The instructor stretched out an arm to block Zhong Yijie by the shoulder.
The young man, who had been about to leave, was forced to sit back down. Amid the tide of praise filling the room, he put on an awkward smile and turned toward his instructor.
The instructor lifted his chin and shot him a sidelong glance. “Well?”
Zhong Yijie replied bitterly, “…Impressive.”
The instructor smacked him on the head and cursed with a laugh, “Impressive, my ass! I’m telling you to learn from her!”
Only after careful planning does one make a move – behind every tactic that looked like a disadvantage lay a hidden killing blow.
She weighed every condition she could exploit, maneuvered and planned around them, then turned them into a new trump card for the next stage.
With Zhong Yijie’s reckless, all-or-nothing fighting style, if he had even one-third of Cheng Feng’s strategic thinking, he could transform completely and rise to an entirely new level.
Seeing the innocent look on his face, the instructor chuckled. “Forget it. I won’t make things hard for you. Get out already.”
Zhong Yijie followed the crowd toward the exit. After walking a short distance, his brain finally processed the fact that Xiang Yunjian had lost – and for some reason, he suddenly felt happy.
So what if he had lost to Cheng Feng? They were all equals now.
After all, Xiang Yunjian was last year’s MVP!
The instructor noticed his suddenly cheerful mood and guessed what he was thinking. Another heavy smack landed on his head as he barked, “Have some ambition! What are you getting so smug about?”
Zhong Yijie bared his teeth and yelped in pain, nearly crashing into Jiang Linxia, who was still sitting nearby.
Jiang Linxia casually steadied him with one hand, his jacket slung over the other arm. He sighed. “I already held a moment of silence for Cheng Feng in my head. So what now?”
Someone beside them said, “Then hold another one.”
“I’m out of feelings now!” Jiang Linxia turned his head and sighed wistfully. “Xiang Yunjian’s pitiful.”
Even Xin Kuang seemed dazed. He truly hadn’t expected Xiang Yunjian to lose.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, the group walked out of the stadium. Only then did they have time to open their devices and check the post-match updates.
The post-match interviews had already ended. At that moment, the hottest videos on San Yao were all related to Cheng Feng and Xiang Yunjian.
Jiang Linxia casually clicked on one, expecting an interview recording. To his surprise, it wasn’t the interview – it was footage from right after the match, before the players logged out.
In the video, Cheng Feng pushed open the car door and lightly jumped down from the heavy armored vehicle. She sat on the hood, took off her cap, and gazed into the distance toward where the mech Breaking Army had been destroyed, a spirited smile spreading across her face.
The wind blew in from afar. The loose strands of hair fluttering around her face and the glimmers of light reflected in her eyes only accentuated the pride and confidence radiating from her.
The vitality and vigor of youth were displayed in her to the fullest.
The viewers, unsurprisingly, were captivated by the scene and were willing to call it the best shot of this tournament.
“I’m doing this next time too.”
Looking at the rows of exaggerated praise flooding the comments, Jiang Linxia spoke with obvious jealousy. “Why doesn’t San Yao ever give the camera to my real self when I compete? The victory icon had been on-screen forever, and San Yao still didn’t auto-pop the camera? That’s blatantly giving her special treatment!”
The more he talked, the angrier he became. He furiously closed the page and shouted, “I refuse to accept this!”
Xin Kuang mercilessly remarked from the side, “Because you lost too early.”
“You could also dock her red packet and make her reflect on herself.” Yan Shen paused awkwardly, then added with feigned regret, “Oh, right. You don’t usually send her red packets.”
Jiang Linxia shot back, “What’s that supposed to mean? I may not send red packets, but I’ve given her countless assists!”
More than half of the red packets Cheng Feng received were thanks to him, her wingman.
He lifted his chin and declared as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “Besides, the emotional support I provide Cheng Feng is priceless! And now I’m going to bestow that precious care upon Xiang Yunjian!”
