In the Years When I Was a Father-Chapter 167: The Ruthless Marshal Father (10)

On the live broadcast screen, a little tiger—about half a meter tall and seventy centimeters long—stood calmly in front of a teenage boy twice its height. The scene appeared oddly harmonious, yet the netizens of the Federation watching from the StarNet were completely shocked by what they were seeing.
Amidst a flood of “WTF” messages, viewers tremblingly began posting other comments.
[WTF, am I seeing things? Or am I hallucinating?]
[What the hell is going on? Can someone explain this to me?!!!]
[Is that really him in front of us? Are we sure someone didn’t just find a similar-looking tiger cub to impersonate the Marshal’s eldest son?]
[You idiot upstairs, this is a public live stream across the entire network! Who would be bold enough to make such a joke about Marshal Qi?!]
[This scene must be fake, right? Maybe I haven’t fully woken up yet. Can someone come and wake me up?!]
[Host, get your ass out here! What the hell is going on right now? What happened to the supposed genius youth? Who exactly is this tiger in the arena?!]
……
Everyone stared at the livestream screen in disbelief, all wondering if something was wrong with their eyes. After blinking dozens of times, exiting and re-entering the stream several times, the image of the tiger cub still hadn’t changed. The countless netizens watching the broadcast were collectively dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, entertainment ers, gossip bloggers, and information influencers who quickly caught on immediately began forwarding the livestream, only to return seconds later to continue watching.
More and more people were flooding in, and Qi Sheng was among the first to be notified of the broadcasted duel.
He took out his optical brain and clicked into the livestream. Seeing his little cub calmly standing on the battle platform, his heart remained utterly unmoved.
Sigh… the little one finally couldn’t hold back and decided to make a public appearance.
He switched the live broadcast to holographic mode, and the image of the tiger cub and the boy on the combat platform instantly appeared in his room. At the same time, Qi Sheng’s communicator began beeping non-stop. Without even looking, he knew it had to be messages from colleagues or family watching the duel, all asking what was going on.
Qi Sheng didn’t check the messages. Instead, he lay down on the sofa, found a comfortable position, and prepared to enjoy watching his little tiger showing off in style.
Back at the battlefield, Liang Qiu looked at the tiny tiger in front of him—who was far shorter than himself—and, knowing this was being live-streamed across the StarNet, gave a hypocritical warning:
“Junye, I know you’ve always been curious about mecha combat and dreamed of piloting one someday, but mechas aren’t toys or games. You can still quit now. Otherwise, I’m afraid I might accidentally hurt you later.”
Qi Junye found his righteous-sounding words a bit strange. He figured Liang Qiu was just putting on a show for the spectators and didn’t take it to heart. He casually stepped back and flicked his tail, giving Liang Qiu a calm look.
“Just hurry up and get into your mech. Remember to go all out—try to last a few seconds.”
After speaking, Qi Junye looked up at the host standing on the high platform and signaled that the mecha battle mode could begin.
The host, who had been watching the scene on the battlefield—just one boy and one beast—felt incredibly anxious. When Qi Junye signaled for the start of the mecha battle, the host almost wanted to resign on the spot and run away.
No matter what happens with this little tiger today, there’s no way I’m walking away unscathed. The host prayed that the other boy on the battlefield would calm down. Who’s ever heard of a mecha battling a beast form? Even if you win, what does it prove? It doesn’t make you look any stronger!
Unfortunately, Liang Qiu neither understood nor cared what the host was thinking. The words he said earlier were just to give the Federation citizens an excuse—this wasn’t a duel he insisted on; it was all the fault of some arrogant, foolish tiger playing with fire without knowing his limits.
Liang Qiu glanced at Qi Junye and activated his combat mecha from the mecha button on his belt.
A towering, two-meter-tall black mecha suddenly appeared on the vast battle platform. Under the bright lights of the mecha battle mode, the machine looked cold and dangerous. Inside the cockpit, Liang Qiu gazed at the small tiger before him, the corners of his mouth curling into a cruel smile.
Today, I’ll make sure you never forget this for the rest of your life!
“Junye, this is your last chance to back out. Once the ten-second countdown ends, I’ll begin my attack.”
Qi Junye said nothing, standing quietly in his original spot. Seeing this, Liang Qiu, thinking about the humiliation he was about to inflict on Qi Junye today, deliberately added:
“You don’t have to worry. I won’t use any weapons the first time—just giving you a demonstration of how powerful a mecha really is.”
He intended to play with him slowly today—tormenting him bit by bit would make it all the more entertaining.
Qi Junye still didn’t respond, and the audience watching from the stands began to regret having treated the situation like entertainment earlier.
Although they were indeed a bit curious and gossipy, the thought of watching this soft little fluffball get hurt and suffer made them feel somewhat uneasy.
Thinking of the cubs in their own homes, many in the crowd wanted to urge Qi Junye to retreat quickly. And they did exactly that—many stood up, waving their hands and shouting for Qi Junye to quit the match.
Unfortunately, the little tiger standing on the battlefield remained unmoved.
In the livestream room, the hearts of over a hundred million viewers were clenched in worry. After all, the image of a baby tiger facing a cold, dangerous black mecha was just too stark. Everyone couldn’t help but flood the comments with pleas for Qi Junye to quit while he still could.
By the time the countdown reached 5 seconds, netizens were growing desperate, cursing anxiously, even wishing they could tear through the screen, grab this stubborn little tiger, and give him a good beating.
But no matter how long they waited, even as the blinding number “1” flashed briefly on the countdown screen, the little tiger on the battlefield still showed no signs of backing down.
Then suddenly, the black mecha on the screen stepped forward.
Everyone watching winced at the thought of the soft, fluffy ball getting seriously injured. The more tender-hearted viewers had already turned their eyes away in fear.
