After the group returned from packing up their things for the day, the veterans’ group chat instantly blew up.

"Is the news for real?"

"Why would anyone lie about this? It’s true! I saw the photo! Her name is Qiuqiu!"

"Her ID and her real name are both so lovely. Why did she come here for military training, to the Mecha Single Soldier System of all places... That’s going to be so tough for her." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Is it the freshman competition tomorrow? Is she really going to be there?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I’ve said it a thousand times! It’s the competition tomorrow, and our girl is in the top 100! The new recruit in my dorm is their instructor, and he said our girl’s performance was absolutely amazing!"

"A smart girl like her can do anything! She’s amazing!"

"By the way, I’m planning to go watch in person tomorrow. Anyone want to come with me?"

"Of course! We have to go!"

"Now that the news is out, let’s go cheer on our girl!"

"This should be one of the last couple of days the freshmen are here. I’m going!"

Since everyone decided to go, Old Bai suggested that the fans should all sit together. That way, when it was time to cheer, their voices would definitely be loud enough.

Besides, sitting together would give them more to talk about!

They could all praise Juju with the people sitting next to them.

"Then it’s settled!"

And so, early the next morning, in several soldier dormitories—

As dawn broke, a young recruit who planned to watch the Federation University freshmen’s competition quietly climbed out of bed, intending to wash up without making a sound and then head out.

But when he opened the bathroom door, he found the two veterans—who had claimed they were just going to lounge around in the dorm all day—already fully dressed, their hair combed perfectly neat as they admired themselves in the mirror.

The new recruit: ???

"Brother Xin, Brother Liu, what’s all this?"

"Just getting ready. Aren’t you going to watch the competition today? We plan on going with you."

"...Watch the competition?" The recruit was baffled. "Didn’t you guys say this competition is boring every year? So what gives?"

"It’s boring every year, but this year will be interesting," Brother Liu said, waving his hand. "Alright, alright, hurry up and get washed. We need to get going so we don’t miss the start of the matches."

With that, the two of them hurried out of the bathroom.

As they left, they didn’t forget to call back a reminder to the recruit: "Get a move on, don’t be late!"

’What’s with this sudden interest?’

’Didn’t they say they were old-timers who were done with all the hustle and bustle?’

Similar scenes played out in many other dormitories.

At eight in the morning, the competition arena was already filled with spectators. The freshmen had all arrived, and below the stage, the referees, instructors, head instructor, and supervising teachers from Federation University were all in place.

The competition was set to begin promptly at 8:30, and all contestants were now ready.

The instructors were checking the mecha identification numbers for each student.

Then, they led them to their assigned mechas to wait for the signal to board.

Since the arena wasn’t particularly large, the mechas used for the competition today were a slightly different model from the ones used in training. They were much smaller and more compact.

Jiang Qiuqiu stood before her mecha, number 51.

Soon, it was 8:25. The supervising teachers and instructors directed the students who were about to compete toward the mecha platforms and announced the rules: "Each match has a time limit. If you knock down your opponent within the time limit, you win. If no one is knocked down and the match ends in a draw, both contestants will be eliminated."

Jiang Qiuqiu stared at the mecha across from her. She had only one thought in her mind: ’Take it down.’

Time flew by. Just before 8:30, a wave of spectators in military uniforms suddenly entered the outer seating area. At the same moment, Jiang Qiuqiu felt many more eyes on her, watching and assessing.

She glanced to the side, and just then, the whistle blew.

The competition had officially begun!