"It must be someone from the Nobles, trained in Gunmanship from childhood. Did you see the video? That speed, even the Marksman who won first place in the Interstellar Legion Competition last year wasn't that accurate!"
"Yeah, yeah! I agree! The old folks say, 'Cultured in poverty, martial in wealth.' Isn't Gunmanship a path of martial arts? To develop that kind of gun sense, it takes more than twenty years of training and billions of bullets! Even a talented Marksman can't achieve that level of precision without extensive practice!"
"Tsk tsk, billions of bullets, do you know how much that costs? And don't forget, Thermal Weapons are controlled. Without connections, you can't get that many bullets and guns, no matter how much money you have."
"So, this person must be from the Nobles, no doubt! Even if they're a minor Noble, and not just any minor Noble, at least someone who can get in touch with the Zong Family!"
Xia Chujian listened without a change in expression, smiling as she quietly asked the most talkative Mao Yonggui, "Sister Mao, why does it have to be a minor Noble who can get in touch with the Zong Family?"
Mao Yonggui also whispered, "The Zong Family has Zong Military Industries in their hands. Half of our fleet's weapons are provided by Zong Military Industries..."
"Oh? Only half? What about the other half?" Xia Chujian asked curiously.
Mao Yonggui said with a smile, "There's also Royal Heavy Industries... Royal Heavy Industries makes all kinds of machinery, including weapons, which overlaps with Zong Military Industries' business. However, Royal Heavy Industries' technology is always a notch above Zong Military Industries."
Xia Chujian remembered that her Master Su Buyan made mecha at Royal Mecha.
It seemed that Royal Mecha was probably a department under Royal Heavy Industries.
She said thoughtfully, "...So Royal Heavy Industries makes more money..."
Chu Qingjuan said at this moment, "Does the Royal Family need to make money? They just want to master the technology."
Xia Chujian thought, mastering technology is important, but making money is also important...
She didn't believe that Royal Heavy Industries' main goal was to control technology.
Why? Where does technology come from?
As the Empire's highest institution, they certainly can't just seize it by force; they can only rely on their own research and development.
But research and development is the most expensive thing.
Su Buyan had casually mentioned these things when he came to her house last time and chatted with her.
Xia Chujian didn't understand the deeper meaning behind these words, but since they had passed through her ears, they remained in her mind. When the time was right, she would remember them, combine them with reality, and gain a better understanding.
She now understood why the descendants of large families had a higher proportion of geniuses than ordinary people, because they grew up in these environments, influenced by what they saw and heard. Their vision and knowledge were cultivated in this way.
Ordinary people, no matter how talented, couldn't access these upper-level channels. The best they could hope for was to rely on their talent to reach the middle level.
That was only the case when they had the right timing, location, and support.
She sighed softly in her heart, but her face was still full of smiles as she said, "That's true, with technology, you naturally have money, hahaha..."
Sang Yadi glanced at her and said cautiously, "Li... Little Xia, do-do-don't... always talk about mo-mo-money."
Xia Chujian turned her head in surprise, "Sister Sang, what do you mean?"
Sang Yadi had a lot to say, but now she was anxious, and her stuttering became even worse. She said anxiously, "Be-be-becau..."
She stuttered on the word "becau" for a long time, unable to say the "se" after it.
Xia Chujian wasn't in a hurry and waited patiently.
But the five people in front of her who were waiting to receive supplies heard it, looked back, and laughed even louder, "Hahaha! Look, we have a stutterer here! A stutterer actually came! No way?! This is a special training base! It's for mid-level and above pilots! What if she stutters when reporting to her superiors on a Starry Sky Fighter!"
They laughed si wu ji dan (unrestrainedly), their laughter rumbling, almost causing echoes in the spacious supply warehouse hall.
Sang Yadi's face turned red, so red that it could drip blood.
She lowered her head deeply, shrinking her shoulders, feeling ashamed.
