Chapter 41: Battle Positions

Li Hao patted Ma Long on the forehead, "It's more reliable for us to cling to your coattails."

As he spoke, he looked at A Youyou in the photo and couldn't help but smile happily again; the two of them had chatted about many happy things last night.

"Damn, damn, this is too intoxicating. This wouldn't be your first love, would it? Everyone look, Hao Ge has already started giggling like a fool," Ma Long laughed. He and Sheng Man were certainly not each other's first love, though everyone has deep memories of their first love.

"Ahem, Ma Laoshi, teach me a few ultimate techniques for chasing girls." Li Hao was asking for advice sincerely; after all, among the people he knew, if Ma Long claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.

"Very well, we are brothers in the same nest. Since you like her, we naturally support you. The process of pursuit, in its essence, is just spending money reasonably!" Ma Long cleared his throat.

"That's too materialistic." Zuo Xiaotang was a bit unconvinced, "Love should be pure. What kind of liking is it if it involves spending money?"

"Zuo Xiaopang, wake up. Even the idols you fan require spending money," Ma Long said. "Girls are born liking romance and surprises. Do you think heart-fluttering moments fall from the sky? You have to spend money and time. In the first week I chased Sheng Man, I used all kinds of romance. Spending money isn't just throwing it away; I blew through a whole month's living expenses. And that was even when we were already mutually attracted. If you don't put in the effort or romance, what would a girl see in you? You're ugly, don't bathe, and are stingy. Don't talk to me about love at first sight; it's all just lust at first sight!"

"That's a bit too absolute. I think there's always something different." Zuo Xiaotang was still a bit unconvinced.

Ma Long rolled his eyes at him, "Ignore Little Zuo. Hao Ge, listen to me. Even if a girl has a good impression of you, you must create romance to rapidly expand that impression and break through the boundaries of friendship. Otherwise, if time drags on even a little, the girl will immediately relegate you to the 'good friend' pond. It's easy to get in, but hard to get out. It's about as difficult as passing the entrance exam for Tianjing Martial Arts. Never believe in 'love growing over time'; those are just backup options. The prettier the girl, the more fickle and difficult she is to handle."

"According to you, pretty girls are completely unreliable, so why do you still go for them?" Wuzang glanced at his own robust biceps.

"Big brother, it's not that pretty girls are unreliable; it's that pretty girls face more temptations. So, to forge iron, one must be strong oneself. As long as you are the most outstanding, there's no problem. Brothers, learn well from your big brother," Ma Long said smugly. "Anyway, it's up to you. I've given my opinion. If it were me, I'd still choose Ye Tong. Isn't Tong Shen fragrant? Childhood sweethearts."

"Nonsense, we aren't in that kind of relationship. According to your logic, I should avoid her even more. You've strayed too far; class, class." Li Hao hurriedly changed the subject, feeling that Ma Long's momentum was leaning heavily toward an arranged marriage.

"Oh my god, oh my god, God!!!" Zuo Xiaotang suddenly did a spiral takeoff on the spot, giving everyone a fright.

"Zuo Xiaotang, have you gone crazy? Making such a fuss, you almost made my heart jump out."

Zuo Xiaotang couldn't be bothered to argue with Ma Long, "Arths is going to hold a small, special fan meeting in Tianjing. It's trending. It's limited to eight thousand spots. God, if I could just get one, this life would be worth it."

"Your life is too worthless then. I thought it was something important." Ma Long curled his lip. Last year, when he discovered Zuo Xiaotang was a small fan leader and even spent his living expenses on limited-edition merchandise, he had tried to advise him, but it was useless.

"You don't understand. This is the closest I've ever been to Arths. I'll go and stay outside the venue to support her," Zuo Xiaotang said blissfully.

Ma Long also followed stars, but he couldn't understand Zuo Xiaotang's level of obsession, though there was no doubt Zuo Xiaotang was a true fan. "I'll see if I can get a ticket for you."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Xiaotang was so happy his buck teeth almost jumped out, "Long Ge, for real? You are my forever favorite."

"Big brother, watch the spit! Ah, stay away from me. I can't guarantee I'll definitely get one. I'm very familiar with a scalper; I'll ask around and see."

"It's fine, it's fine. I don't need to go inside. As long as I can get a spot in the open-air support group outside the venue, that's enough."

When it came to chasing stars, Zuo Xiaotang had always been very humble.

The morning was for compulsory courses. Both Li Hao and Zuo Xiaotang were majoring in the Sniper position within the Mecha Department.

The main daily training for snipers was shooting.

Today's training was still as boring as ever, consisting of two parts: pilot design training and mecha piloting training.

Although pilots and mecha are two different states, ultimately it is the human who controls the mecha. First, one must have a sufficient understanding of their major, then slowly combine it with the mecha and transform it into their own unique offensive habits.

Two hours of sniper rifle holding training: lying on the ground, needing to remain motionless, with a water cup on top of one's head and another on the sniper rifle. If one dropped, it meant a 10,000-meter weighted run.

This was what Zuo Xiaotang couldn't stand the most. It wasn't that he was afraid, but mainly because he was slightly chubby and his constitution made him sweat easily, which easily led to mistakes. This was also what affected his daily scores, but in actual combat, Zuo Xiaopang was truly accurate, which was why Zhou Naiyi still chose him.

