Chapter 34 Rotation

Chapter 34 Rotation

The tension in the office was palpable.

Lu Cheng was taken aback by Shen Tingyu's frank admission, which seemed deliberately provocative. This guy could keep up the polite act even when they were alone.

However, it was clear that today he had no intention of continuing this pretense.

What really got under his skin was that this shift was all because of Xu Qingran.

Lu Cheng, growing more irritated with Shen Tingyu, snapped, "Our Silver Dragon Battalion had this settled first. Your Golden Wing Battalion can't just waltz in and snatch someone away!"

His tone was firm.

Shen Tingyu, however, replied with a nonchalant shrug, "I'm just giving him another option and passing on a suggestion from the Golden Wing Battalion to the dean."

"If Xu Qingran says no, I won't push it."

"After all, teaching is all about fate."

Lu Cheng, who had known Shen Tingyu for years, was surprised to see this sly side of him. His words painted the Silver Dragon Battalion as pushy, irrational, and petty.

The thought of Xu Qingran being 'tricked' into Shen Tingyu's place made him seethe, and he sneered, "Not pushing it, huh?"

"Yeah, the Golden Wing Battalion's real talent isn't force—it's sweet-talking and mind games."

The argument took a sharp turn: "You talk a good game, preying on their naivety and kindness, luring them in with sweet words, only to show your true colors later!"

"What a piece of work."

The dean, looking worn out, rubbed his face with his hand.

He stayed quiet, not knowing what else to do.

Shen Tingyu chuckled after hearing that.

He glanced at Lu Cheng's angry face, puzzled by the outburst. He'd caught wind of the recent gossip about Xu Qingran and figured Lu Cheng would want nothing to do with him.

But now, it looked like he was wrong.

Shen Tingyu's face and voice stayed calm as he asked, "Major General Lu, I gotta ask—do you really know the Xu Qingran of today?"

"Naive, kind, and a pushover?"

"That was the funniest thing he'd heard all day."

Lu Cheng was shocked and angered by Shen Tingyu's question.

He laughed in anger, "We grew up together, we've been friends for over a decade, what do you think?"

What does Shen Tingyu count for?

Just a few months of living together, and he expects to replace his friendship with Xu Qingran?

"People always change," Shen Tingyu replied nonchalantly, "Just like you suddenly realized you don't love him, he can also become someone beyond your expectations in a very short time."

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng instinctively retorted in anger, "Who said I don't love him anymore!"

Shen Tingyu raised an eyebrow.

The dean folded his hands over his mouth, seemingly lost in thought but actually enjoying the gossip.

Lu Cheng only realized what he had said after the words left his mouth, and he flushed with embarrassment, saying, "Shen Tingyu, I'm discussing matters related to our two battalions with you right now. Don't try to change the subject!"

"I've said all I needed to say," Shen Tingyu stood up as well. "I repeat, I'm just conveying our commander-in-chief's intentions. Everything else is up to Xu Qingran's choice."

Just as Lu Cheng disliked Shen Tingyu, the latter wasn't particularly fond of Lu Cheng either.

He thought Lu Cheng was too uptight, narrow-minded, and a bit self-righteous. What made him dislike Lu Cheng even more now was his strange attachment to Xu Qingran.

Admittedly, Shen Tingyu didn't agree with the compatibility data between himself and Xu Qingran.

But until the truth was confirmed, Xu Qingran was still his most compatible partner. Lu Cheng's attitude made him feel like someone in his territory was being eyed.

This didn't sit well with him.

Shen Tingyu didn't show his displeasure openly, only patting Lu Cheng on the shoulder. "Since Major General Lu has made his choice, don't cause trouble for unrelated people."

"It's not good to eye the pot while eating from the bowl."

Shen Tingyu bid farewell to the dean and left the office to check on the new students. Lu Cheng was deeply embarrassed by his words, his fists clenching and unclenching. It took him a while to suppress the anger that had been unintentionally provoked before he finally left the office.

The dean, after dealing with the two big shots, was quite troubled.

In the end, he had to call Xu Qingran back to the office and ask him to choose between two such outstanding individuals?!

Who exactly was this Xu Qingran?!

Ignoring his performance, since his enrollment, he had caught the attention of both major faction leaders. The Silver Dragon Battalion's deputy commander was so busy, yet he personally oversaw every evaluation of Xu Qingran's projects. Now, even the new stars of the Golden Wing and Silver Dragon were... well, competing for his attention?

At this moment, Xu Qingran was hard at work practicing with the psychic gun.

