Shi Lang and the team seemed to have vanished, and the mechas were being tended to by OB-One alone. They had been missing for three days, and today was the day of the battle. They were going to face the four top teams simultaneously, in mecha suits and in a struggle with a high chance of death.
Yet, they were still not present, Shashi had been in touch with them constantly but the absence of the person, in reality, was much more worrisome to him. He was the envoy and the success of the team had made him a center of attention. Small-scale Galactic channels had approached him for an interview with the team, and he had to maintain a fake smile throughout.
This made him even more mentally exhausted. It was just a few hours before the battle and he could not find a single sign of Shi Lang and the team. Meanwhile, the reason for his discomfort was moving through the bustling capital city to look for the person in the dark, who caused him and his team this inconvenience.
They had gathered the intel with not much effort, the only clue was that the person met them in a cafe and that his left hand was not intact. Shi Lang thought about it and found that if a party was threatening the potential teams, like this then it must have been a regular operation. The Terran team had put their lives on the line and now they had to face this sleazy bunch of people, How could they?
The team had surrounded the cafe in the mention and they were laying down on the roofs of the surrounding buildings with their illusion arrays protecting them. They were completely geared, and if the enemy does not come to this place in the next couple of hours, then they will move to the competition and have OB-One scan the crowd.
They waited, however, there was no moment in this place. Shi Lang looked at the time and said, “The tech team will pull back, all of you will now go to the arena. Keep up the appearance, do not let them take our absence as our abstinence.”
The team followed his order and five people left the place. After another hour passed, Shi Lang said, “The five from the admin team will keep watch, and the rest of us will leave for the match. You will stay in touch at all times, and your protective arrays will stay on at all times. Do you understand?”
The five people came up with an affirmative reply and Shi Lang took off with the frontal forces. The speed of these few people was slightly slower. They have not taken a single grain of food in the past two days, and Shi Lang had used a lot of spirit energy to soul search the people, and when they came out of the mansion, they found themselves to be at a place that was five thousand miles away from the place. They had come back to the city on foot.
This place was man-made and there were a lot of ditches and protection protocols they had to bypass. This place was unknown to them, and even if they were to get any details about this place, it was limited. Shi Lang and the rest of the people were thankful for the bot, OB-One for his guidance in the simulated mapping and triangulation method.
Steel asked, “Sir, do we have no other way to deal with this matter?”
Shi Lang shook his head, and said, “Focus on the battle royale, this can be dealt with later. When the enemy sees us returning to compete, they will panic, and reveal a hint.”
The rest of the team nodded and they quickly arrived at the venue, there were still fifteen minutes for the battle to commence, and they had to report to the observation rooms in a few minutes. The constraint of time on them was a bit too much. They moved through the corridors and came to the observation hall.
The team was already and Jane said, “We have less time, I have placed food in your cockpits, go move.”
Shi Lang rushed forward and pecked her cheek as he said, “You are the best mother ever.”
Jane rubbed her cheek and kicked him in the shin before she said, “You are the worst child ever. Get lost, dirty swine.”
The frontal force were all covered in dust and dirt. Shi Lang chuckled and got inside, but who knew, that the rest of the frontal force soldiers will greet Jane with the same address, Den mother?
Lucas and the rest were trying their best to hold back. While Ryan and Steel joined Shi Lang in the mechas, the rest of the team sat down in the observation room and began eating the food prepared beforehand. Jane asked, “The admins?”
Jack replied, “Overwatch.”
They did not say much because they did not know what sort of high-tech bug might be placed here and record their conversation. They all sat on the floor looking forward to the countdown of the battle that was about to commence. Jane said, “What do you think? Will they make it through?”
Jack laid down on the ground and said, “Chill, the boss is very angry. Do you think he will let go of others?”
The rest of the people nodded and they understood what was going to happen. This time, Shi Lang will go to massacre the people. He will definitely not hold back from attacking anyone if they dared to even approach him. He has been holding back his rage ever since he found out that someone has kidnapped them.
…
Arianta hovered over the arena, the place was now twice big and five observation decks were placed in a pentagon shape. The galactic council had re-arranged the location for these matches. The hostess took a lap around the arena and said, “Welcome, friends from the galaxy. I am your host, Arianta. Tonight we have gathered to witness the first of its kind, Mecha Battle Royale.”
The crowd cheered with exhilaration. They did not expect this to be a battle royale. Arianta continued after a pause, “Though we have a twist in this mode, five teams will send one of their participants into the arena, they will fight with each other for ten minutes, and then a buzzer will sound, and the second wave of mechas will rush in to air or avenge their comrades. If you are lucky to survive then with the help of your comrade, you might be able to turn the tide, but if you are not lucky, then you might get tag-teamed.
So, are you all ready?”
Ryan said, “Boss, what is the game plan?”
Shi Lang was gulping down his fifth instant noodle cup and said, “I will go in first, you guys eat.”
The two people understood his intentions and they nodded. The general was going to pave the way, and they will have a better chance to recover their energy. Thinking about it the two people began to absorb the spiritual stones in their hands. Shi Lang ate in peace, his body was stronger and he had crushed a spirit stone to forcefully infuse the energy in his body.
Arianta finished introducing the five teams and then she flew away to the side. Shi Lang took a rough glance at who were his competitors and found that one of the mecha looked like a predator. Yes, it was a quad-limbed predator, with a long tail and low body. He was very curious about the tech behind this, and said, “Lucas, collect data.”
Lucas replied, “Collecting already, Boss. This thing is quite delicate yet sturdy at the same time.”
Shi Lang hummed, and the alarm sounded, this was the signal to send the players inside the arena. Just as the young general was about to take a step, the earphone rang with a calm greeting, “Godspeed.”
Taking a step inside, the young general was standing in the arena. He did not move forward, to reach the center, but just took out, his sword from his back. Arianta noticed this and said, “Looks like someone is not here for fun.”
Shi Lang’s mecha raised the head to gaze at her and the hostess fell silent. The crowd erupted in laughter, they did not expect the lady to get frightened by this gesture. Shi Lang waited for the countdown to finish, he spotted that a person was gazing at him with dedicated focus. His intentions were clear, and Shi Lang decided to kill this person before the ten-minute window ends.
He disliked this vibe of being stared at by a snake. So, first, crush the snake, and then deal with the chicken. The countdown ended and the computerized voice sounded, “Begin.”
Shi Lang ran straight toward the person who was staring at him and he said, “Neural Link, initiated.”