Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Lin Fu suddenly flipped over on the sofa, only to find no one around.

He swept back his hair, touching only cold, clammy sweat.

Intending to freshen up in the bathroom, he hadn't yet reached the storeroom when he sensed something amiss and quickly opened the bedroom door.

The room was empty; the patient had slipped away without a word.

Lin Fu: "..."

Forget it, it's better this way; it saves a lot of trouble.

He cleaned up everything in the room that wasn't his, throwing even the clothes the man had worn into the trash, to be sent to the garbage planet. As for the medicines, he kept what was usable, thinking they might come in handy later.

Having done all this, he began his daily training regimen.

His body was incredibly weak; even after optimization, it was hardly better than an untrained commoner from his own world. What baffled him the most was the absence of any equipment to enhance physical abilities in this world; it seemed as if one's body was expected to remain as it was naturally. Lin Fu could only purchase materials and craft them himself.

He didn't make anything complex, just a few pieces of equipment that he stored in his storage bracelet.

He was using the most basic model of storage device, one incapable of binding to a user's spirit, with just one and a half cubic units of storage space, which originally belonged to the former owner.

Lacking spiritual power, he couldn't utilize storage devices that required a spiritual bond.

Now that Lin Fu's spiritual toxin had been purged, although he hadn't reached the level of releasing a spiritual entity, he faced no obstacles in ordinary spiritual manipulations. But he couldn't be bothered to change his storage device: firstly, he was short on money—the refunded tuition fee was limited and couldn't be squandered; secondly, he didn't intend to let anyone know his spiritual power had recovered.

As for the Lin family, he hadn't had any contact with them to date. If they found out he had regained his spiritual power, who knew what would happen?

One thing was certain: it definitely wouldn't be good.

Even Lin Fu himself was unaware of his spiritual toxin. If not for the system, who would have thought he wasn’t ill, but had been poisoned?

The Lin family didn't care for him, and it would be best if they treated him as invisible.

When he said he wanted to apply to a military academy, he wasn't bluffing the system.

In his past life, he was born into a warzone, grew up amidst gunfire and bullets, and learned combat through his own intuition and rough experiences. If possible, he would prefer systematic learning to avoid detours and mistakes.

He pondered for quite a while over the decision to choose a military academy.

The problem was that the military academies were filled entirely with sentinels, and they didn't admit guides.

Guides and sentinels received separate educations, with entirely different curriculums. Guides learned how to become qualified in their role, providing mental grooming for sentinels. Sentinels, on the other hand, studied various combat skills, engaged in actual combat, and those who weren't eliminated after graduation went to the battlefield, assigned across the empire to

fight against the Bug race,

defending the empire's interstellar borders.

The Cadre Academy, where Lin Fu was originally enrolled, was a noble school specialized in educating guides. Guides, after passing a test at the age of eighteen, were admitted to allocate departments, with careers in medical and clerical roles, and only a rare few could follow sentinels to the battlefields.

This fact alone eliminated ninety-nine percent of schools.

Furthermore, Lin Fu didn't have the money to take a starship to other planets, so his choice of military academy was limited to the imperial capital star, and he had to keep it a secret from the Lin family—at least until he became truly strong and wouldn't let the Lin family interfere in his affairs.

After much deliberation, Lin Fu chose the Artemis Military Academy.

This academy was located right next to Cadre, and more importantly, the headmaster held a grudge against the Lin family.

Lin Fu wasn't completely sure, so he sent a message to Shang Jiarui to inquire about the authenticity of this information.

Shang Jiarui excitedly initiated a video call, "You finally got in touch! How have you been? I thought you were just sulking, but you actually withdrew from school. Are you out of your mind?!"

Lin Fu massaged his temples, "I think you could find a better way to show you care."

Shang Jiarui stammered, taken aback by his comment, "I – you..." He didn't know if he was more embarrassed or infuriated.

Lin Fu waved dismissively, "Alright, enough of that. I contacted you because I have a question. Is the headmaster of Artemis really at odds with the Lin family? And I mean truly, not just for show?"

Shang Jiarui asked curiously, "Why do you want to know that?"

Lin Fu steered him back to the topic, "Answer my question first."

Shang Jiarui replied, "Of course it's not for show. Isn't this your family's business? Your uncle was a deserter in the Sixth Legion, responsible for the deaths of an entire city's population. Principal Carl's partner and brother were among them, along with a newborn child. Such deep hatred can't be faked. If it weren't for your uncle’s death at the hands of the Bug race and the laws prohibiting it, Carl would've stormed your house in his mech and blown it to smithereens long ago."

Hearing this, Lin Fu's disdain for the Lin family intensified.

He loathed deserters above all else.

Since the enmity was real, that made things much simpler.

Shang Jiarui demanded, "Why are you asking about this? You still haven't answered my question."

Lin Fu replied, "I'm enlisting at Artemis. Remember to keep it a secret. Don't let the Lin family find out, or I'll come back and beat you up."

Shang Jiarui was baffled, "??? What are you talking about?"

Lin Fu didn't give him the chance to probe further, ending the video call and blocking any further attempts to connect.

In his eyes, both guides and sentinels were men, no different except in constitution, lacking any sense of needing to protect guides.

Resolved to join Artemis, Lin Fu packed his belongings that evening, contacted the landlord to cancel the lease on his short-term rental, and headed to the gates of the military academy.

Adjacent was the Cadre Academy for nobles.

Unlike the strict rules of the military academy, Cadre didn’t enforce rigid entry and exit regulations, granting students a significant amount of free time each day.

Consequently, at the bustling school gate, it didn’t take long for someone to notice Lin Fu's presence and approach him with mockery, "Weren’t you the one who left school with such pride? Regretting it so soon? Too bad it’s too late for regrets now."

"I thought the young master of the Lin family had some backbone."

"The Lin family hasn't inquired about you at the school for so long; seems like you’ve truly been abandoned as useless, huh?"

"If the Lin family knew he had dropped out, they would surely disown him."

Lin Fu's face remained expressionless, as if they were merely spouting nonsense.

He circled the perimeter without haste, not eager to take any immediate action. He had no desire for the sort of fame that comes with daylight stardom in the interstellar realm, knowing it would only make it easier for the Lin family to catch him.

After assessing the environment, he left with his hands in his pockets to purchase some materials for a project.

As night fell and the crowds quieted, even the slightest noise became pronounced.

Lin Fu set up a wooden horse at the entrance. One end of the secured hammer's long handle was lifted by a foot, hovering in mid-air. He turned sideways, gazing at the massive metal gate, looped a megaphone around the railing on the inside, then pressed down hard with his foot—

"Bang—"

Inside the Artemis dormitories, many were startled out of their beds.

"What the hell was that?!"

"Is this an emergency assembly?"

"Damn, that almost scared me to death!"

"Bang—" Another loud noise suggested their school gate had been hit.

"Come on, let's go see what's happening."