Immediately after, on that massive virtual Display, images began to flow.
It was a dark universe dyed scarlet red by the flames of war.
One trillion ferocious bug monsters, converging into an endless "Swarm Disaster" that devoured the light, were launching a final charge against a lonely planet.
Standing proudly in the face of the insect tide were countless heavy mechas.
Glamoth Iron Cavalry.
This civilization's final line of defense.
The scene shifted. An Iron Cavalry carved a bloody path through the insect tide, artillery roaring, flames scorching the heavens.
But the insect tide was endless.
The mecha was ultimately submerged by the sea of insects.
In the final moment of its life, it detonated its Core, exploding into a brief sun deep within the universe, clearing a massive swath of the surrounding airspace.
The next second, more Iron Cavalry stepped up without hesitation to fill that gap.
No hope.
No retreat.
Only the absolute determination to fight to the death.
An iron-blooded will, embracing death, crossed the virtual boundaries and pierced the souls of everyone present.
"Holy crap... what kind of epic interstellar war blockbuster trailer is this?"
"It's just fighting an elite monster, did you have to make it look like the final decisive battle of a civilization!"
"Stop talking, I'm starting to pity that big beetle..."
The students' worldviews were being repeatedly crushed, blended, and then reshaped.
Chen Jing's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and she finally could only helplessly raise a hand to her forehead.
She had watched the recording of the Freshman Competition and knew that Lin Qingyue had a trump card of "Heroic Spirit Possession", transforming into a Maid Knight and dominating the battlefield.
But this time...
Stepping directly from a classical fantasy style to interstellar sci-fi, turning into a mecha over two meters tall—what kind of move was this?
Wasn't the coverage range of this Heroic Spirit's types... a bit too broad?
She taught Ancient Martial Arts, emphasizing "using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds."
Yet this student directly pulled out the ultimate interpretation of "absolute power overcomes all martial arts"!
In the center of the battlefield, the blazing light dissipated.
Standing there was no longer the delicate girl holding a spear.
It was a war machine over two meters tall, entirely covered in cold, silver metal armor.
At its joints and heat vents, dark red flames burned like an ominous omen.
An aesthetic born purely for destruction washed over them.
[Extra Buff: Can use all Skills of Firefly/Sam.]
[First time triggering Firefly/Sam transformation, drawing extra reward...]
[Congratulations Host, obtained Firefly's Talent: Ultra-Speed Response. Note: Piloting a mecha is much harder than playing a game!]
Lin Qingyue, or rather, Sam at this moment, slightly lowered her head covered by a heavy faceplate.
She examined her hands, which had turned into Steel gauntlets, and glanced at the Blacksteel Rhino Beetle not far away that had completely frozen up, forgetting even to charge.
A mechanical synthesized voice, mixed with electric static, broadcasted from the mecha's speakers.
"Target spotted, all units on alert!"
Lin Qingyue felt a wave of emptiness in her heart.
I just wanted to enchant my Weapon and properly hone my marksmanship...
Besides, transforming into Sam, the outfit inside the armor is really just like Firefly's, with a pitifully small amount of fabric...
[Ding! You transformed into Sam, bringing a "tiny" bit of mecha shock to the teachers and students present. Elation Value +2333!]
With explosive power capable of incinerating everything surging within her body and the crisp notification tone of the System in her ears, Lin Qingyue instantly calmed down.
Over 2000? As expected, pulling off a big stunt is the fastest way!
Her vision was taken over by the high-Technology tactical visor, and the world instantly transformed into a torrent of data.
The Blacksteel Rhino Beetle's entire body was marked with bright Red weaknesses, accompanied by a series of tactical data she couldn't understand.
[Target Locked: LV 35, Elite, Blacksteel Rhino Beetle]
[Threat Level: Low]
[Weakness Analysis: Joint connections, abdominal carapace, compound eyes...]
[Suggested attack plan: Command - Flash-Burn Propulsion, Command - Skyfire Bombardment, Command - Scorched Earth Impact...]
The cold, synthesized electronic voice announced in her mind.
It was not her own voice, nor the System's, but the combat AI built into the armor.
Is this... Sam's power?
Exhilarating! Absolutely exhilarating!
This is a man's ultimate romance!
Even though she was a girl in this life, it didn't hinder the excitement and ecstasy in her heart at this moment in the slightest.
Who could say no to piloting a ridiculously badass mecha?
"Roar..."
The Blacksteel Rhino Beetle finally snapped out of its daze.
Its most primitive biological instincts allowed it to smell the scent of death from the steel creation before it.
Its roar was no longer angry, but laced with obvious fear.
Lin Qingyue did not give it any more time to react.
