novelraw Chapter 46 : League Preparation
Chapter 46 : League Preparation
Chen Sui understood immediately, nodding as she looked at the countless energy bodies crawling from the riverbed to both banks, then at the surrounding cliffs with walls so high she couldn't see the top, her mind racing.
She analyzed the usable space in the surrounding environment. This was a vanguard's instinct. Even though Chen Sui herself didn't particularly enjoy thinking, when placed in a combat environment, years of experience allowed her to quickly find the most suitable fighting method based on the environment and conditions.
It was the same now. Almost the instant Xiao Er finished speaking, Chen Sui could tell from the way his mecha was observing the cliff that he wanted to blast the mountain.
"Speed competition, what counts is the number of energy bodies," Chen Sui reminded him.
Xiao Er didn't understand at first, but watched as she leaped, dodging attacks from the energy bodies below while firing her Thunder Fire Cannon far into the ceaselessly rolling Static River.
"Boom------"
As the Thunder Fire Cannon entered the water, it created massive waves while lightning streaked out in all directions.
The Static River's waters surged up, and powerful energy storms swept outward in circles. With each surge, more energy bodies crawled out from the Static River.
Xiao Er watched Chen Sui change position and continue firing several more shots, suddenly understanding her actions.
Energy Storage Cannon and ice spikes fired simultaneously.
White waves from the Static River reached the sky, churning out countless swells.
The boundary between tawny and azure blue became increasingly indistinct. The more the two energies collided, the greater the energy storms that spread out.
Beneath the vine net, more and more energy bodies gathered. Water droplets danced all around like flowers in the wind, rushing toward the mechas like plum blossoms in a rainstorm.
Chen Sui used the vine net to move quickly above the Static River, moving like the wind, racing to one side of the mountain bank, pushing her mecha upward, suddenly leaving the vine net. Wood-type energy rapidly spread beneath her feet, creating fulcrums that allowed her to flip and fly through the air as if on solid ground.
Water droplets struck rocks and vines.
Seeing the countdown enter single digits, Chen Sui looked at the energy bodies below and called out: "Hey!"
Xiao Er instinctively turned his head, his gaze meeting the dark barrel of a cannon. Understanding immediately, he watched as Chen Sui finished charging and pulled the trigger.
A ball of lightning flickered in the barrel. As the blinding lightning approached the muzzle, the shell in his view became increasingly dazzling.
As the shell fired, Xiao Er shifted his mecha sideways, hovering in midair, aiming his Energy Storage Cannon in the same direction as the Thunder Fire Cannon and firing.
"Zzzz------"
In midair, the two shells collided, creating thunder from the mixing energies.
The dual blast headed toward the cliff wall.
Chen Sui quickly fired several more shots around them, with Xiao Er following closely. Green energy overflowed from her body, and vines crawled along the ground, slowly entangling the dense masses of energy bodies.
"Freeze them."
She instructed him.
Xiao Er condensed a ball of blue energy in his palm and slammed it downward.
A layer of frost spread over the green energy, covering the energy bodies below with a thin layer of ice, as if glazed with sugar, emitting a soft glow.
But this glow flashed in the sunlight for only a second.
Accompanied by several consecutive rumbling sounds.
The combined force of the Thunder Fire Cannon and Energy Storage Cannon created several radiation-like lightning strikes at the base of the cliff, spreading outward. Where the lightning connected, even louder explosions erupted.
Massive rocks shattered, tumbling down like meteors, exploding outward in all directions.
Chen Sui and Xiao Er continuously dodged.
The vine net vanished the moment she took to the air. Giant boulders fell and crashed to the ground, shattering the ice layer and falling into the Static River, splashing high waves.
The energy body kill count soared.
When the boulders flattened the energy bodies, the energy carried in Xiao Er's ice layer instantly froze the exposed energy crystals.
Chen Sui's chosen angle was exceptionally precise. The scattered rock fragments fell at angles that covered both banks of the Static River, splashing river water that continued to generate energy bodies.
Chen Sui manipulated vines to pierce and strangle.
Before the countdown reached zero, Xiao Er, who was distracted retrieving energy bodies from the ice layer, turned to look at the green mecha surrounded by verdant energy.
"Are you really an analyst?"
He asked once more.
Chen Sui turned her head, answering him as her vines pierced through energy bodies: "What else would I be?"
Xiao Er watched as the Static River waves stopped in midair, the surrounding energy levels froze, and everything seemed to have been paused.
The countdown reached zero.
[Time's up]
[Speed competition ended]
[Your kill count is 15804, your score is 157295]
High-level and low-level energy bodies were worth different point values.
Chen Sui looked at this number, waiting for the holographic battlefield teleportation.
Xiao Er watched her put away her cannon, recalling their perfect coordination on the battlefield, like they were extensions of each other, and suddenly spoke up.
"You don't seem like an analyst."
Chen Sui raised an eyebrow, a trace of self-satisfaction appearing between her brows: "Thanks for the compliment!"
This was the highest praise for her combat abilities.
But regrettably, without pretense, she was a genuine, authentic analyst.
An aggressive-flow analyst.
The holographic battlefield once again flashed with blinding white light.
When colors reappeared in their vision, they were back in the holographic hall.
Chen Sui barely glimpsed a selection box.
