First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 49

Chapter 49: Adaptation

Lian Sheng learned an incredibly powerful skill from her roommate—searching. She spent the entire night looking up the uses and functions of various software, successfully digging up her class schedule and figuring out what the so-called "points competition" was all about.

Simulated battlefields were divided into two types.

The first was team battles that could be casually signed up for with just over ten people. The foot soldiers were all NPCs controlled by the system. After all, combat simulations had been popularized like competitive games, open for anyone to participate.

Players could sign up with friends or go solo for random matchmaking. Here, your opponent might be a top player who suddenly felt like soloing, or an elementary school kid with nothing better to do who came to learn.

Random battlefields were notorious for producing oddballs. You could always encounter teammates who forced you to feed kills in bizarre ways, keeping the average win rate below forty percent. Without fixed teammates, it wasn't recommended to waste time here.

Match points weren't based on contribution—only wins counted. One point per match. Since each match took too long, relying on random matchmaking to grind points would usually leave you with zero to three points per day.

But most people were just there for fun. For those not applying to military programs, these points held no real significance.

The other type was large-scale combat simulations organized by military academies or other institutions.

For example, Alliance University's monthly military tournament—a massive battlefield of five thousand versus five thousand. Due to limited slots, a portion of applicants would be selected. The higher your points, the greater your chances of being chosen.

Only third-years and above could participate. After selection, you'd choose your position, with the system conducting a second round of assignments. The final commander and several officers could then invite first and second-year students.

In these large-scale simulations, besides base points, professors would also give scores. The highest record was over a thousand points in one match.

However, participating in these exercises required specialized equipment.

Lian Sheng scrolled down and saw it was a bulky item—something her dorm didn't have. The price wasn't cheap either, with a "1" followed by several zeros.

Just as she was about to check her savings, a notification came through. Her hand jerked, nearly dropping the optical computer. She looked up at the wall clock—it was already past 3 a.m.

Rubbing her forehead, she answered.

Lin Lie asked, "Why are you still online? Shouldn't you be resting?"

Lian Sheng said earnestly, "Wholeheartedly devoted to learning."

Lin Lie said, "I have a friend willing to help you grind points."

"Help me grind points?" Lian Sheng refused outright, "No need. I don't want it."

Lin Lie lowered her eyes and said patiently, "Think about it again. The Command Department isn't as simple as you imagine."

Lian Sheng nodded, "Of course. I'm taking it very seriously."

"Fine then. Get some rest early." Lin Lie hung up.

Since it was already 3 a.m. and there were no classes the next day, Lian Sheng decided to research everything she wanted to know, pulling an all-nighter and catching up on sleep during the day.

She didn't dare sleep too long to avoid disrupting her nighttime schedule. She exercised at noon and continued researching in the evening.

On the third day, when classes finally started, she decided to take the weapon model Lin Lie had given her to the Materials Engineering Academy. Her roommates left with her, parting ways at the teaching building entrance.

As Lian Sheng walked up the stairs, her three roommates prepared to head to their classroom. Two girls approached from the opposite direction. One squinted and said, "The one carrying the knife—is that Lian Sheng? She's back already?"

The roommates stopped and turned, asking, "How do you know her?"

"Who? Lian Sheng?" The girl paused before reacting, "Who doesn't know her? The entire Military Department knows her."

The three roommates were stunned, exchanging glances.

"Is it because of her glorious achievements?" one roommate said, "She's a freshman—you have to cut her some slack."

"It's precisely because she's a freshman that it's unbelievable!" The girl raised a finger and began listing, "First combat exercise—outperformed Zhao Zhuoluo to take second place. Second instructor vs. student match—outperformed Zhao Zhuoluo and Ji Fangxiao to take first. Third Red vs. White Faction Battle—led her squad to reverse the tide. Too bad she got zero points for disobeying orders."

The roommates gaped, inhaling sharply.

So that's how she ended up with zero points?! What kind of Mary Sue protagonist halo was this?!

The two girls sighed, "Ah, what a shame. This year's scores were generally high. Just the faction battle alone added over a thousand points to both sides—only she got zero."

The roommates: "..."

This wasn't quite what they'd imagined.

The three stood there, waiting to ask Lian Sheng when she returned. But Lian Sheng had already left through the back door, heading straight to the Military Academy.

Lian Sheng had two major-specific classes that morning. She arrived late, and since the class was popular, there were no seats left.

Meng Jiangwu waved at her from the back, giving up the seat beside him.

Lian Sheng listened for two hours, growing increasingly confused.

So-and-so curve, whatchamacallit tactics, some-such battle. Countless strange names—completely incomprehensible.

She'd really tried her best, but judging by the situation, attending classes here wasn't her top priority.

Zheng Lei looked at her expression and sighed, "You're done for. I don't think you'll last the semester."

Lian Sheng's expression was solemn, frowning in thought.

The professor finally finished lecturing and said, "The new tournament is about to begin. Starting at 9 a.m. today, the second-floor system will be open. Everyone is encouraged to sign up."

As soon as he finished speaking, the front rows were already packing up to leave.

Zheng Lei and the other two bolted out, rushing to the second floor. Lian Sheng followed at a leisurely pace.

The computer lab was still quite empty—they just wanted to pick a luckier machine.