It was only in class that Xu Qingran learned the psychic gun required immense and skilled control over psychic energy. The more concentrated and refined the psychic energy, the stronger the attack.

At first, everyone's psychic gun attacks were as thick as pipes. The instructor said such attacks worked on lower-tier creatures, but against higher-tier ones, they were just tickles.

The instructor also mentioned that Shen Tingyu was in the same class group as him back then. He was the best at handling psychic guns, mechs, and other weapons among everyone he'd seen. The old instructors praised him endlessly, looking at him like he was a treasure.

Hearing about Shen Tingyu, Xu Qingran's competitive spirit flared up.

He still remembered the thin line he'd seen that night in the Sirius system. He believed that if Shen Tingyu could do it, he, Xu Qingran, could do it too.

"...Sigh."

If only the host could be this proactive in seducing the target.

The system wiped its tears.

·

On the other side, the dean called an urgent meeting with the instructors overnight.

The students quickly noticed the simultaneous appearance of Lu Cheng and Shen Tingyu. With such rare elites visiting, they naturally hoped to seize more opportunities for their fellow students, aside from giving special attention to Xu Qingran.

After all, the more outstanding the students from their academy, the more it would solidify the school's status and reputation.

After discussion, it was unanimously decided to adjust the selection based on the students' comprehensive performance over the past six months. This would not only motivate the lower-tier students to catch up but also ensure that the top-tier students didn't slack off.

Most importantly, it would be a legitimate way to move Xu Qingran to the top-tier group. This way, both Lu Cheng and Shen Tingyu could mentor him without offending either side—perfect!

Xu Qingran was thus transferred to the advanced class for synchronized psychic gun training, becoming classmates with Ni Xiaoyuan, Lin Qianmu, and others. Also transferred to the same group was Feng Wei.

Unaware of the truth behind the class transfer, Feng Wei excitedly patted Xu Qingran on the back: "This is awesome! We actually got moved up!"

"The academy should've done this ages ago. This is how it should be!"

In the new class, the other students were eyeing them curiously.

Only Lin Qianmu looked different; he seemed unhappy, even a bit hostile.

On the first day, the legendary General Shen and Major General Lu appeared together.

Xu Qingran thought it was hilarious.

He didn't know what the military academy was thinking, choosing to have both of them lead the class simultaneously. He was amazed they could keep pretending not to notice. In the end, they barely taught anything, too busy 'sparring' with each other.

Major General Lu was the one really going after General Shen.

As General Shen lined up his shot, Major General Lu beat him to it, blasting his target first.

Afterward, he solemnly said to everyone with a stern face: "The battlefield's unpredictable. Remember, we're up against tough aliens. They won't let us take our sweet time aiming."

When General Shen demonstrated his ability and technique in compressing psychic energy for attacks, Major General Lu commented: "All flash, no substance. You're just making it harder than it needs to be."

When General Shen wanted to select someone to try sparring and test defenses against psychic weapons, Major General Lu bluntly said: "Forget the students, let's show them how it's done."

Even the normally calm General Shen got riled up and didn't back down. Their friendly sparring almost turned into a shootout, guns pointed at each other's heads. The day ended dramatically, but the top students still picked up some tricks from their childish showdown.

To help the other classes catch up, the school set up recording drones to capture everything. This way, students from other classes, though unable to experience hands-on learning, could still enhance and study through the recordings.

After seeing the first day's footage, the academy switched to weekly rotations.

Over dinner in the cafeteria, Xu Qingran grinned, eyes crinkling.

He looked like he was loving every minute of the show.

General Shen's fingers lightly tapped on the table: "You seem quite happy."

The dean, wanting to maximize their time, also had the other instructor help with close-combat training, using the excuse of not wanting to waste their valuable time.

Either way, the academy scored big this time.

General Shen added: "Aren't you gonna control your buddy? I swear one day he'll bust into my room and cap me."

Xu Qingran stopped smiling: "If that happens, I'll be laughing at your funeral."

"Cold," General Shen said. "Remember, I'm only in this because of you."

Other students kept sneaking glances their way.

The two of them eating together was such a sight that everyone kept looking.

Xu Qingran paused his eating and suddenly chuckled at General Shen: "General Shen, you've got some nerve."

The day after the communication, Xu Qingran woke up and belatedly realized something was off. Upon reflection, General Shen wasn't usually so kind as to easily agree to his requests. Favors were the last thing he needed as payment, yet he had agreed so readily.

Thinking further, it was likely that there were also instructions from the higher-ups in the Golden Wing Battalion.

