At 21:16:18 on August 15, 2045, just over two hours before the deadline for the final registration for the 10th Oasis Cup Gundam Tournament, it was only at this point that a certain unconscionable shoulder blade warrior Edges finally completed a certain task, and immediately contacted a bad little girl who had been waiting impatiently in the game, and mailed an important game item that the other party needed.

'That's it! ’

'Annie! I've got your body, the 'VF-25 Messiah' for you, but I want to make one thing clear: because I'm not very familiar with this deformable body, I just restore and maintain it according to the data provided by the system and the best plan, I don't dare to make any modifications to it, if you lose, don't blame me for not helping you? ’

'I've really done my best, I promise you!' ’

After urging the other party several times, mailing the game prop that was shrunken like a toy airplane in an instant, and seeing the other party's confirmation of receipt, Echie finally sighed and relaxed.

"You're going to lose!"

ε=(?? ˇεˇ????))) Bah!!

"Wow! I saw it, and it's really fixed?! ”

?? (????????)??

After spitting on some bad guy who dared to curse herself for losing, Anne hurriedly checked the restored machine she had received that was vital to her ability to compete.

"Big Edge, you wait first, people sign up for the competition first!"

☆⌒(*＾-゜)v THX!!

After receiving and inspecting the 'VF-25 Messiah' and finding that there was nothing wrong, Anne impatiently opened the application screen again and submitted her application to the organizer who had rejected her application twice.

During the day, Anne managed to get her hands on Samantha, the young lady Artemis, and handed over the damaged 'VF-25 Messiah' to Edge, who spent a huge amount of money on emergency repairs, and narrowly enough for her to sign up for the game at the last minute and wait for the feedback on the competition.

And the price she had to pay for acquiring that mech was that she had to protect Artemis and their useless 'IOI Resistance' minions from being persecuted by IOI force in the real world until the game of finding easter eggs was over?

Because, they are said to be very confident in cracking the clues of Halliday, finding the easter eggs and defeating the IOI online creative company, but the only thing they are worried about is that the illegal armed personnel on the other side will hit the door again in the real world?

Although Anne would love to say that she doesn't need easter eggs on her own, and she doesn't need to go through the hassle of inheriting some of Halliday's shares and gaining control of the game to defeat the IOI baddies...... But, since Artemis had made only a small and simple request, she was too lazy to say more, but decided to stay in the garden room on the roof of the other man's dilapidated building for some time to come.

“……”

(ー`?? ー)

"Why did it take so long......"

?? (?? `^????)??

Now, Anne is still patiently waiting for a response to the application she just submitted.

This is her third application......

In order to prevent some people from maliciously repeating the registration for many times and causing channel blockage, the organizer has specially restricted each player to register at most three times, and once the maximum number of applications for three times is reached, they can no longer register...... Therefore, Anne, who is now waiting, is very nervous and anxious, for fear that something will go wrong and cause her to fail to apply again or something.

If that's the case, I'm afraid she's going to go to the tournament organizer's office along the network cable and grab the collar and beat up some of the bad guys who don't agree with her participating in that kind of tournament that seems to be fun, right?

Bite~!

Congratulations! Player Anne Hasta, your application to participate in the tournament with your 'VF-25 Messiah' has now been approved! We would like to inform you that you are requested to make all your preparations and enter Portal 02136 of the 10th Oasis Cup Gundam Championship by 24:00:00 Standard Time tonight to participate in the first stage of the race.

Notice is hereby given!

“！！”

! (;?? o??) o

"Great, Edge, they've finally been approved! Moreover, there are more than two hours to go before the first stage of the competition! ”

?? *。?? (ˊωˋ*)???? *。

Seeing the holographic interface that popped up with a successful application, Anne was startled at first, and then finally cheered directly, and shared in the newsletter to a conscienceless profiteer who had done her a lot of help.

'Really? ’

"That's good, it's not in vain, I work overtime and can't even take care of dinner, so I'll fix it for you first......

