Chapter 89.3
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Throughout the whole day, the tasks remained focused on killing alien beasts. From the third round onward, the coordinates of some contestants were gradually exposed, appearing on the map as red dots. Some contestants were unlucky and were directly eliminated by alien beasts, without even encountering other contestants.
By the time the fourth round arrived, Qiao Zhiya noticed that his task countdown had already started with just 1 hour remaining, whereas the original time limit for the task was 2 hours and 30 minutes. This meant that the strongest contestant had a time lead over him by a full hour and a half.
During this period, Chu Yan had not contacted him, presumably because he was concentrating and was too busy otherwise.
His expression remained tense as he hastened to complete the fourth round. Once done, he swiftly immersed himself in the fifth round.
As the sky gradually darkened, Qiao Zhiya initiated the sixth round. By this time, over 60 red dots had appeared on the map, indicating that more than 60 individuals had failed to complete the task of killing the alien beasts within the designated time, resulting in their coordinates being exposed involuntarily.
It’s almost there. If they continue killing, excluding those already eliminated, everyone’s coordinates will be exposed, rendering the competition rules meaningless.
Qiao Zhiya killed the tenth high-ranking alien beast, and the countdown jumped to the last second.
With his task completed, he sighed in relief. Looking at the corpse of the nearby alien beasts with a less than pleasant mood, he stored them in the storage space of his mecha.
He hated the act of killing living creatures just to complete some kind of entertainment, but Chu Yan was still on the field, so he had to continue onwards.
To avoid wiping out entire species of these alien beasts, he specifically targeted those with larger numbers and relatively fierce temperaments, ensuring not to exterminate too many individuals from each group to prevent disrupting their reproduction.
‘I’m participating in this kind of competition again,’ he thought to himself with a tense expression, ears drooping as he looked at the competition screen, preparing to see the content of the seventh round. However, unexpectedly, the screen displayed the words “waiting” instead.
Chu Yan’s call request arrived timely. Qiao Zhiya sounded tired as he asked, “How are you over there?”
“I managed to keep my coordinates safe. How about you?”
He was relieved when he heard about Chu Yan’s situation. He left the blood-stained battlefield and found a place to rest. He said, “That’s a relief. Does ‘waiting’ mean we get to rest tonight?” That’s surprisingly humane.
“You’re giving the officials too much credit,” said Chu Yan, exaggeratingly sighing. “Considering the past competition information I’ve gathered and today’s tasks, I speculate that this ‘waiting’ from the officials is just a stall tactic. They’re probably waiting for all the contestants to complete the sixth round of the competition before officially starting the next round. And! I guarantee the next round won’t involve killing alien beasts anymore; it’s definitely related to those exposed coordinates.”
The result of this rule is that the stronger ones, who finish the competition earlier, have more rest time, while the weaker ones, who take longer to complete the tasks, end up with even less time to rest. The survival of the fittest principle is vividly demonstrated in this competition.
Suppressing the heavy psychological burden after killing the alien beast, Qiao Zhiya pursed his lips and suddenly understood why Chu Huai and Chu Rong were so unwilling to let them participate in the play-offs.
The constant cycle of killing and then engaging in combat among the participants makes the content of this competition excessively oppressive and heavy. It’s not healthy at all, and it completely lacks the joy of sportsmanship.
“I’ll never participate in this kind of competition again…” Chu Yan exclaimed suddenly. Then, as if afraid his emotions might affect Qiao Zhiya, he quickly continued, “No wonder previous editions of this competition weren’t broadcasted. The scenes are just too bloody and cruel. If they were aired, the public would probably condemn them! I don’t know what the organizers of this edition were thinking, actually broadcasting it. Right now, those kids on the Starnet are probably on the verge of tears.”
Hearing this, Qiao Zhiya grew quieter. After a while, he asked, “What are your coordinates?”
Chu Yan didn’t answer for a while, probably because he was sleepy. He then replied, “How come you’re asking that? I’m nestled in a small hill, ready to take a good rest.”
“I’ll come find you,” Qiao Zhiya replied, his tone leaving no room for refusal. “Based on the countdown for each round of the competition, the latest the seventh round will start is 6 AM tomorrow. There will definitely be new tasks then. Now that we finally have some free time, it’s better to regroup.”
As soon as Chu Yan was reminded by him, he woke up and reported his coordinates. After getting Qiao Zhiya’s coordinate as well, they agreed to meet in the middle.