He kinda regretted calling General Shen, feeling like he'd been played.

Shen Tingyu looked at the faint smile on Xu Qingran's lips and smiled as well.

It had been a while since he last saw his future nephew's spouse, and he had grown somewhat fond of him. Perhaps because they were both familiar with each other's flaws, he always felt a little more relaxed in front of Xu Qingran.

If only he wouldn't turn into an E-type.

Such a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Shen Tingyu felt it was a pity to reach a point of mutual dislike and a fight to the death with someone like him.

The sound of a plate being placed on the table interrupted their brief silence.

A young man about the same age as Xu Qingran sat down with his food, muttering, "Big bro, you're too much! You had the chance to eat with General Shen and didn't even invite me, your buddy!"

Shen Tingyu glanced at the newcomer.

He recognized him—Feng Wei, the young master of the Feng family from the Silver Dragon Battalion.

Feng Wei greeted him with a grin, "Hello, General! Qingran and I are fated to be classmates, and we're still together after the class reshuffle! Looking forward to learning from you and Major General Lu!"

Shen Tingyu first looked at Xu Qingran.

The latter happened to look up and meet his gaze, then gave him a smile, his peach-blossom eyes sparkling with a captivating charm.

After a few seconds, Shen Tingyu responded gently to Feng Wei, "Hello."

The meal passed in relative harmony.

After they finished eating and chatted briefly, they parted ways and returned to their respective accommodations.

The special guidance officially began, with Lu Cheng taking the first week.

Shen Tingyu wasn't present, and Lu Cheng, keeping his cool, taught with dedication. He provided appropriate guidance and adjustments to the students in the class as needed, without showing any favoritism towards Xu Qingran.

This level of interaction was just right for Xu Qingran.

As someone who had crossed over from another world, he was utterly inexperienced with the psychic gun, so he stayed at the training ground until the very end each day. Lu Cheng also stayed behind, conscientiously offering him valuable advice.

Through daily diligent practice, Xu Qingran no longer suffered from the disorienting symptoms when performing psychic attacks, and his body had begun to adapt to the burst of psychic energy.

Next, he needed to work on his accuracy and power focus.

Lu Cheng said, "You need to concentrate your control on the unique bracelet on your wrist to perform better."

"Your psychic pool level isn't as high as mine, so avoid mimicking that high-impact style for now."

"Your body is susceptible to injury, so be cautious of the psychic energy's recoil when firing."

Xu Qingran didn't speak much but absorbed his advice deeply.

His calm, attentive, and compliant manner made Lu Cheng feel as though he had gone back to the days they spent together. He regretted that they hadn't become each other's partners, but he truly didn't want to lose their friendship either.

After a few reminders, Lu Cheng's voice suddenly softened.

"...Xu Qingran, keep an eye on your psychic energy usage. You've got training tomorrow, so you should hit the hay now."

Xu Qingran, immersed in his training, slowly came back to reality.

He looked at Lu Cheng, nodded, and put down the practice weapon. "Alright."

He didn’t argue with the instructions.

Just like that, a week flew by, enough for Xu Qingran to transform from a student who had no concept of using a psychic gun into a skilled student who could steadily aim and shoot.

Lu Cheng was amazed by his rapid progress.

When Xu Qingran was still young, to boost his self-defense and fight back against bullies, he had tried to arrange related training for him.

But his physical fitness was truly poor. He wasn’t interested in martial arts or fighting, preferring gentler pursuits like reading and painting. After seeing him cry in distress post-training, he stopped pushing him.

He always assumed the military academy would be tough for Xu Qingran.

But he never expected Xu Qingran to endure so much, never complaining no matter how tough it got, with a fierce, amber determination in his eyes. Suddenly, he felt Xu Qingran might become someone beyond his expectations.

For some reason, he felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

In a week, the advanced class students had gotten the hang of the basics. So, when Shen Tingyu came to lead them the following week, the training ground shifted to the fabled underground base.

The underground base indeed housed a lot of research on alien creatures.

However, most were isolated and not easily accessible, only visible from afar through windows.

Inside the base was a training ground roughly the size of an arena.

It was equipped with a special training system that could simulate troublesome alien species the military recently faced, based on collected research data. This made it convenient for students to practice while reducing unnecessary resource waste and avoiding indiscriminate killing.

Heading to the training ground, Xu Qingran bumped into an acquaintance.

“Oh, young master, we meet again.”

The older veteran, not smoking today, stood by the door controls and gave him a cool wave.

It was Chen Bin, someone he’d met a few times before.

