"Well fought. Fang Feiyang has been bothering me, and I want to make it clear that I have nothing to do with him. Don't take it to heart."
Surprisingly, Liu Qingxue walked up to Zhou Luo to explain.
"Keep your lapdog in check. Tell him not everyone in the world is his daddy. That mutt isn't something just anyone would take—except for me, Zhou Luo."
Zhou Luo glanced at Liu Qingxue, then pushed through the crowd and disappeared onto the field.
"???"
"Wait—"
Liu Qingxue's brain nearly short-circuited.
Am I really that terrifying? Others go out of their way to get close to me, but you act like I'm some kind of monster.
"Qingxue, I told you not to bother with him. He doesn't know what's good for him," one of the snobby girls sneered.
Liu Qingxue frowned, irritation flickering in her heart.
"Since when do I need you to tell me what to do?"
"Besides, I was just clarifying so Zhou Luo wouldn't think I sent Fang Feiyang after him."
With that, Liu Qingxue strode away in her white sneakers, the crowd parting instinctively under her icy aura.
Only two red-faced, petty girls remained behind.
Liu Qingxue left the school in a luxury car, while Zhou Luo drove off in his own sports car.
After all, he had an elder sister who was a fifth-tier Mecha Master with immense potential.
His family was extremely wealthy—unlike those transmigrators who started with nothing, were obsessed with spoiling their younger sisters, or worked in chicken slaughterhouses.
Do you even understand the prestige of having a Mecha Master for a sister?
Twenty minutes later, Zhou Luo's sleek sports car rolled into a villa in the Star Sea Estates.
The roar of the engine announced his return to the two inside.
"Xiao Luo's back. Honey, go open the door," called a graceful, well-maintained woman from the kitchen.
She was Wang Qiong, forty years old, the mother of Zhou Luo and Zhou Yun.
"The kid has his own key. Why should I open the door?" came a steady voice from the living room. Despite his words, the man obediently went to answer.
He was Zhou Hong, forty-three, the father of Zhou Luo and Zhou Yun.
With thick eyebrows and a strong, handsome face, he had been quite the looker in his youth.
Their union had produced the stunning Zhou Yun and Zhou Luo—so handsome he could get fined for it.
Click—the door opened.
"Oh? Fancy seeing you here, old man," Zhou Luo said as he stepped inside, meeting Zhou Hong's thick-browed gaze.
"Brat, where are your manners? Dinner's ready!" Zhou Hong was already used to his son's irreverent nicknames.
Soon, the family of three sat down to eat.
"So, Xiao Luo… did you become a Mecha Master?" Wang Qiong asked, her eyes brimming with hope. Yet the faint tension at the corners of her eyes and the flicker of unease in her pupils betrayed her deeper worries.
At her words, Zhou Hong fell silent.
Zhou Luo noticed everything.
"Heh… I didn't become a Mecha Master. I guess you could say I don't have a Destined Mecha. But I'm probably stronger than one."
"What I don't get is—I have the Zhou family bloodline. Why didn't I become a Mecha Master?"
Zhou Hong and Wang Qiong were both third-tier Mecha Masters. Logically, there was a ninety-nine percent chance their offspring would also be Mecha Masters, as awakening was influenced by bloodline.
His sister Zhou Yun being a fifth-tier potential Mecha Master made perfect sense, and by all reasoning, he shouldn't have awakened as the Mech Battle King.
However, he attributed everything to the fact that he was a transmigrator.
What he didn't notice were the subtle expressions on Zhou Hong and Wang Qiong's faces.
"Then, Xiao Luo, are you a Mechanic? The only status higher than a Mecha Master would be a Mechanic."
"Right, Mechanics might not fight themselves, but they can summon others to fight for them."
They instinctively assumed Zhou Luo was a Mechanic, hence their words.
"I'm not a Mechanic either." Zhou Luo spread his hands helplessly.
"Xiao Luo, don't be too upset. We're here for you." Wang Qiong momentarily struggled to find the right words to comfort him.
"Alright, alright, I'm heading back to my room."
Though physically at the dinner table, Zhou Luo's mind was entirely preoccupied with the Battle King's Hall—his Fire Thunder was waiting for him.
Zhou Luo hurried back to his room and locked the door behind him.
Zhou Hong and Wang Qiong exchanged worried glances.
"Honey, do you think we should tell Xiao Luo the truth?"
"Sigh~ If Xiao Luo were truly our biological child, he'd undoubtedly be a Mecha Master. But fate plays cruel tricks."
"I don't know how he grew up to be even more handsome than I was in my youth!"
"Don't worry. The savings we've set aside will ensure he never wants for anything. He'll get over it in a few days."
When Zhou Luo first transmigrated, he was just an infant, found in a county outside the base city. At the time, Wang Qiong and Zhou Hong were piloting mechas in battle outside.
They happened upon the adorable Zhou Luo and decided to adopt him.
Since Zhou Luo was an infant at the time, he had no memory of it—how could he possibly know the details?
Zhou Hong and Wang Qiong truly raised Zhou Luo as their own son.
Right now, they assumed he was in his room, shedding tears over his disappointment.
Little did they know, Zhou Luo had already entered the Battle King's Hall.
The Battle King's Hall resided within his War King Token. The hall was vast, with over a dozen towering stone pillars standing unshaken. At the base of each pillar rested an eighty-meter-tall mecha!
All these mechas were in slumber, their eyes devoid of any light or energy.
Yet, Zhou Luo felt an inexplicable familiarity with them, as though he had returned home.
"The unruly Swift Blade King! The arrogant Po Tianbing! The chatterbox Nifeng Xuan... and the protagonist mecha—Fire Thunder!!"
Zhou Luo walked up to the foot of a fiery-red mecha adorned with a golden flame emblem on its chest. Its design was bold and imposing, with robust, muscular lines exuding raw power, as if ready to charge into battle with thunderous force.
Its sturdy mechanical limbs were agile yet unyielding, every joint engineered for superior mobility and strength.
Its broad shoulders housed formidable artillery, while its back was fitted with sleek, high-tech components.
The head was intricately crafted, radiating authority and intelligence, as though it were a living, emotional warrior.
In its right hand, it gripped a Crescent Moon Blade as heavy as a mountain, stretching ninety meters long. A glint of cold light flashed across the silver blade, and even standing beneath it, Zhou Luo could feel the chilling aura emanating from the weapon.
His name was Fire Thunder, the guardian general of the City of Time!
"What should I do?"
[Asking what you already know!]
Hearing this, Zhou Luo curled his lips into a faint smile before his expression turned solemn. The War King Token in his palm radiated dazzling light, and Zhou Luo now felt an intense response. "Very well... Vehicle Warrior! Transform!!"
"Rumble—" Fire Thunder's body shook as his dormant eyes suddenly lit up, filled with deep blue radiance.
His form continuously shrank until it became a three-meter-tall combat mech.
"Fire Thunder pays respects to the Mech Battle King!"
He sheathed his Crescent Moon Blade, kneeling on one knee with his right hand over his chest, his glowing eyes brimming with utmost reverence.
I am Fire Thunder, guardian general of the City of Time!!
(End of Chapter)