Debate (First Update)

"No way, she’s that strong? Is she cheating by coming to school?"

Xu Yue piloted Sunderland, dodging the opponent’s Burai’s tricky eight-shot barrage. Several shots grazed Sunderland’s mech armor, leaving a few marks behind.

It greatly surprised Xu Yue.

This mech training platform was entirely virtualized. One could only rely on the space’s mech skills and one’s own physical capabilities to control a mech.

Xu Yue’s mech skills themselves were not particularly advanced.

However, with his exceptional physical attributes—extreme reflexes, extreme resistance to pressure, and extreme perception—he had no problem whatsoever bringing Sunderland’s performance fully into play.

Yet even under these circumstances, he had nearly stumbled during the initial exchange. He had no choice but to take Sun Lin seriously.

This kind of talent was simply terrifying.

Could she really be a mech genius seen only once in a century?

On the other side, John’s eyes widened when he discovered that his textbook-perfect eight-shot advanced mech shooting lock had failed to knock the weapon from his opponent’s hand, merely grazing her instead.

Seeing that his opponent had chosen Sunderland, he had selected the slightly inferior Burai, another small-frame mech, out of consideration for not bullying her.

Yet his first attempt to show off had failed.

That freakish maneuver made him want to curse.

Sunderland could pull off moves like that?

With his piloting ability, Burai could not fully bring out his capabilities. Even so, he believed he had pushed Burai’s mech performance to its limits.

But now, he realized that mech control had no ultimate limit—there was only ever a greater limit!

This Sunderland…

Was a monster!

Xu Yue, the Sharingan spinning in his eyes, watched the movements of the Burai mech opposite him and once again marveled at "Sun Lin’s" talent.

Though she was only a formal Reincarnator, if she could display such skill while piloting Burai, she could probably rampage through the Veteran Reincarnators.

That was still with Burai’s frame limiting her. Otherwise, she would likely be even stronger.

"Sure enough, mechs are the quickest shortcut to improving speed. But this girl is a little too cocky. I should suppress her first, so she doesn’t get too full of herself."

There were still some memories in Sun Lin’s mind that could cause a bit of trouble. If she got carried away and provoked enemies she should not provoke, her death would still be somewhat troublesome.

He had an obligation to remind her.

And he could treat it as entertainment while he was at it.

Then I’ll use your own moves against you. I don’t know any advanced piloting techniques anyway…

The Sharingan required additional payment to learn specific ninjutsu and skills, but copying some basic movements before him and deducing controls suited to his own physical abilities was not outrageous enough to incur a fee.

After all, with his physical attributes, he could perform such movements casually. There was no need for extreme control, and they could not really be considered skills…

Ding~

The moment Xu Yue’s first shot burst from his gun barrel, John vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Sure enough, the following seven shots completely sealed off every route of escape, identical to his own earlier shooting!

"So he really is being piloted by an advanced mech pilot!"

Relying on his familiarity with his own abilities, John managed to evade the consecutive eight shots despite his embarrassment.

But when the ninth shot was fired, John, who had already exhausted every possible variation, could not help but have his pupils contract.

How was that possible?!

Wouldn’t the other guy’s hands cramp up?

Such high-frequency control in such a short time?!

Bang~

Though his mind could keep up, John’s hand movements had already fallen a beat behind. The gun in his hand was directly blasted apart.

Flames and fragments erupted.

Whether it was John or the other Legion members watching the fight, all of them were utterly dumbfounded.

This…

The one who had entered the match was John, who was originally proficient with mechs, right? It wasn’t Cross impersonating him, was it…

Afterward, they mercilessly witnessed a completely one-sided beating.

No matter how proficient a technique John used, his opponent could always produce an even more proficient technique of the same type to suppress him!

It was a fancy, all-round beating with no blind spots whatsoever, leaving John questioning his entire life.

When Burai finally exploded, he exited the connection in a daze.

School was too dangerous.

We should go back to the Legion…

After learning some mech control techniques for free in a one-on-one match, Xu Yue felt that he had not waited in line for so long in vain.

Only after squeezing every last bit out of his opponent did he finally finish him off and let him go.

He might only be studying mechs incidentally, but understanding mech capabilities better would also prepare him for possible mech encounters.

