For a period of 60 days, the person in charge of the academy arranged room and board. There were very few recruits, and almost all of them were nervous. They arrived in Battle Star City from all over the country, and at first no one dared to speak, let alone move around. For fear of any rigorous training.
It turned out to be unexpectedly relaxed. The teacher who came to the class looked like he was not a regular teacher at all, he was an alien dozing off with mucus all over his body.
A few days ago, I talked about the history of Lie Xing. Lie Xing was established in the 3,300th year of the Light Era. It was originally a part of the foreign guests who came to the God of War galaxy. This part of the people can be traced back to the ancient human era.
The ancestors of Lie Xing were a group of criminals, including soldiers who participated in the revolution and ultimately failed. They killed the captain during their escort and left the constraints of the interstellar community.
At that time, the Republic and Empire had not yet split, and were collectively referred to as the Interstellar Community. There were too many fields in the universe that had not been explored, and the order was in chaos, and the Stargate had not established complete nodes and networks. The lifespan of a person is less than a hundred years, so the greeting "I wish you a hundred years of life" has been handed down. Until the common life expectancy reaches more than one hundred years old, mercenaries are still used to congratulating each other with this sentence - perhaps " "Hundred years old" has become a virtual concept of "I wish you the end of your life".
This part of the revolutionary army settled on Lie Xing and organized an armed resistance alliance. Apart from adhering to the original revolutionary idea, it also gradually formed its own regime.
The Ares galaxy more than 10,000 years ago belonged to the three-needle zone in the universe. Interstellar drug trade, arms smuggling, murder and money laundering were often used as a transit point. Over time, a black market for mercenaries has formed. After thousands of years of evolution, the first generation of revolutionary troops and their descendants have died of old age on this planet. A new mercenary organization has emerged to replace the armed resistance alliance and become this planet. main force.
Most of them are composed of interstellar refugees, many of whom are fugitives and desperados. In order to avoid the wanted of the interstellar community, they came to the Ares galaxy to serve as mercenaries, accepting commissions from all over the universe to complete tasks.
Gradually, the Ares galaxy became synonymous with mercenaries. After participating in a civil war in the interstellar community, in 11207 of the light era, the galaxy and the lion galaxy split, and the republic and the imperial regime entered their respective stages.
The mercenary force of the God of War galaxy played an extremely important role in this civil war, so after the civil war ended, it became an independent middle force.
At this time, Lie Xing is still in chaos. The quality of mercenaries varies, and there are nearly 100 million. They interfere in the internal affairs of the country, slaughter the rebels of weak and small planets, buy and sell arms privately, gather crowds to fight, and elect the strongest to become leaders. and split into multiple factions.
Until the appearance of the first mercenary king, he unified the fragmented regime with thunderous means and established the presidium system of the mercenary trade union.
The mercenary king formulated the Fierce Star Constitution and retired behind the scenes.
Since then, the country of mercenaries has operated in an orderly manner in accordance with the regulations. The mercenary king became the spiritual leader of the entire galaxy, and after several revolutions, conflicts with the empire and the republic, and one time a war broke out.
In the end, the new mercenary king Azeroth led the mercenaries to a beautiful victory. After the Republic withdrew its troops, the Covenant signed a new agreement - the mercenary country will not allow prisoners and stowaways from other star systems to be accommodated. , In exchange, the Empire and the Republic recognized the independent status of the Ares system.
The consequences of this condition are huge. Death row prisoners, life sentence prisoners, smugglers, pirates and others are the main source of soldiers in the country of mercenaries.
Opal was dizzy and lamented over the history of this galaxy.
The person next to him was expressionless and impatient.
"Azeroth is a man of great courage," said Opal.
"I knew it earlier." The classmate next to him said helplessly: "This is all junior high school content, you didn't attend the class?"
Opal shook his head and said, "I haven't studied."
The classmates looked at him strangely. Opal actually knew about this history and had seen it on Rector's chip a long time ago. But it is far less shocking than listening to the class.
When it's time for get out of class, the drowsy, mucus-faced alien teacher is still talking about history slowly.
"Don't procrastinate!" The students shouted.
"Teacher! I wish you a long life!" Another student shouted, causing a burst of laughter.