After hearing that a certain little guy had successfully passed the application for the competition, the unconscionable shoulder blade warrior Edge, breathed a sigh of relief, saying that his efforts had not been in vain.

"I won't tell you!"

|?????? ω????)??????

"People are going to find that portal now, goodbye~!!"

-=???????? =?????????? (??)??

After saying that, Anne hurriedly turned off the communication without waiting for the other party to continue to say something, and then turned around and walked briskly to the bustling oasis crowd in the distance, ready to go to the portal 02136 that was looking for her.

And as for a guy with no conscience who was chosen to ignore by her because he temporarily lost his use value, she wouldn't care!!

（…… ）

(●￣(??) ￣●)

……

Soon, at 11:45 p.m. on the second night, Edge, Daito, Asho, Parsifal, and Artemis all arrived at the venue of the 10th Oasis Cup Gundam Tournament and entered a virtual box that they had booked in advance.

'Hi~! ’

'Parsifal and Artemis, you two are finally here?' ’

Seeing the two being teleported in, Aitch greeted the two as soon as possible.

'How's it going, have you cracked that last clue?' ’

Immediately afterward, Aitch asks about his primary concern, which is the last clue in Halliday's Easter egg game.

After all, a certain bad little girl who is now ranked first in the standings, the guy who dares to attack even Halliday's avatar, must not bother to crack the clues, which can be seen from the fact that she is still in the mood to participate in the Gundam Championship! Therefore, Aitch felt that their hope of cracking that clue might really only be placed on Parsifal or Artemis in front of them.

'Ahh Clues......'

'Not yet! ’

Parsifal and Artemis looked at each other, then shook their heads in unison and spread their hands. So far, they still don't have a clue, otherwise they wouldn't have the heart to come here to watch this game.

'That's a shame......

But don't worry! ’

I've heard that neither IOI nor anyone else who cleared the Shining level and got the second Emerald Key was able to crack that clue, so you don't have to worry too much, at least now everyone is on the same starting line, and if anyone cracks it, according to your score, they will definitely be the first to be informed. ’

Seeing that the two seemed a little frustrated, Aitch hurriedly spoke out and said with relief.

'I hope so......

'That's right! ’

'What about the little one Anne, is she here, why haven't we seen her?' ’

Clue or something, Artemis felt that they had racked their brains for the past two days, so she didn't want to talk about that topic anymore, and hurriedly asked strangely while looking at the box.

'She? ’

She should have been here a long time ago! It's probably time to get ready now, and when it officially starts, we can see her perform! ’

In fact, Edgey didn't know where the little guy was, but thinking about the other party's hurried appearance two hours ago, I believe it must have been in the competition venue, and besides, the other party was a contestant, so he definitely wouldn't appear in the audience like them.

'That's ......'

'Is the list of contestants and the data of the body out now?' ’

Artemis was a little worried, because she knew that the damaged 'VF-25 Messiah' they had accidentally acquired was just an ordinary production machine, and it didn't have any outstanding performance and advantages compared to the bodies of previous years' players.

'I don't know, it shouldn't have come out yet, isn't there about fifteen minutes left?' ’

Edge's arms just waited, and he began to scan the virtual Colosseum-like arena that appeared in the void of the universe, looking at the bustling crowds and various lighting decorations in the audience seats.

‘……’

'You say, 'That little one, does she have any hope of winning?' ’

Parsifal asked with some hesitation.

If it was before, he definitely wouldn't think that the other party could win, and he didn't want the other party to win! However, something had happened recently that had changed his impression of the little guy a little bit, and if his friends thought she had a chance of winning, maybe he would put all his gold on the little guy?

'I don't know, but I've heard that her driving skills are not bad, and when she was on the planet Pandora, she also robbed a Zhaku II of the Fan Alliance, and killed and trampled a lot of people to death because of it? ’

Edge's deeds on the planet Pandora are relatively clear, after all, he can be said to have taken over the agents of the superconducting ores that Anne got back, so after many inquiries, he obviously knows a little more about Anne than others.

