Chapter 17 First Battle

Chapter 17: The First Battle

Next Day

Ji Anzhi got up early. By the time he finished washing up and went downstairs, Qi Yanshen and his two companions had also just come down. After exchanging greetings and finishing breakfast, the group went downstairs and took a hovercar to the drill ground.

They arrived at the field just past 7:10 AM. Not many students were present yet, so they easily made their way to the VIP seats flanking the rostrum.

Except for Lu Yan. As a freshman who wasn't a department chief, he had to go down to stand in formation for the opening ceremony's performance.

After bidding farewell to Lu Yan, who had tears in his eyes, Ji Anzhi and the others took their seats in the rows closest to the inner side of the rostrum.

Once seated, the three of them simultaneously opened their personal terminals to review their own data and videos. The other chiefs sitting behind them did much the same, all opening their terminals to attend to their own matters.

This resulted in the seats closer to the podium area being exceptionally quiet and intensely focused.

Time flew by, and soon it was 8 o'clock.

The chiefs closed their terminals. By now, the spectator stands were mostly filled, and the temperature had risen accordingly. The temperature control system activated, and the air circulation and pheromone processing systems increased their output.

The freshmen below weren't so fortunate. They stood in straight lines under the blazing sun, waiting for the performance to begin.

Undoubtedly, these were the top brass from the military academy and the Federation.

Ji Anzhi even spotted several military personnel he had seen on the StarNet before, along with the Federation Premier and a few frequently seen councillors.

An omega man with delicate features tested the microphone, confirmed it was working, and then greeted the freshmen below in a languid tone. "Welcome, little ones, for passing the military training and officially becoming first-year students of the First Military Academy."

There had been some minor fidgeting and whispering among the freshmen, but upon hearing this, they immediately straightened up, chests out.

The omega man continued slowly, "As for me, I am the principal of the First Military Academy. An omega principal! My name is Lin Dusheng."

The First Military Academy's official external website only ever posted admissions and examination notices, but most freshmen already knew the principal was an omega. The few who didn't know were taken aback.

Like Ji Anzhi, whose gaze was involuntarily drawn to the omega man at the speaker's podium. Dressed in a white shirt paired with a dark brown thin jacket, his black hair slightly disheveled, his full cherry lips forming an enchanting curve, his exposed wrists pale and slender, his voice soft and lazy—he resembled a pampered white fox coaxed out to bask in the sun.

The principal continued, "I believe everyone is aware of the Federation's First Law, which strictly prohibits any form of ABO discrimination. Our First Military Academy is the same~"

That playful lilt made the freshmen below grow restless. However, the principal's next words instantly made everyone rein in their sudden excitement.

"Students of the First Military Academy, whether you are currently enrolled or have graduated, please abide by this rule. Those who do not will face mandatory chemical castration by the school's disciplinary office~"

The alphas present felt a chill run down their necks and lower regions. The First Military Academy meant what it said. Even knowing they hadn't committed any offense, they couldn't help but feel a shiver of apprehension.

Seeing the alphas below stand much straighter, the principal seemed quite satisfied. After saying a few more words, he announced the start of the freshman performance.

The principal returned to his main seat, opened his terminal's communication app, and began idly sending pestering messages to his partner, even though the other might not receive them at all.

The freshman performance lasted only about ten minutes. It was largely ceremonial—running through a few combat drills to demonstrate their physical prowess and fighting spirit.

If not for wanting to give the non-chief freshmen a chance to showcase themselves, Principal Lin Dusheng would have loved to scrap this performance. Such a waste of time.

As soon as the performance ended, the principal picked up the microphone and announced the next item: addresses from the freshman department chiefs.

The first to go up was Qi Yanshen, the Chief of the Command Department. He walked to the speaker's podium, calm and composed, and spoke plainly, "Hello everyone, I am Qi Yanshen, the first-year Chief of the Command Department."

"I know many among the freshmen are not convinced or simply dislike me. You are welcome to challenge me on the arena. Thank you. That concludes my speech."

After speaking, he saluted the principal and walked straight back to his seat.

Ji Anzhi was bewildered: ...Huh? Wait, that casual?

Next was the Chief of the Mecha Combat Department. His skin tone was slightly darker than Qi Yanshen and the others', his muscles solid, his voice deep and resonant.

"First-year Mecha Combat Department Chief, Andrei. Welcome, everyone, to challenge me often. I hope opponents who are too weak won't waste my time."

Like Qi Yanshen, he saluted the principal after speaking and left the stage.

Ji Anzhi's expression turned wooden. So the 300-word speech I memorized last night was for nothing...

Next was Pei Ke from the Mecha Design Department.

His speech was a bit longer: "Hello everyone, I am Pei Ke, the first-year Chief of the Mecha Design Department. If anyone has particularly difficult or unclear questions regarding mecha design, you can come ask me. I also welcome seniors and fellow students to exchange insights and techniques. Thank you."

Based on these three speeches, Ji Anzhi felt that just saying his name and stepping down should be fine too.

Jian Fuxu took the stage. He was still wearing a mask today, and even without removing it, he exuded an aura that kept others at a distance.

