On the first day of the finals, eight out of the sixteen mechas will be eliminated.

At nine in the morning, with the sound of metal hitting each other, the competition officially began.

Bai Li's competition was slightly later, and he did not collide with Tang Kaiyuan in the round of sixteen. The latter's competition had already started, and the LIN23 model crossed the holographic projection occupying half of the field.

"Looking closely, it really looks like the 'Fly Swatter,'" Situ stood beside Bai Li with his hands on his hips. The two watched the game through the live broadcast in the background. "I have checked it specifically. The design of the entire LIN23 model is very similar to the 'Fly Swatter,' but it is much more difficult to drive, its relative power is also weakened, and its systems and weapons are more advanced."

Bai Li said "hmm", his eyes never left the virtual screen.

The mecha that looks like the "Fly Swatter" is moving rapidly in a gusty wind and flying sand. The gusty wind and the sand under its feet have a certain impact on its progress, but if it flies high, there will be dense stray bullets from the warships in the air, and it is very easy to be hit.

The difficulty of the map in the finals has been raised by several levels. In addition to the harsher environment, the spawning points of both players are also relatively remote. What's more terrible is that there is a timer. If neither side is completely shot down when the timer expires, the side with less damage, more energy reserves, and a more stable driver (based on system detection) will win.

This rule is mainly to take into account that there will be urgent battles in actual combat, requiring the mecha to resolve the battle in a short time under unfavorable conditions, and also put a lot of pressure on drivers like Bai Li who occasionally spend time on layout.

But Bai Li was not concerned about this pressure at the moment. He observed Tang Kaiyuan's every move, crossed his arms, and gradually frowned.

Seeing that he didn't say anything and kept looking at the LIN23 model, Situ patted his shoulder and said, "This is just a large imitation. You are a big shot who has driven the original."

This pat brought Bai Li back to his senses. He changed his posture and leaned back on the chair, and said to Situ, "No, don't you think Tang Kaiyuan is a little strange?"

"What's strange?" Situ stared at the virtual screen for half a minute. "The movement is a little unnatural, which is normal. Although LIN23 is heavy armor, in order to reduce the difficulty of operation, the material is lighter than the fly racket. It will definitely be affected by this level of wind. There is fine sand under the feet, and it is not stable to walk, and it is not convenient to exert force."

"Is the mecha the only thing you can see? Are we, the drivers, not in the observation range?" Bai Li admired Situ's ability to only focus on the mecha itself. "Take another look. Isn't Tang Kaiyuan making too many unnecessary moves?"

From the perspective of a driver, Situ did see something.

In a bad environment, some extra moves to maintain balance are normal, but LIN23 makes a lot of small moves. Occasionally, it was hit by rocks blown up by the wind. Its reaction was quite big. It almost dodged by the posture of dodging artillery shells. A few times, even the rocks didn't get close, and it was bombarded by its ion cannon.

During the close-range confrontation, he was distracted by stray bullets several times, which prevented him from dodging and caused him to be hit directly by his opponent, causing some damage.

"It seems so," Situ hesitated, "Why do I feel a little bit..." He couldn't quite put it into words.

"Neurotic," Bai Li said, "Too nervous, and it's hard to concentrate."

Situ agreed, "Indeed, in a competition of this level, does he feel pressured?"

Of course, there is pressure, but the ability of a driver who can enter the finals to withstand pressure is not so poor. Mecha driving itself is a very serious matter, and one must keep mental strength stable, otherwise something will definitely go wrong.

As if to confirm Bai Li's idea, the LIN23, which was retreating rapidly on the virtual screen, suddenly stumbled and fell to its side on the sand, unable to stand up for two to three seconds.

Fortunately, the model was equipped with enough weapons, and the muzzle on the side arm opened, hitting the cockpit of the opponent who wanted to rush up to make a comeback.

"--Too suspenseful!" the commentator shouted, "The LIN23 model seems to have deliberately sold a flaw to attract the opponent, and took the opportunity to attack. This time it really hit the face!"

