Chapter 1 The s-match Will Depend on Him and Zhao Qinglong

In the office, Li Hao sat respectfully, his back ramrod straight.

Lu Donglei and Sazerac looked at the humble Li Hao before them, realizing that this year's s-match would depend on him and Zhao Qinglong.

"Li Hao, what realm are you in now?" Lu Donglei asked directly.

"Reporting, General, I am at the Flowing Heart Martial stage." Li Hao said solemnly.

Lu Donglei nodded. He figured Li Hao must be at the peak of the Flowing Heart Martial stage. From their perspective, Li Hao was only slightly stronger than Zhao Qinglong and had ultimately defeated his opponent by borrowing Zhao Qinglong's strength.

"Very good, Li Hao. Although you won this time, don't be arrogant. Our opponents are very strong. You can offer suggestions at any time regarding the subsequent training to improve the Mid-Season Tournament as much as possible and enhance everyone's strength," Sazerac said.

"Yes, General."

Sazerac nodded with satisfaction. In this regard, Li Hao was much more obedient than Zhao Qinglong, who was very arrogant even when meeting them.

Lu Donglei wasn't as reassured as Sazerac. He could more or less understand Zhao Qinglong, but he had no idea what the young man in front of him was thinking. Sometimes, a gentle attitude was also a form of expression.

"Li Hao, what do you think of the previous training sessions?"

"General Lu, I think they were excellent. Everyone put in a lot of effort, and we will train hard."

"Haha, you don't need to. These are a bit of a burden to you, but we don't object if you want to be with everyone," Lu Donglei said with a smile.

"Reporting, I am willing to be with everyone!"

"Very good. Feel free to say whatever you need," Sazerac said, liking Li Hao more and more. It was a pity his daughter was already married.

"If possible, I would like to eat on time," Li Hao said. He didn't like training on an empty stomach.

Sazerac and Lu Donglei exchanged glances. "That's not a problem."

Hunger training had been part of previous Mid-Season Tournaments, but they weren't planning on repeating it this year.

"If you find anything unsuitable in the subsequent training, feel free to mention it. We won't dwell on the situation we're facing. Individual strength is ultimately limited. We need comprehensive improvement," Lu Donglei said.

"Yes, sir. I will do my best."

"Alright, return to the team," Sazerac said, nodding with satisfaction.

When Li Hao returned, the major teams had successively begun the same three training exercises. When it truly came down to doing them, it wasn't so easy. These three training exercises were quite targeted.

Of course, this was still the beginning of the Mid-Season Tournament, but this battle had completely changed the atmosphere. Although there were still small disagreements internally, that was normal. They were all young elites, and it would be strange if they didn't have some temper. Besides, how could they surpass others without that spirit of not admitting defeat?

As soon as Li Hao returned, he immediately attracted everyone's attention. Everyone looked at Li Hao with curiosity, admiration, and awe…

Robbie had already come up to him, shouting, "Attention!"

All the members of the Apocalypse Hunters stood at attention, fists on their chests.

Li Hao smiled. "Alright, Robbie, the Hunters have been disbanded. Go do your training."

"Second Brother, the brothers are waiting for you. You have to lead us to victory, damn it. We were bullied badly by the Moon in the past two years. Have you heard? That bastard Hilian is actually participating in the Mid-Season Tournament, playing the same old tricks. This year, we definitely won't let it go," Robbie said. O'Morphey, Lomachenko, Verne, and others were all looking at Li Hao.

Without Hilian, things would be better, but with Hilian's return, Earth would have no hope this year without Li Hao.

Li Hao was slightly stunned. He thought Hilian had changed his lifestyle, but it seemed he had been thinking too much.

After a moment of silence, he said, "I understand."

"Who is Hilian? Is he very strong?"

"I don't know. He sounds familiar, but aren't the Moon's strongest figures Maxis and Fan Leivitt? Below them is New Beidou. Could this person be a supernova?"

"Is a supernova worth making a fuss about? It probably has something to do with Apocalypse."

"Shhh… It seems he used to be a big shot in Apocalypse. Maxis and the others were just his underlings back then."

"Damn it, are we even going to compete this year? How are so many monsters popping up?"

"What are you afraid of? We have Li Ge."

Li Hao's calmness gave everyone a lot of confidence. Besides Li Hao, Hilian had left the biggest shadow on everyone back then. Before the moment of life and death, most people had been more optimistic about Hilian. Some even thought that Li Hao had only been able to defeat Hilian because Hilian had fought Nangong Yuhang to the death first. In any case, it had some influence.

