Shi Lu nearly sprang off the sofa. He stared at Chi Zhou with his mouth half-open, utterly dumbfounded, as though countless words were caught in his throat and none of them would come out.
Chi Zhou simply waved a hand at the bunny girl. She immediately understood. Cradling a top hat brimming with chips, she swayed gracefully out of the room.
“Sir, what are you doing?!”
The door had barely shut before Shi Lu rushed over, anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
“Shadow Warrior is the strongest underground fighter in District One! Don’t you already have his file?”
“Didn’t I tell you already? Don’t call me ‘Sir’ in here.” Chi Zhou shot him a sidelong glance. “You’ve read Shadow Warrior’s file, but have you read Iron Cavalry’s?”
Shi Lu shook his head in confusion.
“No. Have you?”
Instead of answering, Chi Zhou gestured toward the shadowy figure standing in the arena below.
“Then what are you waiting for? Go look it up.”
Understanding dawned on Shi Lu at once. He hurried into the adjoining room and immediately began rattling away at the keyboard.
In the interstellar era, physical displays had long since become obsolete. All anyone had to do was enter their ID to access every file within their authorisation level.
The underground fighting arena, however, seemed frozen in the age of Ancient Earth. It still ran on an antique system that was over a century old, requiring an actual computer terminal and keyboard just to retrieve information.
Shi Lu had come from the Institute of Historical Studies and was one of the few people in the military who still knew how to use such an outdated system. That was precisely why Chi Zhou had brought him along, despite Shi Lu’s only basic understanding of mecha.
While Shi Lu searched through the archives, Chi Zhou walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down into the arena.
The match had already begun.
The two mecha stood facing each other across the coliseum. A heavy wind swept through the open arena, making the trees beside the spectator stands shiver violently. Someone’s hat was blown away. Bottle in hand, the man cursed under his breath as he walked down a couple of rows to retrieve it. But the moment he straightened up, his attention was immediately drawn to the battle below.
The wind howled through the arena, forcing spectators to hold down their hats and skirts. Yet the two mecha remained utterly motionless, frozen like a scene from a silent film.
Shadow Warrior and Iron Cavalry stood at opposite ends of the arena, weapons in hand, neither willing to make the first move.
The audience exchanged puzzled glances. They had never seen a match like this before. Underground fights had always been brutal from the very first second—every punch landed hard, every blade drew blood. Nobody ever wasted time sizing up their opponent.
“What are you looking at?” Shi Lu asked as he stepped beside him and peered through the glass. After watching for a moment, he sighed in admiration. “Shadow Warrior really knows what he’s doing. His footwork is impeccable.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Shadow Warrior’s footwork was textbook perfect.
He circled Iron Cavalry cautiously, probing for an opening. Every step he took bore the unmistakable mark of professional training.
Iron Cavalry, on the other hand, seemed to have stalled completely. It never left its original position, merely adjusting its stance now and then in response to Shadow Warrior’s movements.
“Find anything?” Chi Zhou asked.
Shi Lu shook his head.
“Nothing. There’s no record of him in the system. This is Iron Cavalry’s first appearance, and he’s not one of the arena’s contracted fighters.”
“I see,” Chi Zhou replied. “No wonder.”
Shi Lu looked even more confused.
“You know who he is?”
“No.” Chi Zhou kept his eyes fixed on the arena, a hint of amusement surfacing in them. “But choosing Iron Cavalry tells me he knew exactly what he was doing.”
Shi Lu nodded.
“Iron Cavalry may be an old model, but it’s still a proper military combat mecha. It’s nothing like the toy machines the arena usually uses.”
Chi Zhou silently agreed.
If there was any mecha in the underground arena capable of matching Shadow Warrior, Iron Cavalry was the only one.
Whoever had chosen it was almost certainly here for the Scarlet Dawn Lotus—and judging by that choice alone, they were no amateur.
—
Chi Zhou’s expression finally turned serious as he observed the developments in the arena.
