Chapter 26, the content of the exercise, is about the Zerg...

As the superintendent of the United Military Academy, Alex rarely had a moment of leisure.

In addition to attending exchange programs with other schools, he also had to attend banquets hosted by the Crown Princess and several dukes from time to time.

He would occasionally keep in touch with outstanding students who had graduated from his university.

No matter how powerful the United Military Academy is, it is still part of the Empire, an indispensable part of the Empire's complex relationships.

Maintaining relationships with the powerful and influential, as well as with friends, requires considerable effort.

If the Joint Military Academy had remained stagnant, it would have been left behind by other schools long ago.

Having finally managed to stay at the school for a while, I also need to observe the situation of this year's freshmen and assess the promising talents within the school.

And there are also various school funds...

Thinking about this, Alex's face developed even more wrinkles.

He picked up the energizing plant extract beside him, grimaced, and took a sip.

Is he out of touch with the trends among young people?

How can so many people like something that tastes so awful?

Just then, the personal terminal on his wrist flashed.

He glanced at the person who had contacted him, his gray eyebrows twitching in confusion.

Before he could say anything after pressing the connect button, he heard excited shouts coming from the personal terminal:

"Principal, this is great news!"

"Someone wants to donate a building to the school!"

Alex rubbed his ears, which were still numb from the shock, and shook his head inwardly:

They get easily startled by the smallest things.

Young people really do need more experience.

Alex took a leisurely sip of the plant extract beside him:

It's just donating a building, isn't it?

The voice from the quantum computer continued.

"It's not donating star coins, it's donating treasures!!"

"A starstone bigger than a hand, a dark energy cluster that could only be formed after the explosions of more than a dozen medium-sized planets, and the core of a planet our school has been searching for for several years—"

"puff--"

Alex spat out the plant extract he was drinking.

"What did you say!!"

His voice suddenly rose, and all restraint was gone:

What are you waiting for?

"Hurry up and invite our distinguished guest in—"

As he said this, he shook his head to himself, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out, making him look radiant and more than ten years younger than before.

He suddenly stood up:

"Never mind, where is our honored guest?"

“I’ll go there myself.”

In the school's reception room.

Alex stopped abruptly when he saw Fedorock's back.

Even if it's just a silhouette, even if the person has completely concealed their presence.

However, Alex's dual S-level mental strength and long-standing combat instincts made him realize the danger in an instant, and cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Who exactly is this person?

What's the purpose of coming to the Joint Military Academy?!

Alarm bells were ringing in his mind; he was prepared for the intruder to be hostile and for the entire school to be on alert.

At that moment, a figure sitting at the conference table leisurely turned around.

It was only then that Alex suddenly realized there were other people in the conference room.

The figure that had chilled him to the bone was still standing there.

He stood respectfully behind a girl, his gaze fixed intently on her, not sparing even a fraction of attention from the principal.

The only person sitting in the meeting room was this pale and thin girl who looked like she hadn't received any training.

The girl's expression was calm yet indifferent, carrying an innate arrogance that didn't make her unpleasant.

She showed no intention of standing up in front of him, the principal.

She glanced at him and immediately pointed out his identity, getting straight to the point:

"Principal, let's discuss my enrollment."

Ai Ying sat at the conference table, leaning against the left side of the table, tapping the armrest slowly and deliberately.

Of course, she wasn't just doing this for fun.

She just wanted the principal to see the 'sincerity' laid out on the conference table.

First, seize the treasure.

After all, given her background, getting into the Joint Military Academy would indeed be a bit troublesome.

Sure enough, Alex soon noticed the boxes on the conference table filled with interstellar treasures.

He can't help but pay attention.

The moment he snapped out of his daze at Fedorok's retreating figure, he felt the intense energy permeating the air.

The source of the energy is right there on the conference table.

He swallowed nervously, trying to appear nonchalant, and averted his gaze from his beloved child.

Alex was, after all, the principal of the school.

After regaining his senses, he quickly figured out what had happened.

As long as it's not an enemy attack and doesn't pose a threat to the school, it's fine.

Although he remained wary, he managed a friendly smile.

"The Joint Military Academy welcomes all outstanding students."

Although Alex couldn't discern Ai Ying's true abilities, he knew how difficult it was to obtain these treasures.

Especially—

He glanced at Fedlock, who stood obediently behind Ai Ying, and his hand trembled again.

To command such a powerful person's submission, whether due to her family background or her own abilities, is enough for her to be admitted to the Joint Military Academy.

Thinking of this, he walked to the other side of the conference table, sat down, and smiled kindly at Ai Ying:

"May I ask how this student is addressed?"

Ai Ying first glanced at Fedorok behind her, signaling him not to scare people, before turning her head and saying lightly:

"Ai Ying".

The moment he heard her answer, Fiedlock behind her caught his breath, using all his instincts to control the surging energy around him:

This is... the king's name.

