SCOM - Chapter 35
Chapter 35
The students from the other schools, especially those from the Northern Military Academy, had been waiting with bated breath. Monday finally arrived, and they were set to attend class with Zuo Luohuan, looking for an opportunity to fight her. As for the other two military academies, they had other considerations and attended different courses.
“You're the brats from the Northern Military Academy?” Kang Guang stared at Luo Shaoyuan and the others for a long moment before finally speaking. “I hear you want to spar with Zuo Luohuan? Fine. We can skip class today and watch you all spar instead.”
The instructor's casual exaggeration left Zuo Luohuan, who had been planning to slack off, speechless. It wasn't just Luo Shaoyuan from the Northern Military Academy who wanted to fight her; the few people behind her were also staring at her with excitement.
“Really? Then let's start now. Don't waste any time.” Luo Shaoyuan's impression of the scarred instructor instantly improved. She turned to her teammates and said, “I'll go first. You guys wait.”
Zuo Luohuan, who had been ignored from start to finish and whose opinion no one had asked for: “…”
Luo Shaoyuan had even started warming up, looking at Zuo Luohuan, eager to give it a try.
The exchange was mutual. They wanted to gauge her abilities, and the First Military Academy also wanted to assess the strength of the students from the other academies.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her eyes to the floor as a thought crossed her mind: Ji Yuezhi would probably want to know the strength of these people from the Northern Military Academy.
“How do we do this?” Zuo Luohuan asked, stepping out from among her classmates.
Luo Shaoyuan had finished warming up. She waved her hand and said, “Anything goes. I don't mind.”
“Ten minutes.” Zuo Luohuan's gaze went past Luo Shaoyuan to the other Northern Military Academy students behind her. “There are still six people waiting. If we drag this out, class will be over.”
“Over in ten minutes?” Luo Shaoyuan cracked her knuckles. “You really think you'll have the energy to deal with the others after fighting me? Why don't you let them fight Jiang Hong?”
Zuo Luohuan reached up and undid the button at her collar, saying nonchalantly, “Jiang Hong? He can just watch from the side. I'll take care of you all in half an hour.”
A single thought arose in everyone present: Arrogant!
The moment the two in the center locked eyes, the flames of battle ignited. They moved before anyone could react.
Luo Shaoyuan was also an S-class Alpha. Both her physical fitness and speed were far superior to her peers, yet she gained no advantage against Zuo Luohuan. This, however, was something she had anticipated.
The students from the Northern Military Academy on the side had already started recording. Of course, they hadn't just come to fight Zuo Luohuan; they also needed to record it for later analysis.
Luo Shaoyuan had an aggressive fighting style, each move carrying a bloodthirsty killing intent. The Northern District not only had a harsh environment, but its border was also unstable. Ten years ago, the news often reported civilians being killed on the streets by intruders from the Gashiro Empire. Living in such a place, she was naturally different from other military academy students, having been influenced by what she saw and heard.
But…
Kang Guang stood on the sidelines, observing their fighting styles.
Zuo Luohuan was strange. She was Zuo Dihong's daughter, and it was said that daughters take after their fathers. Zuo Dihong ruled with an iron fist, was covered in military honors, and was famous for his ruthlessness in combat during his youth. Logically, Zuo Luohuan should have inherited her father's talent and acted similarly, but she was very ‘elusive’.
Faced with Luo Shaoyuan's ferocious attacks, Kang Guang had expected Zuo Luohuan to retaliate with equally fierce and murderous moves. But she didn't. Her moves were almost peaceful when executed, yet every single one was lethal and merciless. In just a short time, Luo Shaoyuan was already forced into a sweat.
If Zuo Luohuan's original style had been the same as her father's, to have reached her current state, one could only imagine how seasoned she must be to have retracted all her imposing aura.
Kang Guang found it hard to believe. He was more inclined to think that this was simply Zuo Luohuan's style, different from her father's.
By now, Zuo Luohuan had forced Luo Shaoyuan's rhythm into disarray. A moment of inattention led to a failed block, and Zuo Luohuan grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her to the ground.
Zuo Luohuan pressed the tip of her foot onto Luo Shaoyuan's chest, preventing her from getting up. She raised her hand to look at her optical computer: “Ten minutes. You lose.”
Luo Shaoyuan: “…” She abruptly raised a hand to cover her face, feeling utterly humiliated.
“Next,” Zuo Luohuan said to the other six.
“I'll pass. I surrender.” The student who had been recording waved his hands and took several steps back. “I'm just a technician.”
Before the last class period had even ended, Zuo Luohuan had finished fighting the students from the Northern Military Academy.
Before leaving with her teammates, Luo Shaoyuan delivered a parting threat: “Don't think that just because you won this time, you'll always win. I only conceded because time was up.”
“We can try a different way next time, I don't mind,” Zuo Luohuan said with a casual smile. “If I can beat you once, I can beat you a second time, and countless times after that.”
Luo Shaoyuan: “…” She's ruthless! So what if she won!
After class, Zuo Luohuan asked Jiang Hong, “Did you record it?”
Jiang Hong revealed his optical computer. “Of course I did.”
Zuo Luohuan nodded. “Send the video to Ji Yuezhi so he has a baseline.”
“Alright.”
The others left, but Zuo Luohuan couldn't. She was stopped by Kang Guang.
“When you and I fought before, I didn't see you being this formidable.” Kang Guang crossed his arms, looking at Zuo Luohuan expressionlessly. When he wasn't smiling, the scar on his mouth became a single line.
