Rong Shi spent two hours doing “serious business” and the rest of the five-hour competition supervising. As a result, he ended up completing most of the “rabbit mech” that Song Yu claimed was for him.

During the final assembly check, Rong Shi zoomed in on the details of the rabbit ears: “What did you put in the rabbit ears?”

Song Yu’s expression was serious: “Ion cannons. When fighting, the ears can rotate like a fan, sweeping 360 degrees without blind spots. How fun is that?”

Rong Shi: “…” Are you serious about this aesthetic?

Fighting with a rabbit mech was one thing, but having its ears spin like a fan? Just imagining the scene made him want to punch someone.

The competition time was up.

Wu Han and Zhou En both submitted their work at the last minute. The game AI would conduct an overall evaluation of both designs, then randomly select 300 online players for anonymous scoring to calculate the final score.

“Why isn’t Goddess’s rabbit mech participating in the evaluation, even though it’s so cute?!”

“Ahhhhhhh, such a cute rabbit! Looks so soft and easy to bully!”

“How can it be easy to bully? Chairman made it himself!”

“Imagining the Chairman fighting with a rabbit mech… I can’t, I’m laughing so hard, hahahahaha.”

“Ah, isn’t anyone focusing on the mechs made by serious people? They both look great! I wonder who will win!”

“This competition is very unfair. Wu Han only has him and the Chairman, while Zhou En has three people, all second-years.”

While waiting for the system’s evaluation, both teams returned from the operations room to the main hall.

Song Yu’s peripheral vision swept over the comment section, and he smiled nonchalantly: “Exactly, why isn’t my mech participating in the evaluation? It completely fits the ‘original intention’ theme.”

Rong Shi’s voice was cold: “Where’s the ‘original intention’?”

Song Yu: “First love is also ‘original intention’.”

Rong Shi: “…”

He shifted his gaze slightly uncomfortably. Although the scores weren’t out yet, Wu Han was completely relaxed. The long-standing cloud of gloom in his heart had dissipated with the completion of this mech.

“Chairman, did you two make this?” Wu Han circled the rabbit mech twice, his eyes gleaming. “It’s so creative!”

When scaled down, the rabbit mech was only an adult’s height, with a chubby face and round limbs that completely subverted the usual mech design philosophy.

Song Yu patted the mech’s outer shell, smiling proudly: “Of course, who do you think designed it?”

Seeing Rong Shi actually nod, he became even more proud. Before he could even speak, he heard the other say: “An amateur’s design. What basic common sense could it have? It’s good enough if it can move.”

Song Yu scoffed: “Are you very professional?”

Rong Shi: “At least the mech I make can move.”

Song Yu: “…”

Zhou En also noticed the rabbit mech from across the room and was extremely annoyed, showing it on his face.

“To make a mech in this shape is disgusting.”

This vicious remark struck Wu Han like a lightning bolt. Years ago, he had heard many similar comments. But he couldn’t believe such words would come from Zhou En’s mouth.

“What gives you the right to casually comment on my work?” Song Yu looked over, about to speak, when he saw Wu Han walk over excitedly.

“Even the big names in mech design haven’t stipulated how mechs must be designed!” Facing Zhou En, Wu Han retaliated strongly for the first time. “All creativity should be respected! You’re already half-stepping into a professional field, why would you say something so unprofessional?!”

Being retorted to in front of so many people, Zhou En’s face was very grim.

“You call this trash creative? What can it do on the battlefield? Be cute? Mechs are weapons of war; all improvements should be based on combat needs!”

Wu Han: “Can you judge its lethality by its appearance alone?!”

Zhou En: “Visual deterrence is a type of lethality!”

The two argued, ignoring everyone else, their volume increasing with each sentence. Zhou En’s two companions tried to mediate but couldn’t, only able to look pleadingly at Rong Shi for help.