After circling Iron Cavalry three times, Shadow Warrior finally lost its patience. Raising the massive blade in its hands high overhead, it brought it crashing down toward Iron Cavalry.
Inside the cramped c0ckpit, Xia Ye watched the attack with icy composure.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Xia Ye didn’t move.
The elaborately decorated greatsword split the air as it descended toward the battered, scarred mech, making it look like a one-sided slaughter with no possibility of resistance.
The beast arena fell silent. The solemn atmosphere gripped the audience, leaving no one daring to make a sound for a long while.
Shi Lu’s heart pounded wildly. If this kept up, Iron Cavalry would be cleaved clean in two!
“Don’t worry,” Chi Zhou said calmly. “He’ll be fine.”
Shi Lu asked anxiously, “How can you tell?”
Chi Zhou merely smiled, his expression carrying a hint of mystery.
Shi Lu had never awakened and was just an ordinary person, unable to perceive the Mental Domain permeating the fighting arena. Not wanting to draw attention to himself, Chi Zhou hadn’t expanded his own domain much when he came to the arena today. It only covered the VIP viewing room.
Yet during his routine scan just now, he had unexpectedly discovered that the entire arena had already been enveloped by someone else’s Mental Domain.
That person was obviously not one of the street punks who frequented the arena. Besides, no ordinary sentinel could possess a domain this vast.
There was only one possibility.
A guide had slipped in.
And a remarkably confident one at that—someone convinced they could come out on top among a crowd of Sentinels.
A trace of amusement surfaced in Chi Zhou’s eyes. He was genuinely beginning to take an interest in Iron Cavalry. Once the match was over, he would have to meet its pilot.
Chi Zhou’s gaze remained fixed on Iron Cavalry. Then, after remaining still for so long, the dormant war machine suddenly sprang into motion.
The instant Shadow Warrior’s greatsword was about to touch it, Xia Ye’s fingers twitched. The heavy mech nimbly sidestepped, allowing the blade to graze past its body.
Committed to delivering a killing blow, Shadow Warrior had poured immense force into the strike. The impact was powerful enough to split the ground, driving the greatsword deep into the marble floor.
Xia Ye seized that fleeting opening. Iron Cavalry wheeled around in an instant, its fist slicing through the air with terrifying force as it smashed across Shadow Warrior.
With its greatsword lodged in the ground, Shadow Warrior had temporarily lost its greatest weapon.
The sweeping blow immediately threw its balance off.
Xia Ye had no intention of letting the opportunity slip away. Iron Cavalry suddenly accelerated, reaching a speed so great it dazzled the eye.
Driven by four times the usual amount of black-gold engine oil, Iron Cavalry’s combat capabilities were completely restored, even reaching the level of its absolute prime.
The purely manual mech, which ordinary people were incapable of controlling, unleashed astonishing precision in Xia Ye’s hands. Every movement was flawless, without the slightest error, as it charged straight toward Shadow Warrior.
The mech, powerful enough to tear extraterrestrial lifeforms apart, barreled forward and slammed savagely into Shadow Warrior.
Just as expected, the audience, which had fallen into complete silence moments earlier, was utterly shaken by the sight. Thunderous cheers erupted throughout the stands.
“Charge! Iron Cavalry, rip him apart!”
“Flip him over! Crush his core!”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen Shadow Warrior beaten like this! Hurry! Crush him! From now on, Iron Cavalry will be the ace!”
Lin Kezhi watched with his heart in his throat.
He had watched Xia Ye pilot a mech during the entrance examination that afternoon, but Xia Ye’s style back then had been nothing like this.
At the time, Xia Ye had been the very model of academy training. Every move had perfectly replicated the illustrations from the textbook, leaving the instructors in constant admiration. They would repeatedly declare that this was exactly the standard a military academy student should have, and that self-taught fighters could never compete with those who had received formal training.
But the Xia Ye before him now was a genuine self-taught fighter.
Every movement was clean and decisive, completely devoid of flashy flourishes. Every attack struck directly at Shadow Warrior’s vital points.
