TSA Chapter 60

Although there were many people lining up outside the arena, the entry process was very fast. Spectators only needed to scan their identity with their personal optical computer and pass a security check to enter.

Today’s competition still followed a one-on-one elimination format, with matchups determined by the AI system. Losers were automatically eliminated, while winners advanced to the next round. Since there were two rounds today, eliminating three-quarters of the remaining players, the matches were bound to be far more intense than yesterday’s. Fortunately, the competition was organized by school teams, so there wouldn’t be any intra-school matchups.

The number of participants today was significantly smaller than yesterday. The first round only had four matches, meaning everyone was scheduled to compete much earlier than before.

“Ah, the viewing stands are so far apart. Which match should we watch first?” Gu Le hesitated as he glanced at Ran Qi. Three Imperial Star players were competing in the first round, making it difficult to decide.

“Let’s watch Fleeting Time’s match first?” The first round featured Four Seasons, Raphael, and Sword at Fleeting Time. Although they were all friends, there were still closer connections among them. Since Sword at Fleeting Time was their teammate, they naturally wanted to support him.

“Haha, I was thinking the same thing.”

Sword at Fleeting Time’s match was on Battle Platform No. 3, so the two of them moved over and found a spot to wait for the match to begin.

Before long, the competitors started entering the arena. Gu Le immediately spotted Sword at Fleeting Time… and not far behind him, Zhang Shuo.

“Holy crap, Ran Ran, look! It’s Zhang Shuo!”

Zhang Shuo wasn’t Sword at Fleeting Time’s opponent this round, but he was assigned to the adjacent Battle Platform No. 4.

Ran Qi frowned slightly and glanced toward the stands. As expected, he spotted several familiar faces.

Although they hadn’t watched their own school’s matches yesterday, they had checked the results. Unlike Imperial Star’s complete advancement, their school had lost six players in the first round, leaving only four remaining.

Since no senior students participated this year, the team consisted entirely of first-time competitors with limited battle experience. Naturally, their performance wasn’t ideal. Zhang Shuo was among the stronger ones left, and if luck was on his side, he might even squeeze into the finals.

Because of this, the students, teachers, and even the eliminated players from their school had all come today to cheer him on.

“Go Zhang Shuo! Go Zhang Shuo!” As soon as he stepped onto the platform, loud cheers erupted from Stand No. 4.

Ran Qi: “…”

“Should we, uh… cover our faces?” Gu Le whispered.

“We’re just here to watch the matches, not committing a crime. Why would we need to cover our faces?” Ran Qi patted Gu Le’s shoulder. Everyone who knew them was aware of the tension between him and Zhang Shuo. If they saw them here, they would naturally understand why and wouldn’t be tactless enough to come ask about it. “Relax, it’s fine.”

“Alright.” Hearing Ran Qi’s reassurance, Gu Le visibly relaxed.

“Liu Nian! Liu Nian!”

Sword at Fleeting Time’s real name was Liu Nian. His refined features carried a unique gentleness, and the Imperial Star uniform further emphasized his excellent physique, making him look even more striking. Unsurprisingly, he had quite a few supporters in the crowd.

Hearing his name being called, Liu Nian glanced toward the stands and quickly spotted Ran Qi and Gu Le. His smile deepened instantly, and he waved in their direction, triggering another wave of excited screams.

“Did Liu Nian just look at me?! He was totally looking at me, right?!”

“No way! He was looking at me! He even waved at me!”

The two girls sitting behind Ran Qi and Gu Le nearly got into an argument over it, making them both feel rather awkward.

Sword at Fleeting Time was a technical player. He piloted a mech with balanced attributes, while his opponent chose a mech with both high attack and high defense, clearly aiming for a swift victory.

However, Sword at Fleeting Time remained calm, constantly widening the distance between himself and his opponent. His predictive ability was outstanding—he dodged attacks with precision and countered with pinpoint accuracy. A keen observer would notice that he consistently targeted the same spot with every strike.

Like a patient hunter luring his prey, he waited for the perfect moment to deliver a fatal blow.

When his opponent’s mech dropped below 50% durability and lost mobility, Sword at Fleeting Time’s mech was still completely intact. Raising his weapon, he fired a single shot, blowing up the enemy’s energy core and securing the victory.

“Haha, Liu Nian won! He really is amazing!” Gu Le stood up excitedly.

At the same time, thunderous applause erupted from the neighboring stands—it turned out that Zhang Shuo had also won.

