Personality determined one's fate, and thus it was. Ma Xiaoru's nature had driven her to be so foolish that she would sacrifice anything for her love. Although her kind was becoming increasingly rare in the modern world, so were the ones who were genuinely happy, and didn't mind to be labeled as "foolish."
By then, Samantha had conceded that the terms "a smart woman" and "happiness" were mutually exclusive in the real world.
Although she was happy with her career advancement, she felt that she still needed more to fill up the hole in her heart.
Meanwhile, on a spaceship bound for the moon, the students from Ayrlarng were elated about their trip. There were about seventy of them, and it would be the first time visiting the Moon for most of them. Karl was engrossed in talking to a few girls that surrounded him about his great achievements on the Moon during the fleet battle tournament. It was impossible for him to not brag about himself.
At the other end of the spaceship, Kyaero remained quiet, and was nervous about the coming fight. He knew that as a fourth level fighter, his qualification test was a close call. Being able to attend the final did not mean that he was no longer one of the weakest among the attendees. He feared that he would make a spectacle of himself while facing even stronger opponents than his fellow fighters from the Earth.
"Hey Kyaero, what's up with that face? Let's go to the pool house and have some fun!" Zhen Zhong asked.
"I'm not in the mood."
"Everyone, don't overthink things. You have already done a good job at the qualification test, and you need to relax now. No need to stress yourself out. Look at Hu Yangxuan… He has much more things to worry about than you." Zhen Zhong said as he dragged Kyaero to the pool table.
"Ah-ha! How about that? I told you I would kick your ass!" Hu Yangxuan shouted out as he pounded a fist at the pool table.
"We are not done yet. One more round, and I will show you my real skill!" Karl rolled up his sleeve and announced.
"You have already lost three rounds. I want to play with someone who actually knows how to play. "
"I do," Kyearo replied.
"Hold on," Karl yelled at the two and then turned towards other students. "Come on now! Hu Yangxuan versus Kyaero, the floor is open for your bets. Stand to the left if you bet on Hu Yangxuan, and to the right if you bet on Kyaero! "
"What if I am not betting?" Lumi asked.
"Stand in the middle please."
The crowd of students was quickly separated into three groups. Karl scanned the groups and then announced, "Hey Hu Yangxuan, you are not as popular as Kyaero after all."
"I don't care. I will show them who is better."
The game they were playing was a variation of the standard billiards game. The more hits the white ball had in one shot, the higher the score. After ten minutes, Hu Yangxuan won the game by a minimal margin.
A smug look crept onto Hu Yangxuan's face as he said, "Haha! Told you so! Who's next? "
Seeing there was no one answering his challenge, he scanned the room and quickly found Wang Tong, who was standing at the other side of the ship and staring into the distance through a window.
"Wang Tong, what about a round of billiards with me? Come on! Give me a chance of winning against you."
"I will pass. I haven't touched a cue for ages."
"Just one round, boss! Have some fun! Let's worry about the tournament after we have reached the Moon." Lumi pleaded.
"Fine, fine. I will do it, just for you." Wang Tong finally cracked a smile and agreed.
"Don't you worry Wang Tong. I won't embarrass you too much in front of everyone, maybe just a little. Haha! You go first!" Hu Yangxuan laughed, thinking that he finally would best Wang Tong at something.
Billiards was not an expensive sport. However, knowing how frugal Wang Tong was, Hu Yangxuan was confident that his opponent was much less experienced than him. Hu Yangxuan not only played it every day, but also received private lessons from the pros.
Wang Tong picked up a cue and handled it in his hands. The spaceship boasted first-class entertainment utilities, and Wang Tong felt it was rightfully so. The cue was straight, and slid smoothly against Wang Tong's fingers. The coldness of the wooden stick reminded Wang Tong about the old times.
As Wang Tong hunched down and was ready to strike, his fluid movements and professional stance surprised Hu Yangxuan.
The white ball struck home and caused an explosion of colors against the green of the table top, and three colored balls sank into the corner pockets.
Wang Tong shook his head as he felt his skills had grown sluggish.
As Wang Tong continued playing, his score quickly shot through the roof.
Three thousand five hundred and eighty to ... zero!
'The winner is Wang Tong!'
Hu Yangxuan swallowed down his indignation. However, his face was red as an apple.
