under the mask

The first day of preliminaries.

Li Wei looked at himself in the mirror. He didn't bother to trim his hair for a while, and his forehead hair grew a little, covering his left eyebrow. However, he looked quite energetic, and he couldn't help but curl his mouth proudly. Satisfied, he smiled to himself.He casually hung the towel on his hook and walked to the living room. Seth was leaning on the sofa, holding a gold-plated coffee cup, reading an electronic school newspaper leisurely.

"We are all in the Duma Auditorium." He looked up at Li Wei, smiling casually: "I like blue, how about you?" The Duma Auditorium is the most luxurious auditorium of the Imperial University, and it is Li Wei The white Romanesque building that participated in the opening ceremony.

"I don't care, either way is fine." Li Wei picked up a comfortable and soft armchair and sat down. After thinking for a while, he put his feet up on the crystal coffee table, and his black military boots shone with the luster of leather.

Seth laughed softly when he heard the words: "Then you'd better get the red... I've always wanted to compete with you, but the battlefield is usually not open to first-year students."

Li Wei couldn't help but slander, how true are these words?Not a professional during the day, but busy going out on dates at night... Besides, why are you a mechanical infantry in the simulated battle competition?Even made it all the way to the preliminaries...

However, he kept a serious face and raised his eyebrows gracefully: "Maybe we will be divided into one side to fight, and it is an honor to be comrades in arms with the great blue beard heir." After saying that, he shook his shiny boots to show "respect" .

Seth snorted helplessly.

"I'm going to eat," Li Wei groaned in his stomach. He didn't bother to pretend to be an uncle here, so he jumped up and walked around the coffee table to the door: "I wish you a happy breakfast."

The blue-haired nobleman subconsciously looked down at the coffee in his hand, and the helplessness in his eyes became more serious.Having a vindictive roommate is a pain in the ass, but the Spal heir isn't quite what he's been rumored to be.

Just thinking about it, Li Wei's surprised voice came from the door.He curiously put down his cup and walked over, his eyelids twitched involuntarily, showing the same expression as Li Wei.I saw a large bouquet of bright and eye-catching roses on the ground at the entrance of the dormitory. The fresh ones were almost covered with morning dew.It would be fine if it was purely flowers, but there was a large pink card on the bouquet, with "My husband is sorry!!" written in large characters with a fluorescent pen.

Seth glanced at Li Wei indiscriminately, and was surprised to find that the other party's face was as red as a tomato, and he almost couldn't hold back his laughter.Li Wei's senior is really interesting... so interesting.

Li Wei didn't need to look to know that his face was so familiar, he couldn't wait to throw this bouquet of flowers at the faces of those two idiots until his face was covered with rose juice!He has never been given flowers in his previous life and in this life... Uh, it doesn't count if someone sells flowers in the square on Valentine's Day.He used to laugh when he saw the boss of the company being given roses for a month. Now that he thinks about it, maybe the boss is also gay. How can a man who is not gay have a chance to be given flowers?

It's okay to call her husband...you can't call me daddy!

He picked up the bouquet in embarrassment and quickly closed the door, and threw them on the coffee table with a headache. The beautiful flowers paired with the crystal coffee table looked very attractive, but unfortunately he was distracted and was not in the mood to appreciate it.

Seth looked at it, stroked his chin and said, "This is a nice flower."

Li Wei pinched his eyebrows and said casually: "Then I'll give it to you, anyway, you have a bunch of vases."

"Really?" Seth drawled slyly: "Jia Levans doesn't have this kind of flower, and they usually import it from Sunny Star...It's really a beautiful and expensive flower..."

Li Wei paused, and looked hesitantly at the bouquet on the coffee table.This flower...in his eyes, it is very ordinary. After all, in the world in his memory, giving roses to his lover is like going to Seablue Star for honeymoon here, so he forgot that such a bouquet of fresh roses, How did it appear in the secondary star that is full of deserts?

Li Wei is quite aware of the financial situation of Abel Jacob and the others. He even checked Jacob's ID card. Except for the money he made in the last game, the living expenses are not much. It will be even more difficult at the end of the month.Jacob is very honest, saying that they eat double portions, and they all eat a lot. Their big swords need to be maintained once a month, and the energy stones loaded must be replaced regularly, as well as protective gear that suits them. It sounds like a lot of money.

All in all not enough money.

Going to order such a flashy thing.

"Flowers at the market?" he asked Seth.

Seth thought for a while and nodded: "I saw three stores, one of which is relatively large and will handle some ordering business, delivering flowers from Sunny Star and Seablue Star...but the price is indeed more expensive, because the store here The weather just isn't right for these delicate plants."

Li Wei had the urge to sigh.Finally, before going out, he asked Seth to borrow a crystal vase, put flowers in it, and put it on the windowsill.The crimson velvet-like flowers are extremely colorful in the morning light, and against the blue sky outside the window, it is almost hard to imagine that they are in the desert capital.

