Finals Loom

In the days leading up to the finals, Xu Lingqu spent most of her time in her dormitory.

Occasionally, she slipped out in the dead of night to the Yuheng Military Base. Going out in the wee hours meant she wouldn't be mobbed like some Imperial treasure halfway there, and it conveniently evaded Tang Muwen's surveillance.

As the date for the addiction symptoms approached, Tang Muwen, who had been virtually invisible lately, started to make his presence felt again.

He kept trying to observe Xu Lingqu's condition. After consulting with You Sun, Xu Lingqu learned that some people who had used addictive substances might exhibit mild symptoms two days before the craving hit.

Tang Muwen was still trying to confirm whether Xu Lingqu was truly addicted.

Xu Lingqu didn't think her acting was good enough, so she simply shut herself in her room, refusing to see anyone, and only went out in the middle of the night.

She kept this special schedule, continuing to adapt to several more mech simulation pressure trainings. Liu Ming watched as Xu Lingqu, who had previously gritted her teeth and claimed not to feel pain, could now face even the highest intensity without a change in expression.

At first, Yun Zhongxiao couldn't quite understand why Xu Lingqu was adding extra training sessions in the middle of the night, but she respected it, assuming the pressure of the finals was getting to her and that this was her outlet.

After a few visits, however, seeing the simulation room results that Liu Ming had altered—Xu Lingqu could now basically withstand replicas of Hundred Flowers' Bane's intensity—Yun Zhongxiao began to change her mind.

With that level of ruthlessness and training discipline, how could the finals possibly stress her out?

The one under real pressure now was Jia Xianglan!

And indeed, that was the case.

While Xu Lingqu was intensifying her training, Jia Xianglan was having sleepless nights, talking to his father, Jia Tu.

"We have no way back now, Xianglan," Jia Tu said seriously. "You must perform well in these finals."

Jia Xianglan's performance in the infected zone map had convinced some that he was a wise and kind new star of Federation command.

But that Qingjun student who had been infected from the start was sent to the hospital immediately after the match, in serious condition, with possible spiritual damage.

This irrefutable fact had some in the Federation unable to tolerate him.

The two factions argued on the Tianwang Forum, building a massive thread, and after reading it, Jia Xianglan couldn't sleep at night.

[What exactly is wedged between the ears of those still believing in Jia Xianglan's act? Go get a hospital check, will you?]

[...Jia Xianglan represents the Federation's last hope! He beat the Imperial Longyuan and made it to the finals. Why are you attacking the Federation's hero?]

[Here we go again, isn't that annoying? Has he ever set foot on an interstellar battlefield? Win one league match and he's a Federation hero? Hell, then Qike Meilin should promote him to marshal, right?]

[I don't think Jia Xianglan is faking. He really did check the infection device himself and proactively proposed cooperation with Gu Tingzhi. It's Gu Tingzhi who refused cooperation and played the hero—that's what's disgusting, like he's the only great one!]

[Yeah, yeah, he did go check, proposed cooperation, then stood in front of the cameras pretending, struggling to squeeze out tears, but refused to give the infected student a release. All talk, all Gu Tingzhi's action. I personally despise the Empire, but on this matter, I can only say—the difference is clear.]

[If you really can't understand why we say Jia Xianglan is acting, just imagine this: you work with a colleague on a project. He says he'll do X and Y, says it for three days and does nothing, then goes crying to the boss about how hard it is, but doesn't lift a finger. The project fails and your bonus is docked. You grit your teeth and finish the whole project yourself, and in the end, he takes credit to the boss and gets all the bonus.]

[This year's Federation league has nothing to offer. The only thing I think after watching is: Tan Sen Meilin is worth ten Jia Xianglans. You all say you hate Xu Lingqu, but her matches and clips have crazy high views. It's like the whole Federation is secretly her fan. So embarrassing.]

[I'll say it loudly: Jia Xianglan is nowhere near his sister Jia Xiangying. Miss Jia Xiangying is way cuter. Tianwang, please swap Jia Xianglan and Jia Xiangying immediately. We want the young miss!]

...

The first dozen or so posts, Jia Xianglan could still keep a smile, but later, those defending him were getting crushed by his critics, and his resentment built up. When someone directly used Jia Xiangying to diminish him, calling him worthless, Jia Xianglan was so furious he smashed the vase in his dormitory.

"Father, do you think I'm inferior to Jia Xiangying?" Jia Xianglan's expression was dark and brooding. The malice he directed at his sister was unmistakable in his gaze toward the screen.

Jia Tu didn't react much. In his eyes, Jia Xiangying and Jia Xianglan were two wolf cubs he had raised. There could only be one alpha wolf, and they were destined to grow through constant competition, eventually killing each other to ascend to the alpha position.

One could say that the hostility and conflict between his own children was bred by his own hand. As they grew older, Jia Tu increasingly favored Jia Xianglan, who resembled him more.

