Yu Sihe was probably the first examinee in this session to be blasted out of the arena while pinned right in front of the cockpit.
He was also the first to witness a mech physically crack apart.
He felt that everything was extraordinarily unreasonable. Dazed and confused, he walked out of the examination hall and wandered all the way to his dormitory, still unable to snap out of it.
Yu Sihe took out his light brain and posted a very heartfelt question on San Yao.
[Righteous and Open So-and-So: Are manual-operated mechs really this strong?]
Netizens were still immersed in the previous match, chattering away about whether the outcome and the process aligned with what those experts had expected of Cheng Feng.
Was there finally a reliable consensus on Cheng Feng’s combat capability assessment? Could they continue to look forward to this “Purple Star” prodigy?
When they noticed that Yu Sihe was even more lost about life than they were, they immediately came over in gleeful schadenfreude.
“You’re the first contestant I’ve ever felt sorry for.”
“Look on the bright side – you helped Cheng Feng prove herself. That’s no small contribution!”
“Do you finally empathize with your former opponents now?”
“When that final thrust came down, how did it feel? Please describe it in 800 words, with specific details, drawing on your personal experience, and make sure it comes from the heart.”
“A professor from neighboring UFU is over there praising Cheng Feng for his agile thinking. Jealous, Yu Sihe? On your end, it’s called a cheap sneak attack; on Cheng Feng’s end, it’s called agile thinking. Oh, how the world is full of contrasts.”
The very professor who was called out was at that moment gripping Mr. Luo’s hand—under the latter’s furious glare – and shaking it vigorously up and down, forcibly building an academic bridge between their two disciplines.
“We’ll run two trial lectures first to test the waters – give the students a basic overview of the key points and applications of infantry analysis, and see how well they receive it. My main concern is that cramming too much complex information in a short time might disrupt the students’ normal judgment, so please try to start with the fundamentals and keep it simple.”
Mr. Kong, putting on a brazen face, made his own arrangements. “Will you go yourself, or will you send a few others from your side? Our manual operation program may not be many in number, but we’re all extremely eager to learn and good at drawing inferences. We hope Mr. Luo can give us his full support!”
The other colleagues in the office had already begun to feel pity for Mr. Luo.
Even the sharpest person is helpless against someone who excels at playing dumb.
They vaguely remembered that Mr. Kong hadn’t been like this before. Where was that one-meter-nine burly man who used to fly off the handle, could bend but never yield?
He’d been secretly buffed!
Mr. Kong turned his face sideways, gazing out the window at the deep autumn hues. This is the power of a father figure, he thought to himself. For the sake of his students – who, aside from Cheng Feng, weren’t exactly high achievers – he still had to stiffen his back and come plead with Mr. Luo.
He had to put this into practice.
Rather than wait and see how far Cheng Feng could go to prove whether the path was viable, it was better to charge ahead himself and seek a clear answer.
Mr. Luo pulled back his hand and offered a sincere suggestion. “Infantry analysis isn’t a core focus for Command B-class undergraduates. If you’re looking for practicality, I’d recommend applying to the military training department for some internal materials. After that, I can help you go through them – and I’m sure my colleagues would be more than happy to assist as well.”
The colleagues who had been slacking off: “…?”
Mr. Kong beamed. “Thank you, thank you all!”
…
Yu Sihe’s question was quickly answered by reality itself.
He could boldly put it up on the public screen for all to see – not every manual mech pilot is called Cheng Feng.
After the seventh round of matchmaking, only a single-digit number of manual mech pilots remained.
That was already far better than last year’s results. After all, after seven rounds of elimination, those still standing were all among the top 10% of their respective military universities.
This proved that top-tier manual mech pilots were now fully capable of competing on equal footing with the upper echelon of sensor-specialty players.
The visible improvement in skill level was largely due to the major technical revision taking effect. This was the first piece of good news since the revision.
Unfortunately, after the eighth round of matchmaking, Cheng Feng still became the sole surviving sprout of the manual piloting world.
One of her fellow manual piloting peers was even eliminated by her own hands.
That senior left behind a line – “Born of the same root, why torment each other so?” -denounced San Yao’s matchmaking system, and then tragically ended his journey in this year’s league.
The teachers in the teaching and research group, with tears in their eyes, comforted him and proceeded to pour all their “poisonous milk” (overhyped expectations) squarely onto Cheng Feng.
The last student who had been force-fed this much poisonous milk by the research group had already bowed out early. Mr. Kong was terrified. The only thing he could tell himself to feel better was that Cheng Feng was a robot, and by common sense, robots were immune to poison.
…Though he wasn’t sure if she herself still remembered that.
Fortunately, Cheng Feng wasn’t greatly affected. She ignored all external distractions and threw herself wholeheartedly into her “stamp-collecting” endeavor. She had already activated the “Ye Jing” engraving on three of her configuration sets. Ordinary people could never imagine the power boost that stamp-collecting gives to a completionist. At this stage, having the name “Ye Jing” spread across San Yao might even be more appealing than “MVP.”
In the ninth round, Cheng Feng encountered an assault-type mech, Breaking Army.
