After the students boarded the starship to Blizza, the first cafeteria also closed its doors.
An academician from the Academy of Sciences who had stayed behind in the camp wanted to buy a late-night snack but stood there stunned when he saw this scene.
The last uncle to come out waved his hand,
"All sold out. Go to the second cafeteria, or drink some nutrient fluid tonight."
"Sold out?"
The academician was quite incredulous. Could the cafeteria's food really sell out? This had never happened in their Academy of Sciences!
The uncle smiled and said,
"This competition allows people to bring their own food. The kids wanted to pack more meals for that freezing place, so don’t come at this mad hour. Come back tomorrow—fresh vegetables will be delivered in the morning!"
The academician scratched the back of his head as the uncle pushed him onto the path toward the second cafeteria.
He had just wanted to buy two steamed buns… Now what was he supposed to eat at the second cafeteria? Steak? Would he even be able to sleep after that?
Midway, he changed course and headed to the store to see if there were any snacks instead. The live broadcast would start early tomorrow, and he could buy the buns then.
And honestly, the food in the competition camp was way more fragrant than the specially prepared meals at the Academy…
The twelve students had gotten very used to dining together on the starship. All kinds of food covered two tables, and everyone wandered around, eating and chatting.
But this time, they weren’t trying to eat enough for three days like before, since they had already packed plenty of food and nutrient fluids. They definitely wouldn’t go hungry for the next seven days!
Wang Tianwei and Wu Fangyu were even planning a food showdown while chatting. After the competition ended, they would check the replays to see who ate better each day. The losing team would have to help the winning team maintain their mechs for three months.
Hiranuma Yusho shrugged at this. You two mech engineers have fun with that.
"Is the military transport faster now?"
Wang Tianwei held an ice cream cone, looking at the nebulae outside the window. Had the scenery outside passed this quickly when they took the starship before?
Leola timed it beside her,
"You’re not wrong—it’s at least one and a half times faster. This is the second speed increase in nearly half a year, right?"
Wang Tianwei nodded. The military tech team really innovates fast!
"Tomorrow’s the final."
Leola sighed while looking at the familiar scenery,
"I never thought our opponents for the championship would end up being first-year students from Qilin."
Wang Tianwei squinted and slowly turned around,
"Oh? Why? We’ve always seen First Military Academy as our top rival."
"…"
Well, thanks for that, really.
Wu Fangyu spoke up while holding a corn cob,
"Sister Zebra? What about us?"
Hearing no reply for a while, she walked right up to the speaker,
"Come on, where do you put our Valk?"
Faced with Little Wu’s pressing question, Wang Tianwei nervously averted her eyes,
"Uh… well."
She couldn’t exactly say she had just wanted to beat them up and send them back to Karen Star, could she?
Jian Jingyu, however, had no such restraint,
"To be fair, it’s mostly because your Valk team was so arrogant back then. Everyone thought you’d get taught a good lesson!"
By whom? Probably them, Qilin!
Barry clicked his tongue,
"Pfft, that’s called tactics, you know? You have to project intimidation when you’re out and about!"
He flexed the muscles on his arm to show everyone.
Zhang Lyra rolled her eyes without any dignity. Typical Valk—if you didn’t watch out, they’d show off.
"Hey… Squad Leader He, since we’re all free, how about a chat?"
Wang Tianwei had learned from Huang Yan that Qilin’s current situation wasn’t great, likely being sidelined by the other two military academies. She wanted to try again.
He Siyu gave a faint smile,
"No need."
She wasn’t about to give them any chance to brainwash her.
…Such a blunt refusal—there was clearly no room for negotiation.
Taylor couldn’t help but snicker at Wang Tianwei’s defeat,
"Cough, sorry, go on."
Huang Yan confirmed their "alliance" tactic was probably useless this time,
"Everyone finish eating and rest early. By the time we get to the arena, with those two teams teaming up… we’ll have to sleep with one eye open."
At seven the next morning, the live feed came on right on time.
"Here it comes! The final has started!"
"First Military Academy, go! He Siyu takes first place!"
"Victory belongs to our Qilin!"
"Valk is the champion!"
"Qilin, keep it up, keep it up!"
"No way!! They’re just dropping the kids off in this freezing wilderness without any shelter?"
"Has the organizing committee lost it? Look at my Sister Zebra’s little frame shivering!"
Everyone felt the bone-chilling cold the moment they stepped off the aircraft.
Even in their temperature-regulating suits, the wind mixed with ice crystals still crept into their cuffs and collars. The Qilin and Valk students, having experience, had already put on hats and face masks, while the four from First Military Academy, less than ten seconds after leaving the aircraft, felt like their noses were about to freeze off. They hurriedly pulled up their face masks, shivering.
So this was what sixty degrees below zero felt like… Completely different from Karen Star!
Wang Tianwei shifted her weight from foot to foot, eager to deploy her mech.
Kashil Star was sixty or seventy degrees above zero, and Blizza was sixty or seventy below—she had experienced a swing of over a hundred degrees!
Only after entering the cockpit, turning on the oxygen generator and heater, and warming up for a while did everyone feel comfortable again.
"Phew! Finally alive again."
Jian Jingyu rubbed his face, still shaken. For a moment there, he thought he had lost his nose!
The cold wind bit all the way from inhalation down to his organs, yet it felt like he couldn’t get enough air,
"Oh man… I was thinking of playing in the snow, like at Lyra’s place on Karen Star!"
Zhang Lyra was also frozen stiff, just now recovering,
"Karen Star isn’t nearly this cold. At least it’s habitable for people."
Huang Yan was the first to perk up,
"Everyone, get your limbs moving and let your bodies and mechs warm up."
Wang Tianwei also reminded them,
"Don’t forget to turn on the infrared armor, and keep an eye on the energy indicator and other parts of the mech.
The ice crystals outside are very hard; they might wear down the external observation windows. Let me know if anything’s wrong…"
The audience, however, was focused on the new camera positions,
"Wow, there are cameras inside the mech cockpits! I feel so close to them!"
"Oh… oh no, Sister Zebra looks kind of cool when she’s serious! I’m swooning—pay up!"
"Haha, cool? That camera was specially added just to keep an eye on your Sister Zebra!"
"This is great—I can see the players’ personal conditions in real time and sneak some tips from the pros on their operations~ Hehehe."
"I’m going to replicate Fu Xingyuan and Jian Jingyu’s moves one-to-one!"
"Only if you have mechs as good as theirs."
"…That comment up there hurts too much!"
