Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 27: Top 100

Shawn Winehouse didn’t know what had happened today.

All morning, the underground arena had been pairing him with newbies.

Ever since word got out that the psychic power requirements for mechas had been lowered, rookies flooded the arena, thinking they were some kind of hidden genius who could just pick up mecha piloting in a snap.

The result? They stumbled around like headless chickens, and Shawn would dispatch them back to the start screen with a single strike. The few who managed a few moves were all style and no substance. The worst one even blew themselves up while firing at him!

Shawn, in a huff, brushed aside a branch blocking his view and spotted a pink mecha.

He smirked wryly to himself, "Another noob, great."

Choosing such a flashy color in a dense forest map was like being a sitting duck, begging to be targeted.

Shawn flicked his long sword and, losing all patience, lunged straight towards the pink mecha.

Yuka, seeing the green mecha charge at her, deftly sidestepped.

Shawn’s sword met air, leaving him momentarily stunned, but he quickly regained his composure. He used his mechanical arm to push off a tree trunk, spinning in mid-air to launch a sidekick at Yuka—

And missed again.

Shawn landed gracefully, a new caution in his eyes.

This one didn’t seem like a rookie.

The pink mecha stood nearby, tilting its head at him, then suddenly raised its left arm.

Shawn’s pupils dilated as he hastily retreated, then dove to the side.

"Boom—"

The cannon blast tore through the forest, leaving Yuka staring at the blazing trees around her.

"Holographic simulations sure are high-tech, even simulating fire," Yuka mused, glancing at the green mecha now stripped of its metal shell by the heat wave.

Shawn, if he could, would have cursed out loud, "This is a forest! You start with a cannon, turning this place into an inferno?"

Shawn, frowning, picked himself up, reevaluating his opinion of the pink mecha. Such reckless tactics, poor aim—it must be a rookie. Maybe the earlier dodges were just luck.

Outside, Roukujou let out a sigh of relief, "Folks, Pinky just evaded two GPS attacks and managed to hit back, damaging the opponent’s mecha."

[Yay! Go Pinky! We love you!]

[Pinky’s awesome! Beat him!]

Roukujou wasn’t as optimistic as the comments, telling the audience, "Don’t get your hopes up. I’ve seen many of GPS’s matches, and he’s strong."

He rubbed his chin, "But something’s off. GPS usually doesn’t attack first."

"Anyway..." Roukujou continued, "Now there’s a fire on the field. It might not affect mechas much, but don’t underestimate environmental changes. Even a small shift can be deadly in a match. And look, Pinky’s on the move!"

On the field, just as Shawn used his mechanical arm to rise, he heard footsteps behind him.

A chill ran down his spine, and years of survival training kicked in. He rolled away just in time to avoid the sharpened tip of Yuka’s returning boomerang.

Shawn scrambled to his feet with the help of a nearby tree trunk, and upon seeing the weapon in his opponent’s hand, he couldn’t help but feel exasperated.

’Who uses a boomerang to stab people? What was this person thinking?’

His frown was so deep, it could trap a fly. Before the other could attack again, Shawn raised his left arm.

With the area already a blazing inferno, he figured one more cannon shot wouldn’t make much difference.

Another explosion echoed.

Yuka stepped back, her left arm charred. With a creaking sound, her overburdened mechanical arm finally gave way, falling to the ground.

Outside the arena, Roukujou nervously bit his finger, but professionally consoled the fans, "Don’t worry, and don’t blame Pinky. She couldn’t have dodged at that distance."

[Ahh, I can’t take this tension! I can’t watch!]

[Well, the top hundred are top hundred for a reason. He just obliterated Pinky’s firepower. Her chances of counterattacking have plummeted.]

[Looks like a loss. I’m out.]

[Go ahead, but I’m staying. Go Pinky! Mama loves you no matter what!]

Roukujou let go of his finger, sighing inwardly.

He didn’t want to see Pinky lose, but the gap in rankings and strength between her and the hundredth was just too vast.

In the arena, as the cannon fire hit the pink mecha, Shawn caught a glimpse of a blur, as if something had been thrown.

Focusing, he realized the boomerang was missing from Pinky’s hand.

A quick glance backward revealed the boomerang stuck in a tree trunk, unable to navigate the dense forest, flying off far from his position.

