The holographic world.
Lakely appeared above the robotics street in a flash of blue light.
The robotics street stretched beyond what the naked eye could see. The broad street was barely occupied at the moment.
“Sonan and Allurya’s coordinates are both heading towards the midpoint of the street, probably to go see the great white shark. It’s the must-see attraction of the robotics street, after all.”
Lakely rose into the air for a better vantage point that would allow him to see both sides.
[Wow. They must have spotted each other by now, right? The people around them are all going right back the way they came, lol. I can almost hear them lamenting about running into these crazy bastards today.]
[Who are the people in the middle? I’ve never seen their uniform before. I would have remembered such a nice-looking one.]
Lakely also noticed them. “The three to the east are from Team Allurya, the two to the west are from Team Sonan. They should have noticed the other party by now, judging by their slowing pace. However, neither will be willing to be the first to turn away.”
[If one of them backs off now, its going to make headlines across the galactic network within 10 minutes, trust me. ‘Close Encounter between Allurya and Sonan: ____ turned tail and ran?!’]
[All I can say is: we’re all somewhat responsible for Allurya and Sonan coming to this point.]
[Allurya and Sonan’s public relations departments: That’s right, I did that! Bite me!]
Lakely commented after observing for a moment.
“Judging by the emblems on their chests, the duo in the middle are from Team Grantz. I’m sure many of you aren’t familiar with them. Grantz is one of the newly participating nations this year, and the only one who opted to skip the protection period at that. They share a common origin of sorts with the Keller Federation.”
[It’s impressive how you even know about new member nations, Lakely. I can only remember the most popular of the top-placing nations each year.]
[The two in the middle are so unfortunate. They don’t look half bad either. One of them looks to be on the younger side. I wonder how they match up to the other contestants. It takes courage to skip the protection period.]
[Well, it’s not like they’re the first to try this. Other countries with little resources or hopes for a high placement also come to the tournament to reap what benefits they can. Their goal is to generate hype or discussion around their contestants for profit. I’m subscribed to a few like the Doomed Idol Squad and the Military Academy Dropout Survival Group. They’re pretty interesting. I feel like Grantz could be going for that angle as well.]
[Hacks like these won’t make it far in the tournament. Each superstar contestant made it to where they are through hard work. They don’t need tricks like these to attract a lot of attention. At the end of the day, they’re strong enough to stand on their own right.]
[Well, they aren’t strong enough to do that, are they? It’s good that they’re putting the resources they do have to good use. The top-ranking countries also do plenty of marketing. There’s no shame in donating your body for your country.]
Lakely descended in altitude and drew closer as the distance between Allurya and Sonan narrowed.
He was able to recognize the people present.
“Nice, it’s Abigail and Sohta. Abigail’s performance in the large-scale command battles last year for Allurya was commendable. Sohta, on the other hand, is one of the elites in Sonan’s small-scale squads. Both of them are known to have a short temper. The other members seem to be new faces. They must have tagged along to sightsee with the newbies. Look, they’re already brandishing their mech summoning devices.”
Saying that, Lakely touched down on the street.
He picked a spot near both Allurya and Sonan’s people, which actually put him close to Ano and Ye Muo.
[Those two from Grantz really are good-looking, ah. But isn’t using swords in this day and age too old-fashioned?]
[The swords are probably just there for ornamental purposes. I’ve only see them during ceremonies and on the occasional mech.]
[That little kid even has a robot with him, ah. That model is so old it can probably be considered a relic already.]
Abigail and Sohta locked gazes from some distance away. They were both somewhat well-known contestants on their teams. Not the best, of course, but their past performances were nonetheless remarkable.
Ye Muo crossed to the other side of the street to marvel at the gigantic metallic fish on display. Robots like this one tended to be used with an anti-gravity device or in environments with naturally low gravity.
Ano kept a distance from Ye Muo. He disregarded everyone else on the street, as if he and Ye Muo were the only ones present.
It was Ye Muo who gave the people approaching a few more glances. He could sense the tension building in the air and turned to Ano.
