First Assessment

The starship's hatch hissed open, revealing Instructor Kai Ang standing outside, with the other instructors lined up in two rows behind him.

He swept a disdainful gaze over the students still reeling from their first warp jump, a smirk curling at his lips.

"This Stealth-class vessel—thanks to you lot—is going to need the cleaning bots." He gestured contemptuously at the mess of vomit. "Get out. Or are you hoping it'll take you back home?" He snorted, then signaled, and the instructors stepped forward, shooing the students off the ship.

Xu Lingqu stepped forward and descended. The Stealth had landed in a wide, open meadow of short grass, with a forest to the north and a river to the south.

Blue sky, white clouds, the murmur of the river, dense woods—they seemed to have arrived on some pristine little planet. Xu Lingqu blinked at the view, feeling a strange sense of dislocation.

It almost felt like Earth before the end of the world—birdsong in the shade, a spring breeze brushing her face. Nature had a way of quieting the mind in an instant.

Xu Xiqin was still fretting over whether Xu Lingqu might have after-effects from fainting just moments ago, and she kept close to her sister's side.

Once everyone was off, the instructors led them downstream along the river. They walked for about twenty minutes, until the Stealth's bulk was no longer visible, before halting.

The terrain here was flatter and more spacious than upstream. When everyone had gathered, Instructor Kai Ang hopped onto a large boulder and looked down at the crowd from his elevated perch.

"Congratulations on passing your first little test—the warp jump." His tone dripped with mockery. "I have to say, some of your performances were... eye-opening."

Xu Lingqu felt his gaze land on her, but she showed no reaction, her expression unchanging.

"Those of you signed up for mech manufacturing and repair, step forward now. Instructor Guan will take you to another site for your trial training." Kai Ang waved a hand, and one of the instructors stepped out, ready to lead the students away.

Graduates of mech manufacturing and repair would nominally become mech engineers. In a sense, a good mech engineer was far more valuable than a mech soldier—but that was only within the definition of 'good.'

The entry threshold for mech engineering was different from that of mech soldiers, who were measured directly by mental power. It was more like the old martial sects of Blue Star's ancient past—you had to find a grandmaster, 'pay respects at the mountain gate,' and become a disciple before you could make anything of yourself.

Entering the academy was actually the least important part of their career. What mattered most was whether they could find a 'master' during this period.

The twenty students who had chosen the engineering path stepped out and followed the instructor deeper into the forest. Xu Lingqu glanced at them and noticed that the girl from the starship—the one who had asked whether she had high mental power—was among them.

Sensing Xu Lingqu's gaze, the girl turned back, met her eyes, and gave a small nod—a silent thank-you for steadying her earlier on the ship.

With the prospective engineers gone, the crowd began to buzz with whispers.

"Lucky them. I wish I'd signed up for engineering."

"They have their own entrance exams—do you have the brains for it?"

"Engineers are all weaklings who need protection. And who's going to pity us command-track students during the hellish training that's left?"

"And what did we analysts do to deserve this..."

The remaining students were mostly in combat tracks—tall, lean-muscled types who looked like they could handle themselves. The noticeably slighter figures, about sixty of them, were clearly command and analyst track.

The command and analyst tracks were originally one field, later split in two—one focusing on strategy and decision-making, the other purely on data analysis.

They were indispensable on the battlefield, but they were also the most physically fragile batch.

Normally, other military academies would pull such students out for separate training. But clearly, Moye Military Academy and Instructor Kai Ang had other ideas.

After seeing off the future engineers, Kai Ang, standing high above, called out to the remaining students: "You should have been told before you came that this trial period has an elimination system."

Deputy Instructor Chen immediately sent something to everyone's smart devices.

They all hurriedly opened it—it was a team assignment list. Of the remaining 280 people, seven formed a team, seemingly completely random.

Xu Lingqu opened the list and saw that in her group of seven, only one was from the combat track. Of the other six, four were analysts and two were command track.

Kai Ang watched the students' expressions darken and smiled with satisfaction, then announced the content of the first assessment: "For the first trial assessment, teams will face off—one-on-one combat."

Teams were randomized, and combat track students outnumbered non-combat track by nearly three or four times. Yet somehow, thanks to some absurd stroke of luck, Xu Lingqu had been handed this group.

Worse, the opposing team they were matched against was entirely combat track.

Xu Xiqin, standing nearby, went pale.

"How are we supposed to play this?" It was clearly a losing battle for Xu Lingqu's team. Xu Xiqin raised her voice and asked, "Can we switch teams?"

Before coming, Xu Youwen had yanked her ear and told her at least ten times not to meddle in other people's business during the trial—especially Xu Lingqu's.

But Xu Xiqin couldn't help it.

Deputy Instructor Chen, who had climbed onto the boulder alongside Kai Ang, seemed to have anticipated this reaction. He answered the crowd's concern with a grin: "No switching teams."

He exchanged a look with Instructor Kai Ang, then continued: "This trial period's point-based selection system isn't just for the mech department—it also determines your official admission to the academy."

"This entire trial period will be conducted on a point system. For each assessment, we will clearly state the rules. At the end of the trial period, the top twenty in the rankings enter the mech department, and the bottom eighty are eliminated outright." Deputy Instructor Chen explained, "For this assessment: seven per group, group versus group. The winning team gets five points per member; the losing team gets no points and loses points."

This year's Moye Military Academy recruitment had thrown up many complications due to the unexpected addition of Shen Shouli. There were those who wanted to test, those who wanted to ride the Shen family's coattails, and those who were simply there to cause trouble. In the end, due to pressure from multiple parties, they'd been forced to accept 300 students. This trial period was an emergency elimination system enacted to handle the complicated situation.

Kai Ang added: "Every point from here on out is crucial to you. Today is only the beginning."

Once the explanation was over, the students dispersed to gather with their teammates. Before walking away, Xu Xiqin patted Xu Lingqu on the shoulder: "Let's try to team up next round."

When Xu Lingqu's team convened, no one had a pleasant expression. The sole combat-track boy wore a dark scowl, looking as if the whole world owed him money.

Other groups were already having heated discussions about their deployment strategy—group combat wasn't just about raw strength; the order of engagement and a good race strategy mattered too.

Xu Lingqu's group, however, sat in awkward silence. Finally, the only combat-track student sneered: "What's the difference between our group and just having me alone?"