Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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The scorching red sun was burning the earth, and the hot summer wind was blowing through the brand new residential buildings. The temperatures inside and outside the building were like two different worlds. Father Lu stood in front of the window, stepping on the clean and bright tile floor, facing the air-conditioned wind, and saw his happy and somewhat dazed expression reflected in the glass.
He watched with his own eyes as this residential building was built within a month, but when he actually moved into the new home built free of charge by the federal government today, he still felt like he was dreaming.
“Oh! That’s great!” Mother Lu carefully turned off the air conditioner. “The place we lived in before was stuffy and humid, and the cicadas kept chirping at night. Xiaoshan also couldn’t sleep well.”
“Xiaoshan, aren’t you going to participate in the Youth Mecha Driving Competition? You must work hard, stay in good spirits, and strive to get a good ranking, okay?” Mother Lu said to Lu Xiaoshan.
Lu Xiaoshan put on his new schoolbag and hurriedly got up from the bed. The lunch break was almost over and he had to go to the new school for classes.
“Got it! Dad, Mom, you guys should go to work too! I’m leaving first!”
Mr. and Mrs. Lu now worked in a food processing factory. He had heard it was the factory of Tangtang brother. The benefits were very good and they could go home to rest at noon. The factory was also equipped with air conditioners, so many workers were reluctant to leave after getting off work. Some even slept on the floor and took a nap in the factory itself.
Lu Xiaoshan decided not to go home for lunch tomorrow. If he rested at home, his parents would definitely turn on the air conditioner. The electricity bill would definitely be very high. The classrooms in their new school also had air conditioners, and it would be very comfortable to take a nap lying on the table.
As he thought about this, he passed by a fully armed patrol. The leader of this team was a white-haired officer who always looked bored, but when he drew his gun, he was decisive and seemed to enjoy killing.
But he knew the officer was a good man.
Once, a conflict broke out between a patrol team and a group of people from the black market. There was a gunfight on the street and many people died. He and a few friends who had just got out of school happened to witness the end of the conflict.
The white-haired officer shot the thug dead a second ago. After squinting his eyes and yawning, his gray eyes suddenly locked onto their hiding place.
For a moment, Lu Xiaoshan thought he was going to be killed.
Being unfortunately killed by stray bullets in a gunfight was a very common way to die in the slums. Sometimes the winning party did not have enough of killing and would suddenly start a killing spree on the street.
He wanted to run away, but he was afraid that his behavior would irritate the slow-moving officer and make him die faster. Just as he was struggling with this, the officer took off his blood-stained gloves, took out a handful of candies from his pocket, and said to them lazily, “Kids, want some candy?”
He and his friends walked past the patrol team with candies in their hands, trembling with fear, and heard someone ask the officer, “Jiao Jian, do you know how to coax children?”
“Um.”
“Then why do you carry candy with you?”
“Quit smoking.”
“….”
Lu Xiaoshan touched his pocket which contained the candy and looked back at the patrol team. The white-haired officer raised his eyes as if he sensed something and curled the corners of his lips at him.
The smile was so fleeting that Lu Xiaoshan thought it was an illusion caused by the hot weather.
In fact, everything in front of him seemed like an illusion to Lu Xiaoshan. He would worry every night before going to bed that it was just a dream and it would be gone when he woke up.
Today, strict order had been established in the slums. Anyone who challenged the rules would be severely punished. People living here no longer had to worry about being killed by stray bullets or encountering robbers when walking out.
They went from being uncomfortable in the beginning to now spontaneously maintaining order.
Because order meant hope.
Lu Xiaoshan once wanted to be a racer in the underground arena. However, just yesterday, a racer who occasionally asked him to run errands such as buying cigarettes told Lu Xiaoshan that he wanted to quit the circle.
The racer said he was tired of the life-and-death fights in the underground arena and planned to try to join the slum patrol after his contract with the underground arena expired. However, to join the patrol, he must first pass a literacy test.
Thinking of those complicated exam questions, the twenty-something racer couldn’t help but have a headache, considering whether he should apply for night school. “Xiaoshan, I really envy you kids. You are in a good time. When I was your age, I couldn’t go to school and had to go to the mining area.”
Lu Xiaoshan continued walking towards the school. The new school was very close to his new home and could be reached in just fifteen minutes.
The teacher who taught them the first class in the afternoon was Teacher Li.
Lu Xiaoshan liked teacher Li very much. Teacher Li’s class was entertaining and educational. He would patiently explain things to them. During breaks, he often shared homemade cookies with them. He also cared about the daily life of each student and was so gentle that it reminded him of his mother.
Many years later, whenever Lu Xiaoshan recalled the education he received from Teacher Li, he would sincerely thank this teacher for the valuable enlightenment on life values that he had brought to the ignorant boy.
Just like in this class, Teacher Li did not teach as usual, but played a live broadcast of the Mecha Cup for them.
The Mecha Cup was being held in the largest stadium in the Federation, which could accommodate 100,000 spectators and had the most advanced environmental simulation technology in the Federation. The grand opening ceremony made the children in the classroom exclaim in amazement.
One child subconsciously asked: “How much does this cost?”