Ano blinked. “Do you want that one?”
Ye Muo shook his head. “I’m just looking.”
If Ano didn’t mind, then he wouldn’t either. Ye Muo turned back and pressed his hands to the glass to look at the mechanical fish.
[No…why haven’t they left yet… Abigail already has one hand on his mech device…]
[I didn’t expect the smart-looking taller one to be so dim-witted. Hurry up and run away with your newbie!]
[The smaller one seems more perceptive, ah. But why does it feel like he stopped caring halfway? Does he trust that unreliable senior that much?]
[I’m going to boldly guess that they’re doing this on pupose. Maybe they’ve researched the resource tournament in depth and this is their way of gambling for some exposure.]
Abigail stood there and stared down Sohta for a while. A younger, more bookish teammate of his seemed conflicted. “There are still people around, Abi. Maybe we shouldn’t…”
It would be hard to keep them out of it should a fight break out here.
Another teammate voiced their dissatisfaction, “Don’t be so timid. Abi knows what he’s doing.”
“But we’ll offend them.”
The teammate continued glaring at Team Sonan. “So? They’re just a no name country anyway.”
On the other side, Sohta smiled and made a provocative gesture. Abigail snorted and started rolling his wrist.
His teammates began to back up, dragging the somewhat conflicted one back with them.
Abigail and Sohta summoned their mecha almost simultaneously as they charged. Parts rapidly assembled starting from their legs as they ran.
Lakely quickly said, “Neither of the models they’re using are commercially available. Both are expert individual mech combatants. We’re in for a treat.”
“And good luck to our Grantz friends as well.”
Lakely directed his hoverboard to ascend to a suitable altitude to watch the fight.
New messages overwhelmed the chat.
[They’re even skipping the verbal barbs now?]
[Lol, they’re almost in sync even as they rush over to beat each other up.]
[That newbie is still on the timid side, ah. Also, I hope those passers-by clear out soon. Or else they’ll get dragged into the fighting like many other unfortunates before them.]
Ye Muo was still looking at the shark. He kind of wanted to probe the internal components using psychic power. He hesitated, backing up a few steps for a better view of the robot before turning to Theodore. “Look, Theodore–”
The little robot was still on the other side of the street. Abigail’s mech happened to finish assembling just as Ye Muo turned back. The imposing mech landed heavily on the street.
The little robots diminutive form disappeared under the crushing weight of the mech’s foot.
Only a few scattered components marked where it used to be.
Ye Muo’s pupils contracted sharply.
He immediately reacted, whipping around and charging like an enraged lion. He leapt into the air, plunging his sword deep into the pilot cabin as he landed on the mech’s chest.
Ye Muo put all of his strength behind the blow.
The mech was forced off-balance by the sudden impact. It crashed sideways to the ground with much clamour.
Abigail didn’t even have time to see what happened before he curled up in agony. Low groans escaped his throat as sweat beaded across his forehead.
He had been using psychic power to control every aspect of the mech just now. Ye Muo’s attack just now was the equivalent of piercing directly into his heart. Although there was no real injury, it sure didn’t feel like it.
Sohta, who was charging over from the other side, didn’t have time to react either. He could only watch as momentum carried him towards Ye Muo. The youth extricated his sword from atop the collapsed mech before raising his head.
The eyes of a predator on the prowl sent shivers down his spine.
There was no time to be astonished. As soon as he met those eyes, Sohta instinctively, desperately mobilized all of his psychic power.
If he continued along this course, he would hit the other party. It was common knowledge what would happen should a mech crash into an unprotected human body.
Ye Muo barely paused. He turned in one fluid motion, stepping forward with his right foot and bending his knee slightly as he tightened his grasp on his sword.
The mechanical shark on display across the street suddenly broke out of the window. Glass shards littered the pavement.
The shark clamped down on the incoming mech like a vice, sending them both careening to the side into a building before falling still again.
Ye Muo quickly let up on the offensive and stepped back a little. He no longer had that razor sharp edge about him.
