Chapter 14

Du Ruo pushed open the door to Lounge 01. Jing Ming had on bright red over-ear headphones, a black hoodie, ripped jeans, sprawled on the sofa gaming. Every so often his jaw moved as he chewed gum.
The huge lounge was calm and silent, just him.
Du Ruo quietly closed the door and walked over, hesitating whether to interrupt. He caught her out of the corner of his eye, glanced up, and said with casual surprise, "Sit down, will you?"
"Oh." She sat at the opposite end of the couch. Jing Ming continued gaming.
Only then did she notice the little robot by his feet, its big luminous eyes staring quietly up at him.
With nothing to do, she flipped through the booklet she’d picked up. Just as she was getting absorbed, Jing Ming’s voice drifted over, low and cool: "Check the last page."
"Huh?" She looked up.
"Last page." He finished his game, took off his headphones, put away his phone, and tossed it in a paper bag beside him.
"Oh." Du Ruo turned to the back of the booklet. She found a ton of reference articles and leading figures in the field, gold for anyone who wanted to look them up online and study. One booklet even included a direct link to a course!
She felt like she’d struck gold.
Jing Ming got up from the sofa, grabbed the controller off the coffee table, and nodded. "Let’s go."
"Okay." Du Ruo packed her loot, shouldered her bag, and was just about to stand when she heard the soft whir of machinery; the little robot trailed eagerly after Jing Ming’s heels, and Jing Ming threw her a look.
He’d been talking to the robot just now.
Du Ruo: "…"
Jing Ming left the lounge, heading down the hallway, Du Ruo half a step behind. At the end of the corridor, in front of a closed door, he stopped. She could already hear the faint roar of a crowd, the gymnasium floor, just beyond.
He was standing ahead of her, then suddenly turned to look back, asking, "Ever watched a robot fight before?" The hallway was narrow, his voice echoing just a touch even though he spoke quietly.
"Nope," she shook her head.
He faced forward again. "Then you ought to start with something more mainstream."
"Like what, exactly?"
"Robot dance-offs, soccer matches, more about the tech. Today’s is just for fun. It gets… a little brutal."
Brutal?
She was puzzled. "Isn’t it just robots fighting each other?"
He didn’t answer, but she thought she heard him snort. "Just don’t freak out."
Du Ruo was thoroughly confused. She’d watched robot battles online: adorable clunky bots bumbling around, one slowly poking the other, then the other stumbling over and giving a light kick back.
Kind of like the little robot in his dorm that day, who ran up and bonked her ankle before scampering off on its stubby legs.
While she was thinking that, the door suddenly swung open. An usher bowed to Jing Ming, inviting him inside.
Bright lights, hands in pockets, Jing Ming entered the arena as the crowd absolutely erupted, so loud it could blow off the roof.
Du Ruo was guided to a seat right by the field, the grandstand to her back electric with excitement.
Bleachers were packed, mostly students from nearby colleges, with a handful of professionals up front: probably industry types or serious hobbyists.
It was a complete sea of dudes.
The floor wasn’t large, just gym-sized, a perfect square, surrounded by low, solid iron walls and a ring of heavy-duty mesh fencing up above.
The stage was empty, the robots hadn’t entered yet.
Suddenly, the lights facing the stands dimmed. The stadium slipped into darkness, and, with a sharp "snap," a spotlight flared onto the center ring.
Both digital boards lit up, displaying each contender’s info, line by line:
The board on the left, first row, boldest letters,
Jing Ming
Then his basic stats.
Age: 18
Robot: Eva
Matches: 6
Average finish time: 47 seconds
On the other side, his opponent, Yi Kun,
Yi Kun
age: 22
robot: Sunny
Matches: 6
Average kill time: 49s.
Yi Kun’s robot is named Sunny, with an average match time of 49 seconds.
They’re evenly matched, huh?
