Chapter 1 The Ground Shakes

The cheers from the audience shook the heavens and the earth. Both sides were giving it their all. The Moon people didn't see how they could lose, while the Earthlings felt there was definitely a chance.

Two mobile suits descended upon the Kepler Jungle amidst the attention of the crowd. Zuo Xiaotang was excited. Being in the stands was one thing, but actually being on the field was indescribable. This was the S-rank competition finals! And his opponent was the girl he liked!

The Phantom also landed in Kepler, its radiant flames burning. That unique, multicolored black, the powerful Ryushin-class Gold Zone, instantly dominated the battlefield. Zuo Xiaotang really couldn't compare in terms of power. The Phantom slowly floated up, directly locking onto the Hunter Shadow.

Zuo Xiaotang's Gold Zone also opened, flames burning, but it paled in comparison to the Phantom. However, Zuo Xiaotang had a unique ability: he was immune to interference. Although An Litta's Zone was powerful, it couldn't exert pressure on him like it could on ordinary players. This ability, which he previously thought was just a sign of weakness, now seemed pretty awesome.

…

The Hunter Shadow Apollo opened fire directly, the Shadowfiend blasting out a shot. However, the Phantom, a living target in mid-air, didn't even bother to dodge, blocking with its Shadow Sentry titanium sword.

Clang…

An Litta smiled charmingly. "Little Fatty, where did you get the courage?"

The Phantom dived down, rushing towards the Hunter Shadow like a hawk pouncing on a rabbit. Zuo Xiaotang was dumbfounded. What the hell was this? Was she looking down on him so much?

Boom… Boom… Boom…

The Shadowfiend fired three shots in a row, accurately striking the Phantom. There was no technique involved, because the opponent wasn't even trying to dodge. The Phantom waved its titanium sword, directly blocking all three hits. The distance between them instantly closed, and the Hunter Shadow, having fired three shots, plunged into the giant fern jungle, activating its stealth ability and fleeing quickly.

The Phantom hovered slightly, its twin Bee Sting titanium swords extended, a dazzling black light expanding like a curtain, directly covering the battlefield within hundreds of meters. The Hunter Shadow's movements clearly appeared in An Litta's field of vision.

The Phantom chased after the fleeing Hunter Shadow Apollo. One was a ground-based fighter, the other a sky-based one. This was truly too much suppression. However, Zuo Xiaotang wasn't idle. As soon as the Phantom appeared in his sight, he raised his hand and fired.

However, his famed marksmanship was useless in front of An Litta. The shots were very accurate, but An Litta's blocks were even more precise. Most importantly, the Shadowfiend's armor-piercing rounds, with their astonishing power, were doing nothing to An Litta.

"The difference is too great. There's already a gap," Baster frowned. In their eyes, Zuo Xiaotang was still just an "ordinary person." Being accurate with a gun wasn't that useful at their level. An Litta's level was such that she could hold her own even against the three of them.

"Maybe it's just a trade-off. A skilled cook can't make a meal without rice. The others are even worse," Maxis said with some emotion. "I feel like our luck is a little better than yours."

Maxis was speaking to Chao Qinglong. It wasn't that the North Carolina team was weak. He and Baster were the same; anyone who faced Hailong was swept aside. After all, Hailong was the core of the Shadow Sentry, and he had a background like Morpheus. It wasn't that Maxis had no ambition and was willing to be a follower. The Shadow Sentry back then was truly powerful to that extent.

Baster still frowned. "It shouldn't be. Zuo Xiaotang is still very useful in team battles. He shouldn't have fought An Litta. Even if he could win against the others, it would be difficult to seriously injure them."

After all, Baster and the others had targeted Tianjing Mech back then. Hailong couldn't be left unused, and Hailong was even more terrifying. Li Hao was clearly making a mistake, being too optimistic?

"You still don't understand Second Brother," Chao Qinglong said with a light smile. "Back in Apocalypse, I heard Second Brother mention this childhood friend of his." "Tianjing will win! Zuo Xiaotang will definitely defeat this妖女 (monster girl)!" Ye Tong suddenly stuck her head out and waved her fists at Maxis and Baster.

Maxis and Baster both smiled. They wouldn't argue with Ye Tong, but they didn't quite believe Chao Qinglong's blind faith. All of Zuo Xiaotang's attack methods were unable to pose a threat to An Litta. He was different from Cheng Konghai. Cheng Konghai was a top player who had trained in Apocalypse. Even if he had been out of practice for a few years, his vision, ability, and ability to seize opportunities were all top-notch. They were all opponents of Tianjing Mech. Because of Li Hao, they had really investigated Zuo Xiaotang's ancestors for eight generations. He was just an ordinary family in Tianjing. Besides being a playmate who had known Li Hao since childhood, he really wasn't anything special. From the reserve class to entering Tianjing Mech, he had always been unremarkable. He was just an ordinary person. If such a person could defeat An Litta, then they really wouldn't need to do anything anymore.

Chao Qinglong didn't explain. In fact, Maxis and Baster thought they understood Li Hao very well. After all, it was said that the enemy knew you best, but the two of them hadn't faced Li Hao directly since the Apocalypse era. The one they had really faced was Cyrillian… or Nangong Yu Hang. He was just a recent bystander, but he had only caught a glimpse. He always felt that Second Brother's ability had become so strong that it was almost unreal, to the point that he had been selectively ignoring it in recent years.

