The Final Assessment
Seeing his brother practically ready to cheer for Xu Lingqu, Guan Zhongli knew better than to push the issue. He patted his shoulder and said, "Come on, let's practice a bit more."
Wang Qihu could sense something was off with his friend, but Guan Zhongli had always kept his troubles to himself, so Wang Qihu didn't pry. He simply focused on accompanying him in shooting practice.
After that stationary shooting drill, the training schedule for the next six days was set: basic physical training in the morning and shooting practice in the afternoon.
Unfortunately, whether Instructor Chen had secretly pulled some strings or not, Xu Lingqu and Liu Zheng never ended up in the same group again. Looking only at their final scores in rings, they traded wins and losses, though Liu Zheng still came out ahead more often. But in the eyes of the others, Xu Lingqu was nothing short of a monster.
She just kept getting stronger. On the surface, her psychic power was only B-rank, but she seemed to have no ceiling. What was even more frightening was that she never slacked—she worked harder than anyone else. Someone like her was simply born to reach the top.
The instructors felt the same way. Kai Ang had been burning the midnight oil writing up the final assessment paperwork for Su Li, and whenever he felt like spitting blood, he'd take a look at Xu Lingqu's results and feel instantly refreshed.
"You know, when she fainted during the warp transit, I never imagined she'd turn out this strong," Kai Ang couldn't help but remark.
It was like finding a garbage bag on the street, slightly annoying, but when you opened it, it was full of priceless treasures.
He said smugly, "I feel like I'm on the path to nurturing the future light of the Empire's command."
"Nurturing? You're just along for the ride," Instructor Chen retorted, glancing at the final assessment paperwork with a twitch of his mouth. The thing was a mess—he'd have to rewrite and polish it himself. "She did it all on her own."
During that cross-country run, Xu Lingqu had never once considered giving up. She pushed through purely on sheer willpower.
"Heh, once you send it off, Su Li will approve it in no time. When she gets here, we can kick off the final assessment," Kai Ang said, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
Instructor Chen stared at the chaotic final assessment plan and commented, "Your brain can be pretty vicious sometimes."
Kai Ang: ...Was that a compliment?
-
Seven days after that first stationary shooting drill, on a perfectly ordinary day, the gate to the training base opened.
A red-and-silver aircraft flew into the training ground. The cockpit opened, and a woman with curly brown hair stepped out. She wore a light purple military uniform—likely the standard issue from Moye Military Academy—and a new pair of sunglasses. She strode with purpose, exuding efficiency.
At that moment, the students had all gathered on the training field, waiting for orders. Today, unusually, both Instructor Chen and Instructor Kai Ang were present, and everyone had a vague sense that something big was about to be announced. When the newcomer arrived, all eyes naturally turned to her as she walked in military boots up to the two instructors.
"Let me introduce you—this is Vice Principal Su Li of Moye Military Academy." After exchanging greetings, Instructor Chen spoke first.
Su Li took off her sunglasses and surveyed the new students. These were the ones Kai Ang and Instructor Chen had been touting, claiming they could take down Dolanston Academy.
At first glance, their spirit did look better than the previous cohorts.
The students were intrigued—why would the vice principal come to watch their training? But they were also wary. This vice principal didn't seem like someone to take lightly; she might have some new torture scheme in store.
Even Kai Ang's usual arrogance was tempered by three notches. He glanced at Su Li, then rubbed his nose and announced to all the students, "Today marks the start of the final assessment for this trial period at Moye Military Academy."
The moment he said that, the students erupted.
"What? Time flies—has it been a month and a half already?"
"You've gone soft from training. It's not even a month yet. They're early."
"Why early? Did Moye run out of money or something?"
"Early is fine. I've had enough of this dump."
Once they'd had their say and the chatter died down, Kai Ang continued, "Quiet down. You're all in front of the vice principal, and look at you. Stand up straight. I'll only explain the rules of the final assessment once."
At that, silence fell. The other instructors began distributing the equipment for the assessment to each student.
"Don't worry too much—it's just a standard combat drill, like the holographic gunfight you all love on the Sky Network," Kai Ang said with a reassuring smile, but then he pivoted, "But that would be too boring, so I've come up with some new twists for you."
"The most basic rule of this assessment is that you'll be engaging in gun battles with each other. For regular students, one kill equals one point. Kill points go directly into the overall standings that determine elimination. And the fun I've cooked up for you is this—" Kai Ang opened a list on his smart device. "Xu Lingqu, Xu Xiqin, Shen Shouli, Jin, and Liu Zheng. You five are currently the top five in the overall standings. For this final assessment, unlike the regular students, each of you carries a bounty of 20 points."
A bounty!
Although these five were far ahead in the current rankings, the points among the trailing students were tightly contested. Twenty points meant that if they could take down even one of these five, they could jump from the brink of elimination to the middle ranks, or from the middle ranks to the top 20 and qualify as mech pilots.
This was practically... putting them on the fire!
Kai Ang wasn't done piling on the pressure. He added, "Also, everyone other than them is automatically one faction. Not that you only have to target them—at the end of the training, we'll tally faction scores. Each of them counts as 55 points, and each of you counts as 1 point. Whichever faction has more points, every member of that faction gets an extra 10 points."
The instructor's intention was clear: he wanted to force these five into a pack and set them against everyone else. This way, they'd feel what it was like to face 55 opponents, and it would ignite the fighting spirit of everyone else. For Kai Ang, it was two birds with one stone.
"The assessment runs from 2 PM today until midnight sharp. Around 11 PM, we'll send in 20 instructors to clean out any remaining students. Those who manage to escape the sweep and return to the base on their own get an extra 5 points. During the assessment, each of you starts with 30 bullets. Your guns are locked to your smart devices. Supplies will be dropped at designated points, and the specialized combat system has been activated," Kai Ang observed the students' expressions. "Now, we can head to the field."
"Hold on," Jin spoke up at that moment. "I have a question. If we hit one of the instructors sent to clean us out, is there a reward?"
The five of them had already clustered together in the crowd, with Xu Lingqu at the center. The other students, whether intentionally or not, had left a gap around them, making them stand out.
Jin's question initially drew laughter. After all, he was always a free spirit, so asking such a fanciful thing wasn't surprising.
Kai Ang was about to make a joke to lighten the mood when Vice Principal Su Li suddenly spoke up. "Hmph, you really don't know your place. If you can hit one of the instructors, I'll give each of your group 100 points."
Jin nodded with a smile. He did think it was a bit odd asking that, but he glanced over at Xu Lingqu.
The commander had told him to ask, so asking was the right move—no doubt about it.