Everyone turned to look at Zhou Tianming.
Having just emerged from the cockpit, he scratched his cheek awkwardly and averted his gaze.
"The White Snake's energy accumulation isn't that fast!" Lowe shouted accusingly.
"Heh heh~" Zhou Tianming's face twitched as he avoided looking directly at Lowe. "It's just a game... isn't it tradition to use your ultimate move at the start...?"
"But this is a real simulation battle!" Lowe fumed angrily.
"My hand slipped, just slipped." Zhou Tianming clasped his hands together apologetically. "I won't do it again next time."
"Hmph!" Lowe pointed his thumb backward. "Again! I will definitely shoot down the president!"
After saying this, he immediately turned and climbed back into his cockpit.
Zhou Tianming had no choice but to turn and prepare to enter his own cockpit.
Suddenly, a small hand tugged at the hem of his clothes.
Turning his head, he saw Ray staring at him with wide eyes full of dissatisfaction.
A clever idea struck Zhou Tianming as he glanced across at the other side.
Lowe's cockpit had already closed.
Smirking, he stepped aside: "Ray, you take over. Teach that big brother a lesson."
Ray beamed brightly: "Brother, watch me!"
He quickly climbed into the cockpit.
Yamabuki Shuri cast a contemptuous look: "Bully, tricking a child."
Liam also looked speechless, his gaze at Zhou Tianming resembling that towards a criminal.
"Don't underestimate Ray. His talent isn't weak at all."
"Hmph!" Yamabuki Shuri snorted proudly and raised her fist. "Lowe will definitely win!"
The three of them turned their attention to the large screen.
The setting was the ruins inside the Mendel Satellite, with two Gundam Frames launching from the Black Tortoise at the edges.
Ray's Gundam Frame, carrying the Vermilion Bird on its back, raced through the air.
Lowe hovered mid-air standing on the [Black Tortoise Shield - White], with the [Black Snake Sword] at his waist.
But Zhou Tianming's eyes narrowed as he noticed an unfamiliar weapon mounted on the back of Lowe's Gundam Frame.
It consisted of five cylindrical components, draped over its back like a cloak.
Before he could ponder its function, the two sides began exchanging fire.
The [Feather Plumes] scattered from Ray's back, speeding through the air and firing red beams at Lowe from different directions and angles.
The red lines intertwined like a net. Lowe spun to evade while the [Black Tortoise Shield - White] beneath him rose to block the beams.
The red beams struck the [Black Tortoise Shield - White], leaving red spots that quickly spread and dissipated as the surface scales shifted. Grabbing the [Black Tortoise Shield - White], Lowe twisted it to create an opening in the red net and seized the opportunity to charge at Ray.
Ray retreated hastily, waving his hand to convert three [Feather Plumes] into beam blades that stabbed toward Lowe.
"Haha, well met!"
Lowe drew the [Black Snake Sword] from his waist and swung it fiercely, the blade extending to slash at the [Feather Plumes].
With a thought from Ray, the three [Feather Plumes] avoided the blade's edge while winding closely along the sword's surface.
Simultaneously, four beams shot out from the surroundings, locking down Lowe's evasion routes, while the remaining three Feather Plumes shot straight toward his back from behind.
At the critical moment, Lowe twisted his wrist and spun, the Black Snake Sword coiling like a whip around his body. The four beams shattered against the sword's dark blade. Beneath his feet, the Xuanwu Shield-Black crackled with arcs of electricity, and a curtain of lightning descended vertically around him. The three Feather Plumes approaching from behind couldn't evade in time and crashed into the lightning barrier, exploding instantly.
But by then, the three Feather Plumes in front had closed in.
In a flash, Lowe's mech leaned backward as an unknown device flipped up from behind, extending from under his armpits and over his shoulders. Blue light glowed at its tips, and his entire body abruptly dropped. The three Feather Plumes grazed his chest, slicing three gashes before flying past.
Ray reacted instantly. With a single thought, the three Feather Plumes spun rapidly into circular formations, then reversed direction and shot back.
Lowe retreated swiftly, the Feather Plumes hot on his heels.
Four more Feather Plumes fired beams in succession, compressing his evasion space.
But the five cylindrical thrusters on Lowe's back swung flexibly left and right, not only accelerating him rapidly but also allowing sudden vertical and lateral shifts with extreme agility.
He twisted and turned mid-air, dodging each Feather Plumes' assault one by one.
The three close-combat Feather Plumes, unable to keep up with Lowe, reverted to beam mode and continuously fired.
Trapped in a web of red beams, Lowe kept evading, unable to find an opening to counterattack.
Outside, Yamabuki Shuri watched the screen with anxious eyes.
Beside her, Liam sighed and shook his head. "This kind of armament is too unfair. A single unit can achieve multi-layered fire suppression, and its core is small and agile, making it hard to destroy."
Hearing this, Yamabuki Shuri grew even more frantic, grabbing Liam by the collar and shaking him. "Ah!!! Lowe!!!"
