First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 66
Chapter 66: Education
Zhao Zhuoluo's equipment suddenly emitted a loud bang, startling Fang Jianchen who was sitting outside. He cautiously turned his head to look at the machinery behind him and whispered, "Outstanding... are you still alive?"
The door was pushed open as Zhao Zhuoluo stepped out with one foot.
His face was pale, brows tightly knit together—he didn't look particularly well.
Fang Jianchen glanced behind him and asked in surprise, "What's your situation? You weren't even in there for five minutes—not even enough time for a quick round. What could have happened?"
Zhao Zhuoluo walked to the chair in the middle, sat upright with perfect posture, stared straight ahead, and shook his head. "Eight years old."
Fang Jianchen poked him from behind. "Holy shit! What's wrong with you?"
Zhao Zhuoluo raised a hand to scratch his head, seemingly not listening, and continued shaking his head. "Eight... years old..."
Cheng Ze, hearing the commotion, came out in his pajamas and looked at the two in confusion.
Fang Jianchen slapped the table. "Did she piss you off again? Don't take it to heart. Or did she finally lose all her points in the arena and came begging for a carry? That's just how eight-year-olds are—annoying. You should be used to it by now."
Cheng Ze, hands in his pockets and leaning against the doorframe, interjected, "I wasn't like that when I was eight. Back then, everyone loved me."
Fang Jianchen placed a hand on Zhao Zhuoluo's head, only to have it swatted away. Zhao Zhuoluo took a deep breath. "Just stop talking. Anyway, I advise you to stay far away from her from now on."
Fang Jianchen rolled up his sleeves, ready to charge forward. "What's the big deal? I'll teach her a lesson for you!"
Zhao Zhuoluo turned his head to give him a scrutinizing look up and down, then nodded.
Fang Jianchen grew wary. "What?"
Zhao Zhuoluo suddenly seemed in better spirits. He stood up and patted Fang Jianchen's shoulder. "It's too late today. Next time, remember to tell her that."
Fang Jianchen thought he was being utterly incomprehensible.
Zhao Zhuoluo turned and went back to his room. After hesitating for a moment, he sent a communication request to Madam Sun Yan.
Sun Yan was handling official business, typing away with her head down, and casually asked, "Good evening, dear. Is there something you need?"
Zhao Zhuoluo said, "Mom, that person you asked me to mentor earlier..."
Sun Yan paused her typing and asked, "Oh, how is she? Isn't she smart?"
Zhao Zhuoluo's face twitched. "Eight years old?"
Sun Yan replied without changing her expression, "Yes!"
Zhao Zhuoluo's expression darkened. "What a big eight-year-old—she's in the same grade as me."
"You only found out now? You actually didn't realize until now?" Sun Yan was also shocked. "But it's fine, it's not too late. She's a newly transferred student—you should take care of her a bit more."
"...I don't think she really needs it." Zhao Zhuoluo suddenly felt drained. "Mom, don't do this again. If something happens, it'll be awkward later."
Sun Yan said, "She's a newly transferred student, and I heard she has zero points. How could she not need help? Don't think I don't know how things work in your Military Academy."
Zhao Zhuoluo felt a headache coming on.
From the looks of it now, while her points might be stretched thin—so much so that she couldn't even afford a decent mech, putting her at a clear disadvantage—she probably had a plan in mind and didn't need anyone to carry her.
—After all, she wasn't actually eight years old.
He didn't know how many matches Lian Sheng had lost so far, but judging by what she said tonight, the points she earned from defending the arena were likely more than what she'd get from grinding battlefields. He also understood that if someone had absolute skill, the arena was undoubtedly the fastest way to rack up points. But at the same time, it was also the fastest way to bankrupt yourself.
But Zhao Zhuoluo had never imagined that the "Piaoqi Great General" was Lian Sheng. Part of it was due to his mother's misleading, and another part was because Lian Sheng herself defied common sense.
How many people dared to open an arena after barely touching a mech? Didn't that perfectly fit the reckless elementary schooler persona?
As it turned out, they had wronged elementary schoolers—what a sin.
Zhao Zhuoluo pressed his lips together. He had reflexively logged off after hearing her reply, and now he was probably being laughed at for it.
After ending the call with Sun Yan, he hesitated for a moment before logging into the Sanyao official website to search for Lian Sheng's ID.
He hadn't expected to find anything, but to his surprise, multiple video links about her popped up.
So far, Lian Sheng had fought thirty-four arena matches, with six losses.
In District 12, which was full of beginners, this wasn't particularly remarkable—it might even be considered lackluster. After all, the truly troublesome opponents came in the later stages.
High-ranking players like them, if they had nothing better to do, would specifically challenge well-known arena defenders. So, in theory, arena matches only got harder as time went on.
But Lian Sheng's matches were full of spectacle—the highlight wasn't just the simple win or loss, but her crisp, decisive combat style, which was her real selling point.
Zhao Zhuoluo scrolled down and found that someone had already made a highlight reel of her first ten matches, showcasing her explosive moments and key plays—sudden turns, aggressive assaults, feints, retreats...
But before today, this video had low viewership, and the few comments it had were mostly dismissive, calling it "staged" or "low-quality." For some reason, it had been dug up from obscurity today and was now being widely shared and discussed.
—"A journey into the rise of the starter mech Yuan Rui."
—"Shocking! Why dare to defend an arena with a starter mech? This pilot's skills will show you the answer."
—"Don't say you know how to pilot a mech until you've mastered the starter mech."
—"A rookie arena defender appears in the beginner zone! Bizarre maneuvers you've never seen before!"
—"A pilot whose aesthetics are as unorthodox as her skills!"
Some in the comments scoffed and brushed it off. Others called it attention-seeking, sparking arguments with her fans.
