Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Kaiser didn't immediately understand what he meant, but being warned by an Omega instantly ignited his anger.

He let out an arrogant laugh, "Your brother? Oh, Yiye Langley, right? He's the one who entered my dorm room and became my roommate. He should be the one staying away from me! I wouldn't even glance at a useless Beta."

"Is that so." Bai Chuan didn't refute, his calm demeanor made Kaiser doubt his own words for a moment.

But what had he said wrong?

Yiye Langley wasn't exactly a prodigy, nor was his appearance top-tier. His family background was nothing to speak of—just a nobody from a remote planet. Even his personality was nothing special, with no standout traits except for his thick skin. There was nothing commendable about him, yet this blond youth seemed to think that sharing a room with Ino was some kind of honor.

Kaiser rarely experienced this kind of mental block, momentarily speechless. Just as he was about to retort, Bai Chuan suddenly averted his gaze.

"I hope you remember your words today."

Kaiser: "..."

Damn it!

Recalling the earlier exchange, Kaiser still felt irritated. Using training as an excuse, as soon as Ino finished bandaging his hands, Kaiser quickly flipped him over. Ino, caught off guard, found himself pinned with his arm twisted, his waist pressed down, and his face slammed into the ground.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Young Master, could you ease up a bit?"

Kaiser's hand pressed against Ino's waist, feeling the softness even through the clothes. He quickly let go, frowning, "How can you be this weak? That punch you threw at the Alpha earlier seemed pretty powerful."

"Because that was a surprise attack," Ino chuckled, then winced in pain again. "My waist hurts too, ouch, ouch!"

"..."

What could he possibly gain from this guy?!

The training session between Ino and Kaiser lasted half an hour. Throughout, Ino kept crying out in pain, his pale face and slender waist making him look as delicate as a pampered young master. By the time Kaiser stepped off the mat, his face was livid, barely holding back from punching Ino's face into a pulp. If they weren't teammates, Ino might not have survived the day.

Watching Kaiser's furious retreating figure, Ino silently patted his chest.

When Bai Chuan stepped up, their similar heights made the training less intense than with Kaiser. Ino sidestepped to block Bai Chuan's attack, and as they closed in, he heard him ask, "Why were you holding back earlier?"

Ino paused, "I couldn't win."

"...Do you think I believe that?"

As he spoke, Bai Chuan swept his leg high toward Ino, his movements swift and graceful.

Ino defended with both hands, intercepting Bai Chuan's leg and twisting it back, then leaned forward to pin Bai Chuan to the ground. His long legs straddled Bai Chuan's abdomen, his lean and straight back pressing down on Bai Chuan. From below, one could see his sharp and well-defined jawline, his handsome and striking features.

Ino, oblivious, tilted his chin up proudly and whispered, "Help me keep this a secret for now. I don't want Kaiser to know, or he might pick a fight with me. It'd be a hassle."

Bai Chuan's abdominal muscles tensed, his breathing deepening.

"Did you provoke him? Is your ankle injury related to him?"

"It's just a small thing, not important. Just help me out this once."

"..."

"Please."

Bai Chuan clenched his teeth, "Got it. Get up."

Yi Ye immediately shot to his feet.

After nearly an hour and a half of drills, a sharp whistle echoed across the training grounds. Yi Ye and the others quickly straightened their military uniforms and fell into formation.

The white-haired instructor, who had vanished after the free training session, suddenly materialized behind them like a ghost. His shiny black leather boots slowly paced as he eyed them critically. Training inevitably led to some scrapes and bruises, and since Alphas were naturally combative, they often didn't hold back during combat training. As a result, many of them were already sporting visible injuries, looking particularly worse for wear.

Among the group, Yi Ye was relatively untouched. Bai Chuan didn't really go all out to pummel him, and he didn't go all out against Kaiser either, so at most, he had a few bruises on his wrists.

A familiar scene played out as those leather boots stopped in front of him again.

Yi Ye sighed and looked up resignedly. The white-haired instructor frowned, "Why are you so spotless?"

Yi Ye remembered the rule about not speaking without being ordered to and deliberately clamped his mouth shut.

Instructor: "...Speak!"

"Report! Because the instructor didn't order us to get our uniforms dirty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he clearly saw a vein bulge on the instructor's forehead, who was trying hard to suppress his anger. "Everyone else trained hard and got banged up, but you don't have a single mark on you. Did you train seriously?"

"Report, I did!" Yi Ye raised an eyebrow, "Maybe it's because I'm just that skilled."

Kaiser, standing a few rows back, rolled his eyes in response.

The instructor was at a loss for words and didn't want to waste any more time with this motormouth. He turned around and walked to the front, his face stern as he announced the dismissal. Just as he finished, he pointed at Bai Chuan, "You, come with me."

