Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The adjutant, tasked with retrieving the badge from Lin Fu at the military academy, coincidentally arrived during a training session.

Curious about this unconventional Guide, he followed the instructor to the training grounds for a glimpse.

What he didn't expect was to witness an incredibly violent scene.

A jet-black mech was almost crushing a platinum one beneath it, relentlessly attacking.

Its palm firmly clamped around the neck of the mech below, its knee pinning down the converter, while the other fist, raised high, smashed down on the mech's head, the dull clang of metal resonating painfully to the ears.

The mech beneath, sparked into fury, writhed desperately, leveraging brute strength to break free from its bonds and clutching the arm of the black mech in an attempt to twist it off.

The black mech reacted swiftly, clearly lacking in strength, so it avoided its weaknesses, grasping the opponent's scapula with a reverse hand to throw him to the ground. Blades suddenly sprang from its elbows, pressing against the platinum mech’s energy core.

One more move, and this mech would be sent back to the factory for major repairs, unable to reunite with its pilot for a week or two.

"I surrender!"

The wails of the pilot resonated from inside the cockpit, and only then did the black mech rise and retract its blades.

The adjutant's eyes gleamed as he stared at the black mech: "Who is this?" This proficient combat style was clearly that of a promising future warrior.

Before an answer came, the cockpits of the two mechs opened. From the black mech emerged a handsome and beautiful youth, his lithe body moving with the agile grace of a feline.

Adjutant: "..."

The instructor who had brought him coughed and said, "Here's the person you're looking for."

Lin Fu leaped down from the platform, and an eager sentinel raised his hand: "I'll go next!"

"Me! I want to train too!"

Lin Fu, ruffling his hair, took the water bottle handed over by Tang Qian and took a gulp: "Tomorrow, we'll go to the simulation chamber. Physical battles damage the mechs too frequently."

The people around him sighed in disappointment: "Lin Fu, when are you going to get your custom mech? The school's mechs are just too subpar."

Lin Fu did not answer; his vitality wasn't the best, but the flush of exertion on his face masked his usual pallor.

Seeing the crowd below, he shut off the control to his mech and rolled up his sleeves: "Let's go, the stuff is in my dorm."

After saying this, he waved to Tang Qian: "Help me ask for leave for tonight's training."

Tang Qian: "Sure."

As the two departed and the surrounding crowd thinned, the adjutant curiously asked, "Did Young Master Lin possess such skills when he saved our Major?"

Hands in his pockets, Lin Fu arched an eyebrow at the query: "Did your Major instruct you to call me 'Young Master'?" That really was a successful dig.

The adjutant, puzzled, watched Lin Fu open the door and quickly tossed him the badge: "If you're curious, go ask your Major. He knows more details than I do. Pass on my regards to him and tell him I hope there's no second time he ends up in the slums to be picked up. Goodbye."

Then he shut the door with a "bang," leaving the adjutant dazed.

Clutching the badge, the adjutant returned to the hovercar and, after some deliberation, decided to send a message to the Major in case he had botched something and needed to make amends while still close by.

Soon after the message was sent, Cheng Jiu initiated a video call, eagerly asking the adjutant to repeat the entire conversation verbatim. He couldn't help but laugh: "No worries, the kid's just bristling. Next time, just remember not to associate him with the Lin family..."

Immediately, he changed his tune: "Forget it, there won't be a next time. Just come back."

Adjutant: "Understood."

*

Lin Fu lay on his bed after washing up.

The system was at a loss for words.

This was the host's strategy: to invite someone out for a fight under the guise of training, simultaneously aiding in the reorganization of their mental energy while fighting—a method that was both effective and efficient.

The sole advantage was that unless someone specifically checked for residual traces of mental energy on the mechs, no one would know about Lin Fu's aid in organizing mental energy, let alone his gradual recovery.

Lin Fu's voice was hoarse: "The effectiveness of the training has not diminished."

That was indeed true.

It was just overly strenuous on himself.

With eyes closed and lacking the energy to speak, Lin Fu thought to himself: "Why should the Lin family go to such lengths for someone they consider worthless?"

System: [Afraid of disgracing the Lin family in public? Wasn't that the reason you used to persuade the principal in the beginning?]

Lin Fu scoffed, "The Lin family's face was already lost when the name 'Lin Fu' became a galactic joke. Principal Karl is concerned about using me openly to disgrace the Lin family. If the Lin family truly cared, they wouldn't sneak people in to check on my condition; they would openly take me back and treat me well."

"Their sneaky ways are not out of concern for their reputation, but rather fear that I might actually live well. They’ve tried poisoning me, and they're the ones who made me into the 'trash' they call me. What face do they have left to lose?"

Right now, the Lin family is probably most anxious to find out why Lin Fu isn’t dead.

They just didn’t expect that he’d take matters into his own hands first, and the person inside the shell had long since changed.

Given Lin Fu's current power, it’s nowhere near enough to confront the Lin family; revealing the recovery of his mental energy would do more harm than good.

The system fell silent.

Indeed, this was a dilemma it couldn’t help with.

Unless Lin Fu could save a large number of people in a short period of time.

The only scenario that would meet this condition would be the front lines.

Lin Fu’s goal was to head to the front lines, with the biggest obstacle being that he currently didn’t meet the conditions to get there.

The conflicting conditions made it an impossible method to implement.

Lin Fu instructed the system to initiate optimization.

He chose to focus on mental energy, as usual.

Perhaps because the energy gained from a single entity was too little, the optimization effect was minor, and the pain it brought was less severe than before.

The next day, he woke up and trained as usual.

Seeing him, Tang Qian switched places with someone in the team to approach Lin Fu and whispered, "What happened yesterday afternoon? I knocked but got no response."

Lin Fu replied, "I was tired and fell asleep."

Tang Qian examined him; Lin Fu didn't seem troubled, so he didn't inquire further.

After this month's training, they were both assigned to Class A9. Although it was the lowest rank in the A-class, it was a step into becoming a member of the future reserve frontline fighters.

Albert was extremely reluctant; he had always resisted the battlefield, wishing only to be an idler and ideally work as a clerk in the rear. But Lin Fu was set on the battlefield, and wishing to be in the same squad, Albert begrudgingly ensured his grades matched Lin Fu's, landing them both in Class A9.

Lin Fu glanced at the unfamiliar classmates on the other side, then withdrew his gaze. The fingertips behind his back brushed against a hard, ring-shaped object, slipping onto his little finger.

Subconsciously twirling it, he remembered it was the storage device he had casually requested from Cheng Jiu.

Connecting his psychic energy to the device to bind it, he was shocked when he saw its contents.

The instructor in front was startled by his expression: "Is there a problem!?"