The massive, silver-white starship docked slowly at the spaceport, the emblem of the Seventy-third Military Academy shining brilliantly on its flank.
People in the waiting hall grew excited at the sight, many crowding against the glass to look outside, and the already noisy lobby instantly erupted into a din of voices.
Bai Jinqiu felt a bit dizzy from the commotion of such a scene, prompting him to pinch the bridge of his nose.
Spaceports on other planets would never display such a scene; one could only say that life in the underground city of the fringe star had fallen far too far behind the interstellar era. The vast majority of the residents here had never left the underground city before, let alone laid eyes on a starship.
He even overheard a family member nearby telling their child, “You must study hard for this examination. In the future, you will also have the chance to work on a starship like this.”
Hearing this, Bai Jinqiu couldn’t help turning his head to look at Rong Zhiting standing beside him.
The young Beta wore a calm expression. Although he was also watching the starship, it was obvious he was simply waiting for it to dock; his facial expression remained completely ordinary, showing not a single trace of excitement or yearning.
Rong Zhiting noticed Bai Jinqiu looking at him and blinked in confusion. Then, realization dawned on him.
Um, should he have acted a bit more excited?
He thought better of it, though. His acting skills weren’t that great, so he might as well save himself the embarrassment.
Having spent so many years on the command flagship of the Second Legion in his past life, let alone starships he had seen, the number of starships he had participated in repairing was too numerous to count. The starship sent by the Seventy-third Military Academy was at best a small-to-medium-sized starship, and a retired warship at that.
Honestly, seeing civilian starships used for travel felt much more novel to him than seeing a warship. After all, he hadn’t ridden in those comfort-oriented starships very often.
After the starship docked, several stern-faced military academy instructors in military uniforms walked into the waiting hall.
Standing straight with their hands behind their backs, the group instantly radiated an intangible aura of intimidation. Within minutes, the noisy waiting hall gradually quieted down.
Following that, the instructor leading the group, who held the rank of second lieutenant, spoke in a ringing voice:
“Welcome, candidates and family members. Now, please keep all personnel present quiet. Candidates will line up in an orderly fashion on the left. In five minutes, we will announce the dormitory arrangements, conduct rules aboard the ship, the schedule, and the code of behavioral standards. All family members, please board the ship first on the right and follow the guidance to the family rest area in an orderly manner.”
“Please note that the candidate rest area and the family rest area are separated zones. During the time aboard the ship, family members are not permitted to enter the candidate rest area. Candidates may visit the family zone daily from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM; at all other times, leaving the candidate activity area is prohibited. Any violations will be recorded and points deducted depending on the circumstances, and severe cases will result in disqualification from the examination.”
“The starship will set sail in thirty minutes. Please board the ship in an orderly manner.”
As soon as he finished speaking, messy discussions immediately broke out in the waiting hall. The instructors clearly took this in stride and directly began timing.
Hearing this, Rong Zhiting felt his heart skip a beat and looked toward Bai Jinqiu beside him.
Participating in the military academy entrance examination in his previous life had been many years ago, and coupled with the fact that he hadn’t had any accompanying family members back then, he had truly forgotten about this twist.
Candidates and family members would actually be separated!
The voyage from fringe star EQ952B3 to Sahomusi took two days, arriving at Sahomusi Star by tomorrow evening. This meant they would have to spend a night on the starship.
Had he known it would turn out like this, when buying the accompanying family ticket for his older brother, he wouldn’t have chosen a double room instead of a single room!
The standard configuration on this retired military starship included double rooms, four-person rooms, and six-person rooms. A single room actually just meant paying the ticket price for an extra person to exclusively occupy a double room. He had thought at the time that he could share a double room with his Brother Bai, but now, if family members had a separate rest area, wouldn’t Brother Bai have to share a room with another stranger?
At this thought, a wave of stifled frustration welled up in Rong Zhiting’s chest.
“Zhiting, what is wrong?” Bai Jinqiu asked, noticing his strange expression.
“Brother, I bought you a ticket for a double room.” Rong Zhiting wore a deeply depressed expression.