On the flagship, three screens appeared in front of Chu Rong. After noticing that Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan were starting to approach each other, he shifted his gaze to the third screen, which showed a grayish mecha resting in a secluded spot.
The color of this mecha had obviously been redone, with the grayish hue perfectly suited for concealment. However, judging by its appearance, if he wasn’t mistaken, the pilot of this mecha should be Cao Xia, the 3rd-place winner from the Capital Planet district.
This participant lost to Chu Yan but won against Qiao Zhiya. However, he was the first to complete all six rounds of tasks. Based on his performance today, it’s clear he had hidden his strength during his previous matches.
Chu Rong tapped his fingers on the armchair, thoughts running a mile a minute.
Given Cao Xia’s performance today, achieving an undefeated record to secure first place in the Capital Planet district would have been extremely easy for him. However, he chose not to do so. Instead, he only exerted his full strength on the last day, coincidentally encountering both Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya on the same day. He won one match and lost another, ensuring Chu Yan’s smooth advancement into the top 5 while Qiao Zhiya ended up in 6th place.
This approach seemed… to ensure Chu Yan advanced and Qiao Zhiya eliminated.
With this in mind, he paused with his hand on the armrest of the chair, furrowing his brows deeply. He took out his communicator and dialed for Fan Xiangnan. When the call connected, he instructed directly, “Investigate the former 3rd-place participant in the Capital Planet district who was disqualified due to doping, and also look into the contestant named Cao Xia. Do it as soon as possible.”
In the competition venue, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan tried to bypass those participants whose coordinates were exposed, and successfully reconvene somewhere near the valley in the early hours of the morning.
Chu Yan’s mecha had a few obvious damages, it looked quite pitiful.
“Find a place to rest first.” Chu Yan said, his voice exhausted.
Qiao Zhiya nodded and quickly found a secluded resting spot. He first helped check and maintain the mecha for Chu Yan, then insisted that Chu Yan should sleep first while he stayed behind to keep watch.
Two hours later, Chu Yan was awakened by his alarm clock. He washed his face, got up, turned on the mecha, and sent Qiao Zhiya, who was still prepared to continue keeping watch, off to rest. Chu Yan then stood guard outside the resting area.
Qiao Zhiya’s secret plan to persuade him to rest a bit longer shattered. He frowned, leaned back in the mecha, and began to rest with his eyes closed, ears alert and tuned in to the sounds from outside via the mecha’s audio receiver.
About an hour later, a piercing alarm suddenly rang out, and the official screen displayed the disappearance of the words “waiting,” replaced by new instructions: [Survive and obtain the fire seed. The more surviving participants in the arena, the faster the fire seed moves.]
At the same time, a fire icon appeared on the map, and the icon was moving and fast. A new countdown also appeared – they had time until 6 PM.
Qiao Zhiya immediately sat up and stared at the silver-grey mecha.
“Approach the fire seed first, then we should guard against attacks from other participants.” Chu Yan immediately suggested.
Qiao Zhiya nodded. After a pause, he said, “We should eat breakfast first before going.”
Chu Yan realized that the two hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday. He touched his empty stomach and nodded.
The official still had a conscience. After taking away their space buttons, they were given enough dry rations to fill their stomachs.
Despite having better food in his secret storage bracelet, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan silently ate dry rations and drank water together for the sake of fairness in the competition. After resting for a while, they set out towards the fire seed.
More than an hour later, as the sky slowly brightened, Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya watched as the fire seed flew towards the next location. They stopped in unison and exchanged a knowing glance.
“The fire seed is moving too fast. Our mecha speed can’t keep up.” Chu Yan first spoke.
Qiao Zhiya nodded, unwilling to say his guesses.
“We must eliminate most of the other participants first to slow down the fire seed; otherwise, we won’t be able to complete this task,” Chu Yan said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “The official elimination criteria are either the complete destruction of the participant’s mecha or the participant being severely injured and unable to continue fighting. We—”
“We’ll destroy their mechas then.” Qiao Zhiya interrupted him, his face tense as he shared the map. After drawing a circle on the coordinates of the two participants they just bypassed, he said, “Start with them.”
