Plan

Inside the Pluto Mech, Li Yi accepted the unfamiliar call.

"I'm Lin Guotao, Lou Cheng's superior and the battalion commander in charge of your branch."

Li Yi immediately recognized the voice. Wasn't this the boss of the interview examiners he had just glimpsed?

Battalion commander?

"Hello, sir."

"How confident are you in winning the championship?"

"Uh..."

Was he really being this direct?

Li Yi was somewhat bewildered. "About sixty to seventy percent?"

After all, his opponent's stalling strategy had affected him considerably. He also wasn't sure whether he could hold out until the final three-person round was over.

"Do you want to win the championship? Is that sixty to seventy percent a conservative estimate, or an aggressive one?"

"What do you mean, sir?"

"As long as you tell me you're highly confident in winning, I'll block every external factor that could prevent you from taking the championship."

"By external factors, sir, do you mean someone higher up is applying pressure?"

Li Yi thought of the several indifferent gazes he had caught when he entered the arena.

"More or less."

"Are certain members of the Power Clan saying I'm blocking their path?"

"It's not that simple."

Lin Guotao explained:

"There is some pressure from the families of your competitors, but that isn't the main issue."

"To those middle- and upper-level people, it's merely a matter of conveniently approving an incident or casually mentioning it. The battalion can handle that kind of pressure for you."

"The key issue is that your mental resistance was too strong, exempting you from the Basic Rule Imprint required in the newcomer process. After you activated a D-class Divine Mech, the Surveillance Department determined that you posed a significant threat and that a Basic Rule Imprint had to be implanted in you as soon as possible."

"Under the combined pressure of these two matters, not only could you lose the championship, but the Surveillance Department may also subject you to intensive review, causing you to miss out on subsequent mech pilot training."

"Commander Lin, what exactly is a Basic Rule Imprint?"

Just hearing it made Li Yi feel that it was no good thing.

"It's a mental weapon used to eliminate cultists."

Lin Guotao said, "I assume you know as well that when a starship is traveling independently, if cultists infiltrate it and pilot Divine Mechs to wreak havoc, the danger posed to every citizen aboard is enormous."

"That is why every newcomer boarding the ship receives a Basic Rule Imprint. Do you remember the core point of the basic rules Lou Cheng told you about when you boarded?"

Li Yi said thoughtfully, "You mean... authority?"

"That's right. The core of these basic rules is that authority is everything. As long as this Mind Seal is implanted in every newcomer, even if a newcomer really is a cultist, they will still have no choice but to act according to the ship's rules."

"I see."

Though Li Yi voiced his agreement, he still had reservations about this practice.

At the very least, he definitely did not want to be bound by such a thing.

Perhaps he could capture memory fragments of those who had successfully received the Mind Seal and use them to evade the inspection.

He recalled feeling a slight mental resistance when Lou Cheng had explained the basic rules.

Li Yi considered it for a while before asking:

"Sir, how do they inspect whether the Basic Rule Imprint was successfully implanted?"

"The Surveillance Department possesses an artifact from an ancient civilization called the Mind Pillar. It can detect whether corresponding imprint traces exist within your memories."

A plan immediately formed in Li Yi's mind.

"One more question. If I can guarantee the championship, what will you do?"

"I'll secure you until after the finals before allowing them to intervene. But the prerequisite is that you must win the championship. Otherwise, it won't just be me who has to take responsibility—your own future may be ruined as well."

"Ruined?"

Li Yi frowned.

"If you fail to win, I'll be removed from my position. Whether anyone will continue protecting you then is another question. Once you enter a lengthy review process, even the slightest questionable mark in your past record will draw the Surveillance Department's attention. Even if there's nothing wrong with you, you'll still waste several months, perhaps even half a year."

"So do you understand now? At this moment, our interests are aligned."

"I need you to tell me clearly: can you win the championship or not? If you can't, withdrawing now and letting them implant the Basic Rule Imprint is still in time."

Li Yi paused, then gave a soft laugh.

"In that case, sir, I'll have to trouble you to deal with the people from the Surveillance Department."

Lin Guotao nodded. "Good. That's the kind of confidence I need."

He ended the call and dialed the Fleet Captain again.

Naturally, everything they had discussed had been at the Fleet Captain's instruction.

Twenty minutes later.

An hour and seven minutes had passed since Li Yi activated the Pluto Mech and kept it continuously active.

Meanwhile, in the Liang Xing versus Lin Hua match, Lin Hua had unexpectedly defeated Liang Xing.

Li Yi had not watched the match. He had been meditating intently the entire time, digesting memory fragments and reducing the burden on his brain.

As a result, he had no idea what method Lin Hua had used.

And Liang Shaocong naturally defeated Xie Zhenye, the lottery-selected revival contestant, with ease and without any suspense.

The final round was a three-person round robin.

Each person would take turns fighting the other two. Final rankings would be determined by net wins; if the number of wins was equal, they would be ranked by KOs and effective strikes.

The first match of this round was Li Yi versus Lin Hua.

The Magma Mech and the Pluto Mech entered from their respective side bays.

The Evergreen Fairy AI announced loudly:

"The Magma Mech entering from this side also suddenly revealed hidden strength, directly defeating one of the crowd-favored championship contenders within twenty exchanges. Its movements were precise and decisive, its planning far-reaching—it truly inspired awe."

"And the Pluto Mech entering from the western bay is the widely acknowledged strongest contestant of this tournament. However, because of its slow activation speed, it has had no choice but to remain active since the first match until now."

"So, can the Pluto Mech maintain its initial condition, or will the Magma Mech continue its underdog run?"

"The match... begins!"

The audience's anticipation had long since reached its peak.

"Li Yi used a low-power mode in the last match. This opponent is even stronger than Liang Xing, so he has to go all out this time, right?"

"Lin Hua will win! Lin Hua will win!"

"Lin Hua played weak to defeat Liang Xing, and Li Yi will definitely pursue a quick victory. Their clash will absolutely be more exciting than every previous match!"

Amid the spectators' cheers.

The two massive mechs began moving at high speed.

This time, Li Yi truly lived up to the audience's expectations, going all out from the very start.

Boom!!!

Their fists collided, and a shockwave erupted.

The Magma Mech was the first to fail under Li Yi's heavy punch. It retreated directly to dissipate the impact, while the Pluto Mech pressed forward close behind.

Whoosh!!!

Two enormous streams of flame suddenly shot from the Magma Mech's eyes, catching the Pluto Mech off guard.

The Magma Mech then regained its balance, lowered its body, and lunged forward, about to ram the Pluto Mech to the ground.

Who would have thought that the Pluto Mech had not been harmed at all by the massive flames, nor had it been inflicted with Piloting Stun? It simply brought its fists together and leaped into a downward smash, striking the Magma Mech's head and slamming it into the ground.

Then, the Pluto Mech raised one massive leg and unleashed a spinning kick, sending the Magma Mech's burly body flying into the air, followed by an elbow strike and then a knee smash.

After that string of attacks, the Magma Mech barely had any chance to retaliate. It spent the entire exchange getting battered.

Every savage blow came with a tremendous boom—aesthetic violence in its purest form.

The overwhelming audiovisual spectacle sent the audience into a frenzy, and they screamed without restraint.