Chapter 43

Zhou Lu Hai’s emotions solidified in his eyes when he saw Ji Fu glance over there, then he said slowly, “I still have some things to take care of here. Let’s meet at the school before the joint exam starts.”

He paused for a moment, his gaze passing over the huge creature lying in front of him.

This was the result of his ambush after nearly a week.

It was an S+ exotic beast. Previously, when he was in the interstellar crevice, Ji Fu mentioned this kind of exotic beast material by chance.

The grade of the exotic beast wasn’t particularly high, but it was naturally vigilant. Coupled with its agility and excellent environmental adaptation, it was very difficult to track.

He was communicating with Ji Fu at this moment because he had captured a live one.

For mech soldiers and mechanics, there was no better gift than materials they could freely use.

Unfortunately, it seemed like this gift wasn’t suitable to be given out right now.

He glanced at the person on the visual communication side and said in a deep voice, “Alright.”

After the video call was disconnected, Zhou Lu Hai sat alone by the grassy sea for a long time.

He hadn’t smoked for a long time.

Smoking was because the training of mech soldiers was very tough, and he needed this way to relax and refresh himself.

He felt like smoking now, but he couldn’t find a cigarette box anywhere on his body.

On the other side, after the video call was disconnected, Ji Fu turned around intending to scold someone.

As soon as she turned her head, Wei Lan exclaimed in pain.

Ji Fu: …

It’s not like he was alone when he stormed the highest level of the interstellar prison, right?

Although she said so, she still said with some annoyance, “Where does it hurt?”

She was indeed not an experienced doctor, and occasionally she overdosed on medication.

Wei Lan had just awakened, feeling uncomfortable all over, burning with fever, but his mind was much clearer than before, especially when he saw the handsome young man opposite him.

He opened his arms to her and said softly, “Everywhere hurts.”

Ji Fu looked at the young and strong body in front of her and was momentarily speechless.

She wanted to close her eyes, but Wei Lan took a few steps forward. He was obviously clear in voice, but said, “A Fu? I’m hurting.”

Alright, alright.

She knew he was hurting, but could he put on clothes before speaking?

In a few years, the boy had transformed into a man.

She closed her eyes, ignoring the smooth muscle lines in front of her, chest muscles, abdominal muscles, what porcelain-like fair skin, what ruby-like…

She opened her eyes, “If it hurts, go back and lie down. What are you doing running out?”

She only heard Wei Lan whispering beside her ear, “Hug.”

He had always been close to her before, but the problem was, which decent person asks for a hug without wearing clothes?

It’s not like he’s a little dog.

Ji Fu: “Go lie down, don’t make me say it a second time.”

Wei Lan chuckled lightly, then obediently lay back in the medical pod.

The medication, mixed into a dark red liquid, was administered all over his body.

Ji Fu was momentarily speechless.

The design of this medical pod by Qin Chu Yue had some problems too. Which decent person designs a medical pod with a completely transparent door?

After that day, until just before the start of the joint exam, Ji Fu stayed in the small asteroid.

Wei Lan was seriously injured, and he was unconscious for a longer time than he was awake, but fortunately, the effect of the medicinal bath she prepared was quite good. According to the feedback from the medical pod, his physical condition had improved quite a bit.

On the day of the joint exam, Ji Fu stood in front of the mirror, while Qin Chu Yue stood behind her and said, “Now, you indeed look like a different person.”

Once in the joint exam, the whole process would be broadcast live, and people interested from the three major military academies and the star network could watch the live broadcast.

This also meant that Ji Fu would be exposed to more people.

Although when she was Yun Chi, she always wore a mask whenever she appeared in public, but it couldn’t be guaranteed that everyone hadn’t seen her.

The people who extracted her talents, in order to keep things more secretive and safe, dispatched high-level unmanned mech soldiers to the highest monitoring, and except for Ye Ping, no living person had contact with her.

As for the information she left behind when she was imprisoned, according to Yang’s statement, it was destroyed.

But just to be safe, she made some preparations.

