The backstage was in chaos.

The main system program of the venue suddenly malfunctioned, causing data fluctuations on all connected machines, and the game was forced to be suspended.

"This has never happened before... We have fixed the problem and we promise it won't happen again," the staff member said with a guilty look on his face, "If the data here has been restored, the game can continue." "In

this kind of emergency, just continue after the repair?" Yang Han asked, "Our driver may need a rest. The data fluctuations just now were very serious and may have an impact on him."

The staff member looked a little embarrassed: "You can go to the simulation warehouse, but you may have to replay the game." Seeing that everyone was staring at him, he explained, "Although the main system has been repaired, the save file of this game has been damaged. If we disconnect the simulation warehouse and the map now, the data cannot be restored and we will have to replay the game."

The people from the institute looked at each other, their faces were all very bad.

"The main system was just updated before the game, there may be some minor bugs..." The staff member couldn't continue, "But the game can continue. The other team in the same competition has approved the proposal to continue the game. We will repair the damage to the mecha caused by the malfunction and it will not affect the drivers' operation."

Everyone in the institute was furious about the "minor bug". Situ, who had been sitting in a chair with a dark face, finally spoke: "No, our driver must get off."

"Teacher Si, please think about it again. A rematch may affect the schedule. And we have also asked other groups, and the momentary data fluctuations will not have much impact..." said the staff.

"It's different for white01!" Situ stood up and said in a sharp voice, "Our mecha and driver are very special, Bai Li must go off the field to rest! We may...may need a replacement..."

The word "substitute" was stuck in Situ's mouth, and he couldn't say it.

He knew very well how much Bai Li valued the game, and he also knew what replacing a substitute meant to Bai Li.

Without waiting for the staff to ask again, the assistant who ended the call whispered to Situ: "The substitute had an accident on the way here, and now he is..."

Situ's expression turned from black to blue, and he cursed loudly.

Bai Li recovered a little.

He leaned back in his chair to calm his breathing. His legs were still swollen and painful, but it was a little better and within the tolerable range.

The connection between the simulator and the map was not disconnected. A pause interface popped up on the virtual screen in the cockpit. Five minutes later, the system's gentle voice sounded: "We are very sorry, driver. We are sorry for the impact caused by the main system program failure. The failure has been repaired and the data of each machine caused by the failure has also been restored."

It seems that there is a problem with the machine connected to the backend and the simulator, causing white01's data to change, which has caused an unnecessary burden on the body.

Bai Li felt okay in other parts of his body, but his left leg was too fragile. Even if there was only a moment of pressure, it was still painful.

He once again clearly realized that he really couldn't drive heavy armor.

"Due to a main system failure, the storage content is damaged. If you lose the connection to the map, all data will be lost. We can provide you with a chance to replay," the system continued, "You can also choose to continue the game, and we will repair the damage caused by the failure for you. Both drivers can make a choice in the simulation warehouse. If both parties agree, they will proceed according to their opinions. If both parties disagree and cannot reach a consensus after coordination, they will replay." Replaying

is not impossible, but I don't know what the next map will look like.

This map has always been easy and familiar. If there is no sudden change, he is confident that he can win this game directly.

Bai Li rubbed his knees and smiled bitterly. This was too bad for him. He was even involved in a major accident in the main competition area.

A selection box popped up on the virtual screen in front of him, allowing the driver to choose whether to continue or replay.

As soon as Bai Li sat up straight, the voice system on his helmet sounded a reminder.

"You have to come down," Situ's voice came out as soon as the call was connected, without wasting words, "The fluctuation just now was too large. It's nothing for a heavy armor driver, but I know the impact on you. Come down first and check it out."

"Don't worry," Bai Li comforted, "I'm fine, nothing happened."

Situ said, "Bullshit! I'm applying for a rematch now, you should give up quickly, do you hear me?"

