Chapter 47

The situation is indeed not optimistic.

It’s not just the situation where the two major military academies are evenly matched, but also the current Interstellar Academy has taken 37% of the points, only 13% away from becoming the first in this exam.

With just a little carelessness, an attack could turn into points handed over to the opponent.

This is a situation neither of the two major military academies wants to see.

“Damn, who could have predicted this before it started? Interstellar has turned the tables directly, from a passive position to an active one.”

“Maybe it’s going to turn into a situation where points are handed out. This guy named Zhou Lu Hai from Interstellar seems to have some skills.”

“Normal, he’s originally from one of the three major families.”

“The one who’s arranging the troops, isn’t it this Ji Fu?”

Yes, anyone who was in Zhou Lu Hai’s live broadcast room just now couldn’t ignore this A-level pharmacist.

Someone even exclaimed, “I never thought pharmacists could play like this.”

This isn’t even considered being a pharmacist anymore. Which pharmacist from a family can just throw out a bottle of potion and take out a star-level alien beast?

The audience on the Star Network has a God’s-eye view, knowing about Ji Fu’s existence, but the two major military academies are unaware.

But some people who knew Zhou Lu Hai early on pointed out that today’s events are not Zhou Lu Hai’s style. Not just today, even the training camp incident doesn’t seem like Zhou Lu Hai’s doing.

Shen Qinglan’s eyes were deep. “Among the new students of Interstellar, there should be someone extremely skilled in psychological warfare.”

“I didn’t hear about such a person in the information we gathered before.”

Definitely not.

Out of habit, they only inquired about students above S-level.

The situation is worse on the Empire’s side. Before this, the elite class only considered Li Yunyi, Tan Xi, and Zhou Lu Hai as opponents.

Si Fan said coldly, “It’s not Li Yunyi or Tan Xi’s style either.”

During the last joint exam, he had dealings with these two, and their strengths were decent, without so much scheming.

“Based on the information we’ve obtained so far, the other party is most likely a mech engineer.” The youth who spoke earlier, allowing them to react before the explosion of the Seven-Winged Dragon, said calmly.

“It took a long time to find information on this person.”

Since the afternoon of the live broadcast, netizens were curious about the identity of the youth.

After searching for an afternoon, they finally found information about the other party on the elite class bulletin board of the Imperial Military Academy.

“Called Bai Yeming, seems to be a new student of the Empire this year.”

“Bai? He’s not from the three major families, is he from some minor family that made it through the exam?”

Bai Yeming raised his head, his gaze carrying a coldness that didn’t match his age. He said slowly, “Regardless of who the opponent is, this person needs to be eliminated as soon as possible.”

“Do we still need to cooperate with Hanhai?”

Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”

“With Shen Qinglan’s temperament, after suffering such a big loss this time, he won’t just let it go.”

“Whether the other party did it intentionally or unintentionally, they’ve equalized the scores of the two military academies. Their goal is to provoke us.”

Fang Yuan finished speaking, chuckled lightly, but behind the golden-rimmed glasses, there was no trace of a smile: “But I just reached an agreement with Shen Qinglan.”

The first round of the joint exam wasn’t considered very important. If anything, the previous scores didn’t matter because they all understood that survival battles and individual battles were the key.

And…

Compared to the question of who would win this round, they were more concerned about not letting the low-talented people from Interstellar step on their heads.

That ‘strategist’ from Interstellar indeed had some means, but she still didn’t understand the aristocrats.

In certain matters, the aristocrats could fully agree.

Afternoon’s events, however, served as a wake-up call for them. Although the other side’s strength wasn’t great, they did have some strange methods.

If they were to take action, they had to directly crush the other side in one go, otherwise, they would end up like today, being turned from offense to defense by them.

So, in the next few days, both sides made meticulous deployments.

The Empire built new wide-area bases, added patrol teams to prevent another surprise attack, ensuring that each team had star-level mecha soldiers to lead, preventing a recurrence of the previous accident.

In reality, it was unlikely to happen again.

