Chapter 350: Tianjing Mecha vs Lone Wolf (Happy New Year!)

The atmosphere in the entire tactical room suddenly grew heavy. Whether they were from the Tianqi Youth Class or not, everyone already knew what kind of existence Li Hao was. This person was already capable of perfectly fusing pilot ability with mecha. In that EMP battle, while it was true that Romero hadn't used his full strength or trump cards, what about Li Hao?

Heaven knows how much strength he used. Romero had never dueled Li Hao, but given the strength of Fan Liweite, it must have been the Flowing Heart Martial Soul Origin State, and yet he was still beaten like that. This guy, damn it, had no intention of leaving anyone a way out. Romero did not underestimate Fan Liweite; the reason Fan Liweite didn't fight a mecha battle wasn't entirely due to caution. He likely knew that some ultimate moves could only be used once against someone of Li Hao's level, and he wanted to save them for the S Tournament.

"This person is already invincible in pilot combat. There is still a glimmer of chance in mecha combat. Let it be for now; I will handle it," Romero said in a low voice. These words from the Lone Wolf almost made the warriors' hearts sink to the bottom. They had never seen the Lone Wolf act so cowardly, which meant this person was truly terrifying to the extreme.

Jiluo and Beitan were both from the Tianqi Youth Class; they didn't need to imagine, they only needed to recall. The other three didn't know how to imagine it, because in reality, they had never encountered such a person. The most terrifying person they had ever encountered was their Team Leader, Romero.

"Team Leader, do we have a chance at four-to-one to avoid the team battle?" Beitan asked. He had to be the one to say this, because it implied that Romero would be avoiding a fight, which was very damaging to the Lone Wolf's face.

If they wanted to take this match, the most certain method was the Tianji horse-racing strategy: find a way to trade for Li Hao, then go all out to take the remaining four matches. This way, they could directly eliminate Tianjing Mecha and avoid the variables of a team battle.

The opportunity definitely existed.

Everyone watched Romero's expression. Martians valued face more than life, but Romero remained calm. "Don't look at me. Ensuring the team's victory is the priority. Only if it doesn't affect the team will I be willing to settle my grudge with him."

If it were five years ago, he would certainly have wanted to break his inner demon more, but now, he valued the S Tournament Champion title more.

"Even if we want to do that, the hurdle of Cheng Konghai won't be easy to clear. Among us, only the Boss has the certainty to take him down, so we must find an opportunity to pin him down," Jiluo said.

"... That can't be right, is that kid really that strong? The data shows he was a washout these past few years, didn't have any proper job, and only just transferred into Tianjing Mecha. That skinny guy is actually serving as a Heavy Armor pilot? Wouldn't Beitan just hammer him to death?" Barrett shrugged in disbelief.

"Cheng Konghai, nicknamed Ant, has immense strength and is fearless in the face of death. He was the number one fierce general under the Mawang back in the day, and a die-hard loyalist. However, his stubbornness wasted many years for him. His talent is unquestionable. It looks like his injuries have recovered; it just depends on his mecha proficiency. Jiluo, how is the data you collected?" Romero said.

"Boss, there is very little data on this kid. He's a late bloomer, but there is one match that is quite interesting: it's his duel against Puppet's Armor Leopard." Jiluo opened his Skycom and played the highlight reel.

Whether it was Virtual Mode or not didn't matter; the key was the operation inside. To have such Armor Leopard operation skills yet choose to be a Heavy Armor pilot—what kind of confidence is that?

Cheng Konghai was indeed quite a washout these past few years, but for the sake of survival, the mecha usage rate in the Xuni Qu was extremely, extremely high, so he didn't lack proficiency.

Romero watched for a while and had a grasp of the situation.

"... Boss, aren't we being a bit too cautious? This is Tianjing Mecha, not Galaxy..." the Substitute, Brisbane, couldn't help but ask.

Honestly, this was only the Round of 16; one would think they had entered the finals.

Romero's gaze became sharp, staring fixedly at Brisbane. The tactical room fell silent. After staring for over ten seconds, he looked at Barrett. "Barrett, do not fall in the same place twice."

"Yes, Boss!"

After embarrassing himself at the exchange tournament, Barrett had gone back to collect his thoughts, abandoned his arrogance, and prepared for the battle in earnest.

Romero still had over seventy percent confidence in his heart, because Cheng Konghai could not fully make up for the flaws of Tianjing Mecha. That's right, Ant was strong, the former number one fierce warrior of the Hunters, but these lost five years were truly lost. During the time he was just drifting along, while he could maintain mecha proficiency and pick it up quickly, he had fallen behind in

physical and mental cultivation, and in Man-Machine Integration.

Not everyone was Li Hao.

