Chapter 31

Chapter 31: A Weasel Paying New Year’s Respect to a Demon—You’re Obviously Up to No Good

“Waaah—no way! Our idol is personally commanding us in battle and reviewing our results! Am I dreaming?”

The classroom erupted in prairie-dog shrieks. Desks got slapped. Feet stomped. People looked ready to levitate.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Who are we, to have our idol command us and lead us into battle?”

“Waaah… my grades are trash. I’m so insecure I don’t even feel worthy of His Highness reviewing me!”

“After we graduate, can we put on our resume that in such-and-such year and month, Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming led us in battle and wiped out enemies—and we were soldiers under the commander-in-chief?”

“Mom! Dad! I made it! I’m a soldier under the commander-in-chief! The Beast God came to our house—my ancestors’ graves are practically smoking!”

Jiang Tea Tea stared at the chaos. The diversity of life, she thought. Truly.

The teacher lifted a hand. The noise cut off like someone flipped a switch. Necks craned. Eyes widened. Everyone stared at him.

He spoke again, voice rising, stirring blood. “Classmates, this joint training championship between the Top Thirty Elite Legions and thirty military academies—with Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming as overall commander—is unprecedented.”

“This isn’t just about individual honor. It’s about our academy’s honor. It’s about the honor of protecting the nation after you graduate.”

“So I hope every classmate forms a team suited to your abilities. Use the soothing skills you’ve learned these past six months. Fight for the top spot!”

The students shot their fists into the air, faces flushed with heat. “Take the top spot! Take the top spot! We’ll take the top spot and make our academy the most elite in the empire—and make ourselves the most elite cadets!”

The bright, reckless energy boiled over the room.

Even Jiang Tea Tea got swept up. For a moment she couldn’t tell whether it was the fake heiress’s leftover instincts or her own, but her arm lifted with everyone else’s, and she shouted too.

That afternoon, the students were fired up like never before. Hands shot up constantly. They asked questions, made connections, pushed the teacher to the edge of his patience.

Some of the male students even transformed into beast form on the spot as live teaching aids, using themselves as targets and examples.

When class ended, a swarm of people rushed out to hunt down seniors from other departments to team up.

“Sister Tea,” Huang Da Zhuang asked as she packed up, “have you decided who you’re teaming with?”

Jiang Tea Tea answered lazily, “Why would I think about that? I can be a one-person team.”

Huang Da Zhuang blurted, panicked, “Sister Tea, are you crazy? You’re a pure human female with no ability. For cadets, the training ground is a battlefield!”

“If you go alone, you’ll die the moment you get there. Credits, honor, everything—gone. How will you graduate? How will you enter a top legion and serve the country—and serve my idol?”

Jiang Tea Tea zipped her bag, stood, and looked at him. “If I don’t go solo… you want to team up with me?”

Huang Da Zhuang choked like a duck grabbed by the throat. He made a strangled noise, then puffed out his chest. “It’s not impossible. I don’t have an ability, but my beast form has advantages. My nose is good—no scent gets past me. I’ve got lots of legs. I run fast.”

Those ancient canine genes gave him sharp scent and speed. Compared to an ordinary abilityless male, he was far better.

“Fine,” Jiang Tea Tea said. “Then it’s us two. Let’s go eat.”

She turned and walked off like it was already decided.

Huang Da Zhuang hurried after her. “Just the two of us? You don’t have anyone else in mind?”

“No.”

“You sure?”

Jiang Tea Tea didn’t slow. “Do you have anyone in mind?”

Huang Da Zhuang scratched the back of his head, voice dropping. “Me neither. You know how it is… to beastfolk, halfbeastfolk, and humans with abilities, beastfolk, halfbeastfolk, and humans without abilities are a burden.”

“Even though we’re in the Pacification Department, even if our grades are good, they’ll still choose teammates with abilities.”

He hesitated, then admitted, “Besides you, I don’t have any friends.”

Jiang Tea Tea didn’t care. “Then no friends. Fewer people means easier coordination, smaller targets, and it’s more convenient to beat other people up.”

Huang Da Zhuang remembered her hands, her feet, her ruthlessness. Ability or not, she fought like a monster. She’d gone up against mutant tigers and mutant leopards without fear—and she’d even wanted to kick his idol.

Worst case? He could transform, carry her, and run for their lives until the end. Survival counted too.

It clicked for him. He climbed into the hovercar with her and grinned. “Sister Tea, you’re right. We’ll team up. You’re captain, I’m vice-captain. You lead, I support. Simple.”

Jiang Tea Tea stared at him. “…Do we really need a captain and vice-captain for a two-person team?”

They weren’t the only ones talking teams. The entire academy was buzzing about it.

People were so desperate to lock down strong teammates early that the cafeteria emptied out. Dishes sat untouched.

Jiang Tea Tea and Huang Da Zhuang, however, still showed up and ate like the apocalypse was scheduled. Halfway through, Jiang Yi Cheng sat down across from them with a tray.

Jiang Tea Tea treated him like air. She didn’t even pause her eating.

Jiang Yi Cheng finished his food, then just sat there watching her. Only after she wiped her mouth did he speak.

“Tea Tea… I’m sorry. I really didn’t know you couldn’t afford food. I didn’t know you didn’t even have money to eat.”

Jiang Tea Tea tossed her napkin onto the table. “Your mom and dad and your sister are all at the Police Bureau. You weren’t implicated, sure—but how can you still eat?”

The question hit like a needle. Jiang Yi Cheng’s face flashed with embarrassment, but he forced a righteous tone.

“As a citizen of Zhen Lin Empire and a student of the Royal Military Academy, obeying empire law is my duty.”

“Dad, Mom, and my sister committed crimes. They should be punished. I shouldn’t cling to luck and beg you to withdraw the charges, or beg you to ask His Highness Chong Ming not to pursue their crimes.”

He changed faces faster than flipping a page.

Jiang Tea Tea arched a brow. “So? What do you want from me? To rebuild the sibling bond?”

Jiang Yi Cheng nodded, then shook his head. “I want us to be close again like before… and I also want to team up with you. I’ll help you win the championship and help you become the most outstanding beastfolk, halfbeastfolk soothing therapist!”