Lin Kezhi had never seen such ruthless ferocity in anyone before. Xia Ye was like a lone wolf from the wilderness, howling as it sought to tear its prey to shreds.
He even found himself wondering whether, inside the c0ckpit, Xia Ye looked at Shadow Warrior as though it were nothing more than a heap of scrap metal.
After crashing into Shadow Warrior’s chest, Xia Ye immediately grabbed one of its arms and gave it a deft twist.
The motion looked almost casual, yet the arm was torn clean off. He tossed the severed arm onto the ground and gave it a contemptuous kick. The arm, forged from refined steel, hit the ground with a long, muffled clang.
It was like a signal that ignited the crowd’s frenzy.
Countless spectators leapt to their feet, chanting Iron Cavalry’s name. They hurled ribbons and flowers into the arena, while gold coins poured down from the stands like a shower of rain.
Standing in the centre of the arena, Xia Ye quietly watched it all.
He knew all too well how to stir people’s passions.
Give them something thrilling. Something exhilarating. A spectacle with the most dramatic reversal imaginable.
And they would go mad for you.
—
“That kid is interesting.”
Chi Zhou exhaled a ring of smoke and reached his verdict.
“The match isn’t over yet, is it?” Shi Lu remained standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, staring tensely at the arena. “He only tore off one arm. What if Shadow Warrior makes a comeback? It’s the latest smart-core mech, after all. Its operational precision is on a completely different level from a purely manual mech.”
The Iron Cavalry Xia Ye was piloting was an older model. It wasn’t equipped with any intelligent systems and relied entirely on manual operation. If Shadow Warrior destroyed its power supply system, the entire mech would lose propulsion and become immobile.
Shadow Warrior, however, was different.
As a newly released model, it was equipped with the latest intelligent computing system, constantly performing high-speed calculations to optimise power distribution, making its movements noticeably more agile than those of ordinary mechs.
Even if its primary power system was damaged, Shadow Warrior’s smart core would immediately switch to a backup plan, drawing power from the mech’s internal electrical reserves. It wouldn’t stop functioning outright—its combat capability would simply be somewhat diminished.
“What use is a smart core?” Chi Zhou let out a derisive snort. “At his level, does he even have a chance of getting close to Iron Cavalry? A smart core will always be an aid, never the whole of it.”
Shi Lu didn’t fully understand what he meant, but neither did he want to appear ignorant.
Drawing on the same concentration he used for research, he continued standing before the glass window, carefully observing the battle.
Amid the deafening cheers of the audience, Iron Cavalry suddenly released Shadow Warrior, almost as though it were putting on an exhibition match.
A moment ago, its knee had been pinning Shadow Warrior’s leg in place. Now it abruptly withdrew, causing Shadow Warrior to lose its balance and stagger before dropping to one knee.
Xia Ye took a step back at just the right moment. Iron Cavalry tilted its head slightly, leisurely studying its opponent.
The scene was strikingly theatrical.
Iron Cavalry toyed with Shadow Warrior as if it had complete control over it, like a cat playing with a mouse, sending the audience into roaring laughter.
Inside Shadow Warrior’s c0ckpit, Ban Lei’s eyes had turned bloodshot. He had fought in this arena for years, reigning as its undefeated champion.
Yet now, he was actually being humiliated by some newbie.
Ban Lei bit down so hard on his lower lip that he nearly drew blood.
He couldn’t lose. At least, he couldn’t lose this match.
Someone had offered him an enormous sum, demanding that he emerge as the final victor. If he succeeded, he could spend the rest of his life surrounded by luxury cars and beautiful women.
Who could have guessed that after everything had gone so smoothly, a Cheng Yaojin1It comes from the Tang dynasty general Cheng Yaojin, who in opera and storytelling is famous for suddenly bursting into a fight and turning the situation upside down. would suddenly appear out of nowhere to ruin it all?
Ban Lei took a deep breath and reached over to press a button inside the c0ckpit.
