IMAO Chapter 56.2

The next morning, during breakfast.

Ji Rong glanced at Ji Chong’s empty seat.

He clearly said he would accompany him for the competition, but since that day, his father had been like a dragon showing its head but not its tail.

He forgot his son after seeing a beauty!

Ji Rong secretly despised his father.

After breakfast, they headed straight to the competition venue!

The venue was massive and could host eight matches simultaneously. Because it was just the group stages, there weren’t many spectators. There were few people in the stands. Among the thin crowd were two strange figures.

One wore oversized sunglasses, while the other watched him with an amused smile. The man without sunglasses asked with twinkling eyes, “Little one, didn’t you say you wouldn’t come? What made you change your mind?”

Horace shot Ji Chong a glare through his sunglasses. That night, they had somehow ended up in bed together, and he left first thing in the morning. Yet somehow, this man had gotten hold of his contact details, kept messaging him, and even threatened to ask Hoyt’s friends about who the number belonged to!

Ask?

What nonsense!

Even if they told you it was Horace, would you believe it?

“Don’t call me ‘little one’!” Horace raised an eyebrow, but the sunglasses dampened the intended effect.

Ji Chong’s lips twitched. “Then what should I call you? You won’t even tell me your real name.”

Horace: “…”

Ji Chong suddenly changed direction. “Then I’ll call you ‘baby’, since you used to want me to call you that anyway.”

Hearing Ji Chong mention this, Horace wanted to dig a hole and bury himself. That was ages ago!

He, Horace, didn’t need this!

Calling the Iron-Blooded Emperor ‘baby’?

If his subjects heard this, each would give you a punch, enough to beat you to death!

Ji Chong, you lunatic! Weren’t you supposed to be aloof? Do you know how long I chased you before you’d call me ‘baby’? You acted like it would kill you to say it once, and now you’re throwing it around like confetti. Have you lost your mind?

“Baby, our son’s first match is about to begin,” Ji Chong said, draping an arm over Horace’s shoulders.

Horace: “…”

The people nearby watched them with amused smiles. They obviously find them entertaining. It was mainly because Ji Chong, with his handsome face and stern expression, kept saying ‘baby’. It was simply too funny!

“Are you here to watch your son compete? So are we! My husband and I came together!” an Omega cheerfully struck up a conversation.

The Alpha beside the Omega smiled slightly at Ji Chong, staring intently at his face with slightly furrowed brows.

“Why are you staring at others like that? It’s rude!” the Omega quietly pinched the Alpha’s waist and whispered.

The Alpha turned to his wife, hesitating before saying, “It’s nothing, just that he looks familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere, but I can’t remember where!”

The Omega hummed in acknowledgment and, being seated next to Horace, naturally treated him as a fellow Omega, asking, “Hey, your skin looks amazing. What skincare products do you use? Could you recommend some?”

Horace: “…”

The Omega looked pitiful. “Is it inconvenient to say?”

Horace: “I don’t use any.”

The Omega froze for a moment, then immediately lowered their voice and pulled Horace closer. “That won’t do! Omegas must take better care of themselves. Let me tell you about several products that work well for me. Don’t be fooled by good skin now. Once it starts sagging with age, it’s too late!”

“These Alphas still prefer young ones. They can mark an Omega and break up without consequences, but cleansing a mark is terribly damaging to an Omega’s body. Take care of yourself, or all your money will end up spent on mistresses!”

Horace-the-Iron-Blooded-Emperor: “…”

Horace, who was revered like a god throughout Hoyt, fell into deep contemplation, feeling utterly miserable. What hellish torture was this?

Why on earth was he listening to skincare recommendations?

“Thank you, I’ve noted them all down. I’ll buy them,” a voice suddenly said while Horace was lost in thought.

“Wow, your husband is so considerate!” the Omega exclaimed enviously.

Horace: “…”

Horace looked at Ji Chong: “?”

Ji Chong smiled, pointing to the arena. “The match is about to begin.”

…

“Hello everyone! I’m sure you’ve all been looking forward to today’s matches! Our first match is Ella versus the Federation! Both teams are among the top sixteen, so they should be familiar to you all,” the host introduced. “There are rumors that Ella is particularly strong this year. We’ll soon see if that’s true! Let’s look forward to the match!”

As the host’s introduction ended, the view zoomed in to show Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong in the arena!

“Holy shit, magnetic field holographic technology combined with simulation?” Gu Bai glanced at the arena as it transformed, instantly becoming a desert terrain!

Everything inside seemed completely real, as if they were truly inside a game. An energy shield extended around the arena to protect the spectators!

This technology!

It was so awesome!

The combination of magnetic field holographic technology and simulation could perfectly recreate all in-game environmental settings. The magnetic field could even simulate solid rocks. No other country had ever created such an arena!

