Exercise headquarters.
The thermal imager was fully monitoring, and the area where the lake was located turned into a dazzling bright red, filling the entire screen.
Dean Nie from the wingman department had just rushed over from the capital. As soon as he entered the room, he saw the eye-catching red screen: "What's going on? Is the instrument broken?"
The operations staff officer in charge of monitoring shook his head.
Dean Nie laughed: "How can there be such an image? It's so popular, at least someone must have boiled a lake of water..."
He just made a joke, looked at the others, realized something was wrong, and walked to Zhuang Yu: "What's going on?"
Zhuang Yu: "Someone boiled a lake of water."
“…” Dean Nie: “Who?”
Zhuang Yu gestured to the monitoring screen.
According to the surveillance video, the nearby rescue team has already rushed over.
The wingman crashed into the nearby bushes and was mostly destroyed by the ground fire that was triggered.
The observer jumped out with a parachute before the plane crashed, but because the terrain was too complicated, he was not finally picked up by branches until the search and rescue team arrived.
The mecha operator was trapped in the middle of the lake.
The ambient temperature was low at night, and when the lake water temperature dropped to about the same level as a geothermal hot spring, the rescuers sent a speedboat over and picked up his mecha.
"Did you just engage in combat with other mechas?"
The rescuer reached out his hand to help him stand firm. "Special Forces? Or a swarm of mechanical insects?"
The mecha operator's face was hot, and he gritted his teeth and said vaguely, "Almost."
"That's really dangerous." The rescuer nodded, "You guys are better. We went back to rescue that guy, and we wanted to take shortcuts, but we ended up getting our mecha destroyed by him with our bare hands. When we got back, we were scolded by his superiors for an hour..."
The mecha operator's expression changed.
He was worried about being punished when he returned, and he was extremely nervous: "… He is so powerful, why is he still a trainee?"
The mecha operator swallowed hard and speculated in a low voice: "Is it possible - is it possible that they are from the special forces?"
"Although they have opened the battlefield and promised to let us in, they have also made other preparations."
The mecha operator said: "For example, let the special forces ambush among the trainees to deal with people like us-"
He said he couldn't go, and seemed a little ashamed, blushing and lowering his head.
They also knew that using the standard configuration of mechas and wingmen to rob an unarmed trainee was just taking shortcuts.
After doing such a thing, even if you are lucky enough to get a place in the special forces and then return to your old unit, you will be scolded and shamed by the military district commanders at all levels.
…
The reason why they risked their lives to do such a thing was nothing more than trying their luck. The special forces were the top military unit in the entire alliance, and if they could pass the selection training, it would be worth it even if they were scolded.
But they didn't even get a chance to get a spot.
Not only did he fail to touch it, but he even destroyed all the fighting power of the opponent with his bare hands.
"We don't know if there is an ambush by the special forces."
The search and rescue team member said: "We found out that the person who knocked over the mecha with his bare hands was also a trainee and an observer."
The mecha operator's eyes widened in astonishment: "Observer?"
The search and rescue team nodded.
They were also surprised when they first heard it, but after thinking about it carefully, they felt that it made sense.
Ten years ago, Zhuang Yu pioneered a combat method that used observers as the core, maximizing the observers' abilities and turning the special operations team into a blade that could directly dissect the Zerg nest, thus completely laying the foundation for victory in the war against the Zerg.
After the war, the Alliance military began to propose a new combat system. The conservatives and the reformists continued to clash, but at least they reached a consensus.
This mode, which has been tested on real battlefields and is no longer fixed on one person and one partner, but instead forms a combat team with an observer as the core, has a much stronger combat capability than before.
The special forces pilot project has been successful. Once a model more suitable for ordinary troops is explored, it will be rolled out to the entire army on a large scale.
…
But an accident happened at that time.
Zhuang Yu and the spearhead team completely disappeared from people's sight. The response to the pilot test was mediocre, and not long after, they changed back to the original combat mode centered on mechas.
These past events happened a long time ago, and most of the soldiers now have no idea about the past.
"Now that the team is back, the revolution will continue no matter what."
The search and rescue team members said: "That can deal with the mecha observer. If he gets the wingman and cooperates with his own mecha, how far can he fight? What if there are more mechas under his command?"
The mecha operator felt a chill down his spine just thinking about that kind of situation.
—They all struggle in training day after day, and have seen many elite troops with outstanding talents, rigorous training, and top-level mecha configurations.