She fixed her hair color and curled it.

Changing her previous appearance, she put on full makeup, wore a black hoodie with a wide brimmed hat, and besides that, there was no other adornment on her face.

This level of disguise could still be discerned by someone observant.

But if the disguise was too much, it would be too obvious.

Appearing straightforwardly in front of the live camera might be safer.

Most importantly…

If it was someone related to talent extraction, she thought, the other party should be the least willing to see her appear in public.

Even if they recognized her, they probably wouldn’t reveal her identity.

After all, the announcement of Yun Chi’s death had been made half a year ago.

If it were them, they would definitely want her to ‘die’ quietly.

Before leaving, Qin Chu Yue rarely said seriously, “If you notice anything wrong, just run.”

“Be careful.”

The scene at the joint exam was different from others; no one knew how many super-stellar talents would be present.

Moreover, various forces would be there to observe, and Ji Fu was currently only an A-level talent.

Although Wei Lan had returned, one, his body hadn’t recovered, and two… they currently didn’t have mech pilots of the same level.

Mech soldiers without mechs, or only being able to pilot low-level mechs, would greatly reduce their own strength.

This was also why the super-stellar mech soldiers of various families seemed to be openly displayed, but the super-stellar mech pilots were well protected.

Mech pilots were the soul of mech combat.

The S-class group chat was very lively; students and teachers had basically arrived at the exam site, but Ji Fu still hadn’t appeared, which made Zhang Huan anxious in the group.

The joint exam was scheduled to start at 10 o’clock, and it was already 9:55, but she hadn’t shown up yet.

She was busier than him as the team leader!

Just when he was anxious, Zhang Huan suddenly saw several people from the Imperial Military Academy next to him all look up. He followed their gaze, and only then did he finally feel relieved.

It was Ji Fu who had arrived.

“The level of perception… ” someone in the group frowned. The starship hadn’t even appeared in sight, yet several people were looking in that direction.

“What kind of talent do those people from the Empire have?”

Entering the super-stellar ranks, a person’s perception would be different from ordinary people.

But on the nameplates of the people from the Imperial Military Academy, they were only displayed as star-level.

When Ji Fu got off the starship and put on the exclusive nameplate, seeing the words “Interstellar Academy Ji Fu A-level” on the nameplate, those seemingly indifferent gazes disappeared.

An A-level was considered a genius among ordinary people, but among a group of geniuses, it was only the entry threshold.

Ji Fu arrived at the scene to check.

She arrived first; the chief examiner of this joint exam was a minute later than her.

The chief examiner of this joint exam was Han Jia, one of the Four Smalls.

Han Jia only became one of the Four Smalls in recent years, but a long time ago, it was a vassal under the Si family.

In recent years, its momentum has been very strong, vaguely surpassing its former master, and it seems to have the meaning of rising to the top three.

Ji Fu stood in the crowd, listening to the gossip of the aristocratic families around her.

“Isn’t it said that the Han family is now on par with the Si family? Why hasn’t the Big Three become the Big Four yet?”

“You don’t understand this. There are only so many positions at the top. How can so many people share one cake? The Big Three will always be the Big Three, and it’s impossible to become the Big Four.”

“If you want to enter the Big Three, you have to pull one down first, then you can go up.”

The representatives of the major aristocratic families in front seemed harmonious.

Ji Fu also saw Fang Yanli.

On such an important occasion, the Fang family must have sent someone in charge.

But the original person in charge had already stepped back after Fang Yanli appeared, retreating to the second line.

Fang Yanli had a cold face and didn’t exchange pleasantries with the people around him.

It was the amiable Han Jia main Han Qi who spoke to Si Xun: “I’ve been busy with the joint exam these days, and I just heard that the Si family had a significant prisoner escape.”

“Has the person been captured?” Han Qi paused and said, “That’s a very serious heavyweight criminal. If he escaped like this, it might be difficult to explain to the Alliance.”

When he said this, many eyes around fell on Si Xun.

