Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

The boy charging towards Ruo Manni was incredibly fast. She had been slacking off a bit, only realizing he was already eight hundred meters away when he was just two seconds from reaching her, leaving her no chance to evade.

This boy had over five thousand points, making him the highest-scoring candidate Ruo Manni had encountered. In this assessment zone, aside from the initial encounter with another boy, she hadn’t come across any late-Level Four warriors.

As the boy rushed towards her, Ruo Manni’s expression turned to one of shock. She quickly used her agility techniques to retreat, but as he was almost beside her, swinging his staff, she instinctively shot out two leaves from her hands.

The leaves flew like lightning, and with the boy barely five meters away, the crisis unfolded in the blink of an eye. Ruo Manni had dealt with several mid-Level Four candidates before; one had tried to dodge from a distance but stubbornly chased her down, only to be taken out by her two leaves.

Up to this point, she had never missed a target within ten meters.

Ruo Manni thought this boy would be no exception, but she didn’t expect him to suddenly twist his body at a critical moment. Two green lights brushed past his arm, with the first one reducing his health by fifty-six points, while the slower one missed entirely.

As she shot the leaves, Ruo Manni retreated even faster than before. After the boy dodged her attack, she had already moved over three hundred meters away. Grabbing two leaves from a nearby tree, she stood ready, anticipating his next move.

Although she had retreated quickly enough to avoid a direct hit from the boy’s staff, she still got clipped by the end, losing twenty points of health, which showed just how high his attack power was.

Just as Ruo Manni heightened her guard for the boy’s assault, he suddenly stopped and, looking surprised, said, “Oh, it’s you! Why are you still here? Didn’t you apply to return to the Mecha Manufacturing division for the assessment?”

Hearing this, Ruo Manni recognized him as the first boy she had encountered when she was teleported. She checked his candidate number and hair color—it was indeed him.

Feeling a surge of frustration, she didn’t lower her guard, but was willing to vent a little: “I applied! I don’t know who the hell changed my application. Clearly, they didn’t want me to get into the First Military Academy, but they underestimated me.”

The boy seemed equally surprised. “It must have been changed back in middle school; once you apply to the First Academy, it shouldn’t be altered.”

“I’m not sure, but it’s not just about the points; it’s about pride. I won’t be eliminated,” Ruo Manni declared.

Ruo Manni had no doubt about the mentor’s goodwill, so she believed that her application being changed couldn’t have happened in middle school.

“You’re a psychic, right? Given that you haven’t participated in various combat training but have managed to hold on until now with so many points, your psychic level must be quite high to have such strong combat power,” the boy said, a tone of admiration in his voice.

“With your current points, as long as you score at least three thousand five hundred on the academic assessment, even if you get eliminated now, you should still be able to get into the First Military Academy.

However, you should try to hold on until the end. Those who aren’t eliminated by the time the map assessment ends will receive a bonus of one thousand points. This way, if you can win half of the matches in tomorrow’s ranking and the challenge matches the day after, you’ll definitely make it into the academy.”

“I’m not sure about my psychic level. Over the past year, I’ve focused entirely on studying mecha manufacturing and haven’t tested my psychic level in over a year,” Ruo Manni was sure she wouldn’t let her opponent know her true psychic level.

“It shouldn’t be lower than mid-level four,” the boy speculated. “Our strengths should be similar. If we go head-to-head, it would only lead to mutual destruction. Since we seem to have a good connection, you can choose whether we operate separately or cooperate.”

“Ah!” Ruo Manni struggled to keep up with his thinking.

“The further we go, the stronger the remaining contestants will become. Many of them might already be teaming up, and solo fighters will be at a disadvantage. With both of our points, if we continue to fight alone, we will definitely become primary targets for those teams.”

“Why don’t we team up? You’re a psychic and I’m a martial artist. If we cooperate, we wouldn’t even be afraid of two mid-level four contestants,” the boy suggested earnestly.

Ruo Manni hesitated a bit; she had no objection to forming a team. She wasn’t very clear about the rules of the mecha combat assessment. Since this boy seemed knowledgeable, it would be good to have someone to guide her.

The problem was, she wasn’t sure if she could trust him. Would he take advantage of their proximity to eliminate her? After all, her close combat skills were quite poor.

“With your high psychic level, once you become a mecha master, your combat power will surpass others of the same level. With your potential, it’s a waste to be a mecha maker; you should be in the combat department instead. It’s a mistake to be in the wrong path,” the boy continued, not pushing her for a decision but changing the topic.

“But I want to be a mecha maker,” Ruo Manni replied somewhat reluctantly.

After experiencing today’s intense battles, she felt the thrill of having the ability to dominate, but her goal was to become a senior mecha maker.

“You can study both!” the boy proposed. “As long as you can manage it, the military academy doesn’t oppose dual training in both fields.”

“Really?” Ruo Manni felt pleasantly surprised.

“As long as you can prove your capability, your application will be approved,” the boy assured confidently.

Ruo Manni estimated that this boy was quite familiar with the First Military Academy. Although she couldn’t clearly see his features, a person’s demeanor can’t be hidden. He seemed to be from a privileged background, likely a noble, which meant he was probably a contestant from the Capital Star.

After their conversation, Ruo Manni sensed the boy’s sincerity. Plus, she genuinely needed a combat partner to conserve her strength; having someone capable of close combat would allow her to avoid expending too much psychic energy on “scouting” the enemies.

“Okay, let’s team up,” Ruo Manni agreed.

After they coordinated and confirmed their combat strategy, the information for the assessment period updated.

“There are now over 27,000 candidates left in assessment zone five. According to past practices, when the number of candidates in a zone drops below ten thousand, the map is likely to change,” the boy said.

Hearing this, Ruo Manni understood that a map change would probably not favor a forest terrain again. She quickly gathered a bunch of leaves, filling her pockets, and even asked the boy to help her collect some. She also picked up a stick left by another candidate just to be safe.