However, no matter how strong their personal combat power is, even if they can fight against the Insect King with an S-class mecha, it will not make them feel a chill down their spine.
They had just fought with that terrifying observer. If the other side got the wingman, how long could they last
If we really break the original partnership model and form a complete combat team with the observer as the core, or even a troop of this model—
As long as one has a little awareness of the battle situation, one can realize this kind of situation and how much of an explosive increase in ultimate combat power it can bring.
The speedboat stopped steadily at the shore, and the search and rescue team members got off the boat and packed up the rescue equipment.
The mecha operator grabbed him and asked, "What's that person's name? Which unit is he from?"
"Shi Ji, the registration code is s7."
Rescue team member: "I heard he is the first observer of the Union Military Academy."
The search and rescue team paused for a moment, thought about it carefully, and couldn't help but smile: "After this exercise, it won't be long before he is more than just the first observer of the military academy."
…
Exercise headquarters.
Dean Nie stood in front of the surveillance screen, motionless, his graying eyebrows tightly knitted.
Zhuang Yu reached out and deleted the previous battle video.
“… I couldn’t get out.”
Dean Nie: "He didn't perform so well before."
Dean Nie whispered: "I have always paid attention to him. He is very strong, but he is still within the scope of a normal student..."
If he had known that Shi Ji had such talent, he would have dragged him out of the empty barracks in Zhuang Yu and forced Shi Ji into his arms even if it meant delay.
"I know." Zhuang Yu said, "On the day I sent him back to the dormitory, he was not liberated to this extent."
Dean Nie turned around in astonishment and looked towards Zhuang Yu.
He knew Shi Ji's situation long ago, and had guessed what Zhuang Yu meant by this: "That damn program of his—"
Zhuang Yu nodded: "Someone helped, and it's under control for the time being."
Zhuang Yu: "That person promised me that he would be able to remove this set of programs sooner or later, and asked me to wait a little longer."
Dean Nie's eyes widened.
He was completely overwhelmed by the surprise and paced back and forth for a long time before he finally calmed down a little.
Zhuang Yu turned his attention back to the screen.
While the rescuers were rescuing the mecha operator and observer who were in distress, Shi Ji had already swam silently to the shore of the lake in the pitch-black night, wearing a bunch of water plants as camouflage.
It is now the eleventh hour since the exercise began.
At two o'clock in the morning, most of the trainees were still hiding and resting, but a small number had already taken advantage of the cover of darkness to begin the most dangerous part of the raid.
The one-kilometer radius around all mecha and wingman drop sites has been completely cleared, and there are no shelters for concealment.
The special forces are already in place and are continuously patrolling nearby. Once the trainees are discovered, they will be ruthlessly "shot" by the anti-blue army as the main force.
This is also the most standard traditional confrontation mode that appears in almost all exercises.
"Adjust the plan." Zhuang Yu said, "Trigger the mechanical bug riot in advance."
The deputy of the special forces beside him was a little surprised: "Now?"
This was not in line with the drill process. The deputy frowned and asked hesitantly, "Can't we wait for some of them to get the mecha first? To stop the trainees, the special forces' defense line is enough..."
Zhuang Yu asked: "How many of your men were killed in the battle?"
The deputy was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized something and turned around abruptly.
-Just now, in less than a minute, the position detector of the special forces member who was responsible for defending Shi Ji's partner's mecha had lost contact with one of them!
According to Zhuang Yu's request, the "killed" special forces members will have their communication systems automatically cut off and can only return to the team on their own.
The others didn't even move. They didn't notice their comrades had quietly disappeared, and they continued patrolling as planned. Just as the deputy glanced at the screen, the indicator light on another positioner suddenly went out.
Conflicts have also begun to appear on the surveillance screens in other areas.
Unlike the quiet area in Shiji, these conflicts were extremely fierce. Trainees were constantly being eliminated, and the statistics showed that the number of eliminations was rising rapidly.
But at the same time, the special forces began to suffer increasing casualties.
Many trainees were from active-duty troops, and were elites who had been carefully selected. After twelve hours of trial and error, many of them had already adapted to the battlefield environment.
Faced with the eliminated candidates who kept joining the battle and trying to snatch places, they did not fight alone as the military staff predicted. Instead, they spontaneously united together and formed a strong force.
These people temporarily put aside the competition and prioritized ensuring that the most capable mecha operators could reunite with their mechas. The rest were responsible for covering and blocking the Blue Army. Many even chose to sacrifice themselves and detonated the signal device representing the explosion.