Si Xun was not the current head of the Si family; because of Wei Lan’s escape, the head was still on the Imperial Star and couldn’t rush over.

People present also knew about this matter, mainly because in the past ten days or so, the Si family had been deprived of many powers, especially those related to the interstellar prison, almost all of which had been removed.

In addition, the escaped person’s relationship with the Si family…

Si Xun’s face was dark, his eyes were bruised, and his visibly bad condition could be seen with the naked eye, but he still spoke, “Before he escaped, he was hit by the heavy artillery of a stellar mech soldier. Even if he’s alive, he won’t live long.”

Han Qi smiled slightly, “But according to the headquarters, they want to see the living and the dead.”

It wasn’t an ordinary prisoner who was lost; it was a super-stellar criminal.

When Han Qi heard the news, his heart was pounding.

Upon hearing this, Si Fan, who was next to Si Xun, spoke up, “Even if he’s alive, he’s now just a half-cripple.”

Si Fan was Si Xun’s son, and if you counted it, he was actually Wei Lan’s cousin.

He was currently the most talented person among the younger generation of the Si family, possessing strength close to super-stellar level.

…Actually, it’s Star+, and the difference between close and actual is still quite significant.

Especially in levels like super-stellar and stellar.

“A half-crippled mech soldier without a mech in hand, if found by any interstellar patrol warship, his fate is only death.” Si Fan raised his eyes and said coldly, “Unless a super-stellar mech falls from the sky for him.”

But everyone knew that was impossible.

People with super-stellar talents were rare among the major aristocratic families, and super-stellar mech pilots were even more precious.

Coincidentally, the Han family currently had two super-stellar mech pilots.

It was because of these two super talents that Han Qi, who used to be only submissive in front of his father, showed this attitude in recent years.

Si Fan looked disgusted, but the other side still wanted to use Wei Lan’s affairs to provoke him.

Han Qi smiled without saying a word.

Beside him, Huang Peilan said softly, “It’s almost time, why hasn’t it started yet?”

She rarely appeared in such occasions before, and the reason was well known to everyone. But this year was different.

Among the current Four Smalls, the Huang family’s strength was the weakest, but Huang Peilan happened to have a top-tier mech passed down from the family, which was Star+.

That was a top-tier mech of the era, and there were few that could surpass it even now.

The two genius mech pilots of the Han family, currently attending the Imperial Military Academy, couldn’t produce such a top-tier mech in terms of strength.

Recently, Han Qi had been trying to befriend Huang Peilan in order to send his two children to the Huang family to study and observe that mech nearby.

When she spoke, Han Qi also gave her this face.

“Everyone.” Han Qi spoke, and the lively square quieted down.

“Before the start of this joint exam, there are a few things to inform everyone about.”

“This joint exam consists of three important sections: collective battle, survival battle, and individual battle.”

“Starting from the collective battle, each round of the joint exam follows an elimination system. Anyone eliminated in any round cannot participate in subsequent exams and will not receive scores.”

“Each of the three rounds will have its own rankings. In addition, there is a special rule for this joint exam.” Han Qi paused for a moment and said with deep eyes:

“The top five total scores of this joint exam will go directly to the Alliance headquarters after the end of the academic year.”

With this statement, the crowd below became lively.

Because the joint exam adopted a scoring system, after three rounds of exams, there would not only be rankings for each group but also individual rankings.

Those who ranked top in each round would receive different rewards.

For example, being assigned to a legion, or entering directly into various affiliated alliances.

But this was the first time they were directly told they could enter the headquarters.

That was the headquarters, which governed the most important aspects of the entire interstellar domain, and also represented the pinnacle of power.

“What does this mean?” Someone nearby gasped.

Hearing this, Tan Xi added expressionlessly, “It means that among the two major military academies this year, there are many treasures from major aristocratic families.”

Li Yunyi almost couldn’t help but laugh.

He looked around and stifled his laughter, “Lower your voice.”

But he understood in his heart that what Tan Xi said was true.