The only winning chance for Tianjing Mecha was for Lone Wolf to underestimate the enemy, but facing Li Hao, he was more cautious than anyone else.

Although it wasn't perfect, he wanted the S Tournament Champion title. He wanted to taste the feeling of standing at the peak and looking down upon all living things.

At this moment, Li Hao was lying on his bed talking to Kevin on the Skycom. "Second Brother, I've scoured the data on the base personnel, and it's unlikely there's a problem. People who can go to Kepler aren't ordinary, and betraying humanity is impossible. Could the intelligence be wrong? What is a courier? It's impossible for such a profession to exist on Kepler."

"I'm also puzzled by this point, but the source of the intelligence shouldn't be wrong. What kind of situation do you think would cause a person to make such a choice?" Li Hao seemed to be talking to himself.

"Ah, this is equivalent to saying they want to destroy the world. Could they have suffered some severe blow? A psychological breakdown?" Kevin was also a bit stunned. This was no longer the bottom line of being a person; this was the bottom line of being a biological entity.

"That's one possibility, but I don't think it's very likely. Individual ability is quite limited; even if they wanted to, it's not something they could do just by wanting to. Is there a possibility that there is an organization within humanity that is in contact with the Giant Insects?" Li Hao threw out an idea. He was only suspicious; he didn't rule out that some crazy organization wanted to borrow the power of the Giant Insects to stir up trouble, for example... Noah's Ark.

"Noah's Ark?" Kevin also realized. "... It's not impossible. An individual couldn't do it, but an organization might."

Using Giant Insects to break the order of the Solar System Alliance and create war and chaos was indeed a good opportunity for such an organization to seize power. An organization that could take such an arrogant name was likely not normal either.

"You and Zhuang Zhou look into it from these two angles. There are some clues among the people at the base. Combine these two paths and search; you might get some results."

Li Hao and Kevin had been working together for a long time. Kevin was interested in these kinds of incredible things, and his logical ability combined with Zhuang Zhou's Precognition made for a perfect combination.

Li Hao rubbed his forehead. He had probed one nest, but didn't get any results. There was no telling how many Giant Insect nests were in the vast Ontario region. Searching one by one like this wasn't a solution; it was like a blind man touching an elephant. He had to use his brain.

The qualifiers were over, and the main tournament began. The first round would start at ten in the morning. The participants included Hailong vs Abyss, Super Starry Sky vs Eumolagong, Vulcan vs Prometheus, and Tianjing Mecha vs Lone Wolf. And the one responsible for the live commentary for Tianjing Mecha vs Lone Wolf was Huonan.

Huonan looked happily at his constantly rising follower count. He had entered the fast lane of his career taking off. Li Jiang or Mu Jiang was really bringing him good luck. As for the fans on his personal page who were crazily cursing him, Huonan magnanimously forgave them; the little kids didn't understand his commentary wisdom.

The live stream had already started at nine-thirty. The S Tournament contestants were competing, and the guest commentators were also battling fiercely. This kid Kuangwu was clearly not professional enough to serve as his stepping stone, but from a standpoint perspective, he was just right to set off his own brilliance and martial prowess.

Huonan was dressed in a suit and leather shoes. This set was a noble brand specially customized for him; the black was steady and grand, and he had specially chosen a fiery red tie—this was the rhythm of being a big hit.

Originally, he was quite satisfied with this outfit and was showing off his wealth, but Kuangwu Daren was wearing traditional Earth Asian-region clothing, a red Tang suit, and the damn guy even had a flashy dragon embroidered on it, which was extremely eyesore!

This guy dressed himself up like a red lantern; he had no taste at all.

Huonan didn't hide his disdain and opened the broadcast map in his hand. "Dear viewers, today's morning matches are all spectacular, but I hope everyone locks into our live stream room. I am the passionate commentator, the explosive Huonan, and beside me is my partner, who is a person."

Kuangwu Daren smiled and took over, "Hello everyone, I am the commentator Kuangwu Daren, who is a person. There are no weak teams in the main tournament. We are quite lucky to have drawn the most heavyweight match of the first round, the first group stage match between Tianjing Mecha and Lone Wolf. This should be the match with the highest confrontation and intensity today, the clash..."

Huonan waved his hand to interrupt Kuangwu Daren directly. "Superficial. Do you have some misunderstanding about the strength of both sides? Is there any suspense in this match?

This is a crushing game for Romero and Lone Wolf. If Romero doesn't beat the shit out of Mu Jiang, I'll call myself Mu Nan from now on!"

It had to be said that Huonan was a talent; the audience count instantly skyrocketed. The Puppet Fans were even firing Gatling-style insults at him, yet Huonan was confident and didn't care at all.

