Of course, Shao Ci couldn’t hear what Ji Zhaoyun was saying. After his victory, he simply exited.

After he left the competition venue, Shao Ci received a notification of a million empire coin deposit into his account. He still felt like it was a little unreal, but he didn’t think… in just a moment, he had become a millionaire. 

Suddenly, he really wanted to have a few more dumb rich people like Ji Zhaoyun come challenge him.

When the competition ended, the video also went up on several forums and social media sites. It quickly caused everyone to gasp in shock.

Although everyone had wondered about Prince Latiao’s sense of artistry when they watched the first video, now that they were watching the second video they automatically overlooked it.

In the empire, as long as you were strong, nothing else was important. Even if Shao Ci’s mecha was filled with advertisements and looked ridiculously flashy, in that moment there were several people copying him and spray-painting a mess of things on their own mechas. 

But Shao Ci just received even more letters about advertisements. Now that he wasn’t poor, he set them aside, beginning to think about his daily task.

Thus Edwin, who had become incredibly excited after watching the match, received Prince Latiao’s letter of reply.

–

There were all kinds of facilities in the virtual world. Whether someone wanted to enjoy delicious foods or go on a leisure tour, they could do anything. Moreover, these experiences were almost the same as reality, but the prices were significantly lower, and it was also safer.

For example, in the past, to see the beautiful sunrise on the legendary and extremely dangerous Planet A, they would have to brave fatal dangers in order to see it. Now, they could experience it in the simulation facilities, and the price was only a few hundred empire coins.

Because there was heavy human traffic, there were also many people who did their everyday work in the virtual world. The virtual world and the real world didn’t have that much of a difference. It could almost be called a second world.

But simulation facilities were still pretty expensive. For example, if the richest magnate in the empire constructed a high-end restaurant in the virtual world, though the food was simulated, it had a considerably high price. If a commoner went in to eat once, they could keep showing off for a long time after.

And at that moment Edwin was sitting at a table in the highest balcony garden, restlessly staring out at the scenery outside the glass. 

Today, he was wearing an expensive custom suit. In the real world, it would cost at least a million empire coins to buy. He had went specially to get his blonde hair styled and make him look more lively. He was even more handsome than he was normally.

Like this, Edwin could make people shriek just by sitting there. Of course, there wasn’t anyone else there at the moment. He had booked the entire balcony. In any case, it was his family’s business.

There was a simulated aurora from Planet Mofei, said to be the most beautiful and most romantic view in the universe, outside the window. Numerous light pink flowers were in full bloom in the garden, their faint fragrance dispersing into the air.

To couples, this was the holy land for a date and the best place to propose, but when Edwin was making his choice, he didn’t think of it. He just thought that only such a nice place would match his male god. 

“I wonder if he’ll be dissatisfied with this place?” Edwin was very anxious. After he got Prince Latiao’s letter, he hesitated for a long time before he finally settled on meeting at this restaurant. Still, he worried that Prince Latiao would dislike it.

The door opened. Someone with a mosaic over their face walked in, waving over at him.

That’s right. This person with a mosaic over their face was Shao Ci. He had to give a big thank you to the virtual world’s privacy protection. As long as he didn’t want others to see his real appearance, he could adjust his privacy settings… After that, people wouldn’t be able to make out your face no matter what happened.

Yatfgklrf, Vtjb Jl kbeivc’a mbwf bea ab wffa Svklc rb mjrejiis. Po tlr lvfcalas kjr fzqbrfv, la kbeiv yf j ybatfg. 

Ca atf wbwfca, bcis Uglcmf Ojaljb, ktb tjv gfmflnfv tlr lcnlajalbc, mbeiv mbwf lc. Svklc lwwfvljafis rabbv eq lc fzmlafwfca.

Snfc atbeut Vtjb Jl’r ojmf kjr mbnfgfv klat j wbrjlm, jcv tf kjr kfjglcu j nfgs mjreji beaola, Svklc vlvc’a tjnf jcs mbwqijlcar. Lf fnfc ofia atja tlr wjif ubv wjcjufv ab yf ubbv-ibbxlcu fnfc klat j wbrjlm bnfg tlr ojmf. Lf rajwwfgfv, “L-tfiib… P-P…”

Because he was too excited, Edwin nearly stumbled. Luckily, Shao Ci was close, and he hurried to catch him. “Are you okay?”