On another surveillance screen, Ye Hanfeng worked with two military academy students to set traps and successfully killed a special forces member.
Zhuang Yu asked: "What is the current casualty ratio?"
The deputy's forehead was covered with sweat. "1:12... It's getting smaller. It's 1:10."
1:10 means that for every ten people on the other side eliminated, one special forces soldier is "killed" in the exercise.
Ten years ago, the casualty ratio of Zhuangyu Special Operations Team to higher-level troops was 1:30.
He personally led the spearhead team, and there was never a single record of casualties during the exercises.
"These years... There has been no war in these years."
The deputy didn't know how to explain. He swallowed nervously and whispered, "Since you left, the special forces need additional personnel, and the selection criteria have been relaxed..."
Zhuang Yu nodded: "I know."
He has no intention of holding anyone accountable.
The one who should be held responsible the most is himself. Even the youngest member, S7, resisted desperately, but he was exiled by himself for a full ten years.
There was no time to assign blame; in less than a month the Zerg would invade, and the first wave of the offensive would be more violent than any battle ever recorded.
Now the special forces can't stop the Zerg.
If they fail to achieve a strong deterrent and a huge difference in results, their galaxy will be invaded from all sides and treated as a "insect nest".
"Expand the scale of the exercise and trigger a riot among the mechanical bugs."
Zhuang Yu said: "As long as the current members of the special forces are killed in action, they will be treated as trainees and will be selected again."
The deputy's expression changed slightly: "Captain Zhuang, in this case—"
Zhuang Yu turned towards him.
Even though Zhuang Yu had just returned to the team, even though he had been pale and withered like a mad ghost for the past ten years - at this moment, the deputy still clearly realized that the person standing in front of him was the real leader of the special operations team.
… He was the one who single-handedly built a battle group capable of sealing off the entire world, led his mechas straight into the deepest part of the Zerg tide, and forcibly blasted a Zerg-controlled planet to pieces. He was a true legend.
The deputy didn't dare to say another word. He saluted and hurried back to convey the order.
Zhuang Yu turned around and looked at the monitoring screen.
…
Shi Ji had undoubtedly discovered this as well.
Just now, in the seventh zone where Shi Ji was stationed, the indicator light of the last position detector belonging to the special forces team also quietly went out.
The entire Seventh District Blue Army has been sent back to training by their predecessors.
In the darkness of the night, Shi Ji apologized softly and retracted the dagger.
When Zhan Chen was making the Dolphin for him, he deliberately left an interface for the wingman. His wingman was standing quietly at the end of the open space with the Dolphin.
All obstacles have been cleared, and as long as the Dolphin program is activated, we can immediately switch back to combat mode.
Shi Ji stood up.
He headed towards the Dolphin, but his expression did not look as relaxed as it should have.
Yu Tang spoke from his sea of consciousness: "Shi Ji?"
"Too weak." Shi Ji said softly, "When you are the captain, even ordinary members of the special forces should not be so weak."
After Yu Tang finished reading the message sent by Zhuang Yu, he turned off the screen and raised his eyes.
Shi Ji could have reunited with his mecha a long time ago.
He had gotten the Dolphin's trigger, but circled back and ambushed the entire area's blue forces by himself.
Many combat staff officers were terrified, as they all remembered this genius who had been fought over by various war zones. At one point they worried that this was a deliberate attempt by Shi Ji to intimidate Zhuang Yu before he joined the special operations team.
There were only two parties involved who had never thought about this.
Zhuang Yu sent a special message to explain the current battle situation to him and asked him to make sure that Shi Ji's program was ready.
This was the first time Shi Ji overstepped the boundaries and mustered up the courage to ask him if he had a skill card that could restore the captain's status and make up for the effects on Zhuang Yu's body over the past ten years.
Shi Ji is willing to continue working for Yu Tang Cake Shop.
As long as you can earn enough experience points, it doesn't matter if you bake a billion or a hundred billion cakes.
Yu Tang received the report from Shi Ji and asked the mecha beside him: "Do you regret it?"
The mecha gently expressed that it didn't understand: "Mr. Yu, what did you say?"
Yu Tang was already used to his expression. He nodded and took the calculator.
Yu Tang opened the mall and found out that the body function healing card required experience points. He calculated the number of small cakes needed on the spot and prepared to send it back to Shi Ji.
At that moment, a mechanical arm just stopped his movement.
