With a shred of faint hope, she yearned, she anticipated, not wanting to say goodbye forever even if it was just to see Li Xiang once more.

Rekart No. 17 Dragon Gate space station, located north of the Mardis home star, is not only an international trade hub but also the main venue for the Mecha Battle tournament.

In times of peace, extensive talent mobility brings direct economic benefits to the empire; it's no wonder the empire chose the No. 3 Dragon Gate space station as the venue. Additionally, for remote and underdeveloped planets, Saudi offers special flights with waived transportation fees.

Kexiao stood in the highest tower of the space station, hands behind his back, gazing at the magnificent galaxy through the 360-degree holographic celestial projector—he liked the stars, longed for distance, and tried to take up some new hobbies. For instance, what exactly was it that Feng Yi cared about? Was it the pastoral life, or was it constantly striving for higher peaks? Indeed, a question worth pondering.

In this magnificent era, the question of who in the world could compete only had one answer: only Feng Yi was worthy to be his rival.

Watching the freely shuttling mecha shuttles gallop by, the closer it got to the start of the competition... moreover, he was waiting, waiting not so much for the Mecha Battle tournament itself, as he was for the arrival of an opponent—the myth of the Revenge Shadow Rider would undoubtedly end by his hand.

In the Saudi competition zone, to be exact, in Xia Mu's room, he had been isolating himself for two days, repeatedly pondering his life experiences.

Just the day before yesterday, he inadvertently saw something totally unimaginable: Kexiao easily walking out of the 35 times gravity zone. That wasn't even the key point, the key was that Kexiao didn't even seem to be out of breath, a fact that deeply shocked Xia Mu.

Good heavens, damn it, let alone a top fighter, perhaps not even the Revenge Shadow Rider could match Kexiao. If Kexiao could walk out from a 35 times gravity zone without gasping for breath, it indirectly proved that Kexiao's short-term burst tolerance could even reach 40-50 times or more.

It's too hard, standing out in the Mecha Battle competition is just too tough. However, as a teammate, Kexiao's unfathomable strength was particularly reassuring.

At Dragon Gate space station No. 17, in the Federal Government's competition zone, the world's songstress Athena had started her final performance rehearsals a few days earlier. In this event, Athena would share the stage with Princess Vicky from Rekart, superstar Miss CC from Maraca Freedom Port, and other top songstresses from around the world.

Of course, these world songstresses would also bring out their signature songs that made them famous.

"Breaking Boundaries" is the signature song Athena prepared for the opening number—it's a heartfelt tribute to the Revenge Shadow Rider. The song has never fallen out of the top 10 on the popularity charts; there might be rumors of Athena leeching off the Shadow Rider's popularity, but those who truly understand know that the Revenge Shadow Rider and "Breaking Boundaries" are one and the same. There's no question of leeching off the hype.

However, for such a significant world event, even the Sweethearts group scarcely had the qualifications to perform. The officials took the opening performance very seriously, with extremely strict rehearsals—staff had been busy from morning till night.

"Everyone in place, let's hurry and reshoot this—yes, you, your movements are too stiff, remember to keep smiling."

The backstage staff tried over and over to show the fullest enthusiasm, for Old Li, the overall director, it involved more than just a personal issue; it was also a matter of federal honor. Even the backstage workers couldn't afford to be negligent. With his limited authority, he could manage these people, but as for songstress Athena, she had to be treated with the utmost respect. After all, Athena was officially invited and couldn't be allowed to tire, to suffer, or to feel aggrieved.

Life is truly complicated, Old Li thought, as he looked after the rehearsals and considered the attitudes from above. He had heard that the Right Faction's higher-ups would send someone to inspect the rehearsal that afternoon—it would be the fifth time. A bunch of military officers with low ranks and high airs, these civilian military officials with little power, if they say you're no good, then you're no good; even if you are, you're still no good.

