Chapter 307: Two Eyes Go Black (Five-in-One)

Royal Court Academy · Southeast Sector.

A magnificent building, shaped like an orrery, constructed from silver metal, and full of futuristic technological flair, came into Su Ming’s view from afar.

Su Ming’s expression shifted slightly. He hadn’t expected the special training club established by Xiguang Laboratory and the Royal Court Academy to be so grand.

He quickened his pace, walking towards the club building.

Soon, Su Ming arrived at the entrance of the club building. Just as he was about to enter, a slightly surprised voice called out, “Su Ming?”

Su Ming turned his head to look and saw An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu walking over together. He greeted them, “What a coincidence.”

“It really is a coincidence. Are you also here to train?” Lin Chuyu asked with a warm smile.

“Yes, I am,” Su Ming nodded in response.

“Haha, perfect then. Celebrity, do you mind joining us?” An Ruoxue’s eyes lit up when she heard Su Ming was also there to train, and she invited him.

Before Su Ming could reply, a surprised voice came from behind them. “Oh my, isn’t this An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu? What a coincidence!”

Su Ming and the two girls turned their heads to see Bekahn and A Jica walking towards them.

“Your acting is so exaggerated,” An Ruoxue playfully remarked to Bekahn.

“Cough, cough, don’t talk nonsense! But since we’ve met by such a coincidence, why don’t we all go in together?” Bekahn said, coughing a few times with slight embarrassment.

“I don’t mind.” Su Ming didn’t object; going in to train together was fine.

“Okay, then let’s go together,” Lin Chuyu didn’t say anything more.

“Alright, let’s go! Oh, by the way, Su Ming, congratulations on achieving such a high score in the last practical assessment!” Bekahn chatted with Su Ming as they walked inside.

“Thank you, it was just good luck,” Su Ming replied modestly.

“Don’t be so modest. You can’t get that score with just luck.” Bekahn’s words weren’t purely flattery. Although he got second place in the practical mission, his score was ridiculously far from Su Ming’s.

He was very curious about how strong Su Ming’s true strength was and how big the gap was between them, so he could figure out how to close it.

Su Ming smiled and said nothing more. Explaining some things too much would just seem affected.

Soon, Su Ming and the four others entered the club, arriving in a silver hall with a black-and-white checkered mechanical tile floor.

An eye-shaped floating mechanical sphere drifted over. Its electronic eye scanned Su Ming and the others for a moment, identified them, and then turned and left.

The entire hall was deserted, with hardly anyone in sight.

Bekahn and the others were used to this situation and continued walking deeper inside.

From this, it was clear they weren’t first-timers.

Soon, they reached the interior, passing through an open metal door into a massive training area.

The entire training area covered five thousand square meters.

A glance revealed strength-measuring instruments, agility training metal platforms, endurance training devices, and other advanced equipment.

Basically, all the equipment used in Xiguang Laboratory tests could be found here, plus many additional auxiliary training devices.

Bekahn said to Su Ming and the others, “I haven’t touched a strength tester in a long time. Let’s give it a try.”

“You go ahead. I’m too lazy to move,” A Jica replied with a yawn.

Bekahn then rotated his neck, made a fist with his right hand, and gripped it with his left, making a cracking sound with his bones.

He walked directly towards the strength testing instrument in front of him.

Su Ming looked at Bekahn with some curiosity, wondering how many kilograms this guy could punch.

Soon, Bekahn stood before the instrument. He took a deep breath, his muscles swelled, and he slammed his fist into the testing device!

Bang!

With a loud thud, the instrument immediately displayed 1121 kilograms.

Su Ming was also very surprised by this number. This guy’s strength was impressive! And he noticed that the other person seemed to be a New Human, though he didn’t know what level their gene had reached.

“Not bad!” An Ruoxue praised with a smile.

“I’ve regressed a bit. You all try it too.” Bekahn looked at Su Ming and the others with a smile.

“No, I’m not very good at strength. I’ll focus on agility and endurance first,” Lin Chuyu shook her head, clearly aware of her own situation.

However, Su Ming felt a bit eager to try. The last time he tested, his score was quite terrible, and he wondered what he could achieve this time.

So, he stepped forward. Bekahn elegantly extended his left hand in a welcoming gesture and then moved aside.