[Your speed competition ranking: 1]
[Your arena score: 87]
[Please discuss reward distribution with your teammate]
After the system prompt flashed, a team channel appeared on Chen Sui's panel.
[xe: For the competition rewards, there are energy crystals and mecha materials. The remaining star coins and mecha components can be split evenly. What do you want?]
Xiao Er's competition score was 19, slightly higher than Chen Sui's.
But he knew this was only because the competition evaluation standards for output and analysts were different. Chen Sui hadn't perfectly met the analyst task requirements, so her score wasn't high. However, having fought alongside her, Xiao Er understood her combat level better than the system's assessment, so he gave her the choice.
Chen Sui looked at the rewards column and without hesitation selected a series of mecha materials, including the White Wood Gallbladder.
Xiao Er, who had been guessing her identity, showed a puzzled expression on his nearly transparent white face beneath his ice-blue hair.
Perhaps he had guessed wrong.
Was she not a military academy analyst?
With the league competition imminent, all teams were deploying summoned body configurations. Who would still be designing mechas? This should have been completed during the initial adaptation period.
Xiao Er's internal speculation dissipated, and a certain indescribable wariness about the analyst subsided.
It was good that she wasn't an opponent.
That kind of sharp insight and powerful battlefield control would make for an extremely difficult contest if they faced each other.
After selecting her reward, Chen Sui exited the virtual battlefield.
The holographic pod opened, and the school team members were conversing outside the training room door.
Before she got close, she could hear Zhou Chen's voice carrying from a distance.
"I got matched with He Lanqi, such bad luck."
He Lanqi, Star Academy First's team analyst.
Mental threshold value: 19.
She was one of only two SSS-level analysts in this Star League competition.
The other was Chen Sui.
Zhou Chen complained about his disagreements with He Lanqi, firmly believing they should have followed his decisions.
Gu Qinxue gave him a dismissive look, saying in a haughty tone: "What gives you the confidence to think your brain can outperform an analyst's judgment?"
Zhou Chen choked momentarily.
Gu Qinxue cut to the heart of the matter: "You're just prejudiced against her."
Zhou Chen gave up defending himself. "Yes, yes, yes, I just can't stand her. There are hardly any decent people among the Main Star families."
As he spoke, he glanced at Xie Chunshi who was staring at him, and added: "Oh, except you. No, except your two families."
This was the first time Chen Sui had seen him express hostility toward the Main Star. Watching this scene as she approached, she reflected briefly and realized her teammates all seemed to have secrets.
"I got the materials."
When Chen Sui's voice rang out, the school team stopped and turned, waiting for her to catch up.
"You were the winner?"
Zhou Chen raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, matched with Xiao Er."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Chen laughed, "What a coincidence. Our output was matched with Na Luo River's analyst, and Na Luo River's output was matched with our analyst."
Having just overheard what he said, Chen Sui turned to the others. "What about you all? Who did you match with?"
Puluo raised his hand and answered: "I was matched with Qi Songhuai from Fourth Academy."
Qi Songhuai, Fourth Academy's analyst.
Gu Qinxue and Xie Chunshi both said simultaneously: "Random people."
Chen Sui nodded, "I thought two-person matching would prioritize pairing within military academies, but that's not the case?"
"The ratio of analysts to outputs is unbalanced. I was matched with an output," Gu Qinxue shrugged.
The two of them had a chaotic battle in the energy field. The water attribute energy of the Static River clearly suppressed her, making the fight particularly frustrating for Gu Qinxue.
Xie Chunshi fared a bit better, but since the two-person team competition began, Chen Sui had hardly heard him speak.
The Team Leader was always taciturn, so Chen Sui didn't pay it much mind.
Zhou Chen remained preoccupied with her pairing with Xiao Er even after leaving the holographic training room, bringing it up again: "Hey, who do you think is stronger, me or Xiao Er?"
Chen Sui thought for a second and sincerely replied: "If I had been teamed up with you, the score would have been even higher."
She didn't explicitly state whether Xiao Er or Zhou Chen was more powerful, only honestly expressing her view as Team Leader.
If it had been Zhou Chen, with his lightning energy, he probably could have blasted the cliff more thoroughly.
More energy bodies would have been crushed.
With her speed at collecting energy crystals, the score would have climbed higher.
Chen Sui was simply analyzing from a score perspective, but to Zhou Chen's ears, it was a form of recognition. He found himself liking Chen Sui more and more, finally feeling some teammate chemistry.
"You've got good judgment. During the league competition, you'll see how I protect you completely, so you can go all out with confidence."
When Zhou Chen was happy, he began making grand promises.
Chen Sui silently glanced at Gu Qinxue, who shrugged, accustomed to ignoring his boasting.
After obtaining the White Wood Gallbladder, Chen Sui moved her workspace to the maintenance room in the school team building.
After setting everything up, she dusted off her hands, preparing to go back and rest.
The maintenance room door opened, and bright light illuminated the corridor.
As Chen Sui's footsteps sounded, the sensor lights instantly lit up.
At the end of the long corridor, on a bench outside the training room, a figure sat upright.
Xie Chunshi heard footsteps and looked up.
Chen Sui's eyes flashed with surprise: "Team Leader, why are you here?"