Chapter 119: Rebirth of the Tool Man in a Pampered Protagonist Novel

The second round of the competition ended in a way that was both perfect and imperfect. After a three-day break, the third round officially began.

Like the previous round, the third round was also a half-month-long technology competition with similar rules. The only difference was the theme—this time, the theme was transportation. In other words, the items competing in this round just needed to be related to transportation.

Since the competition themes were given in advance, all the teams had ample preparation time. Even though only eight teams remained, the competition was still fierce, and the pressure was immense for everyone.

Well, everyone except Fang Ziyang and his team.

At 10 a.m., after a simple entry ceremony, the teams re-entered their new exhibition areas, which had changed according to their rankings. The Huaguo team, still in first place, retained their original exhibition area.

The hostess in charge of leading them followed the procedure, guiding everyone to their area. However, Fang Ziyang and his team didn’t enter the designated space as planned. Instead, they politely declined and explained,

“Thank you, but the product we’re showcasing today requires a larger open space. It’s not very suitable for the indoor exhibition area, so we’ll be using this open field next to it. Our team’s professor has already applied for approval.”

The competition venue was originally a large soccer stadium that had been converted for the event. While it had a retractable transparent roof to protect against bad weather, the outdoor space could still be used without worrying about the elements.

The hostess, not needing to know the specifics, simply nodded with a polite smile, “Alright.”

As for setting up the area, that would be handled by other staff members, so it wasn’t her concern.

Once the hostess left, Fang Ziyang and his team didn’t waste any time. They immediately called their support team to have the product for the day delivered.

The judges, noticing this, looked puzzled, unsure of what was happening. However, one of the staff soon brought a temporary application for a change of venue to the judges’ table.

This wasn’t a particularly big deal. As long as the team wasn’t concerned about the hassle or potential loss of audience traffic, the competition organizers generally didn’t mind requests to change the venue, as long as the requirements weren’t too demanding.

Most of the judges didn’t react much to this news.

However, the expressions of the three judges seated at the front visibly changed.

The Huaguo judge, seated in the center, noticed their reactions and smiled, “Mr. Boer, Ms. Miss, Mr. Karim, you don’t look well. Should I call for medical assistance?”

“Hmph!”

The three judges didn’t respond, merely snorting coldly, unwilling to speak.

Throughout this competition, they had repeatedly suffered setbacks at the hands of the Huaguo team, leaving them with a deep-seated frustration. Their once-solid confidence was now shaken, and they felt their positions were seriously threatened. Just the sight of the Huaguo team was enough to set their tempers off!

In the lounge, Moore’s expression darkened when he saw that Fang Ziyang and his team didn’t enter the exhibition area but instead set up their equipment on the adjacent open field.

In that moment, many thoughts raced through his mind.

He ultimately arrived at one conclusion: someone had betrayed him again!

If someone hadn’t betrayed him, why would Fang Ziyang and his team suddenly decide to change their exhibition venue at the last minute?

There was no way this was a mere coincidence. He had just given orders yesterday, and today the Huaguo team responded as if they had anticipated it. If this was truly a coincidence, it was far too convenient!

Moore was seething with rage.

Shi Liangchen’s betrayal could be somewhat excused as a lapse in judgment. After all, Shi Liangchen was a mid-game recruit, and Moore had been drawn in by the man’s impressive skills and the allure they presented.

But the others under his command were different. Each had been carefully cultivated by the family for at least ten years, yet now, even among them, someone dared to betray him. It was an immense disgrace!

“Damn it!”

Moore was furious beyond words.

However, with Fang Ziyang and his team not falling into his trap, there was nothing he could do for the moment. He had no choice but to suppress his anger and give the order, “Clean up the loose ends from yesterday’s operation thoroughly. Check everything again and make sure nothing can be traced back to us.”

The plan had already been set in motion and couldn’t be changed now, so the only option was to cover their tracks.

This year had truly been one of bad luck—nothing had gone smoothly since the competition began!

With a cold gaze fixed on the live broadcast, Moore’s heart was filled with frustration.

Meanwhile, at the competition site, the remaining eight teams began the new round.

Due to the constraints of the transportation theme, the range of items presented in this round was relatively limited. Moreover, the current era had already seen significant technological advancements, with many excellent transportation-related innovations already in existence.

There were items like hoverboards, amphibious vehicles, multifunctional bicycles, and other small-scale transportation tools.

As for larger-scale items, many were not practical to showcase. In terms of large transportation vehicles, most of the focus was on civilian cars, but even these had limitations, with most of the innovations centered on engines, body functions, and similar aspects.