Su Ming looked at the testing instrument, stomped his foot hard, and rushed forward with extreme speed, slamming his fist into it.

The test value soared to 620 kilograms!

Although this data wasn’t as good as Bekahn’s, Su Ming was very satisfied.

Bekahn and A Jica looked at this result, slightly surprised.

It wasn’t as astonishing as they imagined, but it wasn’t bad either; it could only be considered average.

After all, anyone who had injected Type I and Type II gene agents and had some talent could normally reach this level.

Clap clap!

“Excellent!” An Ruoxue clapped and cheered for Su Ming.

“Not bad!” Su Ming was very satisfied with this result, knowing that his previous test score had been truly abysmal.

“Ruoxue, that’s too much! I didn’t see you clapping for me just now,” Bekahn joked with a smile.

“Don’t mind those details. Let’s warm up quickly!” An Ruoxue replied with a wink.

“Okay!” Lin Chuyu and the others responded in unison.

Everyone dispersed, heading towards different exercise equipment.

Su Ming walked towards the metal platform for agility and neural reflex training. Although he hadn’t lasted even a second during the last test, he thought this device was excellent and very suitable as a regular training apparatus.

Soon, he stepped onto the metal platform. Numerous red light dots shone on the platform, and a virtual projection of a countdown appeared before his eyes.

Su Ming narrowed his eyes, his nerves tensing.

The next second!

All the red light dots began to move. Su Ming quickly dodged. Although his body still couldn’t keep up with the speed of his neural reactions, it was at least much better than last time.

An hour later.

Su Ming and the others had fully warmed up, and fine beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads.

“Let’s go to the Super Neural Training Zone,” An Ruoxue said to them.

“Mhm!” Su Ming and the others all nodded.

They walked past the training devices to the innermost area, where there was a closed metal door. There was also a female staff member, wearing a white shirt and glasses, who looked very intellectual, guarding it.

“Respected Sir and Madam, I am Manager Bianna of the Light of Hope Club. How may I assist you?”

“We want to enter the Super Neural Training Zone,” Bekahn said elegantly.

“Do you have an appointment?”

“Yes!” Bekahn replied directly.

“Please!” Bianna said with a smile.

Everyone was about to walk in when Bianna suddenly extended her hand to stop Su Ming and said politely, “Excuse me, sir, but you do not have an appointment. The Super Neural Training Zone requires a prior appointment and a training fee of 10,000,000 federal currency.”

When Su Ming heard the price, his eyelids twitched. He knew the training fee was expensive, but he hadn’t expected it to be so exorbitant.

If that was the case, how much money did Teacher Mia spend when she took them for training back then?

No wonder Mia didn’t take them anymore later.

Lin Chuyu and the others looked at Su Ming in confusion.

“Su Ming, you don’t have an appointment?”

“I didn’t know I needed one, but I have this. I wonder if I can enter with it?” Su Ming pulled out his wallet, took out a pass card, and handed it to Bianna.

Bianna took the pass card from Su Ming, a look of shock flashing across her face, but she quickly recovered.

She respectfully handed the card back to Su Ming and replied, “Of course you can, esteemed VIP client.”

Lin Chuyu and the others were even more surprised to hear this. It was their first time hearing about a VIP here.

Bekahn and A Jica, however, frowned. Others might not know the situation of this club, but they knew better than anyone. This was an asset of Xiguang Laboratory. This guy was a VIP? What was his background?

But what surprised them even more was yet to come.

After giving the card back to Su Ming, Bianna glanced at Bekahn and the others, then said to A Jica, “I apologize, sir, but due to a VIP client, your appointment has been postponed. Please come again tomorrow. We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused!”

“Huh? No way, I got cut in line? Wait, he didn’t even pay?” A Jica said, bewildered.

“He is free; he doesn’t need to pay any fees,” Bianna explained with a smile.

“Oh, come on, that stings! Why am I always the one getting hurt? Never mind, you guys go in.” A Jica replied with a wry smile.

“I’m sorry, maybe I should come back tomorrow,” Su Ming said apologetically to A Jica.

“No need. I didn’t even want to come train today; I was dragged here. I’m leaving!” A Jica sighed, waved his hand, and turned to leave.

At this moment, Bianna opened the closed metal door, and Su Ming and the three others walked into the Super Neural Training Zone.