Alex and the teacher standing in the corner exchanged a glance, both seeing the wariness in each other's eyes towards Fedlock.

He no longer cared whether the name Ai Ying was real or fake, and directly made a conclusion:

“Then, Ai Ying, please send me your identity information. I will have the school teachers process your enrollment procedures right away.”

Upon hearing this, Ai Ying blinked nonchalantly:

"Identity information."

She sighed, a hint of half-hearted melancholy in her voice:

“I grew up on a wasteland. People on wastelands don’t have any identity information.”

"After leaving the wasteland, I heard that the United Military Academy is one of the best schools in the interstellar space."

"So I wanted to come and broaden my horizons."

Alex's smile froze for a moment.

He glanced at the treasure on the table, a treasure he'd barely seen in his entire life, and his eye twitched.

Even if it's all made up, shouldn't you at least put some effort into it?

If she really grew up on a wasteland, then he grew up in a Zerg nest!

During those few seconds of his silence, at Ai Ying's signal, another box of treasures was placed on the conference table using Fiedlock's energy.

Alex said with a serious expression:

"I feel deep sympathy for Ai Ying's experience."

"The Joint Military Academy needs individuals like you who are self-reliant and persevering!"

Although he knew about the ancient Earth's tradition of not bowing down for five pecks of rice, he held himself to that standard.

But... but that's five hundred bushels of rice!

Isn't it just that some noble from some unknown race wants to conceal their identity and travel to the human empire?

He's experienced!

"The Joint Military Academy could provide identity information for students from the abandoned planet."

He glanced at the teacher standing to one side and said sternly:

"After we've processed Ai Ying's identity information, we'll proceed with the enrollment procedures, understand?"

"Yes, Principal."

Hearing their conversation, Ai Ying, still reeling from the shock of the baby, pressed her advantage and said:

"First grade sounds too low a level."

"I'm going straight to the second year, and I'll tentatively choose mental strength and combat as my majors."

She looked it up yesterday; the joint military academy teaches everything in the first year, and only in the second year do students choose their subjects based on their strengths.

Many of the first-year courses were not very useful to her.

She must learn what she wants to learn as quickly as possible within the limited time available.

She had just observed that the 'defective products' that Fedlock had brought out seemed to really appeal to the principal.

So naturally, she would want to maximize the value of these things.

She also needs to work hard to be thrifty and manage the household well.

Alex had no objection or confusion regarding her request.

Having lived so long and experienced so much, these demands were nothing to him.

Moreover, he couldn't fathom just how powerful the being behind Ai Ying truly was.

They brought so many treasures as a stepping stone, probably hoping for a peaceful enrollment.

That was enough for him and for the Joint Military Academy.

Thinking of this, Alex sat up straight, smiling kindly and warmly:

"Does Ai Ying want to enroll directly, or do she need to undergo a physical examination first?"

Ai Ying knew that as the principal of the joint military academy, his true personality couldn't possibly be as friendly as he was now.

But it's okay.

It doesn't matter what his personality is or how wary he is of them.

She came here only to study and would not harm the school's interests; she even brought two boxes of treasures with her.

She thought no one could refuse such a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Ai Ying raised the corners of her lips, her eyes carrying a hint of politeness:

"I have heard that your school requires all students to undergo a physical examination before enrollment."

"Then I'll also have my mental strength tested."

Her current physical condition must not be known to any person or insect.

However, she had already used her mental power on the Zerg several times, so a check should show there were no problems.

Moreover, she was also very curious about her mental strength level.

As soon as Ai Ying finished speaking, the teacher standing there greeted her with a smile.

He held a simple mental energy detector in his hand and placed it on the conference table at the principal's instruction.

Alex's thoughtful advice:

"It's too much trouble for Ai Ying to make a special trip to the mental strength testing room."

"We'll use this instrument to do a simple test."

His gaze was direct, and his voice sounded genuinely sincere:

"Anyway, we can all see how excellent Ai Ying is, so we don't care about these rigid dogmas."

"We'll just go through the motions."

He gave a brief introduction on how to use the instrument.

Simply place your hand on it and input your mental energy.

Although the instrument is simple and easy to operate, its accuracy rate is as high as 99%.

Ai Ying glanced at the instrument on the table that tested mental strength, carefully concealing the curiosity in her eyes.

Amidst the expectant gazes of everyone, even those who tried to appear calm, she placed her hand on it.

The teacher behind him looked nervous.

Such a generous gesture and such a powerful retinue suggest that Ai Ying must be from a top noble family of some race.

Will her mental strength level be S, SS, or the legendary SSS?

The moment Ai Ying inputted her mental energy, the instrument shone brightly.

Mental strength increases rapidly starting from E.

Amidst everyone's expectant gaze, it stopped at C+.