"…" The mecha stopped him, and the mechanical voice had a faint fluctuation for the first time: "Mr. Yu."
Yu Tang lowered the corners of his mouth, concealing the slight smile without leaving a trace.
…
Due to the restrictions of Chuanshuju's rules, neither of them could be too ooc, and their previous infractions had already reached their limit.
But Yu Tang could already clearly see to what an outrageous degree this door of his had been opened.
Even slow-selling cupcakes had a dedicated stall.
Yu Tang had no doubt at all that even if Shi Ji really baked tens of billions of small cakes and bought them with his own money to eat slowly, he would be a regular substitute for the mall manager.
"Actually, there's no need." Yu Tang said.
He seemed to be talking to Shi Ji, but his eyes were on the body of the mecha. He spoke slowly and seriously: "Some things may take more effort, but we can find other ways to solve them."
"It will be safer." Yu Tang said, "You."
The mech raised its head quietly.
This is just a toy-sized model. The mask only has a red light as an indicator, and it can't even make any more expressions.
The mecha sat cross-legged on the ground, one hand still pressing on the back of his hand, and the red light flashed gently.
Shi Ji was debugging the Dolphin, listening carefully to Teacher Yu's words, and raised his hand to ask, "What's the solution?"
"..." Yu Tang gave an example: "For example, exchanging Sheng Yi's house."
Shi Ji paused for a moment.
"Sheng Yi, your previous partner was a mecha operator."
Yu Tang reminded him: "Sheng Tiancheng blocked most of your talents and left you to him, asking you to be his observer..."
Shi Ji: "... I remember, Mr. Yu."
Shi Ji only temporarily got rid of the system's control, and his memory of that period was not cleared.
He had roughly heard Yu Tang talk about the exchange rules of the mall. As long as one owned the item, he could exchange it, and the experience points he gained could be used to buy what he wanted.
Before Sheng Yi's eighteenth birthday, he was still Sheng Yi's nominal guardian and had the right to dispose of Sheng Yi's property.
"Don't want to have anything to do with him anymore?" Yu Tang regained his composure and said in a gentle voice, "It doesn't matter. If you don't want to fulfill your promise, then don't fulfill it."
After all, the situation is different from that of the little red card.
Yu Tang had no intention of forcing Shi Ji to make any choice - when the program was stripped away, he could solve all technical problems, but there was one thing: Shi Ji's heart had to be complete and strong enough.
Forced stripping, the note is accompanied by a frenzied counterattack. Even if there is any hesitation, those pervasive data will take advantage of the opportunity to enter.
After all, Shi Ji has been responsible for taking care of Sheng Yi for so many years. If Shi Ji can't get over this hurdle on his own, Yu Tang will not take any action without his permission.
"No." Shi Ji said, "Things have their priorities. The captain's physical condition is more important. If he can't maintain his peak condition, he may be sacrificed in this war."
Shi Ji had already debugged the Dolphin. He returned to his wingman and put on his goggles. "If I have to exchange it, I will discuss it with Sheng Yi."
Yu Tang was a little curious: "How do we discuss it?"
"Senior Zhan has already taught me." Shi Ji said, "Sheng Yi might be put into a sack and let float away with a wooden board. In order to prevent this, he needs to improve his fighting ability."
Senior Zhan in the mecha: "..."
Shi Ji: "When I checked my data, I also found two small programs, called 'If a child is not well-educated, it is the guardian's fault' and 'If a child is not severely punished, it is the guardian's laziness'."
Yu Tang, the producer of the mini program: “…”
"I reflected on it carefully for a long time." Shi Ji said, "I think it makes sense. It was my previous education method that was wrong. The responsibility lies with me."
Shi Ji said seriously: "I will apologize to him and make corrections."
Yu Tang felt that Sheng Yi might not want to hear this apology.
Their light screen would monitor the scene in real time. Yu Tang switched over and saw Sheng Yi's picture.
According to the basic settings, the top and bottom roles were destined to collide constantly. Under the invisible guidance of fate, Sheng Yi had already met Ye Hanfeng again after entering the battle zone.
Ye Hanfeng united the cadets and was trying his best to deal with the special forces members guarding the mechas.
The headquarters has issued an order that once a special operations team member is "killed in action" and is out, he will automatically become a trainee, and can only rejoin the special operations team after passing selection and training.
These special forces members completely threw aside the slightest thought of underestimating the enemy, and the resistance was much stronger than at the beginning.