When he came to the Duma Auditorium again and saw the crowd moving slowly on the more than 3000 white marble stairs, Li Wei was suddenly touched.When he walked halfway and looked back, his field of vision was suddenly elevated, and the bright sun was in the distance, almost melting into the pure blue sky.

He thought again of the bouquet of brightly colored roses.

And Abel and Jacob looked at him eagerly.

Really... Can I give up?

He regained his composure, turned his head and continued walking upwards.In fact, the anger and disappointment of being deceived at the beginning are gone, and now the problem lies with me.It is really difficult for him to make a decision. If the three of them are together, they will encounter more and more problems in the future. He does not want to agree easily.

Triangles are the most stable, but relationships are not.

Professor Degas was talking with the beautiful woman standing by the door on one side during the first round of screening. Levi greeted him when he walked over. Toothless, the big hand like a cattail fan patted Li Wei's slightly thin shoulder.

"You did a good job last time." He blinked, his sky blue eyes were as clear as a child's: "Remember to set yourself a task, such as killing twenty ships in two hours, how about it?"

Li Wei couldn't help laughing, and his unhappiness dissipated a little.

"I will work hard, professor." After he finished speaking, he met the eyes of the woman standing aside, and nodded politely.After the last selection, Amelia mentioned this woman to him. This is the professor of their military theory class. She used to be the commander of a heavy cruiser. She participated in the interstellar expedition against the Blue Purple Stars and had a brilliant record.It was only later that this female colonel named Laura voluntarily retired at the age of 30 and came to teach at the Imperial University... I heard that her husband was the instructor of the mechanical infantry company, and led the team to be destroyed on the blue purple star. None were found.

When Amelia said these words, her expression was very sad, and she also had some admiration.Li Wei didn't know what she was thinking of, whether it was related to Kashgar, but this friend of his had always kept things on his mind, not to mention that the other party was a girl after all, so it was inconvenient for him to ask further questions.

"I often hear Amy mentioning you." Unexpectedly, Laura took the initiative to speak to Li Wei, and her serious expression softened a little: "I proctored the first round of screening, and your logic and memory skills are quite amazing. Next semester, I plan to In what direction?"

Li Wei was a little surprised, but he quickly replied: "Warship major, I plan to—"

Degas patted him on the shoulder to interrupt his words, looked at Laura and smiled and said, "Don't even think about it, he is going to join the Golden Dragon Squad, and he will be the one who will drive the Dragon Ship in the future! You commanders hide in the Control room, hum, how can you enjoy directly confronting the enemy!"

Laura smiled after hearing this, and wisely did not continue this topic.Li Wei felt relieved, oh shit, he actually encountered poaching.

Degas chatted with him for a while, and checked the time: "It's almost there, you should check it quickly and go in."

These words hit Li Wei's heart, he hurriedly said goodbye to the two professors, and then walked towards the crowd.Formal competitions do not require proof, their competition information is stored in the file, as long as the pupils are scanned at the contestant's channel to confirm their identity.The students participating in the preliminaries filed in through the special passage, men and women, tall and short, all with a little nervousness and excitement on their faces.Li Wei felt very relaxed. This form of competition made him feel very fresh, just like a group of people playing competitive games online.

Walking into the hall, the round hollow dome still casts mottled light, and the black rocky ground is like a dark lake, sleeping under your feet without a trace of waves.The audience was still unable to enter the arena. They fell silent involuntarily like last time, and walked to the mottled light and shadow in the center of the auditorium holding their breath. Everyone's footsteps seemed to be able to cause echoes, as if they could see the sound waves protruding outward. The reflection on the black wall makes it even more empty.

"Look at the top!" A female voice rang out, and everyone looked up reflexively, only to see black curtains descending circles around the tall dome... No, those are not curtains, but black glass-thin things, but did not reflect any light.

These black substances landed and rotated layer by layer, until the auditorium was divided into big traps and small circles, and the height decreased step by step from the outside to the inside. Only the most central place where everyone stood was still empty.Everyone looked around suspiciously, whispering, and some people even walked over and touched it, which felt like glass.

Suddenly these black "curtains" were removed from the black as if by magic, and suddenly turned into a transparent isolation layer. Under each layer, these glass-like substances began to stretch and expand like memory alloys, connecting Formed into a transparent ladder layer by layer, and finally these isolation layers are divided into a channel every 60 degrees.It looks like a ring-shaped theater stand made of transparent glass, but there are no seats and something is blocked in front of it.

Degas's mellow voice sounded from above his head.

"There are still 10 minutes left before the game starts, so choose your own seat and enter the cabin."

into the cabin?Where is the simulation cabin?

Li Wei kept staring at the top of his head, and it took him a long time to realize that the plaster-like white decorations on the dome of the auditorium were being quickly unscrewed, revealing huge gaps.Thousands of small single-person simulation cabins slowly descended from the dome, and stopped falling when they were halfway from the stands.He thought for a moment, these transparent stands were probably not prepared for them, so he simply raised his feet and walked towards the stands.

