“When was he ever a pansy? He’s doing well now, studying in a secretive, special department.”
“Well, those must be good days for him. Though, what is he doing in that kind of place? Men should stay under the sun. What can we not achieve when we stick together as brothers….”
Yan Xiaosu could not help but spit.
Everyone’s personality was different. Xie Yuxin was not a passionate person. He was calm and quiet and liked difficult challenges, challenges that would drive both Wang Zheng and Yan Xiaosu mad.
“Well, stop complaining. Who knows… he might have a brighter future than us,” Wang Zheng said.
“Aina will arrive in a while.”
“Really, wow, what an honor!”
“What honor?”
“What do you have against me? I will force you to introduce a girlfriend to me! An Aslanian beauty, of course!”
Yan Xiaosu really could not forget about Aslanian girls.
The location was selected by Aina. It was relatively private. Not only did Aina come, Lin Huiyin also joined them. The five were very familiar with each other, so it was like a reunion.
Wang Zheng and Aina were careful not to display their affection in front of the rest, in order not to agitate Yan Xiaosu. Their conversation topics surrounded the IG.
“What? To participate is to give your life away? F*ck … there must be some mistake …” Yan Xiaosu could not help but burst into vulgarities.
“Fatty! Be more civilized!” Lin Huiyin said sharply.
Yan Xiaosu touched his face, his stomach. Oh, sh*t… seemed like he had really gotten fatter.
“It’s just a military school competition. Does it have to be so serious? Do people really die?” Yan Xiaosu asked.
Wang Zheng smiled. “The mortality rate isn’t too high, but there is a chance of death. In fact, people might even die during the special training. Only, you have to resign before the actual battle since real mecha are being used. It is inevitable, but murder is not allowed of course.”
Yan Xiaosu shook his head. “This dangerous occupation is not right for me.”
Wang Zheng was nonchalant. The danger was just a touch of extra spice; everyone here knew that.
“How are Zhang Shan’s preparations?”
“I heard that all of them are training like mad now. I have seen Zhang Shan once. That guy is really like a mountain. I feel that the Solar System Federation might amount to something this time,” Yan Xiaosu said while eating a dish.
Wang Zheng smiled faintly.
“Whatever it is, Wang Zheng has to do a good job. Out of everyone in Aslan, my cousin and I are your greatest supporters,” Lin Huiyin said, her fists up in a little dance.
“I’ll consider myself victorious if they can just enter the second round!”
“What second round? At least the quarter-finals!” Lin Huiyin refuted, apparently dissatisfied with Yan Xiaosu’s lack of aspiration.
“Wang Zheng, what are your plans?” asked Aina tenderly. On one hand, she hoped that Wang Zheng could achieve good results and face fewer difficulties in the future. On the other hand, she did not want him to go overboard. After all, the strength of the Solar System Federation was just that.
Wang Zheng smiled. “I want first place of course.”
The entire table quietened and all eyes widened. Wang Zheng shrugged. “Everyone enters thinking that way.”
“Wang Zheng, how can you be so lacking in backbone? For the sake of my sister, you have to beat all your opponents and tell the world that you are the best!” Lin Huiyin’s voice shrouded with passion, envisioning a fairytale ending.
“Wang Zheng is the best for me. He doesn’t need to prove anything,” said Aina.
The other three people could not help but shake their heads. “Again.. again.. Can you two not be so cheesy!”
After dinner, Ye Zisu and Lin Huiyin promised to help introduce girls to Yan Xiaosu. However, success depended on Xiaosu. Xiaosu had always possessed relentless courage towards the pursuit of beauties, no matter how “untouchable” they were.
The five people laughed and left the restaurant. As they headed out, a figure came out from another private cabin, with an incredible, astonished expression.
“Si Jiali, what’s the matter? Come back.”
“Okay, Aunt, I’ll be right here.”
Si Jiali came out after hearing a familiar voice. Her family was going to eat here, and she wanted to use the best private cabin, but heard that it was booked in advance. Whoever it was, it was obviously a noble guest.
Instead, Si Jiali heard Wang Zheng’s voice. Si Jiali thought she was disillusioned. What was he doing here?
Outsiders could not book a room here. Moreover, an exchange student like Wang Zheng could never afford the prices.
As suspected, it really was Wang Zheng. With two others that she knew, Aina Aslan, Lin Huiyin Aslan…..
The most critical thing was that…. Aina was holding hands with Wang Zheng.
Rubbing her eyes, Si Jiali felt an earthquake shaking her inner world. What was with these illusions? Had she been thinking too much lately and was overly tired?
“Si Jiali, everyone is waiting for you. What is taking you so long?”
“Nothing, I thought I saw a classmate.”
“Oh, a guy? Si Jiali, when are you bringing a guy to meet us?”
“Auntie, do you know who are the people who booked the best cabin?”
“I don’t know, but a person with such power is probably from the royal family. Why?”
