Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 109: Identity Nearly Exposed

Ironback arched its body in pain, but Yuka didn’t let it curl back up, only showing its invincible shell. She lifted her long sword, cutting a huge wound in Ironback’s belly.

The people nearby, though shocked by the mecha’s immense strength, quickly rushed to help Yuka control the writhing Ironback in pain.

Shawn turned and shouted to Yuka, "Thank you for the help!"

Yuka, lips tightly pressed, didn’t respond. She didn’t want to make a sound, because she was trying to avoid being recognized by Shawn and others, as she couldn’t yet break her fragile disguise.

Not hearing a response, Shawn didn’t mind much, thinking she was too focused on controlling Ironback. He secretly noted her exam number, planning to meet this strong person after the exam and make a friend.

In the commentary room, Yonda almost blurted out "What the f*ck," quickly shutting off his mic.

He turned to Kenji in shock, "Did you see that, sir? Yuka lifted Ironback with one hand!"

"I knew her usual performance was off," Yonda hit the table, frustrated. "Why would such a talented candidate pretend to be weak?"

"Everyone has their choices," Kenji suddenly spoke, "She’s an adult, she knows what she wants."

Yonda was puzzled, "Are you serious, sir?"

Surprisingly, Kenji didn’t criticize Yuka with him but spoke in her favor, leaving Yonda awkwardly scratching his head. He reopened his mic, ready to commentate. Glancing at the chat, he saw it filled with amazement.

[Can’t believe it, the Chosen One is so strong and skilled with the sword.]

[A master for sure.]

[Which academy is the Chosen One from? Can someone tell me?]

Unaware she had already broken her facade in front of Instructor Yonda, Yuka was still figuring out how to deal with Ironback.

Having already cleared most of the trouble for the rest, Shawn and his group pounced, each with a knife, gutting Ironback. It lay dying, just one stab in the brain away from vanishing into data.

Shawn and the others looked at each other, deciding to leave this honor to the mecha that had helped them in their critical moment. After all, it was this stranger’s help that got them through the crisis, otherwise, they might have all been wiped out.

Shawn approached the mecha pilot, asking for their opinion. Yuka, after hearing his request, thought for a moment. Then deliberately roughened her voice to make it husky and unrecognizable from her usual sweet tone, and said, "Don’t kill it."

Shawn, surprised, asked, "Why?" Killing this Ironback would ensure advancement for the person in front of him. He didn’t understand why she would pass up such an opportunity.

Since the camera wasn’t focused on them but on the twitching Ironback, the audience couldn’t hear Yuka and Shawn’s conversation. They were anxiously scratching their heads, bombarding the live chat with requests for the commentators to switch the camera.

Yonda quickly changed the screen, but the conversation between Yuka and Shawn had already ended.

[What did they say? Why didn’t they kill Ironback?]

[The Chosen One’s voice changed, is she trying to hide her identity?]

[Does she have a grudge against this person?]

Knowing the truth, Yonda huffed, realizing Yuka was still maintaining her weak persona. He sighed, shaking his head in resignation. Based on Yuka’s usual scores, if she didn’t score full marks in the final third round of the Tournament’s practical map, she likely wouldn’t stay in the mecha specialization.

In the Sakura Valley village map, Shawn, having heard the other’s opinion, looked conflicted. He returned and relayed Yuka’s thoughts to the others who had fought with him. With similarly mixed feelings, they began to act on Yuka’s idea.

Some competitors, although they had killed ten parasites, had their protected villagers die in the recent battle, preventing their advancement to the third round. Disheartened and not wishing to help their competitors, they let the parasites attack, and the system ejected them from the arena, awarding only the basic sixty points.

Others, needing to protect the villagers and not having killed enough insectoids, were hesitant to help, fearing for the villagers’ safety. They stayed put, continuing to fight the surrounding parasites, hoping to leave the arena quickly.

Ayoi and Alex, carrying the little girl Yuka was protecting, ran over to ask her, "Do you need help?"

Yuka put her finger to her lips, shushing them, and shook her head.

Ayoi and Alex understood immediately, refraining from calling out her name or speaking further.

They turned back and continued silently fighting the parasites. Soon, their kill count reached nine, just a bit more, and they could leave.

Yonda noted the mecha number beside Ayoi, comparing it with the student list and recognizing Alex. He stroked his chin, pondering whether these three, with their average regular scores, were really hiding their true capabilities or if he had failed to notice their potential. They were matching the skills of soldiers who had served for years in the Alliance Army.

