Evolution - Chapter 49
Chapter 49
Ever since sparring with Pencil and his brothers on the first day, Ji Changqing had become hooked on this kind of combat activity. The strength you could actually use in a fight was the only strength that truly belonged to you.
From then on, they spent their days roughhousing in the fourth-floor training room. The First wasn't particularly interested in participating or watching. After observing for two days, she left, only calling Ji Changqing on her comms at the scheduled time: “It's study time. Come and enjoy the bliss of learning.”
About a week later, while Ji Changqing and the others were fighting, the instructor from their differentiation period closed-door study group happened to see them. He stepped in to test Ji Changqing's skills, repeatedly wiping the floor with her before saying pretentiously, “At this rate, your chances of getting into the Fourth Military are slim. From now on, I'll give you half an hour of special training every day!”
His physique had just broken through to level eleven, while Ji Changqing was only level six and still a ways from level seven. It was a wonder he could say such a thing with a straight face and not feel the least bit guilty.
Competition for the Alliance Fourth Military University was so fierce; Ji Changqing still had a lot of work to do! This year, nearly six million people had applied to the Fourth Military. Almost five hundred thousand passed the written exam, but there were only one hundred twenty thousand spots available.
This meant that of the people taking the entrance exam, only one in four would be admitted this year.
But it had to be said, with the instructor personally stepping in to thrash her and a master to spar with, Ji Changqing's combat abilities improved by leaps and bounds. If not for the five-level gap, the instructor wouldn't have dared claim he could easily dominate her.
He once tried to control his level and fight her at level six, and she nearly sent him flying.
Even for a veteran like him, he was no match for her at the same level. Getting into the Fourth Military shouldn't be a problem for her, right?
Their daily sparring sessions were lively, and Pencil and his brothers benefited greatly as well. After watching for a few days, they brazenly came forward to ask for guidance. The instructor figured that thrashing one Ji Changqing was still thrashing; thrashing a few more wouldn't make a difference. So he called over the other instructors who had trained Ji Changqing back then to help spar with them.
Word quickly spread among the military academy preparatory students, and more and more people came to watch every day. Some even tried to apply to join the “getting thrashed” queue.
When Major General Xie'er learned of this, she waved her hand and declared, “Train them all.” She began training them at the intensity level of new military academy cadets. How much they could endure would depend on their individual talent and effort.
Otherwise, if the admission rate for Blue Star’s military academy applicants was low, wouldn't she lose a tremendous amount of face?!
Training new cadets was their specialty. Who among them hadn't clawed their way up from being a first-year freshman?!
The nearly ten thousand preparatory students were divided into three batches, training for six hours a day. The officers on the flagship began to take turns teaching them, covering topics like reconnaissance, parameter configuration and clever uses of several standard weapons, combat training, basic physical fitness, trap setting, and ambush countermeasures.
Everyone studied with extreme diligence, as all of this could potentially be on the entrance exam.
The brutal physical training quickly sorted the preparatory students into several tiers. After a week, the original three batches, divided by number, had been re-divided into five batches based on training progress.
Although most of these preparatory students were active-duty soldiers, they were still shocked by this ruthless process of elimination.
Watching the lead group leave everyone else in the dust, they all felt a little disheartened.
Some grumbled that if they had also trained with the instructors for so many days, they would surely be in the lead group too!
The sour grapes couldn't have been more obvious.
Someone immediately retorted, “Have you never been in the military? How can you say something like that?”
While the military had its share of frustrations, it was ultimately a place where strength did the talking.
Besides, what could the officers on this warship possibly want from them? They were all strangers. The fact that they were willing to guide Ji Changqing and the others must mean they saw some merit in them. Otherwise, why would they bother?
Now, thanks to them, everyone was receiving special training from the officers without discrimination. Instead of being grateful, they were here being jealous?!
Ji Changqing had been in the lead group from the very beginning. That was a testament to her strength. Her scores in every assessment were impressive, and her overall score had dominated the top of the leaderboard from day one.
To be jealous and claim she only won because she got special treatment was to be truly blinded by envy!
At the time, they were just doing some combat training. Everyone had eyes; they could all see that.
When the unified special training began, some exercises were new to everyone, and she picked them up just as quickly. Some exercises were new to her but not to the active-duty soldiers, like shooting, yet her scores were still excellent after training.
