Under the professional guidance of instructors from the Academy of Sciences and the Military Department, the students quickly adapted to the new training intensity. Not that they had much choice—while participation was voluntary at first, each of them later had their names registered with the Academy. Skipping training or slacking off would result in a public reprimand... In short, there was no backing out now.
They pushed forward with the physical enhancement plan, and before they knew it, the finals were right around the corner.
When the students once again stood in formation at the center of the training ground in their uniforms, each of them looked far more mature than when they had first stood there.
By now, they had become household stars across the Federation!
But the twelve of them had been cooped up in the camp area training relentlessly, with little time to spare for studying or mech modifications. Most of their interactions were with people they already knew, so they weren’t fully aware of how famous they had become.
As soon as the live stream went online, viewers who had been following the three military academies noticed the changes in the students right away.
“Oh my god, Sister Zebra changed her hairstyle!? Short hair looks amazing! No more zebra head!”
“Come to think of it, when I first saw her entering school, I thought she was a half-beast.”
“Everyone got new haircuts—so fresh and clean!”
“Help, where’s Sir Huang’s wolf-tail ponytail!? Where did Sir Huang’s wolf-tail go?”
“Ah~ Little Bear’s head is so round and cute, and that serious face is adorable. I want to pet him~”
“You weirdo up there, get out... Let me take your place!”
“Hiranuma Yusho’s hair is shorter now—he looks so sunny! That gloomy vibe is completely gone?”
“Oh no! I think I have a crush!”
“Leola is still so adorable~”
“Fu Xingyuan’s white hair is so handsome, my legs feel weak.”
“Fresh start, new beginning! Go, kids!”
The forum quickly featured comparison images of the twelve from their first live stream to now. Everyone had changed dramatically, but the most obvious sign was the determination in their eyes.
Before, they had looked like naive students. Now, in just three months, they seemed to have forged a steely resolve, matching the image of soldiers that the public recognized.
“I feel like they grew up overnight?”
“Sir Huang said back then he was going for the championship, and I laughed at him, but now...”
“The intensity of the military academy tournament is no joke. Look how worn out the kids are! Three months ago, Sister Zebra and Goldfish still had chubby cheeks, and now they’re all sharp-chinned!”
“I think Sister Zebra would prefer a square jaw.”
“Wait, I found a detail! Using the railing as reference, it looks like Sister Zebra grew taller!”
“What? Are you sure it’s not because of her shoes?”
“Comparing the railing next to her, if she didn’t stuff something in her shoes... then she gained another centimeter!”
“Pfft! A centimeter.”
“Hahaha, sorry, I’m laughing way too loud.”
“She totally stuffed them!”
“Blame that commenter, now I’m laughing in class!”
“Everyone! Don’t underestimate that centimeter—this is Sister Zebra we’re talking about!”
“Commenter above, just say your name and stop trying to drag my Sister Zebra down?”
“Hmph, in our world, Sister Zebra’s image is infinitely tall and worthy of awe!”
Right below that, a picture popped up of Wang Tianwei on the island gnawing on grilled fish with a blackened mouth, and netizens started running with the joke.
They posted all kinds of embarrassing photos of the students, including one of Wang Tianwei’s mech parked at the First Military Academy with the caption, “Hey, buddy, want a ride? Price negotiable.”
And another of her after being pulled from the sea, lying on the deck like a salted fish with an expression that said, “I’m just a dried fish, I don’t understand anything.”
Even Wang Kaiyu couldn’t help but worry.
If his sister ever became the Chief or a Special-Class Mecha Pilot for the Military Department in the future, could she really face all these embarrassing old memes?
Growing up under the watchful eyes of the entire Federation was prestigious, but it also left way too much ammunition for jokes!
He’d have to remind her later to keep her expressions in check during the finals—maybe there was still a chance to salvage her image.
But when he scrolled to his and Xu Mo’s picture of being tossed onto a ship, he immediately skimmed past it with a blank face. It wasn’t entirely his sister’s fault—these netizens had way too much free time.
Lucas, meanwhile, had his hands hovering over a virtual keyboard nonstop, chiming in everywhere and cheering for Wang Tianwei and He Siyu’s squad in the live chat.
Wang Kaiyu glanced over and noticed the kid was using meme stickers from the military tournament stream... Keeping up with current events, huh?
At the center of the training ground, the three teams stood tall, but they were all puzzled. Why hadn’t General Meng attended the opening ceremony of the finals?
Today, the commanders of the Fifth Military District and the Ninth Military District, Yu Qian and Raymond, had shown up instead.
After brief congratulatory speeches from both commanders, they stepped aside to let the host announce the final standings from the preliminary events.
Raymond’s gaze swept past the four students of Qilin.
Yi Shao, Beiliu—your juniors are doing you proud. Still in their first year, and they’ve already made it to the finals as top contenders for the championship. They might even be more brilliant than you were in your day... But they deserve a more peaceful era... Just like you should have had...
The host announced the bonus points earned by the three academies from the hidden rules of the Eshui Nova tournament. Qilin took first place, so they started the finals with an extra one hundred points.
The four Qilin members immediately lifted their heads high—our Qilin is the best!
But then, instead of letting the academies come up and pick their gear like before, the host began reading a new set of rules.
“To ensure participant safety in this tournament, an additional camera will be installed inside each mech cockpit. Contestants may not interfere with or remove these cameras by any means...
During the finals, contestants may not arbitrarily access or intrude upon the communication channels of non-competing participants, such as security channels or rescue vehicle intercom channels...
...Only energy, food, and ammunition supplies from eliminated contestants of the same squad may be confiscated. Disassembly of eliminated contestants’ mechs or parts is prohibited.”
The more Wang Tianwei heard, the darker her expression grew. Military decrees, one after another, and every single one is aimed at me? Wasn’t this targeted?
The members of the other two academies nodded approvingly after hearing this, their eyes inadvertently darting toward a certain “hot topic central figure.” The tournament committee had sharp eyes—these new rules were extremely satisfying!
The viewers couldn’t hold back anymore.
“What!? They banned all of Sister Zebra’s specialty moves?”
“Hahaha, just call her by name already! All this ‘participant’ crap—too wordy.”
“I’m dying! Look at Sister Zebra’s face!”
“Oh, that’s no fun! I wanted to see Sister Zebra pull off her crazy stunts!”
“No problem, Sister Zebra! Let’s just take their mic now and make our own rules!”
“Take this to the Federal Supreme Court! Take this to the Supreme Court! They’re targeting Qilin!”
“Please, Qilin, just behave for once. Stop your tricks.”
