Chapter 80
Ye Chong's match began as soon as he set foot into the mod room. He calibrated his body and his senses. Yes, calibration, one of the intriguing character settings Ye Chong had for his survival, or "adjustments" some called it, a foreign environment could always give Ye Chong a strong sense of vigilance. Even though realistically there would not be any threat in the securely sealed room, he carried on doing it as part of his instinct. As mentioned, it was not a "skill" that could be toggled on and off by will. It was a "setting" reoccurring on him. His frigid stare toured the room.
The truth is, Ye Chong had no idea that all his actions were fully captured by the cameras inside the room. Everyone could see even his slightest gesture through the hologram screen.
His "calibration" might appear as insignificant as gestures, but it did raise some exclamations in the crowd. They sprung from their seats unnervingly then they realized how embarra.s.singly they just acted as they fell back to their places quickly. Their eyes rolled, all fixed on that particular screen with Ye Chong, looking intrigued as they smiled.
At the other corners of the spectator's area, some of them stood up as well. They too looked surprise through the flicks of their eyes.
Ye Chong observed his surrounding carefully.
It was a room of about 300 meters long and 100 meters broad. A huge room where all sorts of parts needed to build a mech were placed along with a processor at the center.
Beep!
The processor prompted, "You may use all the parts provided in this room. To begin, submit your design here at the processor. You have 45 minutes to complete the entire modification process. If you failed to complete the modification process in the time allocated, marks would be deducted accordingly. Also, the pilot of your group would be piloting an R-1 default mech to complete the upcoming race instead."
He started inspecting the parts on the ground. Wow! He was astounded. He had to admit that the Blue Ocean Academy did have some money in their pockets. Even the parts in the mod room alone could cost dearly and they replenished the parts for every partic.i.p.ant. Imagine the expenditure just to sustain the matches!
Wonder how Ye Chong would react if he knew that the category he took part in was only one of the 32 categories in the whole academy.
Well, there's always time for that but not now.
Ye Chong calmed his mind.
His sharp eyes discerned every scattered parts on the ground. He had remembered them by heart. He pondered for a moment and then strode towards the processor in the middle of the room. Standing before the processor, under the bright spotlights, he grimly submitted his design plan.
At the broadcasting room, people had been as busy as bees. Due to the overwhelming population of contestants, the audience should be perplexed identifying the contestants on the screens and they should also be puzzled picking contestants to watch and to cheer. This issue became the studio's responsibility to resolve. The broadcaster had to give commentaries to explain the senses behind the partic.i.p.ants' mech designs to keep the audience entertained and not be swamped by jargons and ambiguity in certain behaviors by the partic.i.p.ants - the hows and whys. Furthermore, in every mod room there would be one staff who observed the happenings and reported the striking moment of the contestants immediately to the central studio while the central studio selected the better ones to roll on the main hologram screens. In a nutsh.e.l.l, everything concerns one factor - speed. Move fast! Move faster! Move fastest! The audience wants to see sweat! Tears! Pa.s.sion! Love! Diligence! Move! Move! Move!
The executive director behind the scene for the tournament this year was Rui Su, the vice president of the Broadcasting course.
Rui Su completed her studies in broadcasting course of Blue Ocean Academy at the age of 23. Additionally, she obtained her recognition from the senior director with her academic paper t.i.tled "The Theory of Usage of Motion in a Mutual Relations.h.i.+p with Limited View" which only took her 1 year to finalize, and hence becoming the youngest executive director in the history of Blue Ocean Academy. In the second year of her career, which happened to be this year, the academy requested her to take over the position of the vice president of the Broadcasting course.
Without doubt, this was Rui Su's first ever Blue Ocean Academy Tournament directing job.