Strictly speaking, the performance of Ji Changqing and a small group of other girls forced this batch of preparatory students, ninety percent of whom were male, to start seeing things differently. They could no longer view new issues through the old lens of physiological gender differences between men and women. They had to genuinely acknowledge the gender distinctions that came after ABO differentiation.
There were no female Omegas among the preparatory students this time. There were only two or three female Alphas, but the female Betas also performed exceptionally well.
Even if they weren't all in the lead group, they were mostly distributed among the second, third, and fourth tiers. The fifth tier, surprisingly, was composed entirely of male Betas.
The warship's final destination was the Capital Star. For those whose schools were not on the Capital Star or at any of the warship's refueling stops, they would have to transfer from there.
Ji Changqing consistently topped the leaderboard, and eventually, no one was jealous of her anymore.
Hearing that she was applying to the Alliance Fourth Military University, one of the top three military academies in the Alliance, they could only feel respect for her—if not for her training results, then for her ambition.
It was like on Blue Star, where someone applying to an ordinary domestic university wouldn't have the mind to be jealous of someone applying to a world-renowned institution who had already passed the preliminary exams.
She was aiming for the Fourth Military. Wasn't it only natural for her to be number one among their group?!
The Fourth Military was not on the Capital Star, nor was it on any of the planets the warship passed. Before arriving at the Capital Star, Major General Xie'er specifically met with this future junior of hers.
Ji Changqing was completely bewildered. She couldn't understand why a mere military academy preparatory student like herself would be summoned by a big shot. To meet a future junior? Wasn't that just nonsense?
She hadn't even been accepted yet!
“Have a seat. No need to be nervous.” Xie'er was much more formal with her than she had been with Yu Zhiyao. Dressed in her standard military uniform, she had a very businesslike demeanor. “We've been dealing with each other for longer than you think. Your study and training plans were based on mine from back in the day.”
Xie'er shamelessly concealed the fact that she had intensified the training plan, playing the role of a caring senior looking out for a prospective junior with practiced ease.
“There's nothing much to this meeting. I just wanted to ask about your choice of major and see if I could offer any help.”
Ji Changqing sat up straight and offered her sincere thanks. When it came to choosing a major, she pondered for a moment. “I chose the Combat Department. I want to apply for the Command major.”
It was because she couldn't get into the majors of other departments. Things like Warship Command required passing exams on related specialized courses. In such a short amount of time, she was already struggling to master the basic subjects for the interstellar unified exam; she simply didn't have the capacity to tackle those specialized courses.
“The Command major in the Combat Department… given the strength you've shown so far, it shouldn't be a problem.” The Command major in the Combat Department was indeed a suitable choice, showing she had done her research. Xie'er expressed her approval and offered a small piece of advice. “If you have the energy to spare, you can choose to minor in Warship Command in your third year. It never hurts to know more.”
The two chatted about majors for a short while. Major General Xie'er pointed out some potential pitfalls in the entrance exam and then tactfully hinted at some of the Fourth Military's frustrating traditions. Feeling she had done her duty, she concluded the meeting.
Ji Changqing entered in a daze and left in a daze, clicking her tongue in wonder. Could this really be a successful senior who, on a whim, decided to meet a potential junior?
Somehow, she just couldn't believe it.
Whether she believed it or not, they arrived at the Capital Star two days later, and she was unceremoniously kicked off the warship to fend for herself.
But just before she was kicked out, her peculiar senior had been thoughtful enough to transfer her a small sum of credits and even prepared several sets of clothes suitable for the current season on the Capital Star.
It absolutely terrified her.
Were all seniors this considerate and lovely nowadays?
The instructor who handed her the clothes saw her terrified expression and laughed heartily at her. “Is this little bit of stuff worth getting so worked up over!” he grumbled. “It's not like it's her money anyway.”
Ji Changqing naturally misunderstood, assuming that Major General Xie'er, with her impressive style, had received an unsuitable gift and simply passed it on to her.
If no money was spent specifically on her, it became much easier to accept. She asked the instructor to convey her thanks, silently noted the favor, and happily accepted the gift.
Later, when she discovered that The First had also received a similar gift, she felt even more at ease.
The two didn't exchange information about what Major General Xie'er had given them, naturally assuming it was just credits and clothes, and that the gifts were more or less the same.
