Gu Meng

"Sorry, all the mecha simulation training machines are occupied right now. Almost every training pod also has someone waiting behind it. At the moment, there's only one simulation training pod you can reserve, but it won't be available for another five hours."

Liu Zhi replied with a broad smile.

When Su Ming and Lin Chuyu heard Liu Zhi's words, they felt a headache coming on. What they had been most worried about had indeed happened.

Su Ming calculated carefully. He had class at eight, and he had arrived rather late today. It was already almost five. He had to leave by seven-thirty at the latest, while five hours would mean waiting until ten. There was no way he could make it, so he asked Liu Zhi,

"Can you reserve one for tomorrow?"

"Sorry, we can't. You can see how popular this place is. If we accepted that, the other customers would have complaints."

Liu Zhi replied directly.

Hearing this, Su Ming turned to Lin Chuyu helplessly and asked,

"I have class at eight, so I can't make it. Are you still going to train?"

"Mm, I'll wait."

Lin Chuyu replied without the slightest hesitation.

"Fine. I'll reserve the mecha simulation training pod for you."

Su Ming replied with slight surprise. He had not expected Lin Chuyu to be so hardworking.

"Thank you."

Lin Chuyu replied gratefully.

Su Ming turned to Liu Zhi and said,

"Sorry for the trouble. Please reserve it for me."

Just as Liu Zhi was about to reply to Su Ming, a haughty female voice suddenly rang out.

"We'll take the simulation training pod."

Su Ming frowned slightly and turned to look.

He saw a tall, beautiful woman walking over. She wore black high heels and a Haiheng Academy uniform, and her face was adorned with striking makeup. Her alluring lips were painted with bright red lipstick.

Beside the beauty were a handsome young man with a high nose, an arrogant expression, and designer casual clothes, as well as an ordinary-looking girl wearing a uniform and exaggerated round earrings.

"Oh, isn't this Miss Gu Meng? You want to reserve a simulation training pod? I'll reserve one for you right away."

Liu Zhi fawned obsequiously.

When Lin Chuyu heard that Liu Zhi intended to give the simulation training pod to Gu Meng, she was just about to speak when Su Ming questioned him in a slightly cold voice.

"Hold on. We were the ones who reserved this simulation training pod first. Why are you giving it to them?"

The ingratiating smile on Liu Zhi's face froze. He then turned to Su Ming and said,

"But you haven't actually reserved it yet."

Gu Meng glanced at Su Ming, ignored him, and then chuckled at Lin Chuyu.

"Well, if it isn't Lin Chuyu. When did your taste become so bad that you started bringing a fat guy around?"

"Su Ming is my friend."

Lin Chuyu replied calmly.

"A friend? I'd say he's a simp—and a useless one at that. Liu Zhi, I want the training pod. You should know perfectly well who my father is if anyone dares compete with me for it!"

Gu Meng spoke extremely arrogantly.

"Miss Gu Meng, what are you saying? If I don't give it to you, then who should I give it to?"

Liu Zhi replied ingratiatingly.

"You dare? I was the one who reserved the mecha training pod first. Call your manager over!"

Su Ming could tell at a glance that Liu Zhi was siding with the other party, so he had no intention of wasting words with him. Besides, although he disliked trouble, that did not mean he was afraid of it.

Liu Zhi was caught between both sides for a moment. He very much wanted to curry favor with Gu Meng, but Su Ming's attitude was so forceful that he did not seem easy to provoke either.

Gu Meng also realized that Liu Zhi could not make the decision, so she snorted and said,

"Go get your manager."

"Okay."

Liu Zhi left with an apologetic smile.

At that moment, Su Ming and Lin Chuyu faced off against Gu Meng and the others. Quite a few people waiting to use the simulation training machines saw the argument and gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"Isn't that the beautiful Gu Meng from your Haiheng Academy? And isn't the handsome guy standing beside her Qi Shen?"

"That's them. Who's the person arguing with Gu Meng?"

"Lin Chuyu from Mient Junior Academy. The other guy looks familiar, but I can't remember who he is."

"Oh, so that's Lin Chuyu. She's really pretty!"

"Gu Meng from your school isn't bad either."

"She's not bad, but she's too overbearing."

The crowd continued discussing among themselves.

At that moment, a male student wearing a Mient Junior Academy uniform, his face covered in black spots, saw Su Ming and Lin Chuyu together. A malicious smile appeared on his face. He took out his phone, snapped a picture, and then slipped away from the crowd.

Just then, Liu Zhi returned with a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt. The man had thinning hair and a round face.

"I'm Wan Shan, the manager of Heavy Assault. Liu Zhi has already given me a general idea of what happened."

Wan Shan made it clear that he already knew what was going on.

Su Ming looked at Manager Wan Shan expressionlessly and said,

"Your club is open for business. First come, first served. Do I really need to explain such a basic principle to you?"

Gu Meng refused to back down and said,

"I don't care about any of that. I'm taking the simulation training pod today!"

Wan Shan first swept his gaze over Su Ming, then over Gu Meng. His eyes shifted as he said to Su Ming,

"Brother, although you asked for the simulation training pod first, you haven't paid yet. Without payment, the reservation isn't final. Of course, we're in the business of making money, and we won't favor either side. So place your bids. Whoever offers more gets the reservation."

Hearing this, Su Ming's expression grew even colder. It was obvious that Wan Shan was favoring Gu Meng and the others.

When Gu Meng heard what Wan Shan said, she immediately spoke smugly.

"Sounds good. The highest bidder gets it! If you don't have money, shut your mouth and get lost!"

"Fine!"

Su Ming agreed at once.

"I'll pay three hundred an hour!"

Gu Meng immediately named her price.

"Five hundred!"

Su Ming replied without giving an inch.

"Eight hundred!"

Gu Meng snorted and continued raising the bid.

"One thousand!"

Su Ming did not back down either and raised it to one thousand.

When Gu Meng heard Su Ming raise the price to one thousand, she did not immediately bid again. A trace of hesitation appeared on her face.

Seeing this, Qi Shen, who was pursuing Gu Meng, spoke up for her.

"Two thousand an hour!"

The crowd of onlookers immediately erupted in astonishment.

Su Ming was just about to speak when Lin Chuyu reached out and stopped him. Biting her lip lightly, she said,

"Forget it. It's too expensive! I'll come back another day to train."

At such a steep price, she could not afford to train either.

"It's fine. This has nothing to do with you, so don't worry about it. Just pay me back at the normal rate. Three thousand!"

Su Ming called out the price calmly.

"Wow, three thousand an hour? That's insanely extravagant."

"He really doesn't treat money like money!"

Everyone at the scene exclaimed in amazement.

Gu Meng and Qi Shen's expressions immediately became extremely ugly. Su Ming had already raised the bid to three thousand. If they continued bidding, just a few hours would cost ten or twenty thousand Federal currency, which would simply go up in smoke.

Although they had some money, they could not bear to spend it like this. After all, even an Iron Head Mecha only cost a few million Federal currency.