The protagonist always gets this kind of special attention from the instructor, so Yi Ye wasn't surprised. He grinned and waved, signaling Bai Chuan to go without a care.

"Why do you always wear that dumb grin?" Kaiser approached from behind, holding a bottle of water.

Yi Ye instinctively thought it was for him and reached out to take it, but when he saw Kaiser unscrew the cap and drink it himself, he silently withdrew his hand.

"Smiling keeps you young. Life's too short not to smile when you don't have to cry."

"...Nonsense."

He lazily hummed, "Yeah, I live by nonsense."

Kaiser was silent for a couple of seconds, "So you think you're living well? Not getting first place in the exams, with average talent, and you're satisfied with that?"

"I am satisfied. At least I'm alive and well."

Kaiser didn't say anything.

Yi Ye turned to look at him. The soft, yellowish light in the training field cast a mesmerizing charm on the black-haired youth's face.

"Young Master, why are you so obsessed with being first? The top five teams can all be promoted to B-level students of the Imperial Honor Military Academy. You're from the Audria family, so you don't have to be on the same team as the crown prince. Settling for second or third place isn't so bad, is it?"

"I have the ability to be first, so why should I settle for less?"

"What if I can't help you get first place?"

"That's your problem," Kaiser stared at him, word by word, "I have what it takes to be first, so I should be first. If you're not qualified to be my teammate, you should work harder to catch up. Why should I settle for second place? Who remembers the second place?"

"...First place?" Seeing Kaiser getting angry, Yi Ye quickly waved his hands, "Just kidding, just kidding."

"Don't you want to strive for something?" Kaiser retorted.

Yi Ye wanted to say no, but he knew it would only make Kaiser angrier, so he kept quiet. Even if he played dead, Kaiser could guess what he was thinking.

"You really are a waste of space," Kaiser said as he stood up. "Even if you only want to revolve around your younger brother, waiting for him to rise so you can leech off him for life, keep those thoughts to yourself until the assessment is over."

"Come on, let's keep training."

*

On the other side, Bai Chuan followed the white-haired instructor into the office. The room was small, with somewhat outdated furnishings, and some honors symbolizing his career hung on the walls, each bearing the name "Alva."

"Sit down."

Bai Chuan sat down and saw the instructor transfer an email from his terminal to him.

"Check this out."

He noticed the sender of the email: "Mr. Langley?"

"Your father and I used to be colleagues, and this time, he asked me to look out for you," Alva said, then changed the subject. "Kewen already filled me in on why you came to Imperial Star. You want to see the crown prince, but unfortunately, I don't have the clearance to get you into the Sky Mansion."

"Who can enter the Sky Mansion?"

"The principal and S-class honor students of the Imperial Honor Military Academy," the instructor's knuckles tapped the table warningly. "Don't even think about sneaking in. If you're detected by the equipment near the Sky Mansion, I won't be able to protect you."

Bai Chuan remained calm: "I know. Then can I ask a few questions?"

Instructor Alva raised his chin, signaling him to speak.

Bai Chuan: "It's been a month since the Blue Flower Star incident. Could the injuries left by the Zerg be so severe that even the empire's top medical equipment can't cure them?"

"That's a sharp question. But I can't give you an answer to that," he clicked on a column of files on the interface, finding the file about the Blue Flower Star incident, but clicking it only brought up a prompt: [You do not have access permissions].

"The follow-up to this incident is a top-secret matter. Only those I just mentioned have the clearance to read it in the entire academy. Out of respect for Kewen, I've been very clear. Given your current status, the only way to see the crown prince is by acing the freshman assessment. Forget about any shortcuts. I heard you're teamed up with Bush Meihua, right? Lucky you, the Meihua family has always ranked high in the academy's assessments, and this one's the best in years. Getting first place shouldn't be an issue for you."

"What if I don't make it?"

The instructor's knuckles paused, his gaze probing the cold-eyed young man. Bai Chuan sat straight, his emotions nearly impossible to read, like the depths of the ocean, where no sunlight reaches.

He heard him say: "There's one person I might lose to."

The instructor showed an intrigued expression. He figured Bai Chuan was probably talking about the Alpha from the Audria family.

In the entire S class, only he has what it takes to take first place. But he got unlucky with his group. Yi Ye has some combat skills, but the assessment is not an arena. In the Simulated Battlefield exam, the most important thing isn't hand-to-hand combat or knowledge, but the ability to adapt in the face of the enemy.

Physical constitution determines how far a person's body can go, including sensitivity, strength, and healing speed. And mental strength determines the upper limit of a human's ability to operate a mech. Those with B-level mental strength are essentially doomed, unable to even perform the most basic actions with a mech.

But to become an excellent commander, it's more than that.