In reality, they were very different.
Ji Changqing's outfits had clearly been chosen with care and were perfectly to her taste.
The First's two outfits, one a dress and one a pantsuit, had obviously been prepared in a hurry. The sizes were right, but the style was slightly off.
The university The First was attending was on the Capital Star, so she could head straight there to register after disembarking.
Ji Changqing went with her.
The Alliance First University also had a military academy. Top-tier institutions like the Fourth Military, which were not located on the Capital Star, would set up a dedicated recruitment point at the Alliance First University's military academy every year. They would pick up preparatory students who had traveled from various nearby planets for the entrance exam. On the departure date, a dedicated ship would transport the candidates to the examination planet.
The Fourth Military's entrance exam notification specifically listed seven locations where one could register and have their information recorded. The Alliance First University on the Capital Star was one of them.
The two country bumpkins went through a great deal of trouble before finally managing to board a hovercar heading directly to the university, arriving shortly after.
They opened their comms to navigate to their destination and discovered that the school was enormous. A single college within the university was larger than an entire university campus on Blue Star.
They had to take the campus's small internal hovercars to get around; otherwise, their legs would give out.
The military academy was quite far from The First's college. Ji Changqing figured she wasn't in a hurry, so she would help The First get settled first. Once she was registered and assigned a dormitory, Ji Changqing would then head over to the military academy.
In this vast sea of stars, it was rare to have an acquaintance. Traveling together gave them both a bit more peace of mind than being alone.
They had arrived quite early, with nearly a month to go before official registration. However, the Alliance universities were clearly accustomed to this. They efficiently processed The First's admission, assigned her a dormitory, and even thoughtfully prepared a set of daily necessities for her.
If the Alliance First University had the style of a considerate older sister, the Fourth Military had the style of a wild, rough-and-tumble man. After Ji Changqing registered and had her data entered, they synced her comms, assigned her dormitory access, and then, with the tone and attitude of a general pointing out his domain, casually gestured in a few directions. “Right, the dorms are over there, training rooms are that way, and the cafeteria is over there. Take care of yourself. We assemble here in five days at seven in the morning.”
After the grand pronouncements, the rest was up to them.
In the instructors' words, if a military academy preparatory student couldn't even take care of themselves, what were they even trying to test for? They might as well pack up and go home!
Those five days were a brutally refreshing experience for Ji Changqing.
The candidates weren't classmates yet; they were competitors. Fearing their trump cards would be revealed prematurely, they were naturally secretive with one another. But they weren't exactly scheming masterminds either and still wanted to make friends. The combination of these two desires resulted in some very awkward behavior—they wanted to get close but resisted it, making everyone act strangely.
Ji Changqing couldn't be bothered with them. She stuck to her routine, doing basic training every morning. After she finished, The First would come find her, and they would go to the cafeteria together. In the afternoon, she would practice against robots, and afterward, The First would come find her for dinner again.
In the evenings, they would study and work on practice problems together to expand their knowledge.
After all, The First's obsession with scientific research made her feel that the Alliance was a treasure trove, and it would be a waste not to learn as much as possible.
Ji Changqing was still cramming knowledge related to mechanical engineering, warships, and mecha. She wasn't aiming for expertise, just a basic understanding.
Five days later, the Fourth Military candidates assembled early in the morning and followed the instructors to the spaceport.
About three thousand people were departing from this location. When they reached the special docking area at the spaceport, they realized they were just a small fraction of the total. Three warships, each capable of holding ten thousand people, were lined up. Following the prompts on their comms, everyone boarded their assigned vessel.
These warships were clearly just for transporting students. There were no rooms, only rows upon rows of empty seats. Everyone found the seat with their name flashing on it and sat down.
After the warship took off, the instructors finally sent the destination and exam format to the candidates' comms.
A collective wail went up from the crowd!
It was the most twisted format: a non-team-based competitive assessment.
What made the non-team-based mode so mentally taxing was that you had no teammates. Anyone who approached you, anyone you teamed up with along the way, could stab you in the back at any moment, stealing your points to secure their own success and sending you a ticket to try again next year!
And yet, most of the point-based tasks desperately required teammates to complete!
Get instant access to all the chapters now.
Comments
Post a Comment