‘！！ ’

'How do you grab Gundam?!' ’

Hearing Edge's words, the samurai Daito who was sitting on a stool next to him suddenly asked curiously.

'Ah......h

'Who knows?' She just grabbed it anyway! ’

‘……’

And what about then? ’

'Later? ’

Later, the body she grabbed was quickly chopped up by the fans of the alliance, but unfortunately, she didn't even remember to take away the wreckage, didn't she know that that thing could be repaired, even if it wasn't repaired, it would be worth a lot of money? ’

Edgey said hatefully, thinking that the behavior of a bad little girl who knew every day that she was shouting poor just threw away at least hundreds of thousands of gold coins out of thin air was a bit of a tyranny?

'Okay......

'Let's hope she doesn't lose too badly this time, right?' ’

Parsifal and Artemis looked at each other, and then prayed in mutual understanding. Because they came to a conclusion through this conversation between Edgey and Dadong, that is: a certain little girl's mecha manipulation skills seem to be very ordinary? Otherwise, it wouldn't have been slashed and exploded after snatching a body.

‘！！ ’

'Great! It's time, and the Gundam Championship is about to begin!! ’

Daito, who had infinite dreams for Gundam but regretted not being able to participate in it due to his ability and lack of a real body, stood up from his position excitedly and reminded his friends who were still going to chat.

At this time, sixteen large portals and sixteen different mechs appeared out of thin air in the starry sky in the distance, and in the bursts of brilliant fireworks and colorful pillars of light, a huge virtual digital graphics platform, first appeared a narrator dressed in a non-mainstream style, and then the other party took the microphone and faced the bodies of the contestants and the millions of spectators around the scene to start his performance:

'Guests and audience friends! ’

'Good evening everyone~!! ’

Today, the exciting 10th Oasis Cup Gundam Championship is finally about to begin, have you all placed your bets? ’

As soon as the non-mainstream commentator finished speaking, there was a boo at the scene, and some viewers seemed to be very dissatisfied with this? Of course, there seems to be a mix of whistles and cheers, and it's clear that some people are doing the same as he says, participating in some of the fun off-field play of these games?

'Oh! Well......'

'Perhaps, I should say, are you all ready?' ’

As you may know, this competition, our organizers have made some small changes to the rules and projects of the competition, and it is no longer a mode of playing and fighting, because our organizers require the contestants to go on a short PVE mode adventure, and wait until they have fully exerted their skills and exercised their skills. In the next stage of the competition, a qualified part of the qualified players who won or survived the PVE mode will move on to the next stage of the competition......

And those who are unqualified and inferior players who do not meet the standards will be ruthlessly eliminated in the PVE project! ’

'Hey! Stop it!! ’

The commentator just wanted to continue to talk some nonsense, but the audience at the scene was horrible and immediately made a commotion, and even some players simply took out various rifles, shoulder-fired missiles, etc., and strafed and bombarded the commentator's phantom and platform?

‘……’

As for the specific rules, I won't say much about them here, because I'm sure you've all seen them, so I'm here to officially announce that the 10th Oasis Cup Gundam Championship is now officially underway! ’

In order not to quiet down the audience, in order not to affect the ratings and advertising revenue, the commentator saw that the audience did not buy it, so he hurriedly ended some unnecessary opening remarks in advance and began to announce the official opening of the game.

'Let's take a look at the contestants!' ’

'Player No. 1, please! ’

'She's ......'

'Purportedly from. T's little phoenix, Valkyrie, and the fire eagle that never falls - the daughter of darkness, Anne Hasta!! ’

"Hello everyone!"

！?? (????????)??????

A fighter plane flew out, and Anne's cockpit avatar was projected onto a huge screen directly above the arena, allowing millions of spectators to see the cute little girl waving at them with a big grin.

