Chapter 48: Doubt

Roken, seeing that he had silenced everyone, quickly continued.

“Everyone, please wait patiently. All examinees are the same, so there’s no difference. Also, I’ve prepared free boxed meals for everyone. Consider it a small token of my appreciation. Please eat something to fill your stomachs and wait patiently.”

As soon as Roken finished speaking, Teacher Tang Yan and others carried over boxes of boxed meals.

Seeing this, the many parents found it difficult to continue scolding Roken. After all, one doesn’t hit a smiling face, so they each went to get a boxed meal to fill their stomachs.

Inside the Fish-Tuna, the command room of the Military Interstellar Airport.

General Ames sat steadily in the command chair, his left index finger gently tapping the armrest, his expression serious as he looked at the grid images on the screen.

At this moment, Xia An reported to Ames.

“General, the latest neural connection pods have been delivered to all examination venues.”

“Mm, good.”

“However, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Speak.”

Ames replied indifferently.

“Many students are protesting now. They say they just finished the exam, their condition is very poor, and they haven’t eaten, their stomachs are rumbling. They simply can’t take the elective subject exam at this time.”

Xia An said with some hesitation.

Ames, hearing this, turned to look at Xia An and replied with a cold tone.

“I ask you, on the battlefield, will the enemy care if we eat? Will they let us rest well before fighting? Tell them, those who want to take the exam, take it; those who don’t want to, get lost!”

“General, that logic is sound, and there’s no problem with doing that. But if we do this, will something go wrong? The results of today’s City Exam might plummet, and then Royal Court Academy won’t receive enough students.”

Xia An voiced her most pressing concern.

“If we don’t receive enough, then we don’t. It’s better than having a bunch of rotten fish and shrimp pass. Do you know how many people Royal Court Academy expels every year? A full one-third! That means one-third of the people can’t even keep up with the most basic courses! Tell me, how did that one-third of the people get in?”

“Don’t tell me they had a sudden flash of brilliance during the exam?”

“Also, how many incompetent officers have graduated from Royal Court Academy in recent years? Especially in the two popular series: Mecha and Command! Do you know how many high-level mechas are destroyed by those incompetents every year? Do you know how precious those high-level mechas are? How complex their manufacturing process is? Production capacity is already not keeping up, each one is rushed out with overtime, and the materials for their production are dug out by countless soldiers with their lives and blood! And for the Command series, how many soldiers die every year because of their idiotic commands?”

Ames said, utterly enraged.

Xia An fell silent after hearing Ames’s words.

Ames calmed himself slightly and said to Xia An in a deep voice.

“If it weren’t for these people being too excessive, do you really think we would come down here? Royal Court Academy has a set number of officers it expects to produce each year, but the actual usable output is less than half! How ridiculous is that? How embarrassing? It’s almost becoming a joke.”

“And you should be clearer than anyone how bad the current situation is. Especially with the Second Ace Legion, Remnant Light, being damaged, there’s an urgent need to replenish elites! Bottom-level elite soldiers are easier to handle; it’s simply a matter of drawing from various battlefields, and there are always plenty from the large number of conscripts each year. However, officer-level personnel are very difficult to replenish. How long do you think it takes for them to go from schooling to being able to serve independently? How many resources do they consume from us?”

“You are right.”

Xia An replied with a heavy heart.

Inside Mient Intermediate Academy.

Su Ming sat quietly in his chair, waiting for the second exam to begin. He felt this City Exam was becoming increasingly interesting.

Just then, a soldier walked in. He went to Leo’s side and whispered a few words in his ear.

Leo nodded slightly, then said to all the examinees.

“All examinees, leave all your examination items behind and follow me in line with empty hands!”

Although Su Ming and the others didn’t know what Leo was going to do, they still cooperated obediently, one by one getting up, lining up, and walking out of the classroom.

Leo walked at the front, leading them, while the other soldiers watched them from both sides. Many students even had the illusion that they were prisoners being escorted.

However, they quickly found their balance because they saw that other students were also being treated this way.

Soon they were led to the spacious School field, where they were met with a truly shocking sight: brand new simulation pods of unknown models being unloaded.

“Wow, are these training pods? They look so advanced.”

“Yeah, it feels like comparing goods makes you want to throw away the old ones. The old antiques at school really should be thrown away.”

Many students discussed excitedly.

Su Ming looked at these new mechanical pods with a bit of surprise, and then he felt something was off. To use simulation pods for an elective subject exam, to put it plainly, it’s mainly for the Mecha and Command departments. But the number of examinees in these two categories is limited, and the number of pods sent over is far too many, enough for one per person.

At this moment, Leo said to Su Ming and the others.

“One simulation pod per person!”

“Wait, officer, my elective subject is maintenance. Do I also need to use a simulation pod?”

A male student asked very strangely.

“Yes! No matter what your elective subject is, all of you must use them.”

Leo replied without a hint of politeness.

“Ah, but we’ve never used them before?”

“Yeah, how do we use these?”

Many students exploded in confusion, completely at a loss.

“Quiet, shut your mouths!”

Leo roared irritably.

Immediately, the noisy scene quieted down. Leo spoke again, domineeringly.

“You can take it or not. If you don’t, it’s a zero!”

For a moment, everyone, no matter how wronged they felt, fell silent.

Su Ming stroked his chin. He felt increasingly that something was wrong. Simulation pods are very expensive, especially these new models that he had never seen before.

The Old Federation actually spent so much money to let all students use simulation pods. If there wasn’t something fishy going on, he wouldn’t believe it even if he were beaten to death. It was just a pity that there was no way to get any information from these officers’ mouths right now.

“Alright, no more nonsense with you. Get into the pods and start the exam. Enjoy yourselves!”

Leo waved his hand, ordering everyone to immediately enter the simulation pods to prepare for the exam.

Everyone walked towards the simulation pods with uneasy hearts, and even Su Ming himself felt completely uncertain.

He hadn’t touched this kind of simulation pod until now and wasn’t sure what kind of results he could achieve. To be honest, he felt like he was being forced into something he wasn’t ready for.

Unfortunately, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Su Ming walked to the front of a simulation pod. He observed these simulation pods closely at a near distance.

The simulation pod was composed of two parts: a black metal main base and a transparent cover. The material used for the main body was exceptionally good; the black metal gleamed with a fine luster, even reflecting his appearance.