LABMY CH87.1

“The First Imperial Academy suffered a shocking defeat on the opening day of the Academy Grand Tournament, losing miserably to an underdog academy.”

“With a name that directly references the ‘First Imperial Academy,’ is this arrogance or true strength?”

“The First Imperial Academy suffered humiliation, losing with a score of negative two points.”

“Landing straight on the First Imperial Academy and securing two points, turning fifty years of trash into an earth-shattering comeback.”

After a day of fermentation, news of the First Imperial Academy’s defeat on the first day of the Academy Grand Tournament spread almost across the entire Imperial Star. Even those who weren’t following the event had heard about it.

A large number of people were eager to see exactly who managed to defeat the First Imperial Academy on the first day of the competition.

Moreover, the academy with such a provocative name pushed the excitement of the event to an unprecedented level due to Jian Yuanbai and his team’s unexpected victory.

However, due to privacy protection for the student representatives, live streaming channels were closed after 10 PM. A group of curious viewers anxiously waited for the live broadcast to resume and immediately tuned into Jian Yuanbai’s live stream.

Then, they witnessed this scene:

A mecha lay horizontally on the ground, chains hooked to it, and a person was pulling the mecha forward. That person was none other than Jian Yuanbai.

“Damn, am I seeing things? Is he… pulling a mecha?”

“I’ve only ever seen mechas carrying people. This is the first time I’ve seen a person pulling a mecha.”

“Is this really the guy who defeated the First Imperial Academy? Am I in the right stream?”

“He only beat Lu Qianshan. Honestly, the First Imperial Academy just sent out trash this time. I don’t get why you’re all hyping this up.”

“If this kind of guy can win, the First Imperial Academy really is becoming trash.”

“If ‘this kind of guy’ can pull a mecha, do you think you could do it?”

“I’m going back to sleep. I told you waking up too early wasn’t a good idea. This must be a dream.”

Jian Yuanbai sprinted forward, dragging the mecha at incredible speed. Behind him, gunfire echoed relentlessly. He wore a modified mecha arm, somehow managing to precisely block each incoming bullet at the last moment.

Upon closer inspection, the mecha he was pulling had four wheels installed underneath. However, even with the wheels, the fact that he could pull such a heavy mecha left everyone stunned.

Amidst the intense chase and gunfire, Fan Youjin’s furious cursing could be heard, even louder than the explosions:

“Jian Yuanbai, f* your dad!!”**

“If I ever compete with you again, I’m not human!”

“F* your dad!!!”**

“Slow the f* down! My brain’s about to explode!! F***!! Your dad!”**

The audience could only hear Fan Youjin’s voice, but his figure was nowhere to be seen. After a moment of confusion, someone slowly spoke:

“Wait… could the mechanic be hiding inside the mecha?”

“I think I know where he is now.”

“Judging by his strong voice, he doesn’t seem injured.”

“With this being a desert with no cover, having an inexperienced mechanic hide inside the mecha… Honestly, not a bad idea.”

“Mechanic: Thanks for looking out for me.”

Amidst Fan Youjin’s furious rant, Jian Yuanbai kept running without hesitation, even speeding up. He replied effortlessly, “My dad went missing, let him go. Just bear with it, alright? Both legs of the mecha got blown off, we’re almost there.”

Fan Youjin screamed, “Bear with your dad!! My brain’s about to burst, do you understand?!”

Jian Yuanbai responded casually, “Yeah, yeah. Just bear with my dad.”

Suddenly, he came to an abrupt stop. From the distance, a figure charged forward. Amidst the flying sand and dust, the mecha reached out its massive hand, allowing Jian Yuanbai to step onto its palm. Then, under the stunned gaze of the audience, the mecha directly launched him into the air.

While the enemy scrambled to dodge the mecha’s rapid gunfire, Jian Yuanbai used the momentum to hurl the modified mecha arm he had dismantled earlier, smashing it straight into the core of the pursuing mecha.

The bullet comments went silent for a moment, before exploding:

“Other teams play mecha combat. Jian Yuanbai plays mecha parts combat.”

“Mecha manufacturers never mentioned this feature before.”

“Jian Yuanbai: You play your mecha, I play my mecha parts.”

“I have to admit, this mechanic’s skills are insane. He actually pulled this off.”

“I’ve seen mechas perform aerial kills, but I’ve never seen one launch a person to punch the enemy to death.”

“To pull this off, you really need your teammates to cover you. Otherwise, you’d just be a live target in mid-air.”

“I feel like he just invented a new combat style. I’d call it ‘Scrap Mecha Style.'”

