While the competition raged on.

The battle on the front lines was just as intense.

With bloodshot eyes, Bai Mufeng desperately snatched the unconscious Gu Tianyou back from the Alien Beast’s clutches.

"Quick, where’s the doctor???"

"This way!! Get him to Doctor Si, quickly," Lan Shaoyu said, clutching his arm as he led the way.

The sight of the three of them, drenched in blood, was enough to make anyone’s heart tremble.

But on the battlefield, being merely covered in blood, without any missing limbs, was considered a light injury.

When Si Xu saw the three of them running over, he quickly shouted, "Hurry, get him into a Medical Pod first."

Then he asked, "How did this happen?"

The examination would take some time. By asking directly how he was injured and where, he could get a general idea and treat the wounded man faster.

"He detonated his Mecha, jumped out, and fell straight to the ground, knocking himself unconscious."

"Alright. You two go get your spiritual power soothed. He’ll receive his treatment here."

"Okay."

Bai Mufeng and Lan Shaoyu supported each other as they returned to their temporary tent.

After a quick patch-up of their wounds, they went to get in line for the Star Network theater.

This was a theater reserved by the military. It opened once every three hours, and inside, many invited females would be watching a movie.

All the warriors had to do was go inside, sit quietly, and watch the film to lower their Riot Value by 0.5% to 0.8%.

For every Federation Soldier, this was a beacon of hope for survival.

Furthermore, they could also apply for individual spiritual power soothing from the incarcerated females in the camp, though the waiting list was likely two or three months long.

As for the females who voluntarily watched movies at designated times, they were all volunteers.

Besides helping the Federation Soldiers, they also received Star Coins as payment.

For some lower-status females, it was a pretty good deal. They could earn money, improve their reputation, and have more options when choosing a mate.

Jiang Qin also participated in this volunteer program. As for when she would go to watch a movie, she was usually notified in advance by the military.

If she was free, she would go. If not, she would have to ask them to reschedule for another time.

Lately, she’d been competing in the Mechanical Clan’s event, so naturally, she had no time to be scheduled.

...

The movie playing in the theater was *Farewell My Concubine*.

Bai Mufeng and Lan Shaoyu were both captivated.

Everything in the drama was so brilliant—the conflict between personal feelings and national duty, the emotional tug-of-war between the protagonists, and the culture of Peking opera—it was all fascinating.

The females sitting in the front rows found tears inexplicably falling as they watched.

Inside the theater, Spiritual Bodies floated all around, emitting a dense Calming Power.

After it ended, neither Bai Mufeng nor Lan Shaoyu left.

They were both simply too exhausted. It was a good chance to rest a bit longer on the Star Network; after all, their physical bodies were still lying in their Holographic Cabins.

If they left their Holographic Cabins, there wouldn’t be any Medical Pods for them to lie in, as the number of pods was simply insufficient.

Their injuries weren’t severe, so of course they couldn’t fight with their comrades for a spot.

"Mufeng, not logging off?"

"Forget it. Lying down is lying down, no matter where. Let’s just rest here for a bit."

Lan Shaoyu also sighed. "I wonder when this war will finally end."

’He might not even live to see the end. The thought left him with a sense of regret.’

’Although he didn’t have anyone he liked, he still yearned for a romantic encounter and to one day have a little kid who would call him ’Dad’.’

Bai Mufeng didn’t know either. He was also growing tired.

"I heard Miss Jiang went to the Mechanical Clan’s territory recently?" Lan Shaoyu asked.

"Yeah."

"How are things going between you two?"

Bai Mufeng said lightly, "Nothing’s going on. I like her a little, but in this kind of environment, talking about anything like that is pointless."

"That’s true. If the war was over, Tianyou and I could even help you come up with ideas and support you in pursuing love."

"But right now, we can only focus on how to survive on the battlefield."

The three of them had been friends and classmates for many years and understood each other’s ambitions.

The current war, while potentially fatal, was also an opportunity to achieve great things and build a legacy.

Given their family backgrounds, they could have transferred to a rear-echelon position, but none of the three were the type to fear death and cling to life.

That’s why they persisted here.

"Let’s go. We should check on Tianyou."

"Yeah."

The two of them logged off at the same time.

***

Finally, it was the third round.

Jiang Qin was still ranked first.

As long as her score today remained stable, she had a high chance of winning that spaceship.

[Here we go, here we go! Snagging a front-row seat!]

[The probability of Qin Bao getting first place is huge, right? Even if she doesn’t, she can probably secure a spot in the top three, can’t she?]

[Over the past three days, I’ve rewatched the recordings of all the competing composers so many times.]

[I can’t wait for them to finish so the tracks get uploaded.]

[I wonder what kind of songs we’ll get today.]

[It’s the final round. Those with close scores are probably going to give it their all, right?]

[The betting pools are open on the Star Network. I bet half my life savings on Qin Bao to win. I hope I don’t lose too badly.]

Sitting at home watching the live broadcast, Liang Yuze was super nervous.

Although half his life savings wasn’t much, for him, it was already a huge gamble.

As for why he dared to make such a bet: first, he desperately needed the money; second, he was a fan of Jiang Qin; and third, Jiang Qin basically never lost.

So he decided to take the gamble.

Currently, the odds on the Star Network were 1 to 3.

’I hope she wins today!!’

There were many other gamblers like him. Some firmly believed Jiang Qin would take the crown, while others supported the more established veteran composers.

After all, those seniors still had their reputations, and a few of them weren’t far behind Jiang Qin in points.

If Jiang Qin made a mistake today, it was inevitable that she would be overtaken.

"Oh, man, who should I bet on? It feels like everyone has a good chance of winning."

"I’m still torn. Even though Jiang Qin is first right now, the scoring from the Mechanical Clan’s instruments is just too hard to predict."

"Yeah, if she gets a low score in this round, she probably won’t even make the top three."

"It’s the same for the other composers. It all comes down to who can get the high score tonight."

...

It wasn’t just the netizens and the competing composers who were nervous; the people of the Mechanical Clan were just as tense.

Their instruments had already collected a lot of sounds. Current analysis showed that there were already several usable songs.

So they hoped to obtain even more useful songs.

As for the composers, the few who had been flagged would become their partners later on.

After the host finished their opening remarks, the final round of the competition officially began.

Composer No. 1’s chosen singer for this round was, once again, Yue Ji.

’Actually, Jiang Qin had also wanted to collaborate with Yue Ji again, but unfortunately, Yue Ji had already made an arrangement with Composer No. 1.’

Both of them came from the Empire, so in a competition like this, it was natural to partner with one of their own first.

Therefore, for this round, she had also chosen a singer from the Federation.