Yan Changfeng was wondering if she could get on good terms with Jiang Qi so he would lead her inside. After all, in the entire Mecha Combat Department, he was the only person she knew besides Instructor Xie.
Just as she was thinking about how to improve their relationship, Jiang Qi’s voice suddenly came from behind her.
“What are you doing here?”
Hearing this, Yan Changfeng turned around. Jiang Qi was standing behind her with a look of extreme wariness.
Noticing his vigilance, Yan Changfeng glanced at his hair, which had already been dyed back to black, and smoothly changed the subject. “What happened to your hair?”
Jiang Qi’s expression flickered.
“Oh.” Yan Changfeng narrowed her eyes slightly, realization dawning on her. “Ordered to change it back? I thought you were a natural redhead.”
Jiang Qi’s face darkened even further. He lifted his leg, intending to bypass Yan Changfeng and enter the training ground.
Yan Changfeng didn’t forget why she had come. She immediately blocked his path, her hand firmly gripping Jiang Qi’s arm so he couldn’t move.
“What are you doing!” Jiang Qi exploded instantly. Memories of his previous “humiliation” surged back. He struggled desperately, trying to escape her clutches.
Seeing that Jiang Qi was about to call for help, Yan Changfeng, in a moment of desperation, covered his mouth with one hand and dragged him behind a tree with the other. “Don’t scream, I want to discuss something with you.”
The two struggled as they moved behind the tree, encountering several Mecha Combat Department freshmen on their way to training.
Hope flared in Jiang Qi’s eyes, and he reached out a hand, attempting to signal for help.
The two girls walking together watched this explosive scene, their faces lighting up with excitement.
One of them whispered, “Hey, hey, I told you so! Look, look.”
The other replied, “Wow, so that’s how it is.”
They shared a knowing smile, and the girl in front even gave Yan Changfeng a thumbs-up.
Jiang Qi: *Damn it, what are these two talking about? Can’t they see I’m being kidnapped!*
Eventually, Jiang Qi was dragged behind a large tree. His head was spinning the entire way.
*Doesn’t he have a C-class Physique and C-class Mental Power? Why is he being dragged around like this!*
*How is Yan Changfeng so strong!*
After dragging him behind the tree, Yan Changfeng felt a bit troubled. The situation hadn’t developed quite as she had expected.
She hadn’t even said anything yet, so why did Jiang Qi look like his life was over while he desperately clutched his clothes?
She wasn’t interested in his training uniform.
Yan Changfeng cleared her throat and put on what she thought was an extremely friendly smile. Then, she pulled a bottle of water from her pocket space and shoved it into Jiang Qi’s hand. “Student Jiang Qi, this bottle of water…”
Jiang Qi looked like he had seen a ghost. He immediately threw the water away, and it landed right next to a trash can.
“I’m not giving you any more money!”
Ever since being scammed twice, Jiang Qi had reflected on the matter repeatedly after going back. He finally understood one thing: dignity meant nothing compared to the fact that he looked like a total sucker for being scammed by a bottle of water over and over again!
Yan Changfeng stared at the water by the trash can for a long time. Finally, she walked over, picked it up, wiped it clean, and tossed it back into her pocket space.
She pulled out another brand of water from her pocket space and handed it over, trying to explain, “I wasn’t planning on selling it to you. I wanted to give it to you as a gift. This brand tastes pretty good; it’s very sweet.”
Jiang Qi hesitantly took it and took a sip right in front of Yan Changfeng.
Yan Changfeng: “Is it sweet?”
Jiang Qi: “Are you sure? What’s the difference between this and the water you sold me last time?”
Yan Changfeng pulled out an identical bottle for herself, took a sip, and made a very sincere suggestion. “Jiang Qi, there’s something wrong with your tongue. You should go to the school hospital.”
*Crack—*
The plastic bottle was instantly twisted out of shape in Jiang Qi’s grip.
Yan Changfeng silently observed Jiang Qi’s expression. It seemed the “giving water” method wasn’t very effective.
Before she could think of another plan, Xie Wanyue’s figure suddenly appeared behind the iron fence of the training ground.
Her face was cold, looking as if Yan Changfeng and Jiang Qi each owed her millions. Her icy gaze swept between the two of them. “You two! Instead of gathering for assembly, what! are! you! doing! here!”
She truly lived up to her reputation as the Cold-faced King of Hell; a single sentence was enough to make one shiver.
