Evolution - Chapter 91
Chapter 91
She wasn’t wrong.
Whether a title was famous, sounded good, or whether she acknowledged it—that was her business, wasn’t it?
Just because you thought it was good didn’t mean you could force her to accept it.
Hearing her words, everyone burst into laughter.
The laughter made the people from the Seventh Military feel deeply embarrassed.
But no one paid any special attention to how he felt.
The three team leaders just sneered inwardly.
The Seventh Military had always been particularly ambitious. The problem wasn't having ambition; everyone could compete openly and fairly. The Fourth Military had also slowly honed itself back in the day, constantly growing stronger until it gradually secured its place.
But the Seventh Military was especially eager—to put it bluntly, they were shortsighted and obsessed with quick success. All day long, they schemed about how to make the three great mountains above them fight and cause a huge mess, so they could pick up the scraps, turn the tables, and squeeze their way in.
Look at that. Instead of placing their hopes on their own unremitting efforts to surpass their rivals, they pinned their hopes on their more outstanding opponents attacking each other, weakening themselves, and allowing them to rise up.
It was a very contemptible attitude.
When the intensive training began the next day, everyone no longer had time for their personal grudges and feuds. They were overwhelmed by the dense training schedule, struggling to catch their breath.
The training didn’t care which military academy you were from; everyone was mixed up. If group confrontations were needed, the teams were always randomized. Everyone had to constantly adapt to new teammates, quickly assess their strengths and weaknesses, and achieve seamless coordination as fast as possible.
In one-on-one combat, it all came down to individual fighting strength, and the combat specialization students always had the upper hand. But whenever they were randomly grouped to carry out assigned training missions, the situation reversed. The combat students generally didn't perform too well. Instead, students from other specializations excelled—especially those from the command specialization.
Not only did they know how to coordinate themselves, but they could also guide their other teammates to work together.
Those participating in the league's intensive training for the first time felt they had made significant progress.
Not in terms of individual combat power, but in their strategic perspective and operational coordination.
While outstanding individual combat ability was certainly important, having a sense of coordination was even more crucial. After all, in the interstellar era, with the aid of high technology, individual combat ability had actually been significantly diminished, while the demands on command ability and cooperative combat skills had become much higher.
After a month of intense, non-stop training, everyone had a very direct understanding of each other's strengths.
Ji Changqing was the only fourth-year student to rank in the top ten for the training.
Ji Changqing, who had become increasingly sensitive to the goodwill and malice of others, keenly sensed that several people harbored a faint ill will toward her.
Recalling Gu Changge and the others' earlier warnings, she secretly raised her guard.
During the three-day adjustment period between the end of the training and the first match, most people went out to have fun, but she didn't. She obediently stayed in her dorm.
In the first match, Du Zhong and Lu Youxia were eliminated, while everyone else advanced smoothly.
After being eliminated, Du Zhong and Lu Youxia didn't leave. They just moved out of the dorms and booked a room at a hotel.
Seven days after the first match ended, the second match began.
Ji Changqing, Tao Jun, and Weisman advanced smoothly. Everyone else was eliminated.
Among the 4,000 people remaining, over ninety percent were fifth and sixth-year students. There were fewer than a hundred fourth-years.
Although He Qingzhi had a rough time in this match, he ultimately managed to advance by a hair's breadth.
Of the four final matches, only two remained. Ji Changqing's performance was still eye-catching, and her finals score was firmly in the top ten.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that, barring any accidents, she was expected to secure a spot in the top ten. And in the top-ten ranking matches, based on her undefeated individual combat record, as long as she made it into the top ten, the championship was practically hers for the taking!
Among the popular candidates for the top ten, the other nine were naturally slightly superior to her in terms of overall ability. But as fate would have it, the final championship match was judged solely on individual combat power, nothing else.
After the second match ended, Gu Changge and the others also moved out of the dorms and into the same hotel as Lu Youxia.
Ji Changqing still had no intention of leaving the training base. As usual, she followed the upperclassmen from the Fourth Military for daily basic training.
“Hmm, cautious, diligent, and self-disciplined. It seems she has high standards for herself.” Someone watched Ji Changqing from a distance as she walked from the dormitory area to the training room.
They had been watching her for a long time. Her daily routine was very regular, moving between three points, appearing at set times, never deviating.
“When are we going to make a move?” someone asked impatiently. “Isn't it tiring to watch someone every day? The sooner we act, the sooner we can all relax.”
“No rush,” someone replied gently with a smile. “It's not time yet.”
How could something as painless as making her withdraw from the competition due to an accident be enough?
He wanted her reputation utterly ruined, with no chance of a comeback! Only then could the hatred in his heart be appeased.
Someone grumbled a few words, feeling they were being overly cautious.
The smile of the person who had spoken earlier gradually faded. He stared gloomily at the complainer until the latter's hair stood on end, and he dared not make another sound.
“Do you think she's like those idiots you schemed against before? She has the strength to make the top ten. Before the list of one thousand is finalized, the people from the Fourth Military will definitely be watching her.” The thousand-person list was related to the resource allocation and favoritism for each military academy, and the Fourth Military was no pushover.
Even if they had the ability to secretly harm Ji Changqing, wouldn't the Fourth Military investigate ruthlessly?
Besides, since Ji Changqing wasn't leaving the base, they couldn't shift the blame. It would be far too easy to investigate.