There were still star-level alien beasts active on this planet, but their strength was far inferior to the Seven-Winged Dragon, and on that same night, they were personally killed by Shen Qinglan.

The Empire also organized multiple teams and harvested large batches of materials in a very short time.

To deceive the opponents, the two major military academies also had a few ‘frictions’ over the past few days.

On the surface, there was hostility, but behind the scenes, they exchanged intelligence, and in a very short time, they divided all the materials on the planet.

“Fang Yuan is really cunning. The first round of the joint exam didn’t have a time limit. They’ve cleaned up all the materials, and Interstellar is going to suffer a lot in the fight.”

“…Don’t you find Interstellar even more strange? What have they been doing these days?”

Compared to the people from the two major military academies, the students of Interstellar Academy seemed to be very busy, but no one knew exactly what they were busy with.

After getting the high score of 37%, they spent seven consecutive days, only going out for one round of material collection in between, and spending the rest of the time in the Interstellar Academy’s base.

It sounds like they didn’t do anything, but they were really busy, and everyone, from top to bottom, was very busy.

As time went by, the atmosphere grew more tense. Inside, the joint examinations were stimulating, while outside, it was bustling.

The day after the incident in the Great Energy Stone Galaxy, the Si and Han families finally joined forces again, sealing off the crucial interstellar passageway to uncover the culprits behind the scenes.

However, the interstellar space was just too vast, with countless large and small planets. It was almost impossible to investigate them all thoroughly.

They could only conduct extensive searches with instruments, but the results were still unsatisfactory.

For now, they could only make major commercial firms, auction houses, and energy stone trading posts stay vigilant, watching for any large-scale sales of energy stones.

They believed that whoever had plundered such a large quantity of energy stones at once likely intended to cash them in.

Compared to the Han family, the Si family was even more anxious.

With Wei Lan’s disappearance and its connection to the large quantity of plundered energy stones, the whole situation made everyone in the Si family uneasy.

After detaining Wei Lan for so many years and conducting numerous tests on him, the high-level members of the Si family naturally understood Wei Lan’s specific situation.

Wei Lan’s body was unique; it could absorb energy stone materials.

The worst-case scenario was not the inability to recover this batch of energy stones but rather them being taken by Wei Lan’s associates to aid in his recovery through absorption treatment.

Once Wei Lan recovered…

Although it was indeed difficult to find super stellar mechs on the market, with some effort, obtaining a stellar mech wasn’t impossible. Three years ago, Wei Lan had used a stellar mech to completely disrupt the once powerful Si family. What about now?

And if he couldn’t obtain a super stellar mech, did the Si family have one?

Due to this, the Si family issued a large-scale wanted order for Qin Chu Yue externally, with a staggering bounty of thirty million.

“…From three million to thirty million, just for a batch of energy stones.” Qin Chu Yue sat in the courtyard, sighing softly.

Ji Fu on the other end of the earpiece chuckled lightly.

“By the way, I’ve been tallying up these days, and indeed, this batch of energy stones is way too excessive. Wei Lan only needs a very small portion, so what should we do with the rest?”

Qin Chu Yue opened the live broadcast feed, watching Ji Fu inside, who had activated the privacy mode of her light brain. Qin Chu Yue sent her a message ——

【Leave it for now.】

Qin Chu Yue agreed.

With the Si and Han families pressing hard, making such a big move now would surely attract their attention.

She swirled her glass, surveyed the surroundings with satisfaction.

As per Ji Fu’s request, they had made significant modifications to this small asteroid they were on.

They had superficially planted some alien plants, not many, so from a distance, it even looked like a barren planet.

In reality, all the facilities, including experimental bases, storage rooms, and laboratories, were submerged.

The interior of the asteroid was hollowed out to ensure their traces couldn’t be detected by instruments.

That’s why Qin Chu Yue could still leisurely lie down and enjoy her wine even after the Si and Han families had launched a carpet search.

Qin Chu Yue paused for a moment before asking, “When will you be back?”

The energy stones and potions needed to be blended. Currently, the composition of the potion used for Wei Lan was too complex, and even with instruments, she couldn’t figure it out. They needed Ji Fu to come back for experimentation and adjustment.