Everything was over in an instant.
Theodore spoke by his ear: [Enough, Xavier.]
Theodore had told him to back up a bit over the earpiece just now. It and Ye Muo were able to quickly understand each other and work together flawlessly.
Ye Muo lightly hopped off the mech. He stared at the remnants of the little robot somewhat morosely.
“En. I’m sorry, Theodore.”
[There is no need to apologize. Theodore will always be Xavier’s star.]
Ye Muo kept staring at the scattered fragments before him.
This happened because he didn’t take his responsibilities seriously. Norton had warned him before he left.
The scene fell silent. There was only the two fallen mecha and a street covered in debris.
Ano stood behind Ye Muo. Team Allurya and Sonan weren’t that far away. They just stood there and stared blankly in this direction. One person’s crossed arms fell limply to their sides.
Lakely was frozen by the inconceivable turn of events he had just witnessed. He and his chat were still reeling from shock.
……
Meanwhile, Norton’s eyes snapped open in the Grantz base.
His psychic power had been monitoring Ye Muo the entire time. He sensed something was wrong at once.
Norton might be overbearing towards Ye Muo, to the point that he kept an eye on the child at all times using psychic power, but his paternal love did not blind him.
Lions would bring their cubs live prey in order to teach them the techniques and intricacies of the hunt.
Bert stopped intervening when their lives weren’t at stake from the moment they could run. Norton would continue this tradition with Ye Muo.
Thus was the consensus they reached before this trip. This place would be Ye Muo’s training ground, his version of the ‘live prey’.
That was why Ano held off on making a move as well. He just watched things go down from a suitable distance.
Still, he couldn’t help but scoff in displeasure.
He took personal offense to the fact that they touched something that belonged to Xavier. It was a slight that would greatly upset any territorial Grantz.
Ano went to Ye Muo’s side and brushed his hair back in a soothing gesture.
Ye Muo didn’t move, nor did he pay Ano any mind. He continued to stare at those fragments.
Ano grumbled over the channel. [Xavier’s angry.]
Anger was an emotion Ye Muo rarely felt. He was one of the most good-tempered of the Grantz. If you snatched his toys or snacks, he would just happily give you more.
Ano was beginning to regret his inaction earlier a bit.
Lakely was still in the air, murmuring, “Incredible…”
A single message popped up in the quiet chat.
[Damn. So that’s how you use that sword.]
The floodgates seemed to break with that.
[WTF was that?! Is this a prank? Can a human really go toe-to-toe with a mech barehanded?? Is this even possible for any of the top-ranked contestants? How old is he? Did he pass his psychic power development period already?]
[What kind of person can persuade participants from two countries to take part in a prank? Not to mention the miniscule possibility that the Central Planet would allow that to happen. They tack on fees for every single action that isn’t possible in real life! No, this kid has to be a genius!]
[Who is he? He’s definitely going to shoot to stardom during this tournament! I’m going to watch all his matches this time.]
[Me too! I’ve already subscribed to him. Grantz, right? I’ve been a Grantz fan for 10 years already.]
[Wait! What was with that mechanical shark? I thought unsold goods were all immobilized?]
[You can unlock them if you have strong enough psychic power, but they’re designed to be controlled by AI. It would be hard for a human to do the same.]
[Am I the only one feeling bad for Abigail? He just got stabbed in the chest, ah… Sensations carry over when you’re piloting using psychic power. He must be in a lot of pain right now.]
[Did you guys notice how the eyes of all the bionic weapons on the street lit up for a second there??]
They were deliberately designed to have their eyes turn red when active.
[You must have been seeing things. I don’t see anything like that on replay. Memories may be fallible, but technology isn’t.]
[Ugh, I’m getting goosebumps. I swear I saw it happen! I even took a screenshot, but now it’s gone!]
The argument was quickly drowned out by the discussion around Ye Muo. This was the birth of another superstar contestant, after all. Each one of them could attract ungodly amounts of attention.
Theodore discreetly traversed the digital world after deleting any sensitive data.
