Chapter 53

[??? How exactly are we supposed to fight to the end?]

[If Zhou Lu Hai is really a super star level, they might stand a chance against Hanhai, but against the Empire…]

Especially with Zhou Xingyu’s return to the Empire.

With five super star levels, what can they use to win?

This isn’t just a futile effort; it’s practically a fantasy.

While the observing viewers found it improbable, the students of Interstellar Academy still had some trust in Ji Fu. Although many also doubted the possibility of success, everyone resolved to do their best.

At the very least, they wouldn’t leave with regrets or drag the team down.

So, upon entering the venue, everyone started working non-stop.

Each person was assigned numerous tasks every day. The resources in the venue were scattered rather than concentrated in one area.

In the short term, the primary need was to gather these resources.

The production of nutrient solutions and other essential items was left entirely to the machinery.

[To be fair, these strange machines really saved Interstellar a lot of time.]

However, relying on these fragmented resources to fend off the Empire seemed impossible.

As time ticked by, the tension in the venue became palpable by the fourth day.

Only three days remained until the Imperial Military Academy would enter the venue.

Even if they cooperated with Hanhai, they would still need to withstand the Empire’s onslaught alone.

For a full five days.

This wouldn’t be easy even for the elite classes of the two major academies, let alone Interstellar, which included many B-level gifted students.

Much of this pressure stemmed from Zhou Xingyu.

At the super star + level, his talent was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. If Zhou Xingyu wanted, he could release his mech and eliminate most of Interstellar Academy’s students in an instant.

With two days left before the Empire entered the venue, the S-class students who had been out collecting resources had mostly returned.

The exam venue was harsh, not only due to the scarcity of survival resources but also because of the threat posed by high-level exotic beasts.

In the few days since entering the venue, they had already encountered at least five star-level exotic beasts.

Some crucial survival resources were even guarded by these beasts.

This forced the students not only to survive but also to deal with these exotic beasts.

The Interstellar Academy, being the first to enter, faced the greatest pressure. Not eliminating the beasts would hinder their progress, but doing so would deplete their resources.

To address this, Tan Xi split the tasks.

The S-class students were responsible for going out to kill the exotic beasts, while the others stayed at the base to gather more survival resources.

There were too many high-level exotic beasts, including many at S and S+ levels, making the entire area a minefield.

Li Yunyi was left to guard the base, while the rest of the S-class students went out in shifts to hunt the exotic beasts.

Ji Fu was also part of the hunting team.

However, her main responsibility was logistics. When Yan Yan appeared, everyone knew she was a mecha master.

So, she, Shi Xueying, and Zhou Mo took turns repairing damaged mechas.

The three of them were extremely busy, especially Zhou Mo, a star-level mecha master. The ones who hunted exotic beasts the most were Tan Xi and Li Yunyi, and Zhou Mo’s wrench was practically smoking from all the repairs.

Ji Fu and Shi Xueying were also very busy, both being S-level mecha masters.

They handled the repairs for Wan Feng and Zhou Lu Hai’s mechas.

Everyone had their tasks, and Zhou Mo mostly worked at night, so their schedules didn’t overlap much.

Thus, he didn’t realize that most of the mecha repairs over the past few days were handled by Shi Xueying.

Ji Fu only helped repair Zhou Lu Hai’s Deep Sea once, and it took less than 20 minutes. Her repair method was so crude that it made the viewers in the live chat extremely nervous.

[… Honestly, although her method is strange, it works.]

[And it saves time.]

On the fifth day, the S-class mecha soldiers began dragging star-level exotic beasts back to the base. The viewers were both amazed and curious about Ji Fu’s repair methods.

[But what exactly is she doing?]

[It looks like… she’s building a mecha.]

Actually, it wasn’t just Ji Fu; all the mecha masters at Interstellar Academy were building mechas.

They used the large amount of materials obtained during training.

Due to the tight schedule and lower quality requirements, each person needed to produce a mecha within seven days.