But Rong Shi, on the other hand, stood there motionless, completely at ease, with no intention of mediating. Song Yu, who had been holding in his anger, found that someone else was angrier than him and became less angry. He leaned against the rabbit mech, enjoying the show.

“Your mistress is being bullied, aren’t you going to help?”

“Normal professional discussions are none of my business.” Rong Shi’s expression was bland, and he subtly glanced at Song Yu’s face before adding in a low voice, “He’s not a mistress either.”

The comment section was shocked—

“What Zhou En said was definitely too much, but isn’t it bad to argue like this?”

“Zhou En actually said something like that!”

“Saying Goddess’s mech is disgusting? His mech is disgusting, bah!”

“Drawing conclusions just from the appearance is too superficial and unprofessional.”

“If there can be wolf-shaped mechs, tiger-shaped mechs, why can’t there be rabbit-shaped mechs? Is that animal discrimination?”

“I think it’s awesome! Who says mech appearances can’t be cute?”

Wu Han and Zhou En argued more and more fiercely, their voices growing louder with each remark. Zhou En shouted sharply: “You, who haven’t systematically studied mechs, shouldn’t be making a fool of yourself here!”

Wu Han’s face completely darkened. He pursed his lips, his eyes firm: “I will prove who’s making a fool of themselves!”

---

As soon as he finished speaking, the system notification sounded. The scores from the game AI and players were all released.

Seeing the results, the surrounding military academy students couldn’t help but gasp.

“Am I seeing things? Three second-years actually lost to two first-years?!”

“Holy crap! I didn’t expect this.”

“I calculated it earlier. With ‘Chairman, the old salty fish who always gets first place,’ it’s too hard not to get first place (not kidding).”

“This time, it has little to do with the Chairman, Wu Han is too awesome!”

“It’s so damn ironic. Zhou En actually lost on creativity. What a slap in the face.”

“Besides creativity, the other scores are also very close, which shows that Wu Han indeed has the ability.”

On the virtual screen in mid-air, indicators such as creativity index, difficulty index, practicality, and completion were listed. Other data were very similar for both sides, but in the creativity index, Zhou En lagged by a full twelve points. In addition, in the player rating section, over two hundred people preferred Wu Han’s mech.

“Impossible!” Zhou En said in disbelief, “The system must have made a mistake!”

His two partners also found it unbelievable. Although this competition was temporary, their design was adapted from a high-scoring plan from the last monthly exam. All details had been repeatedly refined and polished. How could they lose to a first-year student?

“Because this blueprint of mine has been refined over eight years of repeated work,” Wu Han explained their doubts, looking at Zhou En. “I once regretted not letting you see the finished product of this mech. Now it’s completed, but I imagine you’re not very interested in studying it anymore.”

Zhou En clenched his back teeth and said nothing.

Rong Shi walked over to Zhou En and said: “The competition results are out. Transfer student council affairs within a week, no delays.”

“I refuse!” Zhou En glared at Rong Shi, “I want to view the simulated combat!”

Players can conduct simulated combat drills with their designed mechs to find flaws and make modifications. In design competitions like this, there are also those who disagree with the system’s judgment and appeal using simulated combat.

“Alright,” Rong Shi agreed readily. With a swipe, the game AI imported the data. Soon, a virtual window popped up in mid-air.

In the video, two mechs were controlled by AIs of the same intelligence level for combat. Zhou En’s design was conventional, with moderate defense and offense, while Wu Han’s design was clearly more agile and aggressive, especially gaining an advantage in close combat. In terms of defensive moves, Wu Han’s design reacted very quickly, and its limbs were extremely flexible, while Zhou En’s appeared somewhat clumsy.

“This is embarrassing, they’re not even on the same level.”

“Holy crap! I want to buy Wu Han’s mech now. I wonder if he’ll sell it.”

“The appearance looks old-fashioned, but it fights quite well.”

“Wait, with Wu Han’s blueprint, the mech’s arms shouldn’t be so flexible!”

