Chapter 12: “Well-Matched” – Someone like Ye Zhichen, forget it.
Since participating in this summer’s social practice volunteer activity, Ye Zhichen felt that his life had suddenly become difficult.
Despite his best efforts, he ultimately couldn’t stop Director Xie from submitting the report. Furthermore, Director Xie’s report was submitted directly to the Legion Commander’s office. Even if he wanted to use his father’s connections to intercept the report, he had no way at all.
The military’s warning came quickly. This time, it was delivered to him through his father. It was also this warning that made his father treat him with total coldness, finally telling him, “You were never suited for the military anyway. You’d better find another path as soon as possible.”
Beyond that, the lead mentor for the social practice activity was also quite dissatisfied with him for recklessly going to Yu Xia and speaking out of turn. Although the mentor didn’t say anything to his face, Ye Zhichen felt the other had a huge prejudice against him. It was likely that once they returned to school, the mentor would report his actions to the academy.
If he were to receive a punishment from the school as well, Ye Zhichen felt his life would truly be over. He hurried to the mentor and practically begged him not to report the matter.
It was at this time that Yun Shaocheng, whom he had met during this activity, sent another message saying he had been kicked out of the orphanage. In the future, he wouldn’t be able to obtain any resources from the orphanage and would have to work to support himself.
With everything going wrong, Ye Zhichen, in a state of frustration and as a natural release, went to the forum to provoke Qin Yizhen, venting his anger by hurling insults.
The insults were hurled and the anger was vented. Ye Zhichen felt a bit better. Then, Qin Yizhen’s reply arrived.
[Qin Yizhen: The Fourth Physical Education Hall, right? Wait there.]
Ye Zhichen was completely stunned.
Wait, it wasn’t like he hadn’t provoked Qin Yizhen before. Usually, the other ignored him. Why the sudden response today?
The relationship between Ye Zhichen and Qin Yizhen could be considered an ill-fated one. Both had SS-rank constitution and mental power, both had entered Imperial Star Academy in the same year, and both were in the Command Department. This inevitably led others to compare the two. But because Qin Yizhen’s entrance exam scores were a few points higher, whenever they were compared, people subconsciously felt that Ye Zhichen was inferior to Qin Yizhen.
In reality, Ye Zhichen was indeed inferior to Qin Yizhen.
Whether it was strategic layout, mech operation, or general courses, he couldn’t beat Qin Yizhen. For a time, Ye Zhichen was almost driven to depression by him.
But Qin Yizhen himself never cared about such comparisons. Even if someone asked, he would just dismissively say, “Ye Zhichen is quite capable.” He never took Ye Zhichen’s provocations to heart. It seemed that aside from specific matters, other people or events didn’t exist in his eyes.
He attended classes as usual and trained as usual, never caring if Ye Zhichen was provoking him again on the forums or elsewhere.
Over time, Ye Zhichen grew used to it. Since Qin Yizhen wouldn’t pay him any mind, he would just provoke him as he pleased, insulting him on the forums whenever he felt like it.
Over three years, this had actually given others the impression that “Ye Zhichen is so confident, he must really be much stronger than Qin Yizhen.” However, this feeling only existed among non-Command Department students. Command Department students knew the truth; after all, the annual assessment list was published for the entire department and couldn’t be faked.
But… but… he usually never responded. Why did Qin Yizhen have to intervene at this particular moment?
Was he just bored because he didn’t have any activities scheduled for this summer break? Usually, every summer break, he would follow Marshal Qin and Major General Qin to the military for extra training. Why was he so free this year that he even wanted to fight him?
Ye Zhichen almost wanted to cough up blood.
How could he possibly beat Qin Yizhen, who was personally trained year-round by the Marshal and Major General? His own father didn’t train him!
But the challenge had been issued, and Ye Zhichen could only grit his teeth and go through with it. He couldn’t be the one who started the challenge only to be the one who fled at the last second, right? He’d truly have no face left.
With a chest full of pent-up anger, Ye Zhichen went to the Fourth Physical Education Hall.
The so-called Fourth Physical Education Hall was actually a block in the Virtual Community.