Of course, Shao Ci’s voice was also being processed by the privacy protections. It sounded very distorted, but in Edwin’s ears it was just like a sound of nature. His typically icy face immediately turned red. “I-I’m fine. I-it’s truly an honor to have you here.” 

Shao Ci: “…” Hey, was this the same Edwin he met yesterday? How come his aura was totally different!

They sat down at the table. Edwin was clearly very nervous. “What would you like to eat? You can order anything you’d like. Please, don’t be polite.”

Shao Ci knew this restaurant was owned by Edwin’s family, so wasn’t polite and ordered several dishes. Edwin also ordered a few dishes.

Because it was just simulated food, they could only experience the food’s taste, but they wouldn’t feel full. As a result, many people who wanted to keep their figures but also wanted to taste fine food were interested. 

After the simulated foods were selected, they automatically appeared on the table, and the two of them began to eat. In fact, only Shao Ci was eating. Edwin was just staring at him with adoration. Fine food or whatever else was nothing to him.

Edwin summoned his courage to speak. “I-I’m your faithful fan… In the moment that you defeated me, I was already deeply intoxicated by your bearing. Since you are the only meaning I’ve found in life, please let me follow at your side… If I have the luck to meet you in reality…”

At his words, Shao Ci’s entire body erupted with goosebumps. “!” Hey! There’s too many things you can pick apart in these words! And why is it so boastful? People out of the loop might even think he was reading prose or something.

In fact, these words were something that Edwin had paid a good sum of money to have someone write for him before he met Shao Ci. He had spent a long time memorizing them before Shao Ci arrived. 

Shao Ci sighed. “Sorry. Right now, I can’t reveal my identity, so I can’t meet you.”

“I see… I’ve been rude.” Edwin was a bit disappointed, then he hurriedly added, “It doesn’t matter. It’ll be good as long as you can think of me when you have time. If you don’t dislike it, I would like–I would like to compete once more and have you instruct me on how to pilot a mecha. No, there’s no need to instruct me, it’s fine as long as you defeat me ruthlessly… I will, of course, pay for the expenses. The price doesn’t matter!”

If someone could get paid to fight, who wouldn’t agree! But Edwin really was a super masochist, huh!

Shao Ci said, “…Of course we can do that.” 

Since he was just getting some money in exchange for beating up Edwin, it wasn’t good for Shao Ci to take too much money so he went by the price of the mecha trainers online, about five hundred thousand empire coins per session. When Edwin heard the number, he felt it was a little low, and doubled it.

Shao Ci: “…” Sure enough, he was being too polite, wasn’t he? He was actually thinking of helping the son of the richest person in the empire save some money…

After they finished eating, Edwin took Shao Ci directly to his residence in the virtual world. Inside, there was even a designated mecha training field. The average person wouldn’t specially purchase a residence in the virtual world. Only Edwin was so leisurely.

The facilities were incredibly luxurious. It could even compare with the mecha competition’s facilities… Even though it was just simulated, he had to spend a lot of money to get things to such a level. 

“If we battle each other, isn’t it even better to do it outside?” Shao Ci said. Furthermore, competing outside would have an extra entrance fee. He might even earn a profit after giving a beating.

“But you came especially for me. I don’t want other people to see.” Edwin’s voice was noticeably unhappy. “Only I need to see this. I’ll fully enjoy my time alone with you.”

Shao Ci: “…As long as you’re happy.”

Although he could pick anything he wanted for free, Shao Ci naturally picked the best, most gorgeous mecha, while Edwin only selected the one he used the most often, the newest model. 

Edwin had already anticipated today’s match for a long time. He had dreamed of that day’s events so many times. In the daytime, other than when he was practicing, he was always absentminded. Several times, Pei Shijian even asked what was going on with him.

But Edwin was embarrassed to tell this to his friend, so he just found a random excuse to cover it up.

Today, just sitting in the cockpit, Edwin’s face was already beginning to flush red. He looked at the opposite mecha, his energy in a stage of high excitement… If Shao Ci saw what he looked like, he would be given a shock and think that Edwin had gone in heat or something.

On the other side, Shao Ci quickly realized the benefit of these high-level mechas. When he was using the old mecha or regular mechas, there was a pause before he could completely connect with his spiritual energy. For these high-level mechas, he only needed the blink of an eye before he was connected. 

When he was using other mechas before, he couldn’t tell. Now that he was using a high-level mecha, he discovered exactly how awkward it was to pilot the lower-grade mechas from before.

