Evolution - Chapter 77
Chapter 77
When they arrived at the Capital Star, The First hadn’t started her vacation yet; it was the middle of final exams.
But for a study god like her, exam period was practically an early vacation. Who needed to study day and night, cramming for tests? Not her.
Ji Changqing’s flight arrived at a convenient time, just before five in the afternoon. An excited The First turned in her exam early and rushed to the spaceport to meet her.
The eight of them filed out one after another, and The First felt like she didn’t have enough eyes to take it all in.
Tall, long-legged, with ramrod-straight postures, they walked with an air of confidence!
Wow, the young men and women from the military academies really are the most handsome and easy on the eyes!
Still, she maintained her principles and chose to throw herself into Ji Changqing’s arms. “Long time no see! Welcome back!”
Ji Changqing couldn’t help but smile.
It was only natural to be happy when reuniting with a friend after a long separation.
She patted The First’s shoulder while feigning disdain. “When did you pick up this skill of hugging everyone you see?”
The First let go, took a step back, and replied with even greater disdain, “If I hadn’t gone so long without seeing a familiar face, do you think I’d hug you?”
Ji Changqing pulled her over and introduced them one by one. “These are my classmates from the military academy.”
Then she introduced The First to He Qingping and the others. “He Yi, a friend of mine from Blue Star. She’s currently at the Alliance First University.”
There was a reason for her detailed introduction. He Qingping, Gu Changge, and the others were all from the Capital Star. They had already made plans to hang out, and knowing she was coming to spend the New Year with friends, they had invited everyone to join, figuring they could show these “aliens” around the Capital Star.
After the two groups met and exchanged greetings, the other seven left in a different direction.
The First dragged Ji Changqing along, chattering away about her life on the Capital Star and asking how Ji Changqing was doing at the academy.
“You’ve changed quite a bit, though.” The First raised an eyebrow. “You’re starting to look a bit like Pencil and the others.”
“Of course. After nearly half a year of military training, how could I not change? When are they getting here?”
“They arrived last night!” The First answered, then sighed with emotion. “You all have storage buttons now. It must be nice not having to drag luggage around.”
The military academy Pencil and the others attended was relatively closer to the Capital Star. In fact, within the Alliance’s military academy system, the Fourth Military was the farthest from the Capital Star.
If it weren’t for a massive transit station with a jump point not far from the Fourth Military, it would have been impossible to reach the Capital Star in just over three days.
The price of Pencil’s ticket was less than a third of Ji Changqing’s.
Speaking of which, Ji Changqing had something to say. “Those cost money, too.”
They required contribution points or military merit points, plus money. Right now, it was more like they were renting them, with the fee deducted from their monthly stipend.
Starting in their fourth year, when they could take on missions to earn military merit or contribution points, the points would be deducted annually.
By the time they were in their sixth year, the cost in money and points for the storage button would be fully paid off. Only then would it truly belong to them.
The First gave a perfunctory nod to show she understood. It wasn’t like she really needed one at the moment anyway.
“I’ve been looking at the school’s curriculum. I’m thinking of taking on a second major starting in my sophomore year, and then I’ll try to test into the Academy of Sciences after my senior year.”
“Are you confident?”
“Not at all. I just want to get some practice, get used to it. I’ll have the next three years to slowly fill in the gaps,” The First said with a cheerful grin, looking exceptionally happy.
It seemed she was very confident she could pass the Academy of Sciences’ assessment before graduation.
“Then good luck!” There was nothing better than a friend having a goal to strive for.
“Mhm!” The First nodded emphatically. “Pencil and the others said they’d make their own plans for the day and be back in the evening for dinner with us. Oh, right, I booked you adjoining rooms. They have a suite, and you have a single. We can just head back to the hotel and wait for them.”
By the time it got dark, Pencil and the other three had returned.
When they all met, there was a round of warm greetings and catching up. At dinner, the guys insisted on treating the girls. In their words:
“Hey, there aren’t really any rules anymore about men having to treat women to dinner out of courtesy, but we’re earning a salary. It’s no problem for us to treat you two students.”
Ji Changqing couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t be like that. We may not be earning a salary, but The First has patent fees, and I have royalties. How about this: let The First handle tonight, and you guys can treat us later. When my classmates from the academy take us out, the expenses will be on me.”
The First nodded vigorously. She had money, really!
The guys were about to protest again, but Ji Changqing stopped them. “We’re going to be here for at least a month. There’s no rush.”
That was true. The guys quieted down and started asking Ji Changqing about her time at the Fourth Military. The four of them were at the same academy; except for Pencil, who had gotten in on his own merits, the other three were sponsored cadets who would return to Blue Star for their posts after graduation.
The procedures at the various military academies were largely the same, differing only in the details.
For their after-dinner activity, the group borrowed a training room at The First’s university to test each other’s skills.
The moment they started, the guys were all shocked.
Before, the four of them together might not have been a match for Ji Changqing when she used a long spear. Now… well, to say she was completely transformed would be an exaggeration, but she had indeed made immense progress. Her combat awareness, offense, defense, and counterattacks in hand-to-hand combat were all sharper, and her technique was more refined.
Although it still couldn’t compare to the pressure they felt when she wielded a spear half a year ago, it was getting close.