‘！！ ’

'Is that her?' ’

'God, how is that demon?!' ’

'Damn! ’

'Where's my MANPAD?' Let me knock her down!! ’

'Stop! You can't hurt her here!! ’

‘……’

'It's over! She is definitely going to die in the arena, and I don't know who will be cheaper with a bounty of more than 100 million? ’

‘Κατηγ?? ρησε！！ ’

‘сволочь！ ’

‘￥@……%##！！ ’

The scene instantly resounded with bursts of boos and noisy and chaotic noises.

'Everyone, please be quiet!!' ’

'Ahh My eyes! Which bastard dropped the nuclear bomb? I advise you to save quickly, don't waste your stinky money, because here, it's useless for you to throw black holes! ’

Seeing that there was a burst of bright light on the field that was almost blinding, the holographic projection of the narrator hurriedly scolded and stopped the way.

'Yes......'

'Yes! I believe that all the audience friends here know her, or have they been bullied and played by her? Either way, she's in this tournament, so here, in this purpose-built arena, any attacks you make on her will be nullified! ’

'Straight to the point! ’

'If you have any grievances, you can go out and settle accounts with her, but let's take a look at her body first, that's ...... Is it an airplane?! ’

'Oh! ’

"I'm sorry, I'm not blind, and of course you don't, because it's really a serious mech!!" ’

Then, after seeing that the audience seemed to be interested in which Dark Girl contestant, the narrator began to introduce the mech in detail.

——————

VF-25 Messiah

Multi-purpose transformable fighter-bomber with a crew of 1 person (reserve seats can be set)

Humanoid height 14.53m (including head laser gun)

Engine:

Nova Heavy Industries/P&G/PR Manufactured FF-3001A Stage II. Thermonuclear Turbo Engine ×2

Thrust 1620KN+×2

The top speed (in the atmosphere) is about Mach 5.00, and the limit of acceleration outside the atmosphere is unknown

THE MAXIMUM LOAD OF THE BODY IS 27.5G

arm

Standard Armament:

Head GU-17A anti-Vajra MDE machine gun

ROV-217C 12.7CM Coaxial Beam Rifle ×1

ES-25A 25CM high-speed MDE machine gun ×2

ROV-25A 25CM Beam Cannon ×2

Left wrist shield inside AK/VF-M9 combat knife ×1

————————

'It's a very ordinary mech, I remember a few times before someone drove a similar mech to a race, and one of the hapless guys didn't even hold on for three minutes before they were destroyed......

As for her driving skills, we can wait and see. ’

Then, after introducing Anne's identity and body data, the narrator, who was obviously not very optimistic about the little girl, smacked his lips and began to introduce the other pilots one by one.

For example, the second contestant is a masked man who can't see his face, and at the same time, he is also a pilot named 'Yo Hey 321' from the Fan Alliance Guild?

And he drove an all-metal mania M9 Gernsback (ガーンズバック), and it was also a commander-level spec, the latest third-generation AS used by Mithriru! Its most important feature is that it is equipped with a composite angular antenna that can enhance the function of the sensor on the head unit, so as to obtain the electronic warfare capabilities required by front-line commanders, and can also use the ultra-high data link device 'ITCC-5 (Integrated Tactical Communications Control System) to analyze, manage, and organize the huge amount of information in the battlefield.

In addition, it can disable various electronic devices such as sensors and radars through ECS, and it has a stealth function that even the naked eye cannot discern!

In addition, it is said to be equipped with a bug-like 'λ-DRIVER' driver, which is also the legendary driver called the Lambda driver or Lemda! It is one of the highest manifestations of black technology in "Full Metal Mania", which is the 'attack/defense impulse' that is converted into energy with physical attributes, rather than mere 'mind'!

When the pilot has a desire for something beyond fantasy, the general emblem launched is full force, and the effect is as much as imagination! There are only 3 ways to defeat λ-DRIVER:

Directly use λ-DRIVER against λ-DRIVER!