Bai Li heard a bit of impatience and anxiety in his voice, which was different from the usual Situ. Situ was the kind of person who was well-organized. When he told Bai Li some new arrangements and changes, he would usually follow up with the results, but this time Situ just shouted at Bai Li to get out of the simulated warehouse.

"What happened?" Bai Li asked.

Situ didn't say anything.

"You didn't persuade me to change the substitute this time," Bai Li said, "Didn't you keep urging me to change the substitute to save my life?"

There was silence on the other end for a while, and then Situ said dryly: "There was an accident on the elevated road. Several cars rear-ended each other. It was quite serious. The substitute was the core of the sandwich. Now he is taken to the hospital."

Bai Li's heart skipped a beat.

Usually, it is not the substitute's turn to play, but Bai Li and Situ have a bottom line in their hearts. They know that if an accident really happens, there will still be someone who can take over. Now this bottom line has been exposed by Bai Li.

This is too coincidental. Bai Li wanted to stand up and applaud fate.

"Don't worry, come out first and take it easy. We'll figure out the rematch later," Situ said, his mind was no longer blank. "I'll think of a way to replace him. I'll ask my former classmates..."

His background was noisy. The backstage was probably noisy enough. He could hear the conversations of the staff and the live broadcast of the sub-division matches.

It was probably because the match was suspended and everyone was busy negotiating. No one remembered to turn down the live broadcast. Bai Li heard the commentator of the sub-division saying excitedly, "... 23 minutes and 48 seconds! This is the shortest match so far today! Let us congratulate driver Tang Kaiyuan for winning this match and breaking the time record of the sub-divisions and the main competition area today!"

"Driver Tang Kaiyuan has performed very well these past few days, and has maximized the performance of the LN23 model," the commentator boasted. "It has to be said that the LN23 mecha does have the style of the 'Fly Shooter' back then. Many people think that this is a kind of inheritance, and many people also think it is a pity that Mr. Tang Kaiyuan did not actually drive the 'Fly Shooter' back then. If he could really drive, perhaps he would not be worse than those people back then..."

"I believe the LN23 model can continue to be successful! Thank you Mr. Tang Kaiyuan for bringing us such a wonderful game!"

Situ was still saying something, but Bai Li's attention was focused on the sound of the live broadcast.

The commentators for the competition were carefully selected. Although they each have their favorite aircraft models and drivers, their commentaries during the competition are relatively neutral.

The commentary in the live broadcast spent a lot of time on Tang Kaiyuan. Bai Li immediately remembered that in the original book, almost every time the cannon fodder was slapped in the face, hundreds of words were used to describe Tang Kaiyuan's awesomeness.

Bai Li had no doubt that he might become a foil in these hundreds of words.

Perhaps it was because the plot had deviated too much from the main line during this period of time, and changes had occurred from several supporting roles to background characters, which made the world consciousness feel threatened. It has been disturbing Bai Li in a very malicious way.

At noon, Lin Sheng's affairs were dug up. If the matter was allowed to ferment, it would definitely affect the first heir and the Tang family, and the protagonist Tang Kaiyuan would inevitably be affected.

Bai Li was not eliminated in the competition, and the appearance of white01 also kept Bai Li's body in a stable state. If he continued to do so, Bai Li felt that he would have a good chance of winning against Tang Kaiyuan.

This "fate" was also very clear, and it finally couldn't stand it anymore, and was eager to let Bai Li get out of the way.

It even did not hesitate to create this accident in full view of the public, get rid of the substitute, and cut off the retreat of Bai's Research Institute.

At that moment, Bai Li felt that his body was clamped by an invisible giant hand, and he didn't even want to struggle. Bai Li

sat in the driver's seat, but he felt unprecedented suffocation.

It was like someone pushed his head into the water, and the pain of being unable to breathe and the pain in his body tortured his nerves.

Feeling like he was being pressed into sewage, he slowly developed an unprecedented rage.

Why should I be the one to give way?