After intimidating the group, the man said slowly, “We're not the only ones watching her. When the time comes, we just need to give things a little push.”
Although the others didn't know why he was so confident, they were tactful enough not to ask.
Aside from the slight fatigue of watching her every day, whether they dealt with Ji Changqing or not didn't have much impact on them—after all, even if they could make the thousand-person list, they couldn't get into the top ten.
The only one it affected was this person. Since he wasn't in a hurry, they were even less so.
Ji Changqing knew someone bore her ill will. Her sensitivity to goodwill and malice allowed her to avoid several “accidents” that others tried to create.
She figured that since they were all military academy students, deliberately causing an accident to prevent her from competing on time, or making her get injured so her strength would be impaired and she'd be easier to eliminate, were all within the realm of acceptable tactics.
After all, the competition wasn't limited to the arena.
With the prior advice from Gu Changge and the others, and the intentional or unintentional guidance from the upperclassmen, Ji Changqing quickly understood the hidden rules of the finals—the competition had actually started the moment they set foot here. As long as they didn't leave, the competition wasn't over.
The interval between the two matches was less about letting them relax and prepare for the next round, and more about giving them time to fight it out offstage.
Some people were repeatedly forced into the dueling arena, suffering new injuries before old ones could heal. The medical bay was almost full.
Others ate something by mistake and ended up in the medical bay.
Still others were injured after being caught up in “accidents” created “unintentionally” by someone else.
All in all, there was nothing you couldn't imagine that they couldn't do.
At times like these, Ji Changqing always wondered, was this really the military academy league? Why did it look so much like school bullying?
It was even more like raising Gu worms.
The one with the blackest heart and most ruthless methods would be the one to have the last laugh.
However, she also discovered that most of the people who were gradually eliminated had no teammates.
The upperclassmen's guidance also made it a bit more acceptable to her:
First, during the intervals between matches, there could be many conspirators, but when they made a move, it was basically always one-on-one, whether it was openly forcing someone into the dueling arena or creating an accident.
Second, the constant random regrouping during training was an opportunity for everyone to quickly select suitable teammates. If, within a month, you hadn't integrated into the new environment and found partners to cooperate with, it meant you were too weak. In the military, you often need to cooperate with different people and different comrades, and you certainly wouldn't get a month to slowly get to know each other then.
Third, if you wanted to be a lone wolf, you needed the corresponding ability! If you didn't understand, you could refer to the two points above.
Fourth, if you couldn't find suitable partners, that was also fine. You just needed to be observant enough to tag along behind a large group of people.
Just like how Ji Changqing always went to the training grounds on time with the upperclassmen from the Fourth Military, ate with them in the cafeteria, and returned to the dorms with them.
Some of the lone students were very clever. They memorized the departure times of the military academies with many remaining members and had managed to stay safe until now.
Ji Changqing always felt that the Alliance's method of training soldiers really made one question life.
She could only console herself that it was probably like what was said in Hail the Judge: to be a good official, you have to be more cunning than the corrupt ones, otherwise how could you deal with them!
Perhaps the Alliance's standard for a good soldier was having a strong enough survival ability when facing the enemy?
While she was inwardly criticizing the Alliance's training methods, Major General Xie'er received an encrypted communication.
Major General Xie'er raised an eyebrow and accepted the call.
The person on the other end didn't bother with pleasantries and got straight to the point: “I've taken a liking to a promising candidate. How about you be the referrer?”
Xie'er casually closed the file. “Are you really short on referrers?”
Weren't there plenty of people breaking their heads trying to get into their department?
The other person wasn't offended by her attitude. “This person is rather special. It has to be through you.”
“Oh? From Blue Star?” If it wasn't someone from Blue Star, there was no one else who would have to be referred through her.
The other person nodded. “Ji Changqing.”
“Is she suitable?” Xie'er leaned back in her chair, clasping her hands. “With her temperament, it's more appropriate for her to enter the military through the proper channels.”
She still thought highly of Ji Changqing. If she could take the proper path, why would she need to walk one full of thorns and risks?
One careless mistake and she could lose her life.
Based on her not-so-deep understanding of Ji Changqing, she wasn't an overly ambitious person.
“Xie'er, people with poor character can't walk this path.” The other person's smile was cold as they said meaningfully, “You know how high the betrayal rate is in our department, especially among Alphas.”
“You think that highly of her?” Xie'er frowned. Of course, she knew the betrayal rate for Alphas in this special department was persistently high. That was precisely why she didn't want Ji Changqing to get involved in this mess.
“She passed the screening.” The other person didn't beat around the bush with Xie'er, stating it plainly, “During our investigation of her, we discovered some interesting things. She's making too much of a splash in the league, getting in some people's way. There are several groups making small moves.”
As for which of these groups wanted to recruit Ji Changqing and which wanted to mess with her, there was no need to explain one by one.
Xie'er scoffed but still agreed. “Fine, I'll be her referrer.”
In the end, it would depend on Ji Changqing's own decision anyway. If she wasn't willing, there would be no coercion.
Still, it was quite unexpected that Ji Changqing could actually be selected by this department.
She had a deep understanding of how strict this department's selection process was and how brutal its training was.
This path, for those with ability and luck, was of course a road to success. But for those who were lacking, it was more often a road of no return.
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