The silky long dark hair laid on her shoulders gently like a small stream of waterfall on a silent night, while her eyes shone in clear sapphire like the puddle of seawater in the tender fondle. The beauty of the sea l.u.s.tered in her charm, as if one could feel the sea literally just by standing next to her - the tranquillity, the serenity. Her skin was fairer than winter's snow; her face was polished like the jades, adorned with the tiny pair of lips, in a scarlet glow which brought up an epic beauty crafted in the finest manner. The curves on her body was beyond well-proportioned and would stimulate with the slightest turn.
Unquestionably, every part
Everyone thought the same the first moment they saw her, till the view actually collapsed right onto their faces; they learned something for the day. The fiercest storm always starts with the sweetest rain.
"Are you guys r.e.t.a.r.ded? Did all of you sleep through your lectures back then? You can't even carry out the simplest order! I'm telling all of you, if you are ever capable to mess up my work this time… Hmph! You are just as capable as repeating your subjects for this semester! I'm just impressed by how you guys have the b.a.l.l.s to slack right in front of me. Do you wish to die right here and right now? Hey!" Her flamethrower aimed at one of the students pa.s.sing by, "Hey! Hey! Hey! w.a.n.g Xiao'er! Are your eyes peeled and your ears opened? Do you want me to do it for you instead? Move your lazy bottom and get the job done! You have been a good student in the past. Why are you acting flaccid like you're a freshman who doesn't know anything about broadcasting on such an important event today? Did your w.i.l.l.y just grow inwards? Are you still a man? Can you get hard?" her voice raised the tempest, filled with wrath and corrosive words.
w.a.n.g Xiao'er's slender body s.h.i.+vered under the howling voice of the devil in the studio. No one else could lend a hand to him because they were running away. However, because of her howls, everyone acted much quicker.
Rui Sui grumbled as she sat down, "What a bunch of complete r.e.t.a.r.d! They can't even help me out at a moment like this! What did I do to deal with all these? These Year 1 students are dumber than donkeys. They have at least studied their basics, yet they are acting like they are on their first day in the academy. Why don't we just employ donkeys to do the work for us instead? It helps in saving the academy's expenditure." She might have sounded harsh but her charm never fades.
Out of the blue, a shriek from w.a.n.g Xiao'er resounded throughout the pack of students rus.h.i.+ng in the studio. And that was the last straw to Rui Su's temper outburst, "w.a.n.g! Xiao! Er! Do you really want to die today? I could grant your wish you know! You were a good boy! Well! Not anymore! I can't believe you are brave enough to create another mess to the job today!" It was just a step before she launched her whirlwind kick combo at the paperback w.a.n.g Xiao'er. Nonetheless, she held it back as she knew that if she ever did her signature diving kick, with her strength, the paper w.a.n.g Xiao'er would be shredded on spot.
And she retreated her lifted legs.
The undelivered final blow did shock w.a.n.g Xiao'er for a few seconds, then his pale cheeks shuddered as he screamed in shaking voice, "Sister, come and take a look at this!" he pointed at the screen before him.
Rui Su forbade the students to greet her as "teacher" or "madam" or weak names like "Ms. Rui Su". Those would truly make her sound dramatically older she claimed. Thus, everyone should only greet her as "Sister".
"w.a.n.g Xiao'er!" She walked towards the quivering boy on his seat, mumbling, "If this is one of your stupid tricks to get away from your trouble today, you better be either picking a morgue or a hospital to stay in."
She was mumbling, till she slammed on the front desk before the screen. She zipped her mouth and stared the screen with focus. That was her personality when she went into work mode - professional and fully concentrated.
It was as if she was possessed. Upon having a closer look at what was going on in the screen, her eyes enlarged, wide like the saucers!
She went in utter silence for the next few seconds and had an inertia as she came back. The impact from the screen scorched her feet as she jumped up high and stormed to her seat, hurrying the boy, "w.a.n.g Xiao'er! Quick! Get the channel over here!"
"Yes," replied w.a.n.g Xiao'er.
The audience at the spectator's area noticed it coming suddenly. All the screens were only projecting at one particular person.
