SCOM - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The visiting students, especially those from Northern Military Academy, eagerly anticipated the following Monday, wanting to attend class with Zuo Luohuan and find an opportunity to fight her. Meanwhile, students from the other two academies, for different reasons, attended other courses.
"Are you Northern Military Academy's brats?" Kang Guang stared at Luo Shaoyuan and the others for a while, finally saying, "Heard you want to spar with Zuo Luohuan? Sure, we don't need class today, let's watch you spar."
The instructor's casual exaggeration left Zuo Luohuan, who had planned to slack off, speechless. Northern Military Academy wasn't just Luo Shaoyuan wanting to fight her; the others behind her were excitedly staring at her too.
"Really? Let's start now, don't waste time." Luo Shaoyuan immediately felt favorable towards this scarred instructor. She turned to her teammates. "I'll go first, you guys wait."
Zuo Luohuan, completely ignored and unasked for her opinion from start to finish: "..."
Luo Shaoyuan had already started warming up, looking eager to fight Zuo Luohuan.
Exchanges were mutual. They wanted to test her; the First Military Academy also wanted to gauge the strength of students from other academies.
Zuo Luohuan glanced down at the floor, a thought flashing through her mind: Ji Yuezhi would definitely want to know the capabilities of these Northern Military Academy students.
"How do we fight?" Zuo Luohuan asked, walking out from among her classmates.
Luo Shaoyuan finished warming up and waved her hand. "Anything goes, I don't care."
"Ten minutes." Zuo Luohuan's gaze swept past Luo Shaoyuan to the other Northern Military Academy students behind her. "There are six more waiting. Dragging it out will cut into class time."
"Ten minutes to finish?" Luo Shaoyuan cracked her knuckles. "Do you really think you'll have the strength left for the others after fighting me? Why not let them fight Jiang Hong?"
Zuo Luohuan raised her hand and unbuttoned her collar, saying nonchalantly, "Jiang Hong? He can just watch from the side. I'll finish you all in half an hour."
Everyone present had one thought: Arrogant!
The two central figures' eyes met, instantly igniting the flames of battle. Before anyone could react, they moved.
Luo Shaoyuan was also an S-rank Alpha. Both her physical fitness and speed were far superior to her peers. However, facing Zuo Luohuan, she gained no advantage, though she had expected this.
Students from Northern Military Academy nearby had already started recording; naturally, they weren't just here to fight Zuo Luohuan but also to record and analyze her later.
Luo Shaoyuan employed an aggressive fighting style, each move carrying a bloodthirsty killing intent. The Northern District wasn't just harsh; its border wasn't peaceful either. Ten years ago, news often reported civilians killed by Gashro Empire infiltrators on the streets. Living in such a place, witnessing such things, naturally made her different from other military students.
However...
Kang Guang stood aside, observing their fighting styles.
Zuo Luohuan was strange. She was Zuo Dihong's daughter. People say daughters resemble their fathers. Zuo Dihong was iron-blooded and powerful, renowned for his ferocity in battle when young. Logically, Zuo Luohuan, inheriting her father's talent, should have a similar style, but she was 'elusive'.
Facing Luo Shaoyuan's fierce attacks now, Kang Guang expected Zuo Luohuan to respond with equally fierce, murderous moves. But she didn't. Her moves could even be described as peaceful, yet each was deadly, leaving no room for error. In just a short time, Luo Shaoyuan was forced into a sweat.
If Zuo Luohuan's original style was like her father's, and she could now achieve this level, one could imagine how seasoned she must be to retract all her imposing presence.
Kang Guang found it hard to believe, preferring to think Zuo Luohuan's style was simply different from her father's.
At this moment, Luo Shaoyuan's rhythm was disrupted by Zuo Luohuan. Failing to block an attack, she was grabbed by the shoulder and thrown to the ground.
Zuo Luohuan stepped on Luo Shaoyuan's chest, preventing her from getting up, raised her hand to check her optical computer. "Ten minutes, you lose."
Luo Shaoyuan: "..." She abruptly raised her hand to cover her face, feeling utterly disgraced.
"Continue," Zuo Luohuan said to the other six.
"I won't fight, I admit defeat." The military student who had been recording waved his hand, retreating several steps. "I'm just a technician."
Before the class ended, Zuo Luohuan had finished fighting the Northern Military Academy students.
Before leaving, Luo Shaoyuan, leading her teammates, threw down one last defiant remark: "Don't think just because you won this time, you'll win next time. I only conceded because time was up."
"Next time, we can change the rules, I don't mind," Zuo Luohuan smiled casually. "If I can beat you once, I can beat you a second time, countless times."
Luo Shaoyuan: "..." Damn her! Winning is everything!
After class, Zuo Luohuan asked Jiang Hong, "Did you record it?"
Jiang Hong showed his optical computer. "Of course."
Zuo Luohuan nodded. "Send the video to Ji Yuezhi, let him get a sense of them."
"Okay."
The others left. Zuo Luohuan didn't manage to leave; Kang Guang called her back.
"When you fought me before, why weren't you this strong?" Kang Guang folded his arms, looking expressionlessly at Zuo Luohuan. When he wasn't smiling, the scar on his mouth reformed into a single line.