The long-lived Angxing creatures are like snails, dragging out the mucus and slowly leaving. They are all mucus creatures. The neurons in the brain are all over the body, which can store a lot of information, but the thinking speed is very slow, just like a computer storage.
Opal said: "Mu Shu, have lunch together."
His deskmate got up, stretched, and nodded.
"They can actually play holographic movies." Opal's deskmate Mu Shu said to him, "I don't even know what education is called. When we were in Nuluoxing, we just stayed at home and watched holographic projections..."
Opal said: "I think this way of education is good, at least it allows students to get to know each other."
"Maybe." Mu Shu is a young man who is much older than Opal. He is very poor in the home of female Luo Xing and has six younger brothers to support. With no way out, he boarded an interstellar voyage ship and came to the God of War. Galaxies hit their luck. This reminds Opal of Oman, a former friend on the B-11.
They left the building in a small disc, flew over the large square in the central area of Soul City, and went to the entrance of the mercenary theater for snacks. During the 36-hour day, they had to eat four meals and slept for 12 hours. Opal just started. very unaccustomed to. It was gradually adjusted after a day.
There are many alien races in the City of War Soul, and many of the clients in the intergalaxies are willing to come here to entrust in person. The mercenary union in the main city will receive it seriously and give an appropriate task reward assessment.
"That guy looks really weird." Mu Shu said, "How much can I eat in one meal."
Opal and Mu Shu leaned on their shoulders and walked across the theater garden to find a food stall. Their eyes were fixed on a huge furry ball in the middle of the garden that was about a person's height.
Human beings are the most prosperous race in the universe. Although they have only a basic lifespan of two hundred years as intelligent life, their gene reproduction ability is very strong. In addition to the development of science and technology, people's life can be extended almost unrestrictedly, which leads to Humans became the largest race in the universe. The citizens of the country of mercenaries are nearly 80% human. As a registered member of the Star Alliance, anti-racial discrimination laws apply here as well.
Opal said: "Is it going to eat the whole street? Its mouth looks big and sharp."
The huge hairball squatted in front of the food stall and opened its mouth, revealing sharp white teeth. The boss shouted: "Don't come here! You didn't pay! Otherwise I'll call the police!"
"Where's your mother?" Mu Shu went over and patted it: "That's not good, kid..."
The hairball swallowed Mu Shu in one bite.
In an instant there were screams everywhere, and the bosses turned blue and ran away yelling.
Opal was shocked and said loudly: "What's going on! Mu Shu!"
He immediately opened Mao Qiu's mouth subconsciously, Mao Qiu opened his mouth and laughed, and spit out Mu Shu again.
"Don't bully my pet!" the woman's voice screamed: "Go! Da Da!"
The hairball jumped and followed the woman.
Mu Shu's body was covered in wet saliva, and Opal burst into laughter.
"I really hate these rich people who keep pets unleashed!" During the afternoon class, Mu Shu was still brushing his hair.
Opal said sympathetically: "She may think that this large pet has a good temper and will not eat people... Racism is not good, as the teacher said, it is helpful to accept the rest of the intelligent life from the heart. For your alien mission..."
The class was quiet, the history class was over, and the battle class was next.
A person entered the classroom, and the recruits stood in an empty classroom, all solemn and silent.
"Hello, new recruits, my name is Grey Wolf." The new teacher is a normal human in a jacket, and finally someone is reliable.
He was wearing only a jacket on his upper body, his chest was open, his lower abdomen was covered with scars, and there was a trace of injury on his face, and his tone was full of cold momentum, and he began to teach them combat lessons.
First is the theory, then the practical process. Many combat skills Opal have been learned from Recht. Recht has taught it once when he stayed on the B-11 star, but the theory is more profound than what the gray wolf instructor said. , more thorough.
"To become a junior mercenary," said the gray wolf, "you must choose a weapon that is handy. You can't go to battle with your bare hands. I find that many of you have weapons of your own, too. Those who know the basic way of fighting and don't have weapons yet, need to conduct a test to choose the appropriate weapon."
Opal has a big mechanical sword, and he could not participate in the test, but he couldn't help but follow the seventeen recruits to do the weapon test.
The instructor did not let him leave, and patiently watched them choose weapons.