Attack by surprise, such as using a sniper to destroy the mech before the pilot can react!

Break through the driver's reaction time with fast movements!

Unfortunately, this ability is supposed to belong to some type of brain wave, i.e., personal consciousness/will, which translates into external manifestations. However, due to the consumption of so-called mental power, the damage to the body after use cannot be ignored - it is said that it is easy to cause brain damage? Therefore, after the official research of the competition, it was determined that this λ-DRIVER drive did not have the ability to completely destroy the rules and fairness of the competition, so the selection of this machine was allowed?

The third contestant is a Strike Freedom Gundam piloted by a Gundam enthusiast from IOI's online creative company, a gorgeous and powerful mech, and it is also the hottest contestant of this championship, not one of them!

Because, the power of this machine is beyond doubt!

It integrates all of the world's best technologies in the Gundam SEED world, including the Beam Shield with impregnable defense, the unparalleled mobility of the Armor Cutting Technology and the Radiance Transmitter, the super drive of the PS Armor internal skeleton, and the terrifying firepower of a total of fifteen guns! In addition, it is equipped with a 'super advanced deuterium core' that uses a nuclear engine and a deuterium core beam charging system to achieve overwhelming power from this engine......

In short, this is a machine that ordinary people and ordinary guilds can never afford to raise and even more can't buy, and it's not an exaggeration to say that it is a work of art that IOI has piled up with money, right?

And this is also the reason why it has successfully become the hottest player in this competition!

But unfortunately, it is said that this machine was built with Kira Yamato as the pilot, so the extremely complex weapon system of this machine can only be harnessed by that NPC Kira Yamato? As for the manipulation ability of the Gundam die-hard enthusiast hired by IOI's online creative agency, that's up for debate......

However, many people believe that even if a pig is manipulating it, it will definitely achieve good results!

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many people who put so much money on it.

The bodies of the other contestants are also a variety of bodies, such as the 'Moon Chopping' and 'Lancelot' from the rebellious Lelouch, the first and second machines from EVA, and the messy bodies from Gundam 00......

finally

It was only after one of the commentators who spoke of a dry mouth that they finally explained all sixteen competitors and their mechs in a simple or detailed way, and then the pilots began to speed up and fly into or run into portals and disappear to the cheers of millions of oasis spectators.

‘……’

'Is that the end of it?' What about the Gundam Championship?! ’

Seeing that there was no Gundam in the entire arena in an instant, only empty fields and those huge portals, Parsifal, who didn't understand the rules of the competition and hadn't read the rules of this competition, asked a little strangely.

'Uh......'

Now they are going to the PVE Standalone Quest Challenge for the first event, and only those who survive or have a certain rating will be eligible to move on to the next stage, which is the most familiar PVP stage of Gundam Championships? ’

But until then, if we need to, we can always go to any player's PVE quest history via the tournament group's options page to see how they performed in the quest! ’

'Like this? ’

Seeing that Parsifal really didn't seem to understand, the big east on the side slowly explained to him and directly demonstrated how to retrieve a copy of Annie's 'Macross F Void Singer', and watched a little girl fly in the vast dark cosmic starry sky with the VF-25 Messiah.

'I see......

But if that's the case, what are we doing here? ’

'This ......'

'It seems that there is really nothing to see today, it is just an opening ceremony......

'Tsk! ’

You see, a lot of people have already left. ’

'Let's go! Let's go back too, anyway, the PVE phase can be seen everywhere now, there's no need to stay here all the time! Moreover, we can also think about it by the way, what is the last clue of Halliday? ’

'Okay! ’

‘……’

Soon, as the contestants entered one dungeon portal after another and disappeared into the venue, the huge cosmic arena-like place began to fall silent as the long PVE phase unfolded, and then, the audience who had watched the opening ceremony and fully understood the contestants left the arena with a shout-out or other complaints, leaving only this huge and empty space.

——————————

(???????? `??)???? Tickets?? (???????? `??)??

n.