"This match was much more exciting than the last one!"
"Major Threat! Ah!!! Cough cough cough..."
"Yiwan! Yiwan! Yiwan!!"
The match ended, and the fans off-stage screamed themselves hoarse, but the eight contestants didn't rush to leave like they did in the previous match.
"Zailai Yiwan, have you heard of the Mecha Artisan Alliance?"
Purple Rose stored the unassembled mecha parts back into her spatial button and walked over to Wang Tianwei's team.
"I have!"
Wang Tianwei immediately disembarked from her mecha.
Bei Liu had mentioned the Mecha Artisan Alliance to her before.
It was a forum made up of independent mecha mechanics and engineers in the Federation, filled with top-tier experts!
It didn't just have people from the military; there were also some top civilian mecha mechanics!
Everyone would exchange their insights and experiences there.
However, this forum was membership-based. First, you needed to have a few unique works, and you also needed a referral to get in!
Originally, the plan was to wait for Bei Liu to return from her mission, by which time her own mecha would be finished, and then Bei Liu would refer her...
"Sister Purple, are you a member too?"
"Yes. Did you modify all of your teammates' mechas?"
"That's right! I have the design drafts and videos right here, absolutely authentic!"
Purple Rose extended her optical computer.
"Let's add each other as friends. You're quite good, little girl, though you are a bit unscrupulous when it comes to fighting..."
"..."
Wang Tianwei silently handed over her optical computer.
"Why aren't you talking?"
"I really couldn't find any point to refute..."
"Hahahaha!"
Phantom's commander was a mature woman with short white hair, wearing a half-mask on her face.
"Alright, Purple Rose, we should get going. Let's not affect their next match."
"Coming!"
After adding each other as friends, the two sides left from opposite ends of the arena.
"QL Major Threat" had already entered the top five.
Originally, the group had thought about not returning to the lounge, since the next match was about to start...
Who would have thought that they would actually get a bye in the third round!?
"When luck comes, you really can't stop it!"
Wang Tianwei walked back with a swaggering gait, feeling that everything was going exceptionally smoothly today!
Of course, except for running into two of their professional teachers in the Zero Realm...
"How are everyone's mechas? What's the extent of the damage?"
Jian Jingyu immediately reported,
"The electronic pulse device on the arm was destroyed by that light mecha just now and can't be replaced. Other than that, there aren't any major issues."
Zhang Lyra also said,
"Two of the armor spikes on the back are broken, the rest are just minor damages."
Huang Yan made an OK gesture.
"I haven't even used the defensive transformation yet. No problems on my end."
Only then did Wang Tianwei feel relieved.
After a few matches, all the contestants' mechas would inevitably suffer some damage.
Minor issues could just be recalibrated later. In cases of part destruction, there wasn't enough time for a major overhaul, but as long as it wasn't crippled, they could still fight!
Today's enemies were all tough to deal with, but the next match was the finals!
Top three was guaranteed for them. Even if they didn't get the materials, they would still get the prize money. It wouldn't be a loss either way!
She took out a few packets of nutrient solution and distributed them to everyone.
"Replenish your energy first. We need to go eat some beef after this is over..."
Huang Yan, with a packet of nutrient solution in his mouth, looked at the live broadcast of the two matches on the screen. After a long while, he concluded,
"If nothing unexpected happens, we'll be fighting against Orady and Blade."
"They're all LV3..."
Wang Tianwei walked over and watched for a while.
"So why is that squad using a member's name as their team name?"
"Orady is an S-rank individual soldier who has been fighting matches in the Zero Realm for five years. He has accumulated quite a few fans with his old-school violent and bloody style.
His strength and stamina are incredibly formidable, making him the team's main damage dealer... His favorite thing is to tear off the limbs of mechas barehanded to show off his strength.
He is the most famous person in the team. His teammates have been replaced one after another over the years, so in the end, the team name was simply set as Orady."
Huang Yan picked out and read the information he had found on the Zero Realm Arena forum.
"I see..."
After listening to Huang Yan's explanation, Jian Jingyu came to a conclusion,
"A violent maniac?"
"...You could say that."
"What about Blade?"
"A well-trained team of soldiers with a very distinct style. When they encounter opponents who are truly no match for them, they will hold back, earning a lot of goodwill from the audience."
"One violent maniac, one team of iron-blooded warriors... Then what is our style?"
Wang Tianwei tossed the empty nutrient solution packaging into the garbage disposal and asked curiously.
"Shouldn't we also be like them and have our own team style?"
"...Don't worry, these styles are defined by the audience.
We don't have one for now, but we probably will soon..."
After today's battle, it's hard to say how their image and style will be defined...
Just as Huang Yan had guessed, the final winning teams were indeed Orady and Blade.
The team fighting Orady had two more mechas destroyed. One of the fighters didn't manage to cut off the sensory synchronization in time and was eventually carried off with his eyes rolled back.
The feeling of having one's limbs torn off alive certainly wouldn't be pleasant... Who knows if it will have an impact on his mental strength?
Even up to the last second, Orady didn't forget to hold up his spoils of war and parade around the arena. The fanatical fans off-stage cheered and roared along, as if they were holding some ancient sacrificial ritual...
The rest period before the finals was extended to thirty minutes.
A three-way battle required a larger venue.
The size of the arena directly in front of Eugene and the others was originally the same as the other arenas.
During the preparation period, the buffer pads in the trenches around the venue were removed, and then slowly rose until they were level with the competition stage.
The outer ring of the ground sank in, forming a new, larger competition venue.
"So it's an elevating platform."
Now the VIP seats were even closer to the arena!
"The ticket money was well spent."
Eugene high-fived Jin Xi.
Wouldn't it be like those kids were competing right in front of their eyes later?
The staff came out to manually upgrade the protective shield to a higher level. After the robots cleaned the venue, they began testing the protective shield again.
Once it was confirmed that there were absolutely no problems, the screen on the field began to display a ten-minute countdown.
"The betting is open!! The betting is open!"
"Only ten minutes for betting? The time is too tight!"
"Who do you guess will be the champion of this match?"
"Do you even need to ask!? Orady! I'm putting a thousand bucks on Orady!"
"Orady is too bloody... I choose Blade."
"Major Threat is the most badass!"
"I also think it's Major Threat. Orady might not be able to outscheme them!"
Seeing the betting QR code appear on the light screen, the four teachers fell eerily silent for a moment before raising their optical computers to scan the code one after another.
"The kids made it to the top three, we have to support them."
"If we actually make money, we'll treat them to a meal!"
"How much are you betting?"
"Five hundred?"
"...And here I thought you were being generous!?"
"The odds are so high! Five hundred is enough!"
Chao Hao and Fu Manli silently finished placing their bets, and then pulled their attention back to the arena.
The countdown reached zero, the three teams returned to the arena, and the finals began.
