Chapter Eighteen: Ailu

“All right, enough talking. Let’s first see if any of you actually have the talent to become mecha pilots. Otherwise, no matter how much I say, it’s just a waste of my breath. I’m sure all of you have played Mecha Storm—that’s a basic mecha simulator, which you should already know. Now, each of you will receive an internal BattleNet account for Area One of Mecha Storm from me. Anyone who makes it into the top 100,000 next month gets to stay and continue training. Think of this as your end-of-month mecha operation exam. Those who finish first will receive even more merit points. I don’t need to tell you how important merit points are, do I? Whoever ranks first into the top 100,000 gets 100 merit points as a reward. That’s all—dismissed.”

As soon as the words “100 merit points” came out, the previously silent square instantly erupted into a clamor. Exclamations rang out as if everyone had just been injected with adrenaline; faces flushed with excitement.

Only Li Daoran seemed unaware of how precious 100 merit points were, showing little reaction. Even Xu Xingxing couldn’t help but clench his fists.

Then, each of their wristwatches received a unique account and password. Everyone hurried to leave, impatient to begin. Li Daoran, however, grabbed Xu Xingxing and held him back. Amidst the surging crowd, the two of them stood out conspicuously.

“Let go of me! Don’t you know how precious time is right now? First place gets 100 merit points—if you’re even a second late, there’s only one point left! Do you understand? Don’t make me lose my temper,” Xu Xingxing said anxiously, his face flushed.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, a few minutes won’t make a difference. Are you really sure you can make it into the top 100,000? With your current state of mind, you’re more likely to just hand out free wins. Relax,” Li Daoran replied.

By now, most people had already left.

At that moment, a tall man over two meters tall, with blond hair, an aquiline nose, and blue eyes, strode over, clapping as he spoke. “Xu Xingxing, you should listen to this guy beside you. You, aiming for the top 100,000 of the internal network? Don’t think making it into the top 10,000 on Capital Star in Mecha Storm is anything special. The top hundred on Capital Star are just gatekeepers to the top 100,000 on the internal network.”

Seeing this person, Xu Xingxing immediately turned away, as if eager to keep his distance.

“No wonder you couldn’t even make class president. I used to overestimate you. Without your father’s aura, you’re nothing. You were never a match for me, and now that you’ve lost the father who’s become the biggest joke in the universe, you’re even less worth my notice. I only came over because I felt sorry for you. Pathetic. By the way, first place is already mine. Before I came here, I was already ranked 998th on Bailu Star in Mecha Storm,” the tall man sneered, refusing to let Xu Xingxing leave.

Xu Xingxing turned back, eyes blazing red, fists clenched so tightly the veins stood out on his arms.

Just as the tension peaked, a sudden burst of laughter shattered the stalemate.

“Pfft, 998! Hahaha! For only 998, you’ll be gasping for breath with pleasure! Hahaha!” Li Daoran bent over with laughter, clutching his stomach.

The two men turned to look at Li Daoran, who had seemed almost invisible until now.

Though they didn’t know why Li Daoran was laughing so hard, Xu Xingxing relaxed his fists, calming down as a small smile crept onto his lips. He didn’t really know what “gasping for breath with pleasure” meant, but he could hear the mockery in the words.

Ailu could hear it too. The smugness on his face vanished, but he knew that anyone who had made it here was not to be underestimated. Although there weren’t many people in the Bailu Republic he couldn’t afford to offend, it wasn’t wise to make enemies at random.

He asked cautiously, “Who are you?”

“Li Daoran. Yes, I’m Xingxing’s class president. Pleased to meet you,” Li Daoran replied, ending his exaggerated performance. Since the other wasn’t a fool, there was no need to keep pretending.

Ailu’s blue eyes narrowed. Although his words had been full of derision toward Xu Xingxing, he still recognized Xu Xingxing’s talent—otherwise, he wouldn’t have bothered coming over. Truth be told, he was surprised Xu Xingxing hadn’t made class president.

“A pleasure. I am Ailu, from the Edward family,” Ailu introduced himself with customary arrogance. In the Bailu Republic, there were many with the surname Edward, but only one family was ever singled out for mention.

Li Daoran, however, felt nothing in particular—he didn’t know any Edward. The name itself only made him want to crack a joke.

“Nice to meet you. Take care of your health, Ailu,” Li Daoran said earnestly, shaking Ailu’s hand.

Ailu’s face froze at the touch; he quickly withdrew his hand and rubbed it behind his back. He had a distaste for physical contact, and having a stranger grab his hand made him extremely uncomfortable. Yet, still unsure of Li Daoran’s background, he could only suppress his nausea and anger as he replied insincerely, “Which Li family are you from?”

“I’m a commoner, not from any Li family. Can’t claim such high status. If you want to put it that way, all Lis under heaven are one family—so I suppose my background is vast,” Li Daoran joked, trying to muddle through.

Ailu gave Li Daoran a long, meaningful look. He’d never heard of this person before, but he seemed difficult to handle, certainly not simple. Now was not the time to make enemies. Mocking the Xus, who had lost their greatest support, was one thing; provoking an unknown entity was unwise. So he said, “Heh, you’re right, Brother Li. I have matters to attend to and need to get on BattleNet. Farewell for now.”

Li Daoran replied in kind, “The mountains may not move, but the rivers will flow. Green hills remain, clear waters run long—until we meet again.”

Xu Xingxing couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

Ailu glared at Xu Xingxing.

“What are you staring at? Xingxing is the vice class president, I’m the class president, and he’s my right-hand man—do you understand what that means? My arm. You bully my arm, and I’ll break your legs. Got it?” Li Daoran patted his own arm as he spoke.

Ailu looked down at Li Daoran, towering over him.

“Go on, keep staring. I asked if you got it—if you understand, then get lost,” Li Daoran said contemptuously, glancing at him sideways. After all, Ailu was rather tall, and Li Daoran, though over 1.8 meters himself, would have to look up uncomfortably to match his words, so he simply turned to the side.

Li Daoran had every reason to be confident. In close quarters, the techniques he’d learned could take down Ailu a dozen different ways without repeating himself.

Ever since he’d managed to flatten Xiong Shan last time, Li Daoran had grown rather cocky.

Ailu, like Xu Xingxing, had never encountered such an unpredictable, rule-breaking character before, and his wariness only deepened.

To Li Daoran’s surprise, Ailu left without even a parting threat, swallowing his anger.

When Ailu had gone, Xu Xingxing said sincerely, “You really are something else, class president.”