Chapter 1 The Night Snack

At this moment, Li Hao was already in shorts and slippers, enjoying a late-night snack. He got hungry right after the match, and besides, it wasn't often someone treated, so he had to eat more, even if he wasn't hungry.

Sitting across from him, Jerris had clearly been mulling something over for a long time. The little guy adjusted his glasses. "Second brother, a wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. Martial arts stuff is still..."

*Bang!* "Ouch, second brother, don't hit my head, it'll make me stupid!" Jerris covered his head, he could never dodge it.

"Kepler is a good place, a land of no owners. I can find a way to get into the Alliance's development plan. I feel like I can lead a piece of it, and have Kevin cooperate with me. A sneak attack from below, maybe I can become king of the mountain..."

*Bang!* "Second brother, a gentleman uses his words, not his fists. Can we reason things out?" Jerris rubbed his head. "It was fine when I was younger, but I'm at least a figurehead now."

Li Hao took a sip of juice, slowly stuffing meat into his mouth. "Yeah, I'm reasoning with you, in my own way."

Jerris wanted to cry but had no tears. He opened his mouth, but closed it again. Li Hao didn't pay attention to his complaints. Since words didn't work, being direct was better.

His Skylink rang. Li Hao immediately put down his chopsticks, a simple and honest smile forming on his face.

"Li Hao, what are you doing?" Tita asked directly, their relationship didn't need formalities.

"I'm eating a late-night snack, do you want to come? My treat," Li Hao said enthusiastically.

"Is there any sincerity in that? By the time I fly over, it'll be dawn!" Tita clearly saw through someone's hypocrisy.

Li Hao grinned. "It's fine, you're welcome anytime."

"Okay, it's a deal. I'll come over when I have time, okay?" After saying that, Tita hung up the Skylink, leaving behind the still-silent VVIP room.

Across from him, Jerris could see... second brother was a little panicked...

"Who is it?"

"A creditor," Li Hao said with emotion.

"Oh, that's interesting. Second brother, I'll help you eliminate her! Ouch, I'm wrong, don't hit my head, hit somewhere else!"

"Be normal, don't be all about fighting all the time. Isn't life pretty good now?"

"Second brother, we must have a mission coming into this world. Heaven bestows talents for a purpose. What's the point of not doing something earth-shattering? Living is about striving, the more you strive, the happier you are!" Jerris was clearly over-stimulated, and as soon as he saw Li Hao, it was like he got a buff, like he'd found his leader, making up for his lack of combat power.

Li Hao happily took a bite of a scallion chicken skewer. This restaurant's chicken skewers were amazing. Don't let the small facade fool you, the owner was very particular, using authentic Beijing scallions and selected free-range chicken. The chicken was tender and fragrant, and all kinds of grilled chicken giblets were a delicacy. He clinked glasses with Jerris and took a big gulp of beer with a *tszzz* sound. "Look, I'm very happy right now."

Jerris was stunned, staring blankly at Li Hao. "Second brother, you're so bad."

"Damn, I haven't finished eating yet, that's disgusting, haha!" Li Hao couldn't help but swear. The two of them laughed and downed a cup.

Having a friend from afar, with beer and barbecue, what could be more enjoyable?

Although the Moon people didn't hear everything, they could tell from Tita's expression and relaxed conversation that they knew the gist of things. They were just looking at Li Hao's emotional state right now. It seemed that Romero couldn't create too much pressure.

Tita curiously looked at the others. Except for Maxis and Van Livett, and Li Xiangshan, who were still relatively calm, the others had returned to their worried states.

"Li Hao's individual strength is a bit terrifying, but he has many weaknesses in his personality. Lazy, gluttonous, careless, doesn't take things seriously, and doesn't have a strong desire to win. The S-tournament rules are five singles matches plus a team battle. As long as we ensure that we don't lose in the other matches, we'll be stable. Even if Tianxing can't do it, Galaxy and Eternal definitely can. How can we lose our momentum before the fight?" Tita said, not underestimating him. So, she directly excluded the A-level academies where the Bei Dou Qi Xing (Big Dipper Seven Stars) were located. She directly said that it wouldn't be easy for Tianjing to fight for a victory in the team battle with two S-levels. And in the large battlefield where the team battle takes place, individual power would be greatly weakened, and tactics and cooperation would be more important.

In fact, the Bei Dou Qi Xing were also thinking the same thing. They weren't concerned about the team's win or loss, but mainly that they couldn't beat him. They always felt that this "win" was discounted, a victory without honor. They all wanted to save face. Everyone wanted to defeat him directly and clear their names.

"Everyone, I think Tita is right. We don't need to care too much. Let's not talk about Romero, who has already helped us to complete 70 or 80% of the work. The S-tournament is a team honor. There's no need to be too serious about individual battles. See you in the mid-season," Pegrosa said.

"I think Pegrosa is wrong. Mech battles are ever-changing, and our team has been tempered through countless battles. Our team cooperation has gone through countless battles, and I can't find any reason to be afraid!" "Everyone, fate is in our NUP. The rise is unstoppable, and no one can stop our coronation!" The momentum of the crowd rose inexplicably, and then they left in a hurry, as if the official analysis video was out.

Maxis and Van Livett looked at each other, and Van Livett nodded calmly. Their three-dimensional images also disappeared. Of course, their goal was not just to win. They had already won the championship. As a warrior, they certainly wanted to defeat Li Hao. Once defeated, the impact on other mech pilots of the same level would be unparalleled.

The remaining Li Xiangshan smiled slightly. "Tita, see you in the mid-season."

"Brother Shan, I'm looking forward to your return as king," Tita said with a smile.

