The Silly Prince Successfully Cancels the Engagement, But the Fiancée is His Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Simulation Training Class

Bai Qing was halfway done zipping up his battle uniform when he suddenly heard a knock on the lounge door.

The knocking stopped after every three taps, sounding very restrained and polite.

Ye Sheng wondered: “Who would be knocking on your door?”

Bai Qing silently zipped the uniform back up, pushed Ye Sheng into the changing room to hide him and prevent identity exposure, and then put on his half-face mask. Only after confirming that everything was flawless did he open the door.

He did not expect to see Xiang Zhuo standing outside.

Bai Qing: “…”

Upon seeing Bai Yu open the door, Xiang Zhuo immediately beamed. Jing Yu, standing behind him, moved his gaze away with an expression of sheer misery.

Xiang Zhuo: “You must be Bai Yu, right? Let’s introduce ourselves. My code name is Flaming War God, my real name is Xiang Zhuo, and I am your defeated opponent.”

As Xiang Zhuo spoke, he extended a hand for a handshake, a very friendly and restrained gesture.

Bai Qing reluctantly extended a pale hand, lightly shook it, and quickly withdrew. His dark green eyes fixed on Xiang Zhuo: “It is my honor to battle Your Royal Highness. My apologies.”

His tone carried a hint of displeasure.

He swore that if he had known the Flaming War God was Xiang Zhuo’s code name, he would not have uttered a single word of praise for him.

Inside the changing room, Ye Sheng was clearly remembering Bai Qing’s compliments to the Flaming War God and was struggling fiercely to hold back his laughter.

Xiang Zhuo was stunned for a moment: “I really admire your combat style. You can completely forget my identity. How about we exchange contact information, become friends, and discuss tactics together in the future?”

Bai Qing remained silent.

Xiang Zhuo continued to persuade him: “I don’t mean anything else. I just thought it’s rare to find such an opponent. We can play mecha together, fight each other, and even pilot the latest military mecha prototypes. As long as you want, someone will be there for you to spar with the whole time. Why don’t you consider it?”

Xiang Zhuo kept his eyes locked on Bai Qing throughout. He felt he was being very sincere, but the other person’s eyes remained perpetually dim, like a dead lake at night, with no light flowing.

Could it be… he’s wary of my identity?

Xiang Zhuo had a moment of epiphany. The other person was a Beta from the slums and had never encountered anyone like himself. He didn’t know how to respond. He probably didn’t even understand the concepts of the things he was talking about, which is why he was speechless. He is the only piece of clean land in the mire, and to protect his fragile self-esteem, he can only act like a stubborn little calf, refusing to speak or accept my charity.

Xiang Zhuo suddenly felt a pang of sympathy. He carefully chose his words, thinking about how he could make Bai Yu accept his goodwill.

Bai Qing was completely unmoved. It wasn’t like he couldn’t pilot the newest mecha models. The Bai family developed and manufactured 80% of the Empire’s mecha; he could even touch the concept models. However, the last part about having someone to spar with him the whole time did make him a little tempted.

Xiang Zhuo suddenly cleared his throat: “Actually, I happen to be missing a sparring partner. I do have selfish motives. Since you are so capable, I hope you can help me out.”

Bai Qing: “Bai Yu. The code name is the real name.”

The young man’s clean voice was a little hoarse, which sounded to Xiang Zhuo like a slight tremor.

Xiang Zhuo felt a heavy surge of heartache: So pale, he must not be eating or sleeping well… that slum is a devourer of people.

Bai Qing held up the virtual screen of his communication terminal to Xiang Zhuo. The avatar was a green cypress tree.

“Added.”

…

After returning to his own lounge, Xiang Zhuo sighed softly, then said with determination: “I will definitely be good to him in the future.”

Jing Yu looked utterly baffled: “What exactly do you like about a person like that?”

Xiang Zhuo put on a profound air: “You wouldn’t understand.”

…

After sending Xiang Zhuo away, Bai Qing tore off the skin mask and removed his colored contacts. Only when his eyes felt comfortable did he pull open the changing room door and let Ye Sheng out.

Ye Sheng struggled to contain his laughter: “Congratulations! In addition to being the Crown Prince’s former fiancé, you now have the status of the Crown Prince’s good friend.”

Bai Qing’s tone was icy: “I take back everything I said before the match about the Flaming War God being good.”

…

Official major courses began after the assessment exam.

Today, they had an entire morning of Mecha Training Class, which was one of the main courses for the Mecha Combat Department.

Therefore, its weight was very significant.

Unfortunately, the Mecha Training Class was also a combined class for Class 33 and Class 34.

As soon as Xiang Zhuo reached the classroom door, he once again spotted Bai Qing in the crowd.

He inexplicably thought of Bai Yu.

That is a small tree growing tenaciously in the desert.

How many times tougher than this kind of greenhouse rose.

Instantly, the aesthetic shock from his “ideal type” lost all threat.

The Mecha Training Class did not let students touch real mecha right away. Instead, students were arranged to practice piloting skills using Simulation Trainers.

And every simulation trainer was networked, allowing for both team missions and individual duels.

The main content of this class was precisely team mission execution.

The instructor spent half an hour explaining key points and basic piloting techniques. The remaining time was used to assign teams and missions.

Ye Sheng leaned toward Bai Qing and quietly nudged him: “I hope I get paired with you so I can be carried.”

Bai Qing slightly curved the corner of his mouth. He pointed to the grouping list on the screen: “Unlucky. You are not on my team list.”