Compared to the deserted training area outside, the Super Neural Training Zone was very lively. There were at least dozens of people here, all inner-school students and senior students.

Moreover, the Super Neural Training Zone at this club had more advanced equipment and a better environment than the training zone Mia had taken them to.

Although the training pools here were also sunken cylindrical pools, they were larger and equipped with auxiliary devices.

At the same time, there were also dedicated lounge chairs in the corners for resting.

“Let’s go change into our training clothes first. This place is only open until 12 AM. Wasting time is wasting money,” An Ruoxue said with a smile.

“Okay!” Su Ming and Bekahn then walked towards the men’s changing room.

Soon, Su Ming and Bekahn emerged, having changed into boxer briefs and with their upper bodies bare.

At this moment, Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue also walked out. Their form-fitting training clothes perfectly accentuated their figures, looking very alluring.

“How about it, not bad, right?” Bekahn nudged Su Ming with his elbow, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Su Ming glanced at the two, and his blood inexplicably began to boil, his heart beating much faster.

He quickly turned his head and averted his gaze.

However, just as he turned his head to look elsewhere, he saw Shaniair, who had just climbed out of a training pool, coming towards him.

Her figure was even more curvaceous, her tight training clothes almost bursting, and her damp, pink hair exuded an infinite allure.

Su Ming took a deep breath, then lowered his head to the ground, calming his fluctuating heart. It was truly strange; logically, he shouldn’t have such a strong reaction.

“Su Ming, why are you looking down?” Lin Chuyu walked over, looking at Su Ming with his head down, and asked in confusion.

An Ruoxue asked with a playful smile, “Could it be that you’re shy?”

“No,” Su Ming quickly suppressed the restlessness in his heart, raised his head, and replied as if nothing was wrong.

An Ruoxue asked with a teasing smile, “Really?”

Just then, several second-year inner-school students walked past them, discussing something.

“Have you heard? The Super Neural Training Pool equipment here has been upgraded.”

“It has been upgraded. I heard they added a neural load device. When entering a super-neural connection state, it can continuously apply neural load, which can greatly train the mind! It’s beneficial whether you’re piloting a purely mechanical Fourth Generation Mecha or a biological Fourth Generation Mecha.”

“Will there be any danger?”

“Don’t worry, there’s a safety protection device. Once the life device detects danger, it will forcibly interrupt the training.”

“Then let’s try it later.”

“Let’s not. To activate that mode, the prerequisite is that you need to enter the Super Neural Connection state very well, and also have a certain load capacity. For newcomers like us, if we use this mode, we’ll probably be ejected shortly after entering. However, we can go to the training pool over there and watch; several senior students are preparing to try that mode.”

When Su Ming and the others heard this, their interest was immediately piqued, and they turned their heads to look towards the training pool.

Soon, they saw four third-year students standing by the training pool, adjusting their states.

At this time, many people gathered around to watch.

“I want to go and see. Are you coming?”

Su Ming was immediately interested. On one hand, he could see what the new mode was like, and on the other hand, he could see others’ skill levels, which would provide a good reference.

“Yes, it won’t take long!”

An Ruoxue and the others nodded in agreement.

They immediately joined the crowd to watch the excitement.

At this moment, the four senior students raised their hands and waved, and a virtual operating interface appeared in front of each of them. They selected the Neural Load Training Mode.

Immediately after, all four of them jumped into the training pool.

At this point, a transparent cover extended from the top of the training pool and sealed it. Then, a virtual interface appeared on the transparent cover, displaying the test status.

Life signs: Normal.

Super Neural Connection Status: No

Time: 20S, 21S

Su Ming and the others quietly watched the timer. When the time jumped to 30 minutes,

The four senior students immersed inside simultaneously relaxed their brows.

A prompt immediately popped up on the virtual interface.

“Entered Super Neural Connection state. Activating Neural Load Training Mode.”

“Start timer: 1S, 2S”

“It’s started. I wonder how long they can hold on. I heard the longer they hold on, the stronger they are!”

“Yes.”

Many students on site discussed animatedly.

When the time jumped to 3 minutes and 12 seconds, the first senior student could no longer hold on, and a painful expression appeared on his face.

The virtual interface immediately turned yellow, and a yellow prompt box popped up.

“Training interrupted!”