The flames spread, raising the temperature in the forest.

Sweat formed on Shawn’s forehead. Eager to end it, he dived at the pink mecha, brandishing his long sword.

Clang—

Shawn was momentarily stunned. His opponent had transformed the remaining right arm into a sword very similar to his, perfectly resisting his strike.

In that split second of his surprise, Yuka’s blade slid along his, sparking brilliantly. She stepped forward, sweeping her sword upwards fiercely.

Shawn felt a jolt in his wrist connected to the mecha, and his hand went numb, eyes widening in shock.

"His sword is knocked away!" Roukujou, trembling, clenched his fist and shouted, "GPS’s sword is knocked away!!"

The audience roared even louder than him: [Aaaaah! Go for it, kiddo!]

[Guys, I’m literally on oxygen watching this match. I feel like I’m gonna pass out any second.]

[This is too intense!]

[Those who said Pinky was sure to lose, how’s that face slap feeling?]

Seizing the moment while Shawn was still in shock, Yuka flipped her wrist, the blade gleaming darkly as she slashed horizontally at the green mecha.

The blade sliced open the chest of Shawn’s mecha. Though still shocked, Shawn’s muscle memory from long training, kicked in. He instinctively stepped back, narrowly avoiding a direct stab into the cockpit that would have ended the match.

Shawn was drenched in cold sweat, finally realizing that he had underestimated his opponent.

In all his past matches, he had always been the hunter, never the hunted. Now, the tables had turned, and he was like a mouse desperately dodging the fierce claws of a wildcat.

His disarmed sword thudded into the distant ground.

To reshape the mecha’s mechanical arm into the desired weapon, especially in such a short time, required at least an A+ psychic power. Shawn didn’t even want to think about how quickly his opponent had managed it.

’How high is this opponent’s psychic power? A+, or... S?’ In just a second, Shawn’s mind raced through numerous possibilities.

Gritting his teeth, he controlled his now weaponless right arm, attempting to reform another long sword.

Yuka, not dwelling on her missed strike, decisively aimed for Shawn’s left arm.

She wanted to disable his firepower too!

Shawn swiftly dodged, sidestepping her blade.

His still-cooling firepower was his last trump card. Shawn realized that in close combat, he couldn’t best this pink mecha.

He couldn’t afford to lose his left arm.

Shawn’s right arm, hastily transformed, now wielded a shorter blade. He resisted Yuka’s attacks, biding time for his firepower to cool down.

Outside, Roukujou explained to the audience, "You can see, GPS’s sword handling is very precise, blocking every strike from Pinky. This is his true strength, don’t underestimate him."

Yuka’s successive strikes were cautiously blocked by Shawn. She intended to throw a punch with her left arm, only to remember mid-movement that it was gone.

Pausing briefly, she nonchalantly kicked at Shawn instead.

Shawn staggered from the kick, numbly continuing to swing his sword.

Shawn was beyond words now.

Only this bizarre pink mecha would think of throwing a kick in the middle of a sword fight.

The surrounding inferno continued to spread, shrinking the space they had to maneuver.

Yuka increased the speed of her strikes, pushing the green mecha towards the flames.

Sensing the pink mecha’s intent, Shawn changed his direction of retreat.

He definitely didn’t want to survive the mecha battle only to be roasted alive.

Silently timing the cooldown, Shawn knew his left arm’s firepower was almost ready.

After blocking another attack from the pink mecha, Shawn abruptly raised his left arm.

Outside, Roukujou, also tracking GPS’s cooldown, touched his chin nervously, "Pinky’s in danger now. She can’t dodge at this distance... What’s that?!"

On the field, just as Shawn raised his left arm and before he could fire, a crisp crack echoed in his cockpit.

Confused, he looked towards the motionless pink mecha, unsure what had hit him.

His cockpit pierced, Shawn toppled over, desperately trying to see what had caused his defeat.

"...The boomerang."

Roukujou murmured, "Pinky’s boomerang from earlier."

He grabbed his hair, his brows furrowed in confusion, muttering to himself, "How is it possible? How could Pinky calculate the boomerang to hit this exact spot, piercing GPS’s cockpit?"

The audience, unconcerned with his puzzlement, erupted in celebration: [Pinky is amazing!]

