Early the next morning, the three-person group chat became active.
Zhang Lyra was in her dorm room, looking like she had just woken up, the fine hair on top of her head still a messy bird's nest.
Jian Jingyu was participating in a mecha competition for the first time and was incredibly excited!
Last night, Wang Tianwei said she had things to do, so he forced himself to wait until morning to make the video call.
"Look! How about using this longsword today? Or maybe this plasma axe?"
Wang Tianwei yawned and chugged a glass of warm water before finally feeling a bit more awake.
"Use whichever you're best at, and remember to bring one for Lyra."
"Okay! Do you need one?"
"Me? Hmph, these are too ordinary. Today, I'll show you guys what a real cold weapon is!"
She had thought for a long time last night about what weapon to use, since she was clearly the weak link of the team...
Although after this period of training she could proficiently pilot a mecha to perform various maneuvers, and had even won a few times in the class's solo combat training.
But since it was a real match, she had to pick a weapon that suited her best, preferably one that could somewhat intimidate the enemy!
After much thought, she felt the swords and blades she made in class weren't quite right... so she stayed up all night hand-crafting a weapon that balanced both practicality and intimidation!
She guaranteed it would be a blockbuster in today's arena!
Zhang Lyra, eyes half-open, said,
"Just bring me a long blade..."
"Alright! But what are we wearing today? Do we need matching uniforms?"
Wang Tianwei smiled mysteriously.
"Clothes don't matter, just keep it low-key. I've already prepared our headgear! Don't forget to meet at the entrance of Zero Boundary exactly at 4 PM."
"Copy that!"
"...Copy that."
Their match didn't start until 6 PM. Zhang Lyra mentioned that there seemed to be only four teams in today's preliminaries. They were the second match, so they could go in early to watch how the others fought.
It was exactly 4 PM when they arrived at the entrance of the Zero Boundary Arena. Zhang Lyra was already standing at the door, and Jian Jingyu appeared from another direction.
The three grouped up, and Wang Tianwei pulled out the prepared headgear.
"Here, this one is Lyra's, and this one is yours."
"..."
After handing them out, Wang Tianwei was the first to put on her mask, followed closely by Jian Jingyu. Zhang Lyra hesitated to make up her mind...
"Hahahaha! I made the right choice! This headgear really suits you!"
Jian Jingyu, a big guy standing two meters tall, stood completely still wearing a goldfish head mask. He looked both pure and incredibly foolish, with the massive goldfish eyes carrying a faint hint of mockery.
The mask on the shorter girl opposite him featured an angry zebra that looked like it was spewing profanities...
Zhang Lyra noticed more and more gazes turning their way. Those two had their faces covered and were completely fearless... So, she steeled her heart and put on the Roaring Bear mask.
Wang Tianwei couldn't wait to bring up her optical computer to take pictures. Jian Jingyu cooperatively crossed his arms, while Zhang Lyra initially stood there without moving.
However, judging by the pattern on the headgear, it was mocking enough even without doing any poses...
Wang Tianwei continuously adjusted the angle, trying to get her entire zebra head into the frame!
"Lyra, Lyra! Come here! I want to go to the back!"
"...Don't use my real name."
Later, the three of them got totally carried away! Striking all sorts of poses!
Wang Tianwei clenched her fists, mimicking horse hooves in front of her, while Zhang Lyra stood to the side with her arms spread wide, making a roaring gesture.
Jian Jingyu continued looking at people with his mocking goldfish head, and had naturally mastered tilting his neck in a way that made people want to punch him on sight...
"Ahem, you guys can head inside now."
The Zero Boundary entrance usually didn't have anyone watching it; it was all electronic security.
But the management staff saw the trio fooling around on the surveillance cameras, and the crowd of onlookers was growing so large that it blocked the exit, forcing them to come out and greet them personally.
Only then did Wang Tianwei and the others rein in their excitement.
"Let's go, let's go! Let's finish the match first!"
"Ah, I'm out of energy already!"
After messing around, the three weren't as nervous as they had been at the beginning.
Upon entering the arena, Zebra Head and Goldfish Head couldn't help but look around.
It was their first time in a place like this. It turned out the competitor and guest passageways were separated right at the entrance.
The competitor passageway featured a high-tech black-and-white color scheme. The three were led by a staff member into a lounge.
It was only a few square meters in size, with a set of black connected sofas in the middle. There seemed to be a colorful promotional flyer on the sofa.
A few chairs leaned crookedly against the corner, and a projection opposite them was broadcasting a live match.
"The ongoing matches are broadcasted here. You're up next, and a prompt will appear on the screen when it's time."
Zhang Lyra nodded familiarly.
"Just to confirm once more, your team name is 'QL's Greatest Threat', correct?"
"..."
"Yes!"
The synchronized voices came from behind her, and Zhang Lyra's heart finally died... From beneath the seemingly arrogant Roaring Bear headgear came an exhausted female voice:
"Yes..."
"Alright."
The staff member was quite professional, not even cracking a smile despite this, and shared the light screen in their hands.
"You still need to fill in your names here."
The other two finally gathered around.
"Do we need our real names?"
"No, nicknames are fine. It's just to make it easier for the commentators later."
"Oh~"
Zhang Lyra was the first to enter the nickname she had used before:
"BearClanNeverYields"
Wang Tianwei took a look, grabbed the light screen, and typed:
"BillionMoreBowls"
Jian Jingyu hesitated for a moment before typing "ALittleGoldfish".
Finally, they clicked Confirm.
The light screen popped up a series of liability waivers, and flipping further revealed two pages of insurance policies.
"You guys even buy insurance for us?"
The staff member replied very professionally,
"Zero Boundary provides the most basic coverage for every competitor."
Wang Tianwei nodded; that was surprisingly reliable!
The two insurance policies were Competitor Personal Accident Insurance and Event Public Liability Insurance. After reading through the clauses one by one and finding no issues, she signed her name right after Zhang Lyra.
Once Jian Jingyu also finished signing, the light screen returned to the staff member's hands.
"Alright, that's everything. When the prompt appears on the screen, just head out the door and follow the arrow signs on both sides of the path to the competition arena.
You can change into your mechas once you enter the Prep Zone. Please be careful not to equip your mechas beforehand.
The competition rules are on the sofa, please read them carefully."
"Okay, thank you!"
Wang Tianwei thanked them politely. The staff member saw that profanity-spewing zebra mask and couldn't help but let their eyelid twitch.
"...Wishing you all a victorious start."
After saying that, they left the lounge without any hesitation.
Wearing a mask like that, no matter what they said, it felt like they were cursing someone out... Were these three students going to get beaten to death by their opponents?
They had better actually have some skills...