Shao Ci suddenly realized something bad. “…” Crap, now that he had used such a high-level mecha, how was he supposed to go back to those lousy mechas?

But he was a millionaire now. Even in the real world, he would be able to buy a mecha. In the insignificant virtual net, those several hundred thousand empire coins were nothing.

After warming up with the mecha controls for a bit, Shao Ci nodded. The two of them began to fight. 

In these few days, because Edwin had trained properly when he wasn’t daydreaming, his skills were a decent amount better than they were before. And because he had watched Prince Latiao’s videos an uncountable number of times, he had ways to counter most of Shao Ci’s moves.

But he didn’t want to beat Shao Ci. He just wanted to elevate himself to a position where he could overtake his opponent naturally. Besides, he thought that as long as he was stronger, the excitement he would feel after being defeated would also feel stronger.

Although he had lost several times before, only the utterly crushing feeling when he lost to Prince Latiao had made him so excited. When he lost to other people, he would only feel uncomfortable.

Edwin’s combat ability had been strong to begin with. The reason he had lost to Shao Ci so quickly was because he hadn’t been prepared. 

But Shao Ci was no longer the same old Shao Ci who didn’t even know how to maneuver a mecha. After his fight with Ji Zhaoyun, he had learned several cunning moves.

In a rapid exchange of a dozen blows, Shao Ci found an opportunity to press Edwin into a corner. He ruthlessly pushed down on the ground. The match should have ended in that moment. Yet simultaneously, Shao Ci suddenly remembered what Ji Zhaoyun had done.

The current Shao Ci was full of curiosity towards spiritual energy. Now that he knew this method, how could he not want to try it out?

“Only people with strong spiritual energy can do it. If I’m doing it, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Shao Ci thought, sending his spiritual energy probing outwards and enveloping Edwin’s mecha directly. 

The sensation of spiritual energy touching spiritual energy was very unique. It was just like the deepest part of two people’s consciousness crashing into each other until they were one and the same.

Apparently, if he could adjust properly, sometimes the intersection of spiritual energy could actually produce a pleasure even stronger than horizontal tango.

Because the people in the virtual world had all sent their consciousness inside, their reactions regarding spiritual energy were exponentially stronger than in the real life.

In the moment Shao Ci’s spiritual energy touched Edwin’s, a sharp spike of excitement passed through to him. In moments, it infected Shao Ci. He felt his body heat up in moments. He wanted to do something to drain away this feeling. 

If Shao Ci’s spiritual energy and Edwin’s spiritual energy were about the same level, he might momentarily have no way to control himself. Luckily, Shao Ci’s spiritual energy was much stronger than Edwin’s. He quickly suppressed the emotion.

“Haaa…” Shao Ci let out a breath, wiping the sweat on his forehead. Sure enough, he couldn’t try these things so randomly.

And at that moment, Edwin had completely given up on fighting back. After a long time, his voice finally sounded. “…I lost.”

Shao Ci couldn’t tell if he was mistaking it, but he felt that Edwin’s voice was a little strange. 

After Shao Ci got down from the mecha, a few moments passed. Just as Shao Ci was thinking whether he should go up and take a look, Edwin finally climbed out. His clothes were soaked in sweat, his emerald green eyes shining. He was panting lowly. His cheeks and even his ears and neck were all red.

Shao Ci: “…!” Fuck, you’re really a super masochist! Didn’t you just lose a match? Is that enough to become like this!!

Edwin looked at Shao Ci, his face completely flushed, then walked over. Shao Ci was nearly shocked into retreating a step.

It was too scary. Although he knew there were an especially large number of gays in this world, someone like Edwin was even scarier than a normal gay, okay. 

Shockingly enough, when Edwin walked in front of Shao Ci, he kneeled down, taking Shao Ci’s hand devoutly. With matchless fanaticism, he said, “Although you aren’t willing to let me follow at your side, if there’s anything you need to deal with in the future, you must think of me first. I’m willing to do anything.”

Shao Ci was already shocked silly. “Oh, yeah, okay. Don’t be like this… Quick, get up…”

How was he supposed to look straight at Edwin in reality! Well, in any case he probably wasn’t going to see Edwin often… This shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

Today’s random task was to praise the capture target once. Although Shao Ci felt that this was a very inopportune moment, if he didn’t say it soon he’d be late. He accepted Edwin’s hands. “Yeah, you’re really good too. Today, being with you, I was also really happy…” 

Although he was scared by Edwin’s super masochism, in the future he could complete his task and even get some empire coins. How wonderful! So what about those little things.