The contestant from Mod Room No.5!
"Ah!" Xuelin and Cousin Xiu screeched together after realizing who it was. Cousin Xiu covering her little mouth in disbelief along with Xuelin who had her mouth widely open.
Mod Room No.5! That would be Ye Chong!
Before their astonishment settled down, the audience in the entire row of the spectators area jumped up hurrahing. Rui Su actually had switched all the screens in the school compound to the visual at Mod Room No.5!
And that was when few hundred thousands of spectators in the whole campus saw an unforgettable scene for their lives!
On the screen the man waved his hands like a magician. In full focus, his hands slid the parts under like a breeze on a spring. Well that description did not sound that applause-worthy, since all mod technicians had to master that trick!
It was not the trick. It was his hands! Ye Chong's hands!
Ye Chong finally demonstrated the frightening speed of his hands, the first time in the public, right in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Sadly he was not aware of what an amazing achievement he had just accomplished. Revealing his only deadly capability to the entire world. If only he knew what actually happened, he would be jumping off the building.
To Ye Chong, revealing the a.r.s.enal of his abilities was no more than suicidal.
Ye Chong literally had no idea that his actions would be wholly broadcasted throughout the academy. Without the help of Yining, that was what he could only do. To make use of his abilities to the fullest! With great concentration! Being entirely engaged to the process, he did not see how fearsome his speed was.
His hands were so agile that they do not feel belonged to a human. The afterimages of his movements were faint yet still recognizable. n.o.body questioned its authenticity.
The s.p.a.ce, was soundless.
Everyone watched on and was barely hus.h.i.+ng.
The sky of the quiet campus echoed with the excited voices of the commentaries, "Holy Fal Galaxy! In what Blue Ocean world are those pair of hands! Such a scary speed on a mod technician, enough to terrify the students from the Piloting course hiding back into their cabins! With such a speed, what could still be impossible to our fine contestant? Oh? Hmm… Yes, yes." The commentator lowered his voice as the sound of paper ruffling came.
He cleared his throat, "We had just obtained the biography of this very contestant in our tournament today! Apparently, this phenomenal contestant in Room No.5 is none other than Ye Chong. He is only 20 years old. Oh, my, Fal, Galaxy! 20 years old! Our students would be a mere freshman being pampered everywhere if they were 20-year-olds! This is stunning! Staggering! Mind-opening! Evidently, he is not only a genius, but a genius among the geniuses! And… hmm… What! I can't believe it! Ye Chong is not a student in our campus too! And there is zero record about his education background! So, I strongly believe that n.o.body would disagree on what I had just said!"
The commentator's tone turned teasing, "Hehehehe. I know our beloved princ.i.p.al had just gotten the biography in hand and must be all wet and panicking begging for the tournament to end right away only to meet with this boy! Princ.i.p.al, your eyes desired something, am I right? Haha!"
And the audience laughed along.
"What?" Another moment of paper ruffling the microphone, "O.M.F.G.! Oh My Fal Galaxy! Did this just happen? The staff had pa.s.sed me the hand-speed report of this Ye Chong boy a moment ago and guess what? According to the outcome shown, within the duration we talked just now, Ye Chong had achieved a groundbreaking speed of Mach 3.57 at the highest! Gos.h.!.+ Did he modify his hands into an engine with artificial intelligence?"
And the audience exclaimed.
Mach 3.57!
The whispers scurried the spectator's area, "Is that even a speed by human?"
That last line from the commentary did tickle the funny-bone in everyone though.
Mach 3.57 was not fast enough to Ye Chong. It was not because he wanted to hide his strength, it was merely because he was yet to familiarize with the modification process that he had to slow down to minimize mistakes. It was justifiable considering how he had only spent a few days at Yining's house. Nevertheless it was astounding enough for him to hit this speed.
That was not all.
The scene after this had launched a full barrel of fiasco at the crowd.
It's showtime!