Guns, swords, mechanical axes, long-handled photon cutters, etc. are arranged in sequence, and hundreds of weapons that can or cannot be named are dizzying. The trainees who participated in the test tried one by one, using the weapons in their hands to inflict damage on the virtual training dummy three times, and scored and averaged the effects.
Opal tried one by one, with instructors monitoring behind their group.
"Who gave you your mechanical sword?" Gray Wolf instructor asked.
Opal said, "My... an enlightenment teacher."
The instructor nodded and declined to comment. Opal tried to use a light-energy boomerang and hit the dummy when he threw it with a score of 7.9. He asked, "How is my weapon?"
The instructor said: "Try it, maybe there is something more suitable for you, this is the scoring system of the Imperial Military Academy, it is not completely calculated based on the damage value you cause, but also based on your physical response, the grip strength and posture when you use the weapon for the first time. , every muscle reaction of the whole body, etc., and give a comprehensive fit evaluation."
"It wasn't like this when he asked me to choose a weapon," Opal said.
The gray wolf is very interesting: "How to try?"
Opal said: "He made me look at twelve weapons and feel which one was talking to me..."
Gray Wolf laughed and said with a smile, "Interesting, I've never heard of such a plan."
Opal knew he couldn't understand, so he tried one by one, and finally said, "I still use the mechanical sword."
Gray Wolf didn't force him either. The two stood aside and watched the students try out their weapons. Opal couldn't help but wonder: "Why are there only so many newcomers in the entire Fierce Star?"
Gray Wolf said: "This class is taught on a cyclic basis. You can learn anytime you want, and you can listen to the class whenever you come. But in recent years, there have been fewer people who are willing to be mercenaries, especially when the planet's political position is clearly towards the The empire is tilted, and there is a possibility of war with the forces of Colonel Commander.”
Opal nodded, and the gray wolf said lightly: "Do you like this planet? What do you think of it?"
Opal said: "It's still...not really..."
Gray Wolf laughed and said, "Fighting Star is a place full of masculinity, and we welcome every fighting partner."
Opal nodded and said, "I hope I can fit in here."
Opal found that he could gradually accept the concept of people here, after all, this was the first planet he set foot on after leaving his hometown. The mercenaries of Lie Xing are still very friendly. They seem to have a conscious awareness of being a senior, or they may be subconsciously protecting them from their peers, trying their best to keep every new member from being scared away. Of course, this is the case. The reason for being scared away may be their own.
After choosing the weapon, Gray Wolf left, and another female instructor started teaching. The two of them played against each other. Although the practice weapon was not fatal, it was painful after one shot. It took nearly a week for the recruits to practice endlessly. For Opal, the mechanical sword has been used by heart. He and Mu Shu's team have almost become Mu Shu's training instructor. .
Until the two magnetic storms passed, the weapons training course cycle ended.
In the dormitory, Mu Shu said tiredly, "Opal, the instructor said that a suitable primary gun requires 20,000 credits."
Opal lay on the bed and turned on the E7's projection device to read the mercenary daily, which recorded some strange tasks and how the mercenaries overcame difficulties. "They'll give you a discount, and if you don't have the money, ask IRC to provide proof of your private account, and you can get a loan from the union to buy a gun in installments," he said casually.
Mu Shu said: "But that gun is very ordinary, without a good gun, I think I will die easily next."
Opal glanced at him, pointed at him, and said casually: "Good weapons are not necessary. The instructor said that the key to fighting the enemy is calmness, will and courage. Have you forgotten?"
Mu Shu said helplessly, "I just want to make some money and rent a small farm on Nuluo Xing."
Opal rested his arms lazily, flipped through the mercenary daily and said, "There will be, you can do it."
Mu Shu said: "The price of female Luoxing is very low, this gun is worth my farm."
Opal said: "You can also buy a cheaper one. Don't pay too much attention to this. A spaceship needs tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of credit points, and one with a jump function costs eight billion. My goal is to buy that one. ."
Mu Shu said: "What do you buy a spaceship for?"
Opal thought for a while, and then replied: "Don't do anything, it's more convenient to drive around to see, travel, or perform tasks."
Twilight sighed deeply.
The second training cycle begins, and the gray wolf is back.
"Pain is the most important factor that affects your judgment." The Grey Wolf instructor said solemnly: "Past examples tell us that a mercenary often dies not at the hands of the enemy, but because of his own misjudgment."