Edwin had barely calmed down. Hearing Shao Ci, his face instantly turned red. “I-I-I will follow after you for all of my life…”

Shao Ci had no idea how Edwin could stay so excited with the entire face before him mosaiced.

Shao Ci hoped Edwin could keep his calm when he found out exactly who Prince Latiao was. 

Soon, it was the next day.

Shao Ci was a little tired after all the fighting from yesterday. In the morning, he almost couldn’t get himself out of bed. He went downstairs still bleary, but when he saw Ji Zhaoyun he was scared into full consciousness. 

Today, Ji Zhaoyun, who had been full of pride, was unexpectedly absentminded. He ate the breakfast that the servants brought over sluggishly, occasionally thinking of something and flushing pink.

Normally, if the servants did something a little bit wrong, Ji Zhaoyun would lecture them. Today, however, he was completely unlike himself. When someone made a mistake, he acted just like he hadn’t seen it. Occasionally, he would look stunned, then smile a little.

What the heck was going on? Was this the same arrogant, headstrong Ji Zhaoyun who always looked angry no matter the time of day? Why did he look just like a young maiden in love?

Shao Ci’s own imagination gave him a huge shock. Who was so unlucky to have Ji Zhaoyun fall in love with them? 

When they got on the aircar, Ji Zhaoyun captured Shao Ci in conversation again. After all, with Ji Zhaoyun’s lousy temper, he didn’t have any friends. He could only chat with Shao Ci.

“Listen to me properly. In the past, I always thought of omegas as annoying living beings.” As soon as he opened his mouth, Ji Zhaoyun began to discriminate. “They’re fragile and delicate and start crying if you just say some stuff. They make me annoyed just looking at them. I was prepared to never get married in my lifetime.”

Shao Ci: “…” Dang, this Ji Zhaoyun didn’t just look down on betas, he even looked down on omegas. Still, this was normal! After all, in the original novel he was a gay who liked alphas. With him like this, he could probably only like gays…

“But yesterday, my thinking changed.” Ji Zhaoyun said, “I met an omega, and I finally understood. He’s my destined companion…”

Shao Ci: “…Ah, this is great news.”

Still, thinking about it, who did Ji Zhaoyun meet yesterday? Wasn’t he always in school? There were only alphas and omegas. Or could it be in the virtual net? Did he meet someone after he lost?

Just as Shao Ci was racking his brains, Ji Zhaoyun said, “If I say it, you’ll probably laugh at me. You can’t laugh. The person I’m talking about is that Prince Latiao.”

Shao Ci choked. “…!?” 

What the heck?!

Shao Ci wanted to grab Ji Zhaoyun by the collar and make things clear. How the fuck did he know Shao Ci was an omega! This was just unscientific! Or did something happen to his inhibitors?!

“But,” Shao Ci said, organizing his thoughts with difficulty, “That Prince Latiao is an alpha, isn’t he? How can an omega have such strength? Besides, it’s not likely for omegas or whatever to join virtual mecha competitions, right? Haha hahaha…”

Because of the restraints of their constitutions, omegas typically wouldn’t study mechas. Even if they had high-grade spiritual energy, they wouldn’t consider it. 

“No, he’s definitely an omega,” Ji Zhaoyun said confidently. “When I was in his spiritual energy, I sensed the scent of an omega’s pheromones. I didn’t expect that there were actually omegas who could make it so far. It seems that I’ve been too narrow-minded. It’s not just alphas who are strong.”

You know it yourself, too?!

Although Ji Zhaoyun began self-introspection from this, Shao Ci couldn’t get happy at all.

That poor soul that Ji Zhaoyun had fucking fallen for was actually himself. 

Why were these inhibitors so garbage?! He had been seen through in seconds, but maybe this was a problem with spiritual energy… Damn it, Shao Ci felt that he should be more careful about using his spiritual energy.

Now, the only thing that was worth celebrating was that he had chosen to be anonymous when he first entered the competition. Shao Ci was even more afraid to expose his identity. If it was exposed, Ji Zhaoyun and Edwin might rip him thoroughly into shreds.

“Thank goodness I didn’t show my real appearance during the fight yesterday. I just need change to a new name and he probably won’t know who I am.” Ji Zhaoyun looked as though he was letting out a breath of relief.