Many from the Art Academy had already made it to the rank of brigadier, but even if you were given the rank of major general, it would be of no practical use. It's a minute's work to trip someone up if you want to, and here we are, rehearsing back and forth for days, still not up to par.

But what can you do about it? The Mecha Battle competition is tied up in so much red tape. The second-line workers are downright cursed this time. You'd normally rehearse however you'd liked, but once it turned to the world stage, if Athena's opening song isn't rated highly, you get tagged with failing to meet upper-level inspection standards—anyone could shift the blame to you, which would greatly affect your future prospects.

"Look, Old Li," someone said, "I heard your daughter was somewhat acquainted with Angelina during military school, and after all, Angelina is part of the Greedy Wolf Military Department faction. Why not try finding someone to talk to? These big shots might not care about your average Joe, but they'd care about their own reputation. We've been rehearsing for so many days, what more can we do?"

The leaders of the Greedy Wolf and the Right Faction would have to save face; it was a matter of a simple word. The real issue was that those truly in power didn't give a damn about this, it was all just lackeys kicking the can down the road. The credit went to others, while the blame became yours.

On hearing this, Old Li took a deep drag of his cigarette. If seeking help were possible, wouldn't he have already tried? Angelina's clout was not small, and dealing with a super soldier for her would just be a word away. However, the connection was too tenuous. His daughter did know Angelina, but only as a classmate's classmate, having met her all of two times at school reunions. Anyone could guess how effective that connection would be—it would take a miracle for it to work.

Suddenly, Old Li slapped his head, "That's right, Old Wang, doesn't your godson know Apophis? Weren't they on good terms during their time at the military academy? I've heard Apophis's Blaze Regiment is on the rise. Why not smooth things over through that connection? Of course, we can't skimp on a gift."

After much deliberation, Old Wang finally decided to make a military hotline call to the kid next door—a woman's child he knew—to see if they could pull some strings.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the call actually got through, and the other side agreed quickly enough, true to form as a godfather should.

Apophis's response was brief: Kicking the can down the road? He would make some inquiries upward. As for gifts, why not accept them? The Blaze Regiment wasn't a charity, and although the money wasn't much, it would still be enough to add a chicken leg to the soldier's meals. The rest could be tucked into his belt—why not?

As an elite combat unit of the Capital Military District's Third Group Army, the Blaze Regiment was under the direct control of Feng Yi, the military district commander. As long as Feng Yi was around, the Blaze Regiment wouldn't answer to anyone, enjoying a status on par with God's Thorn.

In other words, Apophis's actual influence exceeded his military rank by two or three levels—have you ever seen a higher-ranking officer initiating a salute to a subordinate? This was a very common occurrence in the Blaze Regiment. The special honor insignias on their uniforms spoke volumes about the type of combat unit they were and whose team they belonged to—as a national hero and by his unique personal number, the Blaze Regiment held a much higher authority than regular units.

Of course, Apophis wasn't aware that Feng Yi was only the nominal commander—for now, he wanted nothing to do with any internal legion issues. The welfare he sought for his soldiers was already being perfectly implemented step by step, and with no more concerns, giving Mardis one final peace was the last thing Feng Yi did.

When Apophis tried to reach Feng Yi through Heavenly Communication but couldn't get through, out of helplessness, he resorted to the Sky Network's intelligence system to contact the officer in charge from the Right Faction about the matter.

The inspection officers from the Right Faction were having the worst of times. Why was the Blaze Regiment even meddling in this? It was beyond nosiness—now they couldn't kick the can down the road.

Factional strife within the Federal Government was incessant, but at least they had the sense to know not to offend either the Greedy Wolf or Feng Yi's factions. Of course, there was no need to escalate such trivial matters. It was just the lower-ranking officers in charge of inspections going at each other's throats—if there was trouble, it was none of my business.

Suddenly, the issue set off a tempest—after all, each family had its own skeletons in the closet. Now, every major power had its own grievances related to the Mecha Battle competition.

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