"When the pain enough to affect your judgment occurs, you can no longer fight correctly in the next step, and there is a chance to turn defeat into victory. Once you miss it, there is only one end - death."
"So now I'll give you pain training." The Grey Wolf instructor said: "If you can't stand it, you can ask to leave. This training is based on the elimination system. I hope you can persevere to the end."
Chairs emerged from the ground, helmets dropped from the ceiling, Opal looked at the others and put on the helmets under the instructor's demonstration.
The helmet is not big, it only sticks to the back of his head, forehead and temple, and the area covered is extremely limited.
This is a nerve center stimulation training method. After the mercenary instructor turns on the button, he ignores it and turns to leave.
In an instant, the sudden pain overwhelmed him, and the nerves that directly stimulated the pain came more directly and thoroughly. That was something Opal had never touched before, and it was something Rickett had never taught.
The pain was far greater than the fractures, broken skins, and scratches he suffered when he was digging in the past.
"Ah!" Opal's facial features were deformed by pain, and for a while, his whole body was from the fingers to the eyebrows, as if being penetrated by a sharp weapon, the pain was like a thunder that penetrated his whole body, pulling his soul out of his body and throwing it away. It was crushed into a piece of paper in the weight feeder. Opal almost lost consciousness. It was pitch black before his eyes. He couldn't hear any sound in his ears, and the persistent pain was rolling repeatedly throughout his body.
The next moment, a gentle force appeared out of nowhere, dispelling his pain, Opal opened his eyes wide, panting slowly, the stars in his spiritual world shone, and the dark blue sky spread out, covering his body. .
The pain gradually eased, and after an unknown amount of time, the instructor's voice sounded, "Are you alright?"
head
The helmet was taken off, Opal closed his eyes, his face was pale, and he was lying on the chair panting.
The instructor took off his helmet, and the recruits around were exhausted. The instructor said, "This is controlled by neuromodulation, and it will stop automatically after being unconscious. How could you hold on for so long?"
Opal said: "I... I... "
Gray Wolf said: "Try again, turn up the pain."
Opal changed color: "No, no! I will die!"
Gray Wolf laughed and said, "Just kidding." After finishing speaking, he took away the helmet and said, "Everyone has worked hard, go back and rest."
Opal couldn't even stand still, leaning against the wall shivering all over.
"Are you all right?" Mu Shu was the first to faint, and now he has almost rested, Opal is still pale and sweaty, nodding hard.
Mu Shu asked Opal to rest on his shoulders and went back to the dormitory.
After a ten-hour break, it was the second wave of training. This time, it is mental pain. The so-called mental pain is a deeper layer than pain. Addiction, tingling, and the original conditioned reflex of collapse. This kind of torture is stronger than pain, and it is more difficult to get rid of.
The recruits who were trained couldn't help crying on the ground, looking like they were scratching their hearts and lungs. Opal will never forget that feeling in his whole life. arrive.
One recruit couldn't help but slammed his head on the ground and finally passed out as he wished.
Opal's belief did not help him this time, as if the power of belief would spontaneously expel the intruders of consciousness only when the spirit would be permanently damaged.
But Opal survived to the end, and when he took off his helmet, he almost had the illusion that he had died once.
The instructor said, "How does it taste?"
"Poppy! Magic blue fluorite! The mother's milk! Yuanxing radio!" The instructor said solemnly: "These things can make you dependent and call them drugs! If you lose them after long-term use, drug addiction will become Like what you just came across."
"How many mercenaries are trying to paralyze themselves." The instructor said coldly: "Using these illegal drugs, in the end, they lost all fighting ability and became worm-like waste rolling on the ground. I believe that after this time, you will not Will be interested in interstellar drugs again."
Opal waved his hand with difficulty, staggered to his feet, wiped away his tears and snot, and nodded.
"I wish you all a long life." The instructor said casually, "Twenty-four hours of rest, and continue in the next class."
The third session was a full cosmic day away from the second session. It was still a mental stimulation training, but this time it was replaced by a fear effect.
The helmet stimulates a surge of adrenal hormone secretion, which stimulates everyone to generate fear, trembling, and loss of control. When it finally reaches a certain level, it will enter the hallucination state before destruction. This time Opal was almost completely unaffected by fear. His belief was like an iron wall, and he was not afraid at all.