They felt they had improved too, but Ji Changqing had clearly improved faster. It gave them the feeling that her progress would only accelerate, until she left everyone far behind.
It was a bit like after the college entrance exams, when some people get into a top university while others go to a second-tier college. It might not sound like a huge difference, but from that moment on, they were set on very different paths.
This realization was both bittersweet and comforting. It was bittersweet because some people were just like that—when faced with a new paradigm, they could always seize the opportunity to soar, and it was a shame that person wasn’t you. It was comforting because, after all, they were all from Blue Star. If Ji Changqing established a firm foothold, she would in turn give back to Blue Star, helping it receive a greater share of resources.
While the group was enjoying their vacation to the fullest, Gu Changge was in deep trouble.
Eve hadn’t covered for him at all, spilling every detail of his stupid actions during the competition to his older sister. His sister, Gu Changjun, immediately gave him an icy glare.
“Gu Changge, get over here!”
Gu Changge shuffled over, trying to act cute to soften his sister up.
Gu Changjun was expressionless. “Family rule number seven!”
Gu Changge’s face paled. He lowered his head and recited, “Benefit others, but do not burden friends and family.”
“Did you follow it?”
Gu Changge swallowed hard, unable to answer. Or rather, he didn’t dare to.
“Can’t answer? Using your teammates’ hard work to do someone a favor—Gu Seventeen, you really have some nerve.” Gu Changjun snorted. “It’s fine for you to consider He Qingzhi a friend, but that should be a personal matter between the two of you. It shouldn’t involve anyone else.”
A thought came to her lips, but she swallowed it back down. The people of the Gu family had never been on the same path as the He family, regardless of their secondary gender.
Over the past few centuries, countless contemporaries from the Gu and He families had interacted. It was fine when they were children, but after they differentiated, they would always drift apart.
That chaotic nest of a family, the He’s, would drive even a good person mad.
The incident with the He family from over a decade ago was still fresh in her memory. That family’s creed was to groom Alphas for the military and government, raise Omegas to be socialites, and let Betas fend for themselves.
But fifty years ago, an exceptionally brilliant male Beta had emerged. Not only did the family refuse to invest in his development, they actively suppressed him. It was one thing to prevent him from competing with the family’s Alphas for resources, but they even forced him to hand over everything he earned through his own abilities to the clan to support those useless Alphas.
They treated him like an enemy.
The most outrageous part was that this Beta, due to his excellence, had fallen in love with an Omega colleague. They were already discussing marriage when an Alpha of the same generation—the direct heir of the He family head at the time—happened to see the Omega and decided she would be a perfect match for him.
He started clamoring to have the engagement switched to him.
Perhaps it was a case of “erupt in fury or perish in silence.” The Beta, who had been exploited by his clan for years and had endured it for his family’s sake, must have reached his breaking point. He actually made a deal with the He family’s rivals at the time, dealt a heavy blow to the main family, and finally broke away from the clan.
The He family was so severely damaged by this that they didn’t recover for over a decade. While the Beta had certainly gotten his revenge, and everyone rationally understood that his actions weren’t excessive, it was still emotionally difficult for people to accept.
Naturally, his own future was also affected.
But he was willing to suffer mutual destruction just to leave the clan and sever all ties with the He family. In the end, his ruthless methods scared off the Omega as well.
Life is long. Who could guarantee that, over time, she wouldn’t do something to displease him? And if the person sleeping beside her were to use such ruthless tactics against her…
It was safer to stay single!
The whole drama left everyone dumbfounded.
And it was also a bit lamentable.
Gu Changjun decided it was best to drop the topic of the He family; she really didn’t know what to make of them. “Choosing your friends… hmm, you did alright on that front. That…”
She paused for a moment and looked at Eve.
Eve understood instantly and whispered a prompt, “Ji Changqing.”
Gu Changjun continued on seamlessly, “Yes, Ji Changqing. She’s quite good. Good character, capable methods, just that her foundation is a bit weak.”
At this, she paused again. She frowned in thought, then made a call. “I heard from the Academy of Sciences that Sith took a liking to someone from Blue Star and wanted to take them on as a student. Is that right?”
The person on the other end must have given her an affirmative answer.
“Are there any detailed records?”
This time, the person must have given a negative response.
Gu Changjun was a little disappointed.
She looked at Gu Changge, then at Eve, and suddenly had a wild idea. “Ji Changqing is also from Blue Star. Why don’t you ask her if she knows the person who went straight to the Academy of Sciences three years ago?”
The expression on Eve’s face was truly indescribable. She was starting to think there might be something wrong with the entire Gu family.
Gu Changge was much more blunt. He rolled his eyes, completely forgetting that he was in the middle of receiving his sister’s “loving guidance.”
“Sis, doesn’t Blue Star have, like, seven billion people? You want me to ask Ji Changqing about a one-in-seven-billion chance?”
His innermost thoughts were written plainly on his face: Are you crazy, or am I?
Gu Changjun also felt her idea was a bit too fanciful, but being called out so bluntly by her foolish little brother, she smiled, her voice exceedingly gentle:
“For this New Year’s holiday, why don’t you go report to Ninth Great-Uncle. I’ll be sure to give him a heads-up.”
Not only Gu Changge, but even Eve shuddered. She quickly composed her expression, putting on a look that said, “I’m being very good.”
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