The top talents of the younger generation of major aristocratic families, except for a few individuals like Fang Yanli, seemed to have concentrated in this cohort.

Because they entered school early, they understood too well the huge difference between super-stellar and stellar levels, so they knew that such great rewards meant there must be a huge disparity in strength.

Shi Xueying stood next to Ji Fu and quietly counted, “At present, there seem to be several people suspected of being super-stellar.”

This didn’t even include their side’s Zhou Luohai.

It seemed that this joint exam was mainly about the struggle between the aristocratic families.

Ji Fu beside them remained silent, quietly eating fruit candy.

The reason why all the super talents gathered in this cohort was simple. As the object of talent extraction, if she attended school normally, she would be 21 years old now, which was the age for training in the military academy.

If the Pig Plan had progressed for a longer time, it would have coincided with the age of the first batch of super talents like Fang Yanli.

…In the long run, what they touched upon would be the core of the current Alliance leadership.

Click.

She bit the fruit candy in her mouth, chewing on the sugar cube.

“Alright.” Han Qi on the stage suppressed his emotions, “This joint exam is about to begin. Please enter the examination room, all candidates.”

“Now, announce the first exam, the galaxy where the collective battle takes place.”

As the name suggests, collective battle is the battle between the three major military academies.

It is also the most harmonious of the three exams.

Ji Fu followed the crowd from the Interstellar Academy and entered the starship shuttling to the examination room.

From the moment they stepped into the starship, every move of all candidates would be captured on live cameras.

The examination room starship was special, with each person having their own room.

After entering the room, infrared scans positioned each person, and when they arrived at the examination room, every movement of each person could be captured.

The moment the exam began, a huge screen rose in the center of the square, where the exam was held discreetly, and at the same time, the live broadcast window on the star network also opened.

A massive screen flickered for a moment, and a second later, it refreshed.

“Swish—”

The screen was equally divided into 298 windows, each representing an examinee.

“For this exam, due to two students missing from the Intergalactic Academy, there are 298 present candidates. The exam officially begins.”

The next moment, the auditorium was flooded with a large audience.

The joint examination of the three major military academies was always lively, and this year was no exception.

Fang Yanli sat in his seat, lifting his head slightly, his gaze scanning many people from the three major military academies, finally settling on the person in the lower left corner.

Because two people were absent from the start of this joint exam, there were two small black screens at the end of the last row.

Ji Fu’s live broadcast window was next to those two black screens, accompanied by several other students, but she was the most eye-catching one.

Qin Chu Yue had just opened the live broadcast, and the first thing she saw was the white-haired figure in the lower left corner, which made her heart skip a beat.

But fortunately, her attention was quickly diverted by others.

The students next to those two black screens were all… very lively.

After some time, there were some who were fortune-telling, some reciting verses, some studying mechanical principles, and some who were bold enough to sleep as soon as they boarded the starship.

… They were all students of the Intergalactic Academy.

Their spectacular performances directly diverted most people’s attention away from Ji Fu’s white hair.

Before seeing the A-level insignia she wore, many people mistook her for a star.

People admire strength, especially in an era where talent reigns supreme. Naturally, everyone’s attention is focused on absolute geniuses.

After all, opportunities to observe geniuses up close are rare.

Ji Fu didn’t do anything strange, and her talent was only above average among this group of people.

Because she was exceptionally good-looking, she gained some favor from netizens.

But the neighboring scene was just too lively. The guy next to Ji Fu’s window had already started meditating, which attracted the attention of the majority.

So, no one noticed that while that guy was chanting louder and louder, Ji Fu was connecting to the exam room’s network while adjusting her optic brain status.

Although it was a live broadcast, examinees also have rights. When they use the optic brain, they can choose the privacy interface.

Once privacy is selected, the exam room’s live broadcast camera equipment only captures dynamic movements and cannot change or directly select the display of other people’s optic brain interfaces.

Ji Fu was just browsing the optic brain while sitting, which seemed normal compared to others.

