Shi Lang came to have a meal with his team and the people around them were discussing the possibilities of the next round. The federal team knew what it could be, but even if they did not know, they will have enough time to deal with it. They all enjoyed their food in silence. As they had just finished eating, a person or rather a creature approached their table.

This creature had purple skin, black eyes like obsidian, and no hair. However, this creature was a humanoid. He came to stand beside the table and said, “Hello, my name is Akra, thank you for what you did today.”

Shi Lang did not understand what he meant and said, “Hello, I am Shi Lang, but I do not understand what you mean.”

The creature nodded and said, “Allow me to explain, the team you faced in the mid-air, that was us.”

Shi Lang furrowed his brows and found a few more people walking over to stand behind Akra. They all were humanoids, but they all looked different. He had some doubt in his mind and Akra said, “We are the people of the solace planet system. We have different civilizations, but we have learned to live in harmony and help each other advance. In the last match, I was hurt and could not lead my team, and had to send in a substitute. I thought I have sent them to their deaths, but your arrival helped them live. Thank you.”

Shi Lang shook his head and said, “You are too polite leader Akra. The reason I did not attack them with the intention to kill was that they did not attack me with the same. I am not someone you should be thanking, Leader Akra.”

That said, Shi Lang stood up from the table, picked up his used dishes, and walked away. The rest of the team stood up. They politely nodded to the other party before following Shi Lang. Akra smiled faintly but the rest of the people felt offended, they could not believe this guy did not give them any face.

One of the teammates complained, “Do they think they are the peak of tier A? Humph, such arrogance, it will be their downfall.”

The rest of the people nodded, and Akra said, “Indeed, just like it was ours.”

The team fell silent and Akra said, “He did not want to attract too many eyes on himself. Stop already, understood?”

Although they were not happy they could not go against the command of their senior right? This time when they go back home, Akra will lose the right to be the captain and someone else will take care, then we will settle the balance with this eggplant.

…

Shi Lang and the rest were sitting in their rooms and they were connected with each other on their communicators. Jane asked, “Why did that guy think he should thank us?”

Shi Lang replied, “How would I know? Our act of cowardice had become a tale of heroism. However, that has nothing to do with us. We should go back to the discussion and prepare for the battle tomorrow.”

One of the people from the technical side said, “I think it should be a battle of Mechas.”

The people looked around and focused on him and it turned out that the possibility of this Mecha Fight was indeed higher than anything else. This was because following the pattern, this was the only event that was yet to be held on a grand level.

Shi Lang and the rest of the people developed the strategies and for this round, Shi Lang told the people to keep fighting till the enemy has accepted defeat, or their mecha has been disabled. He did not wish for their compassion to become the reason for their deaths. He even said that they were free to deal with the enemy anyhow they deemed fit.

The discussion came to an end, and the people began to cultivate. Shi Lang, however, spent his time with Amelia and his family on call, Shashi helped him use the emergency high-speed connection. In his mind, this competition was unpredictable and anything could happen to him so, he would rather spend time with people he holds close to his heart than cultivate for the night. It will not change anything for him.

…

El was hovering on the disk and said, “Hello, friends. I hope you all have been doing well, this time the Galactic Showdown has a slight change in the format. From now on, you all will be randomly placed in groups of five. Every team will face four opponents, and the topper of the groups, that is the first two positions will be allowed to compete in the knockout stages.

The mode of battle will be Mecha Battle. Each match will have three rounds. Easy to understand. This way the death rate will drop, and the people will not curse the organizers. The gap between your matches will be dependent on a few factors. But that is for the latter. So, now, let’s get ready, time to group up.”

Shi Lang sighed and said, “This became trickier.”

Jane asked, “Why do you say so? Was it not simple to understand? Also, this is direct confrontation.”

Shi Lang gazed at her and said, “You do not have to prove that you are a lab rat now. If it was a team battle then the rest of the people can still cover for the shortcomings exposed. However, the solo battle mode prevents that. It will be a three-round match, but the risk of death has increased for the three people participating in the battle.”

As soon as he expressed his thoughts the people all saw the dagger hidden in the sleeve. Ryan said, “I have discovered that the organizers are raking in a lot of money from the broadcasting.”

Steel nodded and said, “Boss, they are also organizing betting portals. You can imagine the amount of wealth flowing. This showdown is nothing but a business setup for the rich of the galaxy.”

Shi Lang shook his head and said, “We cannot worry about those rich. They are running a man-made planet. Do you think the federation can stand against them? Let them be, just focus on survival. Maybe one day in the future, our hundredth generation might be able to take down the facade, but we cannot, at least, not yet.”

The team nodded and they focused back on the host hovering in the void. El said, “The groups have been confirmed, and the information will be sent to your communicators.”

Shi Lang clicked his tongue and asked, “What do you think, Eli?”

Eli was an administrator and he was the most cunning of everyone on the team. His specialty was in speculating the behavior of the people. This was the reason that everyone on the team was a little wary of him. After all, how could people not be wary of someone who could read their thoughts like an open book?

Eli said, “Boss, they will place one seeded team, along with an average team and three weaker ones.”

His tone was indifferent and his face was calm. Shi Lang nodded and said, “I think the same as well. They must have seeded, or the favorites of their own. This is just a round to promote them further.”

The administrators nodded, and Shi Lang sensed a buzz in his communicator. He said, “We have our group list. The first match will start in six hours. Let’s go, we need some warm-up with the mechas”

The team moved out and on the way, Shi Lang sent a message to OB-One. The bot will have to dig out information on the enemies. He wanted to find out their fighting style. Shi Lang followed the tactics of the Art of war. Know your enemy and know yourself.

The team came to the mech bay, and just when everyone was about to start working on servicing. Shi Lang said, “Guys, I think we need a backup plan as well.”

The team agreed, that the backup plan was something that will be saving their lives. They could never have too many backup plans. Shi Lang said his thoughts and the team was shocked. However, thinking about it, they still agreed and it was within the rules. The frontal force was called forward to aid the technical team with the last-minute changes in the mecha.

They might be tech dumbs but when Shi Lang guided them, with the help of the technical teams. The output was crazily higher than. The control of the frontal forces was good, and after they made a few changes, Jane and the rest stepped in to follow up and make the thing permanent. They also used nanobots, to fix their flaws.

In the meantime, Shi Lang read through the info of their first enemy. He also selected the three people who will be fighting the battles. Since it was a best of three, he was there on the rooster. This steeled the resolve of the team a lot. Their leader was no less than a deity in their minds.