Situ smacked his lips: "Wow, the Tang family is also very cunning."

Bai Li did not answer. He always felt that Tang Kaiyuan's actions were too uncoordinated.

Bai Li was familiar with this map. The sand did cause some inconvenience to movement, but there were no obstacles in the sand, so LIN23 fell strangely. Secondly, the two or three seconds of stagnation was enough for the opponent to launch an attack. If the opponent did not come forward, but chose to bombard from a distance, LIN23 would basically be unable to dodge in this posture and state.

"I suspect that LIN23 just paused for a moment because of the driver's mental fluctuations," Bai Li stood up, "If this is the case, then Tang Kaiyuan's spirit is no longer suitable for driving this level of heavy armor."

On the virtual screen, LIN23 seemed to have finally regained his state, and overwhelmed the opponent in one go, and blew up the cockpit with extremely brutal and manic means.

Cheers erupted in the main arena.

When Tang Kaiyuan walked off the main stage, he felt his vision was dazed for a moment.

This feeling was not unfamiliar, and it had occurred more frequently in the past few days. Along with the rush of blood that seemed to be rushing out of the pipes, his eardrums inflated, and in the "boom" sound, he seemed to hear conversations like fragments in his dreams again.

Those conversations were not complete, but Tang Kaiyuan vaguely remembered that they were all praises from people who made him feel a strong sense of satisfaction and conquest.

After the dizziness and tinnitus, his vision gradually recovered, and he realized that he had casually pulled someone to hold on because of dizziness.

The person he was pulling was terrified, and as soon as Tang Kaiyuan let go, he shrank his neck and stepped back a long way.

Tang Kaiyuan looked up and saw that the researchers at the Shengshi Research Institute in the background had different expressions, and they all looked at him cautiously with their bodies bent.

"Congratulations!" Lin Sheng's assistant also came this time, to report the victory to his boss as soon as possible. He smiled cautiously, "As expected of Master Tang, you won another game!"

Tang Kaiyuan smiled, "It's all the credit of everyone's joint efforts."

"I'm sorry, Master Tang," the assistant chose his words carefully, "Well, are you feeling uncomfortable? Are you tired? How about... taking a break?"

"A little bit, the level of the finals is indeed very high." Tang Kaiyuan said gently, "I'm going to the bathroom, and I want to watch the other drivers' competition when I come back. You all have worked hard, you can stay and watch together, or you can go back and rest now."

The assistant agreed quickly.

Tang Kaiyuan picked up the coat he had been wearing and walked out of the researcher's operating room. The moment he closed the door

, he heard a sigh of relief from inside the room. He stood at the door for a few seconds before he barely managed to resist the urge to open the door again and walked quickly to the washroom.

There were many cubicles in the washroom, and he chose the one closest to the back. He didn't care about locking the door, so he took out a tube of injection with a label from his coat pocket and directly inserted it into his arm.

It takes some time for the pheromone stabilizer used by the alpha to take effect, and Tang Kaiyuan can only rely on himself to get through the irritable period before it takes effect.

He can feel his mental power floating violently, pheromones surging uncontrollably, and blood rushing against his crown, making him in an extremely excited state.

It seems that his skin can't hold the force of the onslaught, and he needs to release it urgently. Tang Kaiyuan has to grit his teeth to hold back the urge to tear people apart. Before he

can deal with the empty injection in his hand, he smells a scent belonging to Omega, and then there is a light knock on the door of the compartment.

"Kaiyuan," the person outside whispered, "are you okay?"

Tang Kaiyuan recognized An Lun's voice in the confusion in his mind. He gasped and closed his eyes. After struggling painfully for a moment, he raised his

hand and pushed the door of the compartment open a crack. The strong smell of alcohol poured out through the crack of the door, almost instantly making An Lun's legs go limp. There was still Tang Kaiyuan's tooth mark on his neck, which was proof that he could not escape.

