Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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“Hello everyone! The 54th Imperial Military Academy Joint Sports Meet is about to begin!”
“The prize for first place in this competition is unprecedentedly generous. I’m sure you’ve all heard about it!”
“That’s right! In addition to the usual monetary and military merit awards, this year’s champion will also have the opportunity to intern at the military headquarters ahead of time. And—!”
The host’s loud and enthusiastic voice echoed throughout the arena through the microphone. He drew out the last sentence.
“As one of the organizers of this inter-school sports meet, the military will provide prototype mechs as a gift to the winning military academy!”
The champion’s prize for the inter-school joint sports meet had been heavily publicized before the competition even started.
Although the audience already knew about it, they still couldn’t help but erupt in deafening cheers when they saw the prototype mechs projected on the electronic screen.
This sports meet was truly extravagant!
The topic of “mechs” as military equipment dated back over a hundred years. At that time, the Empire and the Federation were in a period of war, and most of the country’s funds were invested in the military.
The most lethal weapon developed was this “mecha”— capable of taking on a hundred enemies single-handedly. Even a defenceless omega could easily injure someone with it.
This was the main culprit behind the surge in casualties for both countries.
Therefore, after the war, the Empire and the Federation signed a “Peace Agreement.” One of its provisions was the complete abandonment of “mechas.”
Most mechas were reduced to scrap metal during the war, and the few survivors were deliberately destroyed. A century later, the military unearthed several complete mechas.
Although they were no longer operable, as witnesses to the tragic history of that time, they still possessed immense collectible value. They were practically priceless.
The military’s unexpected decision to donate them to the winning school was truly unexpected.
The media in the stands were extremely excited. Regardless of the actual outcome of the competition, such a prize alone was enough to make headlines!
Although, given the close relationship between the military departments, it was largely a matter of giving and receiving.
Undoubtedly, possessing a “prototype mecha” under the name of a “school” would be a tremendous honor for that school.
Media professionals had already started frantically editing their articles.
Currently, the two schools with the greatest hopes were “Imperial First” and “Dark Flag.” If Dark Flag managed to win the “prototype mecha” consecutively, the century-old military academy rankings could very well change.
This competition was sure to be incredibly exciting!
After the audience calmed down a bit, the host spoke again, beginning to explain the preliminary competition rules.
To ensure fairness, the organizers would not announce the competition events in advance, but rather on the day of the competition.
Therefore, the inter-school sports meet tested not only the students’ abilities but also the strategic planning skills of the teachers leading the teams.
Anticipating other schools’ strategies and responding accordingly was crucial.
Because the sports meet only lasted one day, it was essential to consider energy conservation and the timing of each athlete’s appearance.
The first event was the obstacle relay race.
As the name suggested, each school must send six members to participate in the relay. Unlike ordinary relay races, each leg of the course would feature numerous obstacles to slow down the participants.
As the host introduced the event, the ground in the center of the arena suddenly split open, revealing six cylindrical buildings that filled the empty space.
This arena, resembling a giant egg, wasn’t simply large; it served multiple functions.
One of these was a virtual training ground.
These six buildings functioned identically to the virtual training ground, simulating and setting different external environments.
“Each school will send six participants to different rooms. Only by successfully completing the current room can the next stage begin.”
“The judges will time the participants, and the top ten with the shortest times will advance to the preliminary round.”
This meant that out of the 38 participating military schools, more than half would be eliminated in the first round. The rules were extremely strict.
“Now, please send one representative from each school to the judges to draw lots to determine the starting order.”
“Huh? Starting order?” Xu Chengdong was confused. “Aren’t relay races supposed to start together?”
The host quickly provided an explanation.
“The school that draws number 1 will start first, school number 2 will start one minute later, and so on. But don’t worry, we will use each school’s start time as the standard and keep separate time.”
“During the competition, competitors cannot directly attack each other; otherwise, it will be considered a violation. However, they can use the field conditions to gain time.”
At this moment, Bai Yue had returned to the rest room and was listening to the rules with his teammates. When he heard the last sentence, he couldn’t help but narrow his eyes.
Use the field conditions to gain time.
Each school had a different start time. Therefore, the competitors who started first “can” do something on the field to slow down the people behind them.
The winning condition was the top ten with the shortest time. In other words, the longer others took, the greater your chance of winning.
Xu Chengdong originally thought this was just an ordinary sports meet, but he didn’t expect it to be so complicated. But thinking about it carefully, even the selection of the disciplinary team was fraught with danger, let alone such a large-scale event.
He couldn’t help but feel nervous again.
