Make money by hiding in the interstellar battlefield!

The night wind from the black market on the North Seventh Ring Road crackled against the metal fence of the arena, which was the size of four football fields. A cordon formed by twelve Class C mechs, their scarlet warning lights blazing, effectively shut out the clamor of the spectators. At the highest point of the stands, the seats of the nine major families were brightly lit. Louise Windsor's fingertips dug into the armrests, George Thorne smiled, but his eyes held a scrutinizing gaze. Lin Lan's black robe was lifted by the wind, obscuring his expression.

At exactly 6 p.m., two figures stepped into the arena one after the other.

On the right, Fujiwara Ryu's Twin Dragon Whirlwind, its crimson armor etched with ferocious flame patterns, its two 2-meter-long flame-patterned katanas spitting out orange-red flames when its arms were crossed, the thrusters humming deep and thunderous, every inch of metal exuding the aura of battle-hardened veterans. As a veteran mecha warrior with dual A-level talents, his mecha stance was as steady as a mountain, his gaze fixed on the dilapidated C-class mecha opposite him, full of disdain.

On the left, Jian Sheng's White Meerkat looked like an incongruous joke. Its hull was covered with scorch marks and dents from missions, and the left shoulder armor was even missing a corner, revealing the mechanical structure inside. In its right arm, it held a standard thermal blade, the energy patterns so dim that they were almost invisible, and it felt like holding a fire poker.

Laughter erupted from the stands, with the Fujiwara family's shouts and curses being particularly jarring.

"Cannon fodder is cannon fodder! A sniper used dirty tricks to win against Gang Nan, but in a real fight, it's just suicide!"

"Lord Long can shatter this junk with just three strikes! Those who bet on him and lose will likely be bankrupt!"

"Does the deserter captain even deserve to stand in front of the Twin Dragons Whirlwind?"

Jian Sheng remained oblivious to the commotion outside. For three days, he and Lin Zhizhi had been breaking down Fujiwara Ryu's combat videos from the past decade into milliseconds—the center of gravity shifting 3.7 degrees to the right during a horizontal slash, the thruster delaying 0.3 seconds when sheathing the sword, and the 0.5-centimeter gap appearing in the right shoulder armor when the left katana feinted an attack. These dry statistics were constantly being deduced and demonstrated within the patch system.

My palms were sweaty, not from fear, but from excitement. Nine months of forbearance, nine months of being cannon fodder—tonight, it's all over.

[The duel begins!]

The moment the referee's voice fell, the thrusters of the Twin Dragons Whirlwind suddenly burst out with a blinding red light!

"You're asking for death!" Fujiwara Ryu's roar made the communicator buzz. The mecha transformed into a streak of crimson light, and the two flame-patterned katanas drew deadly cross arcs in the air, with a shrill whistling sound that tore through the air, heading straight for the energy core of the White Mongoose—this was his signature killing move, which had cut countless opponents in half at the waist, leaving not even a mecha wreckage behind.

The speed was beyond imagination.

The gasps from the audience were swallowed by the sound of wind breaking through the air. George Thorne's smile faded slightly, and Louise's breath caught in her throat.

But this was the moment Jian Sheng had been waiting for.

He jerked to the left, the steel of the White Mongoose's legs carving a deep trench in the ground, narrowly avoiding the crisscrossing slash. The flames of the Flame-Patterned Katana grazed the mech's left shoulder, and with a hiss, the already damaged armor melted instantly, molten metal splattering onto the cockpit's outer shell with a sizzling sound. The alarm blared sharply: [Left shoulder armor damaged!]

"You dodged well, but how many times can you dodge?" Fujiwara Ryu sneered. The mech spun in the air, and the left katana swept out, the wind of the blade carrying flames, turning into a ten-meter-wide wall of fire that blocked all of the White Mongoose's escape routes.

This is the starting move of the Twin Dragon Fire Slash. Once the mech is engulfed by the wall of fire, its system will be instantly destroyed!

Jian Sheng's pupils contracted sharply. He didn't retreat. The White Mongoose's engine roared as if it were about to break down, its tail flames turning from blue to deathly white. Instead of retreating, the mech charged forward, heading straight for the scorching wall of fire!

"Madman!" Fujiwara Ryu's eyes finally changed.

Just as the White Mongoose was about to crash into the wall of fire, Jian Sheng swiftly maneuvered the mech to crouch down, simultaneously plunging the heat blade into the ground!

"laugh--!"

Sparks flew as the scorching blades rubbed against the ground, splattering onto the mech and instantly burning small holes in it. Using the recoil, the White Mongoose slid in a strange arc beneath the wall of fire, splattering dirt and hot metal fragments all over its body.

At that moment, Fujiwara Ryu's right katana was charging up and slashing down, his center of gravity completely shifted to the right—that 0.3-second delay was the chasm between life and death!

"Now!"

Jian Sheng's fingertips moved so fast they left afterimages as he pushed the mech and its reasoning system to their limits. The White Mongoose sprang up, its left arm bracing the ground, its right leg thrusters exploding instantly. The entire mech, like a dying mongoose making a desperate counterattack, spun and lunged at the right side of the Twin Dragon Whirlfire!

"What?!" Fujiwara Ryu's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly tried to sheathe his sword and defend, but a 0.3-second delay was forever in a life-or-death duel.

No fancy moves, just the most precise hunting.

Jian Sheng manipulated the thermal blade, precisely stabbing the energy connection port of the Twin Dragon Whirlwind Blade's right katana—the fatal weakness repeatedly shown in the video, the source of all power.

"clang--!"

The deafening clang of blades clashing shook the arena.

The tip of the thermal blade was precisely wedged into the gap of the connector, and Jian Sheng poured energy in without hesitation—the remaining 30% of the White Meerkat's energy instantly surged into the blade!

