The Silly Prince Successfully Cancels the Engagement, But the Fiancée is His Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Iris Star

Xiang Zhuo deliberately waited until 7:29 AM before going up to sign in and write his name.

However, after he flipped through the entire sign-in roster from beginning to end, he discovered a terrible thing.

Bai Yu’s name was not on the roster!

Xiang Zhuo refused to give up and meticulously went through it again, but still no luck!

He did see the names of many acquaintances; the one at the very top, Ye Sheng, left a particularly deep impression on him.

Besides searching for Bai Yu’s name, he also briefly looked for Bai Qing, but that name didn’t appear either.

He flipped through it again and again until the staff member guarding the door repeatedly tried to pull the roster back. Only then did he reluctantly put the roster down.

After finding his seat, Xiang Zhuo, whose heart was ashes, sent a message to Jing Yu outside the venue: “Bai Yu didn’t come…”

Jing Yu’s major was Special Intelligence, and he disliked fighting, so he hadn’t signed up for the Mecha Battle Competition. The Military Academy was exceptionally liberal in granting students in the Mecha Combat Department and those registered for the competition half a month off. Still, those like Jing Yu who hadn’t signed up had to attend classes.

Jing Yu ate his breakfast, groggy with sleep, and painstakingly replied with one hand:

【Frog】: How do you know?

【BlazingFireFlameFurnace】: His name isn’t on the sign-in roster.

【Frog】: Not signing in doesn’t mean he didn’t come. Doesn’t he live in the slums? The slums are so far from the Interstellar Convention Center. Daily round trips are impossible. He must be staying in the apartment provided by the organizing committee. Since he’s staying in the apartment, the committee would organize everyone to attend the ceremony. He must be here.

Xiang Zhuo finished reading the message and nodded in conviction.

【BlazingFireFlameFurnace】: You’re right. I’ll go look for him now.

But Xiang Zhuo hadn’t expected that he would send a message to Bai Yu and wait an entire morning without receiving any reply.

Meanwhile, on the other end, nearing lunchtime, Bai Qing finally finished his pre-competition special training. Very satisfied with the results of his training, he opened his terminal in a great mood to check his messages.

Ye Sheng had gotten up extra early, made it to the venue as soon as the committee opened the doors, and was the first to enter. He had noted down everyone who came in and transmitted a lot of useful information.

Ye Sheng had a photographic memory since childhood, especially for faces and number combinations. Standing by the door to verify identities was a trivial matter for him.

Bai Qing silently scrolled up, reviewing the messages, and found that the three people he was most concerned about had indeed come.

Tan Qingyuan, a male Alpha of the same grade also studying at the Military Academy. He had very solid fundamentals and an extremely stable combat style. Although his mental power was not high, his physical stamina was formidable. He was a genuine defensive mecha warrior. This kind of opponent was naturally antithetical to Bai Qing’s style. Since Tan Qingyuan was also a contender for the Artemis piloting qualification, Artemis’s database contained his various combat data.

Bai Qing had sparred with him and lost. He didn’t know how much this person had improved after so long. If they really faced each other, his chances of winning might drop even further.

The second person, the hot favorite to win the championship for two consecutive years, He Jie, a female Alpha who was about to graduate and enter the military this year. Her fighting style was bizarrely unpredictable, similar to quick offense, but with fewer rules and restrictions, making her utterly elusive. However, her weakness was also fatal: she could easily be drawn into the opponent’s rhythm and lose her own fighting blueprint.

Bai Qing was not very afraid of facing her, but if his luck was bad, and he made a mistake or was naturally disadvantaged, allowing He Jie to gain an advantage, a comeback would be extremely difficult.

The third person, Fu Cheng, a mysterious Beta whose actual combat data was nowhere to be found on any platform. He also attended the Military Academy, but as a freshman in the Military History Research Department.

Bai Qing was wary of this kind of person.

He could easily cause him to “capsize in the gutter.”

Bai Qing adjusted his mood, perfunctorily replied to Ye Sheng with a cheering emoji, and switched to Xiang Zhuo’s chat interface.

【BlazingFireFlameFurnace】: Which direction are you sitting in at the sign-in ceremony? I’ll come find you.

Bai Qing glanced at the time. It had been 7:30 AM when that message was sent.

Now, it was clearly lunchtime, and the first elimination match was scheduled right after lunch.

Bai Qing raised an eyebrow, typing softly. A flash of mischievous delight crossed his eyes.

【Cypress】: I wasn’t there.

Xiang Zhuo ate the nutritional meal provided by the organizing committee, finding it somewhat tasteless.

After a long time, all his emotions condensed into one massive question:

Why did he wake up so early? What did he even come here for?

Just as he was questioning the meaning of life, his special alert tone suddenly rang. Xiang Zhuo’s spirits lifted immediately. He quickly opened his terminal, and after clearly seeing the text on the screen, a visible small flame seemed to completely extinguish, drifting away in wisps of blue smoke.

And then, he was gone.

Xiang Zhuo lazily typed, but with enough residual heat to reply instantly:

【BlazingFireFlameFurnace】: Then where are you staying?

【Cypress】: I booked a hotel next to the Interstellar Convention Center.

Bai Qing had indeed found the daily commute too troublesome, so he simply stayed at the Heller First Interstellar Hotel next to the Convention Center.

