Chapter 11

Asher, just out of the gym, stood quietly by the door, watching the one-person-one-machine interaction. He finally understood why Jiujiu had turned out this way.

"Huh? You're back? I was just about to go find you."

Wu Ying had a lot of little gestures and expressions when she spoke. Asher had once suspected she might be a spy, but after witnessing her clumsy acting and her completely non-threatening physique and mental power, he'd dropped that idea.

He now worried whether she could even survive military training with her current fitness. The Federation placed great importance on military training, and it counted heavily toward the final grade.

"You're going to work out too?"

"Uh, not really. Can't I come find you just because I missed you?"

Wu Ying deliberately ignored his mention of exercise and launched a sweet attack instead. Sure enough, the moment she said that, Asher instinctively turned his head away, avoiding her gaze.

"Deflecting the topic."

Asher concluded, but didn't say anything more. Instead, he brushed past her and strode forward.

Wu Ying's eyes went wide, confirming it once more: unbelievable—the man actually knew how to counterattack now.

"Jiujiu, breakfast."

"Yes, Master."

Asher consumed a hefty amount of energy every day, so his intake was substantial. He'd eat once when he got up, then again after training. Watching the calories and sheer volume made Wu Ying shake her head. If she ate like that, she'd probably gain ten pounds in one go.

"You wouldn't if you trained properly."

Wu Ying shook her head. She truly hated exercise. It wasn't like she'd never gone to the gym; she just couldn't stick with it. She could barely walk a few steps in there—the gravity coefficient in the gym was different from the usual setting.

"With your current fitness level, military training will be rough."

This wasn't an exaggeration but a conclusion Asher had reached through simple observation. Her muscles were so slack that no measurement was needed. She'd been thinner when they first met, but now she'd put on weight, and her muscle mass hadn't grown—if anything, it had declined.

He didn't even need to touch her to know she was all soft flesh. If she got reduced to tears during training, she'd better not come crying to him.

"Do they definitely test physical fitness?"

At the mention of military training, Wu Ying instantly deflated. Her almond-shaped eyes drooped as she looked at him with pitiful grievance. She'd never liked exercise and was already daydreaming about the possibility of no physical test.

Asher found her question odd. What did she mean by "test physical fitness"? Military training didn't have a standalone "physical fitness assessment"—rather, physical fitness was the foundation, with evaluations built around wilderness survival, route marches, and similar exercises.

Wu Ying thought his expression right now was saying: "Dream on."

"I'll train after the exams." Wu Ying hugged her head and flopped sideways onto the dining table, her chubby little cheek pressed against the surface. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether her face or the table was whiter.

Wu Ying was lost in her own worries, oblivious to Asher's almost silent stillness. He watched her without moving, his gaze distant, those dark eyes seeming to gather all the stars within them—yet also fixed on just one point.

Soon, Jiujiu's arrival with a tray broke the quiet. In a cheerful voice, it introduced the day's dishes. Thanks to Wu Ying's teaching, it also recited the nutritional value of each item, using vivid metaphors and speaking so floridly that it outdid even Wu Ying herself.

"I knew my training worked wonders—Jiujiu, you've surpassed 99% of robots nationwide."

"Really? That's because Master taught me so well."

Asher cut a piece of steak, watching Jiujiu wiggle its body shyly and exchange compliments with Wu Ying. It was a bit hard on the eyes.

He lowered his head and pretended not to see.

By the time he finished breakfast, the meal across from him had barely been touched—two slices of bread, with only a small bite mark in the top one, and the milk in the glass down just a sip.

Ate little, trained little—no wonder her stamina was so poor.

Wu Ying was still chatting with Jiujiu. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him wipe his mouth and started to panic. "You're too fast! Remember, you promised to check my mental power today. You can't leave."

"I'm not leaving."

Wu Ying hadn't much appetite anyway. She gulped down the rest of her milk and made to stand.

Asher frowned in disapproval. "Finish your food. I'm in no hurry."

Mental power wasn't all that tied to physical fitness, but it still drained stamina. She'd eaten far too little.

"I don't want to anymore."

"Mental power training consumes energy too. Did you always skip a proper breakfast before training?"

"No, I always drink a bottle of energy liquid before training."

Wu Ying had been scolded by Teacher Nova the very first time she'd done that, and on Nova's recommendation, she'd made it a habit to stock up on energy liquid.

Speaking of which, Wu Ying felt she really needed to keep Asher close. Without him, how would she survive?

Asher was still frowning, as if he wanted to say something but didn't know how.

"Alright, let's go, let's go. Don't waste time."

In the training room—a specially modified mental power training room, equipped with full holographic fitness capabilities linked to the interstellar network, a facility qualified only after strict testing—Asher had Wu Ying release her mental power. Wu Ying concentrated, slowly guiding the water-like energy within her to seep outward.

