Chapter 42

Chapter 42

When Meng Shijiu emerged from the bathroom, Cui Suifu had already left.

Given the bathroom's excellent soundproofing, he had not only missed the entire spectacle of Cui Suifu and Qian Chunyan exchanging looks of mutual disgust, engaging in a silent battle of glares, trading cold remarks, and slamming the door on their way out...

—On the contrary, when he pushed open the door and suddenly saw Qian Chunyan, he was momentarily taken aback.

On one hand, it felt like the illusion of a person magically appearing; on the other hand, it was Qian Chunyan himself...

He was straddling the edge of the bed with an expression as if interrogating a prisoner, his arms crossed in a posture that pulled his unchanged training uniform into sharp creases. His usually bright, peach-blossom eyes were now tinged with a gloomy shade.

The blond Beta raised his chin slightly, tracing an arc of arrogance. When his gaze fell on Meng Shijiu, a faint, ambiguous smile played on his lips.

He had managed to make the atmosphere feel exactly like a scene of catching someone in the act.

Under such a gaze, Meng Shijiu genuinely began to feel a flicker of doubt, as if he had done something wrong.

But after carefully thinking it over, he realized not only had he done nothing wrong, but logically speaking, Qian Chunyan even owed him a favor, albeit unconsciously.

Meng Shijiu shot Qian Chunyan a reproachful look.

Qian Chunyan: ?

Qian Chunyan didn't understand, but he instinctively lowered his arms, his expression blank for a moment.

The blond Beta opened his mouth: "You..."

But Meng Shijiu had already averted his gaze: "Good night."

Qian Chunyan: "..."

Qian Chunyan swallowed his question: "...Good night."

Yet his eyes, as if pulled by invisible strings, closely followed Meng Shijiu's every move.

The silver-haired Alpha seemed to have no intention of explaining anything—about the red-haired Alpha who had suddenly appeared in the dorm... why he hadn't come to help clean the dormitory area with him...

He watched as Meng Shijiu lazily sank into his bed, his pale fingers still damp, casually pulling the blanket over himself.

His soft hair spread across the pillow as he turned over. He closed his eyes decisively, his eyelashes casting faint shadows under his eyes when they lowered, as if the intense stare following him in the room simply didn't exist.

Then the silver-eyed black cat jumped onto the cabinet again, crouched by the head of the bed, and glared coldly at him.

Qian Chunyan silently stood up and gently turned off the light.

The room plunged into darkness.

A Beta's night vision is naturally not as strong as an Alpha's. In the sudden darkness, Qian Chunyan paused for a few seconds before walking into the bathroom.

...

Meng Shijiu fell into a deep sleep, his breathing long and steady, as if he hadn't slept for seven days and seven nights, completely oblivious to the massive waves stirred up in the outside world by the training match.

—Let the forums explode, let the media revel, no matter how tumultuous it became, he slept as peacefully as a newborn baby.

...

Lottelance Public Social Forum, Cloud Shadow Cloud Hidden.

Poster ID: The Client Is Always Right

Title: "Let's Discuss No. 32's Withdrawal"

Main Post:

The poster is an ordinary workhorse for twenty years, a mecha combat enthusiast for twenty-five years, and a player on Hidden Forum for ten years. (This sentence was added in the second edit.)

The topic refers to the just-concluded training match between the Federation Combat Department recruits and St. Mary's Academy. [Match Recording Link]

No. 32 is a member of the Red Team. Based on the poster's careful analysis, I am about 85% sure that No. 32 is not the team captain. An analysis link is attached here, but I won't elaborate further. [Red Team Tactical Analysis Link]

It's quite obvious that No. 32 is a combat ace.

—But these days, aces are as common as carp crossing the river, too numerous to count. Even in this match, we saw some rare, highly skilled individual players [attached links, cr: Xiao Hui] [attached link, cr: Yuan]. However, the reason the poster is fixated on No. 32...

On one hand, it's because of this expert's various unconventional maneuvers—

Like hiding at the base point right from the start, the classic 'old six' behavior; or how to elegantly sell out your teammates: delivering the base point just in the nick of time; or thinking you're the sole warrior on the confrontation line only to find out you're just a slacker; or sneaking into the enemy base for a decapitation strike, single-handedly taking out the opposing commander; or suddenly withdrawing to start a sweet little drama with an unseen Omega... In short, every move was unexpected.

It's clear that both the Red and Blue teams' morale was basically shattered.

And this expert was clearly: playing, playing with their minds.

There's a lot of discussion and controversy about this aspect in other posts. Personally, I haven't seen a satisfactory analysis yet. I might write an analysis post later when I have time.

On the other hand.

Although the poster also watched the training match live, I'm actually not very interested in this kind of team-based faction warfare; I personally prefer individual mecha combat.

So, after scrutinizing the few clips available of No. 32, the poster was shocked to discover that this seems to be No. 32's first time piloting a D009!!