Shao Ci: “…” In fact, the other party knows everything. 

“By the way, how do you think I should pursue him.” Ji Zhaoyun looked towards Shao Ci, his attitude much better than before and completely sincere. “After all, I don’t have any experience with courting someone. It’ll be no good if I do it badly and scare him off.”

Vtjb Jl’: “…Cybea atja.” Tbe atlcx P’nf uba fzqfglfcmf klat mbegalcu rbwfbcf?!

Po Al Itjbsec kjr lcafgfrafv lc rbwfbcf firf, Vtjb Jl kbeiv rjs rbwf gjcvbw atlcur, yea atf rbwfbcf kjr tlw. Lf mbeivc’a ub atgbeut atf wbalbcr mjrejiis. Po tf vlv bcf atlcu kgbcu, la kbeiv ufa jccbslcu. Rba gfrqbcvlcu kjr fnfc kbgrf. Qtb kbeiv Al Itjbsec ub jrx cfza?

Shao Ci just blabbered, “Most omegas should like gentle and soft alphas, especially these kinds of awesome omegas. They definitely hate forceful alphas, so you just have to show him your gentle side and be more soft. Don’t do anything too fierce. If you do things like this, he’ll probably think more highly of you.” 

Exactly, don’t do anything too fierce! As long as you do this, nothing will happen!!

“Yeah, you’re right.” Ji Zhaoyun nodded pensively, then returning to his normal appearance. He looked towards Shao Ci loftily. “If I succeed in courting him, you’ll be my best advisor. I won’t treat you unfairly.”

Shao Ci faked happiness, but inside his emotions didn’t fluctuate in the slightest. Anyway, he knew that Ji Zhaoyun would never succeed in this life.

After he got off the aircar, the two of them unexpectedly met Edwin, who was alone. Ji Zhaoyun didn’t want to greet him at all. Shao Ci remembered what happened yesterday and was afraid of being recognized, so he didn’t want to speak. 

Edwin glanced at them coldly, sweeping over Shao Ci like he was looking at trash, and left even more icily.

Shao Ci: “…” Looks like he had thought too much. With Edwin’s attitude, it would be weirder if he could recognize Shao Ci was Prince Latiao.

Ji Zhaoyun sneered. “…Being so arrogant all the time as if he’s so amazing, but he couldn’t even defeat my companion.”

When Shao Ci heard Ji Zhaoyun’s term of address, he was shocked enough that he started hacking. 

“By the way, did you catch a cold recently? You’re coughing a lot.” Ji Zhaoyun turned to look over.

“No, no,” Shao Ci said quickly. “My throat just hurt a bit from the air conditioning just now.”

Ji Zhaoyun said calmly, “If you’re sick, just go straight to the doctor. You can find me for reimbursements for the cost.”

– 

The news about Prince Latiao drew even more attention from the powerful. After all, he wasn’t just strong. At a glance, it was obvious that he needed money… It was obvious that he was easy to win over.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Shao Ci was more lazy, he might really agree, but now he was ruthless.

At that moment, in the most expensive sky-suspended restaurant in the capital planet, it was rumored that His Highness the Crown Prince Roris was sitting inside, looking at the scenery outside. From there, he could see most of the capital, and the scenery was beautiful.

As the final boss in the original novel, Roris was extremely cunning. He had blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He was incredibly beautiful. After all, compared to His Majesty the Emperor, who looked steadfast, he resembled the empress, once the most beautiful face in the empire, more. 

This empress was most well-known for her beauty. Most people had even forgotten that she had married into the imperial family thanks to her illustrious family background.

Along with her beauty, the empress had a very extreme personality. She was terrifyingly possessive of her companions, and had thusly killed an innumerable number of maids who had tried to seduce the emperor. She couldn’t even take a few concubines.

Just as he had inherited the empress’s beauty, Roris had also inherited her bigotry. He was scarily possessive of the things he liked. In his youth, he wouldn’t let anyone else even touch his toys.

The most dramatic part of the novel was that the person His Majesty the Emperor really loved was Pei Shijian’s mother. She was a innocent sweetheart who was born into low status, but because of the empress’s possessiveness, he didn’t have the nerve to bring her back. This was why Pei Shijian was born in the slums… 

And later, when the empress found out about what had happened, she poisoned drinks right in front of the emperor, wanting to drag him down with her. In the end the emperor was saved. If it wasn’t for the fact that he needed the help of the empress’s family, he would have gone directly for the empress’s corpse to vent his anger.