"First-year Energy Department Chief, Jian Fuxu. Here, I'd like to make an announcement to all the alphas in the academy: I have pheromone hypersensitivity. Please maintain a distance of at least three meters from me upon sight. You will bear the consequences if you approach."

"I'd also like to ask alphas to wear your pheromone isolation bracelets properly. Don't release your pheromones like dogs marking territory. If you end up in the medical pod because of me, don't come arguing. I'll make sure you stay there for another month. Thank you."

After speaking, like the previous three, he saluted the principal and returned to his seat.

Ji Anzhi had already come to accept the aggressive nature of the chief speeches. He felt no one after Jian Fuxu could possibly be more forceful.

So when it was Ji Anzhi's turn, he went on stage, calmly stated his name, saluted, and stepped down without fanfare.

Admittedly, with the others for comparison, one could relax a lot more.

By the time all thirteen department chiefs had finished their speeches, it had taken only six minutes, with two of those minutes spent walking on/off stage and saluting.

The principal walked to the speaker's podium, his tone carrying a hint of glee. "Alright then, our chiefs' speeches are as brief as ever. Next is the challenge segment. The order and content of the challenges will be determined by random draw. First-year chief little ones, are you ready?"

"Not ready? Too bad. Rest assured, the medical department seniors and fellow students at the First Military Academy are skilled. As long as there's a breath left, they can save you."

Honestly, we could be more reassured if you hadn't said that last part.

The principal wasn't interested in understanding the thoughts of these first-year little ones. He began a random lottery draw on the public terminal screen to decide which first-year chief would be the first to be challenged.

Seeing the name on the terminal, the principal was somewhat disappointed the first one wasn't that little one from the Jian family. Failing that, the little ones from the Qi or Na families would have been good too!

That way, he could have seen those nasty seniors get their comeuppance.

The principal's tone remained languid, but Ji Anzhi, for some reason, detected a faint hint of regret.

"Let's welcome our first lucky one, Star Chart Department Chief—Ji Anzhi."

Ji Anzhi: "..."

This feels terrible, but must keep smiling.

Being the first on stage, win or lose, will put one in the spotlight... Forget it, just perform normally.

Yesterday, he had lurked in the main channel, hoping to glean some useful information, but there was nothing about the Star Chart Department there.

Considering he was the first beta to enter the Star Chart Department and a chief at that, he would attract attention regardless. Rather than waiting for others to question him later, it was better to defeat a senior chief and settle things once and for all.

So Ji Anzhi reviewed the manual again, checked the conversations in the channel, confirmed there had been cases of defeating seniors in the past, and only then dared to go all out in today's match.

Ji Anzhi stood up and walked toward the podium, greeted the headmaster with polite warmth, then tapped the screen to select the challenge content.

"Star Chart Error Correction"

"Provided with partial stellar data, observe the star chart and correct the erroneous data."

The headmaster felt a pang of regret—this would be quite difficult for someone without systematic star chart training. It seemed the upperclassmen would score an opening victory again. Too bad.

Though the headmaster thought this, his face betrayed nothing as he asked the Star Chart Department who wanted to be the first to challenge the freshman.

From among the seated department chiefs, a refined and scholarly-looking alpha man stood up, walked to the podium, his lips holding a faint smile, and extended his hand. "Kassim, fourth-year Star Chart Department chief."

Ji Anzhi reached out and shook it, replying courteously, "Hello, senior."

The headmaster glanced at Kassim. It seemed this beta, the first in the Star Chart Department's history, had piqued the upperclassmen's curiosity.

Once they had exchanged greetings, the headmaster had them descend to the cleared field. By the time they arrived, the holographic equipment was almost set up.

After saluting the headmaster, the two walked down from the stands together.

Qi Yanshen watched Ji Anzhi's retreating back, a flicker of concern unconsciously crossing his face.

The first challenge was usually assigned to a fourth-year student to set the tone. Moreover, since the opening match concerned the reputation of both new and old students, the first match not only had to be won, but won decisively and impressively. This meant the upperclassmen would strike with ruthless precision and speed, aiming to crush the freshmen's morale as much as possible.

As the first one up, Ji Anzhi—he hoped he could win, or at least not get too discouraged if he lost.

Ji Anzhi descended to the center of the field, taking the star chart monitoring equipment from a robot. On the field, holographic equipment displayed the star chart, and a smart live-feed system was in place so those in the stands could see clearly.

Once both participants were ready, the headmaster clicked, sending the data, and announced in a clear voice, "The star chart data has now been sent to both of you. In thirty seconds, the star chart will be displayed. You have fifteen minutes to identify as many errors in the data as possible and correct them. Finding an error scores 0.5 points; correcting one scores 1 point. If you believe you have found all errors, you may end early."

"Begin!"

The fifteen-minute timer started counting down.

Simultaneously, the scene around Ji Anzhi and Kassim transformed instantly. The vast sports field became an expanse of cosmic starscape, and before them was the challenge content—the White Moon System star chart.

The White Moon System was a remote minor star system within the Federation, hardly known to anyone, which made it perfect for the challenge. No one had prior knowledge, ensuring fairness.