Bai Jinqiu was startled for a moment, quickly realizing what was bothering him, and couldn’t help pressing his lips together in a light smile. “I am not a child. What are you worrying about? Besides, given the rooms arranged by the military academy, the person sharing a room with me will most likely be an Omega. Could he possibly eat me?”
“Go get in line quickly; many candidates have already lined up.”
Rong Zhiting thought to himself that it might not necessarily be the case. You have no idea how many Omegas were infatuated with you in your previous life, swearing never to marry anyone else. The most Alpha Omega general in the entire Federation, huh. Heh. His love rivals in the previous life had spanned the entire Federation!
Reluctant as he was, he could only watch as his Brother Bai boarded the starship first and headed to the family rest area.
When Rong Zhiting went to join the queue, an Alpha candidate beside him glanced at him several times before finally failing to restrain himself, elbowing him and whispering:
“Hey, buddy. Who is that Omega from just now? Can you introduce me? He is so pretty!”
Rong Zhiting turned his head and said with a deadpan expression, “My dad.”
Alpha: “Sorry, my apologies.”
The Alpha candidate’s mouth twitching, he let out a couple of awkward laughs, and fell silent.
To Rong Zhiting’s right was a petite Beta who had clearly overheard their conversation, holding back laughter so hard he was almost convulsing.
Rong Zhiting turned and smiled benevolently at him.
The Beta quickly reined in his laughter, gave a light cough, and extended a hand to him:
“Hello, my name is Kelimi. Glad to meet you.”
“Rong Zhiting.” Rong Zhiting shook his hand.
“Uh, well, my name is Duan Zhe, a C-rank Alpha.” After shaking off his awkwardness, the Alpha also introduced himself.
This rank made Rong Zhiting give him a second look.
On the fringe star, a C-rank bloodline tier was considered high, and judging by his build, his physical constitution rank shouldn’t be low either. As long as Duan Zhe could pass the written examination’s average line, his probability of staying behind was quite high.
Alphas generally didn’t look bad, and Duan Zhe was no exception, but he was smiling awkwardly because of the earlier misunderstanding, making him look a bit blockheaded.
“Alright, everyone be quiet!” At that moment, the instructor holding the rank of second lieutenant spoke up. His booming voice made all the whispers instantly vanish.
The second lieutenant glanced around, and seeing that all the candidates were quietly looking at him, he nodded with satisfaction.
“My name is Keluode, the instructor responsible for recruitment in the EQ952B3 area this time. Before you board the ship, I need to remind you of one thing.”
“In the military, discipline is supreme. This is the first lesson you need to learn.”
“I know the environment of EQ952B3. Many of you might have attended intermediate academies where students were barely managed and never received standard school administration, so I can understand your loose and undisciplined habits. But if you want to become qualified military cadets, you must shed these bad traits brought from the fringe star.”
“Your queuing speed this time exceeded the allotted time by two minutes, and you were still chattering amongst yourselves after forming up. Just this once, I will not pursue the matter, but once you board this starship, I expect every single one of you to possess the self-awareness of prospective military cadets.”
“During the two days on the starship, I will give you a strict schedule and code of behavioral standards. I hope you strictly execute them and cultivate preliminary discipline. Aside from the schedule, any behavior violating the code of behavioral standards will likewise be recorded and deducted points, and severe cases will result in disqualification from the exam. I expect you to strictly regulate your behavior.”
“During times other than those specified by the schedule, you may move freely within the designated areas, or go to the family zone to stay with your family members. Once you pass the entrance examination, for the next five years you will not be allowed to leave the military academy privately except during winter and summer breaks.”
“The candidate activity area on the starship contains training facilities exclusively provided for military cadets. You may use them freely to familiarize yourselves with their usage methods beforehand.”
“I hope all of you will keep what I have said firmly in mind.”
“Now. Those whose names are called, come to the front to collect your schedules and codes of behavioral standards, and afterwards you may proceed to your respective dormitories according to your room numbers to rest and settle in. Half an hour from now, gather on the third-floor platform, where an instructor will introduce the usage methods of the facilities on board.”
After Instructor Keluode finished speaking, another instructor stepped forward and began reading the candidates’ names one by one from the list on his optical computer.
