Chapter 37
Chapter 37: Jumping Into a Three-Headed Giant Python’s Mouth-Is Everyone Trying to Die?
Cheng Xiao Ting and the other males bristled immediately.
“Hey, Sui-don’t think just because you’re our temporary squad leader you can trash my male idol in front of me.”
“Our idol rules the M31 star system. Who are you to say that?”
“My male idol can’t find a female?” someone scoffed. “In the M31 star system, females of every race want to marry him. He just doesn’t care about personal matters-he’s devoted to the empire and its citizens!”
Yan Yu lifted a hand smoothly, tail flicking. “Correction. It’s not just females. Even me-a fox halfbeastfolk male-would marry him.”
Zhang Ting Zhou chimed in lazily, “Same. I’m octopus clan and I’d still marry him. Have you seen his golden dragon horns? Sexy.”
Huang Da Zhuang, still flushed from exertion, raised a hand timidly. “His horns are sexy… and his gold hair is nice too. I’d marry him.”
Sui Xuan Chu stared at them like they’d all lost their minds. “My dear teammates,” he said flatly, “I think you’re starving.”
Jiang Tea Tea nodded. “Starving badly. You’ve reached the stage of eating anything.”
Cheng Lin Yue, small and earnest, added softly, “I’ve heard a shady medical theory… when a male likes a male who can beat him and has totally mismatched status, it’s usually because he needs a beating.”
She looked at Jiang Tea Tea with wide eyes. “Sister Tea, for the sake of their mental health… you should beat them up sometime. Then they won’t talk like this about wanting to marry my male idol.”
Jiang Tea Tea stared. “…What?”
So even the little bunny was thinking about that Big Golden Dragon?
Out of the eight of them, only she and Sui Xuan Chu thought the Big Golden Dragon was awful. The others were devoted fans.
The moment the topic of getting beaten came up, Cheng Xiao Ting and Yan Yu changed expressions instantly.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Cheng Xiao Ting said quickly. “We don’t need a beating. We’re just expressing admiration.”
“Seriously,” Yan Yu said with sincerity that offended everyone, “I’m jealous that Sister Tea got kicked.”
“Same,” someone agreed. “Being kicked means you can admire male idol’s face up close.”
“With that face,” Zhang Ting Zhou sighed dreamily, “if he ever has a cub… I can’t even imagine how pretty it’ll be.”
Jiang Tea Tea finally recovered from the collective insanity. Her stomach didn’t hurt anymore; she felt fine again.
“If you want to admire him so badly,” she said, “work harder. Win the championship. Let him present you the awards.”
The others-except Sui Xuan Chu-clenched their fists at once, fired up.
“That’s exactly what we’re thinking!”
“Our squad has to win!”
“Team points plus ten already. One hundred points? One thousand? Not far. The championship is basically in our hands!”
—
In the invisible command ship, Chong Ming cut the shared speech channel and turned to Adjutant Ai.
“Adjutant Ai,” he asked calmly, “if I kick you once in training, how long would it hurt?”
Adjutant Ai stiffened, lightbrain in hand. He had never expected that question in his life.
He chose his words carefully. “Reporting, Your Highness. If you kick me once and I don’t enter a medical pod… at least half a month to a month.”
“If I enter a medical pod, the pain disappears within half an hour. If it’s more than one kick, then one to two hours.”
He hesitated, then added, “The longest I’ve seen someone stay in a medical pod after your training was two days and three nights.”
Chong Ming nodded as if receiving ordinary data. “Then they’re still too weak. Increase training intensity. More extreme conditioning. Stronger bodies. Better endurance. More resistant to hits.”
Adjutant Ai: “…”
—
Back on the field, students kept stumbling in, heads bursting into paint, uniforms so smeared you could barely tell the original color.
Jiang Tea Tea’s squad stayed clean-no paint on their heads, no paint on their clothes. The contrast made them a beacon for envy and hate.
But the true center of attention wasn’t them.
It was the captured instructor: wrists and ankles bound, mouth taped, forced to stand at the instructor stand like a trophy.
Ye Ying clearly wanted the humiliation to sink into bone. He didn’t let anyone untie the instructor. He let thousands of cadets stare.
A 3S-rank veteran-someone who usually scored A+ in simulations and field drills-had been beaten down by eight first-years and hauled here like cargo.
The field could hold nearly a hundred thousand cadets.
Only thirty-five arrived within the thirty-minute limit.
Everyone else got herded by instructors, beaten while running, and arrived at forty minutes, fifty minutes-stumbling in like survivors crawling out of an ambush.
The moment the latecomers arrived, Ye Ying’s loud, aggravating voice rang across the brightly lit field.
“My dear classmates, darlings-your speed doesn’t even reach thirty kilometers per hour.”
“With speed like that, beastfolk, halfbeastfolk… I can go outside and pick a low-grade aberrant beast at random that runs faster than you high-level primates.”
“First-years and second-years get a pass. You’ve only had one or two field trainings.”
“But third- and fourth-year seniors-how do you have the nerve?”
“You’ve done over ten field trainings. Some of you even attended special training with external forces. And this is what you show me after one sudden strike?”
His voice dipped into mock pity. “You really are the empire’s precious little babies.”
Most of the cadets who arrived late wanted to dig a hole and vanish.
