Rebirth: The Universe's Hidden Heiress-Chapter 86: Who’s Number One? (3)

Yuka, pulled close by the black mecha, had released the hammer formed from her left arm and quickly transformed her right arm into a long blade, stabbing it into the opponent’s cockpit.

She realized her opponent knew her well, almost predicting her next move during the fight. Even if he was wary of her transforming her mechanical arm into a weapon, his patience had worn thin from the prolonged struggle; and, after Yuka had already thrown away one weapon, his attention was naturally diverted to it, not expecting another blade.

Yuka’s attack strategy was a gamble, but it was her only option. Fortunately, luck was on her side this time.

Under the gaze of everyone in the underground arena, the pink mecha, which should have proudly flaunted its victory, suddenly collapsed to the ground as if it had lost all its strength.

The next moment, starting from the shoulder of the pink mecha, many of its parts began to loosen and fall, one after another, crashing into the pristine snow below.

Finally, this battered pink mecha, riddled with scars as if it had been through countless wars, hung its head low and was removed from the map by the system.

Strangely, the usually bustling underground arena was now eerily silent.

The crowd was shocked and confused, unable to grasp how such a broken mecha had withstood Rabies’ ferocious onslaught and even won the match.

Though battered and damaged, the mecha’s resilience, agility, and decisive killing blow had left an indelible impression on everyone’s mind.

A consensus formed naturally among the spectators: "Lady" truly deserved to be number one.

After a while, Roukujou set down his nearly crushed cup. He choked back emotions, not looking at Alfie, whose face was pale now.

Roukujou didn’t take this opportunity to mock his rival. Instead, he tried to appear calm and excused himself to the viewers, "Guys, I need to use the bathroom."

Comments flooded in:

[I’m going to the restroom too.]

[I’m just going to wash my face, got sweat on my forehead.]

[I’m going to cry right here! Pinky’s so amazing.]

[Did Pinky just control the mechanical arm without any physical contact?]

[Yes, her psychic power is terrifying!]

Meanwhile, Yuka, having returned to the home screen, received a notification that she was now ranked first. But she immediately exited the game, leaning against the wall as she walked out, and slumped onto a chair in front of Mr. Bald’s betting stand.

She had exhausted much of her psychic power, feeling dizzy and weak in her limbs.

Mr. Bald, still reminiscing about the epic battle between "Lady" and Rabies, remarked upon seeing Yuka’s frail state, "It’s amazing how different people can be. Some can turn the tide in a solo match and defeat Rabies, while others end up gasping for air at my stall."

Yuka, lacking the strength to argue with Mr. Bald, just rested her head, listening to the conversations of passersby.

Shawn said to Lory and Philip, "I think ’Lady’s’ psychic power must be at least SS-tier." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Philip replied, "As much as I hate to admit it, her psychic power might even be higher than SS."

Lory added, "Yes, I think so too. After all, the Alliance’s psychic power testing machine can only measure up to SS-tier."

Some people are rated SS in psychic power because that was their actual level, while others were rated so because the machine could only measure up to SS.

After a short rest, Yuka felt strong enough to stand up. She shook her legs to test them and then stood up, walking away.

Roukujou, just coming out of the restroom, wiped his teary eyes.

Seeing Yuka, his face lit up, and he hurriedly called out, "Hey, beautiful miss, do you remember me?"

Yuka glanced at him, "Hmm, you’re that commentator."

"Yes," Roukujou proudly said, "I am now the exclusive commentator for Pinky, no, ’Lady’. I commentate on all her matches. The recent one with Rabies was really spectacular. Pinky is now the top contender in the underground arena! I recommend you watch it; you’ll definitely become a fan of Pinky."

Yuka just responded with a simple "Thank you." She turned and slowly walked out of the underground arena, planning to return to her school for a good sleep, to recharge for tomorrow’s mecha practical class.

...

"Damn it, I was so close!"

Rabies, in a fit of anger, threw away his stress-relieving wristband and took a large swig of alcohol. He complained to the person on the other end of the communicator, "You have no idea what that little..."

"Stop cursing," the person on the other end interrupted, "You’ve been at it for over ten minutes. I’m here to tell you that your identity might have been discovered by the Alliance Army. You need to come here for a new identity card and re-register a new mecha for the underground arena. You can’t use the old one anymore."

The person on the other end was sent by Deadman, hidden in Capital Octoxis, and responsible for liaising with Rabies. His primary job was to provide cover for Rabies, prepare identities, and facilitate his missions.

"Come quickly..."

"Bang!"

Rabies froze mid-drink, tentatively calling out, "Rat?"

No response.

Rabies quickly gathered all his belongings, including his ID, contact information, and a box of various codes. He then leapt out of the window and started sprinting through the alleys.

Cursing under his breath, he reflected on his bad luck. Not only had he been outsmarted and defeated by "Lady" in the match, but now the Alliance Army had also tracked down his contact. He needed to escape before they closed in on him. As he ran, planning to reach the next safe point,

Clang!

Rabies felt a sharp pain on his right cheek. In the blink of an eye, someone had silently appeared and forcefully pinned him against the alley wall.

Rabies quickly drew his gun from his waist, aiming to shoot at the person behind him. However, his attacker was faster, disarming him and effortlessly taking the gun from his grasp, pressing it against his temple.

Kenji, holding his collar, forced him to turn around, then dislocated his jaw just as Rabies was about to bite his tongue in a suicide attempt.

Kenji instructed the panting subordinates who had just arrived at the alley, "Hurry up, get him in the car."

"Wait a moment, Kenji," said the former commander of the Tenth Legion, strolling leisurely from the back of the alley.

With a smile, he patted Kenji’s shoulder and said, "This guy and I have a personal score to settle. Mind if I take a few punches at him before you take him for interrogation?"

He had lost a match to Rabies in the arena before. Later, he issue a post to challenge Rabies to a face-to-face match, yet the guy never showed up.

Now he realized Rabies was affiliated with the space pirates, which explained his rat-like behavior, skulking in the shadows and engaging in distasteful acts.

Kenji was silent for a moment, then quietly let go and turned away.

The former commander clenched his fist and landed a punch in Rabies’ stomach.

Rabies curled up in pain and was then kicked in the leg, barely managing not to kneel, although his leg was broken.

"That’s enough," the former commander said, dusting off his hands, careful not to overdo it. "Thanks, Kenji. I owe you this one."

After the commander left, Kenji allowed his subordinates to take Rabies to the car and proceeded to the interrogation room.

Inside the interrogation room, Kenji donned white gloves.

The cold, white light made him appear even more impassive and ruthless.

Rabies, already injured by Kenji’s subordinates and colleague, saw the pliers in Kenji’s hand and trembled. He realized this man was the officer in charge, and would likely be even more ruthless. Thus, he began to wiggle on the chair wildly, his sanity fraying, "I’ll talk, I’ll talk, please just stop torturing me!"

Kenji set down the pliers, creating a sharp clink against the tray. He slowly removed his white gloves and then addressed the terrified Rabies, "Go ahead, I’m listening."