Chapter 49: Earthfire Star Battle

He pressed the open button.

Hiss~

Accompanied by a slight hissing sound, the transparent cover of the simulation pod opened, revealing the internal equipment.

Su Ming was slightly stunned. This simulation pod was indeed completely different from the ones at school.

Inside, there was only a semi-reclining chair, a helmet with a large number of integrated circuits in the head area, and only a few mechanical buttons around the simulation pod to adjust the reclining chair.

Su Ming took a deep breath and sat down.

The cover of the simulation pod automatically closed, and then the transparent cover in front of him suddenly turned into a holographic screen.

“Identifying identity”

“Identification successful: Candidate number 45712, Name: Su Ming, Gender: Male, Age: 18”

Su Ming looked at the displayed information, his eyes showing an incredible expression. This simulation pod was not right; how was it intelligent?

Before Su Ming could react, a message popped up on the virtual screen in front of him.

“The second examination will begin in 120 seconds. Please adjust your reclining chair to the most comfortable position.”

Su Ming immediately hurried to adjust it.

When he had adjusted the position of the reclining chair, another prompt popped up on the virtual screen.

“Fixing device activated!”

Click~~

The reclining chair popped out fixing buckles, firmly securing Su Ming’s body to the chair. However, it wasn’t too tight, and overall it was still very comfortable.

Immediately after, a new prompt appeared on the virtual screen.

“Neural helmet, starting to wear. Please relax your body and do not move your head.”

Before Su Ming could react, the metal helmet was already on his head.

“Wearing successful, exam countdown 47S, 46S”

The virtual screen continuously displayed the countdown.

Su Ming looked at the constantly changing countdown and felt inexplicably excited.

The moment the countdown reached zero.

Su Ming immediately felt a faint electric current sweep through his brain, and his vision went black. He felt as if he had suddenly lost all weight, falling into endless darkness.

Then, in the next second, Su Ming suddenly opened his eyes.

He found himself in a huge sealed space. The surrounding walls were made of high-strength, lightweight alloy, their surfaces gleaming with a cold metallic luster, and the floor beneath his feet was cast from thick steel.

Blinding lights shone from the ceiling, and the air was filled with a mixed scent of oil and metal.

Su Ming was momentarily stunned. How did he end up here? And from the surroundings, it looked very much like a spaceship’s transport bay.

Before Su Ming could figure out what was happening.

Whoosh~

Familiar yet unfamiliar figures appeared out of thin air around him.

These figures were the examinees.

Su Ming even saw Chen Tong appear not far in front of him.

Everyone looked surprised and chattered excitedly.

“Where is this?”

“Wow, this is too amazing, isn’t it?”

“I’m not dreaming, am I? I’ll pinch my face to check. It hurts.”

“Damn, this isn’t a dream.”

Su Ming tried pinching his arm, and a clear sensation of pain hit him, immediately startling him and making him feel a bit disoriented.

At this moment, Chen Tong walked up to Su Ming and said with a gloomy face.

“Su Ming, do you know what’s going on?”

“Not sure. I just entered the simulation pod and suddenly came here. But I can confirm that we should be taking an exam.”

Su Ming shook his head and replied.

“Then what do we do now?”

Chen Tong asked in a deep voice.

“Let’s wait and see.”

Su Ming quickly suppressed his surging emotions and said calmly.

Just then, the entire transport bay suddenly shook violently, causing everyone to nearly lose their balance.

At the same time, an alarm device inside the transport bay continuously flashed red light and emitted a piercing sound.

A tense atmosphere immediately spread.

“What’s happening?”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know, but isn’t that an alarm sound?”

“Why am I here? My sub-specialty is mechanical repair!”

“Don’t complain, my sub-specialty is nursing and treatment.”

All the examinees present were flustered.

Just as everyone was in a state of panic, a stern voice suddenly came from the broadcast.

“Hello, examinees. Let me introduce myself. I am Major General Ames of the Royal Court Order!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone present widened their eyes, and some even cursed.

“Damn, did I hear that right, a General?”

“What’s going on? A General as the chief examiner?”

Ames ignored the shocked students and continued in a deep voice.

“You are probably very confused and bewildered about your current situation. Let me briefly explain: you are currently using the Federation’s newly developed neural simulation pod, which can provide ultra-realistic feedback for all sensations, including pain! So, although you are in a virtual world right now, it’s no different from being in the real world, and your sub-specialty exam is about to begin.”

Hearing Ames’ words, Su Ming took a deep breath. The Federation actually had such advanced technology!

In fact, the Federation had never given up on AI research; it was just that Su Ming and the others had no access to it.

“Sub-specialty exam? How will it be conducted?”

“Yeah?”

The people present asked in confusion.

At this moment, General Ames said in a deep voice.

“Now for the final explanation. Listen carefully, I will only say it once!”

Immediately, the chaotic scene quieted down. Everyone pricked up their ears, afraid of missing a single word.

“You can look around now. Can you see all the students in the same examination room?”

Ames reminded in a deep voice.

Su Ming carefully looked around. He saw Lin Chuyu, Li Fubai, and others in the distance, then lowered his voice and said to Chen Tong.

“All the students in our examination room are gathered together.”

“Damn it, what exactly do these people want to do?”

Chen Tong couldn’t help but curse in a low voice.

“Just listen patiently.”

Su Ming calmly said to Chen Tong.

“Examinees in the same examination room, you are all currently on the same spaceship. Among you are examinees from the Mecha Department, the Command Department, the Maintenance Department, the Ground Combat Department… In short, all departments are present! And the core of this sub-specialty exam is very simple: to control the spaceship you are on and participate in the epic Earthfire Star Battle!”

Ames announced passionately.

“No way? They want us to participate in the Earthfire Star Battle?”

“This, they’re not joking, are they?”

“Isn’t General Ames being too reckless? Very few people survived that battle.”

“Don’t say that. Do you know who General Ames is?”

“Who?”

“This guy is precisely the tough one who survived the Earthfire Star Battle. I read an interview about him. When he participated in the Earthfire Star Battle, he was just an unknown Second Lieutenant! Now, a hundred years have passed, and he’s already a Major General.”

“Holy cow, there’s even that.”