This was the secret behind his undefeated record.
In the entire arena, aside from himself and the administrator, no one knew about it.
In truth, Shadow Warrior’s greatest advantage wasn’t its smart-core system at all. It was the second power system fueled by Bone-Eater, the heart of an extraterrestrial lifeform.
A technology that could never be spoken of, and a practice that unquestionably violated Alliance law.
Shadow Warrior was a modified mech.
The arena had spent a fortune hiring one of the Alliance’s finest mechanical engineers to overhaul its systems, all for one purpose: to make it an unbeatable champion, the audience’s undisputed ace, reaping both their admiration and their money.
In the entire Alliance, there wasn’t a second mech besides Shadow Warrior capable of using Bone-Eater as a power source.
The moment the secondary power system activated, Shadow Warrior immediately regained its balance and charged toward Xia Ye like a hurricane.
Without the slightest hesitation, its greatsword slashed straight at the two manoeuvring conduits on Iron Cavalry’s back, intending to sever them in a single stroke.
The brat on the other side had to be some inexperienced rookie who probably thought that reading a few books made him something special, so he had picked such an outdated mech.
Those two manoeuvring conduits were connected directly to Iron Cavalry’s c0ckpit. Once they were cut, Xia Ye would lose all ability to continue fighting.
—
However, the Shadow Warrior was wrong once again.
Just as its greatsword came within a centimetre of Iron Cavalry’s manoeuvring conduits, Iron Cavalry lightly leapt backwards, leaving Shadow Warrior standing there alone, looking like a complete fool.
Hearing the laughter erupt from the stands, the flames of fury in Ban Lei’s chest burned even hotter. Unable to hold himself back, he charged at Iron Cavalry once more.
This time, however, his luck had run out. The spear in Xia Ye’s hands pierced straight into Shadow Warrior’s armour, and the strike landed with impeccable precision—directly into its smart-core processor.
Shadow Warrior faltered, its movements immediately slowing.
Inside the c0ckpit, Ban Lei let out a cry of disbelief.
How was this possible?!
Iron Cavalry’s first strike had not only destroyed the smart-core processor, but it had also penetrated all the way to its innermost centre, shattering the Bone-Eater that had been powering it in a single blow!
Cold sweat broke out across Ban Lei’s forehead.
As an utterly unique power source, the heart of an extraterrestrial lifeform was something that could only be found by extraordinary luck. The piece of Bone-Eater currently installed in Shadow Warrior had been personally acquired by the Colonel on the black market.
He had only used the Bone-Eater power system a handful of times.
How could Xia Ye possibly know he had been hiding this trump card?
Ban Lei had no time to dwell on the question; Iron Cavalry attacked again.
This time, Xia Ye moved as swiftly as a phantom. He no longer seemed interested in continuing the cat-and-mouse game with Shadow Warrior. The spear shot straight toward Shadow Warrior’s head.
With its smart-core processor destroyed, Shadow Warrior had been reduced to a purely manual mech. Forced to compete with Xia Ye in fine manual control, Ban Lei had no chance whatsoever.
Shadow Warrior clumsily tried to evade.
But like a hornet locking onto nectar, the spear relentlessly pursued its target, driving directly into Shadow Warrior’s core and robbing it of all power.
Ban Lei sat frozen inside the c0ckpit.
As though deliberately mocking him, Iron Cavalry casually flicked its spear upward—
—and actually pried Shadow Warrior’s c0ckpit clean off.
The jet-black c0ckpit slid across the open arena like a lone boat adrift, carving a sharp trail through the ground as a cloud of dust billowed into the air.
Iron Cavalry stood beside it, head lowered, quietly looking down at him.
Everything had begun too quickly.
And ended just as quickly.
So quickly, in fact, that even after Shadow Warrior had completely powered down and remained motionless in the centre of the arena for dozens of seconds, the referee still hadn’t announced the result.
It was the audience who reacted first.
Wave after wave of screams erupted throughout the beast arena as people shouted Iron Cavalry’s name.