“Jiang Qi, return to the team!”
Jiang Qi jumped. “Yes!” He immediately ran toward the entrance of the training ground.
Seeing that the fire hadn’t reached her yet, Yan Changfeng had a sudden thought. She was now a student of the Single Soldier Department, while Instructor Xie was from the Mecha Combat Department; she shouldn’t have authority over her. So, she opened her mouth. “Instructor Xie.”
“Get lost!”
Yan Changfeng: “…Yes.”
…
Despite being chased away once, Yan Changfeng did not give up on her plan to sneak into the Mecha Combat Department. Even if she couldn’t get into a cockpit, it would be nice just to touch them a bit to satisfy her cravings.
The next day, Yan Changfeng intentionally arrived early at the training ground. The gates had just opened, and there were only a few scattered people on the field. She scanned the area and saw no sign of Instructor Xie.
Yan Changfeng straightened her training uniform, specifically covering the black school emblem that represented the Single Soldier Department, and tried to blend in.
She promised herself she would just touch one and leave.
Just as Yan Changfeng reached the entrance of the field and before her left foot could even step inside, a delighted voice came from behind her.
“Is that Representative Yan from the Single Soldier Department?!”
*No, it’s not. You’ve got the wrong person!*
Yan Changfeng pretended not to hear and continued walking in. Just as both her feet were about to enter the Mecha Combat field, a girl from behind grabbed her and yanked her back.
“Wow! It really is Representative Yan! Are you here to see Representative Jiang?”
Yan Changfeng: “I…” *No.*
The girl: “I know where Representative Jiang is. He’s not on the field. I’ll take you to him right now.” She looped her arm through Yan Changfeng’s and practically dragged her from the entrance to a vending machine outside the training ground.
Jiang Qi was about to buy water from the vending machine when he saw the two of them approaching him in a strange formation.
The girl let out a “hehehe” laugh and pushed Yan Changfeng forward. “Representative, Representative Yan from the Single Soldier Department is here to see you.” Then she ran off, looking back every few steps.
Yan Changfeng’s lip twitched. “Student, watch where you’re going.”
The girl: “Hehehe.”
Soon, only Yan Changfeng and Jiang Qi were left facing each other in front of the vending machine.
Yan Changfeng glanced at the vending machine and immediately pulled out a bottle of water, handing it over. “Student Jiang, would you like some water?”
Jiang Qi: “Thank you?” *Why did he feel like he could hear a hidden threat in that sentence—that if he didn’t drink it, she would strangle him?*
…
The failure of her morning plan left Yan Changfeng in low spirits for the rest of the day. She was even listless during training, which made Yan Wenzhi start to feel anxious.
She turned to the Single Soldier Department teacher who had been following the training. “What’s wrong with this kid? The nutrient solution arrived, and she didn’t even go to grab it?”
The teacher was silent for a moment, then pulled out his optical computer and opened the school forum.
[Rational Discussion: The Love-Hate Relationship Between the Single Soldier Freshman Rep and the Mecha Combat Freshman Rep]
Yan Wenzhi: ?
“The kid is growing up; it’s normal to have things on her mind.” The teacher sighed and added, “I read the post. Our kid is the one on top. I’ll find a chance to apologize to the Mecha Combat teacher tomorrow.”
Weekend.
Yan Changfeng went to work at the shop as usual.
“Sigh.”
The Shop Owner’s eyelid twitched. “That’s the 108th time you’ve sighed today. If you’re sick, go get treated.”
Yan Changfeng: “It’s incurable. It’s heart sickness.”
Shop Owner: “Then go die.”
Yan Changfeng: “I’ll die in your shop.”
After trading barbs with the Shop Owner, Yan Changfeng’s mood improved significantly. She had a thought: although she couldn’t touch the mechas at school, that didn’t mean she couldn’t touch mechas out here.
So, she leaned in toward the Shop Owner. “Old Zhang, do you know how to build mechas?”
The Shop Owner’s lip twitched. “What kind of madness are you on now?”
“So you do know.” Yan Changfeng urged, “If you ever get an order to build a mecha, let me touch it.” She had seen mecha-related orders on the forum before. Compared to the forging fees for cold weapons, the manufacturing fees for mechas were more than double.
The Shop Owner continued his work without looking up. “I don’t take them. I don’t build those trash mechas.”
Yan Changfeng: “There are orders for high-level mechas.”