Everyone burst out laughing at this comical development. They had thought that Wang Tong was a nerd who was only interested in studying and math textbooks. However, his skills at billiards had proven otherwise.
"It looks like you have at least four to five years of hard training behind you." Kyaero marveled. "It's almost at the professional level."
"I hate you. Why didn't you tell me that you are this good?" Hu Yangxuan grumbled, still feeling hurt by his humiliating defeat.
Wang Tong grinned at Hu Yangxuan. Although no professionals had ever trained him, he did not tell anyone either that playing billiards at underground venues used to be his family's primary source of income.
"I had played a lot when I was young. Another round?"
"No way!" Hu Yangxuan had enough of defeat. He retreated and decided to never compete with Wang Tong on anything.
"Wang Tong, I want to learn."
"Yeah, me too."
Everyone followed Zhou Sisi's request, and Wang Tong quickly became the center of the group's attention.
Karl and Hu Yangxuan grimaced at each other knowingly.
"It's all your fault. You should have left him alone."
"Well, it's not like I know everything about him." Hu Yangxuan grumbled as he walked out of the pool house.
On the streets of the Moon City, it was evident that METAL tournament had garnered much more public attention than the fleet battle tournament. From the neon signs to the huge colorful banners, the streets screamed the unbearable anticipation. There were over six hundred players on the moon, and if one counted their friends, the number would reach thousands. Audiences from all corners of the universe would gather around, and their number was estimated to reach six figures.
Despite the huge logistical challenge, Wang Tong could tell that the Ivantians were well prepared. Although it wasn't Wang Tong's first time visiting the Moon City, the sheer volume of people on the streets gave him a drastically different feel.
Many of Wang Tong's friends were first-time visitors, and they were interested in almost anything in front of them. So advanced was the public infrastructure on the Moon that many of them were completely alien to the students from the Earth.
Unlike their friends, the contestants were less interested in sightseeing, as they needed to prepare for the enormous challenge ahead of them.
On the same day that Wang Tong arrived the Moon, he found out that the match schedule was already set up. With no time for a short respite, Wang Tong and his fellow teammates quickly went over the schedules and rules.
Upon reading the schedule, it occurred to the students that all of the team Ayrlarng's fighters had a match on the first day.
The playoff was grouped into eight sections. All three factions would then each assign eight first-class seeded players and eight second-class seeded players into the eight sections, and the results were listed as follows.
The first section: Patroclus, Moon
The second section: Li Shiming, Earth
The third section: Li Ruoer, Earth
The fourth section: Lie Jian, Mars
The fifth section: Michaux Odin, Mars
The sixth section: Heidi, Mars
The seventh section: Li Xing(heir of the Thunder Blade), Moon
The eighth section: Zhang Buyu, Templar
The other eight seeded players were Ye Kai (Templar), Guan Dongyang (Martian, Heir to the Sect of the Hidden Path ) Turbolix (Earthling, Heir of the wind cloud kick), Tevez (Ivantian, heir of the Dark Moon), Sammill (Kaedeian), Gongsun Wuce (Ivantian, heir to the Gongsun family), Wuma (Earthling, heir of the Dark Witch), and Allen Smith (Ivantian, heir of the Golden Wheels)
The sixteen players from each faction represented their best shot at winning the tournament. Although Wang Ben and many others had practiced renowned tactics, they didn't make it to the top sixteen, because they were less popular, or because they were deemed to have fallen from grace after the previous catastrophic defeat.
In the legendary Sky arena, the opening ceremony of the sixteenth pan-solar METAL combat tournament was about to draw back its curtain. The opening ceremony never lacked big-name performers ever since its conception. There were stars such as Mike, as well as heavyweight politicians such as Douglas, the chairman of the confederation council. Almost all the powerful men and women on the Moon had gathered inside the VIP room. Since the game had taken place on the Moon, it was expected of them to show up in support of their fighters. Plus, the House Lord of the Zhang as well as the Dower —two of the most influential players in the politics on the moon—would also show up. Therefore, no politician dared to be absent.
The exuberant opening ceremony boasted the Ivantian's marvelous technical advancements and substantial financial clout. The area of a few kilometers around the arena was covered with a virtual reality projection. Its scale and cost had deeply impressed the Martians and the Earthlings.