With the current high level of civilization, when trouble arose, it was no longer appropriate to schedule a physical brawl. Setting aside physical injuries, everyone in the Interstellar era had different constitutions. If someone with an S-rank constitution faced someone with an E-rank, one punch could leave the high-rank person crying and begging the other not to die.
Thus, the Virtual Community had set aside an area for several physical education halls—essentially arenas for different categories.
For example, the First Physical Education Hall was for pure hand-to-hand combat where the pain setting couldn’t be turned off. It would hurt, but at least it wouldn’t be fatal. The Second was for mental power pressure contests, the Third was for group brawls, and the Fourth was naturally for mech combat.
Qin Yizhen had seen “Tulip” log off and planned to log off and rest himself, and perhaps call Lu Yao to ask about the constitution-enhancing potion for Mental Power Disorder.
Although he didn’t know the specifics of Tulip’s situation, seeing how hard the other worked and how difficult his life was made his heart ache. But he didn’t know what kind of attitude to use when facing the other.
If he was too sympathetic, it might make the other uncomfortable. Even he felt that using such an attitude toward someone who was struggling but still working hard at life was a very disrespectful act.
The Qin family and the Lu family each controlled one of the Empire’s two legions, and the two families were in a relationship of both competition and cooperation. Because the Lu family had produced Dr. Lu Yao, they were far ahead in medical pharmaceutics. However, since Dr. Lu Yao worked for the state, her lead didn’t surpass the state’s reach. In terms of mechanics and mechs, the Qin family currently held the upper hand. Overall, the two families were well-matched.
Because the two families were on good terms, he had known Lu Yao since childhood and had seen firsthand how she persisted with daily training despite the pain. Thus, he understood Mental Power Disorder patients better than the average person.
Now that he had met a Mental Power Disorder patient and learned that someone had actually gone to that patient and spoken nonsense, Qin Yizhen couldn’t help but be angry on Tulip’s behalf.
Back then, Lu Yao had her father and older brother protecting her; no one dared say anything unpleasant in her presence. But even so, the Lu family was extremely cautious, fearing someone might accidentally say something that would trigger their fragile treasure.
But this person he had recently met in the Virtual Community seemed like a poor little thing. Even when someone spoke sarcasm to his face, no one had fought back for him; he had to process it all himself.
That was way too pitiful.
Qin Yizhen wanted to vent some of that anger for him, but the problem was he didn’t know who that uncouth person was. He didn’t even dare ask too many questions for fear of reminding Tulip of that distressing matter.
He had a chest full of pent-up anger, and Ye Zhichen had chosen this moment to provoke him. Didn’t he just walk right into the line of fire?
Moreover, Ye Zhichen had provoked Qin Yizhen on the school’s public forum, meaning all the students in the school could see it. Even the teachers, upon learning of this duel, specifically called for the entire class to log on and watch in the class groups.
After all, a duel between two “well-matched,” top-tier Alphas with high constitution and mental power was not something you could see whenever you wanted. How could they miss this opportunity?
Even in the Virtual Community, where the main difference became mental power and mech piloting skills while constitution became less important, it was still a very worthwhile watch. Even some senior brothers and sisters who had already begun internships in the legions began to enter the Fourth Physical Education Hall room one after another.
However, to the surprise of everyone who came to watch, this duel triggered by Ye Zhichen’s provocation would end so quickly.
It was an overwhelming victory, and the winner was Qin Yizhen. It felt as if it had ended before it even began.
One of their fellow mech-department classmates had a contorted expression. “That’s it? I feel like I could have done that too.”
The teacher next to him glanced at him. “That would definitely not be the case. If you went up, it would end even faster than it did for Ye Zhichen. There might even be a one-shot kill. Don’t go embarrassing yourself. But the gap between these two is indeed unexpectedly large.”
Naturally, there were students with a keen eye: “But Qin Yizhen is truly impressive. It’s almost as if he could predict Ye Zhichen’s movements.”
“That’s a qualified Command Department student. Even in a mech duel, they consider the big picture, knowing what the opponent will do and how they should respond.”
The mech duel ended so quickly that even one of the participants, Qin Yizhen, found it hard to believe. He sat in the mech for a long time after it ended. “Wait, it’s over just like that?”
