Chapter 10: Ice and Fire Tournament (Five)

Chapter 10: Ice and Fire Tournament (Five)

The cub was still small, only the size of two palms, with its fluffy round body looking like an adorable snowball from behind.

"…Why are you still angry?" Rong Mi found the wolf's appearance adorable, genuinely wanting to cuddle and soothe it, but also feeling that he should clarify the situation.

The young man restrained his desire, maintaining a serious demeanor as he said, "I'm doing this for your own good, understand? Your mental domain is still unstable after the recent disorder. It could easily become disordered again. Frequent disorders in a short period can be very harmful to your body! …It's you who'll suffer, not me! You're such a worrywart, all covered in fur."

Silver Wolf: "…"

Silver Wolf's ears twitched, but it didn't turn its head, maintaining an arrogant posture.

Rong Mi asked, "Who's your owner, also a tournament participant? How can they let you do such a dangerous thing without even showing up?"

"Did the wolf just kill so many ice butterflies… Will all those points be credited to the owner?"

As he spoke, he scrolled through the leaderboard, "…Indeed, the top-ranked contestant has a very high score."

Rong Mi continued scrolling down to check his own points.

He had just slaughtered a great number of Ice Butterflies in the Snowy Mountain Range, causing his points to surge rapidly and secure him a place within the top twenty rankings.

"Yet, we're still short of reaching the top three. After all, the rewards for the top three are substantial." Rong Mi mused. "I wonder if there are high-level Ice Butterflies on Barren Star. If there are, how many points would one be worth?"

Rong Mi was contemplating whether to release his mental energy to probe deeper into the planet, searching for some high-grade Ice Butterflies to hunt down.

Silver Wolves: "..."

The Silver Wolves, with their back to him, swished their tail but still didn't turn around, though they couldn't help issuing a low growl of disapproval.

Too risky.

Rong Mi chuckled.

"You disagree? Do you doubt my capabilities?"

The wolf remained silent.

It wasn't that it doubted Rong Mi's strength. Rather, with Rong Mi's current mecha setup, such a move was overly aggressive.

Rong Mi clicked his tongue softly.

The wolf ignored him, but that didn't deter the young man. He crouched down and extended his hand, revealing his magical powers –

Wolf: "Awooo!"

Still on high alert from the surprise attack, the Silver Wolf leaped aside. Rong Mi's hands grasped at empty air, and he let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Well, if you don't want to be carried, you can come in yourself." Rong Mi pulled out the battle pet hoverball from the mecha cabin wall and placed it on the ground. "You've used this before, right? Come in, I'm about to activate the mecha."

The Battle Pet Hoverball was a specialized "seat" designed for battle pets.

The hoverball would adjust its size according to the star beast's form, though never exceeding the capacity of the mecha's cockpit.

Some large star beasts, whose sizes surpassed that of the mecha, would willingly shrink themselves when entering the hoverball. However, for smaller creatures like the young Silver Wolf, the hoverball would actively shrink to encircle the star beast.

The hoverball would shift its position and center of gravity in sync with the mecha's movements and direction, ensuring the comfort of the star beast inside. The cockpit also featured dampeners to minimize the harm caused by high acceleration to both the pilot and the star beast.

With his mental domain in good health, Rong Mi's mental strength had already regained a small portion. Thus, he decided to pilot the mecha away from the icy seashore they were currently at.

To secure a top-three spot and the reward money, he needed to keep earning points.

There was only one day left in the competition. At this point, actively searching for alien beasts or traveling to specific locations to kill them for points would be too slow, unless there was another Ice Butterfly invasion.

However, Rong Mi had no desire to experience that relentless assault again.

After a moment of contemplation, he reviewed the conditions for earning points and suddenly recalled the point chip card the ambush mech pilot had left behind.

Rong Mi: Let's see how many points I can gain from this card!

He fished the chip card out of his pocket and inserted it into the mech's reader.

"Beep - Reading contestant Gu Ming's point chip card - Point retrieval successful - Contestant Rong Mi's latest ranking updated: Ninth place."

Rong Mi: "!"

This mech pilot named Gu Ming had an abundance of points.

By this calculation, plundering other contestants' points was a much quicker way to accumulate points than earning them himself!

Rong Mi glanced once more at the tournament map.

From the rules, the most opportune spot to ambush other contestants right now... would be along the path leading to the gathering point.

The Mecha Combat Tournament wasn't an extended event. When Rong Mi was reborn, the competition was nearing its end, with only a day left until closure.

According to the rules, all participants had to return to the designated gathering area by the specified time. Those who failed to do so would be deemed as having withdrawn from the contest.

The assembly point for the tournament was situated at the summit of a slope covered in a pine forest on the opposite side of the snowfield.

Rong Mi: I'll have to find a location in the woods to set up my ambush.

Leaving the icy sea behind, the mecha traversed the snowfield.

As they crossed the mountains where the fierce battle had just taken place, Rong Mi deliberately circled back to the spot where they had sniped the Ice Butterfly, confirming that Gu Ming had been rescued by a rescue team.

The wind had subsided, and the white expanse of the snowfield was now streaked with a layer of blue-red debris – remnants of the Ice Butterflies destroyed by the Silver Wolves.

Rong Mi stepped over several deep crevices, extending their mental energy downward. They discovered that beneath the surface, the Ice Butterfly's lair was a labyrinthine network stretching deep into the planet's core.

"I wonder if there are any high-level Ice Butterflies down there." Rong Mi looked at the Silver Wolves. "Did you see anything when you released your mental energy?"

The wolf still didn't respond. It seemed to be still uncomfortable with its mental domain and was somewhat exhausted.

Lying in the hovering sphere, the wolf initially tried fiercely to remove the purple mental energy collar around its neck. When it realized it couldn't, it resigned itself to wearing it.

Resting its head on its front paws, it narrowed its eyes as if about to doze off. Yet, its ears remained alert, listening for any sounds around it.

Concerned that the wolf's mental domain might fluctuate again, Rong Mi kept an eye on it while operating the mecha.

The little silver wolf lying in the transparent hovering sphere resembled a plush toy in a Christmas bauble. Its icy-blue eyes, characteristic of a predator, carried a chilling gaze.

Rong Mi thought, That's the dash of coolness amid cuteness!

This look made Rong Mi want to grab the wolf out and pet it again.

...Stroking fur was addictive!

Rong Mi forced themselves to refocus.

His relationship with the wolves wasn't yet intimate; forcefully engaging in rough play could easily backfire.

...It was better to save it for future development!

In the short hours since encountering the Silver Wolves, Rong Mi's mindset had undergone a significant transformation.

Initially, he only wanted to observe the majestic Arctic Silver Wolves up close. Then, he discovered the issue with the wolf's spirit domain and simply wished to help it.

Now...

Rong Mi was already fantasizing: He wondered if the wolf might consider swapping to a more reliable owner.

Someone who wouldn't abandon a wolf in the snowy wilderness without a second thought.

Lost in his wandering thoughts, his piloting of the mecha didn't lack speed.

Perhaps due to the recent abundance of Ice Butterflies, Rong Mi didn't encounter any strange beasts or other competitors throughout his journey.

Several hours later, the black mecha finally came to a stop on the edge of a pine forest below the designated meeting point.