Only Tita was left in the VVIP room. Suddenly, Tita sighed softly. She could only help here. Maxis and others were far more cautious than just treating Li Hao as an opponent. They were enemies. Once on the S-tournament field, they would calculate Li Hao to death. The tactical teams of the top military academies, when targeting enemies, wouldn't just consider their strength, but would use a magnifying glass to examine them in all aspects, openly, secretly, teammates, etc. She had tried her best to downplay it, but she could see that they still didn't relax much.

...Was she turning her elbow outward?

It didn't seem like it. Li Hao might be her brother-in-law in the future, or half a brother-in-law now, so the relationship was closer. Moreover, Li Hao was a friend of hers and had helped her. All things considered, it was 50-50, just like Li Hao said, friendship first, competition second.

Yes.

Tita looked at the current live broadcast room...

The popularity had exceeded 350 million and was still growing rapidly, and half of them were VIPs, and a considerable part were VVIPs.

At this time, in the live broadcast room, Fire Man seemed to have regained his composure, or maybe he was internally injured. Fire Man felt a little wilted and had been to the bathroom several times.

Crazy Martial Artist didn't show any arrogance or extra excitement, and didn't talk nonsense, but was waiting for the official analysis video to come out. On the other hand, Zhuang Zhou started to output like a pea shooter.

It felt like the Martian was about to be ridiculed to death by him, but there was no way. Fire Man did the same thing back then, and this match really made the Martian speechless...even some Martians started to defect.

"I don't think Mu Ou (Puppet) is from Earth. He never said he was from Earth, just in the USE war zone. It's impossible for USE's level to cultivate a warrior of this level!"

"I also think, his calmness, and the fierce fight at the critical moment, are clearly the qualities that we Martians have!"

"Damn, upstairs, I feel the same way. At the very least, Mu Ou must have Martian blood. It's impossible for the sissy Earthlings to have it."

"Maybe he's a Moon person?"

"How is that possible? The Moon people don't have this kind of domineering spirit, and they don't have this kind of courage. Dare to randomly choose armor. This kind of heroic gene can only be found in us Martians!"

"You know what, his flamboyant personality really looks like a Martian."

Zhuang Zhou was dumbfounded. You are the Martian, and your whole family is Martian. The captain is a genuine Earthling, a Tianjin person!

But Zhuang Zhou couldn't say it. The captain was on a secret mission, so he couldn't say it even if he was beaten to death. Shameless Martians, they can even play this trick.

The analysis video came out. For Maxis, Offee, and others, this was the key. The result wouldn't be too surprising. They were concerned about the process and the details, because only here could they analyze the current strength composition of Li Hao.

For mech enthusiasts, dessert had arrived. The EMP hall was still boiling, and the atmosphere was obviously much more relaxed. Zhou Naiyi noticed that Li Hao didn't come at all.

"Li Hao, where are you?"

"I'm eating with Jerris. This kid is treating. Class monitor, do you want to come and eat something?" Li Hao said with a smile.

Zhou Naiyi was a little helpless. He was a complete foodie. He was either sleeping or eating. "Mu Ou just made a comeback against Romero. There are a lot of things in it. You should still take a look."

"Class monitor, an emperor can't command hungry soldiers."

Zhou Naiyi couldn't do anything about Li Hao. This person was really consistent. It was fine when he was a freshman, but now he's the captain of the team, and he's still like this.

"Dear viewers, everyone's views were consistent before the battle. When the two mechs were selected, the EMP intelligent analysis gave Romero a win rate of 98%. But as I guessed before the match, Mu Ou dared to choose like this, he must have a sure win. From our ancient martial arts perspective, this is not arrogance, because EMP is more about improvement. Top experts, when facing some battles they are confident in, are used to putting themselves in a passive position, letting their opponents play more, so that there will be a pressure resistance situation, increasing the difficulty of training." Crazy Martial Artist said quite seriously, "Like everyone else, I am full of questions about the process. Let's see how Mu Ou handles it." Fire Man's breath hadn't returned, but he also felt that Crazy Martial Artist was much more sinister than Zhuang Zhou, directly putting Romero in a lower level, this was really scolding people without using dirty words.

Coupled with the appropriate expression of Crazy Martial Artist, the Earth audience had an unspeakable sense of comfort, as if their toes were stretching. "From the first round of probing, the Netherfire Genesis performance station is obviously superior. The speed and stability of the breakthrough are much higher. Everyone can see the comparison details. Our visual judgment is similar, but the difference is actually quite big." Crazy Martial Artist said, "So, the Netherfire can take the initiative, but this is a superficial advantage, not a real advantage. So, the Netherfire has to make an early move, predicting Mu Ou's prediction, but this prediction is given to the opponent by Mu Ou. Look at this realistic feint!" In the video, the Kai Long (Armored Dragon) pretended to want to use force to pull away, but it was actually just a bow stance that caused the center of gravity to shift backwards. When the Netherfire made a brilliant flash jump slash, it immediately ejected into the air, hanging on the wall horizontally and hitting the heart with an elbow! "Romero is indeed a top player. Facing such a situation, he immediately used a laser shield for a second defense, and accurately unloaded the force. The consciousness of both sides made multiple attacks and defenses in a few seconds, followed by Yan Fei returning to block the opponent from continuing to expand their advantage, it's amazing." Just this seemingly unremarkable round of probing was enough to kill countless warriors. They both left a hand for absolute defense when attacking, and they were thinking of attacking when defending.

Predicting the counter-prediction requires enough operation and technology to support it. The maneuvering actions of both people were completely maxed out. Any immature action would not achieve the attack and defense effect.