If they couldn’t build a mecha, making a mecha suit was also acceptable.

The goal was to have a batch of mechas and equipment ready before the Imperial Military Academy entered.

[Having more equipment is good, but seven days is too short. The products might be a bit crude.]

[Different mecha masters take different amounts of time to build mechas. Some need a long time to perfect their creations.]

So, most students chose to make mecha suits.

Among the mecha masters, only Shi Xueying and Zhou Mo managed to produce two decent mechas, both at the S level.

As for Ji Fu’s work…

The audience couldn’t quite understand.

Initially, most people thought she would make an unmanned mecha.

After all, Yan Yan was her own masterpiece. While she couldn’t create something as perfect in seven days, producing a similar S-level mecha seemed feasible.

They had enough materials, especially with the high-level exotic beast materials the S-class students gathered in recent days.

However, after watching for several days, they still couldn’t grasp Ji Fu’s intention.

[It’s definitely not an unmanned mecha.]

[It looks like mecha parts, but there are too many of them.]

[And the parts are too small. Could she be making an A-level mecha?]

Ji Fu’s speed was notably fast. Within five days, someone counted that she had produced over a hundred mecha parts.

There were also several large-scale S-level heavy weapons.

The heavy weapons were understandable, meant to equip the S-level mechas.

But the viewers couldn’t decipher the purpose of all these parts.

On the sixth day, Ji Fu stopped making mecha parts, making her actions even more perplexing.

She started working on her light brain instead.

Her behavior was unlike that of a typical mecha master, drawing special attention from the exam monitors.

After days of observation, someone finally asked a nearby mecha master.

Amusingly, each mecha master gave a different answer.

Huang Peilan said, “It seems like she’s trying to use a system to manage all these parts, but I’m not sure about the specifics.”

The mecha master from the Fang family commented, “Maybe she’s planning to build multiple unmanned mechas at once?”

The questioner, a mecha soldier, wasn’t familiar with these things but had been watching closely. He knew Ji Fu had only made one engine.

The engine was made from star-level materials.

He had noticed Ji Fu because this mecha master with a flawed talent could use cross-level mecha materials.

One engine couldn’t make multiple unmanned mechas, so this answer was clearly incorrect.

The mecha master from the Han family tentatively said, “… It looks like a transformable mecha.”

This concept brought a moment of silence among the observers.

With so many parts, there were numerous possible combinations. If it was a transformable mecha, it made sense.

Ji Fu’s unmanned mecha previously featured a standout design—transformation.

“It’s incredibly difficult to create a transforming mecha in such a short time,” remarked one mecha engineer.

It’s not just the difficulty; this task excessively tests a mecha engineer’s abilities and even requires a system with exceptionally strong computing power.

Each point mentioned presents a significant challenge.

Trying to accomplish this within seven days is impossible for most mecha engineers.

Because of this seemingly impossible task, the majority of people were closely watching Ji Fu’s progress the day before the Imperial Military Academy’s examination.

Ji Fu had been working continuously for a long time.

The system on her optical computer had been running non-stop for seventy-eight hours, not just the dozen or so hours visible to those present.

By dawn on the seventh day, Ji Fu hadn’t slept for more than ten hours. She lay down on a small bed in the base and fell asleep.

She slept until 7:45 the next morning, making the viewers in the live stream anxious.

“If I remember correctly, the Imperial Military Academy’s exam starts at 8:00 this morning, right?”

“Yes, only a few minutes left.”

“What’s going on in the interstellar academy? Isn’t there anyone to wake her up?”

Their anxiety was mainly because Ji Fu’s parts were scattered all over the base, not yet assembled.

At six in the morning, Shi Xueying had come in once.

But knowing that Ji Fu hadn’t slept for almost two days and nights due to the experiment, she decided not to wake her, planning to let her sleep a bit longer.

She didn’t expect Ji Fu to sleep so deeply.

At 7:55, Ji Fu finally opened her eyes.

