The twins shrugged innocently, "Who knows!" Only one thing on the entire program could be verified as true: the photos of the surgically enhanced Ratidis.
Zi Ye let out a soft chuckle, deploying Little Sprout into the Light Net world to keep watch, instructing it to clean up any traces the twins might have missed immediately.
Clearly, the twins were competent; they hadn't even implicated the student entertainment program staff. They had openly declared that the images were synthesized by top-tier light-brain experts, positioning the student program as a victim.
Little Sprout, enjoying its leisure, systematically destroyed the minor details and snags the twins had overlooked, thoroughly annihilating the planned release of the scandalous photos as well.
Gossip among students, however, never ceased its relentless cycle.
After the news broke that the most beautiful girl at Dongdian Military University was artificial, all eyes immediately swiveled toward Ratidis.
The controversy surrounding Zi Ye vanished overnight.
Zi Ye gazed up at the massive virtual light screen hanging over the space station and thought quietly, "This is life; retreat is not an option!"
As for Ratidis's subsequent fate, Zi Ye neither cared to know nor had the time to find out, because starting tomorrow, the one-month Survival Capability Training would commence. In a nutshell, it was military training!
To prevent parents from tracking students or scouting routes beforehand, Lings University had a clever strategy: determining the training planet via a random draw conducted before boarding the vessels.
The draw took place just before boarding.
Zi Ye, carrying the small backpack she’d brought from the Qila Space Station and Little Sprout clipped to her waist, watched with casual composure as countless students wrestled with luggage—some arriving via several magnetic levitation vehicles in the biting cold, sweating profusely.
Ten minutes before boarding, student entry was sealed. The military training supervisor grinned widely, "The parents are finally gone. Let the draw begin."
The drawing process was straightforward. A machine was positioned beside the single-lane checkpoint leading to ten docking bays, numbered one through zero. Students swiped their identification cards on the machine, which randomly displayed a ten-digit number. The student whose card yielded a number ending in '①' would find the corresponding docking bay entrance open, allowing them onto the designated cruiser.
Once seated aboard the correct vessel, the ship-to-planet lottery began. The ten cruisers would travel to different training locations based on the planet drawn.
Planets were diverse: Desert Stars, Ocean Worlds, Ice Bodies, Barren Worlds, and so on.
Zi Ye found herself on Cruiser Number 0. She drew the Ocean Star.
The students on the entire ship erupted in cheers!
Ocean Star meant beautiful natural sunlight, pristine white, soft sand, ice-cold refreshments, and freshly grilled, fragrant fish...
Zi Ye blinked in astonishment as they stripped off the delicate jewelry from their necks and wrists. They dug into their luggage for summer-themed straw hats, plunging, floral-print chiffon dresses, and flip-flops, donning them immediately. Within minutes, everyone except Zi Ye had transformed the military training into a vacation!
They ran around their seats, constantly snapping selfies, group photos, and candid shots. A chaotic merrymaking ensued.
In this setting, Zi Ye felt entirely out of place.
She hadn't considered this aspect before; if it was military training, she should have picked simple attire. While what she wore wasn't inherently wrong, in this context, being the only one dressed functionally made her stand out conspicuously.
Alas, the good times were fleeting.
The cruiser took only twenty minutes to reach the Ocean Star.
The cheerful travelers, who were just reveling in the moment, were jolted into horror the very next second!
A broadcast crackled over the ship's intercom: "Students will be air-dropped in five minutes. Staff, please position yourselves immediately!"
Air-dropped?
What kind of interstellar joke was this?
The consequences of an air drop were obvious. When Zi Ye landed, the echoes of screams still rang in her ears. She looked around, and the purpose of the military training suddenly became clear.
In essence: cultivating student survival skills. No matter how harsh the environment, the ability to stay alive was paramount. Mechs could be rebuilt, but a truly excellent student—a future ace pilot, a brilliant mecha designer, or a brilliant commander—was a rarity among tens of thousands.
As the saying went, a thousand troops are easily found, but a general is hard to come by.
Only by teaching these exceptional students true survival skills could they gain an advantage on future battlefields.
Zi Ye considered herself incredibly fortunate to have been dropped onto an island. Being dropped into the ocean would have been a situation where cries for help went unanswered.
The island featured mountains covered in lush, verdant foliage, surrounded by an endless expanse of sea. A person standing there felt like a solitary skiff adrift in a vast ocean.
The girls lost their composure, some dissolving into frightened tears. A few of the tougher ones frantically tried their ultra-comms to reach their parents, only to find no signal.
The boys were calmer. A few who had never seen the ocean before rolled up their trouser legs and rushed toward the water.
Instantly, panicked screams erupted.
"Ah! Help! Help!"
Those preparing to follow immediately halted, witnessing the scene. Within seconds, reddish water began to churn, stunning everyone nearby.
A few students proficient in swimming cautiously approached, but the sight of a massive, dark shape in the water deterred them. The boy who had screamed for help thrashed violently in the water, sending spray everywhere.
No one dared approach the dark mass, unsure what it concealed. Chaos reigned, and peril loomed.
Hearing the commotion, Zi Ye rushed over and froze for a moment. Having nothing else, and with no nearby trees, she squeezed Little Sprout tightly. Little Sprout immediately flattened its body, extending the tiny sprout atop its head, which Zi Ye grasped. She took a few steps into the water and aimed a two-hundred-volt electrical burst from Little Sprout toward the dark object.
Sizzle! The thing in the water twitched. In that instant, Zi Ye clearly saw it: a giant tortoise!
Thankfully, it was just a turtle.
Zi Ye exhaled in relief. If it had been a shark, the boy’s leg would surely have been lost.
But a tortoise presented its own difficulties.
These creatures were known for clamping down and refusing to let go, their shells were impenetrable to blades and bullets, and they didn't conduct electricity well. The only weak spot was the head.
The instructors hadn't arrived yet. If they waited, the boy would likely be bitten clean off. Zi Ye braced herself and proceeded.
She used Little Sprout’s antenna to poke the turtle repeatedly, following its movements until she located its head. She unleashed three powerful 500-volt jolts—Zizizi!
The strong current hit the back of the tortoise's skull. It let out a painful shriek, and Zi Ye instantly yanked the boy toward the shore.
The surrounding boys quickly rushed forward to lend a hand.
However, five people still couldn't pull the object free.
Zi Ye looked back; although the tortoise had released the boy, it had clamped its jaws onto his pant leg and retracted its head, making it impossible to pull free. She quickly ripped the fabric of the trouser leg, finally dragging the boy onto the sand.
This sequence of decisive actions utterly stunned the onlookers, and the way they looked at Zi Ye shifted, now tinged with undeniable awe...