Ye Sheng: “…”

Ye Sheng looked glumly at the grouping list on Bai Qing’s screen: “You’re paired with Xiang Zhuo?”

Bai Qing withdrew the slight curve of his mouth and became expressionless: “Yes.”

Ye Sheng checked his own group list, which had no one he knew. He was a little disappointed: “I’d rather be paired with His Royal Highness.”

The instructor began urging everyone to enter the simulated system, and Ye Sheng immediately snapped into focus, stopping his whispering with Bai Qing.

Bai Qing logged in simultaneously.

The simulation system would scan real human data and generate a virtual avatar within the system.

As soon as Bai Qing logged in, he saw a slightly irritated-looking Xiang Zhuo.

And two unfamiliar faces standing behind him.

One was an Alpha with S+ combat power, and the other was a Beta with S combat power. Although the Empire defaults to the combat hierarchy Alpha > Beta > Omega, this Beta was no simple person. He ranked thirty-sixth in the overall assessment exam and was very strong.

The mission rules were already public within the system.

The scenario: on the battlefield, under the fierce attack of the remnants of the old Empire, a four-person squad—the Eternal Empire’s advance unit—is ambushed. The four of them need to withstand the firepower and await rescue.

Team ranking is determined by points. Each team starts with a base score of 1,000 points. If one teammate is lost, meaning their HP drops to zero, 900 points are deducted. However, once the second teammate is lost, all points gained are completely deducted, regardless of how high the score was.

Additionally, 20 points are added for every enemy killed.

Xiang Zhuo quickly formulated a strategy. He looked at Bai Qing from afar: “Have you piloted this type of mecha before?”

Bai Qing hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer.

Xiang Zhuo interpreted Bai Qing’s hesitation as shyness in answering.

Which meant Bai Qing had never touched a mecha before.

Xiang Zhuo was decisive: “The three of us have all piloted real mechas. You just need to preserve your HP behind cover. The three of us will be responsible for killing enemies and scoring points at the front.”

This was indeed the best, highest-scoring approach.

Without waiting for Bai Qing to answer, the three of them rushed into the battlefield, racing against time. Their virtual avatars immediately reappeared in the cockpits of the virtual mecha.

Bai Qing didn’t say much and followed the instructions to enter his cockpit.

The control panel of this mecha was a bit old. He was indeed unfamiliar with it. After studying it for a long time, he clumsily moved his feet, slowly shuffling behind cover.

After seeing Bai Qing’s sluggish mecha movements, Xiang Zhuo gently shook his head. He reaffirmed that his decision was very correct.

But for some reason, the system seemed to recognize that Xiang Zhuo’s trio had exploited a loophole. Enemies refreshed in waves, each wave better equipped and stronger than the last. The three of them were quickly overwhelmed.

The S+ Alpha was already struggling, his HP having dropped below 50. The Beta’s situation wasn’t much better, with HP just above 60. Xiang Zhuo was slightly better at 75 HP, but he, too, would soon be unable to hold on.

Just as the three of them barely fought off this wave, the opponent suddenly spawned a terrifying mecha.

The trio collectively froze.

It was the ultimate battlefield killer developed by the Bai family, the Ares from the God of War Bloodline series.

Its parameters were terrifyingly balanced, arguably without any flaws.

And the old simulation trainers they were piloting now were like relics from an ancient age, capable of being blasted into dust by a single shot from the Ares.

The Alpha wondered: “The system has data for Ares?”

Xiang Zhuo’s expression was grave: “Maybe it’s just a test version, but we are absolutely no match for it.”

But they had no choice but to face it head-on.

The enemies were relentless and endless. With the massive killer Ares on the opposing side, Xiang Zhuo was constantly distracted, worrying about Ares’s movements. He could only endure the frontal attacks, causing his HP to instantly drop to 60.

The other two weren’t doing much better.

Suddenly, Ares seemed to notice that the trio’s advance unit was exhausted, and it rushed towards the front lines at maximum speed!

The dark muzzle of its gun was already aimed at Xiang Zhuo—

It was too fast. The difference in mecha capability meant Xiang Zhuo’s commands couldn’t be fully transmitted to the mecha simulator. He couldn’t react at all.

Suddenly, a massive, sharp, buzzing sound that sliced through the air rang out in everyone’s ears. The violently burning flames caused the air temperature to spike. This was a high-energy particle shot fired by the Phoenix-3.

—Bai Qing’s mecha.

The high-energy particle shot struck Ares’s vulnerable head, obscuring its vision. This caused Ares to momentarily freeze.

It was this brief few seconds of opponent confusion that allowed Xiang Zhuo to break free and save his HP.

He turned his head in astonishment.

That shot, he remembered. Calm, elegant, and precise. It perfectly matched his highest interpretation of violent aesthetics.

He saw the Phoenix-3 emerge from the smoke and dust.

The steel head, synchronized with Bai Qing’s movement in the cockpit, slightly tilted.

“Sorry, I really haven’t piloted this old model of mecha before. It took me a while to get familiar with the controls,” Bai Qing’s voice was calm. “Student Xiang Zhuo, when I entered the Military Academy, I scored ninety-nine in the Mecha Combat Practical Training course. Only letting me observe from the rear—was that perhaps underestimating me a little too much?”

Xiang Zhuo didn’t respond, but he let out a cold laugh.

His tongue slowly traced the shape of his canine teeth.

Not a greenhouse rose, but a carnivorous plant.

“Thanks.”