When she woke up, everyone outside was finishing their tasks, busy with final preparations.

Shi Xueying asked if she needed help.

Ji Fu glanced at the optical computer on her wrist and calmly said, “No need.”

“What about these parts? Are you going to abandon them after all this work?”

The viewers were almost frantic.

They had been watching for almost seven days, seeing Ji Fu create each part, with several failures and remakes in between.

They had grown attached to these parts.

If Ji Fu decided to abandon them now, it would be…

While the live stream was buzzing, everyone saw Ji Fu open her optical computer and begin collecting all the parts scattered on the ground into it.

Two minutes before the Imperial Military Academy’s exam started, Ji Fu had collected all the parts in the base.

At 8:00 sharp.

*Beep Beep Beep*

Ji Fu raised her head and looked at the optical computer on her wrist.

The message displayed: “Assembly Complete.”

“What? Let me see!”

“So, what are all these parts for? Will I find out today?”

Of course, they would.

Under countless gazes, a calm announcement came from the exam hall: “The Imperial Military Academy has entered the exam hall.”

At the same time, Tan Xi activated the school’s voice-sharing system and calmly said, “All members of the Interstellar Academy, prepare for the attack.”

“???”

“Huh? Are we really attacking?”

At eight in the morning, when many people were just waking up and not fully alert, the Interstellar Academy was ready to launch a full-scale attack on the much stronger Imperial Military Academy.

When Tan Xi’s voice came through the live stream, everyone instantly became alert.

The next second, they saw all the students of the Interstellar Academy equipping their mechas.

On the Imperial side, they also entered the exam hall and got into position in the first second.

However, given the significant disparity in strength, they hadn’t expected the Interstellar Academy to initiate an attack at this time.

After entering the exam hall, Fang Yuan first sent Shen Qinglian’s message to everyone in the elite class.

They didn’t know, but the comments were quite exciting.

“…Ji Fu was right, Shen Qinglian is really something.”

“Hilarious, how could it match word for word?”

Several members of the Imperial Military Academy’s elite class didn’t have their optical computers in privacy mode, so Shen Qinglian’s message was plainly visible to most people.

“Ji Fu from the Interstellar Academy is collaborating with Han Hai, planning to poison the survival resources in the exam hall before the Imperial Military Academy enters.”

This matched exactly what Ji Fu had said seven days ago, making the scene particularly absurd.

While the Imperial side was still discussing, Fang Yuan asked calmly, “Can Shen Qinglian’s words be trusted?”

Han Siyin, next to him, paused and said, “Given Shen Qinglian’s character, it’s not necessarily something the Interstellar Academy initiated.”

Si Fan frowned, “You mean Shen Qinglian deliberately conspired with the Interstellar Academy and then fed the information to us?”

“It’s just the Interstellar Academy; he wouldn’t go to such lengths, would he?”

The leader, Zhou Xingyu, smiled lightly, “It’s indeed Shen Qinglian’s style.”

When he spoke, everyone fell silent.

After a moment of silence, Si Fan asked, “So what should we do? Should we follow Shen Qinglian’s plan and help him eliminate the Interstellar Academy as an obstacle?”

Han Qianqian looked at her beautiful nails and said with a half-smile, “Now, isn’t it the Interstellar Academy that should be figuring out what to do?”

“Given the current situation of the Interstellar Academy, shouldn’t they be the ones asking us for help?” She put down her hand and looked at Zhou Xingyu, “So, should we help them?”

Zhou Xingyu smiled, “Matters between the Interstellar Academy and Han Hai should be resolved by themselves.”

Before Zhou Xingyu appeared, the Imperial side was in a state of leaderless chaos.

After Zhou Xingyu’s return, everyone could see that the voice of authority at the Imperial Military Academy was primarily in his hands.

This situation was quite normal. In the interstellar era, everything is determined by strength.

Whoever has the biggest fist holds the most power.

