Chapter 94
Chapter 94: Don’t Cozy Up—It’s Your Throat I’m Cutting
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t hesitate for even a heartbeat.
She drew on her magic power and blinked with shrink the earth to an inch, appearing behind Cheng Lin Yue in the same instant.
Her dry branch whipped down and struck the forked tongue.
The tongue snapped in half.
A roar thundered from beneath the sand as the aberrant beast writhed. The sinkhole widened, sand collapsing in a violent rush.
But even without the tongue wrapped around her, Cheng Lin Yue was still falling—nothing to grab, nothing to brace against.
Jiang Tea Tea’s eyes flicked down.
In the collapsing sand below, several enormous lizards, camouflaged the same color as the dunes, waited with gaping mouths, ready to swallow Cheng Lin Yue whole.
Cheng Lin Yue couldn’t defend herself mid-fall.
Jiang Tea Tea’s dry branch surged with life.
Dead wood blossomed in an instant—thin, tender green vines whipping outward.
Just as Cheng Lin Yue was about to drop into a lizard’s jaws, Jiang Tea Tea snapped a vine around Cheng Lin Yue’s waist, yanked hard, and flung her upward.
“Cheng Xiao Ting! Catch her!”
The wolf-form Cheng Xiao Ting answered with a howl and sprinted. He caught Cheng Lin Yue cleanly.
The lizards snapped at empty air, furious. They roared and began clawing their way up out of the sand.
Jiang Tea Tea was still dropping.
She landed one foot on a giant lizard’s head, using it like a stepping stone, and launched herself upward.
Sui Xuan Chu surged in, caught her mid-air, and roared.
He swept toward the ocean.
Below, Huang Da Zhuang, Cheng Xiao Ting, Yan Yu, and the others answered with beast cries, running across the sand to keep up.
The aberrant lizards finally climbed out of the pit, swinging thick tails. They ignored everyone else.
They only chased Huang Da Zhuang and the others.
The instructors watching overhead lit up with admiration.
That squad had reacted fast enough to snatch a teammate out of the mouth of a multi-ton desert lizard. And they hadn’t abandoned anyone.
Other cadets stared, stunned and angry.
They’d been standing right there too—close enough to be eaten.
And the lizards hadn’t even looked at them.
The lizards had crawled out and chased only Jiang Tea Tea’s squad, like the others weren’t even worth biting.
Someone finally snapped out of it and shouted, “What are you standing around for? Chase them! Eight people! Ninety thousand points!”
That was all it took.
“Yeah! Kill them and you get points!”
“Kill the lizards and you get points too!”
“Go! Turn into beast form, chase them, then shift back to hunt! With the lizards in play, they’ll be distracted!”
Besides the pure humans who couldn’t transform, nearly everyone shifted into beast form—some carrying their pure human teammates on their backs.
A wave of roars rose into the sky as they chased.
The instructor teams followed too, flying overhead and driving sand vehicles behind, shouting and whooping like they were watching a game.
Sometimes they even made it worse—splashing filthy water or tossing ice into the runners, making sure the cadets felt the instructor team’s malice as they fled.
Far away on capital planet, inside the Military Department, Chong Ming sat in a meeting.
Across from him stood Atuya, a general from the insect clan’s top ten—Agris’s fiancée.
She’d been talking nonstop, bargaining and offering concessions, trying to get Agris returned to the insect clan.
Chong Ming sat in the main seat, eyes on a lightbrain screen.
It showed footage of Jiang Tea Tea’s squad escaping the desert lizards.
He even paused the footage and zoomed in on a screenshot—Jiang Tea Tea’s dead branch blooming into living green vines, flexible and strong.
Atuya pressed on. “Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming, Agris is the insect race’s eldest prince and deeply trusted by Her Majesty the Queen. If you release His Highness, we will deliver the ore we promised.”
“We will also provide rare energy stones and raw materials for rare medicinal agents. What do you say?”
Chong Ming closed the lightbrain and stood. “General Atuya, I understand you want to take your fiancée back.”
His tone cooled. “But you should understand something as well.”
“Your fiancée broke our peace and ceasefire treaty first. He planted insect clan members inside our military academy. He ordered attempts to kidnap and assassinate our crown prince.”
“He came to my eighth star system in a warship with armed personnel, fully loaded weapons, and magazines stuffed with bullets.”
Chong Ming’s gaze was calm and merciless. “He likes our country so much. I invited him here. He hasn’t even been here three months. He hasn’t had time to properly tour our scenery.”
“I don’t think we need to rush to send him home.”
Atuya’s face tightened. In human form, she wasn’t a delicate beauty. She was sharp and imposing—clean lines, strong presence, a soldier’s aura.