Asher had noticed it last time: Wu Ying's mental power was even gentler than the typical gentle type. The first time he'd checked, she hadn't even been able to draw it out herself.

Now she could release it on her own—that was progress, no doubt. But it was still far too sluggish.

Asher's own mental power was strongly aggressive among attack types.

In his perception domain, Wu Ying's mental power was like a small beast cautiously extending its soft paw, and only when it sensed no danger did it crawl out and roll onto the ground, so fragile it was utterly exposed.

Asher controlled his energy, slowly releasing it. A sudden cold wind swept through the room. Wu Ying's eyes went wide as she stared at him—she could only vaguely sense that something dangerous had emerged. Her round eyes fixed on him, unsure what he intended.

"Keep going. Steady your mental power."

Asher sensed Wu Ying's mental power beginning to waver and retract. His own energy was too fierce, and it served as the whetstone for her stability training.

The two of them stayed in the training room all morning. Wu Ying felt the intensity was even greater than two of Nova's classes combined.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on her forehead. Bent over, breathing heavily, Wu Ying waved her hand at him frantically to signal she was done.

Asher pressed his lips together, brows knit tight. "Stand up. Don't breathe like that."

Her breathing rhythm was off too. If she'd trained with the proper rhythm, she wouldn't be in this state. Seeing that his words had no effect, Asher reached out and gripped her shoulders, steadying her.

"Stand straight. Head up. Deep breaths. Find your rhythm."

Wu Ying couldn't resist him. Leaning on his strength, she straightened up and slowly calmed down, her head buzzing.

"Is this how your training teacher taught you? Maybe you should find a new one."

"Teacher Nova teaches very well—it's your training method that's too aggressive."

Asher didn't agree. Gentle as Wu Ying's mental power was, it didn't excuse neglecting stability training. Right now she could practice in a private training room, but in a wilderness environment, other mental powers would inevitably interfere—and that would be the worst-case scenario.

He'd evaluated Nova: a retired soldier. He hadn't expected her training methods to lack any real edge.

"This afternoon, I'll observe while you train."

Wu Ying froze, asking why. Given that he'd made this move right after questioning Nova, she seriously suspected he was planning something.

"Wu Ying, you have to prepare for military training. Even if the assessment for plant science is easier, with your current foundation, it'll still be tough."

Asher's reasoning was sound. Wu Ying took it to heart. "I understand. I'll talk to her."

That afternoon, the moment Nova entered the training room, she sensed someone else's presence.

Wu Ying introduced him. "He's my husband. He wanted to see what our training sessions are like."

"What?"

Nova was utterly shocked. Her green eyes darted back and forth between the two, her face full of disbelief. How old was Wu Ying? And she was already married? That sweet, innocent girl had married so young.

She studied the man across from her, clad in black, using the system's default appearance, but his bearing didn't match a young man at all. She began to suspect Wu Ying had been deceived—or trapped in an arranged marriage.

"He... he's the family member you mentioned before?"

"Yeah, he's in the military too."

Before Wu Ying could finish, Asher cut in. "Let's begin."

Wu Ying choked on her words and shot him a glare. Nova caught that look too and grew even more worried.

Nova: "First, let me see your current training progress."

Wu Ying nodded, slowly letting her mental power seep from her palm. Glowing green specks drifted out from her fingertips, lazily gathering in the air into a small cluster, gradually expanding until it filled the entire training room.

The hallmark of the holographic mental power training room was the visualization of mental power, making its fluctuations far clearer.

Asher felt himself enveloped by Wu Ying's mental power. There was no discomfort—instead, he felt utterly at ease, as if he were in a forest, every breath clean and fresh.

Without Asher's interference, Wu Ying's mental power continued to spread. The training room visibly turned greener, and a dark cluster even formed at her palm.

This was the first time Asher had seen Wu Ying release her mental power completely—no, she hadn't even reached her limit yet.

Her mental power might be deeper than most people's; she just couldn't wield it flexibly.

Finally, the energy swallowed all three of them whole.

"Alright, slowly draw it back."

Nova was delighted to discover that Wu Ying's mental power was far more stable now, and she could mobilize more of it than before—proof that the training direction was working.

At Nova's excitement, Wu Ying rubbed her nose and recounted the morning's session with her.

She'd noticed it herself: after training with Asher, her mental power had become much more stable, and she could manipulate it with far greater ease than before.

Nova paused, then nodded thoughtfully. Using one's powerful mental power to guide a weaker one was standard military practice. "I'd actually been thinking about how to train your stability. Since this method has already worked, let's stick with it for the future. However, I'd advise against trying other methods for now—they could easily disrupt your mental flow."

Most of this was directed at Asher. She didn't know his background, and while soldiers might have their own techniques, whether they'd work on Wu Ying was another question entirely.