga instructor, and Kaga being a place that highly valued respect for teachers across the galaxy, they didn't press her, inviting her to sit down for a polite discussion.

However, Red Hair refused to talk.

She looked at all the police officers, her thin lips parting slightly to utter five words: "I, resign in disgrace."

With that, she patted her backside and strode out of the investigation center's main door. The police thought she was joking, but when they looked outside, they saw her sitting alone on a rest bench in the space station, quietly smoking...

Red Hair was gone, but the matter wasn't over.

That day, news of the mecha championship pilot injuries was broadcast repeatedly on major news outlets. Paired with images of the severely disabled twins and the doctors' reports, public opinion immediately shifted.

Ilya was internally wounded. The progression of events had far exceeded her control. Now, she could only watch. As long as the public arrow didn't point toward the Fei Fei team, everything would be fine.

In truth, many suspected the Fei Fei team was behind it, but there was no evidence. Thus, such rumors were confined to speculation and gossip among students.

Ilya refreshed the news feeds, then smiled. After the twins' injuries, even if they recovered as quickly as possible, they would still need all their inner skin to be perfectly healed before piloting a mecha, otherwise, they would fail physical examination. She had intended to take out one and then deal with the other, but she hadn't expected Chucks to be so effective, injuring both at once—it was simply too joyous. She had succeeded! Thanks to her efforts, the twins, already somewhat famous on Kaga, had now become galaxy-wide celebrities. Some fashion media even quipped that if Aexbent could no longer pilot a mecha due to injury, he should consider entering the fashion industry; they were waiting for him!

Li Chunyu stayed with the two in the hospital room, continuously reading various reports aloud to them. He personally had poor control; before finishing a report, he would start laughing, rolling on the bed in hysterics.

The twins exchanged helpless glances: this was Li Chunyu's true nature; it was utterly disillusioning!

Neither of them noticed that at that very moment, Chucks was released from the investigation center. He ascended to the tallest structure on the space station, took off his uniform, folded it neatly, and then leaped off!

—RS

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