During the competition, he had been going in and out of the backstage as a staff member of Shengshi Research Institute. When Tang Kaiyuan just left the court, he shrank in the corner and did not dare to show his head. But Tang Kaiyuan glanced at him before leaving. He was slightly shaken in that glance, but he couldn't help it. After guessing that the other party had been injected with a sedative, he dared to follow and ask about the situation.

"Kai..."

Before he could finish, a hand stretched out from the crack of the door and pulled him into the compartment.

An Lun was pressed hard to the ground. Hearing the sound of the cubicle being locked, he struggled in fear: "Didn't you bring stabilizer?"

"It takes too long to take effect. I feel so uncomfortable," Tang Kaiyuan pressed him and begged, "Xiao Lun, help me."

"Here?!" An Lun's eyes widened in disbelief, "Who do you think I am! No! And in your current state, you almost... No!"

Tang Kaiyuan was almost crazy because of his mental power that had been raised to a certain level. He heard An Lun's rejection in his ears, and then the cries of different people in his dreams. He mumbled "help me" and "please" in his mouth.

An Lun fought very hard. Although he was just a young noble, he was used to being spoiled when he was growing up. He had never suffered such grievances, and he cursed almost all the dirty words he knew.

Tang Kaiyuan was anxious and afraid. Although this washroom used exclusively for backstage staff was relatively deserted, people still entered occasionally. If they smelled his pheromones, he could still find some other excuses to fool them. If they heard the noise and came to check, he would be completely finished!

Thinking of this, a wave of anger after fear overwhelmed his last bit of rationality.

A slap came down, and An Lun screamed, but his mouth was covered before he could finish.

"I beg you!" Tang Kaiyuan said, "What else do you want?!"

An Lun was stunned. He felt Tang Kaiyuan's hand touching his swollen cheek, and a slight stimulation like an electric current spread along the skin.

Tang Kaiyuan came to his senses and muttered in panic: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I won't be like this in the future, please listen to me, I'm so uncomfortable..."

The incoherent words seemed to penetrate into the blood vessels from the place where the skin touched. An Lun's struggle gradually weakened. He lay on the ground in a daze, his mind in a mess.

The first day of the finals was scheduled very tightly. After the first two groups of games, the Baili game would begin.

Situ was even more nervous than him. The finals were more difficult and stressful. He had already gone to the toilet three times since morning, and now he was following Bai Li to go to the toilet for the fourth time.

"Is there something wrong with you?" Bai Li asked as they walked. "Do you have frequent urination or can't urinate all the time?"

Situ said in a loud voice, "Get lost!"

He cursed and then lowered his voice, "Do you really suspect that Tang Kaiyuan has a problem?"

If he had only suspected it before, then after watching the game today, Bai Li's suspicion had basically been confirmed.

Forcibly raising his mental strength had a great negative impact on Tang Kaiyuan.

Bai Li didn't know what this impact meant to him, and he was more worried than happy about the misfortune.

Seeing that Bai Li didn't answer, Situ wanted to ask again, but before he could open his mouth, he bumped into Bai Li's back.

"Let's go? Suddenly stop halfway--"

Bai Li sighed softly, pulled Situ to the side of the corridor, and disappeared into the shadows. At the

other end of the corridor, the door of the washroom opened, and a man in a black and red racing suit walked out first. Situ first recognized that it was the uniform of Shengshi Research Institute, and then he smelled the faint smell of alcohol in the air, frowned and rubbed his nose impatiently.

Alphas don't like pheromones of the same kind very much, and usually they pay attention to restraint, suppressing it with mental strength to show courtesy. Situ really disliked Tang Kaiyuan's behavior of releasing pheromones so wantonly.

"The smell is too strong," Situ said dissatisfiedly, "Who did he smell with when he went to the toilet?"

Bai Li was amused: "With mental power fluctuations, pheromones will definitely be uncontrollable to a certain extent."