Most of the available data on this examinee showed that he primarily piloted a sniper-type mech, Seven Stars. However, given that Seven Stars wasn’t well-suited for one-on-one combat – especially against a manual mech capable of temporarily modifying its loadout, putting it at a distinct disadvantage – he had switched to Breaking Army for his recent matches.
Yet his fighting style still leaned toward that of a sniper, which happened to be something Cheng Feng excelled against. After pinpointing his position, she launched a direct, brute-force assault and secured the match without major incident.
From this point on, the infantry assessment of the military university league officially entered the finals stage.
Cheng Feng also became the first manual mech pilot in league history to successfully advance to the finals.
The manual operation department erupted in celebration.
They specially produced a commemorative video for Cheng Feng’s finals appearance, proclaiming that manual mech piloting had entered a brand-new era, and that all the doomsaying was nothing but nonsense. The curtain had only just risen – now was the time to take the stage!
The command department also erupted in celebration.
See? If you want to reach the pinnacle and make history, you simply can’t do it without the core expertise of their data analysis! No matter how much the infantry department ran its mouth, in the end, they still had to rely on the support of us technical workers!
In the midst of great jubilation, San Yao released the finals rules.
The finals weren’t actually all that different – it was still a single-elimination system, but the points awarded for each victory would be doubled.
In addition, the interval between matches would be extended, and a professional commentator would be brought in.
To boost viewership, a post-match interview segment was also added.
Most importantly.
On the eve of the finals, the league would take its customary two-week hiatus, coinciding with a break for all the military universities.
During this time, discussions and topics surrounding each finalist would gradually roll out. It also gave the analysis-specialty examinees some time to prepare.
Given how much limelight manual-operated mech had been soaking up lately, everyone was dying to know – as the only contestant in this league to have gone undefeated the entire way – when exactly would Cheng Feng finally taste defeat?
San Yao’s homepage was flooded with irresponsible speculation about Cheng Feng. The hottest topic among them was a thread titled #What type of mech can actually counter Cheng Feng?#, which had amassed tens of thousands of replies within just two weeks.
“If we don’t stop Cheng Feng soon, it’ll be too late – this is already the finals. Are you really going to let her take MVP? Brothers in the sensor specialty, wake up!”
“Looking at all the performance metrics, I’d say Wusu. Its balanced parameters might just be the perfect counter to a manual mech – no particular weaknesses, but no particular strengths either.”
“Wusu, the occasional god!”
“Is Wusu finally going to be dug out from the bottom of the crate? The question is, which top player would actually practice Wusu specifically for Cheng Feng?”
“Doesn’t Wusu just take a pair of hands to pilot? I still think Breaking Army is more reliable.”
“Breaking Army has dominated the infantry segment for too long. I’d rather see a manual mech take it down from its throne.”
The hype wasn’t limited to the internet – around the UFU campus, a number of promotional banners about Cheng Feng had also popped up.
Xin Kuang noticed that one had been hung right across from his dorm building. He made a special trip downstairs to take a picture and sent it to the group chat.
My Family’s Got a Mine: [Image] Xiang Yunjian was last year’s individual combat MVP, and he never got this kind of treatment. Sigh. UFU’s sensor specialty has no future.
What’s Good About Summer: Yeah, wasn’t the manual operation department supposed to be broke? So poor, yet they still scraped together budget for banners. @Xiang Yunjian, you’ve been looked down on.
A Little More RecklessL @Xiang Yunjian, I feel indignant for you. [Sigh] Go take a look at First Military University next door – it’s night and day.
Xiang Yunjian: Stop watching so many weird dramas. Have you all been this free lately?
A Little More Reckless: Yeah, since Jiang Linxia and I both got eliminated.
Yan Shen’s Seven Stars had never been suited for one-on-one combat anyway, and he didn’t have much interest in the infantry assessment, so he’d been eliminated right around the same time as Jiang Linxia.
What’s Good About Summer: I’ve been browsing San Yao lately, and honestly, everyone’s analysis seems pretty solid and well-reasoned.
My Family’s Got a Mine: The only one who pilots Wusu well is probably Zhong Yijie, right? But he’s lost to Cheng Feng twice already – his performance is inconsistent, and who knows if he’s improved recently.
A Little More Reckless: Zhong Yijie might not even get to face Cheng Feng. Based on his ranking, he’ll most likely draw Xiang Yunjian in the first round of the finals. If not Xiang Yunjian, then one of the top three Breaking Army pilots.
My Family’s Got a Mine: All Breaking Army pilots are animals – not a decent one among them.
What’s Good About Summer: Too tragic, Xiang Yunjian – having to clear the path for Cheng Feng too. Sigh.
Xiang Yunjian: Come over here.
What’s Good About Summer: Nah nah nah!
Ye Guicheng: ?? The way you guys talk sounds just like Song Zheng and his crew.
What was that phrase they used back then?
Ye Guicheng: All dripping with tea-flavored sarcasm.
What’s Good About Summer: Kid, why do you have to learn everything? Don’t you have enough homework or what!
Ye Guicheng: [Owl turns head]
