LABMY CH86.1

This was a small planet specifically used for the Academy Grand Competition. Its natural conditions were suitable for combat across various terrains. The planet wasn’t large, but it possessed diverse environments such as deserts, rainforests, swamps, and hills.

However, the rainforest, filled with vegetation and life, was quite small, almost like an oasis in the desert. Yet, even within the rainforest, survival was difficult. The fruits and plants growing on this planet were mostly too hard to bite through or swallow and contained a certain level of toxins. For humans, resources here were scarce.

Before the starship arrived, the teacher leading the team emphasized the competition rules once more.

“The competition lasts for one month. You need to accomplish two things: first, survive on this planet. Second, eliminate others while avoiding elimination yourselves.”

“Everyone wears a badge on their chest. Mecha students have their badge on the chest of their mechas, while repair department students wear it on their clothes. Losing the badge won’t lead to elimination, but the badge counts for points. One badge is worth one point, while a mecha repair badge is worth two points.”

“If a team has no functioning mechas left, the entire team will be eliminated. After one month, if multiple academies remain, the team with the most badges will win.”

“Another elimination method is equipment damage. The equipment you’re carrying has a protective barrier installed. It can save your life in critical situations. However, if the protective barrier breaks, the equipment will also be destroyed, resulting in automatic elimination. Once eliminated, professionals will escort you out.”

After all, fighting with mechas on an unfamiliar planet was highly dangerous. But they were here to compete, not to die, so the academy would do its best to ensure student safety.

However… if an accident really occurred, the Academy Grand Competition allowed for a certain death rate every year.

“Every ten days, drones will drop supplies. The location will be announced on your communication device half an hour in advance. The planetary map will also be available on your device, showing the locations of supply stations.”

“Each team will have a tracking camera. If you feel you can’t hold on, just speak to the camera, and someone will come to take you out.”

“This is just a competition. If you lose, you can try again next year. But if you lose your life, you’ll have nothing.”

The teacher swept his eyes over the 150 students on the starship and said in a deep voice, “If everyone understands, you can now draw your landing order.”

To prevent the fifty academies from turning into chaos right from the start, landing positions and orders were different for each team.

Jian Yuanbai drew a tag and said to Lu Qianyun and Fan Youjin, “Let’s go.”

Fan Youjin was confused. “Why am I going with you? We from the repair department will be sent down by the teacher.”

Mecha students piloted their mechas to land on the planet, but repair department students couldn’t pilot mechas. They had to wait for the starship to stop and be sent to the designated location by their teachers.

“From this height, a parachute would be enough. Why bother with all this?”

Jian Yuanbai couldn’t understand. “How precious are you guys? You’re wasting time gathering.”

Fan Youjin rolled his eyes. “Not everyone knows how to parachute, okay?”

Jian Yuanbai waved at him, “Come here.”

The competition used standardized mechas with only the academy’s name and badge printed on the exterior. The name was a single character, and the badge was small, but a larger version of the badge was painted on the back of the mecha, allowing opponents to clearly identify them from a distance.

This type of mecha didn’t have a cockpit like a room. It was more of a body-fitting design.

The person would step in, and the mecha would automatically close, allowing for better combat performance and skill display.

Jian Yuanbai and Lu Qianyun entered their mechas. The hatch was already open, and the wind roared outside. Fan Youjin, standing inside, asked, “What do you want to say? Just say it.”

“Do you want me to wish you a smooth landing?”

Jian Yuanbai shook his head, “No.”

His voice echoed from the mecha, sounding muffled. After speaking, he suddenly grabbed Fan Youjin and jumped down.

The repair tools for mecha technicians were in a compressed backpack, which Fan Youjin carried on his back, so Jian Yuanbai jumped without hesitation.

Lu Qianyun was stunned for a second before jumping down as well. The small tracking camera followed them and activated.

“Jian Yuanbai!!!”

“Your dad is dead!!!”

“Did you hear me?! I said your dad is dead!!!”