Sheng Yi temporarily formed an alliance with these people, but refused to rush forward directly in the mecha no matter what.
The rules were written in black and white. The twelve hours before the selection and training exercise were to assess the trainees' combat qualities outside of the mecha.
Sheng Yi has always regarded Ye Hanfeng as a real master. He couldn't understand why the always proud Ye Hanfeng would break the rules by doing something like this, and he was very angry.
This time, many people stood on Sheng Yi's side, and the temporary alliance started an internal conflict, causing a huge chaos.
Ye Hanfeng felt a headache from the noise and walked away alone.
He had no way of explaining to these people that the exercise had gone completely haywire.
Since the controller behind this exercise has decided to erase the rules, there must be a reason for erasing the rules. He can't think of what the reason is for the time being, but at this time, the sheet of rules written in black and white has long become a piece of waste paper.
Ye Hanfeng clenched his fists tightly.
He was an observer, and in the current mode, observers were naturally auxiliary. Even if he temporarily became the leader of this group of people with his individual qualities, he could not issue orders that would make everyone obey.
The most urgent task is to try our best to maintain this alliance that is on the verge of collapse.
“… Stop arguing.”
Ye Hanfeng said: "Maintain the status quo for now, and then try to break through again."
Sheng Yi's expression finally looked better. He stepped forward and said, "This time I'll do it—"
Ye Hanfeng ignored him, adjusted the electromagnetic energy cannon on his wrist, and silently jumped into the increasingly dark night.
…
Yu Tang dropped the screen.
He imagined a scene in his mind where Shi Ji suddenly appeared, apologized to Sheng Yi for not beating him up all these years, and then beat Sheng Yi up as compensation.
Yu Tang: "I'll give it a try if I have a chance."
"Okay." Shi Ji always listened to Yu Tang and Senior Zhan. He nodded seriously and remembered this matter. "But even so, there may be no way to exchange for the Sheng family's residence."
Yu Tang asked casually, "Why?"
"Because the ownership of Sheng's house does not belong to me."
Shi Ji said: "It belongs to Sheng Yi's father... Mr. Yu, cut off the projection of the sea of consciousness!"
Yu Tang looked slightly stern and stood up.
… When he arrived, a scene suddenly appeared in the observation window.
Countless mechanical insects rioted out of control, covering the sky and the earth, suddenly drowning out all observable vision.
Zhuang Yu had invested a huge amount of money, he wanted to use this exercise to knock out all the laxity and carelessness of everyone, and also use this exercise to select the most elite candidates - only one Shi Ji was not enough, this was a war that might be protracted, he wanted to pick out a team for Shi Ji.
A team that is the best observer in the entire league.
…
The mecha pushed itself against the ground, then swiftly leaped over the sofa and stood up on top of the pile of pillows.
Countless, faintly glowing data streams quickly converged in front of it.
The mecha was about to operate, but was stopped by Yu Tang: "No."
"Shiji needs to balance the system." Yu Tang said, "It's okay for me."
The mecha was a little disapproving, and there was a hint of worry in its mechanical voice: "Mr. Yu."
Yu Tang shook his head.
The mecha was silent for a while, then nodded: "Okay."
There was no difference in his tone from usual, but Yu Tang vaguely sensed something was wrong. He retracted his gaze and lowered his head to look at him.
The mecha raised its head, and a humane apology was revealed in its gentle mechanical voice: "Mr. Yu... I'm sorry."
Yu Tang: “?”
The mecha held his hand.
According to the rules of Chuanshu Bookstore, if the dormitory takes a day off, the system will be transferred to the dormitory to temporarily take over the relevant work.
In principle, the system can be coordinated with the host.
Yu Tang's vision went dark for a brief moment.
Shi Ji suddenly pulled the joystick to the limit, and the wingman suddenly rose at an incredible angle, leading the Dolphin to dodge the sudden swarm of insects.
A strong feeling of weightlessness swept across the sea of consciousness.
Before the feeling was projected from the sea of consciousness to the host, Yu Tang's data stream was exchanged at a rapid speed and temporarily transmitted into the mecha.
Yu Tang opened his eyes.
In front of him was the figure that had appeared countless times in his memory.
As the points of light gathered, the figure that had already completely disappeared without a trace was re-condensing in the sea of consciousness.
"Slow down."
Zhan Chen stretched out his hand. His palm was warm, and he held the tottering mecha model firmly. "Wait a minute, I'll make a little swing."