“Sure enough, the organizers always manage to surprise us every year.”
The senior students nearby, experienced in such matters, quickly grasped the implication: “We need to try our best to draw a good number so we don’t get tricked.”
“So, who should we send to draw the lots? Who’s the luckiest?”
Whispers began, eyes darting between the participants. While it was an honorable task, the pressure of drawing a low number due to their own actions was immense.
And the person whose mindset wouldn’t be affected…
Noticing the gazes, Bai Yue looked back.
“Bai Yue, why don’t you go? You didn’t perform at the opening ceremony, so go ahead and show your face.”
Bai Yue didn’t mind. However, he noticed the pressure on the seniors and, after a moment’s thought, said, “The starting order might not have that much of an impact.”
Hearing this, everyone was taken aback. Then someone agreed: “You’re right. We’re from the top university; making it to the finals is no problem.”
Faced with absolute strength, all schemes and tricks are just paper tigers!
Bai Yue didn’t mean that. He didn’t refute the senior’s words, but instead smiled and added, “Yes. But there’s another reason, because this is an ‘obstacle course.'”
The last-place contestants might encounter ambushes set up by those ahead of them; conversely, the first-place contestants will also fall into the traps set by the organizers first.
The so-called “obstacles” were not only between contestants, but also challenges set up by the organizers.
“Bai Yue is right,” a team leader nodded, “This is also a psychological battle. Don’t be discouraged because you drew the last number, and don’t think that starting first guarantees victory.”
“This relay race requires six runners, and we can’t let our guard down for any leg of the journey.”
Everyone stood at attention: “Yes, sir!”
The final number drawn by Imperial First was— 38.
Out of 38 military academies, they had drawn last place.
A sigh rippled through the audience: “Imperial First is so unlucky.”
“They’re 38 minutes behind the leader. I have a bold guess: could the other schools have teamed up to ambush Imperial First and take care of the most difficult ones first?”
“Come on, this is just the preliminary round, how could that be?”
“I think Imperial First will have a pretty smooth run this time. With so many military academies ahead, they’ve probably already encountered most of the traps.”
The audience was abuzz with speculation.
However, no matter how they speculated, it wouldn’t affect the Imperial First runners’ focus. They gathered in the rest area, waiting for the starting order of all the military academies to be announced so they could react accordingly.
Even so, the only one they were truly concerned about was the Dark Flag Protection Academy.
“Ah, they’re out!” Xu Chengdong stared at the electronic screen, “Dark Flag is first.”
Everyone exchanged glances. With such a large time difference, they probably wouldn’t even meet in the end.
“That’s good.” The senior who had just competed against Dark Flag last year breathed a sigh of relief. “It would be too unlucky if the preliminary rounds were right next to each other. And I also heard that they have an S-level alpha there, so it’ll probably be even more troublesome this year.”
“What’s there to be afraid of? We have Bai Yue this year. Just the gene level alone will crush them!”
The group chatted casually, while the teachers in charge discussed among themselves. A few minutes later, Counsellor Song walked up to everyone and announced the six contestants who would be participating.
Three of them were senior students. The fourth person was Mu Sihan.
This choice was not surprising. After all, his strength was not inferior even among the senior students. The preliminary rounds were not that difficult, and he could accumulate experience in the early rounds.
“Shang Yufei.”
When they heard this name, everyone was shocked.
Huh? They really let this person participate?
After the mobilization meeting that day, some people also saw Bai Yue and others confronting that teacher. They thought it was a delaying tactic to stabilize the S+ level special recruits first. But it turned out to be real.
Some people began to feel uneasy.
Could they… be eliminated in the preliminaries for violating the rules?
Shang Yufei was already used to these strange looks, so he just frowned and said nothing.
Bai Yue noticed and patted him lightly on the back.
“And the last one, Bai Yue.”
The three strongest and most unpredictable contestants were all sent out in the preliminaries.
As soon as the competition ended, the broadcast began announcing that all participating schools should assemble.
Time was of the essence, and the six left the lounge.
Watching the others depart, the remaining participants were somewhat worried.
It wasn’t about advancing. The three senior participants were experienced, and while the two first-year students and Shang Yufei were participating for the first time— as long as the latter didn’t cause any trouble, no one could stand against them.
However, sending Bai Yue first… Everyone said that the trump card should be saved for last; was it really okay to reveal the trump card so early?
But, looking at it from another angle, most military academies didn’t yet know Bai Yue’s true identity. If it could be revealed early, it might intimidate the opponent and win without a fight in later matches.
Because once the enemy fell into fear, they would lose first.
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