Tempest of the Stellar War

Chapter 285: The Comeback

As expected, Mechanic sneered coldly. “Lose? If I lose, I’ll eat ten! Tsk. Not just that, I’ll even retire! Stop wasting time, get that thing to come on out already! Acting like a pretentious prick in front of me? I’ll beat you till death!”

The Mechanic displayed a finger with an internationally recognised intent.

Damn, that level of arrogance was way off the charts!

Dita chose players well. To think he could find someone of such finesse. Solon couldn’t help but shake his head. All sorts of promotions and advertisements were bringing attention to this fight.

He shook his head again. He did not force this scene to happen, but in a way, he was asking for it. Amitabha, may the heavens watch over him.

After striking the deal, Old Deer smiled cheerfully. The good thing about being human was being able to meet all other types of humans. He had eaten so many milk cartons himself. Finally, he could share them with someone else now.

Just as the deal was made, the number of viewers climbed up by a good 10,000. It seemed that there were still many people who enjoyed this little game.

Old Deer had played his trump card.

“Good luck!” Aina suddenly said, kissing Wang Zheng. Huiyin covered her eyes.

“You two are shameless! I’ve got to go get my eyes cleaned,” Huiyin said coquettishly.

Aina gently hugged Huiyin and kissed her. “There, one for you too.”

Wang Zheng felt as if his heart was going to explode. Was that an encouragement or a distraction?

Princess Huiyin’s tiny cheeks were flushed red. She was so beautiful and lovely. She would grow up to make the world fall head over heels for her.

The others obviously didn’t know that Student Wang Zheng was enjoying a blissful time. After Wang Zheng left, Meng Tian, Zhang Runan, and Zhang Shan were all very worried, but in times like this, they had to work even harder, or outsiders would only despise them.

Yuan Ye patted Zhang Shan on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, it’s just an illness, and illnesses can be cured. Paradise Island has made huge leaps in medical advancements. It won’t be longer than a few days that he’ll come back a stronger man.”

Yuan Ye was here for Zhang Runan. It was undeniable that the Europa people were quite reliable.

Europa College had done very well overall too. Yuan Ye and friends had set their minds straight, focused on playing supporting roles, and even built a good rep out of it. Although they didn’t have Ability X, they were highly experienced in fighting tough battles and taken some injuries to pave way for the main players. These were not skills that could be replaced by Ability X.

In fact, sometimes all it took was just an open mind for them to unleash their capabilities. Making their way to Aslan was not the only route to success. It was more important that they made use of such a opportunities to display their unique skillsets so that the military would measure their talents and tailor their teachings to give them even more opportunities in future.

Moreover, being undisturbed would yield better results for them.

Zhang Shan smiled. “Of course. Wang Zheng will definitely be back. Without him, we’ll just fight even harder and fight in his place.”

Zhang Runan nodded without saying a word.

Meng Tian quipped in, “Here’s the training schedule for tomorrow.”

She swiped her Skylink and sent Zhang Shan a copy of the schedule.

This training schedule was not prepared by Su Yan. It was them who had decided to have extra training and planned their own schedule.

Wang Zheng’s temporary absence made them feel nervous and lost. They could only train extra hard to counteract their feelings of disconcertedness.

Yuan Ye took a quick glance at the schedule, rubbed his nose, and walked away. The schedule was rather intense. It was alright to have extra training, but he didn’t want to follow a training plan like that – going too far was as bad as not going enough. But Ares College had no choice. They had to do it. They were all inexperienced in maneuvering space mecha, so they needed plenty of fundamental training to strengthen their skills and to figure out the techniques one by one. Without spending long hours maneuvering the mechs themselves, it would be difficult for them to grasp the details, not matter how they were being taught. Even simulations wouldn’t help. Some changes in the real settings could never be reflected even in the most advanced simulations.

Looking at the schedule, Zhang Shan’s only worry was, “Aren’t the sleeping hours a tad too short?”

For every 24 hours, there were only four hours allocated for sleeping.

“It has to be done. Training in good condition is called performing. Only when when you have reached a certain level of fatigue and can still make the correct judgement can you etch all of the tiny details onto your bones and make it a part of yourself.”

It was clear that Meng Tian was even more determined to do this!

Another day of training had ended…

The atmosphere in the dining hall was subtle. Without Wang Zheng, the unexpected element, the Moon crowd was shining. It was not just the effect of them playing on their home ground. They were starting to take the lead in various aspects. The Eight Stars were balanced and well rounded; they were not lacking in any area. More than that, Achilles was parading around like the one true leader. Regardless of fighting capabilities or intelligence, he stood out squarely.

While Lie Xin and Lear were not entirely disadvantaged, the fine distance between them was distance nonetheless. They made eye contact inadvertently, but they still could not bring themselves to form an alliance. Lie Xin would never trust Lear, and as for Lear, it was unclear what he wanted to do. The Earth district was his home ground, and he would not accept having to return in defeat.