As he spoke, he lowered his head and began furiously typing out a text message – a heartfelt, emotionally overflowing 800-character letter of consolation to Xiang Yunjian.
Yan Shen felt that being team captain really was an incredibly difficult job.
What sins had Xiang Yunjian committed to deserve receiving this kind of “gift” from his teammates?
Not wanting to interrupt them as they strengthened this profound team friendship, Xin Kuang searched up the post-match interview recording and moved to a quiet roadside to watch.
On the red-carpeted interview platform, Xiang Yunjian and Cheng Feng sat side by side.
Judging by their expressions, both seemed fairly calm, without much visible emotion.
The livestream moderator zoomed the camera in until it was practically pressed against Xiang Yunjian’s face, trying to analyze his complicated emotions from the slightest movement in his facial muscles.
Unfortunately, Xiang Yunjian was far too composed. His expression didn’t change the entire time. After staring for long enough, the audience instead began to detect a trace of amusement in his casual gaze, and could only give up in frustration.
The camera finally pulled back and shifted toward Cheng Feng.
Many viewers were asking about the truth behind that final killing blow. Since Xiang Yunjian had been kicked out by the system too quickly, even he wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, so he rewatched the replay together with everyone else.
The third-person replay had been filmed rather subtly. When Xiang Yunjian saw the black mechanical unit that had sniped him, a flicker of understanding crossed his face – he finally remembered that tiny little thing he had overlooked.
Pointing at the frozen frame, Cheng Feng explained, “This was the first metal component hit by Xiang Yunjian. Some of its functions were damaged, but it was still barely usable. Partway through the match, I moved it into the corridor of the building opposite the cockpit.”
The replay switched to the perspective of that mech component –
From its high vantage point, it was aimed directly at the intersection where Xiang Yunjian had been ambushed.
Judging from the timeline, it had already been lying in wait there while the manually operated mech units were surrounding Xiang Yunjian.
Afterward, the encirclement tactic failed to finish him off, and the manually operated mech was forced to retreat in this direction while drawing Breaking Army along with it.
Once the heavy cannon mounted above the cockpit activated, only two paths remained open before Xiang Yunjian:
Either dodge toward the manually controlled mech’s position, or move left into the empty zone.
In reality, both positions were within Cheng Feng’s firing range, so it made little difference which direction he chose.
From the moment he piloted the already-doomed Breaking Army onto that street, the cannon barrel had already sealed off his path to survival.
All that remained was to wait for the final strike.
After grasping the deeper meaning behind the entire match, the viewers felt that calling Xiang Yunjian “crafty and cunning” was doing him an injustice – the title should really go to Cheng Feng instead.
“I thought you’d already revealed all your trump cards!”
“If you spend enough time around Xiang Yunjian, do you inherit this kind of tactical genius?”
“I cried for you, defended you online, and in the end you almost ruined my friendship with my best bro. You hid it way too well.”
“What trump cards?” Cheng Feng said. “I didn’t really have any choice.”
To be precise, when Cheng Feng planned her strategy, she wasn’t thinking in terms of hidden trump cards at all. Her mindset was much simpler:
Go all out with the first wave and force as much attrition as possible. If that failed, regroup resources and launch a second wave. If the second wave failed, then go for a third.
Trying to hold back against a powerful opponent was nothing short of arrogance.
What she needed to do wasn’t to cling to mysterious trump cards and reveal them one by one – it was to maximize every resource available to her.
And an innovative fighting style was itself an invaluable resource; the opponent’s reaction time was the perfect window to seize the advantage.
That first clash at the opening had genuinely caught Cheng Feng off guard. Xiang Yunjian’s wind cannon had come as a major surprise.
Not only had she failed to wear him down as planned, but the damage level of her own mech had climbed rapidly as well.
Fortunately, she had prepared enough contingency plans, so everything that followed still remained within her control.
“Data analysis can determine 80% of the outcome,” Cheng Feng said. After thinking for a moment, she lowered it slightly. “Make that 70%.”