[I can’t even, guys. I’m on two oxygen tanks now.]

[Help, I’m so pumped up watching this!]

[This turnaround is epic, this match needs to be in ’Top 100 Must-Watch of the Year’.]

Roukujou, still lost in thought even as Pinky exited the match, was determined to figure out the reason behind this outcome.

As the excited chatter in the comments calmed, the audience urged Roukujou to find a screen showing Pinky’s perspective to continue watching the match.

"Aha!" Roukujou suddenly exclaimed, "I’ve got it!"

"Here’s what I think," he quickly explained, "Pinky used her initial firepower attack to clear a path for the boomerang, to ensure it could follow the trajectory she intended. Did you notice how, during the fight with GPS, Pinky deliberately guided him in a certain direction? Her method was to pretend to push GPS into the inferno."

"GPS fell for it! The sound of the burning trees masked the return of the boomerang, and GPS had his back to the weapon, so he didn’t realize it was coming back until it pierced the cockpit!" Roukujou’s eyes sparkled with excitement, "That explains everything!"

The comments started buzzing with discussions: [No way, is Pinky really that good?]

[She just beat the hundredth rank, so it’s possible, right?]

[I think it’s just luck. If the boomerang hadn’t come back, she would have definitely lost.]

[It’s not a coincidence. How could it be so coincidental that the boomerang would just happen to hit GPS’s cockpit?]

Roukujou ignored the heated debate in the comments, saying excitedly, "Everyone, hold on, according to the rules, Pinky is now ranked hundredth!"

[Oh, I was so caught up in Pinky’s win that I forgot about this important detail!]

[Pinky’s got game!]

[Does this mean more people will be watching Pinky now?]

[Ah, I kind of regret that the hidden gem I found is now known to everyone.]

[What do you mean ’your’ hidden gem? It was I who discovered her first!]

[Right, Roukujou was telling us not to be too optimistic at first, so funny.]

Roukujou tried to save face. "Though Pinky hasn’t lost yet, her style is very unique, and she has clear weaknesses, like her firepower never hits the opponent."

’If there were teammates who could keep up with her...’ He pondered, rubbing his chin, then quickly dismissed the thought, ’But there probably aren’t many who can. Looks like Pinky will remain a lone wolf.’

Unlike the jubilant comments, Shawn, back at the starting screen, stared blankly at his mecha.

He finally understood the true meaning of his teacher’s words, "The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. A moment’s negligence can lead to a downfall. Underestimating your opponent is a cardinal sin."

But it was too late.

Shawn watched helplessly as his rank dropped from the hundredth to the hundred and first, biting his lip hard enough to taste blood.

On the other side, Yuka, also back at the starting screen, raised an eyebrow seeing her rank jump from over twenty thousand to a hundred.

She asked Min, "So, the player I just fought was the hundredth ranked in the underground arena?"

Min confirmed: [Yes.]

Yuka paused, a skeptical expression crossing her face: "The hundredth rank, just like that?"

She wasn’t saying the opponent was particularly weak, but it was... well, a bit underwhelming compared to what she had imagined.

Min: [Congratulations on entering the top hundred of the underground arena. From now on, your matchmaking will be random rather than approximate rank-based. We hope you continue to excel and strive for the top.]

Yuka pondered for a moment, then asked, "What about the points?"

[Your current points are now equal to those of the previous hundredth-ranked player.]

Yuka nodded in understanding and then exited the holographic pod. Walking into the lobby, the bald man, seeing her approach, excitedly shared, "Miss, did you hear? Today, someone ranked over twenty thousand went up against the hundredth rank, and guess what happened?"

He leaned in close to Yuka, whispering dramatically, "The one ranked over twenty thousand won!"

He looked at Yuka, expecting to see shock on her face.

Yuka: ...

After a pause, she played along, "Wow, that’s amazing."

The bald man seemed slightly disappointed with her reaction, "That pink mecha helped me win two million astracredits!"

Feeling Yuka’s gaze, he asked warily, "What are you planning?"

"Nothing," Yuka turned her head away.

She was tempted to tell him that she was the pilot of the pink mecha and suggest splitting the winnings. But her ’vase’ persona had to be maintained for now, so she suppressed the thought and left the underground arena.