Xie Yi had achieved special-class strength due to the sudden burst of dark energy, but as he had no strong foundation, his state was unstable. Tian Jiajun, on the other hand, had achieved his special-class operator level due to his hard work. Hence, Xie Yi was suppressed in his fight against Tian Jiajun.
Upon seeing that his dark personality was put into the same situation as he was, the main personality sniggered. "Seems like this is all you have in you."
"Shut up!" the dark personality shouted fiercely. He was unable to accept the fact that he was being suppressed by his opponent.
"Without the accumulation of time and relevant experiences, what's the use of having a high level? It means nothing." The main personality had been practicing mecha piloting for so many years, so he knew what the dark personality was lacking.
"Bullshit. I'm the strongest. I won't lose." The dark personality didn't want to listen to his indecisive other half whom he hated. After all, this was all his fault; if he hadn't held this body for so long, he would have been able to gain control and this kind of mistakes would not happen."Stop acting tough. You don't want to lose, I don't want to lose either. However, with our separate strengths, we aren't the opponent's match," the main personality retorted. "This is the truth. You can't deny it."
"What are you trying to say?" The dark personality sensed that the main personality wanted to say something.
"Let's cooperate." The main personality sighed. Although he didn't know what effects the cooperation would have, he needed to compromise if he wanted to finish the mission his boss had assigned him.
"Cooperate? No!" The dark personality immediately rejected the main personality. He didn't want to pass this body to the weakling.
"You need to know that if you lose, you won't have a chance of taking control over this body." Xie Yi calmly stated this fact. "Our agreement at the start is valid. If you can't do it, you won't be able to suppress me. In the end, I'll still be the one controlling this body, while you'll just continue to sleep."
"The one who'll be controlling this body is me, me I say." The dark personality looked at the main personality coldly, the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger.
The dark and main personalities began to have a confrontation in their mindscape. The former wanted to destroy the latter, who was fighting against him for control of the body, but unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to touch him at all before he completed his promise.The promise that they made when they exchanged control over the body was relevant to both of them. He couldn't break the promise.
"Just like what you said, defeat the opponent and we can talk about our business later." Xie Yi used the dark personality's own words against him.
The dark personality's eyes turned even eerier. He wanted to reject the main personality, but Tian Jiajun didn't give him any chance to do so at all. Tian Jiajun attacked him again; the opponent's large sword came with a whirlwind as it moved towards Xie Yi. The dark personality knew that this was a lethal strike and that he would never be able to take this attack all by himself. He made a quick decision. "As you wish."
In the mindscape, the light and dark figures suddenly merged and a translucent figure appeared.
At this moment, the eyes of the Xie Yi in the cockpit changed. One of them was bright and vibrant, while the other was dark and eerie, and Xie Yi's expression alternated between sinister and happy. He looked frightening.
"Clang!" Xie Yi controlled his mecha to raise his sword horizontally with one hand and easily blocked the attack from his opponent. This time, Xie Yi's mecha didn't step back anymore. The two mechas were in a stalemate.
"You said that this is a collaboration." Xie Yi opened his mouth to talk to himself, his eyes and voice cold.
"Yes, collaboration. After we defeat the opponent, we'll battle it out among ourselves." This time, Xie Yi's expression was gentle and warm, and his voice was gentle too. The coldness just now seemed to be an illusion.
"Okay, promise." Xie Yi changed his tone again.
"Promise." The warm voice was back as he said this firmly.
"Well then, let's start from here!" This time, a strange voice came out of Xie Yi's throat. It was warm and cold. It seemed so contradictory yet natural. It was as if he was supposed to have this voice.
With that said, Xie Yi's sword began to inch towards Tian Jiajun, who felt that he couldn't resist the other party's strength at all. Two lines formed on the ground as his mecha was pushed backward by his opponent; they were caused by his mecha's feet as they rubbed against the ground.
"Tian Jiajun is actually losing to his opponent in terms of strength." When the instructors saw this scene, some instinctively stood up in shock.
"Get out of here!" Xie Yi shouted. His large sword finally broke through his opponent's defense and Tian Jiajun fell backward.
Xie Yi flew up into the air and continuously rained down blows with his sword.
"A chain combo!" Everyone knew what Xie Yi intended when they saw his stance.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5!" At the fifth strike, everyone was standing up. Had another mecha prodigy appeared in the First Men's Military Academy?
"6!" Everyone shouted. Xie Yi had successfully executed a six-chain combo. Tian Jiajun had blocked the first five attacks but on the sixth, he failed!