Ai Ying wasn't too surprised:

When the original owner was a child, he didn't even know what spiritual power was, and he was hungry every day and had never eaten anything.

Given the lack of nutrition and the absence of a teacher, she was already quite satisfied with a grade of C.

After all, this body has suffered for almost twenty years, only to have been properly nourished for twenty days.

Fiedlock never paid any attention to the instrument, let alone its results.

His dark purple eyes, like the most beautiful amethysts, only shine for those he cares about.

Alex also had a completely normal, calm expression, as if nothing was wrong.

The teacher standing to the side, however, hadn't quite mastered his kung fu yet; his eyes widened in disbelief.

Only C+?

A C+ grade that doesn't even meet the minimum requirements for admission to the Joint Military Academy?

How is that possible?

Is there something wrong with the device he took out of the folded space?

Undeterred, the teacher took two steps forward, picked up the instrument, and tried it out herself.

The S+ light was exceptionally dazzling.

It's not...it's not broken.

Ai Ying looked away from the dazzling light and instead gazed at the two boxes of treasures on the table:

It's so bright...

It's much brighter than these treasures.

Alex noticed where Ai Ying's gaze was directed and gave the teacher, who was standing there dumbfounded, a look of exasperation:

You've really caught my eye, haven't you!

So you think you're the only one with mental power!

You think your mental strength is S+?!

You've been in school for so long, and you haven't learned to be observant, but surely you can learn to pretend you don't see anything!

Alex turned his head, his expression once again nonchalant:

"Ai Ying's potential for developing her mental strength is... very high!"

“Great, the school is lacking students with this kind of potential.”

"Mr. Krich, quickly take Ai Ying to complete the enrollment procedures." He made the decision. "She should be in the best second-year class!"

Once he was alone in the conference room, Alex's friendly expression faded, replaced by a wary and serious look in his eyes.

He used the school's intranet to notify key areas of the school to be under martial law, and then contacted acquaintances to inquire about the current situation of nobles among other races.

After finishing everything, he looked at the two boxes of treasures on the table, his expression a mixture of joy and worry.

*

In the empty and quiet suspended corridor.

Alicia looked at Alberta, who was hurrying away, and said with a puzzled expression:

"The mental strength training class is about to begin."

Where are you going?

Alberta stopped and tapped the personal terminal on her wrist, her voice filled with helplessness:

"The teacher just said that a transfer student is coming to our class and asked me to greet them."

"A transfer student?" Alicia's expression grew increasingly puzzled. "They're already in their second year, are there still temporary transfer students?"

Moreover, their class is the best in the entire second grade, and all the students are very talented.

It's extremely difficult to transfer into their class.

Alberta, upon hearing her question, calmly echoed:

"Yes, I'm curious too."

He was dressed neatly and had the leisure to chat with his classmates, seemingly not in a hurry to complete the task assigned by the teacher.

He kindly reminded him:

"Although I don't know the student's identity, the teacher said that our whole class should be on high alert."

"Alicia, remember to control your temper when facing new students."

Alicia watched Alberta's unhurried figure continue walking forward, her brows furrowed.

In the past few days, after reporting what happened at the mall that day to her teacher, she has been spending her free time going to the mall with her teacher to search for the residual energy of the terrifying entity from that day.

But they found nothing.

The mall's automated surveillance system completely ignored the existence of those two people.

Because she had been so busy with this matter, she had no idea what had happened in the class these past few days.

A transfer student?

According to Alberta's description, he was a privileged transfer student.

He is yet another nobleman who needs to be treated with utmost care and respect.

Alicia's eyes were full of impatience.

She came from a poor family and entered the Joint Military Academy entirely through her talent and hard work.

Therefore, they have great disdain for those nobles who only rely on their status to put on airs and are of no use whatsoever.

Hopefully, this transfer student will be sensible and stay away from her.

She strode towards the mental power training room.

When she arrived at the classroom, there were twenty students in the class, but Alberta was the only one who hadn't arrived yet.

Laura nudged Alicia's shoulder and asked in a low voice:

"Isn't Alberta usually the most punctual? Why is she so late this time?"

Alicia snorted coldly and didn't say anything.

Laura looked at her expression, her curiosity growing. Before she could ask what had happened, the door to the training room was opened again.

Alberta led a strange girl into the training room.

Alberta glanced at the students in the class and, seeing everyone staring curiously at the person behind him, he smiled and introduced:

"This is our new classmate, Ai Ying."

"Everyone, please welcome them."

Upon hearing Alberta's words, all the students wore strange expressions.

newborn?

Shouldn't freshmen go straight to the first year? Why are they here?

Many people already have the answer in their hearts:

I guess it's that noble lady again, coming to experience the life of a military academy student.

And they even picked the best class.

Given the intensity of their training, I estimate she'll leave in a few days.