Hoyt’s technology had advanced enough to create such large-scale magnetic field holographic systems!

It was absolutely shocking!

Not only Gu Bai, but even Jiang Yuan was surprised. Using Alphonse to quickly examine the technology and analyze it thoroughly, he had to admit that Hoyt’s technology was really advanced, significantly more so than the Federation’s. It truly deserved its reputation as the most technologically advanced nation in the entire interstellar.

“Hoyt is just too extravagant!” The spectators in the stands all showed shocked expressions. They really did not expect this technology to be implemented directly in the competition arena!

“…Damn, they’re rich!”

Even Ji Chong showed a hint of surprise, saying to Horace beside him, “Hoyt’s technology is quite impressive.”

Hearing this, Horace lifted his chin slightly. Of course, it was. Just look at who ruled Hoyt!

Since they were representing their nation in the competition, Jiang Yuan’s team wouldn’t underestimate Ella’s strength, but for this match, they were determined to teach their opponents a proper lesson!

During the countdown, Ella’s team remained relaxed, saying, “Heh, today we’ll give them a clean 3:0 sweep!”

The team got excited as they discussed. Especially after yesterday’s conflict, they absolutely couldn’t lose today!

“3:0, let’s show them what we’re made of!”

Ella’s team had four heavy mechas, clearly positioned to protect one person. That person was their captain, their ace player!

Everyone else was just paving the way for their captain!

“Strange, four heavy mechas seem really inflexible. Sure, the defense is great, but it sacrifices attack mobility!”

“You don’t know? This is a four-protect-one formation! That light mecha in the middle is their main player! He’s this year’s rising star!”

Ella’s four heavy tanks immediately formed a defensive formation, protecting the central White Blade without a single gap, ready to attack at any moment!

Jiang Yuan was confused by this formation. What was this, gathering together to get beaten up?

Ji Rong spoke to Jiang Yuan through the comm: “Can you break their defense?”

Jiang Yuan: “Yes. And their side?”

Ji Rong: “Let’s go head-on.”

Jiang Yuan hummed in agreement, then Gu Bai’s voice came through the comm, “Ji Rong, you’re so mean, going for a direct face-slap, I love it! What about us?”

Ji Rong: “You guys? Just lie down.”

Gu Bai: “Captain’s awesome!”

With Jiang Yuan covering him, Ji Rong had no worries and charged straight forward. The opposing mechas kept their eyes fixed on Ji Rong’s Thunder Mecha.

“Have these Federation people lost their minds? Charging straight in, aren’t they afraid of getting shot down?”

“Hehe, maybe they’re stunned by our new tactics!”

“Attack!”

With the Ella captain’s command, the shooting began!

A hail of bullets flew through the air!

Nolan, who came to watch the Federation’s match since he wasn’t competing, felt his heart race at this sight. This was a team match. How could the Federation let Ji Rong charge in alone?

Even a god couldn’t dodge all those bullets, right?

Seeing so many bullets flying toward Ji Rong, Nolan held his breath. It’s over, Ji Rong was about to be eliminated!

Behind him, Jiang Yuan fired about twenty shots with his gun to help Ji Rong break through the encirclement, then switched to armor-piercing rounds.

Nolan watched in confusion, not understanding what Jiang Yuan was doing…

“It’s so funny! First that random spray of bullets, and now switching to armor-piercing rounds? Does he really think he can penetrate our defense with those?”

“Hahaha, they’ve probably never seen tactics like ours before. Must be stunned!”

“Never seen anyone this stupid.”

“AHHH—”

Before those people who were mocking Jiang Yuan could react, a scream suddenly rang through the comm.

“Shit! They pierced through!”

Then came the announcement: “Feng over!”

Ella: “?!”

Not just Ella’s team, but even the casual livestream viewers all went: “???”

“What just happened?”

The moment one teammate was declared dead, their defense was breached. Mario, Ella’s captain protected by four metal giants, fired at Ji Rong with maximum speed, his racing heartbeat and heavy breathing almost audible!

He couldn’t even process what was going on!

How was his teammate taken out by armor-piercing rounds?

Ji Rong chuckled softly. He’d noticed early on that this opponent wielded dual guns and must be skilled with them. He suddenly spun around and accelerated to dodge the attack.

And Mario’s shot hit his own teammate instead!

Then, the Federation’s Thunder Mecha appeared right before his eyes!

Mario hadn’t given up, wanting to fight to the last, but in the next second, Ji Rong’s blade fell like a whirlwind, so beautiful yet so terrifying!

BOOM—

Sparks flew everywhere!

Mario over!

Then the rest were eliminated, too!

Federation win!

Everyone was stunned!

Only two words filled their minds: ‘complete massacre’! This was nothing short of a devastating slaughter!

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