Qin Fen managed a weak smile. Why did he always encounter people with decidedly unconventional personalities? Was it perhaps because his own nature wasn't entirely ordinary either?

Activating the startup sequence with the red helmet on, Qin Fen suddenly found himself standing in a vast, virtual airfield.

Gabriel-class space fighters, Satan Destroyer-class interceptors, Nezha Saucer-class space skirmishers, Ghost space fighters.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, this is the virtual fighter base."

The rugged roar sounded again from the void.

"I know that you softlings—some of you signed up for the Navy, others for the Army—are all wondering why you've been placed here."

Qin Fen involuntarily nodded, only to hear the rough voice boom again: "Now, I'm telling you, there are no 'whys'! As your commanding officer, I don't need to explain a single thing to you! You mark my words! In the military, there is only obedience! Obedience! Obedience! Alright! Now go pick the fighter jet or armor unit you prefer!"

Most of the new recruits came from families with solid material foundations. These young men, brimming with excess energy, would often spend their time outside the Sky Martial Arts Combat Network playing on other channels of the main Sky Battle Network—a massive virtual world resembling a world war, where people could pursue all manner of military careers, from a mere infantryman to the supreme commander of an interstellar fleet, or even the overlord of a planet.

Except for Qin Fen, everyone else had some degree of familiarity with fighter jets, and they cheered as they selected the aircraft they needed.

In the virtual world, any fighter jet was available in unlimited supply, so Qin Fen wasn't worried about others clearing out a specific model.

He watched the other new recruits carefully as they chose their fighters. The Nezha Saucer-class space fighter was the most frequently selected. He casually picked one of the same type.

"Softlings! Perhaps some of you think you already know how to operate these jets! But I'm telling you now, everything you've used before involved greatly simplified, foolproof operating systems without many instrument displays. Now, you will learn properly!"

"Welcome to the Nezha Saucer-class space fighter. Are you familiar with this aircraft?" The synthesized electronic guidance voice slowly entered Qin Fen's ear.

"Not familiar," Qin Fen answered honestly. The Sky Battle Network was a strictly pay-to-play channel. Logging in required a fee. He hadn't been as idle as others, nor had he had as much spending money to squander.

"The Nezha Saucer-class space fighter, just like its namesake, Nezha’s three heads and eight arms, possesses more attack points than other fighters. Its defensive and reconnaissance capabilities are also as far-reaching as three heads—offering greater enemy detection range..."

The soft, synthesized electronic voice gradually explained the advantages of the Nezha Saucer-class space fighter. Qin Fen slowly grasped its merits. Apart from its relatively low endurance, its overall performance surpassed similar-class fighters.

After inquiring about a few other combat machines, Qin Fen decisively swapped his choice. He selected the Ghost fighter, the one with the highest speed, a relatively smaller radar sweep radius, and a less expansive attack coverage area.

Qin Fen knew well that, in the future, those in the Army would never engage in aerial combat. He chose the Ghost fighter outright, consciously foregoing the superior radar coverage of the Nezha Saucer to train and enhance his martial artist's sixth sense for danger.

He was preparing for the upcoming War God arena in the Sky Martial Arts Combat Network, and Qin Fen would not let any opportunity to train himself pass by.

Although the fighter cockpit featured many instruments, a significant portion were under automatic control. Few truly needed to be memorized, especially for someone like Qin Fen, who wasn't from an air force background; he didn't need to deliberately commit the instrument readings to memory. What struck him as odd, however, was that any instrument he was briefed on once, he could recall perfectly without any conscious effort to record it.

Despite being more unfamiliar with the aircraft than the others, Qin Fen managed to take to the skies at roughly the same time as most of the group, thanks to his superior memory.

"Each squad's aircraft are numbered. You may shoot down enemy aircraft from any squad other than your own. The system will automatically record the number of times you are downed and the number of enemy craft you destroy. Those ranked in the bottom two hundred for being shot down will have their training load doubled tomorrow."

"Sir! Is there a reward for shooting down the most enemy aircraft?"

Someone asked through the aircraft's communication system.

"No reward. If you don't want to end up in the bottom two hundred, then work hard to shoot down others. Alright! Commence now!"

Boom!

Almost simultaneously, the moment the officer gave the command, two fighter jets erupted into massive balls of fire, having been shot down.

This wasn't due to the attacker's skill, but their reaction time! Only a reaction surpassing the ordinary could allow one to attack in the very first instant.

"Oh dear! Old Squad Leader, both of those attacking jets belonged to your squad."

A soldier managing the data in the control room looked on with an expression of slightly disbelieving astonishment. "Their attack times were virtually identical; that reaction speed is incredible. I really thought that fellow named Qin Fen would be the first one shot down."

"You thought he'd be the first one shot down?" Squad Leader Hao seemed surprised. "Why would you think that?"

"This person seemed to have no prior experience with virtual fighters; he was asking questions right from the basics," the veteran in the control room explained. "I thought it would be a stroke of luck if he could get his plane airborne today, but to actually score a hit... Haha, Qin Fen is down."

On the screen, after successfully evading a three-plane pincer attack, Qin Fen was unfortunately struck by a heat ray that swept in from the side.