Si Jiali froze. “Nothing, I’m just curious.”
What was with this Wang Zheng….
Numerous doubts circled Si Jiali’s mind, causing her to behave unusually for a few days.
“Hey, hey, wake up. What is it, Si Jiali? Confess!” Bi Yuyan asked seriously
“Confess? What?” Si Jiali was a bit baffled.
“Are you secretly dating someone? We agreed that you will let us take a look at your guy.” Bi Yuyan winked.
Si Jiali shook her head. “No, I have just been busy lately. Oh, yes, I wanted to ask, is Wang Zheng an ordinary exchange student?”
Bi Yuyan opened her mouth. “No, don’t tell me…”
“What do you think? I just find this person a bit problematic to handle…”
Bi Yuyan shook her hand in arrogance. “The Solar System’s IG captain should not be an ordinary person. Anyways, the competition is about to begin, and the student union will surely choose a delegation to participate. We must get two places for ourselves!”
Si Jiali smiled. She was not really interested in these kinds of things, but after thinking through, she relented.
Four days later, Zhang Shan, Meng Yue, and Zhang Runan arrived. They were a little slower than Yan Xiaosu. They were originally planning to go with the Solar System Federation, but the federation’s ship was slow. They wanted to arrive as soon as possible to reunite with Wang Zheng.
The four people did not meet for some time and would reunite three days later. Zhang Shan could not wait to see how Wang Zheng was doing. He had not spent his days idly, and recently, even a hint of brutality could be sensed emanating from him.
IG members who arrived early could report to Aslan Royal College. Additions to their Skylinks allowed everyone to use Aslan Royal College’s regular training facilities, making it easier for these members to maintain their peak state before the competition.
“Wang Zheng, you haven’t been idle during this time, have you? We are very much looking forward to it!” Zhang Shan said, back at Wang Zheng’s dormitory.
He was the same old, with added confidence.
A soldier’s confidence had to be accumulated through training.
“You haven’t been idle, so how could I? Since you are in Aslan, explore and stay in good shape,” Wang Zheng said.
Meng Yue and Zhang Runan were girls and therefore less bombastic than Zhang Shan. “It is said that all the countries in this IG are top players. They say that the federation could enter at most the second round.”
“It can’t be. Why are they belittling us?”
“It’s not the military, but the parliament. It seems that our past participations has made them lose confidence in us.”
“A round of tourism is not what we are trying to achieve. I want to show Aslan and the Milky Way Alliance the strength of Zhang Shan!”
Zhang Shan had always been very excited and a little impatient.
“Well, don’t be so anxious; calm down, stay in your best condition. It is not good to fight in an overly excited state. I’m looking for people to gather information.” Wang Zheng laughed. This time around, every country’s confidentiality worked quite well. Some superficial information was roaming around, but little was known about the exact situation. Some videos were also obtained from the past. Chi Muye was good in this regard. Although Wang Zheng did not expect too much, Chi Muye promised to do his best.
“I don’t know who our first opponent is.”
“Whoever he is, we just have to defeat him!”
Wang Zheng was considered a local. During this time, he had gotten familiar with the college. Meng Tian and Zhang Runan were different from ordinary girls. They had no interest in excursions and photographs, but they would like to more know about Aslan’s training grounds.
The three felt humiliated after they learned of the size and state of Aslan’s training ground.
“When can our planet be this arrogant as well?” Zhang Shan said in envy. Compared to the few broken mecha on Earth, this was simply a pilot’s paradise.
“As long as we can achieve good results this time, the council will definitely pass new proposals and update equipment for major military colleges,” said Meng Tian. In the past, the equipment had actually been working fine, but with declining performance, bills sent to the parliament had been rejected. It was a vicious cycle.
Wang Zheng introduced the rules. Everyone began to train freely, choosing their own mech of choice. They tried to utilize the facilities fully now that it was not too crowded.
What the Solar System Federation truly lacked was actual combat experience. Most of their understanding of mecha came from data and theory, as well as some analog battles, but it was not a true replication. Some mecha models were missing, and other similar models were replaced as substitutes, resulting in certain gaps during direct battles.
However, such were the conditions, and no one was too picky about it.
Wang Zheng was hurrying to strengthen his skills with the Phantom King. He had also accumulated a lot of data and looked at some of the classic battles of the past to better understand and polish certain techniques.
Since the Atlantean team was not here yet, he had to cherish his time with the mech before they occupied it.
In addition, this was also considered a secret weapon. Wang Zheng was confident, but he could not afford to be complacent. This process would definitely be extremely difficult. His opponents could probably be stronger than he expected. In addition, the Solar System Federation had internal problems. Still, no amount of problems would block his progress.
It was best not to think too much about the situation with the Solar System Federation.
Zhang Shan excitedly tried five mecha models in a little over an hour. This was addictive, and to think that he only used to pilot old mech models. He was going wild. At this moment, a few people seemed to take notice of him and headed towards their direction…