The transparent glass cover immediately opened, and a hollow circular platform rose from the bottom of the training pool, forcibly lifting the senior student out.

“Cough, cough!”

The senior student, freed from the life-sustaining fluid, immediately woke up, coughing violently.

“The time was so short!”

“The other three seem to be close to their limits too.”

“This mode is so difficult!”

The students present discussed animatedly.

As expected, not long after, the other two senior students also interrupted their training and rose up. The best one only managed 4 minutes and 11 seconds.

Just as everyone was discussing, a steady voice rang out.

“I’ll try this new mode.”

Everyone turned their heads to look, only to see a strong man with a broad chest, perfect muscles all over his body, steady and powerful steps, and a very powerful aura walking over.

“Senior Astray, you’re here too?”

Shaniair’s eyes lit up, and she quickly greeted him.

“Mhm!”

Astray nodded.

“What a day! Senior Astray is here too. There’s a good show to watch!”

Everyone discussed animatedly.

Su Ming curiously asked Lin Chuyu and the others.

“Which year is Senior Astray? Is he very famous?”

“A third-year senior student, and a very famous one, on the same level as Senior Aquia. I didn’t expect him to be back at school, and even here. He must be here for the new equipment.”

Bekahn introduced thoughtfully.

“I wonder how long he can last.”

An Ruoxue and the others were all very curious.

“Let’s see!”

Su Ming became even more interested.

At this moment, Senior Astray jumped into the training pool, and the transparent cover immediately sealed, and the equipment began to operate.

Everyone watched quietly.

Soon, thirty minutes passed, and Senior Astray, without any surprise, entered the Super Neural Connection Mode.

The timer began to recount.

Everyone stared intently at the timer.

Three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes passed.

Senior Astray showed no signs of coming out.

Everyone discussed in surprise.

“Amazing, it’s been over ten minutes, double the time of the previous senior student.”

“I wonder how much longer he can last?”

Bekahn looked at this scene and said with a very serious expression.

“Impressive. Look at the load value displayed on the virtual interface. The mental load applied by this device is not constant; it continuously increases as time progresses. So, Senior Astray is not just one or two times stronger than the previous three senior students!”

“Mhm.”

Su Ming nodded in response.

Just then, Senior Astray, immersed in the life-sustaining fluid, showed a fluctuation in his expression.

The virtual interface turned yellow, interrupting the training.

The time stopped at 11 minutes and 32 seconds!

At this moment, the transparent cover automatically opened, and Senior Astray opened his eyes and climbed out on his own.

Shaniair quickly stepped forward and handed him her towel, saying,

“Senior, please wipe yourself.”

“Thank you.”

Senior Astray nodded.

The onlookers on site applauded and praised him sincerely.

“Too powerful!”

“It’s alright!”

Astray was not overly proud and remained very composed.

Su Ming looked at this scene and said to Lin Chuyu and the others,

“Let’s go train too!”

“Okay!”

Lin Chuyu and the two others nodded.

They walked towards the unused training pools. The number of training pools here matched the number of reservations, so there were no extra ones.

Since Su Ming and the others arrived very late, their training pools were scattered in different corners.

Su Ming walked to his training pool and raised his hand to bring up the virtual operating interface.

Looking at the displayed Regular Training Mode, Timed Training Mode, and Neural Load Training Mode, he unhesitatingly chose the last one.

Immediately after, Su Ming jumped into the training pool and began his training.

Time passed little by little.

Within the entire training area, everyone was busy training.

Basically, as soon as they had enough rest, they immediately entered the next round of training, after all, the training fees here were extraordinarily expensive.

At this moment, the training pool next to Su Ming opened, and a handsome young man, panting, climbed out of the training pool.

“Zhang Hua, over here!”

At this time, a student in the distance waved and called out to the young man.

Zhang Hua then walked towards his companion. As he passed Su Ming’s training pool, his eyes inadvertently glanced over.

As a result, his body immediately stiffened, and he unbelievably turned to look at the virtual image interface, only to see it display:

Life Status: Normal.

Super Neural Connection Status: Yes

Training Mode: Super Neural Load Mode

Training Time: 21 minutes 13 seconds! 21 minutes 14 seconds!

“Quick! Come over here and look, who is this guy?!”