"Tianjing Mecha is very strong, Puppet God can create miracles," Kuangwu Daren said, not getting angry.

"Do you think miracles are a side dish? The viewers might still remember an EMP live stream from a few months ago. Romero let him win a game in that battle; that is the stature of a professional warrior. And this battle is the real fight that shows true strength. The live betting has already started. Click on the left to support Lone Wolf, and click on the right to support Tianjing Mecha. At the same time, find a good spot on the rooftop," Huonan said, then opened the highlights page. "Of course, those who like the streamer, please don't be stingy with the melon seeds in your hands."

As the home ground for the Moon and also the first-place winner of the Mid-Season Tournament, the heavyweight duel between Hailong Team and Abyss Team was the first to start. The popularity of the mecha tournament on the Moon was the highest among the Four Great Federations. The clash between the veteran powerhouse Hailong and Abyss was considered by most to be the strongest confrontation this morning, after all, it was the TAS-ranked Golden Titan against the NUP's new force.

Every first appearance in the main tournament had a presentation segment. At this time, the person responsible for the hype-calling was already roaring.

"Hailong Team Heavy Armor Warrior—Li Xiangshan~~~~"

Li Xiangshan appeared first, and instantly the entire Arena was filled with mountain-shaking cheers. Yes, he had never won a championship, but he was the Heavy Armor warrior that every Moon Person had to respect, defending the face of the Moon's Heavy Armor.

Li Xiangshan stood at attention and saluted the audience in the venue, and the cheers became even more high-pitched.

The Moon People had not forgotten him.

"Hailong Team Vanguard Warrior—Klein~~~~"

Klein, who looked cute and had a mushroom haircut, stepped forward and waved to the audience. Everyone looked at this puppy-like neighbor's little brother—this person was... a Vanguard?

"Hailong Team Sniper—Davari~~~~"

The cold Davari just stepped forward without any expression, and the audience still gave a warm response.

"Hailong Team Vice Captain—Anlita~~~~"

The cheers rose again. The beauty looked even more charming against the backdrop of a group of fierce men, and Anlita bowed to the audience very gracefully.

"Next up is the Substitute player for Hailong, Xila~~~" "Following that is the Team Leader of the Hailong Team, Xilian Molafisi~~~~"

The cheering reached a climax; Xilian was a newcomer in the Mecha world, but he had long been famous in other respects. This new generation successor of the Molafisi family had displayed exceptional ability in both science and Mecha. Of course, his replacement of Li Xiangshan as the Team Leader of Hailong was also full of controversy. If Xilian could not demonstrate strength matching his status in the S Tournament, the combat effectiveness of the Moon's trolls would certainly not be inferior.

For the opening match, Xilian had to give everyone an explanation, but Xilian's expression was very calm; if it weren't for the match, he would have liked to watch the other one.

The remaining No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 arenas began their segments ten minutes later.

Huonan and Kuangwu both raised their voices to introduce the teams competing; the two commentators had distinct stances, clashing head-on without any courtesy, and this was indeed a popular match of the morning.

Langwu had already made their appearance—boos and cheers were mixed together. Romero's reputation on the Moon was not very good, mainly because he was too arrogant. Of course, there were quite a few Martian fans who had traveled from afar; a huge banner had already been unfurled, featuring a giant one-eyed wave baring its Fang, looking incomparably ferocious.

Next was Tianjing Martial Arts; compared to Langwu, the popularity of Tianjing Martial Arts was relatively average. After all, they had no prestige in the past and left no impression. One Wuzang alone could not support the arrogant audience, though of course, this did not hinder everyone's appearance.

Ma Laoshi loved this segment too much, so he walked very slowly, enjoying this cheering from two hundred thousand people as much as possible, though the only slight flaw was that the sound was a bit small.

Until Li Hao appeared, it was thought that Puppet would receive a chorus of boos, but unexpectedly, the whole venue erupted, especially the Moon People, who shouted crazily along with the Earthlings; they hoped that the Tianjing Martial Arts led by Puppet could take

down Langwu, so that the Moon's title defense would have one less opponent. Almost all Moon People believed that the only teams capable of blocking the Moon's title defense were North Caro, Langwu, and Vulcan; as long as this force was gone, the Moon being crowned king would be a certainty.

The enemy of an enemy is a friend; the Moon People at the scene joined in the cheering of the Earthlings, but the Martians were not to be outdone. Being fewer in number did not mean the sound was smaller; the two forces clashed head-on, and the clamor soared straight into the clouds.

(Four updates delivered, wishing all family members prosperity and everything going your way in 2023! During the holiday, a minimum of three updates every day, asking for the first monthly ticket for support, thank you!!!)