Luo Siqi shouted to him from the audience: “Yeah! Brother Qin, it’s over! You can get out of the mech! You won way too fast!”
Qin Yizhen was silent for a moment. He silently climbed out of the mech and scratched his head with some dissatisfaction. “I feel like I hadn’t even started.”
Hearing this, Ye Zhichen’s face suddenly became exceptionally ugly. But he couldn’t say anything; he could only bite his lip tightly, forcing his expression to look a bit better. At least, he wanted to look like a graceful loser.
He was just about to walk over and congratulate Qin Yizhen when he overheard the conversation between Qin Yizhen and Luo Siqi.
Luo Siqi handed Qin Yizhen a glass of water, emphasizing the ritual: “Brother Qin, you used to never ignore Ye Zhichen. Why did you accept so readily this time?”
Qin Yizhen took a sip of water and quickly put it down. “Oh. I heard some news—someone went to a Mental Power Disorder patient and spoke sarcasm. I had a lot of pent-up anger, and he just happened to run into me at that time. So I thought I’d might as well fight him.”
Luo Siqi remembered: “That Mental Power Disorder patient… he couldn’t be the one we ran into in the Virtual Community earlier, right?”
Qin Yizhen nodded. “That’s the one. I ran into him again recently.”
Luo Siqi looked at his contact list. “But he’s not online right now?”
Qin Yizhen: “Right. He just logged off to eat. He should be on for a bit tonight. Apparently, he needs to consume some mental power before bed to sleep soundly.”
Luo Siqi asked curiously: “So Brother Qin, how do you feel now?”
Qin Yizhen sighed. “Nothing special. Feels the same as not having fought at all.”
“True. Why is Ye Zhichen so good at humiliating himself?”
Hearing this, Ye Zhichen’s face grew even paler. He was so angry he wanted to leave immediately.
Just then, a young woman suddenly appeared behind Qin Yizhen and Luo Siqi. “Junior, come. This senior sister is willing to be your punching bag. Let’s have a fight too. It’ll be good for both of us!”
Qin Yizhen turned to look. It was a senior sister from the upper grades. She had likely watched the mech duel just now and was a bit itch-fingered.
He thought about it and accepted.
The mech duel with the senior sister was completely different from the one with Ye Zhichen. Even those who didn’t understand mechs well could see that this round was at least back-and-forth. Even if they didn’t understand the details, the visual effects were much better than the previous round.
Those who knew quite a bit about mechs, like the classmate who had said “I could do that too,” sighed after seeing this new round: “It seems only well-matched opponents can bring out someone’s full potential. Otherwise, no matter how capable someone is, they have nowhere to use it. I couldn’t even understand what was happening in that previous round. It was like I blinked and it was over.”
His professor watched the arena while critiquing: “While you’re not wrong, saying it like that is far too amateur. You’re a student of the Mech Department. No matter how fast that round was, you shouldn’t have been unable to understand anything. I think you need to re-learn. After school starts, hand me an observation report on the mech duel between Ye Zhichen and Qin Yizhen. If you don’t have a video, I recorded it here and can send it to you for reference.”
“…Professor, I was wrong.”
This mech duel ultimately ended with a narrow victory for the senior sister. However, her mech wasn’t in good shape either, appearing as battered as Qin Yizhen’s on the surface. She had only used her experience to protect the core components of the mech.
The two participants jumped down from their mechs, which were battered beyond recognition. The senior sister tossed her hair boldly. “Junior, you’re impressive. There are few even in the fifth grade who can fight me like that. I remember you’re only entering your fourth year next semester. Young people nowadays are truly something.”
Then she turned and sighed: “But my mech… my mech… even though it’s virtual, it’s still very expensive. I don’t know how many Starcoins it’ll cost to repair… wait, it’s already in this state. It’s better to just buy a new one. I can try the new model then. That seems alright too.”
Qin Yizhen also had a good fight. Although his mental power and constitution were at the peak, he was still the bottom-dweller in his own family when it came to mech combat—the type who was constantly suppressed and beaten.
As expected, fighting a well-matched opponent was much more satisfying.
Someone like Ye Zhichen, forget it.
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