Chapter 15

Wu Ying brought up the topic in a low voice. Internet censorship was too strict, and many messages had been scrubbed. Otherwise, word about the teacher's mobilization meeting would have leaked by now.

Of course, it was also possible she just hadn't received them. Cynthia across from her raised an eyebrow. "My mom said the College of Plant Science's military training is pretty relaxed. Your family's just trying to scare you, right?"

Wu Ying shook her head. If Asher had wanted to scare her, he'd have done it outright—he hadn't developed such an advanced hobby yet.

Huo Lin laughed softly, leaning forward. "Wu Ying, your family member's from the military district, isn't he?"

Wu Ying's eyes widened. How had she guessed that? The others caught her reaction and knew it was true.

Huo Lin explained, "Insider info like that wouldn't leak from the military district. The training plan is meant to drill them like soldiers; the military district wouldn't undermine its own reputation."

Ah, that made sense. The training report couldn't exactly say they'd go easy on the plant students.

Besides, Wu Ying figured that even if there were leaks, they wouldn't reach Asher—he'd be too worried about getting disciplined.

"Well, that's a relief. I did special training before coming, worried I wouldn't survive."

Cynthia eyed her skeptically. This frail girl had done special training? "Why are you being so honest? Even if you fainted, you could just crash in the medical room."

Su Yi added, "The teacher said our college has the most complete medical allocation—doctors and treatment pods."

Wu Ying glanced left and right, a brilliant smile spreading across her face like the first light of dawn, lighting up her delicate features.

"So happy?"

"Yeah."

Seeing the others' surprised looks, Wu Ying tucked her smile away and picked up her chopsticks. The dishes in her bowl seemed to taste better than ever.

That night, she slept deeply. Before today, she'd thought she'd have to tough out military training alone. But knowing everyone here knew what they were doing, she could finally relax.

She slept until dawn, waking refreshed to pack. Personal items would be collected during training, but she still needed to bring something for the journey.

Three lead teachers in all: Teacher Bart, Teacher Elai, and Yi Lan.

All set, they bid goodbye to the school they'd barely had time to know, and a spaceship carried them to Boska Star.

Wu Ying shared snacks with Cynthia and the others, chatting and laughing all the way, and before they knew it, they'd arrived.

Boska Star was a famous military training base. Even before getting off the ship, Wu Ying spotted a row of people below through the window—dark, imposing figures in military uniforms, radiating a fierce aura.

They looked scarier than Asher, she muttered. Speaking of which, had Asher replied to her message yesterday? If not, he wouldn't see another one for a while—the teacher said they'd collect personal Light Brains during training.

Terrible closed military training. Wu Ying's thoughts of Asher were secondary; her main worry was her flower room. When she left, the camellia had buds. What if it couldn't hold out until she got her Light Brain back on a holiday?

Camellias were so delicate. Jiujiu might not notice a problem in time.

The group lined up in a ragged formation by height, and Wu Ying had no doubt the drill instructor's face darkened.

"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for? Can't you tell the height order?"

The loud voice rang out, and Wu Ying's ears buzzed. Even in the interstellar age, drill instructors were still the same—just bigger and louder.

Wu Ying grabbed Cynthia, who was still daydreaming, and quickly fell into place. The team quieted down. The instructor, holding a basket (probably), began collecting personal items from the first row—Light Brains and space buttons.

The entire College of Plant Science had over five thousand freshmen. Those whose items were collected were taken away by instructors first. Due to her height, Huo Lin was left for the second batch.

It was another new dorm, but the environment was a bit worse. Not that that mattered now.

Wu Ying looked at the training schedule in her hand and fell into deep thought. Basic physical training—okay. Survival exercises—understood. But mecha combat, weapon disassembly, hand-to-hand combat... what were these?

She tried to imagine: weapon disassembly—maybe holding a model gun and fiddling with it?

Cynthia looked at the schedule, surprised. She hadn't known military training covered these either. After the serious talk, she leaned in gossipy. "I heard this year's military training is especially strict. The Federation Military Academy pulled people from the Fourth Military District. This year, we're going to get worn down to the bone."

"What's the Fourth Military District?"

"You don't know? The Fourth's always been a gathering place for maniacs. If our instructors are devils, the Fourth are the devils among devils."

"Hiss, I know. This year our instructors are from the Second Military District. Lucky us—they're milder."

The girl next to them chimed in. Gossip was a great icebreaker.

Wu Ying: "And the commander of the Fourth?"

"The King of Devils. My dad says even the military's scared of him. His record? Training people straight into retirement."

"Oh, King of Devils. Sounds cool."