Raston smiled from eye to eye. He seemed undisturbed, despite having completely lost his chance at becoming team captain. “Lear, whatever trump cards you’ve got, now’s the time to play them. If you let Achilles go on like this, it won’t just be Lie Xin’s disadvantage.”

Lear smiled. “My problems would be resolved if you came to help me.”

Never, ever expect to get useful information straight out of Lear.

Raston shrugged. “Hah, you know we’ll never be put on the same team.”

Raston was straightforward. If someone else said the same thing, it may have sounded provocative, but it felt natural coming out of Raston. Lear smiled, unaffected.

Further away, where the Moon people sat, Atos shadily sized up Raston and Lear. “Those guys? How could they even be in the same run for captain as Boss?”

Atos had been strutting around, showing off during training as of late. He has made a complete comeback and had steadily made it to top ten every time. His speed Ability X had a lot of room for display in space. It could be considered one of the most powerful Ability Xs in space.

“Don’t underestimate Raston. He’s still very powerful.”

Masasi shook his head. He sensed that Atos’ attitude was going out of control, but it was still understandable. All his life Atos, had never experienced real failure. Being defeated on Earth was a huge blow for him. The Atos today could be the true Atos, or could be a changed person, but it was undeniable that this Atos had become stronger. The past couple of days of training had also proved just this.

Atos smirked. “Powerful, eh? I find him rather average after he lost to Wang Zheng the other time.”

Milo frowned and said, “Calm down, Atos. Raston didn’t use his full strength. What happened seemed to show us that Wang Zheng was actually very powerful. Plus, he wasn’t accustomed to Earth mecha. The differences were huge.”

In this day and age, all sorts of mecha were available, and everybody had their own mech that was specially suited for them. If maneuvering other mecha put their fighting capability at 1, maneuvering their specialty mech would make them 3, 5, or even more than 10 times stronger.

Taros laughed. “Raston is good, but given his capabilities, he may not be Atos’ match in space.”

Atos and Taros were on pretty good terms lately. The two had swapped rooms with others to bunk together.

Atos smiled. “Don’t worry, I have no interest in Raston. Boss will teach him a lesson. Wang Zheng, on the other hand… he’s lucky he got away, or I’d beat him into pulp every time I saw him on the training grounds!”

“You? Turn Wang Zheng into a pulp? Take a piss and look at your own reflection in it! Look at what type of person you are before speaking! Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot dogs don’t speak human.”

Zhang Shan, Meng Tian, and Zhang Runan were walking down the corridor just as Atos said that. Even if they hadn’t walked past, given Atos’ volume, those who had a slightly better sense of hearing could’ve heard him from the dining hall.

Raston smiled, definitely unaffected by what Atos said. His capabilities were there for all to see, and he was not easily affected by random barks. He didn’t have the ambition to be team captain, so there was no need for him to build a name here.

Zhang Shan, on the other hand, was furious. They were different. Wang Zheng was not around, but as Wang Zheng’s counterparts, they simply could not put up with such attacks. Once you show a sign of weakness in the army, you’ll be labelled weak and bullied by everyone. When faced with provocation, regardless of it being direct or indirect, you have to fight back. Victory was secondary, for your attitude would determine your fate. Nobody in the force would want to befriend or to be teammates with a weakling. Moreover, he had nothing to lose when it came to Atos.

Atos was calm. He crossed his legs and said, “You’re pretty arrogant for a useless bootlicker, eh? Wang Zheng is gone, you’d better make yourself scarce or I’ll beat you up.”

The Moon’s Eight Stars each made a different face, but even though Atos had said some awful things, he was trying to demean Wang Zheng such that the others saw the people of the Moon in a better light. Achilles didn’t see that intent, but he didn’t stop them either.

Zhang Shan burst out laughing. “Words cannot be used to determine who the useless prick is! We’re soldiers, so let’s use the soldierly way to do this. Duel!”

Atos cocked his head backward and chuckled. “Hah! You? Did I hear wrong? You? Duel with me? HAHAHA.”

“Why? You’re only good at bragging, eh? Or are you a coward who’s scared of losing? If you can’t afford to lose, just tell me. I can consider letting you off.” Zhang Shan gave Atos a tilted glance and stuck his pinky out.

Atos was enraged. “Earthlings are just good at talk. You’ll cry and ask for your mom and dad when you lose!”

“Interesting. Since we’re on the Moon, let’s have a space duel and see the fruits of your training,”

Su Yan’s voice travelled from the hall’s entrance. Nobody knew when he had arrived, but it seemed that they had a different set of rules now that they’re on the Moon.

Zhang Runan glanced at Zhang Shan and said, “Zhang Shan take him out!”

Zhang Shan straightened himself and looked serious. “Don’t worry. I, Zhang Shan, never drop the ball in times of need.”

After he got used to the space mech, Zhang Shan had been going through high level training. Others might not have noticed, but Meng Tian and Zhang Runan knew that Zhang Shan had made drastic improvement.