No one cared that they had lost money.
The match had been so spectacular that witnessing it alone was worth the price of admission.
Lin Kezhi stared blankly at the scene, still unable to process what had just happened.
They won?
Just… like that?
Everyone around him had already risen to their feet, while he remained seated in a daze.
Only when a bunny girl approached him, bent over respectfully, and said, “Mr Lin, you’re tonight’s winner. Please come with me,” did he finally stand up.
His head was still spinning.
He couldn’t even calculate how much money they had won.
They had taken the entire underground arena’s pot!
Although Lin Kezhi came from a wealthy family, the allowance his parents gave him had always been just enough for everyday spending.
He had never possessed a fortune of this magnitude.
As he passed by the arena, Lin Kezhi glanced inside. At that exact moment, Iron Cavalry’s c0ckpit opened. Xia Ye rose from the cramped pilot’s seat and stretched his arms. Moonlight spilt across his face, making his entire figure seem as cool and flawless as polished jade.
Lin Kezhi had once been fortunate enough to see a piece of fine jade. Its restrained brilliance, cold yet luminous, had left a profound impression on him.
Until now, he had never imagined anything could rival that kind of beauty.
But now he knew.
Bathed in the moonlight, Xia Ye caught sight of him from the corner of his eye and turned his head, raising a finger to his lips in a silent shh.
Only then did Lin Kezhi suddenly realise.
He had placed the bets, while Xia Ye had fought the match.
In a sense…
They had colluded to cheat.
Lin Kezhi hurriedly looked away and followed the bunny girl into the administrator’s office.
—
In the classically styled office, the Colonel was already waiting for them.
As the founder of the underground fighting arena, the Colonel looked nothing like someone in that line of work.
It was as though he had deliberately put on makeup. A few unnaturally deep wrinkles lined his face, two curled moustaches perched above his lip, and he wore a red-and-white striped shirt that looked completely out of place in the otherwise traditional office.
“So today’s winner is this young.”
With a wave of the Colonel’s hand, two bunny girls emerged carrying trays.
The trays were piled high with fried chicken and French fries, complete with ketchup on the side. Paired with the Colonel’s snow-white beard bouncing as he chuckled, the whole scene carried an oddly comedic air.
“Here, young man, have some fried chicken.” The Colonel settled comfortably onto the sofa. “Wait a little longer. There’s another winner coming.”
Lin Kezhi was a little surprised.
Someone else in this arena had actually bet on Xia Ye?
The Colonel didn’t keep him waiting long. Lin Kezhi had only eaten two pieces of fried chicken when there was a knock at the office door.
Catching the aroma in the air, Chi Zhou teased, “Colonel, you’ve got quite the appetite. Eating fried chicken this late at night?”
“It’s for the young folks,” the Colonel replied, taking a bottle of vodka from the liquor cabinet. “An old man like me is fine with a drink.”
Chi Zhou looked mildly surprised.
His gaze shifted to Lin Kezhi.
“And this is…?”
“The other winner today.” The Colonel shrugged. “Chi Zhou, looks like someone’s going to be sharing your winnings.”
Lin Kezhi was completely stunned. He was holding a piece of fried chicken halfway to his mouth, frozen in the act of taking a bite, yet he had forgotten to actually eat it.
There were simply too many things he had never expected. He had never imagined that the Light of the Alliance would appear at an underground fighting arena.
Even less had he imagined that Chi Zhou would bet on Xia Ye.
“I don’t mind splitting the prize money,” Chi Zhou said casually. Judging from how relaxed he was, it was obvious he drank with the Colonel often. “But I do have one small favour to ask.”
The Colonel couldn’t hold his liquor very well. After only a couple of drinks, he was already pleasantly buzzed.
“A favour?” he said with a grin. “Since when did you become so polite?”
Despite the teasing, Chi Zhou remained perfectly at ease.
“I found Iron Cavalry’s pilot rather interesting,” he said. “Would you mind inviting him over?”
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