Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 82: Kenji’s Doubt (2)

Simultaneously with the Alliance Army’s announcement, outside the Alliance, a man wearing a red mask said to another man sitting in a leather chair, "Sir, all the people we sent have failed."

The man on the leather chair, with eyes identical to Alex’s, casually grunted and said, "Let’s call our people back. Those so-called nobles are just useless cowards. Killing them wouldn’t serve much purpose."

The man in the red mask couldn’t help but ask, "Then, sir, why do we still risk our lives to plant parasite eggs in the Horn family?"

"Let them suffer first," Deadman snorted. "Daring to bargain with me? They really think too highly of themselves. Also, cut off the deal with the royal family. If they’re not willing to support Alex for the throne, there’s no need for cooperation."

Deadman stood up from the leather chair, ambitiously declaring, "A tough battle is coming; everyone should be ready."

The man in the red mask quickly bowed his head and replied, "Yes, sir."

The man before him was a complete madman, but here, he was the boss. Not only because no one could beat him, but also because he had killed the former boss upon arrival. His audacity to cause trouble under the Alliance Army’s nose and his wild ways had attracted a following of criminals, willing to lay down their lives for him... it was terrifying.

-----

With over half a month left until final exams, everyone was immersed in intense revision.

On Wednesday, with no classes to attend, Ayoi and Alex were in the library, leaving Yuka to compete in solo matches at the underground arena.

However, upon entering, Yuka noticed a subtle change of mood in the arena. Familiar with the place, she approached Mr. Bald’s betting station. Before she could speak, Mr. Bald began sighing.

He told Yuka with a complex tone, "You not coming these past few days was a good thing. The arena has been crazy. This morning, staff had to remove many troublemakers."

Curiously, Yuka asked, "What happened?"

Mr. Bald sighed, "On Monday, the second-ranked Rabies faced the top-ranked player."

"And then?" Yuka asked.

"Rabies won," Mr. Bald said gravely. "The scene was chaotic. Half the arena was cursing, and Rabies’ supporters, morally corrupt like him, cheered wildly and bit people. Others couldn’t stand it and started fighting."

"But the top-ranked bigwig also appeared," added Mr. Bald. "Guess who it was?"

"It’s definitely not you," Yuka replied.

"..." Mr. Bald continued, "He went straight to the center of the hall, challenging Rabies to a face-to-face fight. Of course, Rabies knew he’d be mobbed if he showed up and stayed hidden like a coward."

"But then we learned that the top-ranked player in the underground arena is a retired legion commander. No wonder he never disclosed his information!" exclaimed Mr. Bald.

Yuka, unimpressed, asked, "And then?"

Seeing Yuka’s calm demeanor, Mr. Bald felt a bit defeated, his enthusiasm for storytelling waning. But his talkative nature prevailed, and he had to finish his story. "This person is the former commander of the Tenth Legion! Can you believe it? Nearly seventy years old and still so formidable. The Alliance Army is truly impressive!"

"I suddenly think that the trending news headline, ’Shock! Seventy-Year-Old Man Blows Up Space Pirates!,’ doesn’t seem so absurd anymore," Mr. Bald mused.

Yuka thought to herself, ’So now Rabies is the top-ranked player.’

She glanced at the ranking board and noticed she was not far behind Rabies, only a few points short of overtaking him.

After pondering for a moment, Yuka bid Mr. Bald goodbye and entered a room to participate in a solo map match, something she hadn’t done in a long time.

As she entered the match, many people in the group chat got the notification and promptly gave up their plans to join the solo map match, hoping not to encounter her.

In the commentary booth, Roukujou yawned, rubbing his eyes, "Dear viewers, let’s see... Pinky is back!"

"She’s here alone this time," Roukujou said as he quickly stood up, commenting on the situation. "Pinky has chosen a solo map match, wow, it’s been a while since we’ve seen her pick this mode."

[Question: What’s the difference between solo and team map modes?]

[I want to know too.]

"About that," Roukujou explained, "Simply put, the solo map is a smaller section of the team map. There are similarities, but each time it’s a random segment of the larger map."

"Let’s continue watching Pinky," Roukujou said. "Actually, there’s not much to see in this match... not to brag, but given Pinky’s current ranking and strength, defeating opponents ranked beyond the top hundred is a breeze."

While Roukujou was speaking, Yuka had already leaped down from a high slope in the barren mountain map, slicing into her opponent’s cockpit with a single strike to end the match.

[Indeed, not much to see.]

[Have I become too picky, or is Pinky’s one-hit-kill style becoming boring?]

[Yes, we’ve become too accustomed to it.]

Roukujou himself was somewhat tired of Pinky’s invincible mode. Although it wasn’t great to admit, he really wanted to see Pinky face off against Rabies. That would definitely be exciting...

Back in the arena, Yuka had returned to the main menu. She browsed through the solo maps and selected one she hadn’t seen before.

"Dear viewers, Pinky is entering a new map," announced Roukujou, holding his tea cup. "Let me see... it’s the Snow Mountain map."

[I don’t think I’ve seen this map before.]

[Me neither. But it looks interesting.]

"Not many people play the snow mountain map," Roukujou remarked, glancing at the comments. "This map is mostly white with few places for players to hide or take covers. Usually, the opponents start fighting as soon as they see each other."

Roukujou stroked his chin, suddenly recalling something. "Oh, guys, there’s an interesting aspect to this map. It’s best not to use any heavy artillery here. Ah, the match has started, and Pinky is standing still."

[Why is that?]

[Because the artillery will freeze?]

"That’s one reason, but a thirty-minute match isn’t enough to completely freeze the artillery, so that’s not the main concern," Roukujou teased, then quickly explained before anyone could guess. "It’s because large vibrations from weapons can trigger avalanches."

"When I watch matches on this map, there are often scenarios where both players get buried under the snow," Roukujou recalled. "Few manage to crawl out."

Roukujou continued, "If you don’t want to end in a mutual defeat, no one would use heavy artillery. In this way, this map is quite favorable for Pinky, as the noise from melee weapons isn’t very loud."

Roukujou concluded, "Alright, let’s continue watching Pinky."