The thrusters on the mecha's back spewed out a stream of blazing red flames!
Vmm—!
The shriek of tearing air pierced everyone's eardrums.
The body of steel vanished from its spot!
In the next instant, Sam had already appeared directly above the Blacksteel Rhino Beetle, casting a massive shadow.
No Weapon.
No technique.
Only absolute power, descending from above, transforming into the purest, most primal—
A single stomp.
"Attack, executed."
The cold, synthesized mechanical voice delivered the final Judgment.
Covered in heavy armor, the giant metal foot stomped down heavily with a howling gust that tore through the wind.
Boom!
An incredibly heavy, deafening boom made the earth itself skip a beat.
Under that foot, the Black Jade shell that the Blacksteel Rhino Beetle was so proud of shattered on impact.
Amidst a teeth-aching crunch, spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly from the point of contact across its entire body.
Before it could even let out a wail, its massive body was forcefully stomped into the ground by that unrivaled, immense force, leaving a hideous pit perfectly matching its size.
A dark red shockwave exploded outward close to the ground, centered on Sam's point of impact!
Wherever it swept past, entire patches of turf were ripped away, and the earth was violently plowed open, forming a circular trench over ten meters in diameter!
The violent air currents whipped up sand and gravel, blinding the surrounding students and forcing them to raise their arms or weapons to shield themselves.
When they awkwardly lowered their blocking arms and opened their eyes again, the world had grown quiet.
That war machine, radiating an aesthetic of pure destruction, was slowly lifting its right foot out of the deep crater it had stomped into the earth.
As for that level 35 elite monster...
It had been reduced to a puddle embedded in the ground, mixed with dirt and fluids—a completely unrecognizable mosaic of carapace.
Stomped to death with a single foot.
Literally.
All the students froze in place, their brains crashing, having completely lost the ability to think.
One second, they were still marveling at Lin Qingyue's brilliant technique of using a spear to deflect the elite monster's charge.
The next second, she directly whipped out a mecha and instantly killed it.
This drastic shift in style had completely shattered their limited imaginations.
"Am... Am I seeing things? Is that a mecha?"
"Fighting an elite monster... by piloting a Gundam? Is this a maneuver a carbon-based lifeform could come up with?"
"Mom, Tianshu University is so scary, I want to go home..."
Chen Jing's arms, previously crossed over her chest, had dropped to her sides at some point. She was also completely dazed.
As the Vice Dean of the Ancient Martial Arts Academy, she had seen countless geniuses and handled countless unexpected situations in Dungeons.
But for a student to suddenly transform into a sci-fi mecha during her Ancient Martial Arts class and stomp a teaching-use elite monster to a pulp with one foot...
This kind of situation seemed to go a little bit beyond the syllabus...
The three members of the Quantum Battleship Squad had completely different reactions.
"Whoa~" Lin Xiyue whistled, her face full of admiration and excitement. "Sis's new skin is so cool! It's much more imposing than the Maid Knight!"
"Too flashy." Su Wan turned her head away and fanned the dust in front of her face with her hand, but the slight curve of her lips and the peculiar gleam in her eyes betrayed her true thoughts.
Xia Lian gently patted her chest and let out a long sigh of relief, muttering softly, "Scared me to death... But, at least it's taken care of."
In the center of the battlefield, the dark red flames on the Sam Mecha slowly extinguished.
"Mission accomplished."
With this line, the silver metal armor began to turn illusory and transparent, eventually transforming into countless points of light that dissipated with the wind.
Lin Qingyue's figure reappeared.
Her perspective abruptly returned to a normal height, and she shook her head to dispel the dizziness.
Looking at the giant bug crater on the ground and the puddle of indescribable matter inside it, she let out a helpless sigh.
She then looked down at the White Ashwood Spear in her hand; the tip had slightly curled from the force of the impact just now.
I really, really just wanted to enchant the spear to test the effect of Holy Light Damage against this kind of high physical defense monster.
She frantically justified it in her mind.
Did it really need to fast-forward me straight to the Glamoth Iron Cavalry?
But then again...
The Glamoth Iron Cavalry was originally created to fight the Swarm Disaster. Stomping a giant beetle to death in Sam form perfectly fits the job description; it's completely justified.
With this thought, Lin Qingyue comfortably found an excuse to ease her conscience.
She weighed the White Ashwood Spear in her hand, its tip already slightly curled, and shrugged at the puddle of pixelated gore in the deep pit.
Then, she turned around to meet Teacher Chen Jing's complicated expression—which practically screamed, "Who am I? Where am I? How am I supposed to teach this class?"—and offered a polite, innocent smile.
"Teacher, the monster has been dealt with."