"Did you hear me?" Situ said earnestly, "Just listen to me this time, Bai Li, Boss Bai? Major General Bai?"

"Go on." Bai Li said.

Situ was stunned.

"Continue the game." Bai Li repeated, and he whispered word by word, "I won't retreat this time."

He had retreated too many times and had been submissive for many years.

Bai Li realized that he had been pushed to a limit, and there was only one way out except to rebound.

Situ didn't understand the second half of the sentence, but he heard the first half very clearly: "Why the hell can't you understand what people are saying?! Come down first, and if you check that you are okay, you can replay. If it doesn't work, I can find a substitute--" "

You know in your heart that you can't find a substitute in a short time," Bai Li smiled, "you just want to coax me out of the simulated warehouse."

Situ was speechless.

"The opponent's level this time is average, and the map is relatively simple for me. I may not have this advantage if I change to another map." Bai Li did not give Situ time to scold him, and said quickly, "My legs are fine, not as serious as you think. As long as I hit it fast enough, there will be no problem at all."

Situ did not speak for a few seconds, and after a while he said: "Bai Li, can't we not compete?"

"I've come this far," Bai Li said, "just let me finish."

He knew better than Situ that there was no backup, no way out. The moment he stepped down from the simulated warehouse, it was destined that the next map would be more difficult.

If fate asked him to give way, it would cut off all his choices.

The passage left for him was very narrow, but he had to at least rush in.

After a moment, Situ whispered, "You have to trust Major General Bai, right?"

Bai Li smiled and said, "You have to trust Major General Bai."

He raised his hand and tapped the pop-up box on the virtual screen.

The system voice sounded immediately: "Both sides agree that the game will continue in three minutes. We will repair the damage caused by the malfunction for you. The voice is about to end."

It seems that the first half of the game made the heavy armor driver on the opposite side quite inflated. He felt that he could eat Bai Li in this one. He was reluctant to give up this map that was relatively simple for the heavy armor, and chose to continue the game.

Situ's last bit of hope was shattered. He shouted before the voice was completely cut off: "Don't force it!" After the

communication was hung up, Bai Li punched the armrest of the seat.

He had been suppressing his anger from the beginning, and now he was about to explode.

"You want to tease me, right?" he growled, "It's never going to end, right?"

The three-minute countdown on the virtual screen had already begun, and Bai Li rubbed his knees for the last time.

Anger almost overwhelmed the pain, and Bai Li's mind was now full of only one thing.

He put his hand on the controller again, and squeezed out a few words from his teeth: "I'll accompany you to the end."

An unexpected accident occurred in the main competition area, and the audience was talking about it.

Baili's bad luck has almost become a habit. The inexplicable refresh point and this incident soon led to a large number of posts on the forum. People who are proficient in mechas gave a popular science explanation of what went wrong with the map, and said that it was really bad luck to encounter such a thing.

The scene of the white01 model being photographed on a small ship after the explosion was too shocking. Baili seemed to have a problem and did not leave the ruins of the ship immediately.

Many people suspected that the blast wave overturned the mecha and put too much pressure on the driver's body, causing Baili's old injury to relapse.

Just when someone was gloating and saying "I guess there will be a rematch", the sound of metal collision came from the main stage.

"Welcome to continue watching the recruitment competition! We apologize for the accident just now, all the faults have been repaired, and the race team has already coordinated with the drivers--" the commentator's high-pitched voice rang out, "--the competition continues!"

The audience cheered.

Lu Zhao clenched his fists. He didn't know what had happened, but his intuition told him that Bai Li was in trouble, otherwise with Bai Li's strength, it would be impossible for him to stagnate for such a long time.

On the holographic projection, the two mechas reappeared, and the commentator explained that the damage caused by the system problem had been repaired, and the damage caused by the heavy mecha's bombardment of Bai Li when it malfunctioned was deemed ineffective.