Tang Kaiyuan, who came out first, looked around. The place where Bai Li and Situ were standing was blocked by a decorative sculpture as tall as a person. Both of them had high mental power. They suppressed their pheromones and held their breath. Tang Kaiyuan didn't notice it. He turned his head and seemed to say a few words to the door.

After a while, someone else walked out of the bathroom.

He wrapped his head with a big coat. His appearance could not be seen clearly, but from his figure, he was probably an Omega.

O didn't seem to be in a good condition. He stumbled and took two steps with weak steps and then leaned on Tang Kaiyuan. He was pulled to move to the other end of the corridor in small steps.

Bai Li walked out from behind the sculpture only after Tang Kaiyuan helped the man turn a corner and completely disappeared from sight.

He ignored Situ's question of "what's going on" and walked straight to the bathroom. As soon as he pushed the door open, he sneezed at the smell of pheromones left in the bathroom.

"Oh my god, this smell!" Situ covered his nose and took two steps back. "It's

so irritating!" Bai Li was also disgusted.

This smell was obviously not right. Tang Kaiyuan did have a problem of letting pheromones overflow, but it was kept within a certain range. The remaining smell now was a bit like the appearance after the susceptible period broke out.

He looked in the direction of the strongest smell and pushed open the innermost compartment of the bathroom.

There was nothing extra in the narrow compartment. Bai Li glanced around and his eyes fell on a small piece of paper on the ground.

"I can't stay here any longer. Do you want to leave?" Situ didn't want to pee anymore. He pinched his nose and followed Bai Li. When he saw him bend down and pick up something from the ground, he leaned over to take a look. "Isn't this what it is? Stabilizer."

The confetti-like label was printed with the logo of the alpha pheromone stabilizer commonly used in the Empire. Bai Li narrowed his eyes.

It seemed that Tang Kaiyuan had reached the point where he needed to use drugs to stabilize his pheromones.

This meant that the heightened mental strength had caused him very serious damage. He already knew to carry stabilizers with him, which meant that similar situations had happened before.

Tang Kaiyuan must have lost control.

The previous loss of control may have dealt him a big blow, otherwise he would not have been so proficient in going to the bathroom to inject stabilizers immediately after the game. Does this mean that he had suffered from pheromone out-of-control after the game?

Then why had there never been any similar information?

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Bai Li immediately left the bathroom.

"Find someone to summarize all the information about Division 1 during the recruitment period. The more detailed the better, no matter how small the matter is," Bai Li said to Situ, "even gossip is fine."

The smell had dissipated a little, and Situ took a breath with difficulty: "What's the matter?"

"He has been like this for more than a day or two. He can't stand the pressure of the mecha. I don't believe he hasn't caused any trouble," Bai Li handed the label to Situ and walked to the sink to wash his hands. "My visit to the military hospital was dug up and made a big fuss, so how come there is no negative news about him?"

"What do you mean?" Situ thought for a moment, "Do you think he suppressed the news?"

"It's strange that you suddenly bring up my leg injury again. You just make up a random excuse to mess up the rhythm," Bai Li shook off the water droplets and used his half-wet hands to lift up his scattered bangs. "I still know that old bastard Tang. When he can't suppress a piece of news, he likes to pick a bigger topic to cover up this news."

The sound of metal collision spread inside and outside the main stadium through the voice system, and then the artificial intelligence sounded a gentle reminder, informing that the game would start in 20 minutes.

Situ Qiang suppressed his anger and punched Bai Li on the shoulder: "Don't worry about this trivial matter, you have more important things."

"I know," Bai Li propped his hands on the sink and looked at his face in the mirror, "Winning in the end is what I should do."

The face in the mirror did not have the haze that troubled Bai Li for many years.

A road finally appeared under the weeds, narrow and rugged, but he was already on it.

This was a road he had finally found, and no one could stand in his way.

If rumors can bring anything when they destroy a person, it is probably attention.