Xia Chujian frowned, slowly turned her head, and looked at the five new recruits who were laughing like crazy.
Three men and two women, they seemed to come from good families, because they hadn't changed into the base uniform yet, and were wearing their own clothes. The styles and materials were obviously expensive, even some brand names.
Xia Chujian didn't buy brand names, but she had browsed brand-name clothing websites while wandering on the Star Network.
She retracted her gaze and quickly glanced at Mao Yonggui and Chu Qingjuan.
These two were from the same fleet as Sang Yadi, although they weren't in the same Team, but they seemed to have known each other before.
At this time, Mao Yonggui's eyes flickered as she looked at the five people in front, not knowing what she was thinking.
Chu Qingjuan put her arm around Sang Yadi's shoulders, put on a stern face, and glared fiercely at the five people.
The five people in front, feeling Chu Qingjuan's angry gaze, also felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Their laughter gradually subsided, and they all snorted, glaring back at Chu Qingjuan: "What are you looking at! She's a stutterer, can't people talk about it?!"
"Exactly! How did a stutterer even join the army? We should report it to the Military Police for a thorough investigation! Did someone falsify documents?!" A woman with a long neck and delicate, translucent skin, holding her head high like a white swan, said mockingly.
Xia Chujian lowered her head, fiddled with her Smart Bracelet, checked some information on the internal network, then looked up, smiling brightly, and said, "But, the enlistment requirements don't say that stuttering disqualifies you from joining the army... so what's there to investigate?"
The arrogant, white swan-like girl became angry out of humiliation, glanced at Xia Chujian, and happened to see the intertwined red birthmark on her forehead. She paused, then laughed and said, "Oh! This batch of new recruits is really interesting! We have a stutterer and an ugly duckling! Being comrades with people like this, I'm afraid I'll throw up my dinner from last night! Ha!"
She raised her hand to smooth her long, black, beautiful hair, shaking her head dismissively.
Sang Yadi and Chu Qingjuan were even more angry, not only for themselves but also for Xia Chujian.
They knew she was young, and being called an "ugly duckling" to her face was something few eighteen-year-old girls could handle.
But Xia Chujian was an exception.
Chu Qingjuan was still trying to comfort her: "Chujian, don't be angry... just ignore them."
Xia Chujian shrugged: "I'm not a looks-obsessed person, I don't care about other people's appearances at all."
The white swan-like girl on the other side was stunned for a moment, then the corner of her mouth twitched, and she said, "Can you understand human speech? Am I talking about other people's appearances? I'm clearly talking about you!"
Xia Chujian smiled especially happily: "I don't care about other people's appearances, so why would I care about my own?"
"Besides, does being good-looking give you special privileges on the battlefield? Do bullets go around you, or do missiles avoid you?"
"Can being good-looking be eaten? Or can it help you fight?"
"And at critical moments, the prettier you are, the more likely you are to have bad luck. I'm not cursing you, I'm just telling the truth."
Xia Chujian shrugged indifferently.
The group of men and women over there were so confused by her words that their heads were spinning. They clearly felt that what she said was problematic, but they couldn't think of a way to retort for a moment.
The white swan-like girl sneered and said, "Don't try to argue, you clearly care! Otherwise, would you be able to retort like this?"
Xia Chujian said seriously, "I really don't care that you say I'm ugly, because it's a fact."
"But it's wrong of you to say it in such a mocking tone. This isn't stating a fact, it's humiliating."
"You humiliated me first, so you're the one who asked for it, you're the ones who brought disgrace upon yourselves. And, is this the quality of elite Starry Sky Fighter pilots in the Interstellar Fleet? Which Interstellar Fleet is this? You're so good at provoking, do enemy troops often chase you?" Xia Chujian looked like a curious baby.
The white swan-like girl was completely drawn in by Xia Chujian, and she said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about?! Our First Interstellar Fleet is the bravest in the three armies! Why would the enemy troops chase us?! We wouldn't provoke them!"