"Sizzle sizzle—!"

Blue electricity surged wildly into the docking port, instantly dimming the flames of the right katana of the Twin Dragon Whirlwind, followed by a burst of sparks. Fujiwara Ryu roared in terror, "How dare you!" He desperately swung the mech's right arm, trying to shake off the White Mongoose, but the latter remained firmly rooted to the muddy ground, like a nail driven into the ground, unmoving.

"That's not all!" Jian Sheng gritted his teeth, his mouth filled with the taste of blood. The temperature in his brain was soaring, and the energy overload alarm was almost shattering his eardrums.

He abruptly released the thermal blade, swiftly grabbed the spare energy box hanging from his waist with his left hand, and slammed it hard into the observation window of the Twin Dragon Whirlfire's cockpit!

"Bang!"

The moment the energy box shattered the observation window, Jian Sheng controlled the White Meerkat to jump backward, simultaneously inserting the thermal blade into the energy box on his back!

"boom--!"

A violent explosion erupted on the right side of the Twin Dragon Whirlwind, the raging energy wave instantly tearing through the armor. The energy lines of the right katana were shattered, and the crimson mech lost its balance, crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dirt and metal fragments.

But the battle is far from over.

"I'm going to kill you!" Fujiwara Ryu roared with madness. He struggled to his feet, maneuvering his damaged mech. His left katana was still burning with flames, leaving a long trail of sparks as he lunged at the White Mongoose once more.

At this moment, the White Meerkat was at its last gasp. Half of its thrusters were destroyed, less than 10% of its energy remained, and the armor on its right leg had even fallen off, leaving it barely able to support itself on one leg.

Seeing the Twin Dragons Whirlwind charging towards him, a fierce glint flashed in Jian Sheng's eyes. He maneuvered his mech to the side to dodge the left katana's slash, while simultaneously using his remaining left arm to tightly grip the Twin Dragons Whirlwind's left leg!

"Let's die together!"

Enraged and horrified, Fujiwara Ryu unleashed a furious barrage of blows with his left katana, slashing wildly at the White Mongoose's back. Each strike left a deep gash, exposing the mech's internal wiring and sending sparks flying. The White Mongoose's alarm blared into a desperate shriek: [Mech Structural Collapse! Energy Running Out!]

Jian Sheng's vision began to blur. He gritted his teeth, manipulated his left arm, and exerted tremendous force—

"Snap!"

With a sickening crack, the left leg joint of the Twin Dragon Whirlwind was snapped!

The crimson mech completely lost its balance and crashed heavily to the ground. The left katana flew out of its hand, and the flames gradually died down.

White Mongoose picked up the alloy katana from the ground and plunged it fiercely into the Twin Dragon Mech.

Jian Sheng's cockpit slowly opened. He held onto the door, coughed up blood, but had a smile on his face.

Bai Sheng celebrated as if he were celebrating with the Twin-Sword Queen, flying around the field twice before landing on Jian Sheng's shoulder and chirping incessantly!

"You're risking your life and still talking so much nonsense. Don't you know that those who talk too much are always the villains!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

The arena lights suddenly blazed on, illuminating the two wrecked mechs with blinding glare. On the wreckage of the White Mongoose, the broken thermal blade was still emitting faint wisps of smoke.

In the stands, Paul suddenly stood up, letting out a wild roar of joy. His wife covered her face, tears streaming down her cheeks. Louise Windsor's expression was a mix of amusement and worry. George Thorne, on the other hand, slowly rose, clapped his hands, and a broad, unyielding smile played on his lips.

Tonight, the Seventh Ring Road city will be sleepless.

Tonight, the title of Sniper God will be followed by "Single-handedly defeating two dragons, Jian Sheng!"

The battle ended, and contrary to George Thorne's prediction, Kensei did not fail to kill Fujiwara Ryu. Kensei was still far too weak in the face of the behemoth that was the Fujiwara clan. His impulsive killing of Fujiwara Ryu had created a deadly enmity. While the feud was deep, whether it was the beating or the defeat of the Fujiwara clan, it wasn't yet a truly fatal one, as no one had died.

In large families like this, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests. Always leave yourself an out; there may still be a chance for things to turn around in the future.

But Jian Sheng still killed him, even though he himself would have done the same. Because if someone wants to kill you, it's either you die or I live, and of course I live and you die.

After the battle, Jian Sheng didn't return to the officer academy. Instead, he recuperated in a detached building on the North Seventh Ring Road, arranged by Paul. The injuries from the previous decoy operation, combined with this one, had severely damaged his brain. His hands and legs had begun to tremble, and, unwilling to admit it, he was now experiencing mild incontinence—this was due to the excessive electrical load on the mech; prolonged combat fatigue had damaged not only his brain but also his cerebellum. Complete repairs might not be possible until his next talent upgrade. At that time, he could only hope the patch system could heal his physical damage; in the meantime, he could only focus on recovering.

The next day, the military's disciplinary order came down. Jian Sheng was removed from his position as captain of the mech squadron and expelled from the mech officer academy. However, due to the severe damage to the White Mongoose and Libra, the mech officer academy decided not to repair them and they would be put into scrapping procedures!

Then came a long period of repair and rehabilitation. Paul promised to use all his connections to help them get their hands on the two mechs and find the necessary parts to fix them.

Jian Sheng also took stock of his current assets. He originally had 3600 million in assets, plus the 50 kilograms of general-grade crystals he had collected before and the 150 kilograms of general-grade crystals he had collected in the last battle, which brought his total to about 4000 million. He was still a long way from collecting enough general-grade crystals. However, he couldn't wait any longer; he would soon begin his money-making plan.