Caro added out of nowhere, "And he's very handsome."

"Ooh~"

Wu Ying stifled a laugh. She'd never known Asher had such an ugly nickname. "King of Devils"? How tacky.

"Stop chatting. Change clothes and assemble."

The senior sister reminded them in time. The group didn't dawdle and quickly changed into black military uniforms. Wu Ying looked at her new self in the mirror and wished she could take a dozen photos.

"Stop admiring yourself. Let's go."

Cynthia called her, and they hurried downstairs.

A row of instructors stood below, stone-faced. "Fall in quickly. We'll reorganize teams according to the roster."

The five-thousand-person team formed a regiment, divided into ten companies, each with two instructors. Wu Ying was assigned to the sixth company, first squad, due to her height.

Everyone in her dorm was scattered. Wu Ying's face paled, and dread filled her for the coming training life.

That night, an emergency whistle pulled open the cruel curtain. Wu Ying trudged along with the crowd, vision dim. She stayed optimistic: at least there were many people, so she couldn't run the wrong way.

After the long march, Wu Ying couldn't sleep. The next day, with dark circles under her eyes, she ran laps again—a traditional, effective basic training.

While running and panting, she wondered how much longer she could hold on. At that moment, she especially regretted asking Nova and Asher for special training. She strongly suspected that because of that early training, she was annoyingly resilient and hadn't fainted yet!

Seeing someone beside her collapse and get taken to the medical room, she cried inwardly. She wanted to go too, but feared she wouldn't fake it well.

Eyes open, training. A week passed, and Wu Ying hadn't even gotten to know her roommates, let alone remember the name of the girl she'd met on the first day. She only saw her roommates briefly each morning.

Amid the grueling physical training of intense military drills, on Yuanji Star, Asher once again led his troops to suppress the insect tide.

The insect race reproduced rapidly, led by intelligent, distinct king insects that eyed humanity hungrily. Long ago, from Blue Star's first discovery of the insect race to the realization that insects captured humans as nourishment, the war had lasted over a hundred years.

Humans constantly strengthened themselves, and insects evolved with the environment. The last insect evolution had nearly dealt Blue Star a devastating blow. A branch of king insects differentiated into a type that parasitized human bodies and absorbed memories to disguise themselves, severely damaging societal trust. Eventually, this black terror enveloping society gradually disappeared with technological innovation.

But recent unusual movements from the insects gave Asher an ominous premonition.

His intuition told him something was off. Fortunately, a result was approaching.

Asher held the secret message from the scouts, expression grave, but he felt a slight relief. A visible move was easier to handle than an invisible hand.

The sky over Alpha Star differed from most planets. Whether day or night, the sky was always flashing with various lights—perhaps cannon fire, or signal flares with different meanings.

"Sir, military command requires the newly differentiated insect specimen we captured to be sent to Capital Star immediately."

"How's the research team progressing?"

Da Li opened his Light Brain. "Suo Ya said they've mostly figured it out and will give you a report tomorrow."

"Then send it over."

"Yes, I'll arrange it as soon as possible."

Da Li opened Asher's schedule and hesitated. "Sir, the rotation period is due. Do you need to arrange time to return to Beta Star soon?"

Asher's time didn't normally follow the rotation system. Before marriage, he didn't care where he was, often staying on Alpha Star. Later, with a wife, he followed the rotation period to go back to Beta Star for a few days.

Now that his wife wasn't home, Da Li needed to reconfirm with Asher.

Hearing Da Li mention Beta Star, Asher's mind quickly conjured an image of Wu Ying. So much time had passed. Because he'd been busy with the new insect differentiation, Asher hadn't gone back for months.

But Wu Ying wasn't on Beta Star now. Asher's fingertips rested on the Light Brain at his wrist, tapping the casing rhythmically.

After a while, a hoarse, low voice sounded in the office. "Return. Two days, back and forth."

Da Li was slightly surprised but quickly tapped a few times on his Light Brain, adjusting the original plan swiftly.

On Beta Star, in the villa, only the light in the flower room was on—specially set up to balance Beta Star's incompatibility with plant growth. It was especially conspicuous in the pitch-black night.

Asher looked from afar, his mind briefly wandering. He thought that if Wu Ying were here, this light wouldn't be lonely. Wherever she frequently moved, the lights would be on, even if she weren't there now.

Asher's tall figure suddenly appeared at the door. Jiujiu, on standby in the living room, immediately activated and turned on the lights one by one.

"Good evening, sir! Welcome home! Is there anything I can help you with?"

Jiujiu habitually chattered around Asher. Asher raised his palm and pressed it down. "Quiet."

"Okay."