"——The white01 model and its driver have also come to this main stage!" the commentator said loudly, "I hope he will bring us another wonderful game——"

The audience seats were almost full, and the audience from the sub-areas also gathered at the main arena today, merging with the main star area. Supporters had already shouted before the commentator said his name:

"Major General Bai!"

In the sound of metal collision, the stardust in the virtual universe suddenly gathered and formed the outline of white01.

The commentator called out a name that pushed the atmosphere to a small climax: "——Bai Li!"

Bai Li put on a helmet and exchanged punches with Situ.

"Let's have another textbook-level fight."

Bai Li walked to the main stage.

The difficulty of the finals has been reflected in the first two games, and heated discussions have begun on the forum. This year's finals are a strong clash, and the audience is also excited.

"I think white01 is not good enough," someone in the audience said, "No harm, but if the time limit is limited, Bai Li can't play many routines."

"It's possible, this kind of competition is all about stability, accuracy and ruthlessness."

Chen Nan and Han Miao couldn't listen any more, turned their heads and glared at the speaker.

Jiang Hao and Lu Zhao didn't react much.

"Aren't you two anxious?" Han Miao said, "I'm worried about Bai Li."

Jiang Hao said faintly, "That's because your hands are sweating a lot." Before Han Miao could get angry, Jiang Hao said, "People who haven't been beaten by Bai Li probably think that Bai Li is a routine person, right?" Lu Zhao

smiled.

On the main stage, Bai Li had already sat in the simulation warehouse.

"There are two kinds of people who drive mechas," Jiang Hao said, "those who can drive the 'Fly Shooter' and those who can't drive the 'Fly Shooter'."

As soon as he finished speaking, the competition on the holographic projection had already begun!

When Bai Li's vision was restored, he saw a jungle composed of strange and huge trees.

An upside-down jungle.

The white01 model was heading towards the swamp below.

This time, his spawn point was in mid-air, and one of his feet was stuck between the treetops. The moment he spawned, the tree branch could not bear the weight of the mecha and broke. Right below was a quagmire that was big enough to swallow him.

The detection system in the mecha had been repeating the same sentence since he connected to the map: "Warning! This substance is corrosive to a certain extent, please do not approach! Please do not approach!"

Bai Li whistled.

Wow, exciting.

"Ah, this," the commentator stuttered at the beginning, "'The teacher who sweeps the blind spot at the spawn point' lived up to everyone's expectations and once again took us to see a new corner of the map!"

There was a burst of laughter and curses from supporters in the audience.

Lu Zhao leaned forward, feeling that he was almost numb to Bai Li's unlucky physique.

Fortunately, the opponent's spawn point was not very comfortable. When Bai Li fell, the heavy mecha blasted away the huge vines around it and rushed towards Bai Li. He raised his hand and was about to fire a laser cannon.

However, White01's shoulder ion cannon fired continuously and directly hit the mud.

The thin and corrosive mud splashed everywhere. The heavy armor had too much inertia to stop in time and was poured directly. The mud penetrated through the gaps between the mecha joints, and the damage increased instantly.

Bai Li used the recoil of the ion cannon to deflect his body. He was also splashed by mud, but luckily dodged most of it because of White01's high speed. At this moment, he grabbed the hanging vine with one hand, used the force to swing it, and the whole mecha was thrown away while turning around and firing another shot.

The heavy mecha was slowed down by a second due to joint damage, and tilted its body to barely avoid the shot.

The next second, White01's lightsaber was already in front of him.

"White01's speed is faster than before!" the commentator exclaimed, "It's amazing - whether it's the model itself that can increase the speed to this level, or Bai Li who has the mental strength to mobilize this speed! It must not be easy to bear the pressure brought by such a high speed -"

Indeed, high-speed driving also means that the driver's body has to bear greater pressure, and therefore the speed of the heavy armor has always been maintained at an average level.

To drive a heavy armor already requires a very strong physique, and it is difficult for ordinary people to bear greater pressure.

"Fly slap," Jiang Hao sighed, "Bai Li used to be the fastest one."