Du Ruo’s gaze slid down from the electronic scoreboard. Jing Ming was standing on the left side of the closed ring, tiny earbuds tucked in his ears. Eva circled restlessly at his feet, her big eyes whirring with excitement.
The arena’s big screen cut to their view,
Eva was a short, tank-like robot, two little tracks for feet, a squat body, stubby arms flanking her sides, and a pair of huge, endearing eyes on top of her head. The crowd broke into laughter the moment she appeared.
On Yi Kun’s side though, the contrast was stark. He looked cold as ice, severe expression, dressed in a sharp but casual suit, utterly different vibe from Jing Ming.
His robot, Sunny, towered over Eva, with armored plating so tight there was barely a seam, like a walking fortress.
The scariest part? Sunny had two mantis-like arms, each fist huge as a sledgehammer, bristling with pure menace.
The match was about to begin. The MC hyped up the crowd, shoving the mic toward the audience so everyone could shout out their pick for champion.
In an instant, the entire arena erupted,
“Jing Ming! Jing Ming!”
“Yi Kun! Yi Kun!”
Caught up in the electric atmosphere, Du Ruo found herself trembling. She glanced at Jing Ming, head lowered, messy hair shadowing his eyes. She couldn’t see his expression; all she caught was the sharp bridge of his nose, the clean line of his jaw, the subtle movement of his chin as he ran his tongue across his upper lip.
The cord of his earbuds swayed gently against his cheek.
Eva had stopped scampering around, now just standing sweetly at his feet like a little soldier awaiting orders.
The MC signaled the contestants to send their robots in. Jing Ming yanked out his earbuds, stuffed them into his jeans pocket, and bent down to pat Eva’s head like a proud parent.
Immediately, Eva scampered off, looping over to the MC, then entering the walled arena from the entry point. Sunny lumbered steadily through the gate as well.
Once both sides were in position, the MC announced, “The battle begins!”
As soon as the words left his lips, “crack”, the gate snapped open, and all four low walls surrounding the ring lit up at once, not just for show.
Two walls blazed with red and blue flames; the other two bristled with spinning steel blades, whirring at terrifying speed!
If a robot slammed into those, the damage would be brutal!
Already, Sunny was making his move, launching a full-throttle attack, pounding down at Eva with a giant fist!
Thud.
Eva’s eyes spun wildly askew.
Du Ruo jolted so hard it felt like her heart stopped.
There was no room for slow, adorable robots here,
Here, “slow” was just another word for “dead.”
Eva dropped the cute act, whirled around and zipped to Sunny’s side, slamming hard, her chest-mounted blade axle scraping open Sunny’s metal shell in one savage sweep.
Sunny instantly pivoted for another frontal punch, but Eva was faster, again slipping to Sunny’s flank, jamming her arms beneath the gash she’d just made and, with a sharp jerk, flipping him up.
This opponent that dwarfed her ended up flipped upside down, metal hull crashing thunderously against the floor.
The crowd stared wide-eyed, holding their breath.
Sunny twisted, surprisingly agile despite his bulk, somersaulting upright again.
Switching tactics, Sunny suddenly accelerated, barreling at Eva. With his greater size and speed, he rammed Eva hard into a wall lined with spinning blades. Steel bit into Eva, sparks and shavings flying, and that sizzle echoed urgently! Meanwhile, Sunny’s hammer-fists pounded relentlessly at Eva’s head.
Savage. Completely savage.
Du Ruo’s heart thundered out of control. She was too tense to look, flicking a desperate glance at Jing Ming. He stood at the edge of the arena, eyes locked on Eva, trapped in the corner, his slender fingers flying across the controls.
Eva, jammed in the corner, sparked as she tried to move, her blades hissing arcs of blue electricity that sliced open Sunny’s armored shell, the charge snaking deep inside Sunny’s wires.
Sunny jerked back to avoid the shock. Eva seized the chance to break for open ground.
The tracks at her feet were slashed and battered, but she didn’t flinch, she zipped straight toward Sunny again, jammed her arms under his lower chassis and heaved!