"Heh, you don't actively provoke the enemy, but you actively provoke your own people. I see, now I know why our Beichen Empire hasn't won a war in over a hundred years, until Marshal Huo of our Fifth Interstellar Fleet appeared out of nowhere!" Xia Chujian cupped her hands to her three roommates, making a gesture of worship.
She wanted to continue arguing, but Mao Yonggui hurriedly stepped forward, gently pulled Xia Chujian's hand, and then said with a smile to the five people in front, "Are you also new recruits? I'm Mao Yonggui, also a new recruit. Your clothes are so beautiful, they're not the uniforms issued here, are they? Where did you buy them? I really want to buy a set! But they look so expensive, I definitely can't afford them. And even if I could afford them, I wouldn't look good in them. These clothes, only people with noble and elegant temperaments like you can pull them off!"
"You are generous people, please don't bother with us small characters..."
With her flattery and humble attitude, she diverted the topic and managed to appease the new recruits who were almost enraged.
The tallest and most handsome boy, who had been silent all along, chuckled with his hands behind his back: "Alright, Nana, I know you're straightforward, but you need to pay attention to the occasion when you speak. Since these new recruits can come here, they must have extraordinary strengths. This is the Military's special training base, without some skills, coming here is just courting death."
He completely ignored Mao Yonggui.
The arrogant woman, who was called Nana and resembled a white swan, immediately blushed a little, not out of shame, but out of excitement, her heart pounding.
She showed a deep smile on her face and said to the man, "Brother Chu, I'll listen to you. It was my fault just now, I made Brother Chu laugh."
The corner of Xia Chujian's mouth twitched.
She had offended her and Sang Yadi, so if she wanted to apologize, she should apologize to her and Sang Yadi, right? What was with apologizing to the boy on her side?
Besides, Mao Yonggui had already smoothed things over so humbly, but these people acted as if they didn't see her or hear her, they were too impolite! Xia Chujian couldn't help but want to argue again, but Mao Yonggui was holding her hand tightly at this time, clearly not wanting her to continue to stand out.
Xia Chujian had no choice but to endure it and remain silent.
At this time, the old man in charge of distributing supplies came out and began to process the procedures and distribute supplies to the people in front.
Xia Chujian and her four companions also stopped talking.
It wasn't until the five people in front had finished receiving their supplies and were leaving that a girl who was relatively short but had a lively expression and was particularly quirky suddenly turned her head, pointed her finger at Sang Yadi in a gesture of shooting a gun, and smiled with an innocent face: "Don't forget! Brother Chu reminded you, without some skills here, coming here is just courting death!"
She skipped away, even surpassing the four people in front.
The man they called Brother Chu was both amused and annoyed, and said in a doting tone, "A-Lu, you're naughty!"
Xia Chujian couldn't help but shudder. What kind of demons and monsters were these people?!
Her goosebumps!
Save her goosebumps!
And her teeth were aching from the sourness! Xia Chujian held her face, making a face like she had a toothache.
Seeing this, Mao Yonggui asked with concern, "What's wrong? Do you have a toothache?"
Xia Chujian nodded, "Those people in front made my teeth ache. Where did these heroes come from? You really can't understand them without knowing them..."
"Why bother understanding them? They're obviously upper-class kids here for some gilded experience. I've seen plenty of them in the fleet in the past year and a half," Chu Qingjuan said coldly.
Xia Chujian said with a smile, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."
Sang Yadi also said at this time, "Just... just... just ignore them, we... we... we're not the same kind of people."
Xia Chujian said, "But... didn't you see they've already issued a challenge?"
She could hear the malice in that "Brother Chu's" words.
What did he mean by "coming here is just asking for death"? Even if you die, I won't!
Mao Yonggui, Sang Yadi, and Chu Qingjuan all felt that Xia Chujian was making a mountain out of a molehill.