Despite this, the smoke and dust caused by the bombing did not disappear. The body of the white01 model disappeared deep in the small ship, covered by the flying wreckage.

"Is he..." Jiang Hao hesitated, "Legs..."

Lu Zhao forced himself to sit back in his seat. He could not see white01 or Bai Li.

Everyone was waiting, but the dark blue mecha did not appear.

The heavily armored driver lost his patience after waiting for a few seconds and circled around. Although the small ship was not large, it was enough to cover the fuselage of the white01 model. He could not see the situation inside for a while, but the system did not ask to pause, which proved that the connection should still be normal and Bai Li had indeed entered the competition.

The opponent finally couldn't bear it anymore, raised the muzzle and fired the most powerful artillery at the direction where Bai Li smashed in.

In the cockpit, Bai Li's mind was highly concentrated. Almost at the moment the detector sounded, he slid down, and the whole fuselage followed a gun hole on the ship, rushing out of smoke and debris. The

dark blue mecha broke through the scattered debris and rushed at a speed that could not be followed by the eyes. It passed by the laser cannon at a very small distance. The laser cannon sank the ship behind him, and White01's ion cannon hit the arm of the heavy armor carrying the laser cannon at close range.

Fire splashed in all directions!

"It's white01!" the commentator yelled, "Bai Li has been waiting for this brief block from his opponent! He wants to destroy the heavy armor's most lethal weapon - success! The ion cannon hits the connection between the arm and the fuselage with precision!"

The deep blue streak across the field almost illuminated everyone's eyes. It was too fast, faster than they had expected.

Bai Li's eardrums were filled with the sound of blood flowing.

Rage erupted after a long period of suppression, and he found that he didn't want to endure it for another second.

He was unwilling to give in, nor was he willing to accept his fate. If he gave up this game today, he would give up the opportunity to return to the military tomorrow. What about the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow? What about

Lu Zhao?

He would not retreat.

People cannot stop when they feel pain.

The heavy armor was obviously confused. After he broke one of its arms, it immediately counterattacked. The small gun muzzle mounted on the top of the cockpit was pushed out and directly hit Bai Li's cockpit.

Bai Li had no time to turn around. He only used the recoil of the ion cannon to change the forward angle, but the opponent's shell still penetrated the top of the cockpit.

Lu Zhao held his breath.

"Serious damage," the commentator said with some regret, "This should be the most serious damage Bai Li has suffered since the first game. Should he choose to hide temporarily? He did not slow down his forward speed!"

To everyone's surprise, after enduring an attack, white01 seemed to have tried his best and fully opened his performance. His speed soared to the limit and he directly stabbed the heavy armor cockpit with a knife.

The other driver didn't expect that his attack didn't shake Bai Li at all. Before the new round of attack could start, the cockpit was pierced in the next second.

Bai Li could almost hear the sound of the light knife piercing the cockpit, as if he had poked a hole in this world.

Screw your plot, the road is wide and I'm going to go all the way!

He finally found an outlet for his anger, like a wolf biting the throat of its prey, and it had to tear a hole before it would stop.

The light knife cut across and directly split the cockpit.

"This, this..." The commentator stuttered several times before he finally managed to straighten his tongue, "This is simply a gamble, and Bai Li won the gamble--"

A blue light flashed on the projection.

The winner, white01, the driver, Bai Li.

Then, the battle time and other data were refreshed one by one, and the commentator excitedly said: "Twenty-one minutes and fifty-one seconds! Driver Bai Li refreshed the shortest battle time record in all competition areas today--with such a huge change in the game, he still refreshed the record!"

After a few seconds of recovery, the audience applauded.

It seemed that Tang Kaiyuan's twenty-three minutes and forty-eight seconds had never existed before, and people only remembered the first place.

"Well, I thought the match was halfway through before the suspension," Han Miao said with his mouth open, "I didn't expect it to end so quickly, I'm not ready yet!"