The ability to foresee the battlefield, the foresight when overlooking, the reaction speed when encountering the enemy—these are the most important abilities for a commander and also the purpose of the Simulated Battlefield assessment. Those with high enough qualifications have an innate talent on the battlefield. As far as he knows, Bush Meihua is such a person.

Yi Ye against him? Definitely loses.

"It's indeed hard to win in combat, but this assessment calculates a comprehensive score. If other scores are high enough, getting first place isn't a problem."

Bai Chuan lifted his eyelids: "Instructor seems to have a lot of confidence in me?"

The instructor smirked: "You'll understand in the future. The gap in talent levels among humans is a chasm that can't be bridged in a lifetime. From the moment you were judged to have 3S mental strength, many things were destined." His tone was almost self-deprecating, shrugging and waving his hand. "I can't say more; the rest is up to you. Alright, you can go back."

Bai Chuan didn't speak, nodded to the instructor, then turned and left.

*

At this moment in the training ground.

"Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch!"

"Shut your mouth!"

Kaiser slapped Yi Ye on the back, "You've yelled in pain seven times and complained of tiredness five times in less than half an hour. How can a Beta be more of a wimp than an Omega? Is an S-grade physique really that pathetic?"

"Just because I have a good physique doesn't mean I can't be exhausted, Young Master. Don't forget who kept me up all night last night, making me run around like a headless chicken. It's a miracle I'm still standing."

"..." Kaiser coughed violently, "Cut the crap! Keep training, train until you drop!"

Yi Ye was on the verge of tears, wishing more than ever that the white-haired instructor was here instead. He was cursing up a storm in his head but still obediently followed Kaiser's instructions step by step.

The training ground was huge, and aside from Yi Ye and Kaiser, students from other classes were also training. Kaiser's red hair was too distinctive, and coupled with Yi Ye's whining, many were sneaking glances their way.

Just as Yi Ye was choking back a sob, he spotted a familiar, sparrow-like face.

The little brown curly-haired boy, seeing that he had been noticed, his eyes went wide and shook his head frantically.

They say if you're going down, take someone with you. Kind-hearted as Yi Ye was, how could he forget this old saying?

He jumped up and grinned at the little brown curly-haired boy, "Hey, El, my man! You're here too!"

El: Oh no, don't drag me into this!

Seizing the moment while Kaiser was distracted, he darted over and grabbed the little brown curly-haired boy. Upon closer inspection, he noticed he was holding a light pink water bottle and had a bulging bag slung over his shoulder, looking like a little errand boy.

Yi Ye paused, raising an eyebrow, "You guys have it pretty cushy, huh?"

"Th-this is all prepared for my brother," he stammered, his gaze drifting towards the furious Kaiser not far away, shaking like a leaf, "You're really paired with that Young Master? I couldn't believe it when I heard."

"Has the news reached your side already?"

"Of course, the whole school knows," El looked around, lowering his voice, "Some are even betting on who will come out on top between you two."

"I bet my brother and Bush Meihua's group are the favorites, right?"

El nodded with a gleam in his eye.

"So, who's your money on?"

El said without hesitation, "You!"

Yi Ye: "..."

He was genuinely touched, "You really have faith in me?"

"No," he scratched his head, "I think Young Master Kaiser can carry the team. He's strong!"

Yi Ye fell silent.

If there ever came a day, he would loudly tell El that he once knocked out Kaiser with a stick. Although it was a sneak attack.

As if reading his mind, El actually brought up the incident.

"But I heard there's an Alpha in the school who's even stronger than Young Master Kaiser," he sneakily glanced at Kaiser, lowering his voice, "On the day of the entrance ceremony, Young Master Kaiser was hit on the back of the head with a stick. He even posted a bounty on the forum looking for the guy."

"Did... did he find him?"

"Not yet. They say that Alpha's pheromone smells like rum. There are quite a few with rum-scented pheromones, but none match. Young Master Kaiser is furious, saying that once he finds him, he'll skin him alive and throw him out."

El noticed Yi Ye shivering and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? It's not cold in the training field."

Yi Ye looked serious, "Maybe it's my heart that's cold."

El was speechless.

While Yi Ye and El were chatting, Kaiser's patience ran out, and he decided to drag Yi Ye back.

Just as he grabbed Yi Ye by the collar, the area suddenly buzzed with activity. Muffled conversations swelled in waves, and several groups of cadets rushed out one after another.

Yi Ye and Kaiser exchanged glances, none of them knowing what had happened, and followed the crowd outside. Standing by the window and looking down, they saw a large number of cadets crowded together, with Instructor Clark among them.

"Is some VIP here?"

As he asked, he turned his head and was startled by Kaiser's expression. The red-haired youth's face tightened, his gaze intense and unsettling. His sleeve was tugged twice, and El's excited voice came through, "That seems to be General Moses Odria!"