Three sessions ended, followed by three more cycles, only this time the instructor adjusted the stimulation intensity of the helmet, turned it on according to each person's acceptance limit, and let them do simple actions - including answering questions, puzzles, walking around, and being in a closed environment. Find an exit.
It wasn't until another week later, when the trainees were tortured to the point of exhaustion, that the final assessment came - the three kinds of reactions were cross-stimulated, and when they came together, Opal almost went crazy, and he had to deal with these three kinds of alternating attacks or attacks. It was an intense thrill that came at the same time, wearing helmets, escaping the labyrinth in the training ground in groups of two, and fighting endlessly with the battle robots with weapons.
He and his roommate and tablemate Mu Shu were divided into a group. They were on the verge of despair several times, and finally carried Mu Shu and stumbled out of the maze. The moment I took off the helmet, it was like being reborn and reborn.
The instructor said: "Teamwork is also very important. Most of you don't know how to cooperate, but this is no longer my responsibility. After joining the mercenary group in the future, I believe someone will teach you."
Thank goodness, the assessment was finally over, and when Opal returned to the dormitory that day and lay down like a dead dog, he didn't want to move.
"Opal." Mu Shu said.
"What?" Opal replied weakly.
"I drag you down." Mu Shu said, "I'm sorry, I don't think I'm suitable to be a mercenary."
Opal said: "Don't say that, we all passed the exam, and the instructor said that there will be no such hard tests in the next time."
Mu Shu said, "No, I plan to go back."
Opal sat up abruptly and said, "My friend, think clearly, do you really want to leave?"
Mu Shu took a deep breath and said, "I don't want to die..."
Opal said: "No, Mu Shu, you won't die, listen to me..."
Mu Shu said: "No, my friend, listen to me. I can't die. I think if I become a mercenary, I will definitely die. I'm not ready to fight. I won't live long. I still have brothers to support. I'm not that material, you know? I'm not like you, you have your own pursuits, you know exactly what you want to do, but I can't do it..."
Opal said: "You can too, you can do it!"
Mu Shu said: "I can't do it! I'm just doing it for money! I heard that there is money to be made here as a mercenary. As for you, you are not short of money, but you have pursuits. You really want to fight, but I don't want to. … I had to, and now I think, the industry is too dangerous…”
Opal couldn't say a word for a while, and Mu Shu said, "I have to go and go back to the female star. Opal, this is for you. I'm glad to have met you as a friend in a short time."
Mu Shu handed him something like a nut shell and said, "This is the fruit of Nuluo's mother. When you want to take a vacation, bring it to Nuluo Star to find me, and I will treat you to something delicious. Take you to play, the female dill tree will not attack the person who holds this fruit."
Opal said: "Wait, Mu Shu. I'll take you on a long-distance boat."
Mu Shu nodded tiredly, and Opal accompanied him to the academy to report to the sales office. The person in charge didn't say anything, only told him: "I wish you happiness, sir."
Mu Shu carried his simple luggage and arrived at the space tarmac. Opal said, "Wait for me here."
He turned around and took out all the ore from the spaceship and took it to IRC to cash out, a total of 180,000 credits. Opal transferred 20,000 points, made a temporary card, and gave it to Mu Shu.
Mu Shu was stunned, and Opal said, "Take it and try to do a small business."
Mu Shu said: "Too many! I can't take it!"
Opal smiled and said, "It costs 3,000 points to wipe a spaceship now, not much."
Mu Shu said: "A voyage ticket is only 300 points..."
Opal said: "Take it, I lent it to you, here. You said that the radish in your hometown tastes good. If it can be cultivated smoothly, I will try it when I go to your home for vacation in the future. , After the farm opens, if you make money, don't forget to return the 20,000 yuan to me, what is that word called - investment? Yes, this is my investment in you."
Mu Shu was silent for a long time, then nodded and said, "Thank you, friend, I welcome you whenever you come."
Opal patted Mu Shu's shoulder and said with a smile, "Friend, I wish you success, don't let my investment go to waste."
Mu Shu and Opal hugged tightly and got on the voyage ship. Opal watched the interstellar voyage ship leave and turned back to continue his training.