As the mecha crackled with sparks and electricity, the defeated academy student stared in shock as Jian Yuanbai and his team casually began dismantling the remains of his mecha with a toolbox.

“Wait… what are you guys doing?”

Jian Yuanbai smiled, “Your mecha core is busted, and your teammates’ are probably the same. You can’t take this mecha with you anyway. We’ll just borrow some parts.”

Under the cold, predatory gaze of Lu Qianyun and Jian Yuanbai, the student didn’t dare say a word. He could only watch helplessly as Fan Youjin, like a bandit, stripped the mecha clean of all usable parts.

Jian Yuanbai patted the student’s shoulder with a grin, “By the way, got any food on you?”

“You’re about to be picked up anyway. Might as well let your rations serve a better purpose.”

Moments later, the dazed student watched the trio walk away with their spoils, feeling as though he’d just been robbed by desert bandits.

On the seventh day of the Academy Grand Tournament, Jian Yuanbai and his team were running low on supplies. They had been rationing their food for days.

Their luck seemed rather unfortunate. They visited two supply stations, only to find them completely looted. The resources on this planet were incredibly scarce, and the edible food was pitifully limited.

Jian Yuanbai held a handful of small wild fruits he had found and tossed three to Fan Youjin, then handed the remaining three to Lu Qianyun. “I found some wild fruits. Have a bite.”

“Malnourished. The plants on this planet are seriously malnourished. Look at how tall the tree is, yet it only bears this few fruits.”

Jian Yuanbai complained with a pained expression, “I even have to waste one testing it on an animal to check for poison.”

Lu Qianyun only took one from his hand. “You two split the rest.”

The wild fruit was only the size of a lychee. Even if one person ate them all, it wouldn’t be enough to fill their stomach. Fortunately, the three of them had shared some compressed food in the morning. Although they were hungry, it was still bearable.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yuanbai threw another fruit to Fan Youjin. Over the past two days, Fan Youjin had been eating less, claiming that as a mecha mechanic, he didn’t consume as much energy.

But running around with them all day was exhausting, not to mention the fact that he was a spoiled young master who had to perform high-intensity mecha repairs today. He was obviously starving.

Fan Youjin didn’t refuse and caught the fruit, saying, “Thanks.”

Jian Yuanbai then brought his own fruit to Lu Qianyun’s lips. “Eat another one to fill your stomach.”

Lu Qianyun pressed his lips together and shook his head. Jian Yuanbai insisted, “I already ate one when I picked them.”

“Then eat one more. After all the effort I put into finding these, how can I not even eat one?”

Seeing that Lu Qianyun was determined to refuse, Jian Yuanbai had no choice but to eat it himself.

It was sour, with a faint hint of sweetness in the aftertaste—not very noticeable, but on this godforsaken planet, it was barely enough to improve their mood.

At this moment, they were resting in a small forest. Though the surroundings seemed lush with vegetation, most of the plants were poisonous. Jian Yuanbai only managed to find these fruits after poisoning several mutant rats.

A piece of cloth on the ground, with a blanket draped over it, was enough to create a makeshift bed that brought back memories of their toughest times.

The night was silent. As the team’s mechanic who didn’t need to stand guard, Fan Youjin fell asleep early. Jian Yuanbai and Lu Qianyun didn’t speak either. It wasn’t even 10 PM yet, so their live stream hadn’t been cut off.

However, the quiet atmosphere and the late-night drowsiness caused many viewers to gradually leave the stream.

At this moment, they heard Jian Yuanbai say, “Lu Longlong, come here.”

Lu Qianyun looked at him with confusion, only to see Jian Yuanbai pull out two more fruits from somewhere and smile slyly. “I was planning to save these for tomorrow. Eat them.”

“Fan Youjin is asleep. Let’s eat quietly.”

Suddenly, a voice interrupted, “I’m awake. Thanks.”

Jian Yuanbai showed no trace of embarrassment from being caught. He calmly walked over, grabbed both corners of Fan Youjin’s blanket, and pulled it over his head with a straight face. “He’s dead now. You eat.”

A middle finger emerged from under the blanket, but Fan Youjin said nothing.

Lu Qianyun ate one fruit and tried to save the other for Jian Yuanbai.

Jian Yuanbai pinched the fruit and pressed it against Lu Qianyun’s lips, using the pad of his thumb to gently brush his lower lip. “Open your mouth.”

Blushing from the gesture, Lu Qianyun had no choice but to eat it. He glanced at Jian Yuanbai’s naturally calm expression and couldn’t help but wonder: Was that intentional?

But this question was impossible to ask, especially with the live stream still on. The thought of countless people witnessing that moment made Lu Qianyun’s ears burn red.