Naturally, no one knew that by the seventeenth minute, she had already covered her entire live broadcast equipment.

Currently, the live broadcast was still showing the footage of her browsing and using the optic brain for the past seventeen minutes.

Qin Chu Yue’s laughter came through the bone conduction receiver, “It’s so smooth that it’s hard to tell.”

Ji Fu chuckled lightly.

In fact, because the first collective battle had loose jurisdiction, students from each school were all on the same starship. When entering the starship, Tan Xi, who was in charge of exam room management, assigned individual positions.

She specifically asked Tan Xi to place her in a lively spot because she felt a bit nervous. She remembered Tan Xi’s hesitant expression at that time.

Now, she could hear the constant stream of phrases in her ears: “The Jade Emperor is as strict as an emperor’s decree.”

And also: “The principle of mechanics is the principle of mechanics.”

Qin Chu Yue couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “Not just lively, where did your school find these geniuses?”

Ji Fu chuckled lightly.

The people around her were all from ordinary backgrounds, and their talents were not high. They were about to graduate from the Intergalactic Academy, but currently, they had no job prospects.

Although they seemed lively, fundamentally, they were all plagued by anxiety that was hard to dispel.

Whether they could score well in the joint exam was crucial for them.

She didn’t say much, just watched the constantly scrolling images on the optic brain, and said softly, “Ready.”

At the same time, because the students were still shuttling through the galaxy, the current scene was a bit boring. The various leaders left on the square had started chatting.

Fang Yanli rarely appeared in such occasions, so someone came to chat with him a few minutes later. But no matter who it was, no matter what they said, his gaze was fixed on Ji Fu.

From the beginning until now, her performance was normal, with no abnormalities.

Fang Yanli glanced again and found that she was still browsing the optic brain page, with the privacy mode activated, so he couldn’t see the specific content.

He hesitated for a moment, exchanged a few words in a low voice with Han Qi, who had been chatting with him all along.

And it was at this moment that in the real-time monitoring footage watched by Ji Fu, Han’s family’s starship appeared.

Early yesterday morning, during the five minutes when she was changing shifts at the Siji family’s major energy stone galaxy, she was piloting a starship and wearing a spacesuit.

She opened the starship’s hatch, crossed the alert line with her body, connected to the starship with a hook, spent a total of five hours above the Siji family’s major energy stone galaxy, and finally infiltrated the Siji family’s internal network.

During these five hours, patrol starships passed by continuously.

Each time, she had to return to the starship before the patrol starship arrived, and then maneuver the starship to leave rapidly.

For this, she even specially modified the starship, equipping it with energy stones for mechas.

Although the process was difficult, it did allow her to unlock the door to the Siji family’s network.

Currently, the situation in the entire major energy stone galaxy was under her control.

And at this moment, Qin Chu Yue, who was lurking nearby in the major energy stone galaxy, heard Ji Fu say, “They’re here.”

In the next moment, when they looked up, they saw the Han family’s star fleet appearing on this side.

Officially, the Si family and the Han family were at odds, but behind the scenes, they were still jointly managing the business of the Great Energy Stone star system.

In the interstellar space, places like the Great Energy Stone star system were rare, almost every one of them was monopolized by the great families. Originally, these Great Energy Stone star systems were inhabited, but once the energy stone appeared, the residents here no longer needed to exist.

The Han family also relied on working together with the Si family, eating the blood bread of these energy stones, and gradually came to where they are today.

On the other side, Ji Fu was also conducting interstellar shuttles.

In the faint crackling of electric currents, Qin Chu Yue heard Ji Fu say lightly, “Prepare for bombardment.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Chu Yue saw the Si family’s patrol fleet in the distance suddenly stop.

The fleet just stood still in front of the Han family’s starships.

The Han family’s starships came to a halt, not yet understanding what the Si family meant by this.

When they looked up, they saw bursts of white light coming from the Si family’s patrol fleet in the distance.

Boom!

Within five minutes, the entire Han family’s star fleet was blasted into cosmic debris.