Chapter 57

Chapter 57

After all, it felt just like when they had fought side by side before, seemingly no different from now.

"That's good," Zhu Jin said softly. "But now we should leave this place. The noise from our fight was quite loud, and I think teams are probably already on their way here after hearing it."

As soon as Zhu Jin finished speaking, a broadcast echoed throughout the entire competition area: "Competition area announcement: A team has successfully hunted an S-level mutated beast!"

The broadcast used an extremely powerful loudspeaker, and almost the entire competition area could clearly hear the announcement. The volume was more than sufficient, and after the first broadcast, it repeated three more times.

Jiang Se: ???

She looked at Chu Yun and said, "Wow, now probably the whole competition area knows what we've done. That's major clout!"

Chu Yun: "I can't even. I don’t know what the competition organizers were thinking—why do they have to broadcast hunting a mutated beast over and over again with a loudspeaker?"

Zhu Jin pondered for a moment. "Could it be to create a sense of urgency among the other teams?"

Jiang Se: "Maybe, but the sound is really too loud. It’s hurting my ears!"

*

Outside the screen, the instructors had clearly witnessed the actions of the four hunting the mutated crocodile beast.

"These four did quite well. Although their coordination was a bit rough, for a group of newcomers, it’s already pretty good!"

"For newcomers to achieve this level, it’s quite impressive. This year’s Alliance University really has talent!"

"Wait," one of the instructors seemed to belatedly realize something was off. "From the looks of it, their team is all Mech Pilots. How is there not a single Mecha Pilot?"

Although having all Mech Pilots would indeed give the team’s combat ability a significant boost, and this Mecha Championship isn’t an overly strict professional competition...

Plus, some teams really couldn’t find Mecha Pilots, so several teams consisting entirely of Commanders and Mech Pilots were allowed to participate.

But a team without a Mecha Pilot also means their mechas are all one-time use. Once damaged, they can’t be repaired, which is undoubtedly a huge test for the team’s combat effectiveness and operational endurance.

"Ah, what a pity," the instructor sighed. "If this team had a Mecha Pilot, they might be able to go even further."

The instructor who had been standing by with his arms crossed, silently watching the match, was utterly baffled.

What do you mean, no Mecha Pilot? Can’t they see the Mecha Pilot standing right there?

He spoke up: "This team has a Mecha Pilot."

"Ah?" The instructor who had spoken first was shocked. "A Mecha Pilot? Which one? Isn’t that team all Mech Pilots?"

"I’m leading the Mecha Pilot squad this year, and one of them is my student. Do you think she’s a Mecha Pilot or not?"

On the other side, someone from the Mecha Pilot team, who was familiar with Jiang Se and had come to watch the match, chuckled softly.

If Jiang Se were here, she would instantly recognize the laugher—it was that Mecha Pilot sister with big wavy hair from the other day.

"Their team's sniper is a Mecha Pilot," she said.

"What?"

The instructor was from the Individual Combat Department and didn’t know any students from the Mecha Department at all.

As hard as it was for him to believe, he had some speculation based on what these people said earlier, but the fact that Jiang Se was a Mecha Pilot was not just slightly off from his guess—it was completely the opposite!

A sniper, a Mecha Pilot?

These two terms, which usually seem completely unrelated, had somehow bizarrely and absurdly merged in one person.

"You’re saying that sniper is a Mecha Pilot?"

The instructor was shocked. He subconsciously began to doubt his life, and because he was so surprised, he even blurted out what he was thinking: "Why would she want to be a Mecha Pilot when she could perfectly well be an ace sniper?"

As soon as he said this, he immediately was met with a wave of eye-rolls from the Mecha Pilot team.

"Alright, alright, Wang Jie, you usually put on such a respectable front, but who knew you’d look down on us Mecha Pilots behind our backs!"

"Next time your mecha breaks down, don’t come to us for repairs. Our Mecha General Affairs Office is too small to serve someone of your stature!"

"Exactly. Usually, you’re so respectful to us, but who knew you actually thought of us this way."

"Hah, indeed, you can’t judge a book by its cover!"

...

The profession of Mecha Pilot has often been associated with adjectives like pale, weak, and combat-inept. Now that they finally have an outlier like Jiang Se who can both assemble mechas and fight, of course they're going to protect her fiercely.

Moreover, the Fifth Military District and Alliance University have a long-term cooperative relationship. The Mecha Pilots here are basically Jiang Se’s seniors, so their protective instincts are even stronger.