Zhang Hua’s eyes widened, and he shouted somewhat flustered.

As his shout spread, everyone walked towards Zhang Hua.

Even Lin Chuyu and the two others, who were resting, came over.

Shaniair asked curiously,

“What happened?”

“Look at this person’s training time, it’s even more impressive than Senior Astray’s!”

Zhang Hua said excitedly.

“No way? Is that true?”

Shaniair and the others showed very surprised expressions.

Senior Astray also frowned slightly and walked over, carefully looking at the virtual image interface. When he saw the time displayed on it, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

“22 minutes 11 seconds? Who is this person?”

Everyone present was immediately in an uproar!

In the dark mental world, Su Ming drifted like a fallen leaf.

He silently felt the difference between Super Neural Connection under load and ordinary Super Neural Connection.

As a result, he found no significant difference and felt no discomfort.

However, just then, Su Ming suddenly felt a hint of abnormality, and his expression immediately became very serious.

This abnormality did not come from his mind; instead, it felt more like physical discomfort. His body seemed to have reached its limit.

Thinking of this, Su Ming immediately took the initiative to disconnect from the Super Neural Connection.

Immediately, a prompt popped up on the virtual interface.

“Super Neural Connection disconnected, training interrupted!”

The transparent cover then opened, and Su Ming swam up from the training pool. However, the moment he surfaced, he was immediately startled by the scene before him.

He saw students surrounding him, all training.

“What’s going on?”

Su Ming had a bewildered expression.

At this moment, he heard the people surrounding him discussing in low voices.

“Oh my god, 24 minutes and 13 seconds, he’s truly too strong!”

“Who is he? Do you know him?”

“Oh my! Isn’t this Su Ming from the first year?”

“Su Ming, he’s the Su Ming who got first place in the practical task!”

“Yes, it’s him!”

“I remember he’s an external student. Is he that strong?”

“Don’t underestimate him just because he’s an external student, he’s incredibly powerful! If nothing unexpected happens, he’ll probably be the most accomplished student in this year’s first-year class.”

“Then why doesn’t he transfer to the internal school?”

“That’s unclear, but there’s a rumor that the internal school already sent him an invitation, but he’s unwilling to transfer.”

“Indeed, a great reputation is not unwarranted, junior, you are truly remarkable!”

Astray extended his hand directly to Su Ming.

“Thank you.”

Su Ming grasped Astray’s hand, climbed out of the training pool, and thanked Astray.

“It was worth coming today, and not for nothing that I spent so much money. It seems I need to train even harder.”

Astray finished speaking and walked towards the training pool.

The onlookers also walked towards the training pool, feeling immense pressure themselves.

Only Lin Chuyu and the two others remained on site.

Bekahn sighed, somewhat defeated, and said,

“Su Ming, honestly, when you achieved such high academic credits, I was a little unconvinced. But now, I finally know where the gap between us is!”

“Uh, just good luck.”

Su Ming smiled and replied.

“Don’t say that, I don’t need those comforting words. This world is very realistic, the strong are strong. Of course, even though I’m not as good as you now, I will definitely work hard to catch up to you. I’m going to train first.”

Bekahn then turned and walked towards his training pool.

An Ruoxue also smiled and said to Su Ming,

“You’re too monstrous. I need to redouble my efforts too.”

“Mhm, let’s work hard together!”

Su Ming nodded in response.

Eleven o’clock at night.

Su Ming, Lin Chuyu, and An Ruoxue walked out of the club together. As for Bekahn, he trained until nine o’clock and left early due to a sudden matter.

Grrr ~

At this moment, An Ruoxue’s stomach protested with a growl.

She rubbed her belly and said with a laugh,

“So hungry, are you guys hungry?”

“Of course we’re hungry, we barely ate anything today.”

Su Ming and Lin Chuyu nodded in response.

“Then shall we go to the cafeteria to eat something?”

An Ruoxue suggested with a chuckle.

“At this hour, the cafeteria is probably closed, there shouldn’t be anything to eat.”

Su Ming took out his phone, checked the time, and said.

“That’s troublesome. The commercial street outside is super expensive, and there probably isn’t anything good to eat at this hour either.”

Lin Chuyu said with some difficulty.

An Ruoxue thought for a moment and said helplessly,

“Let’s just go back to the dorm and cook ourselves.”

