Xie Jianxun went over. A-section wasn’t as prime as S, but still top-tier viewing—full sightlines to every corner, even the central judges’ bench.
Seeing him look toward the distant judges’ bench, Seles said: “That’s for the judges and commentator—prestigious professors from the academies, like Silver University’s Professor Menle and Second United College’s Professor Sirius. They’re Silver Watchtower’s most famous Mecha mentors.”
At that, his eyes lit up: “Yeah, why didn’t I think of that? I can contact those professors!”
Xie Jianxun looked over curiously. The young man boasted: “I have a friend at Silver First Comprehensive University. I’ll hit him up, see if we can get a meeting.”
Xie Jianxun sincerely said: “Thank you so much. Let me treat you to dinner later—you’ve helped me too much.”
Seles blanked, then waved frantically, eyes flickering: “No need, no need. You’re the guest; I should treat you… Besides, we’re friends, right? Friends help each other.”
He blurted it out, then felt it was off.
Friends. Xie Jianxun mulled the word.
Moments later, he beamed, golden eyes curving: “Yes, we’re friends. If you ever need help, I’ll do my utmost too.”
Seles: “…”
Who wants to be friends!
The outwardly stable, cheerful young man stood: “Gonna hit the bathroom.”
Xie Jianxun sat steadily in his seat, looking around.
Around 6:40, the audience was mostly seated. Voices filled the stadium; scarce empty spots.
Finals spectators mostly rooted for teams. Turning his head, Xie Jianxun saw boys and girls nearby with glowing headbands, holding screens with chants.
“Silver First will win! Silver First!”
“Second United, go! Charge!”
At seven sharp, the finals began. Stadium lights dimmed, plunging the arena into darkness and silence.
At that moment, there was suddenly some movement beside Xie Jianxun. He turned his head and saw Seles squeezing in from the other entrance, sitting back down next to him.
Seeing him look over, Seles shook the item in his hand. Before Xie Jianxun could get a clear look, Seles directly placed it on his head.
“Rare chance to come to the Silver Watchtower and watch the league finals—how can we not get into the atmosphere?”
The young man laughed and put one on himself too. “I specially picked this out for you—blue, okay? Only two colors available. If you don’t like it, you’ll have to take mine.”
He had actually gotten two headbands from the cheer zone, each with two little pointed horns attached. They would flash along with the applause, releasing electric special effects into the air that were especially eye-catching in the darkness.
Xie Jianxun raised his hand and touched his little horns.
They felt smooth to the touch, casting a faint blue glow on his palm and hair.
Meanwhile, Seles sported pink cheer horns, looking utterly relaxed as the electric effects on his head flickered wildly with his movements.
Xie Jianxun smiled. “They look pretty good.”
Seles grinned back. “Yeah, you look super cute.”
No sooner had he said it than he pulled a long face. “…”
Great, he’d blurted out his inner thoughts again.
…Help, would the other guy think he was some frivolous playboy?
Fortunately, Xie Jianxun responded generously. “You look cute too.”
The young man’s heart bloomed with joy once more. He coughed lightly and straightened his tie.
He had deliberately worn the best suit he’d brought, and he’d even booked a stylist in advance. On his way out, a friend had teased him: You look just like you’re going on a blind date.
He thought, Maybe there really is a chance?
Clap! The lights blazed onto the high stage.
The host, dressed in a simple and elegant gown, took the stage and introduced the two finalist teams and their players to the audience.
Every time a player was mentioned, the crowd below rose in cheers, the waves of noise rising one after another, piercing through the roof of the arena.
The big screen broadcast everything happening on the field. Next, the players from both sides entered, lining up on either end and waving greetings to the crowd below.
The host continued, “Today, one of the judges and two commentators on site are…”
“Whoa—”
Xie Jianxun could hardly hear what the host was saying amid the deafening roars from those around him. He got caught up in the excitement too, waving his hands along.
Seles squeezed in close beside him, staring at his snow-white profile. “Which team do you think will win? Let me tell you, the players all built their own mecha! If one gets wrecked in battle, they’ve got to fix it themselves!”
Xie Jianxun said in surprise, “That awesome? The players jump in personally?”
His voice drowned in the tide of noise, but his eyes shone remarkably bright in the darkness.
They were too close—Seles felt a bit dazed and giddy.
“Of course not mid-fight. The finals are split into an upper and lower half, with forty minutes of repair time in between. After the lower half ends, they tally the damage rates of the mecha on the field—the team with the lowest damage rate takes the championship!”