But in front of Chong Ming, she was still the one bargaining from below.
She forced herself to keep her tone respectful. “Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming, if you are dissatisfied with our concessions or have more demands, you may state them. I will communicate with Her Majesty and do our best to satisfy you.”
Chong Ming walked toward the meeting room doors. “I have other matters to handle. That will be all for today.”
He didn’t even look back. “Secretary Wen. Escort General Atuya to the hotel. Do not neglect her.”
Secretary Wen answered crisply, “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
Atuya stepped forward, instinctively trying to chase the conversation. “Commander-in-Chief—”
Secretary Wen moved smoothly to block her path and cut her off politely. “General Atuya, please come with me.”
Atuya had no choice but to watch Chong Ming leave until his back vanished from sight.
Then she exhaled, turned to Secretary Wen, and said, “Thank you for your trouble.”
“It’s no trouble.” Secretary Wen wore a perfect professional smile. “This way, please.”
As Atuya left, she was already thinking about what else she could ask the Queen for, what else she could offer to bargain for Agris’s return.
And she couldn’t stop worrying.
Was Agris being tortured by Chong Ming—a ruthless man known for doing exactly what he pleased?
Chong Ming returned to his office and opened his lightbrain projection again, replaying footage of Jiang Tea Tea’s squad from the moment they’d stepped off the ship into the desert.
On the screen, Jiang Tea Tea stood on Sui Xuan Chu’s dragon back, hair and uniform snapping in the wind as they cut through the clouds.
From that height, the world really did feel like mountains under your feet and everyone else like ants.
Even Jiang Tea Tea couldn’t stop herself from thinking—standing on a ten-meter dragon already felt this dominating.
What would it feel like standing on Chong Ming’s true body, a dragon two or three hundred meters long?
Wouldn’t that be… insane?
The sun climbed.
The chill faded. Heat returned.
By nine or ten, the sun was a furnace and the sand burned like live coals.
Huang Da Zhuang and the others slowed, their bodies finally reaching their limits.
Even with Cheng Lin Yue constantly pouring water on them and forcing them to drink, the heat didn’t ease.
The aberrant lizards had long fallen behind and couldn’t catch up.
The cadets who’d tried to chase them had vanished as well.
Only the instructor teams remained—flying overhead and driving alongside them, still shouting and laughing.
“Almost there!” Jiang Tea Tea shouted down. “Zhang Ting Zhou says if we hold out another half hour, we’ll reach the sea!”
The four exhausted males below heard it and somehow found more strength. Tongues hanging out, mouths open, they ran harder.
Jiang Tea Tea stared up at the instructors and wanted nothing more than to whip them out of the sky and steal their flyers and sand vehicles.
But the rules forbade it.
All she could do was itch with frustration.
Half an hour later, the salty, fishy scent of the ocean hit them like a slap.
Huang Da Zhuang and the others, nearly collapsing, clenched their teeth and sprinted toward the coast, enduring the sun’s blaze and the sand’s scalding bite.
The ocean spread out, endless, waves pounding in a violent line.
Along the shoreline grew coconut palms and sea pineapple trees—thick trunks, heavy fruit.
The shade was wide. The sea breeze was cool.
Huang Da Zhuang and the others collapsed under the trees, sprawled on the ground, panting like their lungs were on fire.
Jiang Tea Tea jumped off Sui Xuan Chu’s back and climbed a coconut palm at once, snapping fruit free and tossing coconuts down.
Sui Xuan Chu and Zhang Ting Zhou dove straight into the ocean.
A dragon and an octopus entered the sea like stepping onto flat land.
Jiang Tea Tea hopped from tree to tree, harvesting dozens of coconuts before dropping back down.
With no knife, she punched a coconut hard enough to crack it. Then she wedged her branch into the split, pried, and tore it open with her hands.
Coconut water spilled, still plenty left.
Huang Da Zhuang and the others shifted back to human form, faces red and sweat-soaked.
Cheng Lin Yue washed their faces and hands with her water ability, steadying their breathing.
Only then did they take the coconuts and drink, then scrape out the meat to eat.
Jiang Tea Tea drank and ate too.
She even tossed a few coconuts to the instructor teams trailing them.
When they finished, Sui Xuan Chu and Zhang Ting Zhou emerged from the sea with an absurd haul.
One carried tuna and croaker.
The other carried sea grapes, sea urchins, abalone, and lobster.
The eight of them sprang into motion.
They tore down coconut leaves, rinsed them with water, and layered them on the sand as makeshift plates.
Cheng Lin Yue washed the seafood clean.
Then they sat and ate breakfast that blurred into lunch.