“Wei Lan’s condition isn’t very good.”

Since her return to the asteroid, the medical warehouse had issued at least three red alerts.

Wei Lan was in a state of semi-consciousness, and the only time he was fully awake was before she went in and covered the transparent lid of the medical warehouse.

Qin Chu Yue: …

The lid of the medical warehouse could be switched, which was one of her unnecessary innovations. When covered, it would flash colorful lights like a disco.

She found it quite distinctive.

But since Wei Lan came, not once had it been used. She had thought they didn’t know about it.

Coincidentally, Shi Xueying in front of Ji Fu also asked her, “When are we going to act?”

Ji Fu replied lightly, “Soon.”

“Within three days.”

After each exam, candidates had 1-3 days of rest for adjustment.

Upon hearing this, Qin Chu Yue became interested immediately.

She glanced at the cumulative points list for the joint exams. The scores on the list remained frozen, with the percentage for the Interstellar Academy still stuck at 37%. Ji Fu, however, said they could return to the small asteroid within three days.

She had nothing else to do anyway, so she planned to focus all her attention on the live broadcast feed these days.

Ji Fu had said within three days, but unexpected commotion broke out in the middle of the night.

At three in the morning, the entire base of the Interstellar Academy was quiet.

After a busy day, the majority of the students had already entered their sleep pods.

[Beep, beep, beep] Unexpectedly, the piercing alarm sounded, echoing continuously within the temporary resting area.

It startled the netizens who were watching the live broadcast and couldn’t sleep at this moment.

“What’s going on?”

Those who were still lurking in the live room at this time were all there to watch the fun.

From the reactions of the two major military academies over the past few days, it was clear they knew that these two schools were going to strike at the Interstellar Academy, but they didn’t expect it to happen so soon.

Just before it got dark, the Empire and the Milky Way were still ‘exercising’ at the intersection.

And tonight, apart from the students on patrol, the two major military academies were all resting normally.

To prevent any leaks, neither of the two major military academies had notified anyone before their operation.

Just half an hour ago, the bases of the two major military academies had started their exercises, forcibly waking everyone up.

As soon as they woke up, the elites of the Empire and the Milky Way immediately armed themselves with mechs and rushed towards the location of the Interstellar Academy.

To prevent accidents, the leaders charging ahead from the two major military academies this time are both superstars.

【!!! With this momentum, not to mention eliminating a stellar academy, I feel like they want to wipe out this entire planet】

【Damn, they’re really going all out this time】

With this move, the viewers in the live broadcast room became alert.

Because all students of stellar level and above wear stellar insignias, superficially, they appear to be a group of stellar mecha soldiers.

But the viewers watching the live broadcast are not fools.

The leading mechas on both sides are obviously different from normal stellar mechas.

Speed, explosiveness, the intense roar emitted by the mechas…

Especially the one from the Empire, just appearing in the field of view for only two seconds, had already glided to the intersection of the Interstellar Academy and the Imperial Military Academy.

【Could this mecha be the legendary superstellar?】

In the internet age, even the most mysterious things have some hearsay.

It’s just that before this, no one would have expected the two major military academies to bring out superstellar mechas so quickly.

Excitement and nervousness swept over the audience again.

The response from the Interstellar side was not slow either. After the alert sound rang, everyone quickly got up, those with mechas getting into them, and those without putting on mecha suits.

Not only that, everyone also immediately activated their light brains and connected with each other.

Ji Fu opened the light brain, and Tan Xi’s voice came through. He said solemnly, “We are ahead, please rest assured.”

When Tan Xi said this, the live broadcast screen just switched, and as soon as it did, three mechas appeared in front of everyone.

【??? Weren’t they in different places!?】

At this point, some in the live broadcast room finally realized, the top combat power of the Interstellar Academy.

It’s Tan Xi and Li Yunyi’s two stellar mechas, plus Zhou Lu Hai.

These three people are actually not in the same position as all the weaker ones in the rear.