Seles explained the rules in detail. “The team battle tests the intelligence level of the mecha and the players’ control skills, while the repair phase checks their maintenance abilities—a full-spectrum selection for advanced mech engineers!”
As he finished speaking, the players’ intelligent mecha took the stage in a dazzling display!
The audience encircling the arena erupted in astonishing cheers. The match officially began!
Xie Jianxun’s throat went numb from shouting. He’d never seen a competition like this before—mecha and weapons of all kinds clashed together, streaking arcs of brilliant light across the arena.
When the first mecha was knocked out, another earth-shaking roar went up.
The commentator was thrilled too, with a booming voice.
“Silver First Comprehensive University’s ‘Golden Dagger’ has heavily damaged the ‘Nine-Tailed Fox’! That’s the first player tonight to force an opponent’s mecha off the field!”
“Looks like the Nine-Tailed Fox’s integrity has dropped to twenty percent—the player has no choice but to pull it for repairs!”
“Yes, if the damage exceeds ninety percent, no repair technique, no matter how masterful, could get the Nine-Tailed Fox back in the fight!”
“But now Second United College’s five-man squad is down to four, their combat power greatly weakened. It’ll be easier to break their defenses and accelerate damage… How will they survive and turn the tables?”
Unexpectedly, the Second United team came back roaring like they’d been injected with chicken blood, biting back hard.
“Whoa————”
By the end of the upper half, both teams’ mecha were all battered and low on health. The players shuttled between backstage and the stage, preparing tools and materials.
When the referee blew the whistle for the repair phase, they rushed onto the stage to repair or even directly upgrade their mecha.
While the referee inspected the current damage levels of the mecha, it served as the halftime break for the live audience.
The host came on stage to warm up the crowd, announcing a message with poise and grace.
“…The tournament organizers have invited a mysterious guest, who will present the award to the final champion team.”
“…Let’s give a round of applause to welcome Silver First Comprehensive University’s honor professor, Idis!”
“Pfft!”
Xie Jianxun heard someone in the audience nearby spit out their water, shouting, “Holy shit! Am I deaf?!”
“They actually got him here? Do the organizers own a mine or something?”
“Didn’t they say Professor Idis has a bad temper and always refuses public interviews? Why’s he agreeing to do the awards this time?”
Another guy yelled, “I get it! One of the players must be Idis’s student! He’s here to hype them up!”
Xie Jianxun even saw a group nearby huddle and change the text on their light screens.
From “Golden Dagger, Blade of Victory!” to “Idis, I Love You!”
Xie Jianxun: “…”
He was utterly shocked. “I-Idis is some kind of celebrity? Isn’t he the mech consultant for the City Lord’s Mansion?”
Seles shrugged indifferently and pointed at his own face.
“When you’ve got the skills and the looks, of course you’re popular. Before the City Lord’s Mansion hired him, the Advanced Mechanic Association already called him a ‘once-in-a-century genius.’ That was a year ago—who knows how much stronger he’s gotten.”
“Pretty much every semi-automatic mecha on the market today has some trace of his designs.”
“Oh yeah, that exoskeleton gear he designed for the military is still in service with special forces, from what I hear.”
While they whispered, amid the audience’s cheers, the lights shifted from the stage to the judges’ seats.
Illuminating the suddenly appearing mysterious guest.
Seles glanced casually, then froze. “It really is Idis! He actually… uh, brought his real body? He’s modified himself?”
Xie Jianxun craned his neck hard, but the excited crowd in front blocked his view. He turned to Seles instead. “Real body?”
What, did this guy have a clone or something?
“Rumor has it Idis was in a really bad accident before and ended up paralyzed from the waist down, only half his body functional, so he doesn’t show up much.”
Seles explained. At that moment, a camera zoomed in on the mysterious guest’s face and broadcast it on the big screen—respectfully only from the chest up—which sparked another wave of fervent cheers from the audience.
Xie Jianxun took one look and froze.
He stared fixedly at that face on the big screen, dazed for a moment before suddenly standing up.
Seles was still explaining. “So usually when he appears, it’s via the bionic robot he built himself… Jianxun, where are you going?”
But his new friend hurriedly tossed out, “Gotta hit the bathroom,” and left the seating area.
Seles blinked in confusion and turned to the big screen. It still showed the mysterious guest’s handsome, aloof face, barely moving otherwise.
He suddenly felt it looked familiar.
A moment later, he remembered—and was dumbfounded on the spot.
What the hell, no way!
Idis… how did he have the exact same face as that guy of Jianxun’s…!
