Chapter 229

Chapter 229

The other members of Team A01 were at a loss for words when they received the order.

Although they all knew their conversations were being monitored, their expressions clearly revealed their true thoughts.

—That's just underhanded!

Nevertheless, having received their orders, they had no choice but to comply as combat personnel.

Soon, Team A01 sliced through Changying's trap like a blade, swiftly rescuing their trapped teammates.

One hour. Two hours.

Bai Xingshu finally sensed his progress becoming more difficult.

The area he advanced into was increasingly subjected to long-range fire support from Changying—an overwhelming, large-scale, and relentless assault that could not be overcome by skill alone.

Unlike the concentrated firepower carried by mechs, which lasted only about ten seconds due to energy limitations, these fixed installations had abundant power, making it impractical to charge in using mechs.

As a peak-level psychic in his prime, Bai Xingshu’s psychic range could reach deep into Changying’s stronghold, allowing him to neutralize their attacks directly.

But…

This was merely a training exercise. Doing so would be excessive.

Watching Changying’s squad retreat immediately upon his appearance without even engaging, only to be followed instantly by heavy artillery bombardment, Bai Xingshu could only shrug helplessly.

Gathering his squad together, he withdrew from the bombardment zone and reported over the comms, “Operation complete. Falling back. The rest is now the intelligence team’s responsibility.”

After all, engineer positions weren’t invincible.

Not every mission required the Combat Department to deploy mechs.

As soon as Team A01 landed in the maintenance bay, Bai Xingshu was climbing out of the cockpit when a voice came through the monitor.

“Bai Xingshu of Shoujun’s Combat Class S, report to the operations monitoring room.”

It was Lin Li’s voice.

As the acting CO of Combat Class S, he was the most appropriate person to issue such a summons.

Faced with this command-bypassing order, Bai Xingshu wasn’t surprised.

In truth, he already knew exactly why the instructors wanted to see him.

Back then, when dealing with those mechs, he could have handled it without using his psychic abilities—but he had used them anyway.

Of course, he had wanted to draw attention.

If the monitoring team hadn't summoned him this time, he had been ready to repeat the same act on the next sortie.

Outwardly, however, he needed to feign ignorance.

He turned a puzzled look toward the monitor and snapped to attention, playing along like someone who had just received an unexpected order. “Understood.”

Stepping out of the mech's cockpit, Bai Xingshu turned to look toward the maintenance bay.

Soon, he spotted Song Xiyan working with a stern expression at the station where his damaged mech—the one he’d wrecked in the last round—was being repaired.

Ahem.

He’d only wrecked *one* mech—that was pretty restrained of him!

So...

When he walked into the monitoring room, Bai Xingshu faced the questioning looks from the combat instructors of both schools. He cleared his throat and suggested, “Well, maybe we should bring over Teacher Song Xiyan from Mechanical Engineering.”

The teachers all looked puzzled.

Why call over a Mechanical Engineering teacher? Did Teacher Song modify Bai Xingshu’s mech to achieve that reduced-operation effect?

If that were possible, why is this guy still teaching? They should ship him off to a research lab!

However...

They recalled that no mech modifications had taken place during this session.

Confused, the staff complied with Bai Xingshu’s request and called Song Xiyan over.

Song Xiyan showed up, totally lost. But as soon as he stepped into the monitoring room, he saw a group of senior instructors gathered like they were interrogating Bai Xingshu.

Immediately, Song Xiyan frowned and strode over, pulling Bai Xingshu protectively behind him. “What’s going on here?”

His gaze scanned the room before zeroing in on Lin Li, eyes full of accusation.

—*Why are you ganging up with these people to bully Bai Xingshu?!*

Lin Li: "..."

Pissed.

Truth be told, he'd been stewing ever since Bai Xingshu insisted on waiting for Song Xiyan before speaking.

Now, seeing Song Xiyan show up and immediately side with Bai Xingshu while treating him like the enemy just made him angrier.

Their glares sparked like live wires, but Bai Xingshu, standing behind Song Xiyan, didn’t notice.

He only realized Song Xiyan had misunderstood.

Quickly tugging Song Xiyan’s arm, Bai Xingshu hurriedly explained, “Teacher Song, it’s about classified intel—I wasn’t sure if I could talk about it without your confirmation.”

He leaned in, whispering, “Remember that new equipment testing you took me to at the Green House? The neural controls—can I mention them?”

“It shouldn’t involve technical details, just the fact that the willpower-based operation function is already in the experimental phase.”

So Bai Xingshu called him for *this*, instead of needing help because he was being bullied?

Song Xiyan felt a mix of disappointment and relief. He glanced at Bai Xingshu, intending to reply quietly, but his eyes caught sight of Bai Xingshu’s fully developed scent gland.

Song Xiyan: "..."

His ears turned pink. He quickly looked away, then nodded and answered at full volume, “Yes. Neural control system research is happening across universities. Some features are already live—it’s semi-declassified.”

“As for those present,” Song Xiyan glanced at the teachers, “they’re all school-level officers or higher—they have clearance.”

This was exactly the sentence Bai Xingshu needed.

With the justification now in hand, Bai Xingshu cleared his throat and said, "That's roughly the situation. I was fortunate enough to witness this psychic control system with Teacher Song's help, and it left a deep impression on me."

"Then, some time ago, I went through differentiation."

"After completing differentiation, I felt as if the entire world had become much brighter and clearer." Bai Xingshu said without changing expression, recounting what he had learned from Shen Geng—what it was like to differentiate into an Alpha.

"I found this sensation somewhat similar to when I was testing the equipment, which responded to my will."

"That sense of vastness..."

"So over the past few months, I conducted some experiments." Bai Xingshu removed the Shoujun emblem from his combat uniform.

It was a metal badge.

Bai Xingshu held out his palm to the crowd, and under their watchful eyes, the emblem rotated in his hand—without anyone touching it.

Their eyes widened—then they shot to their feet!