In the next second after he failed to defend, he appeared at the login hall of Mecha World. He recalled the scene from moments ago and smiled bitterly. "Six-chain combo. It was a six-chain combo. After Qiao Ting left, Ling Lan came. There are so many weirdos in the First Men's Military Academy. Am I destined to be a supporting role?" At this moment, Tian Jiajun didn't know that Ling Lan was not in Lingtian No. 1.
"I am so jealous. Big Bro Huo, when you lost to Captain Qiao last time, was this how you felt?" Tian Jiajun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they were calm and indifferent. He didn't seem to be affected by his failure at all.
At this moment, in the VIP room, an instructor laughed crazily, not caring about his image at all. "Six of them. He performed six attacks."
The people around him could understand his reaction—he was Xie Yi's instructor, Luo Jinan. Many people looked at him with envy, while they felt pity for themselves. Why hadn't Xie Yi chosen them as his instructor? If he had, they would have been the one enjoying such recognition today.
"Luo Jinan, congratulations on having such a prideworthy disciple. He will have a bright future." Luo Jinan's friends congratulated him.
Luo Jinan nodded his head in excitement. As compared to the famous instructor Tang Yu, who had produced many powerful students, Luo Jinan had felt inferior; he hadn't had any student that was exceptionally outstanding. However, Xie Yi appeared and proved that his teaching was as good as Tang Yu. Every person had their ambition and Luo Jinan's dream was to become an outstanding instructor just like Tang Yu and produce many excellent students under himself.
"He actually managed to execute a six-chain combo. Jiajun lost with reason." Qiao Yi secretly looked at the mecha operator who was standing still in the middle of the map. "There are so many aberrants among the third-years." Qiao Yi knew who was inside Lingtian No. 1. He thought about the captain, Ling Lan, and wondered if he had underestimated the latter.
"A third-year was able to execute a six-chain combo. Has this student advanced to the ace level?" Someone proposed this possibility. However, after getting the hand speed data of the operator for Lingtian No. 1, this possibility was denied; the hand speed did not reach the requirements for advancing to ace mecha master. Lingtian No. 1's operator was still a special-class operator.
"They managed to cross-level after collaborating with each other. This is interesting." Ling Lan smirked. She could feel that Xie Yi's energies were not resisting each other now. Although they had not merged completely, they were collaborating with each other.
"However, this is just the start!" Ling Lan's eyes turned cold and she pulled up her control stick, following which her mecha that had been hiding on the ground suddenly sprung up.
"Look at the ground!" The people that were looking at the big screen noticed something changing on the ground that was covered with dried leaves—a mecha appeared next to Lingtian No. 1.
"It is the chameleon system." It was the only system that enabled a mecha to change its appearance accordingly to its surroundings so that the mecha could merge perfectly with the environment.
"It's someone from Lingtian." This was the only thing they could tell about the mecha.
"What is it doing?" Everyone shouted.
The mecha lifted itself off the ground and rushed towards Lingtian No. 1 who was still floating in the air, oblivious to its surroundings.
Cutting one another's throat? The instructors were surprised by this scene, or rather, utterly stunned.
They had never witnessed such actions being taken during important battles like these. This battle was going to decide the fate of the mecha clan. What was wrong with the world? Were they getting old? Had they lost touch with the young folks' world?
"Xie Yi!" Ling Lan's clear voice pierced right into Xie Yi's mindscape—the latter suddenly fainted and his hand that was just about to input the dodging command stopped in mid-action.
Ling Lan grabbed Xie Yi's mecha using this opportunity and rushed towards the far end of the map, turning into a flash of light.
"Little Four, chameleon system!" Ling Lan ordered Little Four secretly.
Little Four and Ling Lan understood what each other wanted and the two mecha suddenly turned into thin air and disappeared from the map. By the time the instructors regained their senses and wanted to find them again, they were gone.
The VIP room was in an uproar. Why did the mecha appear to take Lingtian No. 1 away? Was it an act out of betrayal, or out of a personal grudge? Was there something else going on?
Unfortunately, they were unable to get an answer until the competition ended. The mecha that had appeared later had moved too fast, so fast they hadn't even managed to see its serial number.
"That speed and the smooth operation. It must be him—Ling Lan." Tang Yu suppressed the excitement in his heart. Only he had discovered the secret behind this series of actions. He knew Ling Lan too well.
Xie Yi finally woke up and opened his eyes. To his astonishment, he realized that he was standing on a choppy sea and the surroundings were very dark and cold.
"This is the world that I've been living in. Is it very cold?" An eerie voice suddenly sounded beside him. Xie Yi turned his head and noticed the dark personality standing beside him.
"Why am I here?" Xie Yi asked curiously.
The dark personality didn't reply but merely signaled for Xie Yi to look in a certain direction.
Xie Yi raised his head and looked over to see a familiar-looking person floating in the air. The person indifferently looked at him—or to be exact, at them.