“The Chairman didn’t even look at the blueprint when he was connecting the arms! Did he modify it?!”

---

Just as more and more people in the comment section were paying attention to this, Wu Han also noticed something was off. He immediately issued a command, opened the mech’s arm casings, and carefully studied the internal wiring. The more he looked, the more pleasantly surprised he became.

“Brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that!”

Different connection methods directly affected the arm’s reaction speed and joint flexibility.

Wu Han excitedly dragged the mech to Rong Shi: “Chairman, did you study mech design before?”

Rong Shi gave a vague answer: “Not before college.”

Wu Han: “So amazing! Your connection method can shorten the sensor time by at least 0.1 seconds! Did you think of it on the spot?”

Rong Shi: “I connected it according to your blueprint.”

Wu Han: “?”

Wu Han: “But it’s completely different. Yours is clearly better.”

Rong Shi casually said: “Maybe I misread it then.”

Wu Han: “…” Really?

Listening to their conversation, Song Yu’s gaze swept over the mech arm’s wiring, then over the rabbit mech beside him, his mind filled with doubts. If Rong Shi was a member of some secret investigation organization, why would he also be so proficient in mechs?

A flood of accusations appeared in the comment section—

“Lies! He’s talking nonsense!”

“Old Salty Fish is an everyday non-human.”

“Why do you know everything, ahhhhhhh? How are we supposed to live?!”

“Rong Shi: Accidentally exposed my master identity, what should I do?”

“I just love this old salty fish who casually does something and is still better than everyone else.”

“The freshman chairman truly lives up to his name.”

The simulated combat finished playing, and Zhou En’s mech was completely dominated. He said nothing and went offline directly. His two partners were very embarrassed. After hesitating for a while, their interest in mechs won out, and they all gathered to look at the arm wiring Rong Shi had connected.

On the military academy forum, the entire process of this mech design competition was quickly posted. Although it was Wu Han and Zhou En’s main stage, the two supporting characters frequently stole the spotlight due to being too eye-catching.

“The Chairman just likes to occasionally reveal things for us to discover. Is this a form of playful teasing?”

“A third-year mech student says his wiring method is very advanced, simple yet extremely effective. I bow down, I bow down.”

“It seems nothing can stump him. It’s hard to imagine what could bother him.”

“A genius like the Chairman probably doesn’t have worries.”

“You’re praising him too much. Didn’t he say he connected it that way because he misread it? No need to over-interpret it, right?”

“If he’s that good, why hide it? What a boast.”

Suddenly, many sour comments appeared below, completely derailing the entire thread.

By six o’clock the next morning, all the students who had cursed each other out all night on the thread, looking at the rising sun, were filled with regret. Such good sleeping time, wasted on bickering.

Before they could even lie down for half an hour of sleep, they refreshed the page out of habit, and a new post appeared.

[Dawn Breaks: No way, no way, someone actually thinks Rong Shi just randomly connected it.]

This analysis post contained no data; it directly uploaded a video. The video was split into two screens, left and right, showing a fierce-looking (yet cute) rabbit mech fighting against Wu Han’s and Zhou En’s mechs, respectively.

The rabbit’s limbs looked round but weren’t clumsy. It fought without hesitation. Beneath its smooth, snow-white mech shell, every inch could open up. The shell housed 480 miniature particle cannons, whose simultaneous firing power was enough to shoot down a small warship.

At thirty-two seconds into the video, Zhou En’s designed mech exploded. At two minutes and one second, Wu Han’s designed mech exploded. No explanation was needed; one video was enough to explain everything.

---

In the few days the competition was hotly debated, Rong Shi, whom everyone said had no worries, was a little annoyed. A certain tall and mighty cat said he would give him a rabbit mech, but days had passed, and he hadn’t even seen a single mech leg.

In political class that day, Rong Shi rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Song Yu solving a physics problem. He hesitated for two seconds, then quietly asked: “Did you give him the mech?”