But when they went to the counter to collect their supplies, the old man said seriously, "This cadet is right, the other party has already issued a challenge, you must be careful."
He took a deep look at Xia Chujian. This girl was indeed extraordinary. No wonder a Colonel-level figure personally sent her for special training at such a young age.
Xia Chujian and her three roommates collected their supplies and walked towards the dormitory.
By this time, it was already dark, and no new cadets were coming to collect supplies.
Only the four of them were on the wide road.
Xia Chujian knew that her identity was fake. In order not to let others find a handle and notice the problem with her identity, she subtly inquired about the situation of the Interstellar Fleet from her three roommates.
"Sister Mao, are there many people like that in your fleet?"
"There weren't many before, but there have been quite a few in the past year or so," Mao Yonggui coughed and said softly.
Chu Qingjuan said bluntly, "It's just that after Marshal Huo left, a group of middle-level officers also retired, and then there were more and more people like that."
Sang Yadi was silent.
Xia Chujian sighed softly, "Alas, there are actually quite a few people like that in our fleet, so I get angry when I see them... I'm not a Gene Evolver, so I'm already at a disadvantage in battle, and when I encounter enemies who are high-level Gene Evolvers..."
Mao Yonggui looked at her strangely and said, "Chujian, Mental Strength isn't really useful in space battles."
Chu Qingjuan nodded vigorously, "Chujian, your Fourth Fleet is a well-known old-timer legion. It hasn't fought a tough battle in almost a hundred years. It seems that you haven't really fought against the enemy in space, have you?"
Xia Chujian put on an embarrassed look and smiled, "...There's really nothing I can do about it. I want to go, but the Chief of our fleet doesn't want to go either... So I'm very curious, is fighting in space very different from fighting on various planets?"
Mao Yonggui said, "Very different. But even if you haven't really fought in space, you are the chief pilot of the Ghost-class Fighter. Having the equipment of the Ghost-class Fighter can resist Mental Strength attacks below Rank A peak."
"Unless it is a high-level Gene Evolver above Rank S, and needs to focus on attacking only your Starry Sky Fighter without being affected by any external forces, it can be effective. Otherwise, it is a thankless task."
Chu Qingjuan added, "In real battles, it's never about one person's strength. It's hundreds or thousands of Starry Sky Fighters, Cruisers, and Battleships firing together. So what if you are a Rank S Mental Strength expert? As long as ten Starry Sky Fighters aim at him and fire together, he will have to run away. At that time, it's about Starry Sky Fighter piloting skills, accurate shooting functions, and teamwork ability. No one will use Mental Strength, because it's useless."
Sang Yadi said something particularly insightful at this time, "High... high-level Gene Evolvers are suitable for decapitation strikes, not... not suitable for large-scale... military... military group operations. We... we are all members of large-scale military group operations."
Mao Yonggui nodded, "So we ordinary people can also become Second Lieutenant pilots of Starry Sky Fighters."
Chu Qingjuan said, "People like us are actually especially suitable for the Starry Sky Legion. We are not very suitable for ground troops on various planets."
Xia Chujian's eyes flickered.
Children make choices, adults want everything!
Because she wanted to participate in large-scale military group operations and execute decapitation strikes.
Listening to their descriptions, Xia Chujian seemed to be in the vast space, with hundreds of Starry Sky Fighters and warships arranged and combined in front of her, fighting to the death with the other side!
Ion beams shone in the distant deep blue starry sky, and each beam reaped a warship! Countless Starry Sky Fighters traveled through the invisible smoke of gunpowder, and were accidentally hit by the enemy, turning into fragments scattered in the starry sky.
She also felt as if she had transformed into a grim reaper with a scythe, walking alone among those Starry Sky Battleships, executing a decapitation strike against the enemy's highest general!
Her heart yearned for it: "...Oh my... that's so spectacular..."
Another big chapter update, including the May monthly ticket 2700 update, surprise, surprise? There will be a new update at 0:05 tonight.
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