Xiang Zhuo was momentarily puzzled.

The hotels near the Interstellar Convention Center were all top-tier luxury establishments, mostly equipped to host high-spec guests, with astronomical accommodation fees per night. How could Bai Yu afford it?

But Xiang Zhuo spun his nimble little brain again.

There was a civilian residential area near the Interstellar Convention Center. Some people would rent out their houses to earn some money. The prices were cheap and affordable, although the security level wasn’t very high. Indeed, many poor workers who came to the main Heller City area rented there.

Xiang Zhuo typed carefully, worried about hurting Bai Yu’s self-esteem. He deliberated for a long time before sending the message:

【BlazingFireFlameFurnace】: Okay, then please be sure to pay attention to your safety when you’re living alone. The area near the Interstellar Convention Center is quite chaotic.

Bai Qing received Xiang Zhuo’s message and instinctively looked up at the top-tier iris-recognition smart lock on the front door, the light-brain surveillance screens in the study showing the blind-spot-free views of the hotel corridors and lobby, and the specialized high-level security service agents stationed on every floor…

It was indeed not as secure as Stonken Palace.

【Cypress】: Okay, I will be careful.

…

At 1:00 PM, the Mecha Battle Competition officially began.

The first eight days of preliminary matches were essentially a warm-up for most participants. The organizer randomized the registration information of all contestants, pairing them up for battles in an almost perfectly fair manner.

Bai Qing quickly scanned the basic information of his first-round opponent. The name was Song Qingqing, the same age as him, and from the distant Iris Star. Iris Star was located on the edge of the Eternal Empire’s jurisdiction, a very typical agricultural planet. Technologies there were quite backward; even their agricultural mechas were models from many years ago.

The entire Iris Star had only one higher education institution, the Iris Star Agricultural University, whose flagship major was agriculture.

Iris Star had a Mecha major, but the quality of its student intake was deteriorating, and the situation had become particularly dangerous in recent years, threatening the department’s very existence.

The only thing related to mecha on the entire planet was this one precarious Mecha major created by a shaky university.

Bai Qing felt a sudden deep respect for this Song Qingqing.

Learning piloting knowledge from such extremely scarce mecha resources, and traveling from that remote Iris Star to Heller—no one could truly imagine what he had gone through on his journey.

The first match began. Bai Qing sat in the simulation cockpit and glanced at Song Qingqing sitting next to him.

Song Qingqing’s demeanor was extremely composed and calm, not at all like someone facing a big event for the first time.

As he put on the head-mounted display, just before completely sealing it, he seemed to sense Bai Qing’s gaze. He turned his head as well, smiled lightly, and made a cheering gesture.

Bai Qing nodded gently, returning a smile.

But he didn’t know if Song Qingqing would perceive it as a smile.

Both sides logged into the system simultaneously. The battle was about to start in three seconds.

Bai Qing focused his mind, counting down silently.

His opponent was Song Qingqing. Although the opponent came from the resource-scarce and backward Iris Star, he absolutely could not let down his guard.

Every opponent on the battlefield deserved respect.

Bai Qing’s eyes sharpened.

What’s more, this opponent was far from simple.

Bai Qing calmly and steadily resolved the opponent’s dense offensive moves one by one.

Song Qingqing’s mecha piloting ability was very seasoned. Although some sections requiring detailed transitions were handled a bit roughly, exposing many openings, Bai Qing could tell that the number of mecha battles the opponent had engaged in was comparable to his own.

Song Qingqing was a diligent, hardworking, and talented person.

It was just a pity he was born on Iris Star.

Bai Qing quickly drew his conclusion, his actions never stopping. As Song Qingqing gradually struggled to cope with his every counterattack, Bai Qing transitioned from defense to offense.

His operation was fluid and beautiful. He knew every set of operational commands by heart. Wielding the mecha’s arms and legs was like wielding his own limbs. Every sequence of moves rained down densely on Song Qingqing, completely overwhelming him.

It stunned Song Qingqing into not knowing how to respond.

He had never seen such a fighting style, nor such techniques.

But a fierce sense of unwillingness surged within his chest.

He had trained bitterly for so many years, sacrificed so much, and traveled day and night, coming all the way to Heller to participate in this Mecha Battle Competition, all to make a stunning debut. He wanted everyone to know that on the vast map of the Eternal Empire, there was still a star that was almost forgotten.

Called Iris Star.

Yet, he simply couldn’t win.

An unprecedented sense of anxiety and inferiority tightly bound him. The opponent’s style was concise yet fluid, immensely powerful, and he had no power to fight back.

To preserve a shred of dignity, Song Qingqing humiliatingly pressed the “Surrender” button.

The entire battle lasted no more than ten minutes.

Bai Qing removed his head-mounted display, stood up, and stood quietly beside the cockpit.

The composure that had been on Song Qingqing’s face had vanished. He looked up: “Are you Bai Qing?”

Bai Qing nodded.

Song Qingqing took a deep breath: “I will be back next year. And when I do, I will win against you.”

Bai Qing nodded: “I look forward to it.”

Bai Qing also felt it was a shame. With Song Qingqing’s ability, he should have been able to win through at least the first eight days.

That way, that small agricultural planet would be able to make its inherent light shine even brighter.