Chapter 688: Chapter 689: Gathering Together
The following day marked the final round of the Mecha Design Competition.
The finals began at nine in the morning. Ji Sisi and friends got up early, ate breakfast, tidied up, and left ahead of time, anticipating traffic delays.
As the group was walking out of the neighborhood, a voice called out from behind them,
"Nian Shutong?"
An uncertain voice prompted Nian Shutong to turn around and, with a smile, greet the man, "Professor Zhou, good morning."
"Ah, it really is you. I wasn’t sure," Professor Zhou replied politely, catching up to walk with Nian Shutong and the others.
"I’ve been meaning to contact you. The new student training ends in three days."
"I know, I’m here with my family for the Mecha Design Competition. Once it’s all over, I’ll contact you."
Nian Shutong’s honest response served as a reassuring promise to Professor Zhou.
"Alright, then I’ll wait for your message. I need to go, you’re busy."
Professor Zhou quickened his pace and left ahead of them.
Nian Shutong and the others didn’t delay any further; after exiting the residential area, Lian Qing drove them in Shadowless toward the competition venue.
At the competition venue, an elderly couple stood outside the ticket office, visibly upset.
"See, I told you to buy the tickets earlier. Now what do we do, there are none left."
"How was I to know it would be this popular? Back in our day, who’d bother watching this?"
The Emperor responded, only for the Empress to tap his forehead with a finger, saying, "Back in our day was over a hundred years ago."
The Empress withdrew her finger, watching the bustling crowd and young faces, and remarked, "We really have gotten old."
The Emperor, seeing the Empress appear slightly melancholic, quickly added, "It’s okay, we still have our son."
The couple moved to a corner and contacted the Crown Prince.
"What? What did you say you need?"
"Special seats won’t do?"
"Alright, I got it. I’ll find them for you."
The Crown Prince, in the middle of a court meeting and uncertain, repeated the request.
Once he understood, he smiled at the courtiers below and asked, "Does anyone happen to have two tickets for the Mecha Design Competition? Regular tickets will do, nothing special."
Everyone’s first reaction was confusion at what the Crown Prince was asking.
But someone reacted quickly, raising their hand and declaring, "Your Highness, I have them."
"Good, then I’ll trouble you for them."
"It’s no trouble at all, no trouble."
The man quickly called his son—who had bragged to him about the tickets the day before—and said at top speed, "Send me the electronic codes for those two tickets you have."
The son, mystified by what was happening but sensing an urgency in his father’s voice as though he might explode if disobeyed, sent over the electronic codes for his tickets. Right after, his Light Computer received a passcode for VIP seats.
"Wow, I didn’t know my dad could be this generous!"
The son, baffled by his father’s antics but thrilled, took the VIP pass and entered the venue.
Meanwhile, the Emperor and Empress finally got the electronic tickets, checked in, and entered the grounds.
The couple wanted to avoid drawing attention, as quite a few people in Zone 1 would recognize them.
They simply wished to quietly watch the competition, then discreetly follow up with Nian Shutong and discuss the matter concerning Dou Dou.
Not long after the imperial couple entered, Nian Shutong also arrived at the venue.
Nian Shutong wasn’t the only familiar face; Yu Zeming, a mecha enthusiast, was there too. So every year for the finals, he would secure a box and watch intently.
At the same time, Professor Zhou, who was supposed to teach a class, chose to swap it with someone else and came to the venue to watch Nian Shutong’s family compete.
He had a hunch that Nian Shutong’s family was extraordinary.
At nine in the morning, the competition started on time.
The venue was slightly different from that used for the earlier selection rounds; it resembled the sort of Beast Fighting Arena found in Rome, circular, vast, and open.
Around the circular arena was a transparent protective cover, and beyond that, the audience sat on terraced seats rising uphill.
Because of Ji Sisi, so Nian Shutong and his group had front row seats. While great, it was also quite dangerous.
"Hello everyone, welcome to the annual finals of the Mecha Design Competition," greeted the host, descending from the sky on a ladder, stopping midway to continue speaking.
"The finals are divided into two parts. The first part is live mecha diagnostics."
"As everyone knows, a mechanical designer is also a master mecha mechanic, so there will be at least twenty malfunctioning mechas onsite. Within the designated time, successfully repairing a mecha will earn a certain number of points."
"The second part of the contest is a melee. Twenty mechas will fight it out, and points will be awarded based on how long they last. The person with the highest combined score from both rounds will be this year’s Mecha Design Champion."
"Now, please welcome the twenty mechanical designers to the stage."
After explaining the rules, the host descended to the ground.
Meanwhile, from various directions, twenty individuals walked into the center of the venue.
In the stands, the Empress pointed towards Ji Sisi and said, "There she is!"
"Where?"
"There!" The Empress pointed insistently until the Emperor finally spotted Ji Sisi, and following her direction, found Nian Shutong and Dou Dou.
"Dou Dou really looks like me."
The Empress rolled her eyes at the delighted Emperor, still doubtful as to who previously would have affirmed otherwise.
"Let’s watch the competition, we’ll talk after it’s over."
Her comment met with the Emperor’s agreement, who was slightly nervous, "It’s been so long since we’ve attended such an event, I’m actually a bit nervous."
The Empress was somewhat jittery too, because they were rooting for Ji Sisi to win—not because they thought she was so outstanding, but simply because they wanted to see their side triumph.
At that moment in the competition area, the twenty mechanical designers were positioned and ready, and at the sound of a whistle, twenty transparent cases rose from below, each containing a mecha.
"Ready everyone, the competition starts now."
At the host’s command, each participant hurried towards a mecha, selecting one before scrutinizing it.
But there was one person who hadn’t moved, Ji Sisi.
Ji Sisi’s state was all too reminiscent of Rubble; her eyes saw nothing but problems.
She pondered which mecha to fix first.