After the morning classes ended, Li Hao and Zuo Xiaotang both received a message from Zhou Naiyi. The team had a group training session in the afternoon. Like them, school team members had the right to choose freely for team training, aside from some compulsory courses.

After lunch, Li Hao, Wuzang, and Zuo Xiaotang arrived at the team training ground. Zhou Naiyi and the others had already arrived. Everyone exchanged greetings, though Ye Tong gave Li Hao a cold, indifferent look and ignored him.

Li Hao was also confused; he didn't seem to have provoked her.

Zhou Naiyi clapped her hands, "Our team has been established for a while now. Currently, there are two teams in Tianjing Martial Arts: one is us, and one is Gao Yunfeng's. Currently, Gao Yunfeng and his team are still our school's main force. Today, we need to finalize the team positions and then choose our daily training opponents. I've contacted the second team of Marco Polo in Europe and am currently waiting for their reply. If anyone has good opponents, you can also contact them proactively. The fastest way to improve is through actual combat."

The others didn't react much, but Ye Tong frowned. Obviously, Marco Polo's second team was useless, yet they dared to act so haughty.

"Ye Tong, do you have any ideas? Your reputation is louder than ours?" Zhou Naiyi naturally understood, but there was no other way. Her team had no fame, and experts couldn't be bothered to pay attention to them. Gao Yunfeng was at least the signboard of Tianjing Martial Arts and had participated in S10, which was particularly important at a time like this.

Ye Tong shrugged helplessly, "I came to Tianjing after falling out with my family. If I come forward, it will definitely be more troublesome."

"Let's do our own part first. Good wine doesn't fear a deep alley," Li Hao said.

Zhou Naiyi nodded, "Li Hao is right. Let me assign the positions first. We will follow the federal standard configuration."

Team positions: Number 1 Position, Heavy Assault and Defense Position.

Number 2 Position, Light-Medium Vanguard Position.

Number 3 Position, Light-Medium Core Position.

Number 4 Position, Functional Mecha, suitable for some special terrain. Number 5, Sniper.

"Wuzang, you swing between Position 1 and 2. Xue Gang, Position 2. Ye Tong and I, Position 3. Tang Yu, Position 4. Zuo Xiaotang, Position 5. Li Hao, Position 5. Does anyone have any objections?" Zhou Naiyi looked around. She hadn't been idle during this time; she had finally handled all the team's paperwork and obtained the right to use actual combat mecha. Principal Long was very supportive of her, but she also understood that this was a game of chess.

Some people felt Gao Yunfeng's team wasn't much, but that was still an S10 team that could trade blows with top NUP teams. Losing didn't mean they lacked competitiveness in the Asian region, and in Tianjing Martial Arts, only one team could represent Tianjing in battle.

"Team Leader, can we let Hao Ge try the Vanguard position? I think he's more suited for the Vanguard position," Wuzang asked. He knew how strong Li Hao's close-quarters combat was, and his mecha skills wouldn't be bad either.

"The positions are a bit overlapping. Ye Tong can also swing in the Vanguard position, but we have problems with our Sniper position. Zuo Xiaotang's strengths and weaknesses are obvious; he needs a reasonable supplement. Li Hao, what do you say?"

"I obey the Class Monitor's arrangements. I major in sniping; sniping is good!" Li Hao naturally agreed. The sniper position had fewer things to do, and besides, he had a part-time job. Having met A Youyou, he also felt the urgency of making money. What Ma Laoshi said were all pearls of wisdom.

Although he didn't know what good romance was, he was very willing to make the little junior sister Aiyouyou happy.

Looking at Li Hao's intoxicated expression, Ye Tong couldn't help but curl her lip, "Senior Li Hao, you seem a bit distracted."

"How could that be? I was raised by the Class Monitor; I firmly listen to the Class Monitor, follow the Class Monitor, and go wherever the Class Monitor tells me to go!"

Zhou Naiyi chuckled, "You guys might not be able to tell, but he's just this oily sometimes. Our positions aren't fixed; everything is focused on the team's progress. We need to explore a set of strategies and tactics as soon as possible and form our own style. We start formal training tonight. Any team with a certain standard can be challenged."

Small team tactics and such were all familiar, but putting five people together seemed simple, yet it was actually quite troublesome. If styles matched, they could have a performance beyond their level; if they weren't coordinated, they would only hinder each other.

Once it came to team battles, it wasn't just about individual style, but also the choice of mecha. It extremely tested a pilot's mecha pool. Even for Ye Tong, her individual ability was very strong, but to perform in a team battle, it wasn't enough for one person to just charge forward.

Currently, the team's combination should be 12335 or 22335.

After the meeting, Ye Tong and the others left, leaving Zhou Naiyi and the all-purpose substitute Li Hao to tidy up the training ground.

"What's wrong with Ye Tong? Did something happen?" Li Hao asked casually.

Zhou Naiyi chuckled, "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Li Hao was confused.

"I heard you met a girl you like and are launching a crazy pursuit?"

Li Hao was stunned, "It's not that exaggerated. I did meet a girl who makes my heart flutter, but... how do you guys know?"

Zhou Naiyi couldn't help but laugh, "Ma Long said it."

"That guy, I'm going to beat him up when I get back."