Amid the cheers, Bai Li walked out of the simulation booth, without taking off his helmet, and just gave a thumbs up to the audience. Without even waiting for his opponent to leave the simulation booth, he walked slowly towards the backstage.

"This arrogant guy..." Chen Nan was about to laugh when he saw Lu Zhao suddenly stand up and walk out. He was stunned and shouted, "It's just over and there's no rush. Slow down--"

Lu Zhao squeezed through the cheering crowd and ran out.

Bai Li's walking posture was wrong, he could see it.

This was the first time since Bai Li's susceptible period that Bai Li could not hide the burden on his left leg from walking.

"I'm literally the Little Mermaid." Bai Li said this the first time he saw Situ.

Situ's eyes were filled with tears, and his hand, which was about to be extended to hug him, froze in the middle of his words: "Ah?"

"I forgot that you didn't know about the Little Mermaid," Bai Li sighed, "There are no fairy tales in the Empire."

"Then can you please speak to me in a more human way?" Situ asked.

"To put it simply," Bai Li said, "Hurry up and bring me a chair!"

The researchers in the backstage

came back to their senses after witnessing the boss's heroic figure, and they moved chairs and got water and nutrient solution. "Take off your helmet quickly, let us see the boss's expression..." Situ was no longer moved by Bai Li, and was about to make a few jokes, but he was stunned when he saw Bai Li take off his helmet.

Bai Li's bangs were soaked with cold sweat, his face was pale, his lips were bloodless, and only his eyes flashed with a knife-like light.

"Twenty-one minutes and fifty seconds." Bai Li threw his helmet to the person on the side, and a few seconds later, he laughed wildly.

Fate asked him to give way, so he jumped up and slapped her.

It was so cool.

This feeling was incomparable.

Situ was stunned by Bai Li's laughter, and the assistant in charge of massage exerted a little force, and Bai Li's wild laughter instantly turned into a hissing sound of sucking in cold air.

"I knew it!" Situ said angrily, looking at the cold sweat on Bai Li's forehead, "You kid said your leg is fine, that's nonsense!"

Bai Li gritted his teeth and let his assistant relieve him, and smiled stiffly: "It's okay, if it weren't for white01, my leg would have..."

"Shut up!" Situ shouted with red eyes, "I should have forced him to withdraw from the game at that time, you are a lunatic, I am obsessed and let you go crazy, I will find someone else for tomorrow's game, I will let Si Dong beat me but you won't!"

Turning around and shouting at a researcher behind him: "Call the emergency doctor from the main stadium and give this lunatic analgesic! Dispatch a car and contact the military hospital!"

The researchers looked at each other. They

all knew that Bai Li had an old injury, but it was not visible at ordinary times. Even if he needed massage to relieve the pain, it didn't feel as serious as the rumors said. This was the first time they had seen Bai Li like this.

"Don't shout," Bai Li said helplessly, frowning and breathing in the cool air, "It's not that serious. If the race organizers knew about it, they would think it was white01 who failed."

Situ wanted to strangle Bai Li to death. He finally understood why Bai Li chose that style of play. He

was afraid that he would not be able to hold on any longer.

The data fluctuations that might not have much impact on many drivers were fatal to white01 and Bai Li.

"You need Lao Zheng to take a look," Situ said with a sad face, "otherwise you can't continue the game."

Bai Li was in a big headache. Lao Zheng wished that he would sit in a wheelchair 24 hours a day except for sleeping: "I tell you, I really have no problem..."

Halfway through his words, a commotion came from outside the door.

"Sir, please wait in the corridor outside the door during the competition."

"This is the lounge for drivers and researchers, you are not allowed to go in."

"Sir, you really can't go in anymore..."

A series of persuasion voices from staff members came, but no one answered.

With a "bang", the half-closed door was pulled open, and Lu Zhao appeared at the door, followed by an anxious-looking staff member.

Bai Li's words were stuck in his throat, and he stared at Lu Zhao in a daze.