Duan Zhe was the first person whose name was called. He nodded to Rong Zhiting and Kelimi before stepping out of the line.
About five minutes later, Rong Zhiting heard his own name.
Stepping forward to receive the schedule and rulebook, he glanced through them roughly and found that the regulations in the code of behavioral standards were likely formulated specifically targeting fringe star candidates like them. They primarily imposed strict bans and related penalties on actions such as fighting, bullying, and harassing accompanying Omega family members.
Such behaviors were far too common on the fringe star; if not singled out and explicitly addressed, some candidates who had lived on the fringe star since childhood might not even realize anything was wrong with their actions.
As for the schedule, there was nothing much to comment on; it simply specified times for waking up, dining, and curfew.
Rong Zhiting, who had lived in the military for years, was already accustomed to these contents and memorized them entirely after a brief glance.
The rules prescribed in these two charts would likely make the next two days feel quite suffocating for most fringe star candidates, and certain unruly candidates would surely violate the regulations.
During the two days aboard the starship, the accompanying instructors would most likely conduct a preliminary assessment of these unevenly qualified fringe star candidates, directly kicking out of the candidate pool those who were too unruly, constantly engaged in vicious behaviors, and difficult to manage.
Rong Zhiting put away the two charts and prepared to look for his dormitory when someone patted him on the shoulder from behind.
“Hey, don’t walk so fast!” Kelimi walked over with a smile. “What a coincidence, your dormitory number only differs from mine by two digits, so they should be right next to each other. Let’s walk together!”
Rong Zhiting had no reason to refuse him, so he nodded.
The interior of the silver-white starship was clean and grand, brimming with interstellar technological flair. Because it was a retired warship, certain designs still faintly revealed an aura of cold, murderous sternness.
These were sights that could never be seen in the underground city of the fringe star. Almost every candidate who had just boarded the ship looked around in wonder, letting out silent gasps of amazement.
“Whoa! This is the inside of a starship, it’s so cool!”
Kelimi spun around in place, letting out an exaggerated gasp of wonder, but seeing that Rong Zhiting hadn’t stopped, he hurriedly chased after him.
“Hey, why are you walking so fast again? Aren’t you curious at all?” He was clearly somewhat of a chatterbox. Perhaps the assembly line-up earlier had kept him from talking and stifled the kid, as he spent the entire journey trying to chat with Rong Zhiting.
“Rong Zhiting, which district were you from before? How come you aren’t carrying any luggage? You don’t have a spatial storage device, do you?”
As Rong Zhiting walked, his mind was still occupied with thoughts about Bai Jinqiu. Pestered beyond endurance, he simply showed him the inconspicuous black ring worn on his hand alongside his identity bracelet.
“Whoa, that thing is so handsome!” Kelimi stared at the storage device, his eyes glowing. “When I get my allowance later, I’m going to buy one too!”
On other planets of the Federation, spatial storage devices had been popularized for many years, belonging to daily necessities just like optical computers. Basically, everyone owned one, and even less affluent families would share at least one. On the fringe star, however, this item remained a rarity with a very steep price tag, so few people used it.
The reason Rong Zhiting had gritted his teeth to purchase this storage bracelet back then was because he frequently needed to carry heavy mechanical repair tools back and forth between the underground city and the surface. After his rebirth, he had simply gotten a modified mecha spatial storage ring from the black market to store various materials scavenged from battlefield ruins.
Following the dormitory numbers to find his room, Kelimi finally parted ways with Rong Zhiting with lingering reluctance and headed to his own dormitory.
Rong Zhiting breathed a sigh of relief, opened the door, and walked into the room, discovering it was a four-person room with bunk beds. None of the other occupants had arrived yet, so he decisively picked a lower bunk.
Sitting on the bed, he thought to himself that once the assembly was over, he would go over to the family zone and take a look.
He wondered what kind of person was sharing a room with his Brother Bai.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he felt.
Why on earth hadn’t he thought of the zoning issue when buying the tickets?
On the other side, Bai Jinqiu followed his room number to find his quarters, pushed open the door, and locked eyes with the slender, gorgeous Omega inside.