However, given the current state of technology, these areas didn’t allow for much dramatic progress, so most of the products presented by the teams didn’t stand out.

Aside from the M team and the Huaguo team, the other teams’ presentations were rather lackluster. The Huaguo team was moving a bit slower due to the temporary setup of their venue, so they hadn’t showcased their product yet. Meanwhile, the M team was fully prepared and immediately grabbed everyone’s attention, both at the competition site and in the livestreams worldwide.

“A hover car?! It’s really a hover car!”

As soon as the M team unveiled their product, people on-site and in the livestreams reacted with astonished exclamations.

Hover car technology had been under research in various institutes for a while, with progress being made, albeit slowly. However, achieving the level of technology seen in science fiction was still a long way off.

The M team’s product, though not as advanced as one might imagine, could hover up to 10 meters off the ground. While issues with safety, maneuverability, and stability still needed to be addressed, and the product was not yet ready for mass production, it was still far superior to other products in the competition, which were more conventional.

“They actually managed to create a hover car. No wonder they’ve been so arrogant…”

The other teams were disgruntled, but the gap in technology was too obvious to ignore, leaving them no choice but to concede.

The audience was equally excited and curious,

“Can we try out this hover car right now?”

“Yes, but due to some technical aspects that still need improvement, the car can only be operated by a central control system. It’s not possible for someone to drive it independently at this time.”

A member of the M team stepped forward to explain, clearly thrilled.

Although their hover car was far from the idealized version and only solved the hovering aspect while still having unresolved issues with safety, stability, and maneuverability, they were confident that it was enough to outperform 90% of the other teams in the competition!

Of course, if it weren’t for the need to be modest and avoid any unexpected setbacks, they wouldn’t mind boasting that their product could crush all the competition.

Despite the explanation, the audience was a bit disappointed that they couldn’t drive the car themselves, but they quickly realized that achieving hovering technology was already impressive, so they shouldn’t expect too much.

Soon, interested spectators lined up to experience the legendary hover car. However, since there were only a few prototypes, each person’s experience time was limited to just five minutes.

Not long after the first batch of spectators completed their experience, they came down with excited expressions and eagerly shared their feedback with others.

“It was amazing! It really hovered, just like being on a plane. The only downside is that you can’t drive it yourself, and it’s not very maneuverable… but even so, it’s still incredible. Finally, someone has cracked hover technology—this is fantastic!”

Many young people gave similar enthusiastic reviews.

Meanwhile, those of the same nationality as the M team members were bursting with pride.

Luer was one of them.

At that moment, he was proudly showing off to his boyfriend, Xiao Qi, unable to hide his smugness,

“See, dear? I told you our country’s technology is top-notch. Although there was a little hiccup in the last round, the tech itself is still cutting-edge. This round, look at that—hover cars, developed first by our country. The experience was absolutely fantastic, wasn’t it?”

Xiao Qi, however, wasn’t convinced. “Hmph, you haven’t even seen what our country’s team has to offer, and you’re already boasting. Be careful, or you’ll end up eating your words! Our country’s development has been incredibly rapid in recent years…”

Despite their disagreement, Luer and Xiao Qi were a loving couple. But since Luer was from M country and Xiao Qi from Huaguo, their nations often had opposing international stances. Both were patriotic, which led to frequent debates like this one, with neither willing to back down.

Of course, these disputes never affected their relationship; otherwise, they wouldn’t be together.

Their frequent arguments stemmed not only from their love for their respective countries but also from a shared goal: each wanted to convince the other to settle in their own country.

Feeling triumphant, Luer didn’t take offense at his boyfriend’s defiance today.

Crossing his arms confidently, he said,

“Alright, alright, dear. To use a phrase from your country, you really won’t believe it until you see it with your own eyes. This time, I’ll make sure you’re convinced. We agreed that if your country’s ranking isn’t higher than ours in this round, you’ll move to M country with me and we’ll get married there. No backing out now…”

“Agreed. But if it’s the other way around, you’re coming back home with me.”

Xiao Qi didn’t back down in the slightest.

While he appeared defiant on the outside, inside he was quietly pleased: Luer, you fool. You haven’t been to Huaguo in a year and have no idea how rapidly it’s changing—there’s no way you’re winning this bet!

Both of them secretly felt confident in their own victory.

They were just about to line up again to experience the hover car one more time before heading over to the Huaguo team’s exhibition area when suddenly, a commotion erupted from the Huaguo team’s side.

Luer glanced over at the noise, and his expression instantly froze as he blurted out, “Damn!”

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