In his original plan, Jia Xianglan and Jia Xiangying were supposed to meet in the finals, with the entire galaxy bearing witness to Jia Tu's excellent parenting. Jia Xianglan would defeat Jia Xiangying, rise swiftly through the Federation Military Department, and Jia Tu would rely on his son to no longer be constrained by those board members, truly grasping Tianwang in his hands.

"You are the most like me, the most successful. How could you be inferior to Yinger?" Jia Tu rubbed his temples.

Originally, everything had been proceeding according to his script.

He had investigated his biggest threat, Tan Sen Meilin, and found that this year, the Merlin Family had no suitable candidate and had fielded someone hastily—nothing to worry about.

But then the Empire had produced an unexpected blade: Xu Lingqu.

Despite the League Center placing numerous obstacles in her and Moye Academy's path, she was like an unstoppable sword, easily cutting through them...

"What should I do about Xu Lingqu? How can I beat her?" Jia Xianglan murmured.

He had some confidence against Gu Tingzhi—Qingjun had five S-rank soldiers, which gave them an edge over Longyuan in raw strength. Even if Gu Tingzhi had deliberately studied and targeted those five, he still had his well-known personality flaws that could be exploited using the map mechanics.

But Xu Lingqu...

"She absolutely is someone colder than me," Jia Xianglan said, recalling her matches. He felt her methods could only be described as ruthless.

Jia Tu was silent for a moment before saying, "You don't need to worry about her for now. And didn't your father tell you? You just need to perform well. Actually, you don't even have to win."

Jia Xianglan lifted his head. "What do you mean?"

"We can exploit Gu Tingzhi's sense of duty, and we can also exploit Xu Lingqu's ruthlessness. Based on your current performance in the Federation, winning is not what matters. As long as your image comes across right, we can focus our efforts on the mech arena."

At the mention of the mech arena, a light gradually returned to Jia Xianglan's eyes. "You're right, Father. Xu Lingqu's spiritual power is only B-level! Whatever I lose in the finals, I can win back in the arena."

Jia Tu nodded approvingly. "Good. You've thought it through clearly. You are my son indeed."

After about two hours of conversation, Jia Xianglan regained his confidence and finally looked full of fighting spirit again.

Jia Tu was about to go to sleep when he noticed the greyed-out communication channel with Jia Xiangying on his smart screen, and paused.

The last time they had spoken was after Dolanston had beaten Moye, when Jia Tu had told her, "I am very disappointed in you."

It was a phrase he often used with Jia Xiangying.

His daughter's personality was nothing like his. She had always been confident and bold since she was little, able to do things faster and better than others. Jia Tu disliked that about her.

In his eyes, his daughter should be inwardly refined. So he often said those words to her, hoping to chasten her.

Under his constant negation, Jia Xiangying had indeed become less proud and assertive than in her childhood, but her fundamental nature remained unchanged. At heart, she was still confident and bold, yet she had become emotionally unstable, often awkward and unwilling to speak her true feelings.

Jia Tu hadn't succeeded in completely reshaping her, and this time, Jia Xiangying simply ignored him.

I made the right choice picking Jia Xianglan, Jia Tu told himself, and shut down his smart screen.

The next day, Tianwang issued two notices. First, the finals' map would not be drawn by lot. Instead, Tianwang's designers would craft a fitting map especially for the finals, promising a surprise for all viewers.

Second, regarding the mech arena: participating students were now permitted to request modifications to certain parts of their mechs.

In recent years, modifying components on assembled mechs had become quite popular, with most people doing it for the thrill on replicated mechs.

In real life, it was mostly the majors and lieutenant generals who owned exclusive mechs that sought modifications from mech masters—mostly weapon upgrades.

This year marked the first time Tianwang's mech arena allowed modification applications, and with such a short notice, students from the Empire had basically no preparation.

It was Liu Ming who relayed both pieces of news to Xu Lingqu.

Xu Lingqu was just then going through her daily dose of messages on her smart screen. At the mention of mech modifications, she instinctively checked Natata's messages first.

Natata had been reporting in on her progress like a pet sending postcards from its travels.

The most recent messages said she was now on Neutral Star, where the mech masters lived. She was studying under Master Xiao and often ran errands between Master Xiao and Master Duanmeng.

"Master Duanmeng took in a new apprentice, and the guy looks kind of pitiful—his entire leg has been replaced with a mechanical prosthetic."

"Congrats on making it to the finals with Moye, Lingqu! I actually went to Master Duanmeng's place hoping to pick up some tricks, to see if I could learn a bit about S-class mechs. I'll keep my promise!"

"Heard you went to the league's mech arena! Be careful when fighting those Federation people. Protect your cockpit! Today's lesson was about building cockpits. Master Xiao said to take out an enemy in one blow, you aim for the cockpit! How cruel!"