NOVEL WEB Chapter 118 - The Competition 21
After another twenty minutes of fighting, the exhaustion on Zhuang Huaiya and Classmate Yu was evident on their faces. Their pace had slowed down, but they remained evenly matched.
Perhaps the tense standoff made Yu anxious; he suddenly became fierce, as if he had taken a recovery pill, launching a vigorous offensive.
Zhuang Huaiya, whether caught off guard or unable to dodge due to fatigue, was struck solidly in the abdomen by Yu’s palm, sending him flying backward.
The students from the Command Department gasped in unison. Amidst the gasps, Zhuang Huaiya twisted in mid-air and rolled upon landing, quickly getting back up to engage with Yu once more.
Though Zhuang Huaiya’s stance was still steady, Ma Dongzi “saw” blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. It was unclear whether he had bitten his tongue during the fall or was spitting blood from the impact.
Ma Dongzi leaned toward the latter; after all, Zhuang Huaiya had been hit in the abdomen multiple times during the fight, and Yu, who relied on sheer strength, wouldn’t just inflict minor injuries.
Fortunately, Classmate Yu’s sudden burst of bravery was just a last-ditch effort. After more than ten exchanges without being able to defeat Zhuang Huaiya, he lost the strength to even support himself and collapsed to the ground, unable to rise again.
In their hearts, everyone hoped and waited, but when the moment finally arrived, and they saw their opponent down and unable to get up, the cheerleaders from the Command Department fell silent for a moment. It wasn’t until the referee announced Zhuang Huaiya as the winner that they erupted into wild cheers.
This marked the best result for their Command Department in nearly twenty years in individual competitions.
In the past, every year they could only reach the Round of 16, with one cohort making it to the Quarterfinals. The Semifinals had not seen a student from their department for over a decade.
As for Zhuang Huaiya, he was carried off on a stretcher because he had been struck in the stomach by Yu’s final blow, causing some internal bleeding, and he needed to be rushed to the treatment chamber.
To be honest, with how often Zhuang Huaiya had been entering the treatment chamber lately, if it weren’t for the school covering the treatment costs during the competition period, he wouldn’t have dared to participate in the matches given his family’s financial situation.
This time, there were even more people accompanying Zhuang Huaiya in the treatment room. Although his injuries were serious, he was able to come out after just two hours in the treatment chamber. His classmates, too excited, wanted to celebrate with him when he emerged.
Since it was still only noon, Zhuang Huaiya’s mentor and classmates were present, so Mai Dongzi decided to head back to her dorm.
However, just as she was leaving the Combat Department, she was stopped by Erica.
“I want to talk to you,” Erica said, her face a bit pale but her expression still carried its usual arrogance.
This was the first time Erica faced Mai Dongzi directly; previously, she had tried to avoid her as much as possible.
After all, both of them were quite famous at Imperial Capital University: one was a genuine heiress, and the other a fake. Ironically, the genuine heiress was overshadowed by the fake, turning truth and falsehood upside down.
They stood facing each other for less than half a minute, drawing the attention of surrounding students.
Mai Dongzi, although reluctant to talk to her—knowing very well why Erica sought her out—decided that it wouldn’t look good to act out in public. So, she led Erica to her dorm.
Once inside, Mai Dongzi didn’t use her mental power to “observe” Erica, but she could sense that Erica’s emotions became somewhat unstable after surveying the dorm, clearly affected by what she saw.
Ren Guang had mentioned that such a dormitory was exclusive to her, one of a kind.
Students like Erica and Ren Guang only received a single room, which was still much better than the typical triple occupancy dorms.
“Although my parents did something bad to you, they are still your uncle and aunt. Why do you want to put my mother in a difficult position?” Erica said, her tone quite aggressive.
Erica had initially intended to take a softer approach with Mai Dongzi; her demeanor when she stopped her earlier reflected that. However, her words came out more forcefully than she expected.
A few days ago, Ren Guang had tipped off Mai Dongzi that the family elders might come looking for her regarding Zhao Fanni, but after Mai Dongzi’s persuasion, she hadn’t received any messages from the Xi family.
She had even felt relieved for having avoided trouble for the Xi family, yet the last person she expected to confront her was Erica. Hearing Erica’s words made it sound like she wanted to harm Zhao Fanni.
Mai Dongzi kept her light brain monitor on to prevent Erica from doing anything harmful. Listening to Erica’s words, she quickly shared them in the Xi family group.
Then she attached evidence of Zhao Fanni plotting against Atom and Zhuang Yuelan, ending with a message: “I intended to formally file a lawsuit after the year-end break. I haven’t acted yet, so whatever happens to Zhao Fanni now has nothing to do with me.”
Seeing Mai Dongzi click away on her light brain without hesitation, Erica felt a surge of foreboding. She naturally wanted to stop her.
But Mai Dongzi used her mental power to pin her down completely; Erica couldn’t move or speak.
It wasn’t until Mai Dongzi closed the light brain and lifted her mental suppression, looking at her with a smile that was not quite a smile, that Erica shakily opened the light brain to access the Xi family group.
At that moment, Erica truly panicked: “Impossible! My mother couldn’t possibly do such a thing! You, you…”
“I’m already being very considerate by not going after you, given that it involves my father and mother. My patience isn’t great, and I have no interest in your nonsense. So, don’t bounce around in front of me—get out,” Mai Dongzi said fiercely, unwilling to waste her breath on such irritating nonsense.
To be honest, if it weren’t for the impending crisis, while Mai Dongzi wouldn’t destroy Erica’s life, she would definitely ensure that Erica’s cultivation would be stunted indefinitely.
With the added pressure of her mental energy and the irrefutable evidence she provided, including Prince Arthur’s personal signature, Erica didn’t dare stay in front of her any longer.
However, Mai Dongzi “saw” Erica tearfully wiping her eyes in her room. Before she left, she composed herself and stepped out looking victorious, almost making Mai Dongzi laugh in irritation.
Erica’s expression was enough for others to interpret a lot of information.
Mai Dongzi sneered and sent a warning message to Erica in the Xi family group.
She made it clear that if any unfavorable comments about Erica appeared on the campus network after she left her dorm, Mai Dongzi wouldn’t hesitate to follow Erica’s example and expose her actions on the star network.
Although Erica was already far away and Mai Dongzi couldn’t see her expression, she was confident that Erica wouldn’t dare to make any more trouble.