He didn’t want to harm anyone, nor could they continue avoiding conflict. Otherwise, their “cowardly” behavior would undoubtedly affect the public’s perception of the Chu family, especially since Chu Huai was about to run for the election. They needed to be more cautious. So, since they had no choice, they might as well take the initiative and try to eliminate opponents using non-lethal methods, or gracefully accept defeat if they were bested in combat.
After hearing him, Chu Yan took out his weapon and said, “Okay, start with them!”
The audience watching the live broadcast of Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan found that their trajectory had suddenly changed. Instead of rushing to avoid other participants, they rushed towards the other participants together.
The fans who have been waiting for them for a while were immediately energized and started watching the live broadcast attentively.
Previously, these two second-generation elites from the Federation had been constantly avoiding confrontations, which made them appear particularly timid compared to other enthusiastic participants. Negative comments had already begun to surface on forums. Now that they were finally starting to take the initiative, their fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
On the flagship, Chu Rong furrowed his brow and glanced at Cao Xia, who was slowly approaching the Third Imperial Prince and his entourage on the No. 3 screen. He fidgeted with the communicator in his hand, which had remained silent, before getting up and leaving the viewing room.
Qiao Zhiya removed the arrows lodged in the green mecha’s power core, making sure that the red dot representing his opponent’s coordinates disappeared completely from the map. He then stood up straight, gestured apologetically to the opponent who had just exited the mecha cockpit, and proceeded with Chu Yan towards the next contestant.
The eliminated contestant watched with wide eyes as the brown and silver mechas swiftly departed. He turned back to glance at the small hole in the mech’s power core area, still emitting smoke, and rubbed his tired face in frustration. Where did these two come from? He had confirmed that there was no one around.
“Whoosh—”
Another mecha fell to the ground, and Qiao Zhiya drew his bow. This time he didn’t even reveal his face. Only after confirming that the participant who had been attacked by him had been eliminated, he nodded his head towards Chu Yan who was guarding him.
Chu Yan jumped down from the tree where he had been keeping watch and said, “A few other waves of people are also eliminating the red dots. The number of exposed coordinates on the field is decreasing.”
Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhiya also glanced at the map and said, “I remember there were about 70 coordinates exposed at the end of the sixth round.”
“Excluding those eliminated while fighting the alien beasts, there are probably only about a dozen participants left who haven’t had their coordinates exposed. Let’s gather near the fire seed.” Chu Yan guessed, glancing at the moving fire seed, he continued, “Let’s keep going. I estimate that once the participants with exposed coordinates are cleared out, the fire seed will be within reach of the mechas.”
Another half hour passed, and only the 3 red dots appeared on the map, and those 3 people were actually approaching the fire seed that had slowed down. They were about to reach their destination.
“Go to the fire seed now.” Chu Yan stretched his arms.
Qiao Zhiya filled the energy for his arrows and replied, “Okay.”
On the other side, the gray mecha crouched on the mountain wall, waiting for the platinum-colored mecha below, surrounded by its entourage, to leave. Then, it silently followed.
If you can, please support me by donating on my ko-fi~ For every 2 ko-fis, I’ll release an additional chapter ^^
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Throughout the whole day, the tasks remained focused on killing alien beasts. From the third round onward, the coordinates of some contestants were gradually exposed, appearing on the map as red dots. Some contestants were unlucky and were directly eliminated by alien beasts, without even encountering other contestants.
By the time the fourth round arrived, Qiao Zhiya noticed that his task countdown had already started with just 1 hour remaining, whereas the original time limit for the task was 2 hours and 30 minutes. This meant that the strongest contestant had a time lead over him by a full hour and a half.
During this period, Chu Yan had not contacted him, presumably because he was concentrating and was too busy otherwise.
His expression remained tense as he hastened to complete the fourth round. Once done, he swiftly immersed himself in the fifth round.
As the sky gradually darkened, Qiao Zhiya initiated the sixth round. By this time, over 60 red dots had appeared on the map, indicating that more than 60 individuals had failed to complete the task of killing the alien beasts within the designated time, resulting in their coordinates being exposed involuntarily.
It’s almost there. If they continue killing, excluding those already eliminated, everyone’s coordinates will be exposed, rendering the competition rules meaningless.
Qiao Zhiya killed the tenth high-ranking alien beast, and the countdown jumped to the last second.
With his task completed, he sighed in relief. Looking at the corpse of the nearby alien beasts with a less than pleasant mood, he stored them in the storage space of his mecha.