Fresh seafood could be eaten raw.
Anyone who didn’t like raw food had Sui Xuan Chu summon a tiny bolt of lightning to scorch it.
Fish and shrimp cooked by lightning were crisp outside and tender within. The smell alone was maddening.
The instructors following them finally understood why the Legion Commanders had been so eager to recruit Jiang Tea Tea and her squad.
Just watching them eat, watching their attitude, you could already imagine how loud and lively they’d be in a legion.
After eating for half an hour, Jiang Tea Tea’s squad lay under the coconut palms, letting the sea breeze cool their skin.
They completely forgot about cutting cadets’ throats.
They slept for more than an hour.
When footsteps finally approached, the eight of them snapped awake and rose, soft red blades in hand.
They were ready to cut down whoever came.
But when the approaching group drew near, Jiang Tea Tea recognized them.
Lu Ling Er.
And her ten-person team.
Huang Da Zhuang slid up beside Jiang Tea Tea, whispering, “Sister Tea, it’s Lu Ling Er and Lin Feng Feng. Do we cut their throats?”
Jiang Tea Tea stared at him like he’d asked whether water was wet. “Why wouldn’t we cut their throats? Aren’t they points?”
Huang Da Zhuang chuckled awkwardly. “I thought you were friends. I thought you might go soft.”
Jiang Tea Tea lifted her soft red blade and gave it a lazy swing. “Soft? Who, me? Don’t be ridiculous. In field training, there are no friends.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded hard. “Exactly. Sister Tea’s right. In field training, there are no friends. Only teammates and enemies.”
He surged forward.
“Jiang Tea Tea!” Lu Ling Er cried. “It’s really you! I’m Lu Ling Er!”
Lin Feng Feng’s voice rose too. “Jiang Tea Tea, we’ve been following you! We kept calling for you! We wanted to team up with you and unite, but you ignored—”
Her words cut off.
Yan Yu blinked behind her, soft red blade flashing.
Lin Feng Feng’s throat opened.
She froze, eyes wide with disbelief, then stared at Jiang Tea Tea and screamed through blood and horror, “Jiang Tea Tea! We wanted to unite with you to fight others! How can you let your squad cut our throats?!”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t even swing her blade yet. She answered loudly, cold and clear. “I only team with my own teammates. No one else.”
“You came here,” she continued, voice sharpening. “So you’re delivering points.”
“As your enemies, how could we not harvest you?”
Lin Feng Feng sobbed, furious and trembling. “You—”
A tiger roar split the air.
A white tiger beastfolk, Lin Feng Feng’s squadmate, charged toward them in beast form, panting hard. He’d clearly been hunted and beaten already.
He saw the situation, realized he couldn’t win, and tried to flee in beast form.
Cheng Xiao Ting, still in wolf form, moved like lightning. He blocked the tiger’s path and dragged his soft red blade through the tiger’s mane toward the throat.
The rule said you couldn’t attack in beast form.
It didn’t say you couldn’t kill someone who was in beast form.
The white tiger beastfolk twisted away, desperate. Realizing he couldn’t escape, he shifted back into human form and tried to fight.
But Cheng Xiao Ting, rested and fed and hydrated, was far more vicious than someone who’d been chased through a desert and drained to near collapse.
The white tiger fought for a few minutes.
Then his defense broke.
Before ten minutes had passed, Cheng Xiao Ting cut his throat.
Lu Ling Er’s throat was slit by Huang Da Zhuang.
She burst into loud sobbing even as she fell, her voice shaking with grievance. “Jiang Tea Tea! Huang Da Zhuang! We’re classmates! We should look out for each other! We should unite and kill other people! How can you kill me?!”
She cried harder, humiliation twisting her face. “I even told my teammates you and I are good friends! I told them you’d definitely join us and we could farm so many points!”
“I never imagined you’d treat me like this! You’re so bad! I’m not going to be friends with you anymore!”
Jiang Tea Tea listened, baffled.
How was Lu Ling Er even greener-tea than her?
She clicked her tongue, squatted in front of Lu Ling Er, and stabbed her throat a second time just to shut her up.
“Little Lu Er,” Jiang Tea Tea said coldly, “you’re already dead. Stop babbling and hurting my ears. Dead people should learn to shut up.”
Lu Ling Er’s sobbing cut off.
She stared up with wet, furious eyes. “You… you… I’m never going to be friends with you again.”
Jiang Tea Tea patted her head gently, like she was soothing a child.
Her voice was sweet enough to be poisonous. “Fine. Don’t be friends with me. Keep crying.”
“I’ll cut all your teammates’ throats and send them to keep you company.”