SCOM - Chapter 83
Chapter 83
"Don't cause trouble in my class." Kang Guang warned the students, his gaze finally landing on Guan Yuan, who had been kicked to the ground. "Skeletal mechs are for fighting the Gashiro, not for you to fight among yourselves."
Guan Yuan pointed at Zuo Luohuan and said angrily, "Instructor, she kicked me first."
"Didn't you take off your skeletal mech after you finished running earlier? Why are you wearing it again now?" Kang Guang demanded. "Do you think I'm blind? If you don't want to attend class properly, go run more laps for me."
Guan Yuan: "..."
Having been kicked for nothing, Guan Yuan could only glare. He didn't dare to make another move and could only climb to his feet and stand aside.
Zuo Luohuan ignored him and turned her head to ask Ji Yuezhi beside her, "Do you have another class later?"
Ji Yuezhi nodded. "I have a weapons research class."
Not knowing what she had thought of, Zuo Luohuan laughed. "Instructor Bai Feng's class?"
The instructors for his three main courses were an Alpha, an Omega, and a Beta, respectively. Jiang Hong said he had obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Ji Yuezhi didn't know why Zuo Luohuan was laughing. He watched her quietly, his gaze focused.
"Don't look at me like that," Zuo Luohuan said softly to Ji Yuezhi, taking a step closer.
If it were just the two of them, Zuo Luohuan would probably have raised her hand to cover Ji Yuezhi's eyes, not letting him look. Of course, she might have done a few other things as well.
Unfortunately, they were in class right now.
Ji Yuezhi's eyes curved slightly, and he did as Zuo Luohuan said, no longer looking at her that way.
When everyone had finished their twenty laps, Kang Guang raised his hand to check the time. Facing the sweat-drenched military cadets, he said, "For now, you can carry the skeletal mechs with you. Train more when you have time. However, if any instructor discovers you using the skeletal mechs to show off or fight, the school will not only confiscate the mech but also issue a demerit. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Dismissed."
The first class was just running laps, but Kang Guang already had speed data from the two hundred cadets. That evening, the data was sent to Jia Hailan.
"This batch of cadets has good physical fitness. Their speed was slower than usual, but towards the end of the twenty laps, many of them actually got faster," Jia Hailan said, carefully comparing all the data. "They're adapting to the weight of the skeletal mechs very quickly. It shouldn't be long before they can start training combat techniques."
"We need to start fitting them with weapons now." Kang Guang sat in his chair, the smile gone from his face. The scar at the corner of his mouth looked terrifying and intimidating.
"I've already spoken with the instructors from the weapons department. There was a cadet in the previous mock battle, Qian Mao, who is very talented with weapons," Jia Hailan said. "The school has decided to have the weapons department students work with this batch of cadets to get accustomed to each other."
"The weapons department instructors are going to design weapons for the army groups?" Kang Guang quickly realized.
Jia Hailan nodded. "The various army groups have already taken out their stockpiles of robot dog materials accumulated over the years, requesting that they all be made into skeletal mechs. The next step is to design compatible weapons."
Currently, the two strongest army groups are the Winter Army and the Seventeenth Army. But the skeletal mechs bring new hope. Whichever army group rises first through this plan will see its status in the Military Committee further elevated in the future.
To get a step ahead, they naturally had to seize the initiative, obtaining the skeletal mechs and compatible weapons early for training.
"The affairs of the army groups are none of my business." Kang Guang leaned back heavily in his chair. "I'm only responsible for this batch of cadets."
Jia Hailan reassured him, "You're not a weapons department instructor. You don't need to get involved with the outside army groups."
On the surface, the Federation was calm, but underneath, waves were already beginning to stir. In the capital alone, the Seventeenth Army and the Twenty-sixth Army had already clashed in secret many times.