He hated the act of killing living creatures just to complete some kind of entertainment, but Chu Yan was still on the field, so he had to continue onwards.
To avoid wiping out entire species of these alien beasts, he specifically targeted those with larger numbers and relatively fierce temperaments, ensuring not to exterminate too many individuals from each group to prevent disrupting their reproduction.
‘I’m participating in this kind of competition again,’ he thought to himself with a tense expression, ears drooping as he looked at the competition screen, preparing to see the content of the seventh round. However, unexpectedly, the screen displayed the words “waiting” instead.
Chu Yan’s call request arrived timely. Qiao Zhiya sounded tired as he asked, “How are you over there?”
“I managed to keep my coordinates safe. How about you?”
He was relieved when he heard about Chu Yan’s situation. He left the blood-stained battlefield and found a place to rest. He said, “That’s a relief. Does ‘waiting’ mean we get to rest tonight?” That’s surprisingly humane.
“You’re giving the officials too much credit,” said Chu Yan, exaggeratingly sighing. “Considering the past competition information I’ve gathered and today’s tasks, I speculate that this ‘waiting’ from the officials is just a stall tactic. They’re probably waiting for all the contestants to complete the sixth round of the competition before officially starting the next round. And! I guarantee the next round won’t involve killing alien beasts anymore; it’s definitely related to those exposed coordinates.”
The result of this rule is that the stronger ones, who finish the competition earlier, have more rest time, while the weaker ones, who take longer to complete the tasks, end up with even less time to rest. The survival of the fittest principle is vividly demonstrated in this competition.
Suppressing the heavy psychological burden after killing the alien beast, Qiao Zhiya pursed his lips and suddenly understood why Chu Huai and Chu Rong were so unwilling to let them participate in the play-offs.
The constant cycle of killing and then engaging in combat among the participants makes the content of this competition excessively oppressive and heavy. It’s not healthy at all, and it completely lacks the joy of sportsmanship.
“I’ll never participate in this kind of competition again…” Chu Yan exclaimed suddenly. Then, as if afraid his emotions might affect Qiao Zhiya, he quickly continued, “No wonder previous editions of this competition weren’t broadcasted. The scenes are just too bloody and cruel. If they were aired, the public would probably condemn them! I don’t know what the organizers of this edition were thinking, actually broadcasting it. Right now, those kids on the Starnet are probably on the verge of tears.”
Hearing this, Qiao Zhiya grew quieter. After a while, he asked, “What are your coordinates?”
Chu Yan didn’t answer for a while, probably because he was sleepy. He then replied, “How come you’re asking that? I’m nestled in a small hill, ready to take a good rest.”
“I’ll come find you,” Qiao Zhiya replied, his tone leaving no room for refusal. “Based on the countdown for each round of the competition, the latest the seventh round will start is 6 AM tomorrow. There will definitely be new tasks then. Now that we finally have some free time, it’s better to regroup.”
As soon as Chu Yan was reminded by him, he woke up and reported his coordinates. After getting Qiao Zhiya’s coordinate as well, they agreed to meet in the middle.
On the flagship, three screens appeared in front of Chu Rong. After noticing that Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan were starting to approach each other, he shifted his gaze to the third screen, which showed a grayish mecha resting in a secluded spot.
The color of this mecha had obviously been redone, with the grayish hue perfectly suited for concealment. However, judging by its appearance, if he wasn’t mistaken, the pilot of this mecha should be Cao Xia, the 3rd-place winner from the Capital Planet district.
This participant lost to Chu Yan but won against Qiao Zhiya. However, he was the first to complete all six rounds of tasks. Based on his performance today, it’s clear he had hidden his strength during his previous matches.
Chu Rong tapped his fingers on the armchair, thoughts running a mile a minute.
Given Cao Xia’s performance today, achieving an undefeated record to secure first place in the Capital Planet district would have been extremely easy for him. However, he chose not to do so. Instead, he only exerted his full strength on the last day, coincidentally encountering both Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya on the same day. He won one match and lost another, ensuring Chu Yan’s smooth advancement into the top 5 while Qiao Zhiya ended up in 6th place.
This approach seemed… to ensure Chu Yan advanced and Qiao Zhiya eliminated.