It was exactly for this reason that the emperor didn’t like Roris, who looked just like the empress. He felt guilt towards the son of his lover, Pei Shijian, and did his utmost to pave the way for him to move forward. He didn’t spare the slightest thought for the eldest son from his political marriage. It was why Roris had withered so thoroughly.

But at that moment, Roris was still His Highness the Crown Prince with boundless paths in his future, and Pei Shijian’s past as an illegitimate child was still a secret.

“By the way, I saw someone interesting on the virtual net yesterday,” Roris said with a slight smile. 

“Oh? What kind of person managed to draw Your Highness’s attention?” The young man at Roris’s side was extremely handsome. If Shao Ci was there, he would notice that he looked around seventy percent similar to Ji Zhaoyun, but he looked much more mature.

He was Ji Zhaoyun’s elder brother, the heir to the dukedom, Ji Zhaoyuan.

In the original novel, Ji Zhaoyuan had always stood on Roris’s side. Later, because he couldn’t steel his heart and kill his younger brother, he let Ji Zhaoyun go. Consequently, he had indirectly caused Pei Shijian’s victory. Finally, thanks to Ji Zhaoyun’s reputation, he was able to survive, but the rest of his life was spent in suffering.

As Ji Zhaoyuan spoke, he silently said a prayer for that person. He couldn’t say whether that person was fortunate or unfortunate to have drawn His Highness’s attention. 

“Look at this.” Roris brought his smart computer in front of Ji Zhaoyuan, his voice calm. “The most interesting thing is that I actually can’t find out his identity. In the recording I got, his face is still blurry. How did he do it?”

For competitions like this, although they said it was anonymous, in fact those with influence could easily discover who it was. For example, plenty of people had discovered who Pei Shijian was.

But to have someone that even the crown prince Roris couldn’t find was a shock.

Ji Zhaoyuan looked at the screen. It was a contestant fighting with an old-fashioned mecha, but he still beat Edwin easily. 

After all, Edwin was the crown prince’s younger cousin. Ji Zhaoyuan had some understanding of his strength. He immediately gained some interest towards the person on the screen. “There’s actually someone who can be as good as that time. He even defeated Edwin. I’ll have people go investigate…”

When it first happened, Ji Zhaoyuan had also been excited by the commotion and had interest in drawing that person in, but the other party tactfully rejected him. Ji Zhaoyuan only felt it was a pity, and didn’t think too much about it. He hadn’t thought that he was actually someone who could overturn the empire.

“By the way, I heard your younger brother brought an impoverished young noble home to torture recently?” Roris looked over with a raised eyebrow, his blue eyes cold.

Ji Zhaoyuan’s heart tensed, but his expression was calm as if nothing had happened. He sighed helplessly. “Xiao Yun was spoiled by our entire family ever since he was young, and now it turns out that he’s grown unafraid of anything. I already told him many times. He should have let that person go already. Although those impoverished nobles aren’t anything much, it wouldn’t be very good if someone insisted on investigating.” 

“Yes,” Roris said calmly. “After all, things are more bothersome these day. It’s best not to let anyone else get any information that could be used against you.”

“Right.” Ji Zhaoyuan relaxed. As His Highness the Crown Prince’s right-hand man, he understood what Roris’s true personality was like very well.

The perfect, gentle person everyone else saw was an act. His Highness the Crown Prince’s real personality was extreme and distrustful.

When he thought about how the empress was so extreme that she had tried to bring the emperor to death with her, Ji Zhaoyuan thought that the person His Highness the Crown Prince would like in the future was a bit miserable. 

After they finished discussing the topic, Roris looked at the mecha on his screen again, his eyes filled with interest. He said, his voice low, “It really is interesting… After so many years, it’s the first time that someone has drawn my interest. Who in the world are you?”

–

At that moment, Shao Ci had no idea he had drawn the attention of the main villain in the original novel. He was looking at the old-fashioned practice mecha in front of his eyes with trepidation.

The scary mecha combat class wasn’t until tomorrow, so Shao Ci came to school without any worries. He didn’t expect that there would be a mecha training class today. 

Although Shao Ci enjoyed the feeling of operating mechas in the virtual world, it was his first time touching a mecha in the real world. He was very worried about what might happen.

