Chapter 243

Chapter 243

All eyes were on Shoujun—no surprise, since everyone knew *Xing Ze Jiang Zhi* was one of their students.

The mecha combat platform's IP logs had made it clear enough. And among the participants from the past two league seasons, no one matched *Xing Ze Jiang Zhi*'s fighting style. Timing-wise, he had to be in this year’s class.

Students from other academies couldn’t help but scan the crowd, trying to spot who among Shoujun’s ranks was *Xing Ze Jiang Zhi*.

They quickly realized they weren’t the only ones doing the same.

Those cadets: "..."

One look said it all—they’d all been wrecked by *Xing Ze Jiang Zhi*.

After a few rounds of scanning, they found themselves eyeing just about everyone—except for the one who looked the most serene and gentle.

Pretty enough to pass for an Omega.

Wait—he *is* an Omega.

Omegas were rare in military academies, especially ones with that kind of quiet, soft aura. Eyes lingered on him despite themselves.

Then they watched as the Shoujun representative drew his lot, came down, and sat next to the Omega. After a short exchange, the Omega suddenly shot him a glare.

The glare lacked any bite.

In a military academy setting, it almost read as playful.

A military academy. An Omega. Acting playful!

Unbelievable.

After all, Omegas who made it into military schools were tough as nails—hardcore, no-nonsense types.

And yet here was one acting playful?

The cadets felt weirdly touched—until they noticed the students around the pair getting visibly excited, clearly egging them on.

Then the Omega’s expression soured.

The cadets gaped.

Was Shoujun actually bullying an Omega??

Seeing this, the United representative frowned and immediately approached with a few others to greet Shoujun’s team.

As they neared, they heard the Omega’s voice cut through the air:

"Fine, I’ll go. But forget to pick me up, and I’m hijacking an enemy mecha to turn you all into scrap metal."

The voice hooked the United rep instantly—their eyes snapped toward him—but from behind, they missed the serene Omega’s face, which clearly told his dear classmates: *If you don't come get me, I'm coming back in the enemy’s cockpit and blasting every last one of you.*

Shen Geng noticed the approaching group and stood slightly, blocking their view of Bai Xingshu.

—Not long ago, Shen Geng had gone through his rut. Though it was over, he remained extra protective.

Then Shen Geng and the members of the Combat Department warmly welcomed their future prey.

Classic guilty overcompensation from would-be "killers" facing their soon-to-be victims—awkward hospitality fueled by nerves.

Especially when the other party looked at Bai Xingshu, wanting to ask something, these 'ringleaders' grew even more evasive. Their enthusiasm was fiery, but they completely avoided any topics related to Bai Xingshu.

Watching his classmates' reactions, Bai Xingshu: "..."

Heh.

The United members, seeing Bai Xingshu's smile, suddenly found themselves at a loss for words. They were quickly overwhelmed by Shoujun's enthusiasm and escorted back in confusion.

The Changying students who witnessed all this... Hah, another school fooled by Xing Ze Jiang Zhi's facade.

Blank faces all around.

The finals kicked off with great fanfare, and soon after, the students were transported by shuttles to various venues.

Same old place, same old spot. Looking at the mechs docked in the maintenance area, still showing signs of his [scratched out] "modifications," Bai Xingshu felt a wave of nostalgia.

This time, Bai Xingshu was once again the captain of Squad A01, though his teammates were no longer Lin Lie and the others.

A whole new team.

Lin Lie was leading his own team this time, assigned as A02.

His primary combat mission was... to imitate Xing Ze Jiang Zhi.

As the most skilled fighter in this year's Combat Department after Bai Xingshu, and the one who had collaborated with him the most, Lin Lie could indeed manage a convincing imitation.

The proposal to reenact Operation Ghost came from Changying. Even though everyone ultimately agreed that United should also get a taste of it, as a member of the Combat Command Department, Shen Geng had to consider the worst-case scenario.

That is, Changying might have also shared this suggestion with United.

If Shoujun accepted Changying's proposal and replicated their previous strategy, Bai Xingshu charging in alone would inevitably fall into a trap, facing thousands of attacks from all angles—no one, not even a god, could escape that.

Though no one in Shoujun ever said it out loud, and most mentions of Bai Xingshu were filled with complaints and eye-rolling, there was no doubt that Xing Ze Jiang Zhi—who was nearly invincible, generous in sharing his skills, and always ready to help others—was the moral compass of the entire team.

No one dared to imagine the devastating blow to Shoujun's morale if Bai Xingshu were taken out right at the start.

For Changying, a United victory in this match would be far more comfortable than having to face Shoujun again, the team that had handed them two crushing defeats.

So simply copying the same strategy used against Changying was out of the question. Shen Geng immediately adjusted the tactics.

He assigned Lin Lie the task of impersonating Bai Xingshu.

If United had indeed received Changying's tip-off, seeing Lin Lie's version of Xing Ze Jiang Zhi would make them think Shoujun had ignored Changying's advice, thus letting their guard down and giving Bai Xingshu better cover.

That was the best play.

Bai Xingshu boarded his mech and headed out like any regular grunt.

No grand displays of prowess—in fact, to avoid leaving traces of his distinctive combat style, he temporarily handed over squad command to his deputy.

He phoned it in completely during squad skirmishes, acting like just another ordinary fighter.

This time, those watching from the monitoring room weren't teachers but evaluators from various military corps.

These evaluators held mid-level positions in their corps, mostly majors or lieutenant colonels—just experienced enough to fairly evaluate the students.

However, their knowledge was largely limited to their own corps, leaving them with only a superficial understanding of other corps' affairs.

In short... they had no idea who Bai Xingshu was.

After a glance at Bai Xingshu's performance, they simply wrote the most generic evaluations, at most noting that his mech handling was smooth and precise, with room for improvement.

Except for the Fourth Corps' evaluator...

His expression was completely conflicted as he stared at the scene before him, not even bothering to jot down a score.

As a Fourth Corps member who had also fallen victim to Bai Xingshu's devilish suggestions and gained a deep understanding of just how cunning the tactics in *Squad Surprise* could be, he knew one thing for sure: When someone behaved like this, someone else was about to get wrecked.