“Mhm, then I’ll head back first.”

Seeing that they were going back to their dorm, Su Ming prepared to go back to sleep. As long as he fell asleep, he wouldn’t be hungry.

“No, don’t! Come eat with us, right, Chu Yu?”

An Ruoxue also winked at Lin Chuyu.

“Mhm, Su Ming, it’s so late, and there’s nowhere to eat, just come to our place for a bite.”

Lin Chuyu looked at Su Ming and invited him.

“Wouldn’t that be inappropriate? Would it disturb others?”

Su Ming asked with some hesitation.

“It’s fine, in our dorm, it’s just me and Lin Chuyu living there now, no one else.”

An Ruoxue quickly explained to Su Ming.

“Alright!”

Su Ming hesitated for a moment, then finally agreed.

“Let’s go!”

Seeing Su Ming agree, An Ruoxue excitedly pulled him towards the dorm.

A moment later, Su Ming and the two others arrived in front of a small Western-style house in the internal school.

An Ruoxue opened the door and walked in, turning on the main light in the living room.

Su Ming also followed her in and glanced around the living room.

The entire living room was incredibly spacious, almost fifty square meters, and very well decorated.

Sofas, coffee tables, projection equipment, and everything else were all in place.

At the same time, there was also a spiral staircase in the living room leading to the second floor; if there were no surprises, An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu’s rooms would be up there.

As the saying goes, there’s no harm without comparison. The dormitory Su Ming and his friends lived in was practically a refugee camp.

“Make yourselves at home, I’ll go cook for you!”

An Ruoxue said eagerly.

Lin Chuyu looked at An Ruoxue with a hint of surprise. She felt that An Ruoxue was acting a bit off, perhaps a little too eager.

However, she didn’t say anything, only asking,

“Do you need my help?”

“No, I can handle it myself!”

An Ruoxue walked towards the kitchen with a smile.

Seeing her say that, Su Ming and Lin Chuyu went to sit on the sofa, waiting for An Ruoxue to cook.

They looked at each other, unsure what to talk about, and the atmosphere became a bit awkward.

At this moment, Lin Chuyu proactively broke the silence and asked Su Ming,

“Su Ming, how is your mecha repair coming along?”

“Not bad. It should be repaired in a little over a month, and I also have a Gun Knight backup mecha I can use now.”

“That’s great.”

“Mm.”

Su Ming nodded.

Just as the two were chatting, a sizzling sound suddenly came from the kitchen, followed by An Ruoxue’s panicked scream.

“Ah~”

Hearing this, Su Ming and Lin Chuyu immediately rushed into the kitchen.

They instantly saw a golden bighead fish jumping around in the frying pan.

Upon seeing this, Lin Chuyu immediately rushed forward, grabbed the golden bighead fish by its tail, and slammed it to the ground!

Thud!

The golden bighead fish was instantly killed.

Su Ming looked down at the dead golden bighead fish and realized that it hadn’t even been gutted. His vision went black, and the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.

An Ruoxue said somewhat awkwardly,

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine, but Ruoxue, why did you think of making fish? And where did you get fish so late at night? Wait, this isn’t that ornamental fish, is it? I remember that fish was very expensive; I think you spent five million federal currency on it!”

Lin Chuyu looked at An Ruoxue in astonishment.

“It is that one. There weren’t many ingredients in the fridge, so I thought I’d make you some fish, but I didn’t realize it would be so difficult to cook.”

An Ruoxue said playfully.

Hearing An Ruoxue say this, Lin Chuyu looked at the dead fish and, after a moment of hesitation, said,

“How about I give it a try?”

Hearing this, Su Ming sighed and said,

“Sigh, I’ll do it. Both of you go wait outside!”

“How could we? We said we’d cook for you.”

An Ruoxue said, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had wanted to show off her skills in front of Su Ming, but the fish was just too uncooperative.

“It’s fine, you two go wait outside!”

Su Ming said calmly to the two.

An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu exchanged glances, then walked out of the kitchen together. Neither of them really knew how to cook, so they couldn’t be of much help.

Su Ming picked up the fish from the floor and placed it in the sink, then began rummaging through the refrigerator and cabinets to see what he could use.

He found that the entire kitchen had no oil stains at all, and all the cooking utensils were new, clearly never used.