With this in mind, he paused with his hand on the armrest of the chair, furrowing his brows deeply. He took out his communicator and dialed for Fan Xiangnan. When the call connected, he instructed directly, “Investigate the former 3rd-place participant in the Capital Planet district who was disqualified due to doping, and also look into the contestant named Cao Xia. Do it as soon as possible.”
In the competition venue, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan tried to bypass those participants whose coordinates were exposed, and successfully reconvene somewhere near the valley in the early hours of the morning.
Chu Yan’s mecha had a few obvious damages, it looked quite pitiful.
“Find a place to rest first.” Chu Yan said, his voice exhausted.
Qiao Zhiya nodded and quickly found a secluded resting spot. He first helped check and maintain the mecha for Chu Yan, then insisted that Chu Yan should sleep first while he stayed behind to keep watch.
Two hours later, Chu Yan was awakened by his alarm clock. He washed his face, got up, turned on the mecha, and sent Qiao Zhiya, who was still prepared to continue keeping watch, off to rest. Chu Yan then stood guard outside the resting area.
Qiao Zhiya’s secret plan to persuade him to rest a bit longer shattered. He frowned, leaned back in the mecha, and began to rest with his eyes closed, ears alert and tuned in to the sounds from outside via the mecha’s audio receiver.
About an hour later, a piercing alarm suddenly rang out, and the official screen displayed the disappearance of the words “waiting,” replaced by new instructions: [Survive and obtain the fire seed. The more surviving participants in the arena, the faster the fire seed moves.]
At the same time, a fire icon appeared on the map, and the icon was moving and fast. A new countdown also appeared – they had time until 6 PM.
Qiao Zhiya immediately sat up and stared at the silver-grey mecha.
“Approach the fire seed first, then we should guard against attacks from other participants.” Chu Yan immediately suggested.
Qiao Zhiya nodded. After a pause, he said, “We should eat breakfast first before going.”
Chu Yan realized that the two hadn’t eaten dinner yesterday. He touched his empty stomach and nodded.
The official still had a conscience. After taking away their space buttons, they were given enough dry rations to fill their stomachs.
Despite having better food in his secret storage bracelet, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan silently ate dry rations and drank water together for the sake of fairness in the competition. After resting for a while, they set out towards the fire seed.
More than an hour later, as the sky slowly brightened, Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya watched as the fire seed flew towards the next location. They stopped in unison and exchanged a knowing glance.
“The fire seed is moving too fast. Our mecha speed can’t keep up.” Chu Yan first spoke.
Qiao Zhiya nodded, unwilling to say his guesses.
“We must eliminate most of the other participants first to slow down the fire seed; otherwise, we won’t be able to complete this task,” Chu Yan said, pausing for a moment before continuing, “The official elimination criteria are either the complete destruction of the participant’s mecha or the participant being severely injured and unable to continue fighting. We—”
“We’ll destroy their mechas then.” Qiao Zhiya interrupted him, his face tense as he shared the map. After drawing a circle on the coordinates of the two participants they just bypassed, he said, “Start with them.”
He didn’t want to harm anyone, nor could they continue avoiding conflict. Otherwise, their “cowardly” behavior would undoubtedly affect the public’s perception of the Chu family, especially since Chu Huai was about to run for the election. They needed to be more cautious. So, since they had no choice, they might as well take the initiative and try to eliminate opponents using non-lethal methods, or gracefully accept defeat if they were bested in combat.
After hearing him, Chu Yan took out his weapon and said, “Okay, start with them!”
The audience watching the live broadcast of Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan found that their trajectory had suddenly changed. Instead of rushing to avoid other participants, they rushed towards the other participants together.
The fans who have been waiting for them for a while were immediately energized and started watching the live broadcast attentively.
Previously, these two second-generation elites from the Federation had been constantly avoiding confrontations, which made them appear particularly timid compared to other enthusiastic participants. Negative comments had already begun to surface on forums. Now that they were finally starting to take the initiative, their fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
On the flagship, Chu Rong furrowed his brow and glanced at Cao Xia, who was slowly approaching the Third Imperial Prince and his entourage on the No. 3 screen. He fidgeted with the communicator in his hand, which had remained silent, before getting up and leaving the viewing room.
Qiao Zhiya removed the arrows lodged in the green mecha’s power core, making sure that the red dot representing his opponent’s coordinates disappeared completely from the map. He then stood up straight, gestured apologetically to the opponent who had just exited the mecha cockpit, and proceeded with Chu Yan towards the next contestant.
