TSA Chapter 61

Soon, it was Han Xiao’s turn to take the stage.

However, when Han Xiao emerged from the contestant tunnel, there wasn’t the slightest trace of a smile on his face. His entire aura seemed to have sharpened.

His opponent had initially wanted to greet him, but upon seeing his demeanor, they didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly.

Ran Qi couldn’t help but wonder—was this change because of him? Had Liu Nian told him about what had happened earlier?

“Boss, go for it!” The thick-skinned Gu Le didn’t notice anything off about Han Xiao and stood up excitedly to cheer him on.

Hearing the voice, Han Xiao looked in their direction. Ran Qi also instinctively stood up, clenched his fist, and made an effort to call out loudly, “Good luck!”

Only then did the tension on Han Xiao’s face ease a little. He nodded toward Ran Qi, and the aura of hostility around him softened slightly.

“Hello, I’m Han Xiao from Imperial Star.” Han Xiao took the initiative to extend his hand to his opponent.

“Hello, hello! I’m Cui Yuchao from Wuling.” Cui Yuchao was somewhat flattered as he shook Han Xiao’s hand. “I’ve watched your matches before—you’re really amazing! I’m looking forward to this fight.”

“Thank you.”

After the brief exchange, the two of them wasted no time entering the battle pod.

Unsurprisingly, Han Xiao secured victory in this match. Although his opponent put up a spirited fight, he couldn’t withstand Han Xiao’s relentless offense. The entire match lasted only three minutes.

“Wow, Boss was so ruthless! That Cui Yuchao guy seemed like a fan of his, but he still got beaten up so badly…” Gu Le couldn’t help but exclaim.

“Giving it your all is the greatest sign of respect to an opponent,” Ran Qi retorted.

“That’s true, haha.” Gu Le scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly.

Cui Yuchao seemed to share the same sentiment. Even though he had lost miserably, he showed no signs of disappointment or frustration. Instead, his eyes gleamed as he eagerly asked Han Xiao about combat techniques. Even after leaving the stage, he kept gushing to his classmates about how incredible Han Xiao was, looking every bit like a devoted fanboy.

As Han Xiao stepped off the battle stage, the audience members in the front rows immediately surged forward, surrounding him with words of encouragement and support. Some girls blushed as they handed him small gifts, but Han Xiao politely declined them all.

Ran Qi and Gu Le, having taken seats further back, suffered the consequences of their poor choice. They were squeezed to the very back of the crowd, left anxiously watching from afar.

Han Xiao sincerely thanked his supporters before squeezing through the crowd to find Ran Qi and Gu Le.

“Congratulations on your win! Give it your all in the next round too,” Ran Qi said with a smile.

“Mm, I will.” Han Xiao nodded before asking, “Liu Nian told me about what happened earlier. Was that guy targeting you on purpose?”

Ran Qi hadn’t expected him to bring this up so suddenly and wasn’t sure how to explain his long-standing feud with Zhang Shuo. Before he could respond, Gu Le jumped in to complain, “That guy Zhang Shuo is a complete nutcase! He loves picking on people weaker than him just to feel important. He’s always looking for trouble with Ranran. The day we left, he even deliberately bumped into Ranran, and when Ranran forced him to apologize, he must have held a grudge—so he waited for a chance to pull something behind the scenes!”

“I hope you two run into that bastard in the second round! Teach him a lesson!” Gu Le huffed in frustration. “Does he think being in his school’s top ten makes him some kind of Imperial League champion? The arrogance!”

“En. Even if we don’t meet him in this round, we’ll cross paths sooner or later,” Han Xiao said lightly. Though his tone was calm, there was a distinct chill in his voice.

Seeing the serious look on Han Xiao’s face, Ran Qi’s heart inexplicably started beating faster.

Although most of the matches were still ongoing, the winners needed to prepare for the next round. Han Xiao had lingered in the spectator stands for a bit too long, prompting the referee at Battle Platform no. 18 to remind him, “Winning contestants, please return to the rest area promptly to prepare for the second round.”

“You should go back now!” Ran Qi urged, worried that staying too long would affect Han Xiao’s next match.

“Mm, I’ll be going then. See you in a bit.”

“Mm…”

As Han Xiao walked away, Gu Le rubbed his head and muttered, “Why does it feel like something was off between you two just now?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!” Ran Qi forced himself to stay calm. “Hurry up and check the next round’s matchups!”

“The first round isn’t even over yet. How am I supposed to check the next matchups?” Gu Le looked at his friend in confusion. “You’re acting really weird today.”

“I forgot, okay? Let’s just go find a place to sit and wait!” Ran Qi shot him an exasperated glare and quickly walked back to the spectator area.

“I didn’t even say anything that bad. Why are you so mad? This is what people call ‘flustered and annoyed,’ huh?” Gu Le mumbled as he followed.

“If you keep talking, I won’t make you anything good for dinner tonight.” Ran Qi pulled out his trump card.