He casually stopped on the first step and looked up. He chose a silver-white simulation cabin to stand at the bottom. Naturally, this floor is the farthest from the simulation cabin. Before he could figure out how to get up, he suddenly felt strong under his feet Going up, almost fell down.He looked down and saw that the transparent floor he was standing on started to rise until it reached the metal pedal of the simulation cabin.

"So it's like this..." Li Wei muttered and stepped on the pedal, trying not to pay attention to the height of his feet.

There was an exclamation from below, followed by the sound of messy footsteps.Li Wei cautiously looked to the side, and besides him, there were quite a few people who also came up, probably they all found a way by mistake... I heard that last year's was more interesting, it turned out to be a simulated underwater environment, a group of people came in I have already entered the holographic environment, watching the water continuously overflowing from my feet, I was scared to death, and some people climbed up directly holding the pillars...

With weak legs, he opened the front cover of the cockpit and climbed in. He put on his helmet, boots and gloves with trembling hands and feet. When everything was ready and the front cover was slowly closed, he settled down.Fear of heights is really a bad thing, for him, it is as incurable as a terminal illness.

After waiting in the airtight cockpit for ten minutes bored, Levi was still wondering what the grandstand would look like for a while?Are those isolation board-like things holographic screens?No need... I don't know where those people are sitting, there is not even a bench...

"The competition is about to start. Please turn on the induction switch on the right hand side, and the helmet will be connected automatically. Pay attention..."

Li Wei casually pressed the switch on the bulkhead, and the metal component popped out from the fitting opening of the bulkhead with a beep, and was connected to the induction helmet.The front mirror of the induction helmet was originally pitch black, but it suddenly lit up, and Li Wei only felt his eyes being pulled forward along with his temples——

For a moment, my thinking seemed to be dragged forward by someone and suddenly flew forward, hitting the mirror of the helmet at once—passing through the back cabin with micro-screens fitted with various components—passing through several simulation cabins in front—passing through the warm human body—

Suddenly stop.

He was naked, with his toes hanging down, floating in the black universe.

"The game begins." A strange voice sounded, deep and beautiful, with mechanical coldness.

Li Wei turned his head and saw a person standing on the other side of the universe, looking at him across the two nebulae of Golden Mans and Red Crab.

He could clearly hear the slight sound of the man's clothes rubbing.

Levi: "Who are you?"

The man took a step forward in silence, and the hem of his clothes passed through the slowly rotating translucent nebula. Li Wei saw the other's black high-heeled military boots with some delicate patterns on them.

is her"?

Then everything in front of his eyes disappeared, he fell downwards, those big and small stars flashed rapidly in front of his eyes, and the light gradually blurred in his eyes, as if the whole person was caught in a tornado, or stepped into quicksand, and was facing extinction in fear.

When everything stopped, he opened his eyes, and found himself wearing soft protective clothing, sitting in the cockpit of a battleship, the front and left and right bulkheads turned transparent, and outside was the black universe sprinkled with silver light, and the right side of the battleship side against a blue metal wall.

"What are you doing..." Li Wei moved his fingers in confusion, and issued an order to tilt the cockpit. The battleship slowly tilted to the left as if floating on the water, and then flew out with a swish, passing through the deep space like clouds and flowing water.

It was Li Wei who saw clearly that in front of him was a huge interstellar aircraft carrier, like Noah's Ark on the sea of ​​the universe, with densely packed isolation windows of various sizes on the silver-blue alloy walls, tens of thousands of small warships Reconnaissance ship The detection ship came in and out on the aircraft carrier, and the surrounding ships kept passing by like meteors. Countless light sources made this fortress as lively as a city in the universe.

"Levi Spall, Blue Fang, pilots the small battleship Blue Lady, model AT117838."

Still that cold electronic sound.

Li Wei guessed that the person just now might be Brigitte, the intelligence brain of the military department.He quickly let go of these thoughts, the preliminaries are not that complicated, there is no need to cooperate, just be careful not to be shot down by the enemy... maybe there are friends with poor skills, and then try to kill as many red warships as possible. .

"Okay..." He moved his fingers, and the long-lost excitement floated on his face: "Although you are not my Olivia, I will take pity on you...beauty."

The author has something to say: Regarding the extra episode...well, I actually don’t understand it normally, because many characters have not yet appeared on the stage. If the extra episode is read later, it may feel different.Slipper knows my outline, so I understand it... Yes, the last paragraph is the battle before the death of Levi's father Baruyer. They lost contact with the military headquarters and were trapped on the ice field. The encirclement and suppression of the regime.

The boss on the opposite side, Your Excellency the General, he and Baruyer's father, Li Wei's grandfather Andrew were old colleagues and friends.

What I also talked about is the identity of the butler, he is not a simple substitute for Andrew...