Moreover, compared to the immaturity and inexperience of others, Hilian had already possessed absolute resources and was strategizing at that time.

Under the instructors' reminders, the team restored order and continued their training tests. The strong had their own considerations. For most teams, the immediate issue was getting into the World Championship. What was the point of thinking so much if they couldn't even get in?

Because they had just competed, the Tianjing team only needed to observe and learn for now.

Li Hao returned to the team, and Ma Long circled around Li Hao, his nose twitching.

"Ma Long, what do you want? You're drooling. Other than borrowing money, anything else is negotiable." Li Hao quickly waved his hand.

"Hao-ge, Hao-ge, we're brothers for life! How could you hide this from us? Put your hand on your heart. Does it hurt?" Ma Long looked up at a 45-degree angle, letting out a long sigh with exaggerated emotion.

Li Hao was dumbfounded. What had happened in just a moment? He looked innocently at Zhou Nanyi, who snorted, not wanting to pay attention to Li Hao. This guy was the worst!

Thinking about the past year or so, she had wanted to tutor him from time to time and kept reminding him to work hard. Even Wu Zang had asked her to train Li Hao. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. This guy must have been laughing at her behind her back. She bit her small teeth fiercely.

Li Hao felt a chill down his neck. "Class Monitor, haha, let's talk nicely. Don't resort to violence. Why are you grinding your teeth? Don't worry, I mentioned it to them. The competition is the competition, but we'll definitely have enough to eat."

"Hehe, Captain Li has so much face that even the generals listen to you. How dare I lay a hand on you?"

Li Hao was at a loss. Wu Zang smiled slightly and shook his head. Zuo Xiaotang was holding back, as his brothers wouldn't let him speak.

"Cough, how is Huo Ying?" Li Hao quickly changed the subject.

"Someone just notified us. Old Huo's life is not in danger. The golden zone has also stabilized, but his injuries are a bit serious. He won't be able to participate in the training for the rest of the Mid-Season Tournament," Ma Long said. "Old Huo is fierce! I'm impressed this time. Although it's a bit of a pity, Tianjing Mech Martial is bound to enter the s-match with its current momentum. Huo Ying will have plenty of opportunities to show his skills later."

Li Hao nodded. "That's good. He can count it as a blessing in disguise. He broke through."

"Cough, cough, Hao-ge, two different things. Stop joking and honestly confess. Do you have a hidden identity?" Ma Long's teeth were almost bared with excitement.

"Damn, what do you want to say? Just say it. Be careful not to chip your teeth." Li Hao was completely confused.

"Li Hao, is your ID 'Puppet'?" Although she was almost certain, Zhou Nanyi still felt she had to ask him directly.

Li Hao was stunned and nodded. "Yes."

It seemed like a gust of wind had blown by… That was it?

"So straightforward?" Ma Long was also stunned.

"That's the ID I used to practice. I remember you guys asked me before, and I said it was."

Ma Long directly hugged Li Hao's neck. "That was a joke! Who would believe it? How could you say something so explosive so casually? I don't care, you're a big star!"

Li Hao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "What nonsense are you talking about? Don't take it too seriously. We should still focus on the s-match."

"Li Hao is right. I'll let you off the hook," Zhou Nanyi said. Looking at Li Hao's appearance, he probably had other secret missions. His identity wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"I told you, Hao-ge is a low-key person and doesn't care about this," Wu Zang nodded. Li Hao's style was the same as the Wu family's teachings.

"Oh, what can we say? If I had that popularity…"

"What if you had it? Are you going to retire? Ma Long, Huo Ying is injured, and you have to shoulder the banner now. Work hard in the subsequent training. If we ultimately fail to be selected because of someone, what do you think will happen?" Zhou Nanyi splashed a basin of cold water on Ma Long to wake him up.

The Mid-Season Tournament had just begun and hadn't ended yet. Li Hao was indeed the center of attention, but the team was still a team, and they had to have a unified score. Everyone was watching. If they just weren't good enough, the military wouldn't let Tianjing be selected. If Li Hao was indispensable, then it was very likely that Li Hao would transfer schools.

Then Tianjing would really be finished.

Ma Long obviously realized this problem. "Hehe, that won't happen. This is the thickest thigh I've ever encountered in my life. No one can stop me."

The entire Mid-Season Tournament was divided into two parts. The first half was for the pilots, and the second half was for the mechs. Obviously, the first half was longer. After the Mid-Season Tournament, there would still be half a year to prepare for the s-match. The mech usage and battle maps for the s-match would only be announced closer to the date, and this time it was very different from previous years. Because of the widespread use of the K23, there would be major adjustments, so the Mid-Season Tournament focused more on the golden zone.