Bringing the unknown Tianjing Mech all the way to the finals of the S-rank competition. Was that something a normal person could do?

The strength of the individual was undoubtedly great, but when facing a group, especially when facing social rules, it would appear particularly insignificant. But he was able to do it. It should be known that even with Cyrillian's background, it had taken a great deal of effort.

Zuo Xiaotang, even with his ability, was a little hard to see through. He shared the same view as Maxis and Baster; he was indeed too ordinary, but there were many contradictory aspects to Zuo Xiaotang. His talent, the strength he displayed, and his Gold Zone were extremely mismatched. This abnormality, happening around Second Brother, was it hiding something?

Facing An Litta's Gold Zone of this level, this person was actually unaffected, still in a state of flow, without self or other, running when he should run, attacking when he should attack. From the audience's perspective, he looked very disheveled, but unknown to all but a few people, under the pressure of An Litta's Gold Zone of this level, they might not even be able to move their bodies. And once locked on, that murderous aura would really cause tremendous consumption, as if being in a horror movie.

And the camera showed Zuo Xiaotang, his little fat face was a little tense, but it was definitely not a state of pressure. It was unimaginable how such a situation could occur on the mental confrontation front.

An ability to endure, unafraid of strong confrontation?

Chao Qinglong didn't believe that such an ability existed. Judging from Zuo Xiaotang's overall condition, it didn't seem like it. He was simply resisting the power of the Gold Zone.

He had seen this situation before. It had appeared in Apocalypse back then, on Cyrillian, on Nangong Yu Hang, and another was Li Hao.

These three were all because of absolute strength. The fourth was Zuo Xiaotang, but Zuo Xiaotang was really too weak. What he was showing now was just the peak of his burning will.

How could such an ability withstand the pursuit of a Ryushin-class peak expert?

On the battlefield, Zuo Xiaotang used the terrain for cover, using all his strength to shoot, but the problem was, it wasn't that he couldn't hit, but that it was useless when he did. All of his output was blocked by the Phantom, and even two stunning arc shots were useless. An Litta was playing with Zuo Xiaotang like a cat playing with a mouse.

The mission for An Litta in this battle was very clear: to prevent Zuo Xiaotang from participating in the team battle, or to lose his combat power in the team battle.

It was true that Zuo Xiaotang would definitely be suppressed in a one-on-one fight. She didn't need to do it; others could do it too. But once it came to the team battle, in a strong confrontation, this person's sniping would be too deadly, it would be the straw that broke the camel's back.

It was easy to defeat Zuo Xiaotang, but it would take some time to make him lose his combat power, especially… she had to guard against Zuo Xiaotang's surrender.

Ordinary people wouldn't do it on the S-rank competition stage, let alone the finals, not even in the previous qualifiers, but she really felt that this little fatty could do such a thing, so she had to kill him slowly, without him realizing it. Although it was a bit innocent, it was his fault for following the wrong person.

Just thinking about it… was exciting. Whoosh…

Zuo Xiaotang fired a shot that missed. The Phantom in the air had suddenly disappeared. Zuo Xiaotang was a little flustered. He had seen An Litta's abilities, all kinds of illusions, space manipulation, and terrifying ice sealing. Any one of them would be enough to drown him. He immediately gave up the idea of attacking and fled in panic. He didn't know if it would work, but he would stall for a while…

Suddenly, a mobile suit appeared in front of him, burning with black flames. At that moment, Zuo Xiaotang felt his legs cramping. "Little Fatty, where are you going?" An Litta said with a smile.

The next second, the Hunter Shadow Apollo disappeared. Zuo Xiaotang used instant movement without any hesitation.

His biggest advantage was his self-awareness. In close combat, he didn't have the slightest bit of confidence. Creating distance might not be useful, but it was the only thing he could do.

What opponent couldn't he shake off with this ability of his, where even he didn't know where he was going?

Zuo Xiaotang gasped for breath, enjoying the taste of freedom, but before long, that multicolored black enveloped him again, like a dragnet. An Litta was flying towards Zuo Xiaotang's direction.

How to escape? When she "taught" Zuo Xiaotang a lesson, although she had suffered a bit, she had already planted a mark. No matter what, Zuo Xiaotang couldn't escape her grasp. This was a plan that had been made from the beginning. The boss was very cautious and asked her to personally deal with Zuo Xiaotang, after all, he was the most important person next to Li Mo (Demon Li).

But even now, An Litta was still a little disappointed. As the one below one person in the Shadow Sentry, she longed for a truly powerful opponent.

This damn fatty wasn't exciting.

Zuo Xiaotang was really so scared that the hair on his neck stood on end. Was this a ghost? His intuition told him that the other party wasn't blindly stumbling upon him, but could really grasp his whereabouts. This ability had exceeded his understanding, and he had no way to solve it.

The Hunter Shadow Apollo hurriedly fired, although in haste, it was really accurate. Bang, bang, bang…

The Phantom wasn't in a hurry. The twin Bee Sting titanium swords accurately blocked the attacks. The magnitude of the battle between An Litta and Ye Tong was too high, the level of the Gold Zone was maxed out, to the point that it ignored An Litta's fundamentals. In terms of footwork and eyesight, An Litta was at the ceiling level.

She could deter the Shadow Sentry, but it wasn't based on her looks.