The sourness of the fruit faded, leaving behind a subtle sweetness. Lu Qianyun smiled with his eyes curved, “In the past…”

He paused and didn’t continue. He simply looked up at the starry sky with a touch of nostalgia, recalling memories from his childhood. Not the childhood of this timeline, but his true childhood.

Lu Qianyun wanted to tell Jian Yuanbai about it, but not here.

Facing Jian Yuanbai’s confused gaze, he shook his head. “I’ll tell you next time.”

In the live stream chat:

“What exactly can’t we hear?”

“Why do I feel… strange?”

“He picked eight fruits in total: three for Fan Youjin, three for Lu Qianyun, and secretly kept two for himself. At first, I thought he was just saving some for himself, which is understandable. But then… those two weren’t for himself at all!”

“After Lu Qianyun only took one, he secretly brought out two more for him… What the hell is this???”

“Love? (Hallucination)”

“He didn’t even eat one himself, but he told Lu Qianyun he already did just to make him eat more. Damn, I’m crying.”

“If Jian Yuanbai were my boyfriend, I’d die of happiness, seriously.”

“He’s strong, gentle, thoughtful, and rich. The only downside is… well, you know.”

“Wait, wasn’t Lu Qianyun the one who was treated unfairly at the First Imperial Academy? Jian Yuanbai wasn’t even a student. He didn’t have to come to this tournament at all.”

“‘Fifty years of trash , lie down and rot,’ this academy was established in just two months. The headmaster is Jian Yuanbai’s dad. Now think about it… who exactly is he seeking justice for?”

“I… I… I want to ship them so bad. Can I? Even if they’re both Alphas?”

“Don’t ship it! Remember, Lu Qianyun called Jian Yuanbai ‘Uncle’ before. They’re uncle and nephew! Wake up!”

Among the chaotic flood of comments, one particularly stood out:

“Forbidden love? Thanks, I love it even more now.”

On the tenth day of the Academy Grand Tournament, an hour ahead of schedule, all devices lit up with the notification: “Supply drop inbound. Location confirmed.”

Lu Qianyun glanced at the map and said, “It’s not far from us. If we head over now, we’ll definitely make it within an hour.”

“Are we going?”

Jian Yuanbai nodded, “Our supplies are running low. This planet has too little food, and none of us have eaten well these past few days. Since it’s this close, let’s go check it out.”

They moved at full speed. Before they even got close, Lu Qianyun warned, “There are at least three groups moving nearby. I can sense them.”

“Try not to engage in a fight. Grab the supplies and run.”

Jian Yuanbai also sensed the situation around them and lowered his voice, “It’s a desert ahead, with no cover. This could be tricky.”

Fan Youjin, sitting on the hand of Jian Yuanbai’s mecha, suggested, “Should I find a place to hide now?”

“No,” Lu Qianyun replied, “There are too many people. If you’re discovered, you’ll be eliminated.”

Jian Yuanbai thought for a moment and said, “If I remember correctly, there’s a sand slope ahead.”

“With the trash-level performance of these competition mechas, the running speed isn’t that fast.” Jian Yuanbai stared at Fan Youjin with a thoughtful look, “But with inertia, the slope of the sand, and the wheels…”

Fan Youjin’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly had a bad feeling.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. The yellow sand filled the sky, and everything seemed as calm as an ordinary afternoon.

Suddenly, the sound of a drone echoed through the sky, and a supply package slowly descended with a parachute.

At that moment, a mecha burst out from the forest behind them. What was shocking was that it was dragging another mecha behind it with iron chains, sprinting forward at full speed.

This sudden move triggered a chain reaction. Bullets swept across the area as five mechas from different directions rushed toward the supply drop.

The competition mechas were poorly equipped, with no flight modules. The supply drop was too high, and even a mecha jump couldn’t reach it.

The mechas charged toward the supply drop while exchanging gunfire with opponents, dodging attacks from enemy teammates hiding in the shadows.

The chaotic battle momentarily quieted down after the initial exchange of fire. By the tenth day of the tournament, everyone’s ammunition was running low. They had to conserve bullets.

At this moment, the mecha wrapped in iron chains suddenly snapped them off and leaped forward. It was the fastest to charge out, but the others remained calm—after all, the supply drop was still too high to reach.

Everyone was waiting for the parachute to descend a little lower before… making a move…

However, under everyone’s stunned gaze, the mecha’s arms, which had been folded across its chest, suddenly opened, and the person hidden inside was violently thrown into the air.

What the hell kind of tactic is this??

Jian Yuanbai grabbed the supply package mid-air and plummeted down. At the same time, Lu Qianyun fired a cannon blast, directly hitting the approaching mecha.