Those who had not watched the Interstellar Academy’s live broadcast for these past few days were expressing their amazement, and someone explained:

【Two days ago, Interstellar changed its main base. Currently, most of the troops are not in the academy’s camp】

With this said, the entire live broadcast room erupted.

Over there, Tan Xi had just finished saying this sentence, when he suddenly felt an unprecedented pressure.

He piloted the stellar mecha to its highest level of alertness, indicating that a strong enemy was approaching.

The counterattack from the two major military academies had begun.

Before today, they had discussed that if the two major military academies were to act, they would not leave any room for them to maneuver.

To prevent accidents, the other side would inevitably deploy superstellar mechas.

But the current situation… for some reason, was actually better than they had anticipated.

Only two superstellar mechas were deployed.

Although these two were already devastating, it was indeed better than the expected three to five.

They all knew that once superstellar mechas were deployed, the Interstellar Academy would only be passively beaten.

Even if Zhou Lu Hai burst out, unless his strength reached the rumored superstellar+, what awaited them was still a dead end.

So, they made a very bold decision.

They left the main force, namely all the members of Class S except Ji Fu and Shi Xueying, at the base.

The rest changed their positions.

At the moment, the specific location where Ji Fu and the others were should be unexpected by the two major military academies. They unexpectedly returned to the Quicksand Desert after the death of the Seven-Winged Dragon.

The Quicksand Desert was the illusion created before the Seven-Winged Dragon, and after its death, the yellow river there dried up, turning into a mudflat.

It was named the Quicksand Desert because anyone who stepped on it would sink in.

Because they were prepared in advance, everyone wore special mecha boots or used mechas to directly cross this quicksand desert.

Beyond the quicksand desert was the intersection of the Empire and the Sea of Stars.

While the two major military academies were directly attacking their base, they used the weakest manpower to ambush the tails of the two major military academies!

Tan Xi and the others were not in the ambush lineup, but their task was also extremely difficult. Before the total score reached 50%, they had to hold back everyone and not give them a chance to return to the base.

He pressed the communication key and reiterated, “Remember, self-protection is the priority. Only delay, do not defeat.”

Boom!

Just as the words fell, a loud noise came from the sky.

They’re here.

Zhou Lu Hai piloted Deep Sea and, at the moment of the loud noise, opened the canopy beside him.

With all members of Class S mobilized, it would be difficult to delay these people for too long. They resolutely chose to stay here and even left no one to protect the rear.

It was because… on the first day they arrived at the joint examination site, Ji Fu planted something here.

Under the cover of night, Deep Sea threw out a vial, and before the two superstellar mechas arrived, he scattered all the contents below.

Hua—

Almost the moment the potion was scattered, the entire sky turned red.

All the mechas rushing towards this side received extremely disordered prompts.

【Beep beep beep, anomaly detected】

With a sweep of the scanner, red dots filled the world.

Where the red dots lit up, it meant there was a disturbance.

This kind of disturbance could be a person, or an object.

But with so many densely packed red dots…

The person controlling the mecha couldn’t help but curse softly, “What’s going on? We just arrived, and the Interstellar already knows?”

In fact, Ji Fu’s system was connected to the boundary line of the camp, but its radiation range included the camps of the three major military academies. As long as there was a mechanical fluctuation, both the base and the Quicksand Desert would go into a frenzy of alertness.

However, the cause of such a scene, it really isn’t human.

Even to say, it’s not even animal.

The moment those things drilled out, the people in the live broadcast room exploded.

[Grass grass grass, what are those things?]

[Flowers with open mouths? Burning giant trees? Endlessly proliferating vines?]

As interstellar beings, who wouldn’t recognize alien plants, but these mutated alien plants in front of us, have truly never been seen before…

This empty land hasn’t been entered since the first day of the joint exam, including Ji Fu herself.

Places where no one enters won’t be specifically mentioned in the live broadcast, so in places unknown to anyone, Ji Fu, in the camp of the Interstellar Academy, raised a large pile of mutated alien plants.

When these alien plants were transplanted here, they were only in the seedling stage.

Their lethality didn’t seem very significant.