The instructor finally realized he had misspoken and began to hurriedly make amends: "Sorry, everyone, I didn’t mean it that way. I was just too surprised..."

As he spoke, he frantically signaled to his colleagues with his eyes, hoping they would put in a good word for him, but they all kept their distance.

After all, as a Mech Pilot, the creed is to never, ever offend a Mecha Pilot.

*

In the competition area, the broadcast sound traveled far.

Pei Ning was currently piloting his mecha, advancing toward the safe zone with his teammates behind him.

Their destination was precisely the location where Jiang Se’s team had previously stayed.

Hearing the broadcast, Pei Ning frowned slightly: "We just landed, and a team already moved this fast? They’ve already hunted an S-level beast!"

Pei Ning’s team hadn’t taken action right after landing, and the specific reason was—whether it was luck or something else—the place they landed happened to be the edge of the entire Mecha Championship venue.

Although the Mecha Championship’s setting was fully simulated, since only teams from Alliance University were participating, the simulated competition area wasn’t overly exaggerated. Instead, it was a flat terrain map, not like previous exercises that simulated an entire barren planet.

A flat map naturally has edge areas, and the edge areas just happened to be on the periphery of the safe zone no matter which way you went.

So, as soon as Pei Ning’s team landed, they had to rush toward the center before the safe zone started shrinking.

Because of this, they hadn’t engaged in much combat along the way.

Hearing that someone had already successfully hunted an S-level beast before them, Pei Ning felt a mix of emotions.

Pei Le was also shocked: "Cousin, we just landed. How did they move so fast?"

Although they had been outperformed by Jiang Se’s team in simulated battles before, both Pei Ning and Pei Le had a clear and definite estimate of their team’s strength—almost no team in the entire competition could match them!

Precisely because of this, being beaten to the punch made Pei Ning feel an extra wave of frustration.

Moreover, he had a guess about which team had managed to hunt an S-level beast ahead of them.

Although this guess only made him feel more displeased.

He looked at the gradually shrinking safe zone and said in a deep voice, "Full speed ahead. Enter the safe zone early and begin hunting!"

Another team had already taken the lead, so they naturally couldn’t afford to fall behind—especially not behind Jiang Se’s team. The thought made Pei Ning grit his teeth involuntarily in frustration.

"Roger that, cousin!"

"Command received, Captain."

……

*

Setting aside the commotion their actions had caused for now, Jiang Se and her team were navigating the complex terrain of the rainforest.

The simulation of this rainforest was clearly high-fidelity—humid and sweltering weather, insects everywhere, and extremely complex terrain where the slightest inattention could lead to disaster.

Jiang Se piloted her mech laboriously, trudging step by step through the rainforest. Gazing at the dense forest ahead, she couldn’t help but sigh, "How much longer do we have to keep going?"

"Not sure," Zhu Jin replied. "So far, none of the areas we’ve passed are suitable for pitching camp tonight."

Evening was approaching, and while the rainforest was dangerous during the day, nightfall marked the prime hunting time for the exotic beasts lurking within. If they couldn’t find a suitable spot to camp, the night would be extremely grueling.

"I hope we find a good camping spot soon!" Jiang Se murmured.

As they passed under a tree, a vine that looked like a long branch brushed lightly against Chu Yun’s mech, leaving a smear of liquid on its surface.

It would ordinarily seem like a minor, easily overlooked incident, but Jiang Se was a Mecha Pilot—one with exceptionally sharp perception and instincts. In just a few seconds, she noticed something unusual about Chu Yun’s mech.

"A-Yun, hold up!" Jiang Se called out, her eyes fixed on Chu Yun’s mech.

"What’s wrong, Jiang Jiang?" Chu Yun turned instinctively to look at her.

"Your mech seems to be damaged!" Jiang Se’s gaze settled on Chu Yun’s shoulder armor.

"Ah!" Chu Yun was clearly surprised and immediately checked her mech’s shoulder. The once thick and sturdy shoulder plate was now being corroded—the outer protective coating had already been eaten away, leaving only a thin, fragile layer.

"What the hell is this?!" Chu Yun exclaimed in shock.

She was piloting a Heavy Mech, renowned for its weight and superior defensive capabilities. Even though the competition mechs were standardized models rather than personal units, their protective features were nothing to scoff at. Yet, this heavily armored mech was being effortlessly corroded by some mucus from a mere vine.

For a moment, Chu Yun couldn’t tell if she was losing her mind or if the world had gone completely mad.