Pre-Match

"Boom!"

"Bang!"

"Whoosh!"

A variety of noises and collisions rose and fell in the middle of a large stadium. The field, which was originally a football field, was now occupied by two machines. They did not use any weapons, but only punches and kicks, which carried a kind of hot-blooded temperament that stimulated male hormones.

Even from a human perspective, the movements of these two machines were somewhat sluggish, but that still couldn't mask the psychological shock brought about by the clash of these colossal creatures.

"It's even noisier than I expected! By the way, didn't you say these mechs were of dubious origin? Is it really okay for them to be fighting openly in a large stadium like this?"

Seeing the increasingly sluggish movements of the participating mechs, Mang Ke frowned and asked, "..." Feng Xue glanced at the best stands in the stadium and said with a hint of sarcasm:

"Didn't I tell you before? These Industrial City bear the responsibility of potential war potential, and all the Military Factory are state-owned. It's wishful thinking to think they can make money from them, but their status is extremely important. If things are handled recklessly, they can be taken over in no time."

Generally speaking, if a city wants to increase its fiscal revenue without making any rash decisions, developing tourism is the simplest strategy. But as you can see, this place is awful—the sky is gray, the clouds are black, and the air smells like engine oil. Forget about Rich Person; even budget travelers don't come. So, local finances... well, you know."

"However, I don't understand." Mang Ke shook his head, fully accepting the Tag of being "naive and ignorant."

"This place is poor, we can't be greedy, and it doesn't have any tourism potential, so what's the point? Isn't this kind of mecha gambling just a mess?"

"That's different," Feng Xue said, shaking her head with a smile.

"What will be targeted are actions that affect the war potential of the Bailin Country. For example, if you arbitrarily collect taxes or exploit workers, it may lead to strikes and other problems, affecting production tasks. That's messing things up. But this Iron Armor Steel Fist is different."

"First of all, Mecha Combat is a very attractive gimmick, and humans have a bad habit of liking to stand in a safe place and watch people fight to the death. The Bailin Country itself has Martial Spirit, and with gambling as a Killer Weapon, the attraction is naturally unimaginable. In this way, it can attract many Rich Person to come and enjoy the fun of watching 'gladiators'."

"When the Rich Person come, the funds come, and assembling the mechs can liberate the workers' creativity. Many of Bailin Country's ingenious mech designs were discovered in these arenas, not to mention that occasionally one or two Genius Pilot can be found."

"Some Rich Person, even those who've lost their minds, will invest in their own esports teams, bring in technology, and train technical personnel, and all of these things will leave their mark on the city..."

Now that things had come to this point, even Mang Ke, who lacked social experience, realized the key point and quickly took out his Little Notebook to write down what Feng Xue had said.

After all, the arena is exactly what the Parlin Kingdom needs—whether it's attracting investment, enhancing its design potential, or cultivating technical talent. The Iron Armor Steel Fist of the Kingdom of Bailin Country is merely a self-contained project. If the Parlin Kingdom were to develop a nationally supported program, like the "God of Games" hosting a world invitational tournament, or even eventually evolve it into National Team...

Feng Xue remained noncommittal about Mang Ke's idea. After all, the reason why this kind of project was only confined to Bailin Country was because Bailin Country's Master-Servant Random Mecha System, combined with Bailin's fighting style, had an absolute advantage in Mecha Martial Arts.

Therefore, even if it becomes a world competition, it will either become a situation where Bailin dominates, or all countries will rely on Bailin for external assistance. In the end, both the improvement of mechs and the improvement of pilots will benefit Bailin Country, and other countries will not be willing to give up their own advantageous projects to develop master-slave randomized systems.

As for abandoning hand-to-hand combat and adopting all weapons...

With live ammunition, pilot safety is difficult to guarantee, and it also lacks the visual impact of hand-to-hand combat or massive objects fighting each other.

As for why he didn't remind him...

Whether it succeeds or not is a matter for the Parlin Kingdom, but whether or not Feng Xue can gain the Parlin Kingdom's [knowledge] is a matter of vital interest to Feng Xue.

"Why are you two still chatting here?" Just as Mang Ke was about to ask more about the details of the event, Old Li's voice suddenly rang out. Mang Ke turned around sharply and saw Old Li walking over with a middle-aged man whose clothes were obviously a level above the others.

"Is this the newcomer you brought this time?" The man's gaze swept over Feng Xue and Mang Ke, his tone carrying a hint of distrust. Mang Ke was about to say something, but Old Li spoke first:

"Anyway, it's my spot that's being used."

"That's true." The man nodded, took out a small notebook, and said with a businesslike expression:

"Please register the machine's name."

"Ah, I've already thought of one, it'll be called..." Mang Ke was about to speak when Feng Xue spoke first:

"Orca."

"Slaughter Beast?" The man gave a "how tacky" look, Mang Ke beside him also showed a look of disgust. Feng Xue sighed at the difference in their worlds and shook her head, saying:

"Orcas are Sea Beast... Fine, translate it however you like."

"If you want an explanation, wait until you make a name for yourself in the lower-level competitions." The man quickly memorized the mecha's name, then flipped through a few pages, found a timetable, and said to Old Li:

When will the machine be delivered?

"The car is right at the door, you can get it anytime." Old Li gave a thumbs-up and gestured behind him. The man nodded and said:

"That's fine. There's a 'Hunter's' match at noon today. I'll give you guys a warm-up game. Isn't that generous?"

"Thanks!" Old Li patted the man's shoulder and casually slipped him two rolls of banknotes. The man accepted the money as if it were a cigarette before saying:

"Even though this is a warm-up match, don't steal the spotlight, understand?"

"Lower odds, faster pace. I'm no stranger to this business." Old Li waved his hand, put his arm around Feng Xue and Mang Ke, and walked towards the preparation room. The man didn't say anything more, took out his Communication Terminal, and started contacting people for extra matches.

"Why did you choose such a tacky name?" Mang Ke complained angrily as he left the stands, but Old Li interjected:

"This kind of venue needs to be tacky! If you give it a fancy name, even the announcer might not understand it. Alright, instead of this, let's hurry up and adjust the machine. Honestly, there's simply not enough time to control it..."

"What do you mean by 'controlling the odds'? Just max out my opponent's odds, won't that do?" Feng Xue rolled her eyes, giving him a "you don't trust me?" look. Old Li paused for a moment, then said seriously:

"You said it yourself! If you lose, you'll cover everything!"

"Are you kidding? Don't you know my skill level?"