However, Yun Xunlan knew that this approach was akin to “draining the pond to catch fish”—it could solve the immediate problem but wasn’t sustainable in the long term.
The situation had escalated significantly, and Yun Xunlan’s alternate account was also being reported by many people. If the “Fish Expert” account remained active without being banned, public trust in the royal PR department’s competence would be undermined, leading to a decline in its credibility and ultimately affecting the Galactic Empire’s royal family’s prestige.
Thus, Yun Xunlan decided to use this account for only three days. Once those three days passed, he would immediately deactivate the “Fish Expert” account.
After all, the account’s value had already been almost fully exploited. Since he could easily register another alternate account and repeat the same strategy, Yun Xunlan believed it was best to quit while ahead—collecting as many malicious comments as possible before deactivating the account and avoiding exposure of his true identity.
Moreover, as both the system and Yun Xunguang had often reminded him: Yun Xunlan’s time was precious.
—He had other things to do.
Yun Xunlan sent a message to Yu Chen via his light-brain:
[Yun Xunlan]: Baby, are you doing extra training tonight? If not, I’ll leave work early and head home. If you are training, I’ll stay in the office and work on my paper for a while.
Yun Xunlan had heard about Yu Chen’s daily extra training sessions recently. The guard rotation schedule hadn’t assigned Yu Chen to follow him closely today.
As soon as Yun Xunlan sent the message, Yu Chen replied instantly:
[Yu Chen]: No extra training tonight. But I’m at the doctor’s because my susceptible periods have been frequent lately. Don’t worry—I’ll head home after seeing the doctor.
[Yun Xunlan]: Okay. Send me a message when you’re done with the doctor—I’ll head home too =3=
[Yu Chen]: Got it!
After closing his private chat window with Yu Chen, Yun Xunlan didn’t touch his keyboard or paper. Instead, he retrieved a Starnet-connected helmet from the bottom drawer of his desk and connected his consciousness to the Galactic Alliance mech Simulation Platform.
This mech simulation platform was jointly developed by the military departments of the Galactic Empire, Corona Empire, and Nebula Federation. It allowed all interstellar citizens to enter virtual battlefields and pilot mechas.
On this platform, citizens’ piloting techniques, mech types, and resonance levels between pilots and mechas were directly linked to reality. Pilots could only participate in mech driving tournaments after turning eighteen. Each year, the top three tournament winners would have their names inscribed on the Honor Pillar.
Pilots could use either their real names or pseudonyms.
If they used pseudonyms, their real names would only be revealed upon death by the official platform.
This was because these pilots were often real soldiers and warriors piloting mechas on frontlines. Their deaths weren’t just virtual—they were casualties of war. Their names deserved to be remembered by humanity forever. On the Honor Pillar, every name turned golden only after death; while alive, they remained gray.
After logging into the platform, Yun Xunlan first registered for this year’s tournament. Then he entered his personal mech hangar and looked up at his SS-class mech with admiration—the highest level of mech available on the simulation platform was SS-class since Corona Empire hadn’t released comprehensive blueprints for SSS-class mechas.
Yun Xunlan entered his mech but didn’t follow standard alpha procedures for piloting it. Instead, he used a biological key to activate it and immediately opened its escape system, transforming the pilot seat into an escape pod.
“Hello, welcome aboard ‘Mad Guest.’ I am Captain He Chubai,” a gentle male voice echoed inside the mech cabin—it was Yun Xunlan’s custom AI for his mecha.
But Yun Xunlan addressed it differently: “Hello… Mom.”
“Lanlan, it’s been so long. I’ve missed you. How has your health been recently?”
The voice belonged to a custom audio package recorded by the late Empress He Chubai of the Galactic Empire himself. The AI’s communication program also incorporated elements of He Chubai’s personality—but only a few. Yun Qihe, the emperor, did not allow an AI system to resemble his deceased wife too closely.
Even so, those subtle similarities were enough to make one feel dazed.
Yun Xunlan donned his pilot suit and then layered it with protective gear, curling up inside the escape pod as if returning to his mother’s womb. Closing his golden eyes, he softly replied: “…I’ve missed you too.”
After a brief pause, his voice returned to its usual calm tone as he said: “Mom, please send an open invitation for a friendly match to all mech pilots whose names are currently gray on the SS-class mech Honor Pillar. One match for 10 million star coins.”
The mech AI responded: “Understood. The invitations have been sent—awaiting responses.”
“Lanlan, three mech pilots have accepted your invitation. They’re asking for the match time.”
Yun Xunlan replied: “Now.”
“All three mech pilots have indicated they’re unavailable right now. Should I continue waiting for other responses?”
Yun Xunlan: “Continue.”
Ten million star coins was no small amount—more than sufficient as an incentive for issuing an open invitation for a friendly match.
After waiting ten minutes, Yun Xunlan successfully scheduled a match with a mech pilot using the alias “T26 Desert,” who had previously placed third in the mech League Tournament. The preparation time before the match was set at three minutes—a generous amount of time compared to a real battlefield scenario where they might not even have three minutes to prepare.
During these three minutes, Yun Xunlan sent private messages to Yun Qihe and Jian Wenxi, informing them: [I’m about to start a friendly open match—make sure to bet on me winning.]
Meanwhile, T26 Desert turned out to be quite talkative and didn’t waste the preparation time, chatting away with Yun Xunlan:
[T26 Desert]: Mad Guest? Brother, your name is pretty wild, huh?
[T26 Desert]: Does your mech have a name? I call mine ‘Little Sandthorn’—a type of plant that grows in the desert. Cute, right?