Fan Youjin was held tightly in the mecha’s hand, cursing loudly. The mecha pilot’s skills were excellent, holding him so comfortably that he didn’t feel any discomfort. Only the howling wind distorted his voice.

No matter how much he cursed, Jian Yuanbai suddenly jumping with him scared him half to death.

This scene was broadcasted live through the camera, along with Fan Youjin’s swearing.

After the teams split up, the competition’s live stream switched to fifty different channels. Because of their loud academy name and Jian Yuanbai’s bold move, many viewers tuned into their channel.

Everyone was shocked by the scene.

“What a unique strategy.”

“Attention-seeking. Using stunts to grab attention is really shameless.”

“Actually, I think this helps the three of them regroup as quickly as possible. It’s quite smart.”

“This guy is so arrogant. He doesn’t care about his teammate’s feelings.”

“Internal conflict within five minutes of starting. Hilarious.”

“Five minutes to internal strife. Eliminated within a day. Truly a clown.”

No matter how much the audience criticized them, the three of them remained oblivious.

Fan Youjin, feeling the wind rush past, shouted, “Damn!!!!”

Jian Yuanbai: “Lower your voice.”

Fan Youjin shouted louder, “What? You want me to yell louder?”

“Your dad is dead!”

Jian Yuanbai: “I’ve parachuted before. My dad doesn’t need to die three times.”

“Besides, I saw you smiling.”

Fan Youjin couldn’t hold back and laughed even harder.

Lu Qianyun: “We’re landing soon. It’s a desert.”

The two mechas crashed into the desert, creating a deep pit as yellow sand flew everywhere.

Just as Fan Youjin was about to ask Jian Yuanbai to put him down, he heard Jian Yuanbai say, “Did you guys notice where Lu Qianshan’s team landed?”

Jian Yuanbai looked at Lu Qianyun and Fan Youjin, his eyes burning with excitement.

Lu Qianyun said, “They jumped two batches before us. Based on the starship’s speed…”

He opened the map, and a translucent map appeared in front of the three. After thinking for a moment, he pointed to a spot, “They should be here.”

Jian Yuanbai: “Great. Let’s go.”

Fan Youjin was stunned, “Are you serious?”

“You’re really planning to go after the Imperial First Academy now?”

Jian Yuanbai raised his eyebrows inside the mecha, “Relax. We’ll take their badges. They can still compete.”

“They’ll just have to settle for second place and watch our names from below.”

Fan Youjin’s eyes widened, “That’s not what I’m worried about!”

“We’re unfamiliar with the planet. There are still 49 academies and 147 opponents hiding in the dark, waiting to ambush us!”

“Boom!”

The two mechas shot out like arrows from a bowstring.

Dragged along, Fan Youjin couldn’t say another word.

Just how confident were these two in their own strength?!

There were others watching the live broadcast who were equally bewildered.

“Am I seeing things? Are they actually planning to go after the Imperial First Academy?”

“Arrogant beyond measure. Do they even know their own limits?”

“Did a donkey kick them in the head?”

“How dare they???”

“Rushing to their deaths—who can stop them?”

“Do they think having Lu Qianyun makes them invincible? Doesn’t everyone know that after secondary differentiation, his combat level dropped?”

“They’re just delivering themselves as free points, guys. Free points.”

“I thought they’d at least survive by hiding for a day or two. Turns out they’re just seeking death.”

Countless viewers were stunned, and soon after, the barrage of doubt and ridicule flooded the live chat.

Everyone was betting on how long Jian Yuanbai and his team could last against the Imperial First Academy.

No matter what others thought, Jian Yuanbai remained unaware, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t care.

On the very first day of the Grand Academy Battle, he was determined to “shave the head” of the Imperial First Academy.

Lu Qianyun said, “At this time, if we move fast enough, we can catch up to them before their repair technician arrives.”

“If they focus their fire on Fan Youjin, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”

Fan Youjin protested, “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t talk like I’m some kind of burden!”

In fact, by the middle or end of the competition, many teams would choose to abandon their repair technicians.

Repair technicians couldn’t pilot mechas and only carried a single gun with weak attack power, making them easy to eliminate.

