Chapter 12: Fate
Yun Yingzhi was in a daze. He had forgotten how he even made it back to his dorm. His mind was filled with one recurring thought: Wei Yuanqing can read minds, read minds, read minds.
What did that mean? He recalled how Wei Yuanqing had held him in his palms just a short while ago, looking into his eyesâeyes as quiet as a forestâand asking those questions. What exactly had he asked again?
Yun Yingzhi shook his head, trying to stay calm. These are just unverified rumors floating around. It’s not true. It can’t be.
He felt like breaking down. If Wei Yuanqing really could read minds, then he definitely knew that he wasn’t a real rabbit, but a human. Yun Yingzhi felt he couldn’t even face Wei Yuanqing now.
He sniffed, suppressing the urge to bang his head against a wall. He forced himself to calm down. Even though only half a day had passed, it felt like too much had happened. Instead of dwelling on these upsetting things, he should think about how to earn more money, get revenge on that scumbag Huai Boshe, get better grades, beat him in combat, and find a better partner.
Under the worried gazes of his three roommates, Yun Yingzhi opened his personal terminal to see if there were any good ways to earn money. But by the time he snapped out of it, he had accidentally opened the academy forum.
The moment it loaded, he saw three familiar words: His Highness Elvis.
Instinctively clicking in, he saw the original poster saying how cute the little white rabbit Elvis was holding today wasâjust as cute as their School Flowerâs Second Form!
Yun Yingzhi pulled a “pouty little brat” face and continued reading the comments. Many people said the rabbit Elvis held was the bunny of their dreams, and they wanted to know where to buy a rabbit so similar to their School Flowerâs Second Form.
His roommates kept glancing at him. After Yun Yingzhi closed the post with a red face, Ji Xiaobo couldn’t help but say, “Yingzhi, your Second Form is so similar to the one His Highness Elvis is raising. Quick, transform and let us see if there are any differences!”
Yun Yingzhi replied, “No, stop messing around!”
After refusing firmly, he hesitated and searched for another set of keywords: Wei Yuanqing, Mind Reading.
A search revealed many related posts on the academy forum. However, none of them had concrete proof; they only suspected he had this ability. Yun Yingzhiâs already hot face turned even warmer.
Soon, his attention was completely diverted by Yu Feiwenâs words. Yu Feiwen looked at him and said, “Speaking of which, Yingzhi, I should congratulate your sister.”
Yun Yingzhi froze. “…My sister?” Yun Yingyao? He figured it must be about the Ranking War.
Yu Feiwen said, “Yeah, today Lieutenant Colonel Allen from the Seventh Corps came to our academy to recruit students for a special mission. Theoretically, they wouldn’t take freshmen, but because of Huai Bosheâs recommendation, Yun Yingyao was selected too.”
Yun Yingzhiâs eyelid jumped. The Commander-in-Chief of the Seventh Corps was General Huai. As General Huaiâs son, whether intentional or not, every word Huai Boshe said carried immense weight.
Yun Yingzhi asked, “What’s the mission?”
Ji Xiaobo shook his head. “Don’t know.” He added, “I heard that most of the juniors and seniors who can participate in the Ranking War were selected.” He looked envious as he spoke.
Jing Haomiao said, “They aren’t leaving immediately. The slots are just being confirmed now. They depart at the end of this month.”
Yun Yingzhi was silent for a moment. “…So, at the end of this month, Huai Boshe will take Yao Yao to the military?”
Yu Feiwen nodded and then shook his head. “Not just them; many seniors are going too.”
One of the roommates said that unless someone was as outstanding as Elvis, a freshman could almost never be selected. Yun Yingyao was only chosen because of Huai Boshe. “Yun Yingyao is indeed impressive, but thereâs still a huge gap compared to how His Highness Elvis was back then.”
In summary: Yun Yingyao got this opportunity solely because of her relationship with Huai Boshe.
The three roommates, completely unaware of the subtle tension between the two, continued to congratulate him. Yun Yingzhi thought: So Huai Boshe is taking his beloved “sister” to their own little world, all intimate and lovey-dovey, while my bank account is still empty and my revenge is nowhere in sight.
He was more than a little angry. He pursed his lips and stopped thinking about them, continuing to search for ways to earn money. For money, he used to rely on Master Alvinâs help; now, he had to rely on himself.
He saw a recruitment post:
Wanted: Server. Hours: 9 PM – 12 AM. Pay: 100/hr. Requirements: High school diploma or above, decent appearance, under 26…
Yun Yingzhi calculated. 300 a night, less than 10,000 a month. He continued searching.
He didn’t find a suitable job, but he saw a hot topic: every year, the Yaoming Group held a Star Brilliance Source Weapon Manufacturing Contest. There were no rank limits; anyone could join.
The Star Brilliance Contest was a multi-stage knockout competition: Preliminaries, Qualifiers, Semi-finals, Finals, and the Grand Finale. Every participant from 1st to 100th place would receive a corresponding prize.
Often, obscure manufacturers would burst into the limelight and become famous through this competition. Once they had fame, the weapons they made would sell for much more.
In the past, Yun Yingzhi never dared to join such contests, mainly because his parents didn’t like it. He didn’t think it was necessary to defy them. But now…
To encourage participation and find the strongest manufacturers from the grassroots, the annual Star Brilliance Contest allowed for anonymous entry. Yun Yingzhi thought that if he entered anonymously, his parents definitely wouldn’t find out, so they wouldn’t get angry.
He looked at the prizes; that was what he cared about most. Every year, manufacturers from all over the Los Empire would flock to the Imperial Star for the contest. During this time, manufacturers were everywhere. Because of this, the prize pool was terrifyingly large.
The first-place prize alone was eight figures. Eight figures… Yun Yingzhi thought that would be enough to make a Level 8 Source Weapon for himself. But that was only for one weapon. In his mind, one weapon wasn’t enough to deal with Huai Boshe; he needed several.
However, if he could use the fame from the contest to successfully sell weapons, the money he earned afterward should be enough for a second or third weapon. Of course, the chance of him taking first place… was actually infinitesimal.
He continued checking the prizes.
1st Place: Gold Trophy and 18,000,000 credits. 2nd Place: Silver Trophy and 8,000,000 credits. 3rd Place: Bronze Trophy and 3,000,000 credits. 4th – 10th: Medal of Honor and 1,000,000 credits. 11th – 100th: Participation award and varying prize amounts.
If he couldn’t get the top two prizes, there were two other attractive points. First, the fame. Even someone who only made it to the shortlists would gain popularity, ensuring their weapons would sell.
Besides that, there was another point that interested him the most. From the qualifiers onward, every contestant had the chance to receive special sponsorship.
There were three types of sponsorship:
- The organizers would provide a baseline sponsorship for everyone in the qualifiers, covering 60% of the manufacturing costs for the weapon made during the round.
- Direct sponsorship. Major powers would pick contestants they liked and ask for their contact info to provide support.
- Fan tips. From the preliminaries onward, every match was livestreamed. Viewers could tip contestants they liked, and the amount was split 50/50 with the organizers.
As the second son of the Generalâs Manor, Yun Yingzhi couldn’t join any faction. He was more interested in the material support from the organizers and the fan tips.
After each round, the organizers would auction the weapons made during the match (with the maker’s permission). Historically, weapons sold during the competition went for much higher prices than normal.
Yun Yingzhi opened the official website and decided to sign up. Speaking of which, he thought this might be a very subtle twist of fate.
The Star Brilliance Source Weapon Manufacturing Contest was a project under the Yaoming Group. And the current CEO of the Yaoming Group was Wei Yuanqingâs father.
Recommended Reads