Yun Xunlan respected every mech pilot and replied to each of T26 Desert’s messages:
[Mad Guest]: The ‘Mad Guest’ in my name refers to willow catkins—the seeds of willow trees.
[Mad Guest]: Your mecha’s name is adorable. Mine is called ‘Beauty,’ named after my fish.
[T26 Desert]: Mad Guest and Beauty? Haha, they’re quite fitting together!
[T26 Desert]: Whoa! I checked—you don’t have any historical battle records. Is this your first time fighting in a mech simulation match?
[Mad Guest]: No, but my previous matches were private battles, so there are no records.
[T26 Desert]: Ah, I see. You must be loaded—10 million for a friendly open match? That’s how much I earned for placing third in the tournament!
[Mad Guest]: Because you deserve it.
[T26 Desert]: Wow, thank you so much!
This was a price Yun Xunlan had intentionally set. The prize for first place in the tournament was 50 million star coins, second place was 30 million, and third place was 10 million. He only sent invitations to the top three tournament winners.
By the time their conversation ended, the preparation time for the match was almost up.
Both pilots controlled their mechas to enter the battlefield. Although this public match had been organized on short notice, the virtual audience seats around the arena were nearly full. After all, Yun Xunlan’s pilot profile was a blank slate—a brand-new account—but he had immediately offered a 10 million star coin invitation fee and directly challenged all SS-class mech pilots listed on the Honor Pillar. Who wouldn’t want to watch such a spectacle?
Yun Xunlan and T26 Desert saluted each other with the Galactic Universal Military Salute using their mechas, and then the match began.
However, it took only five minutes for T26 Desert to be defeated by Yun Xunlan.
T26 Desert’s “Little Sandthorn” mech was severed in half by Mad Guest’s nodachi[mfn]A nodachi is a type of traditional Japanese long sword, often associated with samurai. It’s known for its length, which exceeds that of a katana, and was historically used in battles against cavalry or for open-field combat.[/mfn], which struck down from its right shoulder. The blow completely separated the cockpit in the chest cavity from the heart core located in the left side of the chest. In such a situation, the only option for a pilot was to activate the escape pod ejection system and remotely detonate the mecha’s core as a final attack against their opponent.
T26 Desert did exactly that.
However, as Yun Xunlan sidestepped to avoid the core explosion, he threw his nodachi at T26 Desert, leaving no chance for an escape.
T26 Desert admitted defeat willingly: [If we met on an actual battlefield, I’d definitely be done for.]
[Mad Guest]: Even if we met on a battlefield, we wouldn’t have a chance to fight each other.
[T26 Desert]: True. We have only one common enemy now. Good luck—I hope to see your name on the Honor Pillar in the future. I’m logging off now. Goodbye.
After sending this message, T26 Desert claimed their friendly match reward and logged off.
They left so quickly that Yun Xunlan didn’t even have time to reply with a “goodbye.” He figured T26 Desert was likely an active-duty soldier; if they were just a military academy student, they wouldn’t be this busy.
After exiting the arena, Yun Xunlan began looking for someone to schedule a second friendly match with. This time, his invitation list was limited to SS-class Honor Pillar pilots who had placed first or second in tournaments.
He no longer planned to fight third-place pilots.
This time, Yun Xunlan had to wait even longer. Many pilots responded to his invitation, but none of them were available to play immediately. They asked if they could schedule the match for another time instead.
Yun Xunlan regretfully informed them that he was only available now.
Just then, Yu Chen’s message arrived—
[Yu Chen]: Lanlan, I’m done at the doctor’s.
[Yun Xunlan]: Then I’ll head home too.
Yun Xunlan quickly removed his Starnet-connected helmet and seamlessly transitioned into taking off his uniform and untying his hair as he walked out of his office. While leaving, he sent a group message to all the pilots who had responded to his invitation:
[Mad Guest]: I’ll be available from 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM the day after tomorrow—would any of you be free for a match during that time?
Tomorrow was Yu Chen’s guard rotation shift, so Yun Xunlan wouldn’t have time for matches then.
This time, several mech pilots confirmed that they would be available during Yun Xunlan’s proposed timeframe.
Yun Xunlan had also planned ahead for his “overtime” schedule—starting the day after tomorrow at 6:30 PM, he would play one match every half hour, for a total of six matches, ending at 9:30 PM. The first three matches would be against mech pilots who had placed second in the league tournaments, while the last three would be against those who had won first place.
After finalizing the battle times with these six mech pilots, Yun Xunlan released the news publicly.
Coincidentally, as Yun Xunlan stepped out of his office, he overheard Gui Yan, who was assigned to follow him closely today, asking Fu Yanxi: “Who is this ‘Mad Guest’? They’re so fierce! Their battle record is blank—are they a new student at Anlos Military Academy? Brother Xi, did you get an invitation from them… Your Highness.”
Gui Yan didn’t finish his sentence. The moment he saw Yun Xunlan step out of the office, he immediately lowered his head and fell silent.
“What were you just talking about?” Yun Xunlan asked gently, pretending to know nothing. “What invitation?”
Fu Yanxi and Gui Yan were so obedient to Yun Xunlan that they couldn’t possibly keep anything from him. Naturally, they answered every question and quickly explained everything in detail.
After listening, Yun Xunlan raised his eyebrows slightly: “So this mech pilot—are they famous by now?”
“Not sure,” Fu Yanxi replied. “But no one in my classmates’ group or colleagues’ group doesn’t know about them.”
![Dissatisfied [e-sports]](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/4997572.jpg "Dissatisfied [e-sports]")
My strong baobei