Song Yu didn’t even look up: “Yes, I did.”

Rong Shi: “…”

Who did you give it to?

Rong Shi: “Then did he like it?”

Song Yu looked up: “Why are you so concerned? Jealous?”

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu’s fingers moved slightly, his pen spinning between them. He looked at Rong Shi and smiled: “Why would an outsider like you be jealous?”

Rong Shi: “…”

Am I jealous of myself?

---

Right after class, he received a communication from the head of the campus security department. Wu Han and Zhou En had fought and were now both in the infirmary. Rong Shi tossed his books to Song Yu and quickly walked out of the classroom: “Take my books back for me.”

Song Yu: “…” You dare to make a prince run errands for you?

When he arrived, the campus security department was already getting information from the school doctor. Rong Shi went to Wu Han first. Wu Han had some bruises on his face, but overall he was fine, not serious. The two had another conflict while transferring work and ended up fighting.

Wu Han looked guilty: “I’m sorry, Chairman, I caused trouble again.”

Rong Shi comforted him for a few moments, then walked to Zhou En’s medical room. He was lying on the bed, his eyes half-closed, and the school doctor, Jiang Huai, was examining him.

“How is he?” Rong Shi asked.

Jiang Huai: “His pheromones are very unstable. If he doesn’t recuperate properly, he might suffer from long-term complications.”

The two walked out of the medical room, chatting as they went to the pharmacy to get medicine. Jiang Huai looked at him and smiled: “The surname Rong is not common, is it?”

Suddenly, the topic shifted to this. Rong Shi couldn’t help but look at him a little longer, saying calmly: “It’s very common on my home planet.”

“Zhou En’s situation is very complex,” Jiang Huai only mentioned briefly, then turned the topic back, saying as he dispensed medicine, “He can’t be stimulated again in the short term.”

Rong Shi’s gaze followed his hands over the medicines: “His personality changed drastically. Is that also related to his pheromone situation?”

Jiang Huai casually picked up a syringe and drew medicine from a vial. “Alphas stimulated by an Omega’s pheromones during their heat will become emotionally unstable, irritable, and particularly aggressive. What if they’re repeatedly stimulated?”

Rong Shi frowned: “Will they remain in this state?”

Jiang Huai chuckled: “I don’t know either.”

Rong Shi walked back to the medical room with him, watched him enter, and then left the school infirmary.

Jiang Huai put down the tray, rolled up Zhou En’s sleeve, took a test tube from his pocket, and injected it into his arm. On the syringe, an inconspicuous line of small print read “SYT7737.”

---

For three consecutive nights, exactly at eight o’clock, Rong Shi logged into Star Wars, eagerly waiting for the Little Cat to come online. By eight fifteen, the Little Cat arrived.

“So free these past few days?” The Little Cat sat beside him, smiling. “It’s been a while since we sparred. I’ve been researching a combo; want to try it tonight?”

Rong Shi: “…Mhm.”

Still not mentioning the mech, huh?

They sparred all night. As it got later and later, Rong Shi grew a little impatient and was almost hit in the face by the Little Cat.

Little Cat: “Why are you so distracted tonight? Something on your mind?”

Rong Shi: “No.”

Before going offline, Rong Shi saw the Little Cat holding his hand and happily saying goodnight. He couldn’t help but hold onto his hand.

Little Cat: “What’s wrong?”

Rong Shi’s gaze drifted, his voice tight: “Did you… forget something?”

The Little Cat tilted his head, thinking for a moment: “No.”

Rong Shi: “…Oh.”

Why are his ears even drooping?

The Little Cat stroked his face: “Bunny, are you unhappy?”

Rong Shi: “…”

Rong Shi: “I’m fine.”

See? Song Yu is definitely not the Little Cat.

---

Author’s Note:

Song Cat: Bunny, why do you look so disappointed?

Rong Bunny: No, I’m fine. So fine I almost cried out loud.