Abilities like the Wood Realm had limited destructive power against mechs. Not every mech was a small mech like those in Lelouch…

By the middle of the fight, he had also realized that his opponent could not possibly be Sun Lin.

If Sun Lin really were some once-in-a-century mech genius, Xu Yue could understand her learning skills so thoroughly.

But the seasoned experience of someone who had fought countless battles was not something a person with such a simple personality could possess.

It was probably some kind of misunderstanding.

But it did not matter. He was using a trial account, so there would not be any records.

Besides…

So what if there were records?

Elsewhere, the Chinese Labor Association.

Though it was not located directly within the slums, it stood at the boundary between the city and the slums.

An organization with as many as ten thousand Reincarnators had only such a small territory. It was indeed rather inconceivable.

After all, becoming a Reincarnator generally meant becoming a privileged class above ordinary people.

Yet that was entirely absent from these Chinese laborers.

Having long grown accustomed to suffering in silence, even after becoming Reincarnators, they were often still bullied by ordinary people.

They were unwilling to use even a trace of power in the real world and risk losing points.

Even so, due to its remote location, their headquarters was fairly spacious in scale.

The central meeting hall had only one floor, yet it was like a large church, with a remarkably broad interior.

It looked like a massive warehouse built in the shape of a church.

At this moment, the Chinese Labor Association headquarters was packed with Reincarnators, all staring at the intense discussion and debate taking place among several people on the platform above.

Such a scene was quite rare throughout the entire Association.

Lacking independent opinions, they rarely held meetings to discuss major issues. Most previous meetings had concerned suitable construction projects somewhere or Legions recruiting laborers somewhere.

"Old Xue, you sold out the interests of our Association’s laborers just like that? What do you take us for? Merchandise?"

A square-faced man with an upright expression slammed the table and spoke loudly.

"Captain Wang, you should understand our current status and circumstances. The Penguin Merchant Guild is willing to take us in, provide us protection, and give us work. This is something we could never even have dreamed of before. How can you call it selling us out?"

Old Xue tried to persuade him earnestly.

He had originally thought the matter would proceed smoothly. After all, the laborers’ living conditions had nearly reached their limit.

Even with such a large base, the number of Reincarnators had begun to decline, while the number of ordinary laborers was dropping far too quickly.

Yet unexpectedly, Captain Wang, who had often proposed attaching themselves to a major Legion to preserve their forces, was the first to oppose it this time.

Before Captain Wang could reply, another captain with sharp features immediately objected as well.

"What Penguin Merchant Guild? What use is their protection? Even the Beiyang Army cannot compare to the Westerners in Europe. No matter how good their promises are, they’re just empty promises. Attaching ourselves to another local Legion is the correct choice."

"Captain Jia, do you not understand the consequences of attaching ourselves to these local powers? What use would we have besides becoming cannon fodder? If it were possible, wouldn’t we have done it long ago?!"

Old Xue said, forcefully suppressing his anger. The Laborer Group was mainly divided among various production teams, and the two opposing captains had influence not much lower than his own.

"What’s wrong with being cannon fodder? What team doesn’t have a cannon fodder group? If they can do it, why can’t we? As long as we persist, we’ll eventually rise through the ranks. Everyone has an opportunity and hope. Becoming cannon fodder is training and a test!"

Captain Jia spoke with a righteous expression, looking as though he truly had the laborers’ best interests at heart.

"Besides, who can guarantee that we won’t be treated as cannon fodder if we join the Penguin Merchant Guild?"

"Since we’ll be cannon fodder either way, why not choose a better master? We have a numerical advantage and enough leverage to negotiate."

Captain Jia had repeatedly proposed joining some Legion. He was even more blatant than Captain Wang, taking pride in serving the Westerners.

And once he successfully brought them these ten thousand cannon fodder, he would ultimately be able to secure enough status for himself.

If he could single-handedly make this happen, all the laborers would likely be placed under his control. He would no longer merely be one of many captains whose words were often contradicted.

Then this place would become his personal domain. As long as he pleased the Westerners, he could ensure that his position would never fall…

"If that’s the case, then let’s follow our tradition. Let’s compete and see who has the strength to protect everyone better!"

First update today. Happy Christmas Eve, everyone! Thank you all for your support along the way!