Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 110: Are They The Same Person?

Yuka, shaking, opened her opticomputer placed outside her holographic pod.

Squinting, she first checked her score and saw it was [100], then looked again with wide eyes and found it still perfect.

Struggling was futile; she had to enter the third round of the competition. Pretending to be weak was so hard.

Yuka sadly walked out of the holographic pod. Ayoi and Alex, waiting outside, knew something was wrong from her sad face.

Ayoi quietly asked Yuka, "Did you advance again?"

Yuka slowly nodded.

Ayoi and Alex patted her shoulder.

Yuka sighed, looking at them - one red-faced, the other biting her lip and pinching himself.

Yuka said helplessly, "Just laugh if you want."

Ayoi and Alex already had grins but didn’t dare to laugh too loudly, bending over and covering their mouths, trying to keep their laughter quiet.

Passing students, seeing Yuka’s downcast look and Ayoi and Alex’s shaking shoulders, thought they were crying over poor exam results and consoled, "It’s okay, it’s just a competition. Only the elites advance to the third round, we’re fine with scoring in the eighties in the final exams."

Ayoi and Alex shook even more.

Finally, after enough laughter, Yuka and her friends were about to leave the fourth floor when Shawn stopped them. free𝑤ebnovel.com

He had just watched the competition replay. Knowing only Ayoi’s exam number, he rushed over seeing contestant 666 seemed to know Ayoi, asking, "Do you know who contestant 666 is? I want to be friends with her."

Ayoi, evasive, said, "Um, I don’t know..."

Shawn paused, then rephrased, "Is she someone you know?"

Ayoi nodded.

Shawn glanced at the still sad Yuka, quickly ruled out the correct guess, and assumed it was Donny.

Convinced of his guess but not getting confirmation, he nodded to Ayoi, "I understand," and left.

Ayoi and Alex looked at each other: What did he understand??

Not paying much attention to Shawn’s actions, Yuka and her friends continued along the corridor, planning to go downstairs to the cafeteria for a meal. They heard people around them discussing the recent competition.

"Who is player 666?"

"I almost died laughing during the match. How did she come up with that idea? So talented."

"Did she make it to the third round? It seemed like she was ejected from the map by the system a second early. What if it was a system error?"

"No way, she definitely advanced. Some people asked, and the official site confirmed there was no system issue."

"Check out the article on the news headlines analyzing the Chosen One, player 666. It discusses her actions and scheming process!" Suddenly someone shouted, stopping Yuka and her friends.

They pulled out their opticomputers, opened the interstellarnet headlines, and found a hot article titled [Analyzing the Chosen One].

Curious, Yuka opened the article, but the introduction left her confused.

[Introduction: The Chosen One is a player who went to great lengths to advance!]

Yuka: ’What? How would I not know that? I didn’t do that, don’t make stuff up!’

The article wasn’t long, structured in three parts.

In the first, the author, Analysis Emperor, detailed the Chosen One’s actions in the first round. He claimed she deliberately steered the ship into a reef area to eliminate a whole boatload of people. She stood by a window to attract another player, then moved aside so his long sword would damage the control panel, making her seem unable to pilot the ship, thus avoiding blame.

In the second part, the guy suggested that in the second round, she intentionally arrived late at the central battlefield. She helped subdue Ironback only when others were nearly done, reaping the benefits. By not killing Ironback, she maintained her kind and helpful persona, as killing in front of others would ruin her image.

In the last section, the author confidently stated that in the third round, the Chosen One would wait until the last moment to act, eliminating others under the guise of protection to advance. He labeled her as very calculating.

Yuka was stunned and continued scrolling to see the comments on this absurd analysis.

The comment section was fairly sensible. The author, known for distorting others’ actions and words for traffic, was not taken seriously this time. However, a minority believed his words and started their own wild analysis of Yuka’s behavior and psychology.

The top-liked comment read: [Although the Chosen One has many clever moves, they only show she thinks outside the box. I don’t believe she’s manipulative. Besides, given her strength in getting Ironback under control, she doesn’t need tricks to advance.]

Seeing many doubting him, the author replied angrily to this comment, "If you don’t believe it, we’ll see in the third round!"

Many, swayed by the author’s firm stance, began accusing the Chosen One of being too scheming, warning others to be cautious. Some even pretended to be her classmate, fabricating rumors about her manipulative behavior, turning the comment section chaotic.

Yuka, unconcerned with the squabble, focused on a newly posted comment: [Am I the only one who thinks the Chosen One resembles Pinky from the underground arena?]

Dozens quickly gathered under this comment, agreeing and calling Roukujou Saltfish to join the discussion.

Roukujou himself had noticed similarities between player 666 and Pinky, especially in their fighting styles. He also suspected two other players to be the Brown and golden mechas from the underground arena team "Yeah, Whatever." But without proof, he refrained from making any claims, steadying Pinky’s fans by urging them to focus on the matches and not draw comparisons.

Relieved by Roukujou’s response and the distraction, Yuka breathed easier, feeling her identity was safe for now. She reasoned that if she got eliminated early in the third round, she wouldn’t be recognized.

Determined, Yuka, Ayoi, and Alex headed to the cafeteria to focus on their meal.

People around them still whispered about player 666’s identity. Other advancing competitors stayed silent, fearing targeted attacks if their numbers were known.

As Yuka put down her forks, details about the third round of the competition were sent to their opticomputers.

Yuka opened the message:

Congratulations to all students who advanced to the third round! Since the third round is a practical map competition, participants will need to board a spaceship to Capital Octoxis’s satellite. Please assemble in the lobby of the white building at 8 a.m. tomorrow.

In the practical map competition, you can choose your mecha’s weapons. Please write your weapon preferences on the blank page below and send it back. We will customize your mecha for tomorrow’s competition based on your requests. The deadline is 9 p.m. tonight. If you don’t respond by then, we’ll only provide the standard model.

Yuka, thinking about the inconvenience of another trip, decided to request a specific weapon, writing, "No hot weapons. Replace with a chained hammer, like a flail, thank you," before sending it back.

Those who didn’t advance to the third round remained at the white building, preparing to watch the competition in classrooms the next day.

In the lounge, Lory discussed the upcoming exam with Ichiro and his brothers. Noticing Ichiro’s distraction, Lory asked, "Ichiro, what’s on your mind?"

Ichiro, frowning slightly, shared his observation, "Don’t you think Number 666 resembles ’Lady’ from the underground arena?"

Lory and the others had seen the comments under the headline article that morning but didn’t believe the Chosen One could compare to "Lady." Lory dismissed the idea, "I think ’Lady’ is far more formidable than 666. If ’Lady’ were here, we wouldn’t have needed to deal with Ironback."

However, Ichiro remained unconvinced, "A person’s way of handling a blade is hard to change. The way 666 uses her knife is exactly like ’Lady.’"

Jiro and Shiro nodded in agreement, "We think so too." They had studied "Lady’s" fighting style extensively. Even if 666 wasn’t "Lady," they must have been trained similarly.

Lory pondered, then said, "It doesn’t matter now. Let’s focus on tomorrow’s match. I have to go, see you."

Tomorrow’s competition marked the start of inter-academy rivalry, and their alliances wouldn’t last much longer. Everyone understood this unspoken truth and began seeking allies within their own academy instead of collaborating with other schools.