Since the two were not in the same holographic star chart, neither could see the other's progress.

Ji Anzhi first spent two minutes reviewing the text data, roughly forming a mental map, before looking at the scaled-down star chart before him.

Errors in star charts typically involved orbital and rotational speeds and directions, planetary distances, seasonal timings, and some special orbital shifts. Though there were only a few types of issues, they were hard to spot, as star charts demanded precision down to four decimal places. Even the slightest discrepancy could cause the chart to deviate by hundreds of meters from the actual star system in a single day.

Such errors were fatal in defense deployments.

Thus, star charts needed correction every month. An excellent star chart specialist could refine data to eight decimal places, minimizing later deviations and reducing the frequency of corrections.

Ji Anzhi corrected the data on his holographic interface and continued zooming in to observe other potential errors.

Since Ji Anzhi couldn't see the people in the stands, he was unaware of their reactions.

On the viewing platform, the headmaster's delicate eyebrows lifted slightly. It seemed the Star Chart Department had gained a prodigy this year.

Through the live broadcast on the large screen, it was visible that fourth-year chief Kassim had just finished reviewing the materials and was preparing to compare them with the star chart to find errors, while Ji Anzhi had already identified one error point and corrected it.

Regardless of whether his finding was correct, the fact that he wrote "1.768s" demonstrated absolute confidence in his perception.

Moreover, they believed that given the difficulty level of a military academy department chief, there was no room for show-offs or slackers.

Qi Lan sat on the podium, knowing Ji Anzhi was the person her son mentioned wanting to recruit early for their corps, so she paid extra attention. To her surprise, he had found and corrected an error in the star chart within just three minutes. If his correction proved accurate, she had to secure him and bring him into her corps early.

Qi Lan couldn't help but glance to her left at her son. Though he shared her somewhat expressionless demeanor, as Qi Yanshen's mother, Qi Lan could tell her son was also somewhat incredulous, seemingly not expecting his roommate to possess such high talent.

Qi Yanshen felt the gaze from his right and turned to meet his mother's eyes.

Qi Lan's lips moved slightly, conveying a message in lip language.

'We must recruit him.'

Qi Yanshen gave a slight nod, then turned back to continue watching the live feed from the field.

Lu Zechuan sat beside Qi Lan, noticing the exchange between her and Qi Yanshen. He leaned slightly closer and whispered, "Does your corps want him?"

Qi Lan shot him a glance that clearly said,

Do I look like I don't?

Lu Zechuan encouraged, "Then have Yanshen put in more effort. Later, many corps and factions will likely extend olive branches."

Qi Lan gave a soft acknowledgment, indicating she understood.

The challenge below continued.

After identifying one error, Ji Anzhi began zooming in and out to examine the star system. The central star burned fiercely, indicating it was relatively young.

Comparing his mental simulation with the star chart, he waited three minutes and discovered that the rotation speed of the seventh planet from the star was slightly faster than the data indicated. After half a minute of testing the deviation, he confirmed the data error was slower by 27.8 seconds.

He corrected the data and moved on to the next planet.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Kassim had just corrected the rotation speed error of the seventh planet, with the corrected data matching Ji Anzhi's.

Kassim felt his performance today was decent and that defeating this first-ever beta in the Star Chart Department shouldn't be a problem.

Though he thought so subconsciously, Kassim remained cautious and gave his all, as this concerned the reputation of the fourth-year students, and he disliked being mocked.

Time flew by, and fifteen minutes arrived.

As soon as time was up, the holographic star chart vanished instantly. Ji Anzhi and Kassim looked up at each other. Though both held smiles in their eyes, the competitive desire in Kassim's gaze made Ji Anzhi uncomfortable.

So, after only a few moments of eye contact, Ji Anzhi lowered his head to review the error points he had marked.

The data had been locked the moment the challenge ended and was now projected on the live broadcast screen.

The error points identified and corrected by both sides would be graded by the military academy's central AI. Corrections within a 0.1 margin of error from the correct data would earn correction points.

A dozen seconds later, the results appeared.

"Challenger: Kassim"

"Total errors found: three; corrections made: two"

"Correct error points: three, scoring 1.5 points; correct corrections: one, scoring 1 point"

"Total score: 2.5 points"

"Challenged: Ji Anzhi"

"Total errors found: four; corrections made: three"

"Identifying four errors correctly earns 2 points, and correctly fixing three errors earns 3 points."

"Total score: 5 points."

"Ji Anzhi wins."

As soon as the results were announced, the room buzzed with whispers.

In previous years, there had been cases of lowerclassmen defeating upperclassmen, but those defeated were usually second-years, with a few third-years. This was the first time a fourth-year had lost in a freshman challenge, and it was the opening match.

Even though the Star Chart Department relies sixty percent on talent, sensitivity to data cannot be achieved by talent alone; it requires plenty of hands-on practice to develop it.

Everyone admitted to the First Military Academy is a genius. Even those at the bottom of their department would be considered elite among elites at other ordinary colleges.

Clearly, this year's top student in the Star Chart Department has moved beyond being just a genius.

He is a prodigy.