The eliminated contestant watched with wide eyes as the brown and silver mechas swiftly departed. He turned back to glance at the small hole in the mech’s power core area, still emitting smoke, and rubbed his tired face in frustration. Where did these two come from? He had confirmed that there was no one around.
“Whoosh—”
Another mecha fell to the ground, and Qiao Zhiya drew his bow. This time he didn’t even reveal his face. Only after confirming that the participant who had been attacked by him had been eliminated, he nodded his head towards Chu Yan who was guarding him.
Chu Yan jumped down from the tree where he had been keeping watch and said, “A few other waves of people are also eliminating the red dots. The number of exposed coordinates on the field is decreasing.”
Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhiya also glanced at the map and said, “I remember there were about 70 coordinates exposed at the end of the sixth round.”
“Excluding those eliminated while fighting the alien beasts, there are probably only about a dozen participants left who haven’t had their coordinates exposed. Let’s gather near the fire seed.” Chu Yan guessed, glancing at the moving fire seed, he continued, “Let’s keep going. I estimate that once the participants with exposed coordinates are cleared out, the fire seed will be within reach of the mechas.”
Another half hour passed, and only the 3 red dots appeared on the map, and those 3 people were actually approaching the fire seed that had slowed down. They were about to reach their destination.
“Go to the fire seed now.” Chu Yan stretched his arms.
Qiao Zhiya filled the energy for his arrows and replied, “Okay.”
On the other side, the gray mecha crouched on the mountain wall, waiting for the platinum-colored mecha below, surrounded by its entourage, to leave. Then, it silently followed.
If you can, please support me by donating on my ko-fi~ For every 2 ko-fis, I’ll release an additional chapter ^^
Throughout the whole day, the tasks remained focused on killing alien beasts. From the third round onward, the coordinates of some contestants were gradually exposed, appearing on the map as red dots. Some contestants were unlucky and were directly eliminated by alien beasts, without even encountering other contestants.By the time the fourth round arrived, Qiao Zhiya noticed that his task countdown had already started with just 1 hour remaining, whereas the original time limit for the task was 2 hours and 30 minutes. This meant that the strongest contestant had a time lead over him by a full hour and a half.During this period, Chu Yan had not contacted him, presumably because he was concentrating and was too busy otherwise.His expression remained tense as he hastened to complete the fourth round. Once done, he swiftly immersed himself in the fifth round.As the sky gradually darkened, Qiao Zhiya initiated the sixth round. By this time, over 60 red dots had appeared on the map, indicating that more than 60 individuals had failed to complete the task of killing the alien beasts within the designated time, resulting in their coordinates being exposed involuntarily.It's almost there. If they continue killing, excluding those already eliminated, everyone's coordinates will be exposed, rendering the competition rules meaningless.Qiao Zhiya killed the tenth high-ranking alien beast, and the countdown jumped to the last second.With his task completed, he sighed in relief. Looking at the corpse of the nearby alien beasts with a less than pleasant mood, he stored them in the storage space of his mecha.He hated the act of killing living creatures just to complete some kind of entertainment, but Chu Yan was still on the field, so he had to continue onwards.To avoid wiping out entire species of these alien beasts, he specifically targeted those with larger numbers and relatively fierce temperaments, ensuring not to exterminate too many individuals from each group to prevent disrupting their reproduction.I'm participating in this kind of competition again,' he thought to himself with a tense expression, ears drooping as he looked at the competition screen, preparing to see the content of the seventh round. However, unexpectedly, the screen displayed the words waiting instead.Chu Yan's call request arrived timely. Qiao Zhiya sounded tired as he asked, How are you over there?I managed to keep my coordinates safe. How about you?He was relieved when he heard about Chu Yan's situation. He left the blood-stained battlefield and found a place to rest. He said, That's a relief. Does waiting' mean we get to rest tonight? That's surprisingly humane.You're giving the officials too much credit, said Chu Yan, exaggeratingly sighing. Considering the past competition information I've gathered and today's tasks, I speculate that this waiting' from the officials is just a stall tactic. They're probably waiting for all the contestants to complete the sixth round of the competition before officially starting the next round. And! I guarantee the next round won't involve killing alien beasts anymore; it's definitely related to those exposed coordinates.The result of this rule is that the stronger ones, who finish the competition earlier, have more rest time, while the