Major General Lu might have run very fast, and he was slightly panting, and he looked at Bai Li from head to toe with his eyes.

"What's wrong with you..." Bai Li subconsciously wanted to stand up, but the assistant who was massaging him didn't react, and his hands were not held properly. Bai Li hissed and fell back into the chair.

Situ had already walked over to negotiate with the staff. Lu Zhao took two or three steps over and looked at Bai Li's leg.

Bai Li hurriedly said, "It's OK, nothing's wrong."

Lu Zhao glanced at Bai Li.

The emotion in this glance made Bai Li's heart tremble.

"It hurts a little, you have to take it slowly." Bai Li smiled.

Lu Zhao's lips moved: "Rest."

"Ah, of course I'll rest, I'm going home now," Bai Li said, "I'll go back and take a nap..."

He didn't expect Lu Zhao to go directly to the backstage. His mind was empty and he couldn't think of anything to reassure Lu Zhao.

Lu Zhao shook his head: "It needs treatment."

Bai Li said: "Treatment, of course, I'll find him in a moment."

"You have to go to the military hospital to find Lao Zheng," Situ said to the staff. The staff reluctantly allowed Lu Zhao to stay here for a while. Situ closed the door and cleared his throat to hold back the tears in his eyes. "I'm not kidding you, white01 is not yet at the point where it can completely reduce the burden on the human body. If you keep doing this, I will regret agreeing to let you make this mecha."

Bai Li was completely silent.

He and Situ had known each other for so long, and they dared to say anything, but this might be the most serious sentence Situ had ever said.

This harsh remark also revealed a message to Lu Zhao, that Bai Li had indeed stimulated an old wound this time.

Lu Zhao closed his eyes. The moment he entered the door, he wanted to say something like Situ, but he couldn't say it.

No one knew his situation better than Bai Li, and no one could share his burden.

Bai Li had to endure many things by himself, and all Lu Zhao could do was not to put any more pressure on him.

The words that couldn't be said were stuck in his chest for a long time. Lu Zhao pinched Bai Li's shoulders, and when he spoke again, he only said: "Let's go."

For some reason, Situ's long speech did not make Bai Li fluctuate, but Lu Zhao's "Let's go" was like poking Bai Li, making him deflate like a deflated ball.

I seem to be tired. Bai Li thought, I need to rest.

He sighed, feeling a little embarrassed, not because of the ugly scar on his leg, but because everyone around him felt uneasy and worried because of him.

"Does it hurt?" Lu Zhao asked in a low voice after hearing his sigh.

"No," seeing Lu Zhao's unbelieving expression, Bai Li smiled and joked, "How about this, you carry me to the car, and I don't have to walk."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Lu Zhao squatting down.

"I'm just saying!" Bai Li hurriedly stopped him, "A big A doesn't need to be carried by someone!"

The movement was a bit loud, and the assistant next to him laughed.

Lu Zhao didn't say anything, and was silent for two seconds, then leaned over and pulled Bai Li's arm to his shoulder.

Before Bai Li could come to his senses, he put his arm around his waist and lifted him up.

Master Bai's mind was blank.

No one said anything. Bai Li saw from the corner of his eye that Situ was completely stunned.

This must be a violent shock to Teacher Si's mind, which directly overwhelmed him.

Bai Li came to his senses. Lu Zhao was not much different from him in height. Being hugged like this, the two were very close.

"Fuck," Bai Li felt his ears starting to burn, "slow down, fuck, I have to slow down."

The arm around his waist was so strong that it lifted him up.

"Lean on me," Lu Zhao whispered, "I'll support you."

Bai Li's heart slowly softened.

This posture greatly affected the image of a fierce man, but Bai Li still pressed the weight of his body on Lu Zhao. He didn't say that he could still walk, he found that being supported by someone felt pretty good.

"Let's go," Bai Li said, "on the way I'll brag to you about how awesome I am today."