After Ayoi and Alex’s last glance at Yuka, she took the little girl they were protecting and nodded to them. They then killed the last parasite, leaving the arena and advancing to the next round.

Yuka walked over to the little boy and another villager left by Ayoi and Alex, bringing them into the group that was moving Ironback, to protect them from the parasites. She continued outside, fending off parasites and occasionally stabbing them, but controlled her strength and frequency to avoid advancing prematurely.

She also gathered the remaining villagers into this group.

[What is the Chosen One doing? Is she protecting the remaining villagers?]

[It seems unnecessary; protecting other villagers doesn’t give points.]

[Isn’t this too hypocritical? Who is she performing for? She didn’t save the other villagers when they were being eaten just now.]

As the chat became heated, Yonda, unable to intervene, instructed the admin to remove offensive messages and continued commentating. "Now we can see, the chosen..."

He caught himself, almost getting carried away by the chat, and corrected, "Under the guidance of participant Number 666, the remaining contestants have started moving Ironback’s body. They rolled it up, exposing its hard shell outside, and then, um... pushed Ironback to block the entrance??"

Yonda was speechless, and the chat erupted in laughter.

[Hahaha, I knew the Chosen One would pull off something clever!]

[Ironback: So, this is why you didn’t kill me?]

[Ironback, just a tool, nothing more.]

In Yonda’s stunned gaze, in the Sakura Valley village map, the contestants worked together to push Ironback, sealing the entrance tightly. Initially, Ironback didn’t fit, but students from Atlantis Academy, adept in water, dived in. They killed parasites and dug out mud and sand, creating space for Ironback to form a tight seal as a spherical barrier at the entrance.

In the end, Yuka used another student’s long sword to wedge it between the parasite’s tail and head, firmly locking it in place, allowing only a small amount of river water to flow into the village.

She looked at their collective work, hoping that the last type of insectoid would not be a flying variety but rather land-based, so they could safely endure the remainder of the exam.

Before the third type of insectoid arrived, the remaining participants frantically killed the parasites crawling up from the river. Some successfully advanced, but many either failed to protect the villagers or chose to let the parasites attack them to leave the arena.

The ones who stayed gathered around Yuka, forming a protective circle around the remaining villagers. Amidst their tense wait, the third type of insectoid finally appeared.

Someone bravely peeked through the hole in Ironback’s body, then excitedly announced to everyone, "It’s soldier insectoids!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Unlike parasites, soldier insectoids couldn’t stay underwater for long, so there was no worry about them infiltrating the riverbed and attacking from the shore.

With the only entrance to the village blocked by Ironback, even if the soldier insectoids tried to cross the mountains, they wouldn’t be able to reach the village before the competition ended.

The group relaxed in front of Ironback, occasionally pushing it to ensure it was tightly wedged. The parasites that could reach them had been eliminated.

Shawn and others, before they advanced, had come over to thank Yuka, but she just nodded and waved them off, saying it was nothing big.

The rest, unable to advance, sat with Yuka. Knowing she preferred silence, they didn’t disturb her, chatting among themselves, and some even took the opportunity to catch up on sleep.

Yonda, observing all this, was baffled. This was the most extraordinary group of students he had ever taught, especially Yuka – a true genius, and also the strangest one he had ever seen.

[The Chosen One’s really a huge surprise. I’m satisfied.] freёnovelkiss.com

[I think the Chosen One must be a very kind person. She chose to stay and protect the villagers even though she had many chances to kill the parasites and leave.]

As the competition time ticked away second by second, everyone remained glued to the live stream channel, not even wanting to leave for the bathroom, eagerly awaiting the final outcome.

[Why isn’t the Chosen One stabbing Ironback? Just one stab and she can advance.]

[Don’t rush, there’s still five minutes left.]

Four minutes passed, and both Yonda and the chat started to get anxious.

"She really doesn’t want to advance?" Yonda scratched his head in disbelief.

[Chosen One, get up!]

[What are you waiting for? If you wait any longer, you won’t be able to advance!]

The students around Yuka thought the villager she was protecting was already dead, so they didn’t bother her and continued chatting.

Yuka, keeping an eye on the time and preparing to leave the arena, suddenly noticed a dying parasite on the riverbank twitching. It sprang up, lunging towards the villagers on the shore.

Instinctively, Yuka struck it with her sword. The parasite, its head pierced, twitched on the ground a few times before vanishing into a stream of data.

In the last second before the competition ended, Yuka was unexpectedly removed from the Sakura Valley map by the system.

Yuka sat up in the holographic pod, slowly widening her eyes in disbelief. ’How could this be? The parasite I just killed sent me to the next round?’