The dark blue model of white01 was as fast as lightning and passed by, and it accurately cut off half of the heavy armor's arm in a moment of brushing shoulders.

The audience was speechless for a long time, and the only thing they could hear was the commentator laughing and saying, "Oh, now you have to admit it - Bai's Research Institute has indeed reduced the pressure of mecha on the body by half."

On the holographic projection, the heavy armor's counterattack fire, the bright blue of white01, the fierce collision and the dread of the unsheathed light sword slashing at the opponent, the initial doubts were gradually swallowed up, leaving only the carnival of mecha enthusiasts indulging in it.

With five minutes left in the countdown, the two mechas fell into the quagmire at the same time, but they were like two beasts that would not let go of each other even if they died, biting each other's throats.

Bai Li was the first to use the light sword to pierce the heavy armor's cockpit, and then his own cockpit was also blown down by the light cannon, and was directly ejected from the map and disconnected.

"Both sides were sunk almost at the same time!" The commentator's voice was accompanied by a "bang" sound, and he slapped the table in excitement, "I really can't tell who lost consciousness and disconnected from the map first, it seems that I can only wait for the system to calculate--"

The holographic projection fell into darkness, and the main stadium was silent.

In the heavy and long five seconds, Lu Zhao's eardrums could only hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

Jiang Hao and others stretched their necks, subconsciously tightened their bodies, and almost sat in their chairs.

A blue light flashed.

"Bai Li!"

Above the main stadium, white01's virtual projection soared into the sky, blending into the vast galaxy amid the applause and cheers and the commentator's roar.

The simulation warehouse opened and Bai Li walked down.

He heard countless shouts, drowning out the previous rumors.

Lu Zhao looked at him and remembered what Bai Li said before - "It's easy to make people shut up, just win."

He is strong, no matter it is jealousy or slander, admiration or worship, nothing can shake him.

Bai Li raised his thumb towards the audience.

"Are you going to tell him?" Jiang Hao said, "The arrangements from above haven't come down yet, but I estimate it will be within the next two days."

Lu Zhao played with the personal terminal in his hand, his eyes fell on Bai Li, without saying a word.

"You know what the text message just now means," Jiang Hao continued, "It has been confirmed at the front that the Zerg's range of activities is gradually approaching the satellite planets on the edge of the empire. Once the higher-ups have reached an agreement, you and Han Miao may be transferred to the front."

"I know." Lu Zhao said lightly.

"I estimate that this time you will most likely stay in the back," Jiang Hao leaned back on his chair with his arms folded and looked sideways at Lu Zhao, "What do you think? In fact, the extension of your rotation has not yet passed. If you want to watch the game before leaving, I'll see if I can try to let Han Miao go first. The higher-ups are also very cautious. They will probably use the nearest resident legion to investigate first, and they may not let the First Legion set off immediately."

Lu Zhao was silent for a while and shook his head: "If an order is given, I will obey the dispatch and set off immediately."

This answer stunned Jiang Hao. He originally thought that Lu Zhao would use up the few days of extension of his rotation. After all, Bai Li's game was not over yet.

"That's right, responsibility is above all else." Jiang Hao sighed, "But it's a pity that you can't see the end of the game. This grandson must be very disappointed."

On the main stage, Bai Li had already raised his thumb ostentatiously and strode to the backstage.

Lu Zhao retracted his gaze and smiled: "Indeed."

He didn't need to think too much, knowing that he had to "coax Li Li" again.

Without waiting for Jiang Hao to comfort him, Lu Zhao said calmly: "But compared to being disappointed, he should be more optimistic about me."

Jiang Hao didn't understand.

"He expects more from me than I do," Lu Zhao stood up, "I will prove that he is right."

Lu Zhao knows nothing about love, but he has gradually understood what Bai Li meant recently.

Love does not necessarily require one person to drag the other to move forward.

Love can also be nourishment, and people in love will become better and better.

They are each other's nourishment.