“Oh! I know!” Ke Yunyao suddenly came to a realization.
Yan Wenling and Somaya: …No, what exactly do you think you know?
Immediately after, Ke Yunyao seriously explained to the two older sisters, “Sister Ling, Sister Somaya, I must be… that thing… that old saying about suddenly getting lucky! Yes, that’s definitely it!”
“……”
Yan Wenling and Somaya fell silent once again.
“Sisters, don’t not believe me! Look, my parents—one is a frontline commander and the other is a frontline pharmacist. They must have come into contact with very good mecha masters before.
“They’ve already confirmed that my skills are just half-baked, so I must really be half-baked!
“I think… maybe during the exam, I scored more in basic knowledge. So when everything was averaged out, my score ended up being that high!” After saying this, Ke Yunyao even nodded to herself.
It actually sounded somewhat reasonable, since the final score was indeed the average of the second round’s two exams.
Yan Wenling and Somaya thought so as well.
Wait, no—why were they being led around by her logic?
Even if she scored high in basic knowledge, that was still earned through her own effort! Others couldn’t even achieve that score even if they tried. Doesn’t that already prove she was capable?
The two of them looked at Ke Yunyao’s cute little face, completely speechless.
Forget it, no point arguing with her. She clearly already believed her own explanation completely. If they kept talking, she’d probably come up with even more reasons.
In the end, the truth would prove itself to her anyway.
Knock knock knock!
“Our meal has arrived!” Yan Wenling said as she jumped up to open the door.
A robot wheeled in a cart, placed the dishes they ordered on the table, and then left after finishing.
“Enjoy your meal, guests!”
Bang! The door closed again.
“Come on, eat, eat!” Yan Wenling used serving chopsticks to pick up a few pieces of meat for Ke Yunyao.
Ke Yunyao took a bite, and her eyes instantly lit up.
“What recipe is this? Can I buy it from the cafeteria?”
Yan Wenling immediately laughed. “Hahaha! We really are from the same dorm, aren’t we?”
“Hm?” Ke Yunyao blinked.
Somaya answered her confusion. “Not just you. When we first came to the school cafeteria, we also thought about that. Unfortunately, the cafeteria won’t sell the recipes—they said if they did, they wouldn’t make money.”
Ke Yunyao sighed. What a pity!
Then she suddenly thought of something. “But… the lower cafeteria also doesn’t make money, right?”
All of their attention shifted to the cafeteria downstairs.
The same new student was still surrounded by many people, who were helping her get food.
Yan Wenling explained, “Do you know that the food they’re getting down there is C-rank star beast meat?”
Ke Yunyao shook her head.
Somaya added, “Only a small number of freshmen can get full on C-rank star beast meat. As students’ year level increases, their physical ability also improves, and C-rank meat can’t meet their energy needs anymore. So most people eating free meals downstairs still need to drink nutrient solution afterward.”
“You also know those nutrient solutions. Besides replenishing energy, don’t expect anything good in terms of taste,” Yan Wenling said, wrinkling her nose just thinking about it.
Ke Yunyao nodded in horror. Indeed—the nutrient solution tasted absolutely terrible.
At that moment, she made a decision: no matter how much money she spent on research, she must always save enough for food. She absolutely did not want to drink that disgusting nutrient solution!
She glanced downstairs again. “There are so many people there—no one is going to remind that new student?”
She thought: that new student, Elina, actually had SS-level spiritual power like her. Her physical ability couldn’t be too far behind—maybe just a few levels lower. There was no way she couldn’t handle it. Didn’t anyone tell her?
Somaya glanced down and looked away. “Don’t even think about that.”
Ke Yunyao and Yan Wenling looked at her. “Hm?”
Somaya explained, “Didn’t you notice? The forum said this new student, Elina, comes from a remote star system. She’s a civilian genius. Most of the people around her are students who can’t afford good mecha masters and want to build connections early.”
Yan Wenling suddenly understood. “Ah, I get it! In simple terms, they’re poor. They can’t even afford the upstairs food, let alone remind her!”
Ke Yunyao also realized. “Oh! So they’re afraid that if they remind her, they’ll have to treat her to a meal?”
Both Yan Wenling and Somaya nodded.
Exactly.
They all wanted to build a relationship with Elina. But if they pointed out the expensive food upstairs, wouldn’t they have to pay for a meal to show goodwill?
Unfortunately, their account balances didn’t allow such generosity—so they collectively chose to ignore it.
Yan Wenling praised Somaya nonstop. “As expected of a commander. Your information collection and analysis skills are really strong. We both saw it but didn’t notice that detail.”
Ke Yunyao also nodded, slightly blushing. “Sister Somaya is amazing!”
Somaya, however, didn’t look pleased at all. She shot Yan Wenling a glare. “If you two were more reliable, I wouldn’t have had to train this hard.”
“Hehe… let’s eat, let’s eat. No more talking about that!” Yan Wenling quickly changed the topic.
Ke Yunyao glanced at Yan Wenling, then at Somaya. So they were on the same team.
She had heard from her parents that after enrollment at the Federation First Military Academy, aside from departmental exams, all other assessments were team-based.
Each team had ten members: five combat-type students and one from each of the other five departments. They could form their own teams or be randomly assigned.
So whether they could win in future exams wouldn’t depend only on personal strength—the teammates had to be reliable too.
Sigh… she wondered what kind of teammates she would get in the future.
Hopefully… reliable ones.
Ke Yunyao looked at the resentment in Somaya’s glance toward Yan Wenling and thought so.
Yan Wenling was still trying to change the topic. “Just eat, eat. This one’s good! That one’s also good!”
“Xiao Yao, hurry and eat!”
“Oh! Okay!” Ke Yunyao nodded and started picking up food again.
But Somaya clearly wasn’t willing to drop the topic so easily.
“Xiao Yao, do you know you have an entrance exam after enrollment?” she said, pausing slightly as she glanced lightly at Yan Wenling. “This is your first team formation—choose your teammates carefully. You need reliable ones.”
Yan Wenling dared not speak in anger.
……