Highlights

The other instructors watching recorded her comments, planning to design a specialized training program for that trainee's abilities later.

"Next, who else wants to come up?" Ye Hongci looked around.

Clearly, the high spirits everyone had felt were doused by Tang Ying's unrelenting ruthlessness.

Although being personally instructed by Chief Ye was a great honor, getting beaten into the infirmary was also genuinely painful.

Ye Hongci noticed this too, pressed her lips into a faint smile, and helplessly relaxed the conditions. "Alright then, you can team up in pairs."

She added an extra warning to Tang Ying, "Assistant Tang, go easy on them. These are all new recruits."

Tang Ying nodded.

With two-person teams allowed, everyone perked up again.

Pairs stepped forward one after another to spar with Tang Ying.

Unfortunately, even in pairs, they couldn't last more than a few moves against her.

But thanks to Ye Hongci's warning, Tang Ying held back, stopping at the point of contact, and no one was sent to the infirmary this time.

Ai Meigui was brimming with enthusiasm, looking at Tu Ran. "Sister Tu Ran, should we team up and give it a try?"

Tu Ran didn't really want to join in on the excitement. "I have a stomachache."

"Huh? Then should we go to the infirmary? I know where it is—I'll take you." Ai Meigui grasped her hand, worried.

Tu Ran felt a brief pang of guilt and shook her head. "No need. It'll pass soon. Once it does, I'll go with you."

"No, no, your health comes first. I can find someone else to go with me." Ai Meigui asked anxiously, "Are you sure you don't need to go to the infirmary?"

"I'm sure." Tu Ran shook her head with a smile.

Ai Meigui finally relaxed and scanned her surroundings, looking for a partner.

In the end, she teamed up with Xiang Hou—two people from Hope Star.

Unfortunately, neither of them was particularly skilled. Xiang Hou wasn't as strong as his brother, and Ai Meigui was purely there to show off and catch Ye Hongci's attention. The two of them lasted less than three minutes before one was kicked to the ground and the other got hit in the face.

Ai Meigui was the one kicked down, landing flat on her rear.

She clutched her butt and hobbled back to her little stool. The moment she sat down, the pain made her hiss through her teeth, nearly jumping right back up.

If it weren't for the fact that Ye Hongci explained the merits and flaws of each person's techniques, Ai Meigui would have jumped up without any dignity.

Now she had to endure the pain, maintain a composed smile on her face, and prick up her ears, ready to seriously listen to Ye Hongci's praise.

But instead, Ye Hongci looked at her several times, spent a long moment organizing her words, and finally said only, "Your courage is commendable. This spirit is something everyone should learn from."

Ai Meigui was almost in tears. "Thank you for your guidance, Chief Ye."

Ye Hongci quickly averted her gaze and looked at the next pair.

Ai Meigui's head almost drooped onto her knees, her twin ponytails hanging down to cover her face. She poked at the dirt with her fingers, digging a small hole, and asked weakly, "Sister Tu Ran, was I really bad just now? Chief Ye didn't even praise me."

Tu Ran patted her back soothingly. "Not bad at all. Didn't Chief Ye say your spirit deserves recognition?"

"That's only because there was nothing else about me worth praising."

"Of course not," Tu Ran said, as if coaxing a child. "The whole Haendeng Galaxy is starving for the kind of optimistic, upward-looking spirit you have. A military force's capability matters, of course, but a vibrant, courageous, challenge-seeking spirit deserves encouragement too. You happen to have exactly that, which is why Chief Ye pointed it out to praise you." Then Tu Ran added, "She didn't praise anyone else, only you. That means you're special in Chief Ye's eyes."

Ai Meigui seemed persuaded, lifting her head slightly from her knees to reveal a pair of bright, watery eyes. "Sister Tu Ran, you're really good at compliments."

Tu Ran smiled. "I'm just stating facts. Don't mope around here. Keep watching, learn more, and someday you'll take Tang Ying down and make Chief Ye see you in a new light."

Ai Meigui glanced at Tang Ying and sighed. "She's too strong. I'm afraid no one can beat her except Chief Ye."

Tu Ran turned her face toward her but said nothing.

As Ai Meigui said, no one had managed to defeat Tang Ying so far—even lasting ten minutes against her was a rarity.

Moreover, after sparring with so many different people for so long, Tang Ying showed no signs of fatigue at all.

Ye Hongci's initial expectations had fallen flat.

She had hoped that among these new recruits, there would be a few outstanding ones, because she planned to form an elite squad that would become the tip of the spear for the human legions of the Haendeng Galaxy. The proposal had already been approved by her superiors, and she had personally joined the training program. One of her reasons was to pick out elite talents and focus on nurturing them.

But so far, no one had stood out.

She sighed inwardly, her gaze sweeping over the faces of those who hadn't yet gone up.

Most of them looked at Tang Ying with admiration and reverence—it was human nature to respect the strong. Another portion showed hesitation and inner conflict; they wanted to spar with Tang Ying, but for various reasons, they didn't dare step forward.

Not a single pair of eyes held the emotion she was looking for.