!! What does this mean?

What does this mean!!!

Can you cook without ever having eaten a meal?

Can you write a Nobel Prize acceptance speech without even knowing the full alphabet?

The poster was also very skeptical at first, but facts speak louder than words. As follows:

[Slow-motion GIF 1] In this image, No. 32 launches his first attack. Here, you can see a momentary pause and deviation in his movement. This is a common issue for beginners first operating the D009 mecha, basically unavoidable due to the D009's transmission performance.

But very quickly, [Slow-motion GIF 2] shows here that No. 32 almost immediately completed the adjustment, indicating he realized the problem and immediately figured out the operational solution... Damn it, his adjustment speed is faster than me rushing a deadline.

—And all of this happened within a single second.

...The D009 is a very common basic military-type mecha, which means it's easy to handle. Similarly, it also means few people can fully achieve this state of man-machine unity.

It's a foundational test question where everyone can score points, but basically no one has ever seen a perfect score.

But No. 32 did it.

From the obvious beginner's issues at the start, to later operations where no flaws could be found, executed so beautifully and sharply... In such a short time, he had completely mastered the D009.

(Especially in the segment where he single-handedly took out Captain Jing, I'll post a technical analysis with audio removed later. Feel like the soul of a human has suddenly revived within my workhorse body... oh yeah.)

[GIF 4] [GIF 5]... Everything was so smooth, so perfect.

Nothing short of terrifying.

Haven't seen a visual feast like that in ages.

...I thought I had lost my passion for mecha combat... I've seen so many different kinds of talented people, and they hardly faze me anymore. Yet, seeing No. 32 now, I still feel a sense of... inadequacy.

But weirdly, I also feel a surge of excitement.

Perhaps he made me realize: this is what the D009 truly is.

I hope to see No. 32 in future Federation individual mecha competitions.

Or at least his face. (How can someone be so perfect?)

By the way, what are your thoughts on No. 32's withdrawal?

——

1L

Familiar clickbait title, familiar opening line, familiar subtle sense of being a cog in the machine.

2L

Long time no see, Chief. This is real clickbait, though. I was still waiting to see why No. 32 withdrew.

3L

He's really amazing, totally locked down the match... By the way, I asked my classmates at St. Maria about No. 32, and let's just say they're tight-lipped.

4L

Missed the live stream. What on earth did I miss that made the semi-retired Chief post again!?

5L

...Read through the whole thing. I was really excited after the stream, but now I'm silent. What can I say? Genius is just genius. No matter how hard we normies grind for ten years, we can't catch up to their ten minutes.

6L

Hey, above, don't take it so personally. The role of geniuses is to hold up the sky when it falls.

7L

Agree with 6L. By the way, posting No. 32's handsome photo to bless the thread.

[Image]

……

36L

Not to derail, but trying to answer the Chief's question.

About why No. 32 withdrew.

Because he didn't see himself as the Red Team's captain.

I've analyzed No. 32's psychology. He was slacking off the entire match, almost as if the match would go however he wanted, as if he were the one setting the questions, dictating what was fair.

So, once No. 32 felt that his solo kill of Jing Shu tipped the scales too far, he decisively withdrew.

...In short, it gives off a total god-like perspective, as if he were controlling the score, very aloof.

37L

Maybe, but I don't dislike this aloofness at all. Instead, it feels... inexplicably heartbreaking.

38L

Human nature.

39L

I get it. It's like No. 32 never really integrated into the team.

40L

Sounds like: the world changes because of him, yet he never truly arrived in this world.

41L

So we're being poetic now? I'll just admire his looks. Posting a photo to bless the thread.

[Image]

……

56L

Spotted something.

If No. 32 was slacking from the get-go, then his own Red Team's avoidance of the Blue Team was outside his control. That's why he later went to the Blue Team to solo kill Jing Shu.

57L

Then he must have been pretty pissed.

58L

Hahaha

59L

No. 32: Who ruined my slacking-off plan!! ...Oh, it was me.

……

70L

Wait... Yunyin is blowing up and the heat is skyrocketing, how is this thread so serene and peaceful?

71L

Isn't peace good? Pure No. 32 vibes.

72L

Isn't peace and quiet great? That’s the classic No. 32 vibe.

73L

Peace and quiet—isn't it nice? That's the real No. 32 for you.

……

On Cloud Shadow, discussions about the training match were indeed heating up. Videos of No. 32 were everywhere, and to the netizens, the final outcome had become irrelevant. Countless people left comments on the official website asking for follow-up live streams, making things pretty lively for a bit.

But on SM, a post with a completely different tone went viral.

At the same time, a post made by someone who was fast asleep before the match ended was gradually pushed to the top.

In short, it’s unclear whether the Combat Department members slept well, but it’s certain that very few students at St. Maria managed to get a good night's rest.