Zhou Tianming watched the screen with his arms crossed, a thoughtful look in his eyes. After a moment, he said, "He's about to counterattack."
"Huh?"
Both turned to look at him.
Zhou Tianming tilted his chin toward the screen.
Just then—
As Lowe dodged, the Xuanwu Shield-Black beneath his feet flashed with electric light, lightning surging and scattering in all directions.
This attack was wide and expansive, forcing the Feather Plumes swirling around him to hastily retreat and evade.
Seizing the moment the Feather Plumes were pushed back, Lowe's cylindrical thrusters converged and fired simultaneously, propelling him like lightning toward the distant Ray. Ray hurriedly retreated, but he was too slow—Lowe closed the gap in the blink of an eye. Ray frantically directed the distant Feather Plumes to concentrate their fire.
But then, the Xuanwu Shield-White flew to Lowe's back. The red beams struck the shield, emitting a dazzling red glow, but within a few breaths, the white phosphorus absorbed them. In the next second, the Xuanwu Shield-White blazed with light, unleashing countless white beams that scattered like rain.
The Feather Plumes were instantly enveloped. Ray tried to control them, but after just a slight movement, they were all blasted apart.
Having reached Ray, Lowe swung the Black Snake Sword, its blade slicing horizontally toward Ray's waist.
The Vermilion Bird's wings flared, lifting Ray horizontally into the air as the Black Snake Sword swept past beneath him.
But the next moment, Lowe's mech rose abruptly and delivered a flying kick from above, striking Ray in the abdomen.
"Ah!!"
The cockpit shook violently as Ray plummeted straight down, crashing with a roar into the ruins below.
Nearby buildings collapsed around him.
Lowe's thrusters flared brightly as he dove straight down, the Black Snake Sword thrust forward.
The blade shot out with a vibrating shriek.
"Lowe!! Go!!" Yamabuki Shuri jumped up and down excitedly.
Suddenly, the straight blade of the Black Snake Sword bent, its tip curling back to stab toward Lowe's chest.
At the critical moment, the Black Tortoise Shields slammed into the blade of the Black Snake Sword from both sides.
Sparks flew as the shields made contact, their edges instantly shattered upon impact. Yet the collision deflected the sword's trajectory, its tip narrowly grazing past Lowe's cheek. Boom!
Lowe crashed headfirst into Ray, the impact cratering the ground beneath them.
With his left palm pressing firmly against Ray's face, Lowe raised his right hand, causing the Black Snake Sword to rapidly retract.
Ray focused his will, making the sword's tip whip like a serpent's tail to coil around Lowe's neck. Leveraging the retraction force, it cleanly severed his head. "Victory!" Ray's face lit up with triumph.
But in the next instant, the thrusters on Lowe's back reconfigured like crane arms, rising high as five cylindrical boosters folded forward to form the digits of a giant hand. Sensing danger, Ray ignited the Vermilion Bird wings on his back, their immense thrust forcibly lifting Lowe off him.
As Ray rose to retreat, he saw the Black and White Pisces emblem on the giant hand's Black Tortoise Shields spinning rapidly, unleashing torrents of lightning.
A row of light points activated along the inner surface of the five digits, generating an invisible magnetic field that compressed the lightning into a sphere.
"You shouldn't have decapitated me!" Lowe's voice echoed from his pitch-black cockpit as he roared, "Finishing move! Lightning Bomb!"
The giant hand hurled the colossal ball of lightning downward like a meteor.
Ray attempted to evade, but the attack's blast radius was overwhelming. He was instantly engulfed in the violent electrical storm, followed by the Gundam Frame erupting in a catastrophic explosion.
WIN!
The screens went black as both cockpits descended.
"Hahaha!"
Lowe emerged laughing: "President! Don't blame me, you started—"
His words were cut off by the sound of sobbing.
"Brother..." Ray's tear-streaked face appeared as he climbed from his cockpit, immediately burying himself in Zhou Tianming's chest with muffled cries.
"Don't cry, don't cry." Zhou Tianming hadn't expected Ray to be reduced to tears, gently patting his back in consolation.
"I broke our promise."
Ray's muffled voice came from the embrace.
"It's fine, I was only joking."
Lowe stood awkwardly scratching his head, whispering to Yamabuki Shuri: "Why was Ray piloting? Wasn't it supposed to be the President?"
"Look what you've done." Yamabuki Shuri nudged Lowe's waist with her elbow. "You went so hard you made Ray cry."
Lowe wore a pained expression: "I thought it was the President! How could I hold back?"
"Lowe." Zhou Tianming called out, "Don't worry about it. Ray's just being a little emotional. That was an brilliant battle."
Hearing this, Lowe broke into a relieved smile.
In Zhou Tianming's arms, Ray butted his head twice against his stomach. Zhou Tianming chuckled and ruffled his hair: "Ray was impressive too. Your Feather Plumes control was exceptional."
A soft laugh escaped from the embrace.
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