Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

This year’s freshman class had an additional special admission, Hebrew Adam, which caused the elite class to expand from the usual top ten students in the grade to eleven. This led to an imbalance when the class was split into two squads, with Hua’s squad ending up with only five members.

Due to the short amount of time since the school year began, Hua’s squad hadn’t found suitable teammates, leaving them with just five people.

At this moment, Hua’s squad had just entered the forest. The four boys in the squad were in fairly good condition, similar to that of Su Forty-three. However, Mina-Ollie was clearly in bad shape. She was being carried by Hua Deli in a princess carry, as her legs were injured, preventing her from walking on her own.

Even though Hua Deli was only fifteen, his calm and rational personality was already evident.

Before entering the uncertain conditions of the forest, Hua Deli said something to his squad, and then Dean Atchison took the lead, Hua Deli carried Mina-Ollie in the middle, and Gao Haitao covered the rear. They advanced cautiously.

However, their luck wasn’t much better than Adam Squad’s. They were ambushed similarly when a black-clad, masked figure suddenly leaped down from a tree, bypassing Dean Atchison and attacking Hua Deli, who was carrying Mina-Ollie.

Hua Deli reacted quickly, dodging to the left with Mina-Ollie in his arms. Ninja King Ren Wuyue stepped forward to engage the masked figure, while Dean Atchison turned back to intercept.

Hua Deli looked around and then leaped onto a large tree, carefully placing Mina-Ollie there. Although Mina-Ollie’s legs were injured, her hands were still functional. Armed with a longsword, she hid in the tree, ready to defend herself if anyone tried to ambush her.

At this point, Dean Atchison, Gao Haitao, and Ninja King Ren Wuyue were already at a disadvantage. The masked figure wielded a short staff, which, although unable to tear their clothes, was still powerful enough to make them cough up blood.

Although Hua Deli, who had reached the late stage of level four, was significantly weaker than Hebrew Adam, Dean Atchison and Gao Haitao were stronger than Su Forty-three. Combined with Ninja King Ren Wuyue, who was stronger than Tamaki Kazia, they managed to fight to a draw when Hua Deli joined the battle.

However, once Ninja King Ren Wuyue was struck in the abdomen by the masked figure’s short staff and collapsed, unable to get up, the remaining three were quickly overwhelmed and fell into a dire situation.

With Mina-Olli injured and unable to use her telekinetic powers to restrain the masked figure, the team was unable to stall for time. After Ninja King Ren Wuyue was down, Hua Deli was next, brutally thrown to the ground on the sixth strike. Ruo Manni suspected his leg might have been broken.

Dean Atchison rushed in to help, only to be kicked by the masked figure, sending him crashing into a tree trunk before falling to the ground, where he lay motionless.

In the blink of an eye, only Gao Haitao was left standing. He was about to make a desperate charge at the masked figure when the figure suddenly pulled down his mask.

Ruo Manni recognized the figure as the head instructor of their combat division for the first-year students. Although his cultivation level wasn’t as high as Instructor Dudley’s, it was hard to say whose combat prowess was superior. Particularly when it came to his ruthlessness—turns out, experience does matter.

Ruo Manni clicked her tongue in sympathy for Hua’s squad. Compared to this black-hearted instructor, the young Instructor Dudley seemed far more innocent.

Because she was too absorbed in “seeing,” Ruo Manni forgot that she hadn’t fully recovered yet. When she “saw” this scene, she felt a sharp pain in her forehead. Quickly, she withdrew her telekinesis and held her forehead.

Shelia, who had been bantering with her, was startled and quickly stepped forward to support her. “What’s wrong with you? I was just joking, no need to get so worked up.”

“It’s nothing, I just used my telekinesis,” Ruo Manni said, her face a bit pale.

Sheila was both angry and worried. “Didn’t the instructor tell you not to use your telekinesis until you’ve fully recovered tomorrow? Why don’t you ever listen? Let’s go back and have him check on you.”

“I just habitually used my telekinesis to scan the surroundings. It’s fine. Just help me over to the side so I can sit down for a bit.”

Seeing that although Ruo Manni’s face didn’t look great, her spirits were still up, and she didn’t seem on the verge of fainting, Sheila followed her instructions and helped her to a row of chairs by the wall.

“You have no idea what I just saw. Hua’s squad got beaten up so badly. Compared to them, we’re actually pretty lucky,” Ruo Manni said to Sheila with a sigh.

Sheila’s eyes immediately lit up, and she perked up. Indeed, gossip can be a great motivator.

Ruo Manni detailed how Hua’s squad got beaten, making Sheila shrink back a bit and exclaim, “Good thing we ran into Instructor Dudley.”

“But at least Hua’s squad’s clothes didn’t get torn. You wouldn’t believe it, but our captain and the others had their clothes ripped, so they had to change into new combat uniforms. Su Forty-three asked the instructor, and he said they’d have to pay for the replacements out of pocket. He said it hurts more than losing an arm,” Sheila added, trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

Ruo Manni didn’t find it funny at all. A custom combat uniform costs 10,000 credits! She’d be just as upset if it were her.

Su Forty-three’s family was in business, and even though he chose a military career, being frugal was in his nature. So everyone enjoyed making harmless jokes about it.

A short while later, Ruo Manni noticed that Hua’s squad was being escorted over by the instructor in charge. Although Mina-Olli hadn’t lost consciousness, she was clearly seriously injured and was being carried in a princess carry by the instructor, who was handling her very carefully.

The other four boys in Hua’s squad followed closely behind the instructor, all of them badly hurt. Gao Haitao was supporting Ninja King Ren Wuyue, who couldn’t stand up straight, with his left hand while holding the bleeding head of Dean Atchison with his right. Hua Deli was limping, his face showing clear signs of pain.

Ruo Manni and Sheila stood up to greet them. Hua Deli only managed a bitter smile in response and didn’t say anything. Dean Atchison, who was closest to Ruo Manni, just shook his head, too exhausted to speak. Realizing they needed treatment and rest, Ruo Manni didn’t press further.

“So miserable,” Sheila sighed. “Turns out these field training exercises are just opportunities for the instructors to beat us up.”

Ruo Manni quietly remarked, “I was just wondering why the instructor in charge spared Gao Haitao. Now I understand—if he had been injured too, there wouldn’t have been anyone to support the two seriously injured ones.”

“These instructors have really dark hearts.”

The two girls, their spirits shaken, thought about their future life at the military academy, with over a dozen more field training exercises to come. Their enthusiasm, briefly revived by the gossip, quickly faded.

As Hua’s squad was entering the treatment area, the four boys from Adam’s group approached from the other side. They had indeed changed into new combat uniforms, looking completely refreshed. Even their previously wet hair was now clean and neat, leaving no trace of their earlier disheveled and injured state.

Hebrew Adam’s expression softened when he saw Ruo Manni, but after noticing her pale face, he asked with some concern, “How are you feeling now?”

“My head still hurts a bit, and my telekinetic energy has only recovered by about a fifth, but the instructor said that if I get a good night’s sleep tonight, I’ll be fine tomorrow,” Ruo Manni replied, pressing on her forehead, which was aching even more after her unintentional use of telekinesis earlier.