Chapter 13: K

One hour ago.

Inside the private room opposite Lilith’s suite.

"Pfft—cough, no way, someone actually brought that junk mech to the stage?" A boy with exaggerated red hair spat out the sparkling water in his mouth.

Some of the spray landed on a bespectacled girl sitting beside him.

"Zeller, mind your manners!" the girl frowned, glaring at him in disgust before pulling out a tissue to wipe her clothes.

"Sorry, Shuyu," Zeller chuckled.

Song Shuyu rolled her eyes at him and fell silent.

"As expected, you can find all kinds of junk on the black market," a boy leaning against the bar pushed up his glasses. "They say it’s a D-class mech, but it’s barely even that, yet someone’s actually using it."

"I don’t think so," a doll-faced girl sitting on the bar counter swung her legs playfully. "What if, just what if, that person wins~?"

"Dorothy, how many times have I told you not to sit on the table?"

"Aww~ but I’m short~" Dorothy pouted, "Junjun, you’re such a nag, like a mother~ ugh~~"

Making a funny face, Dorothy jumped down from the bar.

Mu Qijun shook his head helplessly.

Among the four in the private room, except for Dorothy who enjoyed the spectacle, none believed Lian Fei would win.

Yet, to their surprise, Lian Fei actually won.

Silence fell over the room.

"Hahaha, I told you that person would win~!" Dorothy clutched her stomach, laughing heartily.

"Rei would definitely be interested in this person," Song Shuyu adjusted her glasses and glanced at Mu Qijun, whose neural communicator had been on the entire time.

Since Lian Fei had stabbed Anthony’s mech with a blade, Mu Qijun had already called Rei for a video chat.

"Rei, what do you think? Interested?"

Mu Qijun leaned back in his chair, one hand supporting his head, the other playing with a mech pendant as he spoke.

"Somewhat," Rei sat up straight, one hand behind his neck as he cracked his neck with audible pops.

"What’s her name?" Rei asked.

Mu Qijun: "That person."

Rei furrowed his brows.

Mu Qijun added: "Her nickname is ‘That Person.’"

He realized how strange that sounded and tried to clarify: "Not ‘that person’ literally, I mean her nickname is literally ‘That Person.’"

The more he explained, the more confusing it became.

Song Shuyu sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Dorothy doubled over laughing.

Zeller loudly interjected: "Yeah, exactly ‘that person!’ Not ‘that person,’ but *that* person!"

Seeing Rei’s expression darken, Mu Qijun changed the subject: "When are you arriving?"

"Now," Rei said. "I’m applying for a challenge."

He switched to the black market’s exclusive network and found the challenge application page.

"But her mech is damaged; she might not accept a challenge again," Mu Qijun warned.

"Stop her. She’ll be here in three minutes," Rei said before hanging up.

...

"Next up, our dark horse of the day, That Person, versus our star player, K!"

The referee announced loudly.

One was a newcomer who had just stunned them all; the other was the perennial number one on the black market combat rankings and the top-ranked warrior on the DOL leaderboard—a true powerhouse.

At first glance, the newcomer seemed destined to lose.

But just moments ago, they all thought ‘That Person’ would lose—yet she won.

Many believed Lian Fei would create a new surprise.

Among them were those eager to see K, the god of the arena, dethroned.

---

K was notoriously arrogant, proudly unrestrained about his status as the DOL’s top-ranked player.

Many resented him, but none had ever defeated him.

Lian Fei felt uneasy upon learning this K was *the* K.

She had just offended someone this morning and tried to avoid trouble by taking a detour.

Now, she ran right into it.

What a cursed fate.

Lian Fei sighed helplessly.

If only K weren’t on DOL, she could have played there instead.

Listen—number one on the DOL leaderboard.

Listen—the black market’s star player.

Listen—to that godlike reputation.

She was about to be cannon fodder.

Lian Fei clenched her mech tightly.