Ye Ying sighed dramatically, like he was comforting himself. “It’s fine. Failing one strike benchmark only costs fifty credits. Small matter. Later, we’ll deduct another fifty, and then you’ll be eliminated from the championship.”
He paused, then smiled with teeth.
“As your chief instructor, Ye Ying, I’m here to eliminate you.”
Huang Da Zhuang tugged Jiang Tea Tea’s sleeve, eyes shining. “Sister Tea, our chief instructor is First Legion commander Ye Ying.”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked. “He’s a big deal?”
Huang Da Zhuang nodded hard. “He’s an avian beastfolk male. He has huge wings and specializes in aerial combat and ambush strikes.”
“He can stay in human form and extend his wings, then fight aircraft head-on.”
“Impressive,” Jiang Tea Tea said.
Sui Xuan Chu cut in coolly. “He’s even more impressive at training rookies. More ruthless. Stay sharp.”
Jiang Tea Tea turned to him. “Compared to your idol, Chong Ming-who’s harsher?”
Sui Xuan Chu sighed long and dramatic. “Roommate. That’s a stupid question.”
He jerked his chin toward the sky like he was pointing at a mountain.
“Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming has trained the top leaders and deputies across the Top Thirty Elite Legions and every planetary military district. First-in-command, second-in-command, third-in-command… even fifth and sixth. Not a single one can beat him.”
“He’s the commander-in-chief-the head of the Zhen Lin Empire Military Department. Every major military appointment in the past century has gone through his eyes and his signature.”
Huang Da Zhuang added eagerly, “Even imperial family and local government appointments go through him.”
Jiang Tea Tea made an impressed sound. “Then his big nephew, the Crown Prince, will never be able to surpass that mountain.”
Sui Xuan Chu’s mouth twitched. “…That’s annoyingly accurate.”
Ye Ying’s voice continued, still loud and cheerfully hateful.
“Dear classmates, darlings-this championship is elimination-based. Each student starts with one hundred credits. When your credits are deducted to zero, you’re eliminated. No revivals.”
“Everyone who failed to arrive within the time limit-minus fifty credits. You have fifty credits left.”
“But don’t worry. As long as you don’t hit zero, there’s hope. For example, capture an instructor like the ‘Wipe Out the Other Twenty-Nine Military Academies’ squad.”
“Team points plus ten. Personal points plus ten.”
“The more instructors you take down, the more points you gain. The less likely you are to be eliminated. The closer you get to the championship.”
He laughed softly. “Now, board the ship.”
A massive ship drifted overhead. Three bay doors opened. Three gangways dropped.
Jiang Tea Tea’s squad had the highest points and boarded first.
Behind them, instructors fired paint rounds to herd the rest like livestock.
Seventy thousand cadets filed up three gangways. It took thirty-five minutes. Then the ship sealed, rose, punched through the atmosphere, and left the capital planet.
Behind their ship, Chong Ming’s invisible super ship followed, monitoring all twenty-nine other cadet ships.
Inside the ship, the cadet cabin had no seats-only cold metal flooring.
Sui Xuan Chu looked at the others. “Teammates, we don’t know where we’ll stop. Rest now. Save your strength.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t argue. She slapped Huang Da Zhuang’s shoulder. “Huang Big Dog. Transform. I’m leaning on you.”
Huang Da Zhuang shifted instantly into a big yellow dog, puppy eyes bright, tail twitching like he was waiting for praise.
Jiang Tea Tea leaned into his belly, draped his tail over her stomach, crossed her arms, and closed her eyes.
Yan Yu and Cheng Xiao Ting also transformed into beast form, letting others lean on them.
Other squads watched, then copied the idea-turning into beasts to support teammates so they could rest.
Five hours later, the cabin shielding retracted. Through the glass, sunlight poured in. The sky was blue, clouds drifting like white islands.
Ye Ying’s voice sounded again.
“Dear classmates, darlings-welcome to your first stop after leaving the capital planet: Primitive Tropical Planet.”
“Primitive Tropical Planet stays between twenty and thirty-five degrees year-round. Warm and humid, abundant rain. Massive biodiversity-known species are already as high as eight hundred ninety thousand, with countless unnamed ones still undiscovered.”
“Poisonous and nonpoisonous. Mutants dozens or hundreds of times larger than you. Venomous insects bigger than your head. They’re everywhere.”
“You will undergo thirty days of wilderness survival training here. Our instructor team will drive large aberrant beasts and mutant insects to attack you. We will also blast your heads with paint rounds.”
“We will confiscate your storage buttons. You will receive a survival supply pack. Inside is a forfeit beacon. If you can’t take it, smash the forfeit beacon on the ground. We will send a luxury flyer to pick you up. Minus ten points.”
“Hunt a level six and above aberrant beast or mutant insect: plus one point. Level ten and above: plus ten points.”
“Now, darlings-look down. Below your feet is your landing zone.”
The floor shielding beneath the cadets retracted. Under the transparent glass stretched a massive waterfall where several rivers converged.
Under the falls, countless three-headed giant pythons coiled and surged. Heads rose and fell in the mist like a nest of living nightmares.
A student started shaking so hard he could barely stand. “We’re over a thousand meters above the water. If you make us jump from here, you’re killing us!”
“Yes!” another yelled. “We’re first-year cadets! This is only our second field training! You’re making us jump into a three-headed giant python’s mouth-I refuse!”