In the following training, tests such as the barefoot volcano path and the Mars cave special training were added. Ma Long perfectly finished last, frantically rubbing against the edge of elimination. Fortunately, his zone ability played a lighting role in the dark Mars cave, restoring some of his health, and he finally persevered. Whether the two Major Generals turned a blind eye was unknown. Anyway, no one asked, and no one wanted to ask.

Zhao Qinglong returned on the third day of the Mid-Season Tournament. Of course, even without him, North Carolina's overall score was still firmly in first place. Ye Tong's performance throughout the Mid-Season Tournament was exceptionally hardworking. Of course, with two older brothers protecting her, nothing would happen. She just couldn't get past her own psychological barrier.

Li Hao and Zhao Qinglong worked together as role models for the others, and with the situation of having opponents, USE's overall progress was very large. Zhao Qinglong was still domineering in style, majestic and leading the overall rhythm. Li Hao… was all smiles and leisurely all day long. One would think he was on vacation, but if you said it was a vacation, it seemed that he didn't miss any training. Anyway, if there was training, he would get full marks, and if there wasn't, he would enjoy it very much, sometimes chatting with Ye Tong, or being pestered by the little fan girl Uxia, asking questions.

In Robbie's words, back then on the USE side, Qinglong was for favorable situations, Nangong was for adverse situations, and Li Hao was for desperate situations.

Regarding this, Ma Long had been trying to protest because he was the most tired and difficult one. The fair-skinned Ma Long was covered in wounds, refusing to step down from the front line with minor injuries. Whenever he wanted to give up, his kind teammates would describe the beautiful prospects of the future, entering the World Championship, infinite glory, great victories, fame, and beautiful women surrounding him…

Ma Long's little universe constantly burst out, lighting himself up, and he had to do it.

Wu Zang and Zhou Nanyi's performances were mediocre. It wasn't that they weren't good, but that the others were too fierce. Li Hao was Li Hao, and the other top ten teams were definitely not overrated. Their performances in training were commendable.

The Knights of the Round Table of Orpheus also showed their true strength, steadily in second place, second only to North Carolina. Obviously, when they were sparring with Tianjing, they weren't holding back a little; they were holding back a river.

If Ma Long was losing points, Wu Zang and Zhou Nanyi were holding steady, and Li Hao was gaining points, but one person wasn't enough. The most surprising thing was Zuo Xiaotang. This little fatty still hadn't awakened his golden zone, but his training was fierce, and neither mental interference nor mental explosion worked. He was in a special state of avoidance, and his marksmanship was accurate and ruthless. He was a typical case of being fierce and not talking much, completely opposite to his appearance.

The little fatty consistently ranked in the top ten in the shooting category, and his final overall score ranked fifth, which included Zhao Qinglong and Li Hao. One can imagine how exaggerated that was.

The third place was the GRU Military Academy. The GRU and Okkanman's scores were very close, but in the end, the GRU shouted "Ura!" and the whole team broke out, surpassing by three points in the last moment and securing third place, also holding the position of the first echelon.

The top three, no change.

The fourth place was Okkanman Royal Military Academy, without suspense, the scores of the top four teams were far ahead of the other teams.

The Puma team, Robbie showed the terrifying combat power of the mature Burning Will, very fierce, but the level of the other members of the team was somewhat different, and they suffered a big loss when they faced Okkanman, but in any case, Robbie defended the dignity of being one of the Six Dragons.

The sixth place was the Calvert Special Military Academy led by Perkins. Perkins' mind was very broken, and his brain always went astray, but his strength was real. Calvert's overall combat style was wretched and efficient, and the level was there. Getting the sixth place was really cunning.

The seventh was Yan Teng's Black Rock Military Academy, overall balanced, tough style, and the team atmosphere was quite good, getting this result was also expected, Yan Peng also got the first place in the heavy equipment in the private fish wrestling competition.

The ninth place was the Tianjing Mech Martial led by Li Hao….

The tenth place was the Sea Sharks Military Academy led by Luo Dongsheng, The overall grid of Sea Sharks was also very strong, different from the deepness of Jiyingdao, Sea Sharks was more outgoing, more unrestrained, and liked to hypnotize themselves to go up, looking at the carefree Luo Dongsheng, in the final ranking battle, a mistake by a team member led to a loss of points, regrettably ranked tenth, one point behind Tianjing Mech Martial.