“I won’t say anything! I won’t say anything!” Gu Le immediately made a zipping-his-lips gesture and finally quieted down.

Before long, the first round concluded, and the winners were set to proceed to the second round, which would once again eliminate half of the remaining contestants.

As soon as the AI finished assigning matchups, Gu Le immediately opened his optical computer to check the results. The next moment, his face showed an expression of utter shock.

“What’s wrong?” Ran Qi asked in confusion.

“Holy crap, Ranran, you won’t believe what I just saw!” Gu Le enlarged the screen and held it up in front of Ran Qi. “Look! Look at who Boss is up against this round!!!”

Ran Qi leaned in for a closer look, and his eyes widened in shock. “How is it Zhang Shuo?”

“Hahaha! I have no idea! I was just joking earlier, but who would’ve thought the AI actually paired him up against Boss?! What a coincidence! He’s done for this time! Hahaha!” Gu Le laughed exaggeratedly with his hands on his hips.

Ran Qi also found it hard to believe. “For some reason, I’m suddenly really looking forward to this match…”

“Hahaha, me too! I hope Boss gives him a proper lesson—don’t let him lose too easily!”

*******

In the contestants’ lounge, Zhang Shuo’s face turned grim the moment he saw the second-round matchups.

Just now, he had somehow ended up clashing with those people from Imperial Star Military Academy because of Ran Qi, and that Liu Nian guy even warned him to pray he wouldn’t run into them in the competition.

Although Zhang Shuo had acted tough earlier, he was actually feeling quite uneasy. He knew very well that there was a significant gap in strength between himself and the students from Imperial Star. After all, Imperial Star had always ranked first among the capital’s military academies. Any student who could make it into their top ten was definitely no pushover.

He had consoled himself by thinking that as long as he could make it to the finals and secure a spot in the regional top forty, that would be more than enough—after all, that was already the best result his school had ever achieved in past competitions.

But he never expected things to turn out like this. The AI had really put him in the same group as someone from Imperial Star! And not just anyone—it was Imperial Star’s team leader, Han Xiao!

Even though Han Xiao was only a fourth-year student at Imperial Star Military Academy, he had already become the academy’s top mecha student in his first year and had held the title ever since. Every year, he led the team in the Imperial Military Academy League. It was said that his physical and mental strength were both rated double-S. Whether in mecha combat, armored combat, or even command. He excelled in every area, and many people saw him as the next war god.

Out of curiosity, Zhang Shuo had watched one or two of Han Xiao’s matches before. He knew that Han Xiao was undeniably powerful.

Facing Han Xiao meant his chances of winning were almost nonexistent… At this point, he could only hope he wouldn’t lose too badly.

All of his school’s contestants had already been eliminated, leaving him as the sole remaining representative. In the next match, his entire school would definitely be there to cheer him on. Even Ran Qi might be watching. He couldn’t afford to make a fool of himself!

He still didn’t understand how Ran Qi had come to know those people from Imperial Star. Were they distant relatives or something? But Han Xiao was on a completely different level—there was no way he’d personally care about Ran Qi’s affairs… right?

Zhang Shuo kept trying to reassure himself, pacing back and forth in the lounge. But Liu Nian’s words kept replaying in his mind— “You’d better pray you don’t run into any of us from Imperial Star.”

“Tch! What’s so great about Imperial Star?! It’s just a simulated battle! It’s not like they can actually kill me!”

Zhang Shuo clenched his teeth at the thought and straightened his back as he headed toward the battle stage through the contestant tunnel.

But the moment he stood face-to-face with Han Xiao, all the mental preparation he had done crumbled in an instant.

Han Xiao didn’t look intimidating at all—on the contrary, he was exceptionally good-looking. When he had a slight smile on his lips, he looked like he had stepped right out of a painting, almost mesmerizing to look at.

“I’m Han Xiao. Please guide me,” Han Xiao said politely in a soft voice, as if introducing himself with proper etiquette.

But standing directly across from him, Zhang Shuo felt his entire body go rigid. Han Xiao’s dark eyes were locked onto him, carrying an oppressive sharpness, as if a terrifying beast had just locked onto its prey.

Caught off guard by this overwhelming aura, Zhang Shuo felt a chill run down his spine.

“P-please… guide me…” Zhang Shuo forced the words through clenched teeth. He had never truly believed that ‘aura’ was a real thing—until now.

With just one exchange of gazes, his fighting spirit was completely crushed.

“Both contestants, please enter the battle pods,” the referee announced.

Zhang Shuo typically preferred high-offense mechas. He liked to overwhelm his opponents right from the start and seize the upper hand. But this time, he hesitated—then chose the high-defense X3 mecha instead.

To everyone’s surprise, Han Xiao also picked a mecha different from his usual choice—he went for the Y17, a model known for its speed and agility.

“What’s going on?” The audience members who were familiar with both contestants’ fighting styles were utterly baffled.

Why did they suddenly switch mechas????