“Still trash.”
“There are even A-class mecha orders.”
“A-class trash.”
Yan Changfeng: “…”
By the time Yan Changfeng returned to her dormitory, she still hadn’t successfully convinced the Shop Owner to take an order.
Putting the mecha issue aside for now, Yan Changfeng planned to take a shower first. After spending a day in the shop, she felt like she was being marinated in the scent of metallic ores.
She sniffed the metal scent on her overcoat but suddenly caught a faint floral fragrance within it. It was the scent of a flower placed outside every shop in the Ghost Market, rumored to be a “ball flower” from another planet.
Yan Changfeng carried her overcoat toward the bathroom but stopped as she passed Huo Siyu’s bed.
She remembered.
The strange scent she had smelled that night—wasn’t it exactly this scent when the flower’s fragrance was at its peak?
*Senior Huo, what was she doing in the Ghost Market?*
*Didi—*
A message arrived on her optical computer. Yan Changfeng tossed her overcoat into the washing machine and checked her message list.
Ji Nian: [Since when did you and that Jiang Qi kid get so close?]
Yan Changfeng: [I didn’t even know we were close.]
Ji Nian: [Everyone is saying so.]
Yan Changfeng: [Then everyone has terrible eyesight.]
Yan Changfeng didn’t dwell on the Jiang Qi matter because the Shop Owner had just sent her wages for the month. For the three orders and various other odd jobs as an assistant, it totaled 15 million Star Coins.
She was excited for a moment, then transferred 14 million Star Coins back.
Little Sly and Slippery: [Including the 6 million from last time, that’s 20 million Star Coins total. This should be enough, right?]
Shop Owner: [Barely. By the time your assessment is over, I should be able to find all the materials.]
Suddenly, Yan Changfeng remembered the two pieces of high-grade thunder iron alloy that “I Am The Sword Dao Genius” had sent her. The interstellar express tracking showed they would arrive in a week, right after the freshman assessment ended.
Little Sly and Slippery: [If everything goes well, there will be two more pieces of high-grade thunder iron alloy then.]
Shop Owner: [Fine. We’ll save them for the sword blade material.]
With the remaining 1 million Star Coins, Yan Changfeng thought it over and dumped it all into the normal skill card pool.
As blue lights flashed one after another, Yan Changfeng’s heart grew colder. Just as she was about to close the card pool and go grind in the tower to calm her nerves, a golden light unexpectedly appeared before her.
[Healing]
[Active healing skill. Can treat physical external injuries. The number of people treated and the effectiveness of the treatment are bound to mental power.]
…
A month of training was not a short time. The freshmen who had been listless when they first enrolled were now full of energy.
The location for the freshman assessment was set at the Jungle Hunting Ground on Blue Star. It used to be a no man’s land, but after Blue Star underwent comprehensive modification, the wild beasts and high-level exotic beasts within it had been completely purged.
In the past, Blue Star Academy had produced a 3S-class genius who brought the academy to unprecedented heights, briefly placing it among the five great military schools in the entire interstellar space. The Jungle Hunting Ground was modified back then to serve as Blue Star’s league assessment stronghold.
Unfortunately, after that 3S-class genius, Blue Star Academy gradually declined. Now, it couldn’t even make the top twenty in the entire Alliance. In the last Alliance military school assessment, it only ranked 23rd, which was already its best result in recent years.
The Single Soldier Department teacher finished this story listlessly, his face full of dejection.
Yan Changfeng raised an eyebrow. “It seems our academy has a lot of room for improvement. This year, we’ll just barely improve by 22 places.”
The other Single Soldier freshmen nearby chimed in.
“It’s good that you have such confidence. I believe… wait, how many places did you say?” The teacher was initially pleased by Yan Changfeng’s drive, but he immediately realized something was wrong.
He could believe improving into the top ten, but rushing straight to first place? He thought Yan Changfeng was joking with him.
He said with pained earnestness, “I’ve told you, you must remain steady in everything you do! Don’t be overambitious! Last time you were clamoring to borrow mechas from the Mecha Combat Department; what are you planning this time?”
He was practically pointing her out by name.
Yan Changfeng rubbed her nose. “Well, it’s not like I actually managed to borrow one, right?”
Not only did she fail to borrow one, she hadn’t even had the chance to speak before the fierce-looking Instructor Xie had chased her out of the Mecha Combat Department’s training field in front of everyone.