But the next second, they all heard a deafening crash.
Whether at the actual site of the duel or in the livestream room where it was being broadcast, an unprecedented silence fell over everyone.
The people at the scene, facing the bizarre battle head-on, hadn’t even processed what had just happened. Meanwhile, those in the livestream—especially those with strong mental fortitude—were already flooding the screen.
[??????????]
……
Those who couldn’t understand what just happened were now too stunned to even type “WTF.” With trembling hands, they repeatedly hammered out question marks, their minds just as blank and confused.
This state of confusion lasted for about three minutes before viewers started cautiously commenting.
[Uh… did Liang Qiu just trip over himself?]
[Seems like it!]
[What do you mean “seems”? He definitely did! Otherwise, why would he suddenly fall like that?]
……
They looked at the little tiger still standing in the same spot, then at the black mecha that hadn’t gotten up from the ground, and everyone agreed—their guess had to be right.
Thinking they’d uncovered the “truth,” the audience couldn’t help but start commenting with joy:
[Is Liang Qiu just playing around with the tiger cub? I knew it—no normal person would actually agree to fight a beast-form cub.]
[Liang Qiu’s such a nice guy. I’m a fan now! He’s even willing to make a fool of himself to comfort a classmate!]
[Damn, so this was just a fun, light-hearted match? I seriously thought something brutal was going to happen. Host, with that title, I swear I’m mailing you a knife when I get home!]
[+1 to the one above—this whole thing had my heart in knots. Turns out it was just for laughs? Let’s organize a group to beat up the host!]
……
Laughter began to fill the livestream screen. Everyone believed their assumptions were correct. Even the audience at the venue thought Liang Qiu was just trying to make the little tiger happy.
Only Liang Qiu’s three lackeys, and Liang Qiu himself—still inside the mecha cockpit—remained completely baffled.
What the hell just happened?!
Qi Junye waited silently for several minutes. Seeing that his opponent still hadn’t gotten up, he felt speechless.
Seriously? That was it?
He silently walked over to the mecha’s cockpit, raised a tiger paw, and tapped the glowing screen.
With a helpless tone, he said, “Get up. This has only just started.”
Qi Junye sighed internally. Could this guy be giving up after just one hit? If I had known, I would’ve slowed down a bit. I don’t even know if the audience saw it clearly!
Qi Junye glanced once more at the calm crowd in the stands, feeling a bit troubled. Why weren’t they cheering for him? His strength should’ve been pretty shocking!
While Qi Junye was fretting over how the outcome didn’t meet his expectations, the only consolation was that after his “reminder,” Liang Qiu had finally stood up.
Qi Junye returned to his original position and signaled the host to restart the countdown.
This time, the host was far more relaxed than before. Although he still wasn’t quite sure what had just happened earlier, it wasn’t hard to guess—it had to be a playful scuffle between two good friends.
The host let out a long sigh of relief. Looking over at Liang Qiu, he asked:
“Red side contestant, are you ready?”
Liang Qiu actually wasn’t ready at all. He hadn’t even processed what had just happened. During the previous exchange, all he could sense was a blur of motion before a powerful force slammed into him—and then, he was on the ground.
But Liang Qiu didn’t want to appear weak in front of Qi Junye, so after a brief daze, he raised his right hand.
Seeing that both contestants were ready, the host confidently pressed the countdown and sat back into his chair.
Feeling quite at ease, he poured himself a cup of tea and sighed emotionally about the emotional rollercoaster he’d just experienced.
As the tea leaves floated gently, the host smiled and lifted the teacup to his lips.
But the very next second, he choked on his tea from shock at the unbelievable scene before him.
Just now, Qi Junye had learned from the first round and deliberately slowed down quite a bit. He even controlled his strength when swinging his paw, wanting the audience to clearly witness his power.
So, from the spectators’ perspective, the black mecha lunged forward quickly—and then the fluffy little ball suddenly leapt into the air and collided with it.
Before they could even react with sympathy for the fluffball, the black mecha was flung back like a parabola and crashed hard onto the ground.
As the thudding sound of something heavy hitting the floor rang out again, that eerie silence returned.
This time, it lasted a full five minutes.
As before, it was the viewers in the livestream who reacted first. Someone nervously typed:
[Uh… I think I just hallucinated?!]
[I think I did too!]
[Nope, I just had a visual illusion!]
[You idiot—aren’t those the same thing?!]
[WTF, how are you staying so calm?!]
[Sorry, I just went to the bathroom. Why wouldn’t I be calm? Was it because of the way Liang Qiu landed? His posture was kind of pro—I actually thought someone kicked him across the field, hahaha.]
[You moron above, get lost. Someone please explain—did Liang Qiu really get thrown like that again? I didn’t catch it clearly!]
[Same question!]
[+1]
……
Everyone watching was dumbfounded, until someone in the livestream typed:
[I don’t know if he got thrown or if he launched himself, but I just really want to know—what happened to that dent in the black mecha? Can someone explain that?!]
That comment, highlighted in large red bold text, flashed across everyone’s screens—only to be instantly buried under a flood of exclamation marks.
The flood continued for a whole minute before new comments managed to push through.
[WTF, I must be losing it. I was watching a holographic livestream, but I seriously felt like we’ve gone back thousands of years to ancient Blue Star times!]
[+1 to the above. I feel so dumb right now. I just want to ask: that dent in the mecha—was it what I think it was?]
[I’ve rewound the footage so many times. Yes. It was exactly what you think it was.]
After a brief moment of doubt and disbelief, both the netizens and live spectators lost it.
Can someone please tell them—was this really a live broadcast, or are they secretly watching the latest high-tech sci-fi series?
This isn’t scientific at all!!!