weaker ones, who take longer to complete the tasks, end up with even less time to rest. The survival of the fittest principle is vividly demonstrated in this competition.Suppressing the heavy psychological burden after killing the alien beast, Qiao Zhiya pursed his lips and suddenly understood why Chu Huai and Chu Rong were so unwilling to let them participate in the play-offs.The constant cycle of killing and then engaging in combat among the participants makes the content of this competition excessively oppressive and heavy. It's not healthy at all, and it completely lacks the joy of sportsmanship.I'll never participate in this kind of competition again Chu Yan exclaimed suddenly. Then, as if afraid his emotions might affect Qiao Zhiya, he quickly continued, No wonder previous editions of this competition weren't broadcasted. The scenes are just too bloody and cruel. If they were aired, the public would probably condemn them! I don't know what the organizers of this edition were thinking, actually broadcasting it. Right now, those kids on the Starnet are probably on the verge of tears.Hearing this, Qiao Zhiya grew quieter. After a while, he asked, What are your coordinates?Chu Yan didn't answer for a while, probably because he was sleepy. He then replied, How come you're asking that? I'm nestled in a small hill, ready to take a good rest.I'll come find you, Qiao Zhiya replied, his tone leaving no room for refusal. Based on the countdown for each round of the competition, the latest the seventh round will start is 6 AM tomorrow. There will definitely be new tasks then. Now that we finally have some free time, it's better to regroup.As soon as Chu Yan was reminded by him, he woke up and reported his coordinates. After getting Qiao Zhiya's coordinate as well, they agreed to meet in the middle.On the flagship, three screens appeared in front of Chu Rong. After noticing that Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan were starting to approach each other, he shifted his gaze to the third screen, which showed a grayish mecha resting in a secluded spot.The color of this mecha had obviously been redone, with the grayish hue perfectly suited for concealment. However, judging by its appearance, if he wasn't mistaken, the pilot of this mecha should be Cao Xia, the 3rd-place winner from the Capital Planet district.This participant lost to Chu Yan but won against Qiao Zhiya. However, he was the first to complete all six rounds of tasks. Based on his performance today, it's clear he had hidden his strength during his previous matches.Chu Rong tapped his fingers on the armchair, thoughts running a mile a minute.Given Cao Xia's performance today, achieving an undefeated record to secure first place in the Capital Planet district would have been extremely easy for him. However, he chose not to do so. Instead, he only exerted his full strength on the last day, coincidentally encountering both Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya on the same day. He won one match and lost another, ensuring Chu Yan's smooth advancement into the top 5 while Qiao Zhiya ended up in 6th place.This approach seemed to ensure Chu Yan advanced and Qiao Zhiya eliminated.With this in mind, he paused with his hand on the armrest of the chair, furrowing his brows deeply. He took out his communicator and dialed for Fan Xiangnan. When the call connected, he instructed directly, Investigate the former 3rd-place participant in the Capital Planet district who was disqualified due to doping, and also look into the contestant named Cao Xia. Do it as soon as possible.In the competition venue, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan tried to bypass those participants whose coordinates were exposed, and successfully reconvene somewhere near the valley in the early hours of the morning.Chu Yan's mecha had a few obvious damages, it looked quite pitiful.Find a place to rest first. Chu Yan said, his voice exhausted.Qiao Zhiya nodded and quickly found a secluded resting spot. He first helped check and maintain the mecha for Chu Yan, then insisted that Chu Yan should sleep first while he stayed behind to keep watch.Two hours later, Chu Yan was awakened by his alarm clock. He washed his face, got up, turned on the mecha, and sent Qiao Zhiya, who was still prepared to continue keeping watch, off to rest. Chu Yan then stood guard outside the resting area.Qiao Zhiya's secret plan to persuade him to rest a bit longer shattered. He frowned, leaned back in the mecha, and began to rest with his eyes closed, ears alert and tuned in to the sounds from outside via the mecha's audio receiver.About an hour later, a piercing alarm suddenly rang out, and the official screen displayed the disappearance of the words waiting, replaced by new instructions: Survive and obtain the fire seed. The more surviving participants in the arena, the faster the fire seed moves.At the same time, a fire icon appeared on the map, and the icon was moving and fast. A new countdown also appeared they had time until 6 PM.Qiao Zhiya immediately sat up and stared at the silver-grey mecha.Approach the fire seed first, then we should guard against attacks from other participants. Chu Yan immediately suggested.Qiao Zhiya nodded. After