Soon, he found a pile of unopened seasonings.

Looking at these seasonings, Su Ming immediately felt confident and began to clean the fish.

Then, he lightly coated the fish with salt, soy sauce, and spices. After that, he put a little oil in an iron pan, spread it evenly, and began to fry the fish over low heat.

Twenty minutes later.

Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue had already set out bowls and chopsticks on the coffee table, watching TV while waiting for Su Ming.

Just then, Su Ming came out carrying a large plate of fried fish, and the fragrant, crispy aroma filled the air.

“It smells so good!”

An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu exclaimed in surprise as they smelled the fish.

“Ingredients are limited, so just make do. Try it and see how it tastes.”

Su Ming placed the fish on the coffee table.

An Ruoxue and Lin Chuyu picked up their chopsticks, took a small bite, and their eyes immediately lit up. They said in surprise,

“It’s so delicious!”

“Glad you like it. Eat more! This fish weighs over ten jin; it was a bit too big to fry.”

Su Ming said with a smile to the two.

An Ruoxue looked up at Su Ming, a bit smitten.

He was handsome, from a good family, strong, had a good personality, and was also a good cook—simply perfect!

“Ruoxue? Ruoxue?”

At this moment, Lin Chuyu spoke, interrupting An Ruoxue’s thoughts.

“Ah, what is it?”

An Ruoxue came back to her senses and responded.

“Why are you spacing out? Why aren’t you eating?”

Lin Chuyu said to An Ruoxue.

“Nothing, I was just thinking about something.”

An Ruoxue said with a chuckle.

Just then, a news report suddenly interrupted the soap opera playing on the TV.

“Latest update: The Imperial Army’s Third Legion, the Bloodfang, has assembled a large force and is heading towards the Anfass Empire. According to expert analysis, both sides are prepared for a major battle, which is expected to officially begin in three days, sparking a full-scale war.”

Su Ming watched the breaking news, pondered for a moment, and said,

“It looks like this war is set in stone.”

“Pretty much. The Imperial Army is too strong, and the Neutral Countries have been pushed to the point of no retreat.”

Lin Chuyu agreed.

“There’s nothing that can be done about it.”

An Ruoxue replied with a sigh.

One AM.

In the kitchen, Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue were washing the bowls and plates.

The three of them had finished an entire fish, leaving only a pile of bones. It had to be said that the fish was expensive for a reason; the meat quality was truly excellent.

Su Ming looked at the two washing up, then glanced down at the time displayed on his phone, and said,

“It’s very late; I should probably head back.”

“It’s so late, why don’t you stay here for the night? An Ruoxue and I can share a room, and you can sleep in my room.”

Lin Chuyu turned to Su Ming and said.

“That’s right!”

An Ruoxue also agreed.

“Forget it, I’d better go back. If I don’t go back to sleep, those guys in the dorm will come up with some ridiculous drama.”

Su Ming said with a smile, politely declining.

Of course, this was just Su Ming’s excuse. His biggest concern was being seen by others.

He was already at the center of attention recently, and if he were seen staying overnight here, he would probably make the campus news headlines.

“Alright.”

Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue nodded in response.

“I’m leaving.”

Su Ming bid farewell to the two and then turned to leave.

—

The next day, waiting area of the training ground.

Zhang Yi and the others were operating Type I Mecha, Iron Head, for routine combat training.

Mia held a megaphone and angrily shouted at Zhang Yi,

“Zhang Yi, don’t make your movements too big, and be ruthless! He’s your enemy now!”

At this moment, Cao Wei, who was sparring with Zhang Yi, shouted in confusion to Teacher Mia,

“Teacher, I’m his classmate, not an enemy! We’re just doing routine combat training. Is it appropriate for you to tell him to hack at me like this?”

“What’s inappropriate about it? You hack at him as if your life depends on it too, just treat him as your father’s murderer.”

Mia shouted, full of anger.

In the waiting area, Su Ming and the others looked at this scene, exchanging glances.

At this time, Ankajia said to Su Ming with some unease,

“Class Monitor, is Teacher going through menopause? She’s so angry?”

“It’s not menopause; it’s because of that guy.”

Su Ming casually pointed into the distance.

Ankajia heard Su Ming’s words and turned to look. She saw Lieutenant Colonel Alaco standing not far away, wearing a black trench coat, with a cast on his leg and a bandage on his nose, staring at them.