One must be rigorous, after all.
“To reach this level, you’ll need at least ten years of training.”
Cheng Feng bent down and used her fingers to gesture the proportion between 70% and the ten-year requirement to the viewers. Even though she was doing her best to suppress the excitement of victory, she still couldn’t help wanting to share her mood.
Xiang Yunjian let out a soft sigh, ultimately still feeling a bit of regret.
This would likely be a major gap in his university career.
The records of the three major MVP contenders had been broken once by Tao Rui, and once by Cheng Feng. Xiang Yunjian thought wryly that perhaps he was just incompatible with these so-called “data analysts” in this lifetime.
Still, there was nothing too regrettable about what he had lost. The road ahead was broader and more treacherous; honor was merely a shortcut onto the stage, while true strength was the real pass.
Having sorted out his emotions, Xiang Yunjian lowered his eyes, looked at Cheng Feng still gesturing animatedly, and casually ruffled her hair in a mischievous gesture.
Cheng Feng turned back in anger, about to question him – but the interview time had already ended, and Xiang Yunjian directly chose to log out.
She glared at the seat where he had just been sitting, and despite repeated pleas from viewers to stay, she exited the scene as well.
The high-intensity match had left a lingering effect – Cheng Feng’s little finger and ring finger were still faintly aching. Even after more than ten minutes of rest, the symptoms had not eased.
She left the simulation pod, where the invigilator was already waiting nearby. Seeing her expression, he immediately bent down and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Cheng Feng shook her head, swiped her card, and went to the medical room for treatment.
“Cheng Feng! My student!” Mr. Kong rushed over in high excitement, arms already open in anticipation of an embrace – only to find no one there when he reached the door.
After learning from the exam invigilator that Cheng Feng was in the medical room, he hurried over without stopping. Sure enough, he found his prized student with Dr. Lin.
“Cheng Feng!” Mr. Kong called out from the doorway, his voice trembling.
Cheng Feng looked up. “Sir!”
The two responded to each other in unison, faint light flickering in their eyes. Their expressions were filled with emotion, carrying countless feelings that were hard to put into words.
Before either of them could fully express what they felt, Dr. Lin frowned and snapped, “Quiet!”
Mr. Kong’s throat bobbed. The tall, sturdy man – nearly 1.9 meters – instinctively obeyed, then tiptoed over to Cheng Feng and whispered, “I am proud of you! You won MVP!”
“Not yet!” Cheng Feng also lowered her voice. “But I think it’s close!”
“Mr. Luo, the old man, finally did something decent in his life!” Mr. Kong waved his hand magnanimously. “I’ll forgive all the times he mocked me before!”
Cheng Feng asked in surprise, “Is Mr. Luo much older than you?”
Mr. Kong replied, “About the same age! But he’s got too many scheming thoughts -that makes him age faster!”
“Ah,” Cheng Feng said.
Mr. Kong added seriously, “Don’t tell him what I said. We’re on the same side!”
Cheng Feng nodded obediently.
Dr. Lin listened to the two of them whispering in hushed tones, and his gaze grew increasingly suspicious.
He felt that, for the sake of this rising star in manual mech control, he should probably call Mr. Luo right now and have him come over to rein them in.
What kind of family was this? What kind of upbringing? The kid had clearly gone off track.
Mr. Kong and Cheng Feng spent a while discussing the future, even planning what she should say in her acceptance speech if she won the gold cup. It was mainly a thank-you speech, and he insisted he absolutely had to be mentioned before Mr. Luo.
Cheng Feng didn’t agree outright, and the two of them argued back and forth. Meanwhile, the teaching and research group chat kept spamming him to return for a meeting, the message frequency clearly edging toward irritation.
Mr. Kong glanced at the chat window and couldn’t sit still any longer. He told Cheng Feng to rest properly, then hurried off.
After finishing her therapy, Cheng Feng returned to her dorm, flopped lazily onto the bed, and finally had time to start browsing the San Yao forum.