Though Old Feng had boasted about how powerful this mech was, and how mech levels correlated with mental strength,

She—

Had no—

Mental strength!

Ahhh!

Lian Fei felt like she was going mad.

In other words, her mech level was zero!

Only when pushed onto the arena path did she remember this.

Sure, she could deploy the mech.

But her mental strength test had registered zero!

God only knew how she managed to unfold the mech.

Lian Fei wiped the nonexistent sweat from her forehead—

Ah, she couldn’t; she was wearing a mask.

She sighed deeply and stepped into the center of the arena.

Opposite her stood a man a head taller.

His face was partially masked by a golden rose mask covering the lower half—noble and splendid.

His phoenix-like eyes narrowed, fiery red irises filled with disdain.

"That Person?" the man’s cold voice carried a hint of killing intent.

"Hello," Lian Fei replied weakly.

She glanced at the man’s tall ponytail, secretly admiring how well-maintained and silky his hair looked.

He clearly took care of it.

"I watched your last match," K said, folding his arms arrogantly, chin raised high.

She imagined how smooth his hair must feel, like satin.

Lian Fei drifted into daydreams.

"I heard the black market gave you a free mech. Good, I was planning to gift you one anyway, so you wouldn’t refuse my challenge for lack of a mech."

Ah, suddenly she thought of Xiao Qi’s Persian cat. Its fur was soft and smooth—perfect for petting!

Alas, no more petting—those days were long gone.

They were now so far from Earth, separated by countless lightyears.

"I hope you won’t disappoint me."

If a fire broke out now, she wondered if K would stomp his feet in anger.

"If you beat me, I will relinquish my top spot on both the black market and DOL rankings to you."

Back in her previous life, when Wu San’er accidentally singed the cat’s fur with a cigarette, the cat was so angry it scratched his face—ha ha ha!

---

Lian Fei replaced the image of the fluffed-up cat with K in her mind.

His ridiculous yet adorable expression made her laugh aloud unintentionally.

K: ?

"Looking down on me?!"

Enraged, K immediately deployed his mech.

The sound of K’s mech unfolding snapped Lian Fei back to attention.

She quickly deployed her own mech.

Just as K’s blade swung toward her, Lian Fei finished unfolding and caught the blade with both hands.

Barehanded, catching a blade.

Lian Fei knelt, gripping the blade firmly.

Ah… seriously? An attack right off the bat?

She muttered internally.

The audience was too far to hear their exchange but saw K summon his mech and launch an attack.

The battle was about to erupt.

Cheers and shouts surged like a tidal wave.

"Hit her! K! That’s it!"

"Kill her! Kill her!"

"I bet everything on you, K! Tear her apart!"

"That Person! Go! Take down K!!!"

"I’ve hated that show-off for ages! That Person! Kill him now!!!!"

...

Both sides had supporters.

They shouted for their chosen fighter to slaughter the other.

Black market arena battles were, by default, contracts signed in blood.

Life or death did not matter—only victory or defeat.

Seeing the blade coming closer, Lian Fei knew she couldn’t hold like this.

She tried her old trick, easing downward to deflect and slip away.

Unbeknownst to her, K had anticipated this, spinning his blade into a sword flower as he turned it sharply toward her neck.

Lian Fei’s pupils narrowed; she bent backward, dodging the blade.

Before she could react further, K produced a laser gun with his other hand and pulled the trigger.

Pew pew—

Lian Fei was caught off guard and hit in the side of her waist.

[Warning: Left wing engine of mech under attack.]

[Shield durability: 99%]

[Damage level: 1%]

Lian Fei stared at the damage report in surprise.

Defense was so high?

She didn’t ponder further, quickly retrieving twin pistols from her arsenal and firing wildly at K.

But K’s reflexes were lightning-fast; he dodged and distanced himself about ten meters away.

A bead of sweat dripped from Lian Fei’s forehead.

After only a few exchanges, she could feel the pressure.

This was bad—K was truly formidable.