But Ji Fu couldn’t resist giving them highly nutritious liquid to drink.

Yes, it was the highly nutritious liquid that Ji Fu carried with her when her talent was still very weak.

A sip of that freakish stuff that makes people burst directly.

She calculated the amount every day and fed these alien plants.

Keeping these things in a state where they might mutate or not, might erupt or not.

Then she gave the final ignition agent to Zhou Lu Hai.

This so-called ignition agent is 20 times the strength of the highly nutritious liquid.

When it was poured down, those A-grade seedlings instantly skyrocketed to S+!

[What the hell is this biochemical weapon?]

They’re not just mutants anymore, they’re purely mutated.

But the problem with the highly nutritious liquid is still the same as before, it bursts instantly, withers instantly.

It’s a plaything that burns vitality to enhance strength, and when the time’s up, it’s done.

But Ji Fu knew about this, people from the Interstellar Academy knew, but people from the two major military academies didn’t!

The two elite classes were flying over here aggressively, and what they saw was such a paradise of alien plants, they were dumbfounded.

The raging alien plants directly launched attacks, the man-eating flower opened its big mouth, wanting to gnaw on everything.

Most importantly, these things don’t gnaw on people from the Interstellar Academy, they only target the two major military academies.

When Ji Fu raised the alien plants, she used a specially formulated pollen, and everyone from the Interstellar Academy wore this specially made pollen.

Once the alien plants mutated, as long as they touched the pollen or the strange scent, they would have erroneous perceptions, and might even categorize them as their own people, instinctively protecting them.

As the potion was sprinkled, countless bizarre creatures crawled on the ground.

Under the overwhelming attacks of the alien plants, the people from the two major military academies wouldn’t immediately notice that there was no one behind them.

And at this moment, the students from the Interstellar Academy had already reached the rear of the two military academies.

Just as they arrived here, Shi Xueying’s face sank, she turned to look at Ji Fu, and said in a deep voice, “There is one star-level mecha soldier left in each base, with numerous S-level mechas.”

This time, the two major military academies sent only elite classes to besiege their base.

And not all elite classes were sent out, the purpose was to prevent the Interstellar Academy from gaining points in the process of taking action.

In addition, star-level mechas were equipped to stay in the base for escort, also to prevent such accidents as what was happening now.

Both major military academies had star-level mechas left, but looking at their side, all members of Class S were stranded in the base, and currently there was not even one S-class member in the team, relying entirely on the bombing equipment they had made in these days.

But as long as the star-level mechas made a move, with the reaction speed of most of the students from the Interstellar Academy present, it’s feared that before the bomb’s fuse was lit, the people would already be eliminated.

The situation seemed to have reached a stalemate, and the barrage in the live broadcast room was densely packed, all saying that at least one S should be kept nearby.

Although Shi Xueying’s expression was heavy, she didn’t become overly irritable.

After experiencing the incident in the star layer crevice, she had a strange sense of trust towards the people in front of her.

In the dim moonlight, she saw Ji Fu’s calm expression and opened her own light brain.

She chose to do so, she must have a back-up plan.

Including the people from the Interstellar Academy, everyone knew she was an alchemist and skilled in machinery.

Seeing her open her light brain, they thought she might have hidden a mecha on her.

But she herself was only Class A, even if there was an S-class mecha, she couldn’t drive it beyond her level.

Ji Fu’s face remained calm, under the gaze of countless people, she released Flame.

When the black mechanical dog appeared, it almost merged with the night.

Ji Fu opened her light brain and quickly entered a command: [Ultimate Mechanical Transformation]

[Initiate Ultimate Mechanical Transformation]

In an instant, Flame’s red eyes lit up.

The mechanical dog transformed at extreme speed, in the stunned gazes of countless people, it kicked its head and directly transformed into a mecha form.

Ji Fu’s expression remained calm.

Flame was the first mechanical she remodeled after stepping into Class A, and with the blessing of top-grade materials, it had transformed into a complete body.

It’s well known.

The ultimate state of unmanned series of mechanical products is—the unmanned mecha.