Lian Sheng stood behind Zheng Lei, watching him operate.

Zheng Lei inserted his card, blew on his palms, rubbed them together, then slapped the screen. He immediately covered his face, peeking slowly at the display.

Lian Sheng read it for him, "Skipped."

"Ah—!" Zheng Lei clutched his head and squatted on the floor, despairing, "I got skipped! My first time signing up!"

Lian Sheng stepped right over him, swiped her own card, and pressed the button.

Zheng Lei said gloomily, "Don't bother. Zero points! Do you know how low the chances are of getting selected with zero points? It's like stepping in dog shit in this day and age."

Ignoring his muttering, Lian Sheng's screen turned red. She leaned forward in surprise and read, "Congratulations, please select your position."

Zheng Lei snorted in disbelief.

Lian Sheng tapped around the screen, finding everything grayed out except for one option: foot soldier.

"Tch." Lian Sheng poked at the commander option. "Is this broken? Why won't it move?"

Zheng Lei peeked out skeptically, saw the interface, and immediately widened his eyes before collapsing again.

"It must be broken!" Zheng Lei covered his mouth. "You got selected, but I got skipped?!"

The selection list displayed points anonymously. Now all the numbers shifted up a slot, revealing Lian Sheng's glaring "zero."

Someone in the lab immediately shouted, "Holy shit, there's a zero-pointer here?!"

The crowd grumbled, "How did a zero-pointer get selected when I didn't? I have fifty thousand points!"

"I can join the match?" Lian Sheng frowned. "Then why can't I pick commander?"

Zheng Lei lowered his voice, "You have zero points, buddy! You can only be a foot soldier! Be happy you got selected at all. Stop tapping—you won't get to be commander even if you break the screen!"

Lian Sheng tentatively selected foot soldier and confirmed. It actually went through. Disappointed, she patted the machine.

Meng Jiangwu guessed who it was the moment he saw the zero points, rushing over from the other end of the row.

Lian Sheng had already pocketed her card and asked, "Now what? What should I do?"

This was clearly the attitude of someone who'd been selected.

Meng Jiangwu approached, saw Zheng Lei's world-ending expression, and immediately understood. Pointing to the machine by the entrance, he said, "You now have priority to reserve training rooms. You can swipe your card there."

What Lian Sheng needed now was to rent equipment and adjust her condition for the match.

The official start was next Friday—she had six days.

She swiped her card to reserve three hours for today, then Meng Jiangwu took her to find the designated equipment.

The device was a two-meter cube filled with dense wiring. One end connected to the outer shell, the other to what looked like protective gear.

Meng Jiangwu pushed her inside and instructed from outside, "This is for your hands, this is for your feet, this is for your waist... put them all on."

Lian Sheng silently suited up in the gear, then followed Meng Jiangwu's directions to put on the glasses and close the hatch.

The moment the light was completely blocked out, Lian Sheng saw a stretch of emerald grassland. She jumped back in alarm, remembered she was inside a machine, and quickly steadied herself.

She turned in a circle, finding the scene incredibly realistic. Tentatively, she took a few steps forward—no collision with walls. Emboldened, she started running. Still no walls—as if she were truly in an endless field.

She tried jumping—the height matched her physical abilities.

Meng Jiangwu knocked outside, "How is it? Any problems?"

Lian Sheng was somewhat excited, "None!"

Meng Jiangwu asked, "Do you know how to queue for matches?"

Lian Sheng stopped, "How?"

"Top right corner—match mode!" Meng Jiangwu shouted from outside. "You can join someone else's team or queue randomly!"

His voice sounded muffled, as if through a fog.

Lian Sheng responded to show she understood, then the outside went quiet.

After confirming the setup, Lian Sheng joined the queue. Squatting with her hands clasped, she waited quietly.

Over an hour later, she still hadn't touched the battlefield.

Thanks to her glorious zero points, she was repeatedly kicked from teams. Some flipped her off, others cursed at her. From initial excitement to restless impatience to finally serene acceptance—Lian Sheng fully grasped reality.

Exiting the device, she picked up her communicator and sent Lin Lie a message.

Lian Sheng said, "I very sincerely retract my previous statement. Please find someone to help me grind points."

Lin Lie: "..."

She really wanted to ask parenting forums about this situation.

Lin Lie said, "After your academy's monthly tournament ends. He's also a student and needs to prepare. I can tell you his name now."

"In that case, no need," Lian Sheng said. "We might very well be opponents. Better keep our distance—otherwise I'll feel guilty when I kill him."

Lin Lie paused, then made a questioning noise.

"You were selected for the tournament?" Lin Lie finally processed it. "With zero points?"

Lian Sheng: "Yes."

Lin Lie said in shock, "Do you know how low that probability is?"

"I know," Lian Sheng said. "Like stepping in dog shit in this day and age?"

Lin Lie: "..."

"It means I'm destined for the battlefield," Lian Sheng asked. "Will you come watch?"

Lin Lie hadn't expected Lian Sheng to invite her. This was probably the first time ever. But with zero points, even if selected, Lian Sheng could only be a foot soldier. Did she want to spend time watching a foot soldier's performance?

Lin Lie hesitated before saying, "I'll decide when the time comes."

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