Sunny was flipped once more, this time crashing by the wall of fire!
The impact sent sparks flying everywhere!
Flames licked greedily at Sunny’s frame, while the outer body was fireproof, the vital circuitry and motor inside definitely weren’t.
Sunny, upside down beside the flames, struggled to right himself.
Eva, however, simply stopped at the center, calmly waiting.
In the stands, everyone’s blood was pumping. “Attack! Attack! Finish him off!”
Center of the ring, the timer read 43 seconds.
But curiously, Eva still didn’t attack, she waited for Sunny to escape instead.
She even tilted her head playfully, trying to charm the crowd as she waited.
The audience roared with laughter again.
Du Ruo looked to the mastermind behind it all, Jing Ming.
He stood at the edge of the arena, fingers drumming calmly against his controller, utterly tuned out from the cheers, jeers, and laughter, eyes locked with grim intensity on his only opponent: Sunny.
At last, Sunny pulled himself upright and rolled clear of the flames.
His operator, Yi Kun, gave him no breather, cranked up the speed and power, sending Sunny rocketing straight toward Eva.
Jing Ming narrowed his gaze, and Eva met Sunny head-on at full speed!
A violent CRASH.
The audience looked on in shock, the force and speed almost like two cars colliding!
The robots slammed together, Sunny hammering wildly at Eva, bam, bam, her eye-casing cracked, her shoulder dented. But she didn’t back down; her spinning saws ripped into Sunny’s hull with punishing force, blue currents crackling all the while.
For a breathless moment, the entire venue fell dead silent. Du Ruo gnawed her fingertips, eyes glued to the fight.
After a few brutal blows, Sunny realized he could only damage Eva’s shell, not the insides. Pushing harder, he began forcing Eva back toward the spinning blade wall, aiming to shred her tracks.
Eva was shoved backwards, but kept fighting, using shock and sawtooth to bash Sunny’s shell, and, in a split-second at the wall, deftly spun aside.
Sunny was too late to react, he plowed straight into the blades, and went still.
One second, two, three, he didn’t move.
The MC declared, “Match over!”
Every guy in the stands exploded to his feet, howling and cheering so loud it was like a pack of wolves cutting loose.
The adrenaline and wild rush of the fight still hadn’t worn off. Du Ruo took a few shaky breaths and joined in the applause.
Jing Ming let out a sly grin, flicked the controls, and Eva cocked her head, struck a pose, lifted one leg high like a shoebox on stilts, twirling smugly for the crowd. Absolutely adorable.
But right then, a flicker of red light began sparking from a crack in Sunny’s armor, growing, growing. The crowd’s cheers turned to startled shouts, everyone starting to point. As all eyes watched, a small tongue of fire leapt out, Sunny had caught fire. Through Eva’s relentless strikes, she’d finally managed to sever Sunny’s internal circuits. And because his operator had pushed him back into battle too soon, he’d sealed Sunny’s fate.
Flames burst from Sunny, consuming him in an instant.
He was the first robot, to fall for good, out of dozens of matches and elimination bouts in this tournament.
Gasps and sighs echoed out from the stands, tons of people leapt up to start filming the spectacle.
Meanwhile, bruised but unbroken, Eva scampered happily back to the entrance, lifted her head and waited patiently for the staff to open the gate, then squeezed through legs and padded straight for Jing Ming.
Jing Ming stepped forward to meet her, crouched down, gave Eva an affectionate pat, and scooped her into his arms to check her injuries.
His expression: absolutely tender. He patted her head, then bent down and kissed Eva gently between her eyes.
In that moment, he looked completely pure, clean, gentle, and kind.
Something about the scene made Du Ruo’s heart skip. She had no idea why, but it moved her.
Somehow, it just felt like the most honest snapshot of them both.
Up on stage, radiant under the lights, he ignored the crowd and the applause and cared only for his Eva,
While in the shadows of the stands, she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him for a second.
Because, one day, she’d stand on that stage herself.