[…So, initially, I thought it was a bit foolish for the Interstellar Academy not to seek help from the Empire, but now it makes sense. To the Empire, the other two academies are too weak. Why would they help the weaker one just because of some grudges?]

[Zhou Xingyu’s approach isn’t wrong, right? The grudges between the two academies have nothing to do with them.]

[That’s true, but this attitude… well, it feels a bit uncomfortable.]

There are also many supporters of Zhou Xingyu.

People admire strength, especially after the Black Hole event. In a situation where the level of power directly affects survival, the cries of the weak are not worth mentioning.

Fang Yuan understood. He smirked and said, “Then let them resolve it themselves. But before that, we need to communicate with the Interstellar Academy.”

What kind of ‘communication’? Of course, it’s about survival resources.

They can ignore the conflict between the two major academies, but the Interstellar Academy must provide the Empire’s rations for this month.

If they’re unwilling, Fang Yuan wouldn’t mind getting involved in their affairs.

Zhou Xingyu wasn’t interested in these matters and let them handle it.

He had authority but wasn’t like Shen Qinglan, who needed to manage everything and treat everyone around him as subordinates.

Although both were from the three major families, there was competition between the Zhou and Fang families. Zhou Xingyu had no interest in interfering with Fang Yuan’s actions.

Seeing Zhou Xingyu sitting on a chair behind him, lazily closing his eyes.

Fang Yuan immediately called for Si Fan and Bai Ye Ming.

He hadn’t forgotten there was a super-star level on the interstellar side, so he called Bai Ye Ming to prevent any accidents.

The three of them, along with several elite mecha soldiers, started heading towards the center of the examination field.

Si Fan, proficient in various systems, covered the entire planet with a system upon entering the examination field. Currently, the map highlights had been generated, and by following the marked points, they would certainly find the base of the Interstellar Academy.

What they didn’t know was that the Interstellar Academy had already marked all of their positions.

Similarly, the system coverage on the Interstellar Academy side was being handled by Wan Feng.

Since entering the examination field, Ji Fu, besides using Yan Yan, hadn’t displayed her hacking skills.

The overall system coordination was done by Wan Feng.

Wan Feng indeed had a great talent for this.

Since the Imperial Military Academy logged into the examination field, he had quickly found their location.

“Someone is moving rapidly towards us,” Wan Feng quickly operated the interface, saying in a deep voice, “Judging by their speed, there should be a super-star level among them.”

The good news was that the Empire had split their formation upon entry. The bad news was that even with a divided formation, both sides had super-star levels stationed.

It looked like a dead end.

Tang Xi swiftly made a decision and said in a deep voice, “Proceed according to the previous plan.”

They had devised several combat plans, one of which included splitting the formation.

The best response at the moment was to split their formation as well.

And they split into two teams, one taking a different route to avoid the Imperial Military Academy and directly attack their headquarters.

However, how to swap the lineup between the two teams was the key to this plan.

Especially regarding Zhou Lu Hai’s placement.

“The one coming is not Zhou Xingyu.” In the silence, Zhou Lu Hai said deeply, “I’ll flank and go to their headquarters.”

In this battle, the goal was to ensure that in any situation, he would face Zhou Xingyu.

He was the strongest combat force on the interstellar side, and only by holding off Zhou Xingyu could the Interstellar Academy have a chance to win.

Tang Xi nodded, “Then Li Yunyi and I will stay here.”

They were star-level mecha soldiers, and together, they should be able to temporarily restrain a super-star level.

But they could only delay for a while, and defeating the opponent was out of the question.

In addition, there was the heavy battleship they made this time, considered their secret weapon. Tang Xi intended to give this weapon to Zhou Lu Hai.

Zhou Lu Hai, however, said, “No need.”

“The battleship stays here.” Tang Xi glanced at him, knowing he wasn’t being arrogant, and finally nodded.

“Then it’s settled. Zhou Lu Hai, Ji Fu, Wan Feng… you guys flank to their headquarters, everyone else stays with me.”