Xu Qingran raised an eyebrow and asked, “Don’t you work at the Tower of Evil?”

“Yes,” Chen Bin pouted. “They thought the Tower of Evil was staffed enough, and with Azure Star’s recent instability, they moved me here.”

“Though as an old soldier, I can’t do much.”

As he spoke, he added, “This is just a coincidence; I didn’t expect Young Master Xu at the academy. Don’t think I’m some weird old man.”

Xu Qingran smiled.

However, he hadn’t heard about the instability on Azure Star.

Chen Bin shook his head. “Azure Star is the Celestial System’s most remote habitable planet, orbiting the smallest star. The environment is ideal for cultivating and researching alien creatures, making it a natural target for some of their kin to attack.”

Hearing this, the classmates instinctively stopped to listen.

Chen Bin glanced at the group of students with clear yet naive eyes and continued, “The Kayan Empire mainly uses the ultrasonic system to defend against alien invasions.”

“A while ago—just a few weeks back—one of Azure Star’s large ultrasonic stations was attacked, so the planet’s overall defense is weaker than before. Fixing it’s a hassle and could take half a year, with Azure Star on high alert the whole time.”

Xu Qingran remained unfazed after hearing this.

But the classmates around him looked shocked and scared, whispering among themselves.

Seeing this, Chen Bin slowly added, “That’s why the military academy is here—if Azure Star, as a key research base, faces trouble, you’re ready for combat exercises without delay.”

Some people had already started imagining a fierce battle, covering their faces in horror and saying, "Oh no, I just learned how to use a gun. If something unexpected happens now, I'll probably just end up as cannon fodder!"

"Captain Chen, quit scaring them," said a junior instructor who noticed the commotion, shaking his head with a sigh and pushing them forward. "If you're really worried about being useless in actual combat, then hurry up and train harder!"

On the training ground, Shen Tingyu, wearing an elegant dark golden uniform, had been waiting for quite some time.

As Xu Qingran followed the crowd into the arena, he overheard someone murmuring beside him, "Man, General Shen looks incredible in that Golden Wing Battalion uniform."

"I'm with the Silver Dragon Battalion, but this makes me kinda want to switch to the Golden Wing Battalion."

"Actually, Major General Lu looks pretty good in the Silver Dragon Battalion uniform too."

"Ugh, it really depends on who's wearing it, huh..."

Xu Qingran glanced at Shen Tingyu from a distance. His smile was faint, and the usual warmth in his eyes was gone.

Once everyone was in place, Shen Tingyu simply nodded to the lead junior instructor and said, "Let's get started."

With Chen Bin's help, the junior instructor 'summoned' an alien insect species that had temporarily disappeared from the empire's vicinity. The insect was roughly the size of an adult human, with a soft exoskeleton, making it a relatively easy-to-kill low-tier species. However, its quick movement speed made it ideal for their current stage of combat training.

Shen Tingyu personally demonstrated the technique.

A dozen of these creatures, which could move at speeds of up to 50-60 meters per second, charged at him chaotically. Yet, before they could even get close to the designated 'alert zone,' he had already taken them all down.

His psychic attacks were pure, clean, powerful, precise, and lightning-fast—so impressive that everyone couldn't help but be in awe.

After the demonstration, Shen Tingyu randomly selected a student from the crowd to give it a try.

Chen Bin handled the equipment, summoning five or six of the same type of insect.

The student looked quite nervous, his hands shaking as he gripped the gun, but he managed to hit one. Since it was a low-tier insect, even though his psychic energy was a bit scattered, it met the system's standards and successfully eliminated the target.

However, at the same time, the other generated insects had already pounced on him, knocking him down. The creatures generated in the training ground were almost 100% realistic in terms of defense, attack, and even tactile sensations. The gross, slimy sensation terrified the student, who let out a horrified scream.

Shen Tingyu, however, remained motionless in his original position, coldly watching, making no move to help. It wasn't until Chen Bin recalled the generated insects that the student, now sitting on the ground, was seen with a pale face.

Everyone was shocked by the student's reaction, as if he had been genuinely attacked, and for a long time, no one spoke.

Then, the man who always appeared gentle and humble spoke, his voice cold and unfamiliar: "The training program only lasts for a month and a half."

"In the past half month, is this all you've managed to achieve?"

The speaker was clearly deeply disappointed.

The usual approachable look in his eyes was gone.

The training ground fell into a dead silence.

Then, Shen Tingyu, in the calmest tone, delivered the most cutting remark: "At this level, I'd feel like retrieving your bodies from the battlefield would be a waste of resources."