At his side, Ji Zhaoyun said calmly, “You’d better practice properly today. If you lose tomorrow, it won’t be as simple as getting humiliated. You might even be putting your life on your line. Everyone has to participate in the combat class tomorrow, don’t put blame on me for not reminding you.”

Ji Zhaoyun walked towards his mecha. During the mecha training lesson, most people were practicing their movements. Some people had arranged to learn from each other.

Out of the entire training field, only Shao Ci was still standing in place and idling his time away. 

The sound of jeers began to erupt around him.

“Isn’t this that pervert beta who peeped in the men’s bathrooms? I heard he got expelled ages ago. Why is he still staying here so brazenly?”

“Didn’t he manage to come back to study by clinging onto Ji Zhaoyun? Or which school would want this student, huh?”

“Look at him. Even if he came back thanks to sucking up, he doesn’t even know how to turn on the mecha. What a joke.” 

How were these chatting alphas so bored? If they had time to gossip, they could go and practice properly!

Though Shao Ci didn’t care about what they said, it wasn’t good of him to keep standing here either. He had to face the things he had to face, so he gritted his teeth and climbed onto the mecha.

Shao Ci had touched mechas who-knows-how-many times in the virtual net, but feeling them in the real world was a completely novel experience. There was even a wonderful feeling where his fingers were touching the buttons.

“It would be all good if I could connect to the mecha with my spiritual energy in the real world.” Shao Ci sighed, thinking about his lousy body again. He could only throw this way of thinking to the back of his mind, beginning to maneuver the mecha. 

Because he had practice from the virtual net, he didn’t have any problems making the mecha walk. He could also do a few simple moves. Shao Ci let out a breath of relief. “Still, this is really far from a real fight. Tomorrow, I’ll just surrender and end it quickly.”

But on the other side of the training field, three people had gathered sneakily. “That’s right, isn’t it? That guy’s the useless beta, right?”

“Exactly, I saw him.” Another person nodded. “He’s just a beta, but he’s actually so arrogant. He even has the guts to come back to class. Let’s teach him a lesson.”

“Still, it’ll be bad if the teachers catch us,” someone said with worry. 

“Don’t worry. I checked, the teachers are busy right now. It’ll be at least half an hour before they come back. There’s enough time for us to teach that guy a lesson.”

After they finished discussing, they got into their mechas and moved secretly towards Shao Ci.

Shao Ci was in the middle of practicing his movements. Suddenly, something banged next to him, and his mecha immediately unbalanced. After flailing for a long time, he managed to return to his center of gravity. He looked to his side with irritation.

But he found that there wasn’t just one mecha next to him. There were three. They were surrounding him on all sides. 

“Fuck.” Shao Ci had a bad feeling. “They’ve come to pick a fight.” After all, the original host’s foul mouth had offended many people. Besides, Pei Shijian had so many friends. It was normal for them to come to pick a fight.

Against three mechas’ attacks, Shao Ci’s response was all over the place. His mecha operation technique was simply unpracticed, and he was forced to keep retreating. He couldn’t even fight back.

When he had retreated until he couldn’t keep retreating, the three of them shockingly began to attack his mecha’s limbs. It was obvious they wanted to destroy the mecha to humiliate Shao Ci.

Shao Ci: “!!” Humiliation was just some bullying, but if they destroyed the training mecha he would have to pay for the damages, okay!! 

Even Shao Ci’s anger was building. He questioned the system gloomily, “Will my body collapse as soon as I use my spiritual energy? There’s not any buffer time? Can I heal my body with my healing ability?”

[There is indeed a process to your body’s collapse after you use your spiritual energy. Based on the current circumstances of the host’s body, it can probably endure for three minutes. After three minutes, your body will quickly deteriorate, and even your healing ability won’t be able to save you.]

“To face these people, three minutes is enough.” Shao Ci’s expression turned cold. He began to connect his spiritual energy to the mecha.

Pei Shijian was standing in a tall building at the side, observing the training field with calm amidst the chaos. When he saw Shao Ci being cornered, his voice was indifferent. “If you need to blame something, blame yourself for not practicing well normally. That’s why people are bullying you now.” 

“What? Is there something interesting down there?” Edwin walked out, looking downwards with interest.

“Nothing. I was just taking a look. I’m going back first,” Pei Shijian said as if nothing had happened. He turned back towards the classroom. Things were about done with. He had no interest in continuing to watch and see how a good-for-nothing was getting taught a lesson.

Edwin was about to go back, but suddenly something flashed in the corner of his eye.

“That’s….”