Ran Qi had to admit, no matter how much he disliked the guy, he did have some skill…

The second round featured Night Owl’s match on Battle Platform No. 18, which was a bit of a walkaway. Ran Qi and Gu Le had to quickly change positions, so they got up and headed down the stands, taking the opportunity to greet Sword at Fleeting Time.

“That was an incredible match just now! Keep it up!” Gu Le said excitedly.

“No problem! I still have matches later, so I have to return to the resting area. I can’t watch with you guys,” Sword at Fleeting Time said apologetically.

“Alright, see you after the match!” Ran Qi said with a smile.

Just then, the smile on Sword at Fleeting Time’s face suddenly vanished. With his left hand, he pulled Ran Qi behind him, and with his right, he firmly grabbed a hand.

“Sir, what do you think you’re doing?” His tone remained gentle, but the strength in his grip was astonishing.

Zhang Shuo’s face twisted in pain as he gritted his teeth and said, “I just saw a schoolmate and wanted to say hello.”

“Your idea of saying hello is shoving someone from behind while they’re standing on the steps?” Sword at Fleeting Time questioned coldly.

Just now, Ran Qi and Gu Le had been standing on the steps of the stands—Ran Qi on the left, Gu Le on the right. Sword at Fleeting Time had been facing Gu Le and standing sideways to Ran Qi, so he clearly saw Zhang Shuo suddenly approach from behind. Taking advantage of the people around to block the view, Zhang Shuo quietly reached out and attempted to push Ran Qi’s back.

If not for Sword at Fleeting Time’s sharp eyes, Zhang Shuo might have succeeded.

The steps in the stands were quite high. If Ran Qi had been pushed off guard, he would have taken a nasty fall. Although Sword at Fleeting Time didn’t know Ran Qi’s exact physical strength level, he could make a reasonable guess. A fall like that would definitely result in injuries.

“I didn’t! I just wanted to say hello! I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Zhang Shuo denied desperately, even shouting, “If you don’t let go, I’m calling the referee!”

Ran Qi was sure that Zhang Shuo had done it on purpose. At that moment, everyone was getting up to move, and with the crowd, Zhang Shuo probably thought he could take advantage of the chaos to make his move unnoticed. Unlike their school, the competition venue didn’t have high-precision surveillance cameras everywhere—just a few high-altitude cameras covering the stands. With people blocking the view, no one would be able to see exactly what happened. If something really went wrong, Zhang Shuo could easily claim it was an accident.

“Liu Nian… forget it,” Ran Qi spoke up. He didn’t want this incident to interfere with their matches.

“Zhang Shuo from First Military Academy, huh? You better pray you don’t face anyone from Imperial Star in the later rounds,” Sword at Fleeting Time said coldly before finally releasing Zhang Shuo’s hand.

Several pale fingerprints remained on Zhang Shuo’s wrist, proof of just how much force Sword at Fleeting Time had used.

“You think I’m scared of you?” Zhang Shuo blustered, but his bravado was weak. He clutched his wrist and hurried off to the contestants’ resting area.

There was a medical kit in the resting area—he just needed to spray his wrist with some medical mist to ease the pain.

“Ran Qi, what just happened?” Some of Ran Qi’s schoolmates had noticed the commotion and came over to ask.

“Nothing, Zhang Shuo just came over to say hello,” Ran Qi replied.

“Saying hello?” His schoolmates gave skeptical looks. Clearly, none of them believed Zhang Shuo had come over for a friendly chat—it seemed much more like he was trying to start something.

“Yeah, that’s what Zhang Shuo said,” Ran Qi maintained a polite but distant smile. “If there’s nothing else, we’ll be going.”

“Oh… okay…” Since they weren’t particularly close to Ran Qi, his schoolmates didn’t press further.

“That bastard Zhang Shuo! He’s definitely holding a grudge from last time! He totally tried to screw you over! How does he have the guts to pull something like that in broad daylight?” Gu Le fumed, puffing up like an angry pufferfish. If he weren’t outmatched, he would have already jumped Zhang Shuo.

“It’s because there were so many people that he dared to do it,” Ran Qi said, patting his furious friend on the shoulder. “Forget it. Just treat it like getting bitten by a dog. Let’s hurry to Battle Platform No. 18 before it’s too late.”

By the time Ran Qi and Gu Le reached Platform No. 18, most of the front-row seats were already taken. They had to settle for seats further back.

“Ugh! All Zhang Shuo’s fault!” Gu Le fumed, grinding his teeth. “Now we’re stuck all the way back here!”

“It’s fine, as long as we can see clearly,” Ran Qi reassured him with another pat on the shoulder.