Chapter 224

Chapter 224

The teachers from Shoujun looked everywhere but at each other before daring to sneak a glance toward their counterparts from Changying.

That single glance was enough to confirm the thunderous expressions on the faces of the Changying teachers.

This guy, codenamed "Ghost," actually pulled a ghost-possession stunt...

Cough, cough.

Sensing the dreadful atmosphere, a Shoujun teacher managed a strained, half-hearted attempt to console: "This kid is actually quite good, but after all, he was facing Bai Xingshu..."

"Any student would've been fooled. No one could have predicted such a move." After all, the students had trained exclusively on combat networks or simulators, which didn't allow for such crazy tactics.

When it came to pure unpredictability, programs could never outmatch humans.

Shoujun's words were fair, but clearly failed to comfort Changying.

They had put down their untouched scorecards and silently watched as Bai Xingshu's mech advanced toward the core zone without any resistance.

It wasn't until the mech skipped the repair station and charged straight for the command center that everyone realized—

Wait, was that hostile?!

But by then, it was way too late.

Bai Xingshu's mech combat was known for its blistering speed. Now, the damaged mech's cannon was aimed directly at Changying's central command hub.

—Both sides' central structures were identical, making them easy to identify.

Bai Xingshu pressed the attack button.

A searing laser blast erupted.

The battle was over.

At this point, less than an hour had passed since the official start.

Most maneuvers hadn't even been deployed; many personnel hadn't even had time to engage. The fight ended in sheer disbelief.

Watching the utterly bewildered looks on their students' faces through the surveillance monitors, a sharp *snap* echoed through the silent control room.

—A Changying teacher had snapped his stylus in half.

His face contorted in rage.

They'd all face brutal drills when they got back!!

The Changying team stood frozen in shock, staring at the wrecked mech before them.

This... this was their own mech.

From the markings to the IFF signature, everything confirmed it belonged to their side. No chance of infiltration.

Then why would Liu Nanshuo from Combat Class A attack their own command center?

Had he gone rogue?

Yet every person heard the announcement in their ears—proclaiming Shoujun's decisive victory.

As they stared in confusion, the mech’s cockpit hatch opened. Bai Xingshu casually stood at the edge, smiling and waving at everyone.

The students from Changyin, upon seeing Bai Xingshu’s distinctive face: "..."

Their expressions shifted from bewilderment to shock, then twisted into pure rage.

Only now did it hit them—holy shit, they’d been played!!!

Same old tricks, same old vibe.

“Xingze Jiangzhi!!!” Furious shouts of anger and frustration erupted from the Changyin base.

In that moment, they stopped caring about Bai Xingshu’s looks altogether.

Alpha, Beta, Omega—who cared now?

Faced with the crowd’s fury, Bai Xingshu cleared his throat defensively and shouted toward the Changyin group: “It was the command center’s orders!!!”

This was a school rivalry match! Why blame just me?!

He was innocent!!

What Bai Xingshu said was true—the current leader of Shoujun’s command center was Shen Geng, and this really was his battle plan!

But his words fell on deaf ears with the Changyin side.

A deafening “Like hell!!!” came roaring back as an immediate, furious rebuttal.

For fuck’s sake! They knew Xingze Jiangzhi’s signature moves all too well—this was exactly what he would do!!

Bai Xingshu had no comeback.

Well, in a way, it *was* something he'd do—just borrowed and weaponized by someone else, with himself as the one who carried it out.

Staring down the furious crowd, Bai Xingshu wasn’t backing down, but after thinking for a moment, he figured there was no real need to go down there.

After all, he’d already won. Wiping out more Changyin fighters now would just be pushing it too far.

He turned to the monitoring device inside the cockpit and asked the teachers in the monitoring room, “Teachers, what’s the call here?”

That was indeed a very good question.

The Changyin teachers in the monitoring room exchanged weary glances.

Yes, what now?

Normally, these friendly matches only lasted one round, running 10 to 15 days. Like the previous inter-school event Bai Xingshu participated in—combat lasted just over ten days, and with ceremonies and other events, it stretched to fifteen before wrapping up.

But now—less than an hour? This was truly unprecedented.

And likely impossible to top.

They had gone through such a huge production—equipment mobilized, personnel arranged—and couldn’t possibly accept such a worthless training result.

And so...

All eyes turned toward Shoujun’s team.

Shoujun cleared his throat, facing the opposing side’s glares tinged with hostility, and delivered the answer they most wanted to hear.

"Care for a rematch?"

With both sides' mechs barely scratched aside from the two that had collided, another round would pose no issues.

Shoujun's purpose in coming wasn’t about victory—it was sharpening their students' skills that came first.

Sure, they’d won, but most of the students hadn’t even gotten a chance to show what they could do. The Shoujun instructors hadn’t just caved to Changying’s "strong-arming."

Since both sides were on the same page, the suggestion for a rematch was quickly approved.

When word of another match spread, the Changying students’ murderous urge to drag Bai Xingshu down with them finally faded. Only then did Bai Xingshu clear his throat and steer his damaged mech toward Changying’s repair zone.

After returning their unconscious "hostage"—the poor soul who'd been taken and hadn't woken up yet—Bai hurriedly weathered the death glares from the Changying crowd and boarded a shuttle back to his base.

Meanwhile, half of Shoujun’s team stood there blinking.

Wait, how had the battle ended so suddenly—and they’d won?

They’d barely broken a sweat—how was it already over?

Only the Shoujun command center knew what had really happened and quickly issued an explanation.

The Shoujun students: "..."

Yo, command center—just 'cause you're dating Captain Chaos doesn’t mean you should start copying his war crimes!!!

This is way too brutal—we’re all gonna end up in body bags!!!!

—Of course, it might’ve sounded more sincere if they weren’t cracking up while pretending to protest.

Upon his return, Bai Xingshu received a hero’s welcome.

Let’s face it—being Bai Xingshu’s teammate and watching him torture others, especially using the same methods he once used on *you*, was sweet, sweet schadenfreude.

So someone sidled up to Bai and asked,

*"Bro Bai,"* (he’d once been on the receiving end of Bai’s sadistic “tie-you-up” routine in the cockpit), *"did you record it?"*

Bai Xingshu: "..."

He stared at the guy, then jerked his chin toward the blinking security cams.

It was only then that this dumbass remembered—they were still under Changying’s surveillance.

Bai patted the shoulder of the deer-in-headlights idiot with the expression of someone struck by lightning.

If some idiots "accidentally" get left behind? Yeah, that’s not Bai Xingshu’s problem.