"Wasn't feeling well back then," Zuo Luohuan replied, half-serious, half-perfunctory.
Hearing this, Kang Guang's expression changed several times. Finally, he said, "Whatever you plan to do, don't mess up the military academy drill, or I won't let you off."
"I'll try my best." Zuo Luohuan still didn't give a definite answer; who knew what might happen later.
...
While the First Military Academy analyzed the strength of the Northern Military Academy students, the visiting students were also analyzing Zuo Luohuan's strength.
Luo Shaoyuan took the video and exchanged information with the captains from the other two academies. That night, they sat together analyzing Zuo Luohuan's performance during the day.
"She makes no unnecessary moves, precise like an instrument." Cha Lili stared intently at Zuo Luohuan in the video, then looked at Luo Shaoyuan. "That move you used to attack her just now, she knew it from the beginning."
Luo Shaoyuan's face darkened. "She's very strong, different from anyone I've met at school before." Zuo Luohuan felt more like someone truly from a core military group – terrifying, powerful.
An Yingjing from United Military Academy suddenly paled. "I heard that when their seven trained, Zuo Luohuan lost to Ji Yuezhi. Does this mean Ji Yuezhi is even... stronger than her?" His voice lowered towards the end, unwilling to believe this deduction.
If Ji Yuezhi was even stronger than Zuo Luohuan, the First Military Academy was almost guaranteed victory this time.
"Didn't he differentiate into an Omega?" Luo Shaoyuan recalled. "Impossible, stronger than Zuo Luohuan? Then the First Military Academy will ascend to heaven!"
Cha Lili couldn't stand the Northern Military Academy captain's crude description. He turned off the video. "One is Ji Xixiu's son, the other Zuo Dihong's daughter. It's natural for them to be strong. We should think about what to do during the drill."
...
The visiting students stayed at the First Military Academy for a full nine days. On the tenth day, they departed with the First Military Academy students for the military academy drill location.
Students from the four military academies boarded aircraft in batches, escorted to the competition site. Upon arrival, everyone lined up, captains standing at the forefront.
This time, they wore different field combat uniforms. Everyone also wore a helmet equipped with a communication channel. Completely different from usual training, upon arrival, everyone could sense the competition atmosphere.
First was the opening ceremony for the military academy drill. The captains from the four teams needed to receive their academy flags from their instructors and plant them at the front of their teams. Then, the organizer of this session would announce the competition rules and precautions. Finally, the competition would officially begin.
"Everyone has a backpack. Weapons are SL-4 light guns. Entry order is based on the drawn lots. This military academy drill lasts one month, consisting of three rounds, with rest periods in between." The voice from the broadcast continued, "In recent years, the Gashro Empire has developed a technology. If successfully applied, it will deal a devastating blow to the Federation. Therefore, you need to reach their secret base within ten days, seize this technology. The team that completes the mission first wins the first round."
Ji Yuezhi looked down at the number 2 drawn in his hand; they would enter second.
"This is the virtual background for this military academy drill." Jiang Hong turned his head to Yan Yan and Ding Wuming. "Every drill has three rounds, but the stages are unpredictable, changing every time."
Staff had already come over, distributing armbands printed with '2' to the First Military Academy team.
The first team to enter was Northern Military Academy. The third was United Military Academy, and the last was Yundong Military Academy.
After the broadcast announced the start, Northern Military Academy, having drawn number one, entered first. The others had to wait half an hour each.
"Check supplies and equipment." During the wait, Ji Yuezhi turned back to his team.
Actually, they didn't have much. One backpack containing a medical kit, a bottle of water, a compressed biscuit, and finally, an SL-4 light gun and an energy block.
"This time, all teams have the same supplies," Qian Mao scanned the other two academies checking their equipment nearby.
"That's fair." Guan Xue lovingly stroked the gun in her hand, pressing her face against the gun body, nearly kissing it.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her head to check the contents of her backpack: water, compressed biscuit, energy block, and medical kit, plus... She stopped rummaging, zipped up the backpack, and put it on.
"Finished checking? Any problems?" Ji Yuezhi asked. "If so, we can apply to the organizers."
"No problems," Yan Yan shook his head.
"Senior, I have no problems either, everything matches," Ding Wuming quickly followed.
Guan Xue, face buried in her gun, also shook her head along with the others.
With no one reporting issues, Ji Yuezhi turned back. This time, they didn't need paper maps; the optical computer had a map model, clearly showing the endpoint, and even provided light guns.
However, the better the equipment, the greater the mission difficulty inside.
"Second team, prepare to enter," the broadcast sounded again.
Ji Yuezhi held the SL-4 light gun, leading the way. "Everyone stay vigilant."
The map showed the Gashro Empire's secret base was beneath a mountain belly. They needed to cross continuous mountain ranges, finally reach that large mountain, and enter the base from the outside.
"Light guns have always been used by military groups against the Gashro Empire's robot dogs." After entering, Ji Yuezhi turned his head slightly, speaking softly into the helmet's left microphone. "Since they gave us light guns, either there are robot dogs in the outer mountain ranges, or we'll need them inside the base."
Actually, they quickly found out which possibility it was.
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