a pause, he said, We should eat breakfast first before going.Chu Yan realized that the two hadn't eaten dinner yesterday. He touched his empty stomach and nodded.The official still had a conscience. After taking away their space buttons, they were given enough dry rations to fill their stomachs.Despite having better food in his secret storage bracelet, Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan silently ate dry rations and drank water together for the sake of fairness in the competition. After resting for a while, they set out towards the fire seed.More than an hour later, as the sky slowly brightened, Chu Yan and Qiao Zhiya watched as the fire seed flew towards the next location. They stopped in unison and exchanged a knowing glance.The fire seed is moving too fast. Our mecha speed can't keep up. Chu Yan first spoke.Qiao Zhiya nodded, unwilling to say his guesses.We must eliminate most of the other participants first to slow down the fire seed; otherwise, we won't be able to complete this task, Chu Yan said, pausing for a moment before continuing, The official elimination criteria are either the complete destruction of the participant's mecha or the participant being severely injured and unable to continue fighting. WeWe'll destroy their mechas then. Qiao Zhiya interrupted him, his face tense as he shared the map. After drawing a circle on the coordinates of the two participants they just bypassed, he said, Start with them.He didn't want to harm anyone, nor could they continue avoiding conflict. Otherwise, their cowardly behavior would undoubtedly affect the public's perception of the Chu family, especially since Chu Huai was about to run for the election. They needed to be more cautious. So, since they had no choice, they might as well take the initiative and try to eliminate opponents using non-lethal methods, or gracefully accept defeat if they were bested in combat.After hearing him, Chu Yan took out his weapon and said, Okay, start with them!The audience watching the live broadcast of Qiao Zhiya and Chu Yan found that their trajectory had suddenly changed. Instead of rushing to avoid other participants, they rushed towards the other participants together.The fans who have been waiting for them for a while were immediately energized and started watching the live broadcast attentively.Previously, these two second-generation elites from the Federation had been constantly avoiding confrontations, which made them appear particularly timid compared to other enthusiastic participants. Negative comments had already begun to surface on forums. Now that they were finally starting to take the initiative, their fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief.On the flagship, Chu Rong furrowed his brow and glanced at Cao Xia, who was slowly approaching the Third Imperial Prince and his entourage on the No. 3 screen. He fidgeted with the communicator in his hand, which had remained silent, before getting up and leaving the viewing room.Qiao Zhiya removed the arrows lodged in the green mecha's power core, making sure that the red dot representing his opponent's coordinates disappeared completely from the map. He then stood up straight, gestured apologetically to the opponent who had just exited the mecha cockpit, and proceeded with Chu Yan towards the next contestant.The eliminated contestant watched with wide eyes as the brown and silver mechas swiftly departed. He turned back to glance at the small hole in the mech's power core area, still emitting smoke, and rubbed his tired face in frustration. Where did these two come from? He had confirmed that there was no one around.WhooshAnother mecha fell to the ground, and Qiao Zhiya drew his bow. This time he didn't even reveal his face. Only after confirming that the participant who had been attacked by him had been eliminated, he nodded his head towards Chu Yan who was guarding him.Chu Yan jumped down from the tree where he had been keeping watch and said, A few other waves of people are also eliminating the red dots. The number of exposed coordinates on the field is decreasing.Upon hearing this, Qiao Zhiya also glanced at the map and said, I remember there were about 70 coordinates exposed at the end of the sixth round.Excluding those eliminated while fighting the alien beasts, there are probably only about a dozen participants left who haven't had their coordinates exposed. Let's gather near the fire seed. Chu Yan guessed, glancing at the moving fire seed, he continued, Let's keep going. I estimate that once the participants with exposed coordinates are cleared out, the fire seed will be within reach of the mechas.Another half hour passed, and only the 3 red dots appeared on the map, and those 3 people were actually approaching the fire seed that had slowed down. They were about to reach their destination.Go to the fire seed now. Chu Yan stretched his arms.Qiao Zhiya filled the energy for his arrows and replied, Okay.On the other side, the gray mecha crouched on the mountain wall, waiting for the platinum-colored mecha below, surrounded by its entourage, to leave. Then, it silently followed.If you can, please support me by donating on my ko-fi~ For every 2 ko-fis, I'll release an additional chapter ^^