In any case, she had gained some popularity in District 12.
Zhao Zhuoluo clicked on the video and watched it carefully twice.
Her movements had a distinct style—no matter how the scene changed, something about them still felt off. Comparing different matches in the same video, there seemed to be subtle variations, though he couldn't quite put his finger on them.
Zhao Zhuoluo became engrossed in studying her and went on to look up her match videos from today, watching them one by one.
The recordings were based on the players' chosen perspectives, and sometimes Lian Sheng's maneuvers caught them off guard, resulting in unclear angles during critical moments. Zhao Zhuoluo had to search through different players' recordings, but not many had uploaded footage from her side, and the video categories were a mess. He wasted a lot of time sifting through them.
It wasn't until late at night, when he glanced at the time, that he realized how late it had gotten. He hurriedly shut off his optical computer and went to bed.
But none of this seemed to affect Lian Sheng. She continued her training as usual and logged in on schedule to grind points.
The next day, when she logged in, she found a much larger crowd gathered around the arena than yesterday—it was far livelier.
Lian Sheng, still sporting her eccentric outfit and piloting her starter mech, calmly walked a lap around the arena.
Spectators below waved frantically at her:
"Great General! Great General, I brought you some cheerleaders! See how many people there are? Feeling the hype? How many matches are you fighting today?"
She was always hyped—it had nothing to do with the crowd size.
"Great General, why do you always use the starter mech? Is it because your opponents aren't worthy of you bringing out another mech?"
Really, what kind of stupid question was that? Of course it was because she had no points!
"Great General! Great General, are you really a beginner? How old are you, actually?"
"Great General, there are still idiots out there saying you're an elementary schooler. Please use your little fists to smash their cockpits!"
Lian Sheng listened to their barrage of questions and wisely stayed silent—otherwise, it would never end.
After warming up and preparing to start the arena matches, she received a message from Fang Jianchen.
Fang Jianchen dramatically shouted at her, "Wh—ere—are—you?!"
Lian Sheng: "Arena matches?"
Fang Jianchen barked, "Stay right there! I'm coming to teach you a lesson!"
Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow.
Fang Jianchen arrived soon after but was stuck at the edge of the crowd. He craned his neck, looking at the sea of people ahead, and didn't push forward.
"Holy shit, why are there so many people?"
"Holy shit, are these people chanting your name? Have they lost their minds? Have they been bewitched by your beauty? You need to stay strong—they're not encouraging you, they're just expressing their love for a generous loser!"
"District 12 has been too peaceful for too long. The slightest stir becomes a huge commotion. You're too young to understand, but you'll get it when you're as old as Brother Fang."
"Are you even listening to me?"
Lian Sheng, hearing his rambling, responded, "I hear you."
"Good, good, that's my girl." Fang Jianchen said approvingly. "Now tell me, little sister, what did you do to my Outstanding yesterday? He didn't even dare to log in today."
Lian Sheng said, "Come to the front."
Fang Jianchen lectured sternly, "You should log off now and stop wasting your points. Outstanding hates it when people squander things—he's pissed!"
Lian Sheng coaxed, "Come to the front. Come on."
Fang Jianchen strode forward with his hands behind his back and sent her a message: "I'm here!"
A burly man next to him suddenly shouted at the stage, "Great General, I—love—you!"
Fang Jianchen glared and snapped at him, "You freak!"
The man: "..."
Lian Sheng directly started the challenge.
Back in the dorm, Ye Buqing and Cheng Ze finished their tasks and came out of their rooms to find Zhao Zhuoluo sitting alone in the living room while Fang Jianchen's voice faintly drifted out from the sensor.
Ye Buqing asked, "Aren't you going to check on him? Fang Jianchen alone can't control his temper—something might happen."
Zhao Zhuoluo stopped them. "No, let him go. Let him go alone. This time, he'll understand."
Fang Jianchen, seeing that Piaoqi Great General had loaded into the scenario, let out an "Aiya!" and started rolling up his sleeves. "I'll guide you—listen to my commands. Fast mechs like your opponent's are the most annoying. You need to wait for the right moment and conserve energy. Wait, no—why are you still using the starter mech? You can't play arena matches like this! You're way too bold!"
In the midst of the chaos, Lian Sheng spared a moment to reply with one word: "Mm."
Fang Jianchen suddenly remembered something and pulled up her info to check. His body jolted in shock. "Holy shit, how do you suddenly have over a hundred points?!"
On the field, Piaoqi Great General charged at her opponent with lightning speed. Carrying her cannon, she leaped onto a boulder and fired a shot from midair.
Her movements were smooth, her angles precise, her transitions seamless.
Fang Jianchen: "..."
The entire match lasted less than five minutes. Her opponent was clearly a standard District 12 beginner—no real challenge.
Even so, someone who could pilot a starter mech with such familiarity, bridging the gap in base parameters between different mechs, was no ordinary player.
Fang Jianchen fell silent for a long time before cautiously saying, "Little sister... you're quite talented, huh?"
Lian Sheng planted her sword in the ground and gazed into the distance. "I'm alright. I've trained before—just never piloted a mech."
Fang Jianchen took a step back, ready to bolt. His Adam's apple bobbed as he cautiously asked, "Tell me the truth—you were lying about being eight, right?"
Lian Sheng said flatly, "You were the one who said 'eight.' I never said anything."
Fang Jianchen: "Then how old are you, really?"
From the other side came a voice that might as well have crawled out of hell.
—"I'm Lian Sheng."
Fang Jianchen logged off almost instantly.
Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow. Well, well.
Want to dive deeper into the story? You can request bonus chapters or grab the complete Part 1 (147 chapters) as an EPUB from my Ko-fi shop!
Thank you for the update 🤣🤣
ReplyDelete