“I wasn't in good shape back then,” Zuo Luohuan said, half-serious and half-perfunctory.
Hearing this, Kang Guang's expression changed several times. Finally, he said, “I don't care what you're planning, but don't screw up in the military academy exercise. Otherwise, I won't let you off.”
“I'll do my best.” Zuo Luohuan still didn't give a definite promise. Who knew what would happen later.
While the First Military Academy was analyzing the strength of the Northern Military Academy students, the visiting students were also analyzing Zuo Luohuan's strength.
Luo Shaoyuan exchanged information with the captains of the other two military academies, using the video. That evening, they sat down together to analyze Zuo Luohuan's performance from the day.
“She has no wasted movements. She's as precise as an instrument.” Cha Lili stared at Zuo Luohuan in the video without blinking. After a moment, he looked at Luo Shaoyuan. “That move you used to attack her just now, she knew it was coming from the very beginning.”
Luo Shaoyuan said with a dark face, “She's very strong, different from anyone I've encountered at school before.” The feeling Zuo Luohuan gave her was more like someone from a true core army group—terrifying and powerful.
An Yingjing from the United Military Academy's expression suddenly changed. “I heard that during their seven-person training, Zuo Luohuan lost to Ji Yuezhi. Does this mean Ji Yuezhi is even... stronger than her?” His voice trailed off toward the end, unwilling to believe this deduction.
If Ji Yuezhi was even stronger than Zuo Luohuan, then the First Military Academy's victory this time was practically guaranteed.
“Hasn't he already differentiated into an Omega?” Luo Shaoyuan recalled. “That can't be right. Even better at fighting than Zuo Luohuan? The First Military Academy would be ascending to the heavens!”
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 is Zuo Dihong's daughter. It's only natural that they're strong. We should focus on what to do during the exercise.”
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 location of the military academy exercise.
The students from the four military academies boarded aircraft in batches and were escorted to the competition site. After arriving at their destination, everyone disembarked in lines, with their captains at the front.
This time, they wore a different type of field combat uniform, and each person was equipped with a helmet that had a communication channel. It was completely different from their usual training; as soon as they arrived at the competition site, everyone could feel the atmosphere of the event.
First was the opening ceremony for the military academy exercise. The four team captains had to receive their academy's flag from their instructors and plant it at the front of their team. Then, the current host would announce the competition rules and important notices. Finally, the competition would officially begin.
“Everyone has a backpack. The weapon is an SL-4 light gun. Entry order will be determined by drawing lots. This military academy exercise will last for one month and consist of three stages, with rest periods in between.” The voice from the broadcast continued, “In recent years, the Gashiro Empire has developed a technology that, if successfully applied, would deal a devastating blow to the Federation. Therefore, you have ten days to go to their secret base and seize this technology. The first team to complete the mission will be the champion of the first stage.”
Ji Yuezhi looked down at the lot he had drawn: number 2. They would be entering second.
“This is the virtual background for our military academy exercise this time,” Jiang Hong said, turning his head to Yan Yan and Ding Wuming. “Every exercise has three stages, but no one can say for sure what the challenges will be. They change every year.”
A staff member had already come over to distribute armbands printed with a ‘2’ to the students of the First Military Academy.
The first to enter was the Northern Military Academy. The United Military Academy drew third, and the Yundong Military Academy would enter last.
After the broadcast announced the start, the Northern Military Academy, which had drawn the first slot, led the way in. The other teams had to wait for half an hour between entries.
“Check your supplies and equipment,” Ji Yuezhi said to his team, looking back during the waiting period.
In truth, they didn't have much. Each backpack contained a medical kit, a bottle of water, and a piece of dry rations. The rest was an SL-4 light gun and an energy block.
“All teams have the same supplies for this exercise,” Qian Mao said, turning his head to look at the two academies behind them who were also checking their equipment.
“That's quite fair.” Guan Xue caressed the gun in her hands with an infatuated expression, even pressing her cheek against its body, stopping just short of kissing it.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her head to check the contents of her backpack: water, dry rations, an energy block, and a medical kit. And… She stopped rummaging, put the backpack down, zipped it up, and put it on.
“Is everyone done checking? Any problems?” Ji Yuezhi asked. “If there are, we can file a request with the organizers.”
“None,” Yan Yan shook his head.
“Senior, I don't have any problems either. Everything checks out,” Ding Wuming quickly added.
Guan Xue, still rubbing her face against her gun, also shook her head along with the others.
Since no one reported any issues, Ji Yuezhi turned back around. This time, they wouldn't be using paper maps; their comms had a map model that clearly showed the destination. They were even equipped with light guns.
However, the better the equipment, the greater the difficulty of the mission inside.
“Team two, prepare to enter,” the broadcast sounded again.
Ji Yuezhi gripped the SL-4 light gun and walked at the very front. “Everyone, stay alert.”
The map showed that the Gashiro Empire's secret base was located beneath the belly of a mountain. They needed to cross a continuous mountain range, finally reach that large mountain, and enter the base from the outside.
“Light guns are typically used by the army groups to deal with the Gashiro Empire's robot dogs.” After entering, Ji Yuezhi turned his head slightly and spoke in a low voice into the mouthpiece on the left side of his helmet. “Since they've issued us light guns, it means there are either robot dogs on the outskirts of the mountain range, or we'll need them to enter the base.”
In reality, they would soon find out which possibility it was.
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