Picking Up

Xu Lingqu decisively clicked in to see what the idle masses were analyzing now.

She saw the thread-starter himself, indignant:

【As the only S+ military academy student of the new generation, Shen Shouli condescended to attend Moye—and he can't even get the Chief Commander position! This Xu Lingqu must have serious backing. Shen Shouli is reduced to playing her supporting role.】

Many in the thread agreed with the original poster.

【Agreed, agreed. Who knows what tricks Xu Lingqu used to snatch the Chief Commander position. She even dares to push Shen Shouli aside. The military academy league will show everyone how she makes a fool of herself.】

【If an S+ can't be Chief Commander, then I really have nothing to say.】

They piled on for dozens of floors before people started pushing back.

【Can you geniuses stop contradicting yourselves? One moment you're hyping the S+ as the pride of the Military Department, the next you're saying Xu Lingqu has overwhelming power and stole his position. Is Xu Lingqu some lost princess? How could she possibly pull that off?】

【I genuinely don't get why Shen Shouli has so many fans. If he actually ignored you like air, you'd shut up real fast.】

【Agreed. Who can stand Shen Shouli's temper anyway? If he's unhappy, he'll go find Xu Lingqu himself. Some people are really getting worked up over nothing.】

...

"Shen Shouli has that many fans?" Xu Lingqu finished reading another meaningless flame war and felt that Kai Ang was right—this forum was just for entertainment, nothing more.

Liu Ming scrunched up its little face and answered, "Yeah, he has a group of 'stock-holding fans.' Because of his family background, psychic power, and decent looks, a lot of people pay attention to him. Including Jia Xiangying, the Sky Network heiress at Dolanston."

It really thought these people had zero eye for talent! The one betting on Xu Lingqu as Best Commander was the only one with real insight—the rest couldn't recognize a treasure if it hit them in the face!

"Jia Xiangying..." Xu Lingqu found her thread on the homepage. It contained photos of her—a girl with a cute face, light gray curly hair, and striking pink eyes that set her apart.

There wasn't much substantive discussion about her in the thread, since she was also a new student at Dolanston. Most of it was praise and chatter about her appearance—no useful information.

Xu Lingqu finished reading and logged out of Sky Network. This forum had no substance; it was just netizens trading barbs to kill time. For her, it was better to get through the materials Kai Ang had organized.

Liu Ming, however, was thoroughly indignant, having already exploited a bug to create over a dozen alt accounts. Once Xu Lingqu finished her first match, it was going to dig up every one of these clueless naysayers and rub their faces in it!

—

In the medical room, Li Haisha looked up to see Xu Lingqu connected to the treatment instruments, looking exhausted and drowsy, still flipping through the materials Kai Ang had given her.

Ten days had passed.

Li Haisha had reached her limit. Ignoring Ou Liefu's attempts to stop her, she slapped her hand down and directly placed a video call to Kai Ang.

The moment Kai Ang picked up, Li Haisha laid into him.

"Is this how you people work someone to the bone? She trains like this every single day, and when she comes to the medical room for treatment and rest, she's still reading materials. It's torture on both body and mind. She's just a commander—the match is about to start, would it kill you to cut her some slack?"

Kai Ang was on the verge of tears. "We don't want this either."

He'd already made up his mind: in the days before the official match, he'd just let Xu Lingqu review materials in her dorm. But Xu Lingqu wouldn't have it.

Xu Lingqu had already trained herself to be stronger than most combat-track students—just short of the top tier now. The difference from when she'd first entered Moye was night and day. Granted, her special constitution played a role, but without her determination and perseverance, that constitution alone would've been wasted.

Instructor Chen glanced at Kai Ang, who was at a loss after being scolded by Li Haisha, and said, "Don't let her train this afternoon."

"She'll definitely insist on coming. I can't exactly throw her out," Kai Ang said, conflicted.

"Give her something else to do." Instructor Chen sent a file to Kai Ang's smart device. "Have her go pick people up."

With five days until the official start of the military academy league, as the host on Yuheng Star, it was proper for Moye Military Academy to proactively pick up the other Imperial academies and show them around.

Of course, Dolanston had already notified them in advance that they didn't need Moye to pick them up.

"Today the Cimei students are arriving. Have Xu Lingqu go meet them early—just say it's to familiarize herself in advance," Instructor Chen suggested. "And have Su Li take her to meet Lieutenant General Jia Deli. She's the benchmark for Xu Lingqu's future development."

Originally, Feng Hui was supposed to go, but after Xu Lingqu's mecha arena spot was confirmed, Instructor Chen had 'accidentally' poured scalding tea over Feng Hui's foot. Feng Hui was now forced to take paid leave.

"You always have a way." Kai Ang felt incredibly lucky to have this partner.

When she received the notification, Xu Lingqu had just finished treatment.

Over these days, she hadn't merely stared at the materials or memorized them. She'd focused on the Sky Network battle maps, and once familiar with them, she'd run simulated battle scenarios in her head, playing out both sides in different engagement modes.

Essentially, she was building a thorough tactical reserve in advance. It was genuinely taxing on the mind—sometimes a battle map would suddenly pop into her head while she was sleeping, and she'd spend the whole night running simulations. As a result, she was sleep-deprived, listless, and looked utterly drained.

"I'm going to pick people up?" Xu Lingqu replied to Kai Ang. "Looking like this, I'm afraid Cimei will think Moye doesn't let its students sleep."

In a sense, that was true. But Kai Ang insisted, "This is a good opportunity to get familiar with people from other schools in advance."

He insisted she go, and Xu Lingqu had no choice. Su Li came to pick her up by skimmer, along with several third-years who weren't on the hundred-person volunteer list.

The Cimei students were arriving on a dedicated star-rail train, stopping at Yuheng's star-rail station. The Yuheng Military Base had originally requested that Lieutenant General Jia Deli land directly at the base, but she refused on the grounds that it broke protocol.

She and her students exited at a regular station, together with ordinary passengers.

Xu Lingqu stood behind Su Li, waiting about five minutes. Not far off, the Cimei students, all in their black-and-green uniforms, came marching toward them in a neat hundred-person column.

They looked full of energy, curious about everything on Yuheng, chattering excitedly as they looked around. Lieutenant General Jia Deli walked at the very back—tall, imposing, with several guards close at her side, scanning the surroundings warily.

Su Li was just about to pull Xu Lingqu forward to greet them when she turned and saw Xu Lingqu striding off to the left, grabbing hold of someone in a gray hoodie by the arm.

"What were you photographing us for?"