The eight members of the Qilin and Valk teams spent an exceptionally fulfilling two days guarding the three bonus point buttons.
The two teams seemed to have returned to their previous routine at the camp, starting their practice the moment they opened their eyes every day.
After training with the Qilin team for two days, Wu Fangyu felt sore all over. If it weren't for the fact that Sister Ma and their team captain Huang Yan didn't slack off in the slightest, he would have suspected this was another trap set for him.
Hiranuma Yusho felt the same way. At one point, he even thought about just pressing the bonus point buttons and being done with it, but as a commander, he knew he needed to have foresight...
Mainly, the "unequal treaty" had already been signed, and he would be truly unwilling to go down without dragging someone else down with him.
Taylor and Barry, on the other hand, were quite happy. It was rare to have so many people doing physical training with them. Just seeing the mecha mechanics and commanders of both teams grimacing in pain was enough for them to reminisce about for days.
Hiranuma Yusho walked to the cave entrance and looked outside.
Although the typhoon had passed, the sky was still gloomy, and the air carried a salty, fishy scent.
"The rain outside has stopped, right?"
Huang Yan, who had just finished his training and was covered in hot sweat, had already changed into a fresh set of clothes.
"It stopped... Just how many sets of clothes did you guys bring?" Hiranuma Yusho couldn't help but ask.
Valk was already very particular in this regard; after all, their school placed great emphasis on "elegance."
So for a seven-day competition, they would always bring seven sets of clothes. Given the lesson learned from being stranded on Planet Kashgar last time, they had brought two extra sets this time.
But the Qilin crew clearly prepared far more than they did!
Everyone was afraid of showing too much of their everyday lifestyle during the league, which would make them look unprofessional.
These people weren't just showing their lifestyle; they were practically living here... And they were even dragging Valk into living that way too.
"Taylor, come help prep the fish!"
Jian Jingyu called out while holding a kitchen knife, and Taylor wiped his sweat and went over.
"Coming!"
Huang Yan came to the entrance and released his spiritual power to scout outside, answering Hiranuma Yusho's question in passing.
"Sister Ma has at least dozens of sets in her spatial button, maybe even a hundred by now."
"..."
"Putting that aside, the other two teams will definitely make a move today. We need to prepare in advance.
It's not safe to just guard the cave; our movements will be too restricted if a fight breaks out.
This is a communicator made by Sister Ma. You guys guard here, and we'll go outside to take a look around."
Hiranuma Yusho took the brooch Huang Yan handed him and gave him a surprised look.
"I thought you would want to guard this place."
After all, having the bonus point buttons meant having bargaining chips. No one knew where the other two teams were hiding, and going outside now was a thankless task.
Huang Yan glanced at the 300-point button still sitting perfectly on the platform.
"That thing has no value to us, and I also want to practice the illusion construction method you taught me over the past two days.
If you run into trouble, don't force it. Remember to call us and keep in touch at all times."
Huang Yan tapped the brooch in his hand. Hiranuma Yusho turned around expressionlessly.
"Good luck."
The typhoon had stopped, and the four teams had formed two alliances. The number of viewers watching the live broadcast today reached a new high in the league's history.
"They formed alliances!? So exciting!"
"Fight! Fight!"
"Help, once He Siyu's aggressiveness comes out, she looks absolutely awesome!"
"Captain He, look at me! The most promising heavy mecha pilot of the future First Military Academy!"
"Lian Sheng doesn't look too well... I wonder how much longer he can hold on?"
"He'll definitely be fine!"
"Valk and Qilin are mixing together? Hiss... First Military Academy and Santorini won't lose, right?"
"Are you trying to say these two military academies are still too decent?"
"Hey, the person above, don't leave! Elaborate on exactly how our Qilin is indecent!"
"I'll be glued to the live stream the whole time, analyzing everyone's attack methods frame by frame!"
"Hiranuma Yusho taught all his ultimate skills to Huang Yan! I don't care, from now on Huang Yan is half a Valkian!"
"What ultimate skills? It's just specialization. Did it sound hard when they explained it? Doing anything repetitively for over ten years like it's a single day is the hardest part!"
"I tried following along and got dizzy in the sleep pod for an entire afternoon... I've been hit with Dizziness."
The four members of Qilin left the cave for the first time in two days, and everyone felt a fresh sense of being let out for some air.
The paths they had walked before were completely ruined by the typhoon. Many of the thinner tree trunks had been snapped in half, and the ground was covered with scattered branches and rocks blown in from who knows where.
The sea at the bottom of the mountain was still murky, and the waves were still turbulent.
The beach was littered with stranded fish, shrimp, and crabs, and the seawater had also washed up a lot of driftwood.
Wang Tianwei held up her observation scope and looked carefully around, struggling to suppress the urge to go pick up the seafood...
Business first. Wouldn't going to the beach right now make them living targets for others?
Huang Yan kept in touch with Hiranuma Yusho using the brooch. So far, no one had found the cave, and the two even discussed whether they should send out some signals. Were First Military Academy and Santorini really that useless?
The moment they sensed someone nearby, the members of the Qilin squad suffered a sharp spiritual power attack!
Huang Yan was a step too slow to protect them, and Wang Tianwei almost fell to her knees.
"Hiss! Elizabeth is firing on all cylinders before she even gets here? Where are they?"
"Someone is covering her position... Hiranuma, the First squad and Santorini have teamed up."
Huang Yan informed the other team in the cave of the situation, and Zhang Lyra pulled Wang Tianwei up from the ground and hoisted her onto her shoulder.
Hiranuma Yusho made a prompt decision.
"We'll deal with Santorini. You guys retreat first and find the First Military Academy's position."
"Alright."
The four quickly evacuated the area, while Hiranuma Yusho wove an illusion near the cave to interfere with Elizabeth's spiritual power.
"Prepare for battle."
His three teammates simultaneously released their mechas.
"Yes!"
He Siyu noticed two unusual spiritual power fluctuations nearby.
"The two teams are indeed together. We'll go after them; you continue up the mountain."
"Okay, be careful."
This was exactly what Elizabeth wanted. She was very sure that the person she had just attacked was Qilin's Wang Tianwei.
Lian Sheng was still sick, so they would definitely be at a disadvantage fighting that all-soldier team. It couldn't be better that the First Military Academy was willing to help deal with them.
Next, all she had to do was find the bonus point buttons and then discuss the subsequent trade terms with the First Military Academy.
As for Valk, they couldn't possibly be harder to deal with than Qilin, right?
"Elizabeth, remember our team-up plan?"
He Siyu's voice echoed in the minds of every member of the Santorini squad.
"Of course. Snatch the bonus point buttons, or take out both teams."
Elizabeth released her mecha.
"They shouldn't have run too far. You can start chasing them now."