Until she saw Tu Ran.

She was sitting on her little stool with no posture whatsoever, chin propped on one hand, fingers tapping out a rhythm in the air. If not for the fact that the stool was too low to cross her legs, she would definitely have struck a leisurely pose with one leg crossed over the other.

Her expression was utterly indifferent—sometimes looking at the ground, sometimes at the sky, sometimes drifting off into distraction. Only occasionally did she glance at the sparring in the open area, her gaze carrying no extra emotion, as if she were watching a routine performance.

"What's her name?" Ye Hongci looked at an instructor beside her.

The instructor followed her gaze, and at that moment, as if sensing something, Tu Ran looked straight back at the two of them.

Ye Hongci's heart jumped. Such keen intuition was not something an ordinary person possessed.

The instructor recognized Tu Ran and said, "Her name is Tu Ran. She came from Wasteland Star No.1—she escaped from Wasteland Star not long ago and ended up in Zone 999. The mobilization minister of Zone 999 referred her here."

"Wasteland Star No.1?" Ye Hongci frowned, then suddenly looked up. "Anyone who can escape from that place is no ordinary person."

"Right," the instructor agreed, looking at Tu Ran with considerable admiration. "She has great physical fitness and improving fast. Her physical fitness started out only mid-to-back among the new recruits, but after just five days of training, she moved up to the front. And the standard physical metrics are easy for her, no problem at all."

Ye Hongci looked at Tu Ran, a plan forming in her mind.

After Tang Ying kicked out two more people, no one dared to step up.

Everyone was a new recruit without systematic training; losing to Tang Ying was a given. Why bother humiliating themselves?

"Anyone else willing to come up?" Ye Hongci asked.

No one answered.

Tu Ran sat up straighter beneath, figuring that the morning training was about to end.

Time to think about what to eat for lunch.

"Then I'll pick a few people to come up and spar."

Tu Ran's shoulders slumped immediately—a conditioned reflex from years of schooling, always trying to shrink her presence when a teacher called on people to answer questions.

Unfortunately, Ye Hongci had her eye on her.

"Tu Ran, come up and give it a try."

Tu Ran, called out: "..."

She glanced at Ye Hongci, who was smiling at her—a kind, benevolent smile full of encouragement.

Tu Ran thought: So Ye Hongci and the instructor had been talking about her. It wasn't her imagination.

"Go, Sister Tu Ran!" Ai Meigui cheered her on from the sidelines, then whispered, "Even if you lose, it's fine. Everyone's lost. No one will laugh at you."

Tu Ran stood up and walked toward Tang Ying.

She walked rather slowly, which to others looked like a death march—someone lacking confidence, afraid to face Tang Ying, but dragged up anyway.

In reality, Tu Ran was thinking about where she should lose convincingly without raising suspicion.

She just wanted to blend in here, coast until the "Gate" opened, and slip away quietly. Even if it caused a stir, her disappearance—a mere unappointed reserve member—wouldn't have much impact on this world.

Tu Ran walked to the cart and was still thinking about this as she picked her weapon.

In the end, she decided to let Tang Ying kick her out.

Tu Ran picked a staff.

After dawdling, she finally stood before Tang Ying. Tang Ying asked routinely, "Ready?"

Tu Ran nodded.

Tang Ying charged straight at her.

Having watched from the sidelines earlier, Tu Ran had already figured out her patterns.

She opened with her big move, intending to finish the enemy as fast as possible.

Tu Ran sidestepped, dodging her punch, and immediately followed by Tang Ying's sweeping long leg.

She was fast, and Tu Ran had no time to retreat, so she leaned back, Tang Ying's leg whipping past right by her nose.

Before Tu Ran could straighten up, Tang Ying's next move came—an axe kick.

Based on what she'd observed, Tang Ying's leg strength was formidable. If that kick came down, Tu Ran estimated her back would be done for.

Passive dodging wasn't working. For the first time, Tu Ran raised her staff and struck out actively. Tang Ying made an emergency evasion, shifting her leg aside, and Tu Ran finally straightened up, putting some distance between them.

Tang Ying looked at the person before her, sensing that this one was different from the others, and began to take her seriously.

She launched another full-speed assault, using both arms and legs with no room for the opponent to catch a breath. At that speed, anyone else would have been kicked out long ago.

But Tu Ran had abilities; her speed was more than twice as fast, and Tang Ying's movements still weren't quick enough in her eyes.

Tu Ran circled around her, deflecting her moves while looking for the right moment to bow out.

That moment was hard to find. Tang Ying struck viciously with every hit—her swings even whistled through the air, showing just how much force was behind them. Tu Ran couldn't get past her body's reflexes. Every time her brain decided to let the next hit land and retreat, her body would instinctively block it first.

Watching Tang Ying's face grow darker and the shock on the other onlookers' faces, Tu Ran figured she couldn't keep dragging this out forever.

Ye Hongci watched every move of Tu Ran's with admiration. Such reaction speed could only be achieved with powerful Mental Energy. With strong Mental Energy, one could operate a mecha much better—even reach the point of total integration with the machine.