Third Starship Duel Zone · Arbitration Area
This small space hub served as both the arbitration center for the Third Starship Duel Zone and the prime spectator gallery. Though the audience numbered less than a hundred, today's gathering featured the most dazzling view.
The three most famous beauties of North Star Starship Military Academy had all arrived.
"Your brother actually came?" A playful girl barely 1.5 meters tall with twin ponytails covered her mouth in shock.
Zhao Wan'er's expression was complicated. "He's stubborn—that's his defining trait."
"Is that the starship your brother assembled himself? It actually still flies?" A cold-faced beauty with an icy demeanor, tall with waist-length hair, crossed her arms and remarked indifferently.
"To assemble three outdated starships into one functional vessel within a month—your brother shows remarkable talent in starship engineering."
Zhao Wan'er bit her lip as she looked at the icy beauty. "Sister Su Lan, if...if my brother really loses...could you talk to...that Zhang Haoran about canceling the bet...?"
These two were her closest friends.
The twin-tailed girl was her classmate, Xue Xiao.
The cold beauty was her senior, Su Lan—a figure of considerable influence, rumored to command even the academy dean's respect.
"Before the duel, perhaps. But after..." Su Lan frowned slightly, her heart aching at Zhao Wan'er's pleading expression.
"Keeping him from expulsion should be manageable, but he'll inevitably suffer Zhang Haoran's humiliation."
"As long as he isn't expelled! That's enough!" Zhao Wan'er nodded repeatedly, happily clinging to Su Lan's arm. "I knew you'd help, Sister Su Lan!"
"Wan'er, the duel hasn't even started. How do you know he'll lose? What if he wins?" The twin-tailed girl muttered.
Zhao Wan'er sighed. "How could he possibly win? Look at his starship versus Zhang Haoran's—a seven-million-stellar-credit T2 Bald Eagle-class Light Interstellar Cruiser! Among student-owned starships at our academy, its one-on-one combat capability ranks in the top ten."
Her gaze fell on the patchwork starship with mixed emotions. She wanted her brother to win, but...it was simply impossible.
At that moment, the arbitration panel began contacting both captains. Two video feeds appeared before the judges.
One showed the bridge of the T2 Bald Eagle, where Zhang Haoran sat in lavish pseudo-military attire—likely some costume he'd acquired—flanked by a forty-something ex-military officer.
The other bridge appeared far shabbier. Zhao Chen lounged casually in an aged captain's chair with a faint smile, behind him a white-haired half-beast girl with visible scars and an indifferent expression.
"A half-beast crewmember?" The twin-tailed girl gasped.
Zhao Wan'er covered her face. "After assembling that ship, my brother couldn't afford proper crew—he had to purchase half-beast slaves."
"Half-beast crew?" Su Lan's frown deepened—this friend's brother seemed increasingly unreliable.
"The duelists are third-year Class 2 cadet Zhang Haoran versus third-year Class 8 cadet Zhao Chen." A middle-aged chief arbitrator announced.
"Combat rules are unrestricted except for leaving the duel zone. Victory conditions: starship surrender, incapacitation, or arbitration ruling. Once verdict is given, all hostilities must cease immediately. Do both parties understand?"
"Understood." Zhang Haoran sneered, eyeing Zhao Chen through the feed. He couldn't believe this fool actually showed up—in that junkheap no less. This duel was already won.
"Understood." Zhao Chen appeared utterly relaxed, even yawning as if the coming battle meant nothing.
"The arbitration panel will randomly assign starting positions within the duel zone. Both starships must reach their designated points within ten minutes, after which combat will commence."
The chief arbitrator activated a device, projecting two circles—blue and red—onto the stellar map marking the starting positions. Both ships received the coordinates and began moving.
Zhang Haoran seized the chance for taunts, clapping mockingly. "Zhao Chen, I admire your courage showing up in that scrapheap. Where'd you dig up that wreck? The hull plating looks ready to crumble at a touch."
His grin turned vicious. "It'd be almost cruel if one shot obliterates you. Though killing opponents in starship duels isn't against regulations, is it?"
Zhao Chen stretched lazily, picking his ear. "Finished? You should book a return ticket home."
Zhang Haoran's eye twitched as he pointed furiously. "You won't relent until you're broken, will you? Fine! I'll show you the gap between us soon enough. You're just a worthless baron, while I'll be a viscount—no, a count someday!"
The feeds cut off abruptly.
Zhang Haoran turned to his first officer, a retired naval captain arranged by his father. "Deputy Captain Wang, I want you to toy with that wreck like a cat with a mouse!"
Wang Cheng stood tall, brimming with confidence. "Rest assured, Young Master Zhang. That scrapheap will never make port again."
Their T2 Bald Eagle was among the fastest in its class—flawed in actual combat but perfect for humiliating some student's derelict ship.
Meanwhile, aboard Zero Blizzard's bridge...
Zhao Chen glanced at his first officer. "Confident, Charlotte?"
"Ten minutes to victory. A second longer and I'll take your surname." Charlotte replied tonelessly, as if the battle bored her.
Zhao Chen rubbed the aged armrests excitedly. His first starship duel was about to begin!