If not for the need to repair damaged mechas, most teams wouldn’t bother protecting their technician until the mid-stage.

Jian Yuanbai replied, “It’s not a big deal. We’ll just make sure to protect him.”

“This is a team battle,” Lu Qianyun added in a serious tone. “Your role is equally important. I didn’t mean to call you a burden.”

Fan Youjin was momentarily stunned. He was used to joking around, and his earlier words were just teasing.

Normally, Lu Qianyun would play along, but now he seemed to have switched into a different mode—

Serious and focused.

“I get it, I get it,” Fan Youjin replied.

Lu Qianyun analyzed, “Lu Qianshan appears calm and steady in battle, but he’s actually short-tempered. If we can provoke him, he’ll act recklessly. The one in his team called Alva, I don’t know much about, but I’ve heard he’s very composed.”

Having once been part of the Imperial First Academy himself and being Lu Qianshan’s cousin, Lu Qianyun naturally understood him well.

“If we go now and move at full speed, we can reach them in three hours. They’re still waiting for their repair technician and won’t move far.”

Lu Qianyun smiled, “In fact, bringing the repair technician with us was the best strategy. As long as we remember where the weaker teams are, we can easily rack up points.”

“If our team were weaker, we could also leave the area and find a safer place to hide and wait for the right moment.”

The teachers responsible for sending repair technicians would only escort them to the designated drop points. If they went too far, the teachers wouldn’t bother helping them relocate.

Fan Youjin asked curiously, “If that’s the case, why not just have the repair technicians jump down with the team from the start?”

“Why go through the trouble of having teachers send them down separately?”

Lu Qianyun explained, “The rules don’t prohibit a team from bringing their own repair technician. Plus, the starship is flying at an unusually low altitude. For a normal starship orbiting a planet, this height is ridiculously low.”

“A mecha could easily jump from a higher altitude. The reason they’re flying so low is likely to accommodate repair technicians without protective gear.”

“So maybe… this is part of the competition. They just didn’t announce it, waiting to see who would seize the opportunity first.”

Lu Qianyun’s tone was relaxed. “Of course, this is just my guess.”

“Damn,” Fan Youjin muttered, “I actually think your guess makes sense.”

In the live broadcast chat, viewers who heard Lu Qianyun’s analysis started discussing it as well.

“Damn, same here. I actually think he’s right.”

“Our thinking got trapped by the rules. We automatically assumed that repair technicians are mostly low-level alphas or betas who can’t pilot mechas and don’t have parachutes, so it seemed logical for staff to send them down.”

“I was just mocking them earlier, and now I think they’re geniuses. Hi everyone, I’m a fence-sitter.”

“You guys are overthinking this. You really think they’re the only ones who figured this out after so many years of the Grand Academy Battle? What, are the other teams all idiots?”

“Stop listening to Lu Qianyun’s nonsense. He’s just making excuses. When they encounter the Imperial First Academy, they’ll be crushed.”

“This is probably what they call ‘a mouth-warrior.’ So funny.”

In reality, Lu Qianyun was just making things up. Knowing that Jian Yuanbai’s earlier move would attract a storm of criticism, he calmly spun a theory to defend him.

The more he spoke, the more even he started to believe it.

Jian Yuanbai, however, let out a confused sound and said to Fan Youjin, “Isn’t that obvious? You only understand after I explain it this clearly?”

“You’re so dumb.”

Fan Youjin wasn’t unaware of the time wasted waiting for the repair technician. It was just that everyone was stuck in their ways.

Plus, the starship didn’t provide parachutes, and the mechas weren’t cockpit-style ones that could carry an extra passenger.

With these preconceived notions, no one ever thought of grabbing the repair technician and jumping down together.

But he wouldn’t admit that. He just chuckled dryly at Jian Yuanbai.

While they chatted, they didn’t slow down, speeding toward the Imperial First Academy’s position.

Lu Qianyun suddenly remembered something and warned Jian Yuanbai:

“Uncle, this is a live broadcast. Remember to keep a low profile.”