The Seventeenth Army had an exceptionally large amount of materials, all of which they had risked their lives fighting the Gashiro to obtain. However, the commander of the Twenty-sixth Army spoke at a Military Committee meeting, arguing that as fellow Federation members, the Seventeenth Army should share its materials with the weaker army groups so that everyone could become stronger and better defend the Federation.
"Then Ji Xixiu threw down a set of data on the spot, showing that the Twenty-sixth Army had been secretly acquiring all sorts of scrapped robot dogs from other small army groups over the years, and their silver-blue material reserves were much larger than what was publicly known. Ji Xixiu asked how much the Twenty-sixth Army would contribute, and said the Seventeenth Army would match it." Jiang Hong sat in Zuo Luohuan's dorm, speaking animatedly. "I heard Guan Mei's face turned green on the spot."
Zuo Luohuan wasn't surprised by Ji Xixiu's capabilities. She just didn't quite understand one thing. "Why is the Guan family getting more and more reckless?"
"They've gotten arrogant," Jiang Hong said. "Their behind-the-scenes business dealings have been doing well these past few years, their reputation has grown, and the Twenty-sixth Army has recruited a lot of people. They probably think they're strong now."
"Any other news?" Zuo Luohuan asked him.
"Regarding Ji Yuezhi's matter, there's no progress for now. We were almost discovered by the Ji family," Jiang Hong said. "Oh, and the Winter Army has already received the first batch of skeletal mechs. Ji Xixiu made the final decision."
The Zuo and Ji families had been at odds for years, so the Winter Army and the Seventeenth Army were naturally considered rivals. However, it was unknown how the Military Committee had negotiated it, but in the end, the army group that was the first to receive the skeletal mechs turned out to be the Winter Army. According to Jiang Hong's knowledge, Zuo Dihong was on the northern border and didn't even have time to attend a video conference with the Military Committee.
"Not the Scavenger Army?" Zuo Luohuan asked him.
Jiang Hong paused, not understanding. "What would the Scavenger Army do with skeletal mechs? They aren't an army group."
"If the army groups have skeletal mechs, the Scavenger Army needs them too." Zuo Luohuan's fingers rested on the edge of the desk as she nonchalantly raised her eyes. "Otherwise, how are they supposed to clean up the army groups?"
"...That's true." Jiang Hong glanced at Zuo Luohuan from the corner of his eye. He used to think that after graduating from the military academy, she would definitely join the Winter Army and take over Zuo Dihong's position. But now, it seemed she was more concerned with the Scavenger Army.
"Anything else to say?" Zuo Luohuan asked.
"No." Jiang Hong waved his hands repeatedly. After hesitating for a moment, he asked again, "After graduating from the academy, which army group will you join?"
Zuo Luohuan shot him a sidelong glance. "Naturally, I'll go to whichever army group offers the most benefits."
But Jiang Hong understood the hidden meaning behind her words. "You haven't decided whether you'll go to the Winter Army?"
"Graduation is still a long way off. This isn't within my consideration right now." Zuo Luohuan turned on her optical computer, wondering if he was asleep yet.
"You can fool others, but do you think I'd believe that?" Jiang Hong clicked his tongue. "Ji Yuezhi will definitely go to the Seventeenth Army."
Zuo Luohuan didn't reply, instead sending a message to Ji Yuezhi on her optical computer: 【Is anyone from your family picking you up tomorrow?】
The moment Jiang Hong saw Zuo Luohuan's expression, he knew who she was messaging. After all, only when dealing with Ji Yuezhi did even the aura around Zuo Luohuan become gentle.
Tsk, tsk, lovebirds!
Jiang Hong shook his head and said to Zuo Luohuan, "If there's nothing else, I'm heading back to sleep. Want to go out to eat together tomorrow? It's Saturday."
"No." Zuo Luohuan saw the reply and looked up to refuse Jiang Hong. "I'm taking him home tomorrow."
Jiang Hong: "...Doesn't the Ji family send someone to pick up Ji Yuezhi every week? Do they need you to do it?"
"Not tomorrow." Zuo Luohuan showed her optical computer screen so Jiang Hong could see the message from Ji Yuezhi.
