WebNovels

Chapter 13 - Chapter 13

Perhaps it was to attract more attention and viewers.Like many variety shows and sports competitions on Earth, this life-or-death Flag Capture Battle was scheduled for the afternoon of a rest day.Lin Jie, Simon, and Curly Hair had rested well, eaten lunch, and taken a short nap before boarding a dedicated transport ship with the mech at 3 p.m. Hanging in the ship's cabin was a high-tech electronic display, split into two screens: the left showed a glamorous hostess with an exaggerated expression talking animatedly, while the right was an aerial shot of the battle arena for this Flag Capture Battle.Piles of discarded mechanical wreckage, barren ground, and a complex terrain exuded a strong "wasteland" vibe. At the top of an upright warship wreck, a blue flag fluttered. In the upper left corner of the screen, there was a small humanoid icon followed by a long string of numbers."This is the live stream on the dark web—those numbers in the upper left are the concurrent viewers," Simon explained, walking over to Lin Jie while Curly Hair communicated with Kane to build more rapport. He pointed at the upper left corner of the screen: "The influence of the Death Star Flag Capture Battle is still growing. It's now connected to dark web users from other civilizations and consortiums. Look at that insane number of viewers—we're still two hours away from the start, and concurrent viewers have already surpassed 2 billion.""That's really high…" Lin Jie couldn't help but marvel.The Karl Star Nation had over twenty colonial planets, with a total population of roughly 200 billion. Excluding those uninterested in competitions, only about 10 billion remained—and most of those 10 billion were ordinary civilians, who usually had no access to the dark web.Against this backdrop, reaching such a viewership figure was already comparable to a formal professional mech league. And this was just the preparation phase before the battle even began. Once the match officially started, the number of concurrent viewers would only grow more terrifying, and the ratings would likely soar to absurd heights."This is truly an unprecedented spectacle…" Lin Jie stared quietly at the live stream, occasionally glancing at the rapidly scrolling comment section below.Moments later, the transport ship landed, and the hatch opened."I'll head over first," Curly Hair turned to Simon and Lin Jie. For the sake of fairness, the mechs had to undergo an inspection before the match to ensure no violent modifications had been made and no equipment exceeding Private-class standards had been installed. As the Pilot, Curly Hair needed to be present, so he had to temporarily separate from Lin Jie and Simon.Simon and Lin Jie, escorted by prison guards, were led to a temporary room. Pushing open the door, they saw professional equipment filling the space—most notably two large displays. One showed the dark web live stream, while the other was directly connected to the arena interior and multiple drone feeds. Mechanics could switch between camera angles freely to keep a real-time eye on their own Pilot."Hello? Hello hello…"After a moment, Curly Hair's voice came through the walkie-talkie on the console: "This is Mech Mammoth. Confirming communication equipment is connected. Do you copy? Do you copy?"Lin Jie quickly picked up the headset, put it on, and replied without hesitation: "No copy. No copy. Not responding. Not responding!"Curly Hair: …Simon: …Both suddenly wondered if Lin Jie was really a reliable mechanic after all."David, I'm at the inspection station. I just saw Curly Hair—from how it's running, his mech is definitely fixed," Li Zhe said into his walkie-talkie, frowning as he watched Curly Hair arrive.At the inspection station, mechs stood in two neat lines waiting for checks. Li Zhe had arrived relatively early, finished his inspection, and was waiting for the match to start. Ever since the Flag Capture Battles began, Curly Hair had been one step ahead of him—and in the third match, Curly Hair had even snatched the flag from him at the critical moment to win. This made Li Zhe dislike Curly Hair more and more. He resented people like Curly Hair—those who were clearly better than him in some way, especially when they competed against him. It was infuriating."So they really found a main control chip…" David's voice came through the walkie-talkie. "It's fine. His mech is at a disadvantage in all stats, lacks long-range firepower, and has an extremely low margin for error. It'll be easy to deal heavy damage to it.""But now it looks like he has a long-range weapon…" Li Zhe stared at the energy rifle the Mammoth was holding. After a moment's thought, he took a photo with his communication watch and sent it to David. Backed by a powerful figure whose influence was no less than Simon's, he had all these basic gadgets."From the looks of it, that's a modified basic heavy energy rifle…" David's voice sounded again after a moment. "No need to worry. This model has a long range, but its output energy level is low, the armor-piercing ability of its energy rounds is poor, and its firepower is insufficient. Your mech is a military model—thick armor, strong defense. That gun won't pose any threat to you.""That puts my mind at ease…" Li Zhe nodded, relieved."How's the viewership count?""Still rising—it's hit 2.5 billion now.""What about the mech inspections? Will they finish in time to start the match in two hours?""We just got word—everything's going smoothly there. Barring accidents, all inspections will be done within half an hour.""Good. Tell Kenny to get ready—we'll cut to the commentator in ten minutes."In a room in Area A of the Ninth Prison, Jenna had transformed the space into a broadcasting hall. The entire room was lined with displays showing various feeds, and dozens of people bustled about inside. Jenna, dressed in a blue business suit, stood in the center of the hall, watching the feeds on each screen and issuing orders in an orderly manner. Compared to her demeanor in the interrogation room, she now looked far more like a leader."This is going well… Perfect…"Watching the viewership count skyrocket, Jenna took a deep breath, her eyes shining with excitement.Everyone in the Ninth Prison knew she was the warden, but few knew that in her youth, she had been a director for a interstellar channel—and one highly regarded by her superiors, groomed for promotion. If her career had followed the normal path, she would now be at the level of a channel director for an interstellar network.But fate had other plans. Jenna had greater ambitions. She craved status and power. The interstellar channel's program team had merely been a stepping stone for her. After the show she produced became a hit, she— as the director—gradually gained access to influential figures. She had seized that opportunity sharply.Using her youth and beauty, and her boldness to "go all the way," she had successfully formed "purely impure" relationships with several political figures. Leveraging these connections, she had entered politics. After that, her ambition had grown even more. With the same boldness, she had entangled herself with more and more people, doing more and more favors—all to climb higher, until she reached her current position.But in recent years, her ascent had stalled. Just as Lin Jie had taunted her: as an ordinary person with no background or special abilities, she was aging. The beauty she had once prided herself on was now marred by wrinkles, and her once firm breasts had shrunk into sagging mounds. Barring surprises, the position of warden would be the peak of her life.But this Flag Capture Battle had given her a new glimmer of hope. The complex ties involving multiple gray-area forces and the terrifying attention on the dark web had triggered a huge chain reaction. Countless eyes—from the underworld, gambling companies, and political circles—were fixed on Death Star. This could very well be another stepping stone for her."Warden, we just got a message from the inspection station—inspections are almost done," a subordinate reported."Good…" Jenna nodded. "Alright, switch the live stream feed to Kenny."

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