As he was teleported onto the battlefield, Peizhe quietly slipped out the poisoned needle Illyas had given him.

Clutching the injector in both hands, his whole body trembled uncontrollably.

But for the sake of the woman he loved, for her dream… he squeezed his eyes shut, whispering a reassurance to himself, “Even if it’s just for this, it’s worth it.”

He gritted his teeth, uncapped the syringe, and slowly pushed the poison into his vein.

In that instant, a coldness, like a viper's touch, made him shudder all over.

His brain and nerves felt as though they were ablaze, surging with an instant, uncontrollable euphoria.

He craved frenzy!

The effect of this single needle arrived faster and was far more insane than the last time.

His body reacted to the toxin even more **; he threw the syringe aside, clenched his trembling fists, took a deep breath, and launched his mech forward like an arrow.

His nerves were beyond his control; before his eyes, only one thought remained: Cut down the opponent!

What was the opponent's name again?

Aix or Spent? He had been too tense at the time to pay any mind to the name the opponent announced. Regardless of who it was, even if the twins attacked together, he had to win!

From the physical examination room to the competition team's lounge, the Chushou team, sitting before the live broadcast screen, sensed something was wrong the moment Peizhe’s piloting began. What was that bizarre trajectory? It made everyone watching deeply uncomfortable.

Ziye suddenly shot to her feet, her eyes locked on the screen. What in the world was Peizhe doing?

This round of rock-paper-scissors had been prearranged regarding the outcome. Spent had deliberately lost to Aix because Spent possessed superior control over time. Ziye had also warned Aix beforehand to avoid engaging Peizhe head-on.

But now, it seemed highly unlikely Aix could withstand Peizhe.

The facts proved Ziye's conjecture correct.

Peizhe exploded onto the scene like a sudden tempest, aiming to beat Aix to death.

The grenade launcher fire streaked toward Aix’s sword-shaped mech like falling stars. Smoke billowed amidst the sparks, making Ziye’s heart leap into her throat, worried that the armor would shatter the next second.

In contrast, Aix was dodging and weaving desperately, clearly struggling.

Li Chunyu worried aloud, “Can he keep this up? I’m afraid he won’t last ten minutes.”

Spent, seated next to Li Chunyu, soothed her, “Relax, he won’t be defeated that easily, trust me. Look, although Peizhe is fast and his strikes are vicious, his accuracy is slightly low—only around fifty percent. I calculated his data before; his accuracy can reach seventy percent. Clearly, he is sacrificing precision to achieve this speed.”

The intelligent Aix seized upon his low accuracy, barely managing to evade the barrage of cannon fire, but he was pinned down, unable to counterattack.

Seeing this, Ziye actually felt a slight easing of tension. As long as he could stall, there would be a chance to find a breakthrough. If he was blown up instantly, it would all be over.

Peizhe’s mind roared like ten thousand wild horses, desperately wanting to pound Aix Bent until he was crawling on the ground looking for teeth. Aix, meanwhile, was using every method possible just to delay the inevitable.

So, to the audience, it looked like Peizhe was unilaterally crushing Aix.

The match hadn't even reached the halfway point before some spectators started jeering at Aix, some even cursing him violently.

“What ‘Moving Point Ace’? Can you be any more disgraceful?”

“Did you forget to drink your milk today? You’re getting dominated by some low-ranking corporal scum! Did you forget to bring your guts to the arena today?”

“…”

Their words were cruel; they had no idea what Aix was actually enduring.

Ziye had said he must hold out for half an hour.

Only after half an hour would Peizhe’s drug effects wear off, allowing Aix to counterattack. Attacking now would only make Peizhe more volatile. Aix thought to himself that if he became enraged, the drug might wear off even faster!

As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense.

Aix gritted his teeth and counterattacked!

The greatest feature of the rapid-fire projectile cannon was its smaller shell size but dense, sustained firepower, which, combined with Peizhe’s speed, made him like a tiger with wings.

The magnetic railgun was the complete opposite: high impact but only able to fire once every ten seconds. Once Aix resolved to fight back, he specifically waited for the projectile cannon to exhaust its ammo, taking those ten seconds to reload to ensure a guaranteed hit!

The situation finally eased somewhat. Aix dared not let his guard down, remaining calm and collected, dragging out the time second by second with each shot. However, the mech had taken too many hits; one moment of inattention, and another volley of projectile cannon fire struck home!

Boom—

The lower portion of the already crumbling shield collapsed completely!

Spent suddenly stood up.

Seeing the shift, the others also rose to their feet.

Lingyin anxiously asked, “Is he about to collapse?”

Only fifteen minutes had passed, and the shield had already lost half its integrity. Even if he could last another fifteen minutes, the shield would be completely gone. What would he fight Peizhe with then?

Li Chunyu asked urgently, “What do we do?”

Spent paced back and forth in frustration, wishing he could take the field himself. But even if he did, it wouldn't help.

Just then, a solution struck Ziye. She turned and bolted toward the door. Lingyin chased after her, crying out, “Xiao Yezi, where are you going?”

Ziye didn't have time to explain. She rushed to the official representative's booth, slapped her hand down on the table, and declared, “I am the representative for the Chushou team! I request a pause in the match!”

Lingyin followed behind her. Hearing this, her eyes immediately lit up. How had she not thought to call for a pause?

The official personnel looked troubled. “This… there is no established precedent for a mid-match break in mech combat.”

Lingyin immediately jumped in, asserting herself, “Other competitions have mid-match breaks, so why can’t a Pilot PK have one? The break is essential for adjusting tactics and maximizing advantages.”

The official personnel stated, “There is no reason to call a halt in the middle of the battlefield.”

Lingyin argued loudly, “Even in warfare, there are times for soldiers to rest, and agreements can be reached through negotiation. Why can’t a competition have a break?”

The official personnel had no retort: “We don’t have that convention; we cannot arbitrarily stop the contest.”

Lingyin and Ziye exchanged a look, reaching a silent agreement. Lingyin continued to persuade the officials, while Ziye returned to the viewing room and pulled Spent aside. “Is there any way to get the officials to agree to a pause? If we get a pause, Aix will be safe.”

Spent thought for a moment. “I’ll try,” he said. He opened the internal communication system for the Angel Domain, dialed Aix’s number, and told him, “Request a mid-match break.”

The participating mechs had an emergency distress signal system that could contact officials if any abnormal condition occurred, though the twins had never used it before.

Ziye worried, “Will it work?”

Spent replied, “I don’t know. But didn’t Bobo explain all the competition regulations to us a few days ago? The officials give extra attention to requests from pilots currently competing, and it can be transmitted directly to the core immediately.”

-RS