The three teams were deployed to three separate locations. The supervising teachers kept a close eye on the Blizza planet's storm eye, ensuring the students wouldn't encounter a blizzard right away.
But this time, the drop points appeared almost parallel on the map, yet the finish lines were on the opposite side, greatly increasing the chances of the teams crossing paths.
These clever twists were known only to the event organizers and the live-stream audience. The three teams, now deep in the icy wilderness, had no clue yet.
"Let's go."
He Siyu wrapped every member of her team in a mental energy shield. For the final round, they were determined to deliver a performance they'd be proud of.
Hiranuma Yusho also waited until his teammates confirmed their mechs were in perfect working order before taking Valk’s first step into the blizzard.
It was time for a real showdown.
Thanks to the military academy league, the Federation’s citizens were getting their first look at this rarely seen planet.
"Blizza looks so white!"
"It’s not just white... If you went there, you'd know—it’s cold enough to make you question your existence!"
"Why is there nothing here?"
"It’s minus sixty degrees during the day! Anything living would get flash-frozen. What did you expect?"
"No wonder they have to bring their own food... After half an hour, I haven’t seen anything but snow."
"I’ve got a question... Why does Sister Zebra always have that sly grin on her face?"
"It’s not just her. Little Bear and Goldfish too. What big move is Qilin planning?"
"Sir Huang, on the other hand, looks pretty serious..."
Wang Tianwei's smile was starting to ache. She caught a glimpse of the cockpit camera and turned her head slightly to loosen her facial muscles.
Last night, her younger brother Wang Kaiyu had video-called her. They'd spent a full five minutes discussing their public image.
In the end, she decided her brother's "seafood" image was beyond redemption. Maybe she could work on her own during the finals!
She’d only found out yesterday that Wang Kaiyu and Xu Mo had been flooding their social media with selfies—not to show off, but to try redeeming their reputation with handsome shots from various angles...
Naive!!
What use was posting on social media? They should’ve gone straight to the forums!
Whether it was the First Military Academy forum or the league forum, they needed more people to see them to dilute those earlier impressions.
Oh well, he never listens. But honestly, she thought that meme was pretty well-made. And their mom and dad’s profile pictures were hilarious too.
When she turned back to face the live-broadcast camera, Wang Tianwei flashed her standard eight-tooth smile again. "Hee hee!"
"...Is she trying to eat us?"
"Sister Zebra, stop smiling. You're scaring the kids."
"There's a conspiracy... Definitely a conspiracy!"
"Everyone else is moving, and they’re just grinning like idiots. Did they freeze their brains? Should a supervisor teacher go check?"
Inside the rescue aircraft, the supervisors were baffled too. But without orders from above, they just stayed on standby.
Back in the camp livestream room, two military district commanders and several teachers were present. The host, puzzled, asked,
"Teacher Fu, do you know why Wang Tianwei, Jian Jingyu, and Zhang Lyra are smiling so much? Have they already secured victory for Qilin?"
Fu Manli rubbed her temple, looking pained.
"Maybe... they want to leave a good impression on the audience."
She knew that smile all too well. During Qilin’s interviews, their three "warriors"—when Huang Yan forbade them from speaking—would flash that same standard grin. He said service-industry workers smiled like that—sincere and welcoming.
Back then, with Huang Yan and the others talking to distract the audience, it hadn’t seemed so out of place.
But the cockpit cameras gave extreme close-ups. After streaming for a while, it just looked kind of eerie...
The two commanders and the host hadn't expected Fu Manli's reply. They paused, then couldn’t help laughing.
"Hahaha, that’s the reason?"
Raymond shook his head helplessly. Truly "heartbreaking." Gui Sizhe really had his work cut out recruiting.
When the audience got the answer, they couldn’t hold back either.
"Sister Zebra is actually trying to fix her image? [Emoji]"
"It's too late! Now there's a new fake-smile meme. You guys messed up!"
"Hahaha! Since when did they care about image?"
"My Sister Zebra has pride, okay? She even considered studying Valk!"
"Please stop worrying about things you've never had. [Emoji]"
Chao Hao kept his face toward the screen, originally hoping to avoid the cockpit camera’s close-ups and the stares of the two commanders and teachers.
But seeing the endless stream of "hahaha" on the comments, he quietly sighed and turned back.
Forget it. Just like Valk, their reputation for showing off was cemented. Qilin was beyond redemption now... So be it.
But the smiles on those three faces on the screen didn’t last long.
The wind on Blizza was brutal, mixed with ice and snow. Even inside their cockpits, they could hear ice shards battering the mechs' hulls.
The four moved cautiously, avoiding anti-gravity hovering or flight mode. Instead, they took step by step, trudging across the endless white plain.
But that came with a problem: everything was the same color. They couldn’t tell whether they were crossing a desert or a glacier!
With one step, Jian Jingyu immediately sensed emptiness below. He maneuvered his mech to dodge sideways—only to jump straight into a pit! The entire mech tumbled into an ice crevice.
Worse, the fissure widened instantly, dragging Huang Yan, who was behind, down with him.
Wang Tianwei, in third position and slightly farther back, had time to launch her mech upward and whip out a grappling claw. Zhang Lyra matched her movements almost simultaneously.
But they only managed to hook onto Huang Yan.
"Goldfish!"
Zhang Lyra shouted in panic.
"Everyone, activate visual sync!"
Wang Tianwei pressed a button. The main screen in her cockpit instantly displayed three smaller screens, showing what Huang Yan, Jian Jingyu, and Zhang Lyra could see.
Upon hearing the prompt, the other two teammates quickly activated the new feature on their mechs.
Only Jian Jingyu was still falling, desperately trying to jam a blade into the frozen wall of ice to stop himself. But due to his speed and the ice’s steely hardness, he only left a few scratches...
"Goldfish, switch to submarine mode!"
Huang Yan caught a fleeting glimpse of something beneath Jian Jingyu.
"Glub!"
The mech transformed into a submarine the moment it hit the water.
The other three shuddered at the sight... That was freezing water!
Finally, Jian Jingyu managed to speak.
"Damn! It’s so cold!!!"