“My goodness, how did that guy track us down here? He’s not here to claim medical expenses, is he?”

Ankajia swallowed hard and said.

“I don’t know.”

“Class Monitor, you can’t be so heavy-handed next time.”

“Nonsense, you were pretty heavy-handed too, alright? You’re the one who kicked his leg lame.”

Su Ming said playfully to Ankajia.

Ankajia immediately shook her head and said,

“No, you broke his nose and knocked out his teeth, he should be looking for you!”

“You remember that quite clearly, don’t you!”

Su Ming looked at Ankajia, torn between laughter and tears.

“Hehe! That’s not important, what’s important is what do we do?”

Ankajia asked, feeling a bit guilty.

“Alright, I’m not joking with you anymore. He probably isn’t looking for us. Look, he’s been staring at Teacher Mia the whole time; it’s clear he’s looking for her. We’ll just pretend we didn’t see him.”

Su Ming said with a smile, comforting Ankajia.

“That’s good, phew~”

Ankajia immediately let out a long sigh of relief.

The next day, five PM.

Royal Court Academy teaching building, Classroom 23.

Mia finished her lecture and said to everyone with a serious expression,

“That’s all for today’s class, but I have something to announce!”

“What is it?”

Su Ming and the others looked at Teacher Mia with great curiosity.

“The school will be on holiday starting tomorrow.”

Mia simply said to everyone.

“Ah? Holiday?”

“Why is there a holiday? Is it so sudden?”

Rhine and the others were all confused. Normally, there should be class tomorrow.

“Stop arguing, I’ll explain it briefly to you. The reason for the holiday tomorrow is that the Neutral Countries and the Imperial Army are about to go to war. The school will activate the Star Sphere equipment to intermittently broadcast battlefield footage from the front lines. Everyone must go watch it; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! You can learn a lot from the great battle between the Imperial Army and the Neutral Countries!”

Mia simply explained to everyone.

“Teacher, how long will this holiday be?”

Rhine asked curiously.

“Until the Neutral Countries and the Imperial Army decide the victor. Alright, you’re dismissed!”

After Mia finished speaking, she waved her hand impatiently.

Su Ming and the others got up one after another, chatting about tomorrow’s big battle as they walked out of the classroom.

“Rhine, do you think the Neutral Countries can win?”

“Hard to say, probably tough.”

“Class Monitor, what do you think?”

Su Ming did not answer their question, but instead stopped, frowning as he looked into the distance.

Rhine was also stunned when he saw Su Ming stop, and then he followed suit, looking into the distance.

Lieutenant Colonel Alaco was standing not far away, staring at them.

“It’s that guy again. This guy is truly endless, always staring at Teacher Mia.”

Ankajia couldn’t help but complain.

Su Ming looked at this scene, becoming more and more curious about what this guy wanted with Teacher Mia, so he spoke up and said,

“Let’s go ask him.”

“Okay.”

Ankajia and the others responded one after another.

Su Ming led them towards Alaco.

Alaco naturally saw Su Ming and the others walking towards him, but he completely ignored them, his gaze fixed on the classroom door.

Soon, Su Ming and his friends arrived in front of him.

“Excuse me, Mr. Alaco, what exactly do you want with Teacher Mia, and why are you constantly staring at her?”

Su Ming asked politely.

Alaco’s effeminate expression remained unchanged; he completely ignored Su Ming and the others.

“Didn’t you hear our Class Monitor asking you a question?”

Rhine said irritably.

Unfortunately, Alaco remained unmoved.

Zhang Yi, who was standing nearby, also asked curiously,

“You come here every day and stare at our Teacher Mia. You haven’t fallen for our teacher and want to pursue her, have you?”

“Uh?”

Su Ming and Ankajia looked at Zhang Yi in confusion after hearing that.

“Uh, did I say something wrong?”

Zhang Yi asked doubtfully.

At this moment, Alaco also broke down, an angry expression appearing on his effeminate face.

“Are you sick?!”

“You’re the one who’s sick! You won’t say anything when we ask you, and you keep staring at our teacher.”

Zhang Yi asked self-righteously.

“That’s because…”

Lieutenant Colonel Alaco’s words were halfway out before he swallowed them back.