Chapter 221

Chapter 221

As Bai Xingshu eagerly awaited, the friendly match was finally about to begin.

Changying Military University was located on the capital planet, so getting there was no hassle.

After a little over an hour in the air car, the group arrived at Changying’s competition zone.

Compared to their own school’s terrain—mostly hills and forests—Changying’s zone was mostly canyons and rivers, way better for hiding. As Bai Xingshu observed the landscape from the air car, his mind raced through possible battle plans.

The rest of the team, though, was mostly on edge as they looked out at the scene ahead.

No matter how much training they’d done back at school, now they were facing real combat drills—where injuries were possible, and there’d even been deaths in the past. So of course these twenty-year-olds were feeling the heat.

Lin Lie, being squad leader, didn’t slack on his duties and reassured everyone: “Relax. Their first move’s gonna be gunning for ‘Xing Ze Jiang Zhi.’”

At that, all the Combat Department members in the air car fell silent for a few seconds.

Somehow, it clicked why their S-Class squad leader had never gotten anywhere with Bai Xingshu.

Still… they griped internally, but the comment did take the edge off.

Hell, “take out Xing Ze Jiang Zhi” was practically tradition in every squad match—and there’d even been successful cases before.

Nerves eased or not, one guy, looking sheepish, piped up with a suggestion: “Hey… maybe we shouldn’t tell Changying the Deputy Squad Leader’s you?”

Over the past two years, the fact that “Xing Ze Jiang Zhi” was at Shoujun had become common knowledge.

It was even likely that Bai Xingshu’s name was already well known.

With so many students at Shoujun—many of whom had friends at other schools—it might’ve been possible to keep things quiet for a short time, but keeping it secret long-term was impossible.

However, what “Xing Ze Jiang Zhi” actually looked like was still somewhat under wraps.

Many nodded in agreement at the suggestion.

Bai Xingshu just stared at him flatly and replied, “Come on. I’ll be in a mech the whole time. Even if they know it’s me, how’re they gonna pick out my mech?”

The mechs they used here were standardized—including weapons—and looked completely identical, unlike the customized ones in the combat network.

The guy gave him a dark look. “That’s not the point. The real question is—you think you’re walking out of Changying in one piece?”

Damn good question.

The others, who’d been holding back laughs at Bai Xingshu’s reasonable rebuttal, went dead quiet.

Truly damn good question.

Bai Xingshu just grinned, chin up, full of confidence. “Let ‘em try!!”

If anything, his bravado just made them more uneasy.

What they really heard in that grim warning—“You think you’re leaving Changying in one piece?”—was something way worse…

Will we even get out of Changying in one piece?!

The teachers and students from Changying on the ground were pumped up and ready for battle, eager to face their opponents. But when the enemy aircraft landed… they were completely thrown off by what they saw—Shoujun’s ship disgorged a bunch of downcast faces, looking utterly defeated.

And it wasn’t just the students—even many of Shoujun’s teachers looked grim.

—These accompanying teachers had overheard the conversations among the students on the flight over. As educators, they had a better grasp of who “Xingze Jiangzhi” was.

While the Changying students might still care about appearances and hesitate to say anything harsh to the kids, as teachers…

Could they really make it out of Changying in one piece?

People fight best when their spirits are high. Changying had worked hard to rally themselves, planning to talk trash and hype everyone up before the match.

That’s how things had always gone between rival teams.

But now…

The tension instantly turned awkward.

What was going on with Shoujun? Why did they look like they were already beaten before the fight even started?

Was this really okay?

Seeing the scene unfold, the Changying team rubbed their noses, too thrown off to start any trash-talking. Instead, sticking to hospitality, they quickly offered a warm welcome.

For once, things started off weirdly friendly.

Still, no matter how peaceful the mood, the moment everyone from Shoujun had anticipated came anyway.

After holding back their curiosity for a few minutes, the Changying students tried to be polite, greeting everyone before eyeing the crowd like they weren’t curious. Then, forcing a laugh, one of them asked, “Excuse me, which one of you is Xingze Jiangzhi?”

The second the question left their lips, everyone from Changying could feel the air on Shoujun’s side turn even more tense.

And Shoujun didn’t even try to hide it. Everyone clearly saw the students’ eyes silently converge on one person among them.

They were looking at someone serene and elegant, drop-dead gorgeous, the kind of beauty that made your heart skip a beat and filled you with the urge to get closer.

Hmm…

Hmm???

By all accounts, Xingze Jiangzhi had been in the intermediate tier for over two years—rumored to have qualified for the advanced tier ages ago. But he never moved up because there were no classmates there, and the advanced tier didn’t run competitions (those who reached the advanced level were officers, and even their battle records were hidden, let alone organized events encouraging combat practice).

Over these two years, Xingze Jiangzhi had fought at least two matches a day, sometimes over a dozen when he was really in the zone. Almost every fighter in the intermediate tier had their butts handed to them by him.

Most of the players in the intermediate tier were military academy students—there were plenty of grudges to go around.

So despite how awkward it felt, they couldn’t help but want to meet Xingze Jiangzhi in person—to see exactly what kind of jerk this annoying guy was.

But now…

The Changying team stared blankly at Bai Xingshu, swallowed hard, and managed to croak out, “Xingze Jiangzhi?”

Bai Xingshu, noticing their surprisingly polite tone, gave them an easy smile back. “Yeah, hello.”

Changying was blinded for a second by that smile—as if sunlight had broken through clouds.

Blushing!

The Shoujun team watched their opponents’ reaction: “…………”

Oh right—their team had taken so many beatings from Bai Xingshu that they’d become numb to his looks, almost forgetting…

That Xingze Jiangzhi was also a total knockout.