Laura looked at Ai Ying not far away.

She had never encountered a student like this at the military academy.

Pale and beautiful, she appeared rather thin, yet her jet-black eyes held a domineering power.

The seemingly incompatible concepts of weakness and strength are strangely intertwined in her.

But her body looked like it had never received any training.

Laura nudged the person next to her with her elbow:

"Today's training session focuses on escaping from the most dangerous Zerg pincers in interstellar space."

"Won't this freshman be scared away by attending this class right away?"

Alicia couldn't hear what Laura was saying at all; the moment she saw Ai Ying, her mind went completely blank.

It's her!

It was the girl who tamed that terrifying presence in the mall that day!

She actually came to the Joint Military Academy!!

What about that terrifying being? Did it come along too?

She stood there blankly, motionless for a long time.

Alberta glanced at Alicia, and seeing her reaction, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes:

Do nothing?

This doesn't seem like Alicia's personality.

It seems we can only find out about this transfer student's background by observing today's lessons.

The class reminder sounded.

Lucia, the teacher of the mental power training class, walked in dressed in military uniform.

She learned of Ai Ying's existence and her level of mental strength through the principal's notification.

She didn't even glance at her, much less change her lesson for today.

Coming to this class was Ai Ying's decision, and had nothing to do with her.

What she needs to do is treat everyone equally.

Lucia has a scar at the corner of her eye from a battlefield injury, but this only adds to her solemn air of someone who has endured many hardships.

Her scrutinizing gaze swept over each student:

"Today's mental training session will involve facing the most dangerous beings in the galaxy, the Zerg."

"Your mission is to escape from the Zerg. If possible, collect as many supplies as possible, as this will determine your final score."

"What you experience in the training session today could be what you experience on the battlefield tomorrow!"

"Do not slack off, and even more so, do not be negligent."

As she finished speaking, her gaze lingered on Ai Ying for a moment:

"If your mental strength can't hold up, don't force yourself, quit immediately."

"Do you understand?"

All the students looked excited and serious.

"clear!"

Only Ai Ying's face showed a subtle expression:

Today's lesson is... how to escape from the Zerg?

She looked thoughtfully at the two rows of tech helmets and screens displayed in the classroom:

Although she was unfamiliar with this type of training course.

But if it's just the Zerg...

This lesson is a solo exercise and does not involve team combat, so there is no option to match teammates.

Soon, Lucia had assigned everyone a place.

Before entering the simulated battlefield, Alicia frowned and glanced involuntarily in the direction of Ai Ying:

Who exactly is she?

Can she persevere through such a dangerous course?

Where is the being she tamed? Is it inside the Joint Military Academy?

Are the principal and teachers aware of the danger they are in?

If she can recognize the danger, then the teachers certainly can too.

Does the fact that this girl was able to come to this class mean that the teachers and other staff were already prepared?

Alicia's thoughts were in turmoil, but once she entered the battlefield, her expression instantly calmed down.

As a soldier, she would never be distracted on the battlefield.

As soon as she entered the battlefield, she felt the oppression brought by the Zerg.

She quickly concealed her presence and cautiously observed her surroundings.

A Zerg's deep brown vertical pupil swept across her location without any emotion. Alicia held her breath and tried her best to control her heartbeat.

She was just a hair's breadth away from being discovered by the Zerg!

She's already struggling against low-level insectoids; if she were to encounter high-level insectoids, she probably wouldn't be able to hide at all.

With just one glance, she knew that, with her abilities and without her mecha, she could at most fight a single Zerg creature to the death.

No wonder today's lesson was about escaping from the Zerg.

She carefully hid and dodged until she found three supplies.

However, when she went to get the third supply, she was discovered by a Zergling and was eventually killed.

After leaving the simulated battlefield, she checked her score:

76 points.

That's too low.

At this moment, Alberta, who was beside her, also left the simulated battlefield.

Alberta frowned as he looked at the score of 79.

It still doesn't work.

He was too presumptuous and underestimated the intelligence of the lower-level Zerg.

He and Alicia exchanged a glance; they were the last of all the students to come out.

But they didn't hear the teacher's comments, nor did they see any other students.

Just as Alberta was wondering, Alicia, who was beside him, turned her head and looked in one direction.

Alberta followed her gaze, his eyes widening noticeably.

Are there still people in the simulated battlefield?!

All the students in the class gathered around there.

Teacher Lucia looked in that direction with a solemn and admiring gaze.

He has always had a good memory; he can roughly remember the layout of a room and the positions of the people just by looking at it.

The owner of that spot is Ai Ying!

That transfer student has persevered until now in the simulated battlefield!

-----------------------

Author's Note: Mission objective: Escape from the Zerg.

Ai Ying: You... went home?

Mwah, all my darlings who use nutrient solution for irrigation

Today's red envelopes are given out in sequence!