【The driver has something to do, he won't be coming tomorrow.】
Jiang Hong: "..."
Zuo Luohuan lowered her head and sent a message to Ji Yuezhi: 【I'll take you home tomorrow.】
"Bye, see ya." Jiang Hong slammed the door on his way out.
These two were usually so calculating, no scheme or plot seemed to escape their notice. But now they were acting like a pair of fools.
The Ji family's driver has something to do?
That excuse is so lame. One dares to say it, and the other actually believes it!
As expected, there's no logic between couples!
Jiang Hong shook his head, exasperated by their behavior.
The main parties involved didn't care about outsiders' opinions. The next day, Zuo Luohuan went to wait for Ji Yuezhi near the Omega building.
Saturday was a time for most cadets to relax. Many were stunned to see Zuo Luohuan. The news they had heard at the start of the term a few days ago was still fresh in their minds, but no one had seen the two of them act any differently, and many had started to say the news of them being together was pure nonsense.
The Omegas and Betas who were originally about to leave campus all slowed to a crawl, wanting to see what Zuo Luohuan was doing there.
Before long, their waiting paid off!
Ji Yuezhi came down and walked straight toward Zuo Luohuan.
Gasps erupted from the surroundings. Was this the solid proof?!
Zuo Luohuan reached out and took Ji Yuezhi's hand. "When are you coming back to school?"
"I'll return Sunday afternoon." Ji Yuezhi stayed a small step behind Zuo Luohuan, allowing her to lead him by the hand.
"I'll pick you up?"
"Okay."
Their voices weren't loud, but the cadets who had their ears pricked up heard everything clearly!
If they weren't together after this, who would believe it?!
And so, under everyone's gaze, the two of them walked to the parking lot, once again shared a vehicle, and left the First Military Academy under the watchful eyes of the cadets.
Zuo Luohuan had only wanted to spend a little more time with Ji Yuezhi and planned to leave after dropping him off at the Ji residence. But she didn't expect that after she parked, the Ji family's butler was already waiting. After seeing his young master get out of the car, he walked over to the driver's side, knocked on the window, and invited her to stay for lunch.
Needless to say, this was Ji Xixiu's idea.
Zuo Luohuan handed the car over to the butler and followed Ji Yuezhi inside.
"You're here." In the living room, Ji Xixiu greeted Zuo Luohuan coolly.
The previous night, his son had suddenly said there was no need for the family to pick him up. Ji Xixiu knew right away that Zuo Luohuan was going to bring him home. He had scoffed inwardly, but when his wife found out, she suggested they invite her to stay for a meal.
Yan Jinqiu came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of fruit and smiled. "Young Zuo is here. Have a seat. I made soup today, I hope it's to your liking."
"What's there for her to be picky about," Ji Xixiu said, turning a page in his book.
Ji Yuezhi took a step forward, about to call him 'father', but Zuo Luohuan held him back.
"Uncle Ji is right, I'm not picky," Zuo Luohuan said with a smile. "Thank you, Auntie Yan, for preparing the soup."
"The research institute keeps me busy, so I don't have much time at home," Yan Jinqiu said to Zuo Luohuan. "It's rare for me to prepare a meal. If it's not good later, please forgive me, Young Zuo."
After exchanging some pleasantries in the living room, Zuo Luohuan was led upstairs by Ji Yuezhi. She followed him into his room. Although she had already explored the entire room on the night of his coming-of-age ceremony, she didn't spare it a second glance this time.
Even so, when Ji Yuezhi pulled out the chair by the desk for Zuo Luohuan to sit, her gaze fell on an object on the desk, and she couldn't help but stiffen.
"The gift you gave me, I've always kept it safe." Ji Yuezhi came out after changing his clothes. Seeing her staring at the object on the desk, a faint smile flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
It was the coming-of-age gift Zuo Luohuan had given to Ji Yuezhi—a handmade Neck Lock.
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