If this money was used to build slums…
Even though Lu Xiaoshan told himself to be content and grateful, this thought came to his mind unconsciously.
Teacher Li walked down from the podium and said in a gentle voice: “The Mecha Cup did cost the Federation a lot of money, but children, we need to look at the problem from a different perspective. Just like after we built new houses and new schools here, which gave outsiders a better impression of us, the Mecha Cup acts a business card of the Federation to the world. When other countries see this feast, they will realize the prosperity of the Federation.”
“This Mecha Cup is not only a grand event, it is also a stage for the Federation to show its strength. Through this Mecha Cup, we tell the world that we are strong enough and we are not afraid of war.”
….
The Mecha Cup Competition held its opening ceremony under the attention of the public.
The spherical stadium turned off all lights. Amidst the whispers, this building, which embodied the most advanced environmental simulation technology in the Federation, simulated the vast universe.
Countless virtual stars floated out from the 100,000 spectator seats, illuminating the entire dark stadium.
Those points of light gathered into a dazzling mecha cup, as if it was placed in the center of the darkness by the gods.
When the trophy was formed, the host’s passionate voice sounded together with the magnificent music: “Ladies and gentlemen, the first Federation International Mecha Cup Competition is officially opened!”
The opening ceremony was spectacular. The magnificent performance perfectly embodied the integration of technology and culture, which was a feast for the eyes. Whenever the performance reached a splendid point, the audience would burst into applause and cheers.
Tang Bai sat in the seat for the contestants’ relatives and watched the wonderful opening ceremony performance with Xie Ruheng.
“The omega leading the dance is a senior from the dance department of our etiquette academy.” Tang Bai was particularly excited to watch the beauty dancing. “Originally, Director Huang contacted me and asked me if I wanted to participate in the opening ceremony performance, but I know myself well. My level is only good enough to dance the cheerleading dance.”
Xie Ruheng recalled the cheering dance that Tang Bai had performed for them during military training. The youthful little omega was full of energy for him. Every time he recalled it, his heart was moved. Xie Ruheng said seriously: “I like your dance more.”
Tang Bai glanced at his boyfriend, whose love filter was a hundred meters thick. He hooked his finger at Xie Ruheng, and when that handsome face came closer, Tang Bai lowered his voice and whispered, “Then Brother Xie, do you want to see me wearing a bunny suit and dancing for you alone?”
Xie Ruheng: “!!!”
Tang Bai smiled with his eyes curved, but his long eyelashes could not cover the tiny fragments of light: “The kind with round bunny tails~ As long as you win the championship, I will dance only for you~”
Xie Ruheng was so overwhelmed by Tang Bai’s few words that his mind was filled with indescribable thoughts.
Seeing Xie Ruheng like this, Tang Bai smiled with satisfaction.
He had just recently written a bunny cheering dance sequence for the pink bunny mecha, and sure enough, Brother Xie seemed to like it very much.
As the opening performance, which lasted more than two hours, was about to end, Xie Ruheng stood up from his seat and walked backstage through the shortcut passage.
Contestants from various countries gathered backstage, a total of fifty contestants, with ten people from each country. In addition to the five places from the military academy, the federation also had five people selected from auditions.
Participants from different countries wore different costumes. The Federation’s uniform was black, calm and stern, with a strong military style.
The small country of Proya, which was friendly with the Federation, had a tradition of tattoos. They had dark skin, wore white uniforms, and had silver-white birds of prey resting on their exposed skin.
The flashiest team belonged to the Empire, with medals hung on exquisite red twill ribbons and golden light ceremonial armor that made them look heroic.
A player from the Empire team who was surrounded by people had golden curly hair and eyes as white as jade. Although he was not tall, he was full of the bearing of a strong man.
Xie Ruheng knew the identity of this contestant, Andre, a member of the imperial royal family.
His operational level was average, but he was said to be one of the more competitive crown princes and a peace advocate.
The Empire’s attitude towards the Federation was divided into two categories: pro-war and pro-peace. The implantation of the virus in the holographic game assessment was most likely done by the pro-war faction. In the month after the chief exam, the Federation conducted several military exercises, and the Empire sent Andre, a pro-peace faction, as a contestant this time, which could well illustrate the Empire’s attitude.
The Empire had no intention of going to war for the time being.
When Xie Ruheng was about to look away, Andre suddenly met his eyes directly, forcefully and restrainedly, as if examining him. Then Andre slowly revealed a faint, arrogant and reserved smile.
“Next, please welcome the Empire’s representative team!” The host’s introduction resounded throughout the stadium, and Andre and a group of members of the Empire walked out in a dignified manner.
Gu Tunan stood beside Xie Ruheng and said, “I came at the right time. I just happened to hear the members of the Empire Team teasing the Crown Prince.”
“He said he likes Tang Bai.”
The author has something to say:
Because this part of the story is a bit difficult to write, I’m worried that if I force myself to update it, the quality will be poor, so I’ll take a break for the next two days. Once I get the feel for it, I’ll make up for the overdue updates. Don’t worry, everyone, I’ll update every 10,000 nutrient solutions this month to celebrate, even if I can’t finish it this month, I’ll finish it next month!
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