As soon as Tang Xi finished speaking, everyone named activated their mechas simultaneously.

Logically, Ji Fu, as a mecha pilot, should enter Zhou Lu Hai’s mecha for protection.

But she didn’t.

Viewers watching the live stream noticed her transforming the unmanned mecha Yan Yan into a black car. The red eyes on the dashboard lit up, and the car shot out at extreme speed.

With Wan Feng there, and given their familiarity with the examination field terrain, they took another route, completely avoiding Fang Yuan and his group’s sight, and found the Imperial Military Academy’s headquarters.

Due to the super-star level presence on the other side, they stayed far away, only able to see from the map that the Imperial Military Academy was already building their base.

Most were busy setting up the base, and not far behind it, there was a small black dot.

Ji Fu glanced at the position of that black dot, “That should be the rest area for the Empire’s elite class.”

The first joint examination wasn’t for nothing, at least it made them aware of the other side’s habits.

The elite class does not live with other students; the scions of noble families are particular about their environment.

Wan Feng said softly, “Judging by the speed at which the base is being built, there should be a super-star level mecha at the main base.”

The base model on the map was changing rapidly, almost in real-time.

“I’ll go to the rear.” Zhou Lu Hai’s eyes were deep. “Be careful, everyone.”

It was uncertain how many super-star levels were at the elite class’s resting area. Zhou Lu Hai going alone was undoubtedly very dangerous.

However, as a super-star level himself, it was unlikely he would suffer any fatal harm in a short time.

But as for Ji Fu and the others…

The one building the base was likely a super-star level mecha pilot.

Among their group, the most talented, Ji Fu and Wan Feng, were only S-level.

Yet, they didn’t hesitate at all.

Once Zhou Lu Hai activated Shen Hai and advanced into the depths, the rest moved simultaneously.

Wan Feng and everyone in the special A class armed themselves with mechas, holding special agents in their hands.

Yan Yan transformed into its mecha form, ready to go.

The viewers watching the live stream were all tense, waiting for them to act.

But then they saw Ji Fu, standing behind Yan Yan, suddenly press a button on her light brain.

Click, clack.

As soon as she pressed the armament key, her entire body was covered by the mecha.

Under everyone’s gaze, Ji Fu’s body was armed with silver-white mecha parts, which completed their automatic transformation and assembly within a second.

A complete human-sized mecha suit formed on Ji Fu.

Everyone held their breath, and when they recovered, they looked more carefully and realized she was indeed wearing a mecha, not just a mecha suit.

“This is…” The mecha master at the monitoring station suddenly stood up, exclaiming in disbelief, “A wearable mecha?!”

This statement was like a stone thrown into calm waters, creating waves of excitement.

Wearable mechas!

These were a type of mecha form modified and created several hundred years ago.

Unlike heavy mechas, they did not require strong physical prowess or robust mecha soldiers for operation. Instead, they covered the entire body, offering a more flexible form of mecha.

However, due to their lower strength compared to regular mechas, high cost, and the need for extensive assembly and modification, they were gradually phased out.

No one expected to see them reappear in the joint examination field after so many years!

Unmanned mechas had been used before, but this was the first time a wearable mecha made its debut.

Hence, the onlookers were so excited when they saw it.

Especially Ji Fu’s silver-white mecha, from the body to the helmet, showcased an elegant streamlined design.

[…I didn’t realize how cool this mecha was when she was tinkering with it.]

Not only was it aesthetically pleasing, but even from the footage, one could see the powerful mechanical strength of the mecha.

Standing behind Yan Yan, the two mechas of equal height, one black and one white, made for a striking image.

What was more astonishing was the display of Ji Fu’s mecha control screen once the mecha was activated.

A wearable mecha is still a mecha, and naturally, it has a control interface.

However, her interface differed from the norm, showing only her eyes hidden behind the mecha helmet and the…

Mecha control screen.

The screen displayed: 【Mecha: Bright Moon, Mecha Level: S+】

An S+ level wearable mecha.