Lin Xiaohe crawled out of the cockpit. “Xinbao, the mech is all yours.”
[Don’t worry, Xiaohe.]
Ignoring the pain, Xinbao plucked off one of her leaves and fused it into Lin Xiaohe’s neural processor.
This leaf was like a copy of Xinbao, possessing all of Xinbao’s skills, but it could only unleash half of their power.
Lin Xiaohe swallowed a sigh and gently touched the single, lonely leaf left on Xinbao, making a solemn promise.
“Xinbao, once this assessment is over, I’ll upgrade you. I’ll also have Mori formulate a special nutrient solution for you.”
[Okay~] Xinbao used her only little leaf to lightly brush against Lin Xiaohe’s palm.
[Be careful out there!]
Lin Xiaohe took a deep breath, grabbed the mech repair tools, and in a few swift moves, hid in the back alleys of the residential area to find a sewage outlet.
The sewage outlet was buried under rotting garbage, and the stench was overwhelming.
Pinching her nose, Lin Xiaohe kicked the trash aside and finally saw the sewer cover sealing the outlet.
She found an acetylene welding torch from her toolbox and then a slimy, ragged towel from the garbage pile.
“Good grief, the things I’m sacrificing for this exam!”
Lin Xiaohe’s brows were tightly furrowed. The slimy feel of the wet towel slithered across her like a snake, leaving goosebumps everywhere it touched.
Holding the welding torch in her right hand to cut the manhole cover’s bolts, she used her left hand to cover the torch with the wet towel to muffle the sound.
The blue flame of the torch hissed in the darkness, beads of sweat dripping down Lin Xiaohe’s forehead.
She had to rescue the President, otherwise, this wouldn’t be worth it!
The manhole cover was pried open.
Lin Xiaohe put on a gas mask and jumped down without a moment’s hesitation.
The sludge, which must have accumulated for who knows how many years, rose past her thighs.
The stench-filled darkness swallowed her whole.
But that was okay. Xinbao’s clone would guide Lin Xiaohe through the darkness.
Wearing her gas mask, Lin Xiaohe trudged forward with difficulty.
The straight-line distance from this sewage outlet to the Presidential Palace was ten kilometers, but with all the twists and turns, the journey would be twelve kilometers.
Black flying insects swarmed everywhere—the resident bugs of the sewers, drain flies.
They were as big as an index finger!
They weren’t aggressive, but there were so many of them that they quickly covered Lin Xiaohe completely.
Lin Xiaohe was losing her mind. She hated bugs!!
To escape these damned bugs, Lin Xiaohe started running for her life.
The sludge in the sewer churned, and countless bits of debris and crushed bones surged to the surface.
Among them were water-logged hands, smashed skulls, occasionally half a face with unseeing eyes floating by, and even the half-eaten corpse of a baby!
“Blergh!” Wesley turned pale as a ghost at the sight and couldn’t hold it in anymore, vomiting like crazy.
“Mom, what is this?! Why is [Nuwa] simulating such disgusting and cruel scenes?”
Melina patted Wesley’s back, handed him a bottle of purified water, and said grimly, “Son, this is the reality after the censoring. On the real Serfa Star, after the Executive Officer was rescued, the Empire retaliated brutally. Not a single resident in the capital city survived.”
Wesley was dazed. “What was the point of rescuing the Executive Officer?”
Melina replied, “It was the dignity of the Federation.”
For the sake of so-called dignity, they would ignore the civilians on Serfa Star?
Wesley’s eyes were filled with confusion. The education he had received since childhood taught him that the Federation’s dignity and honor were sacred and inviolable.
But when dignity and the lives of millions of ordinary people are placed on opposite sides of the scale, which one matters more?
Wesley didn’t know.
He thought that when Lin Xiaohe returned, she would surely be able to give him the answer to that question.
Just as Lin Xiaohe was finally struggling her way to the sewage outlet near the Presidential Palace, Gabriel was leading the examinees from the Second Star Ring in a sudden assault on the Palace.
Gabriel’s strategy was the same one the military academy students had drafted. He split his forces into two groups, sending one to rescue Yuan and the others.
Heavy gunfire was already echoing from the prison where Yuan was held, and many Imperial patrols were rushing towards it.
Unfortunately, the Imperial troops guarding the Presidential Palace didn’t budge.
Time was running out, so Gabriel had no choice but to order a full-on assault: “Follow me!”
The Presidential Palace had five octagonal, modular armored fortresses, surrounded by a perimeter of magnetic-electric defense lines.
Gabriel tried to leap over them, but was suppressed by fire from the fortresses.
The energy concentrators for the fortresses and the defense lines were installed inside the Presidential Palace, allowing them to supply power for a long time and extend their defensive duration.
Babyface operated his mech, fighting against the Imperial guards. Under his control, the [Firebird]-class mech was like a god of war, pulling off unexpected combat moves every single time.
He stayed close to Gabriel’s side. His mission was to protect Gabriel, sacrificing himself if necessary.
Under Gabriel’s command, the Second Star Ring examinees stabbed towards the Presidential Palace like a sharp dagger.
They fought fiercely with the Imperial soldiers. The crackling sounds of mechs trading blows were as dense as popping beans.
The closer they got to the Presidential Palace, the more constrained the examinees felt, because they were worried that one wrong move would blow the whole building to rubble.
But the Imperial soldiers were no pushovers either. Coordinating with the fortresses, they managed to hit fifteen [Firebird]-class mechs in succession.
This intense battle scene grabbed the attention of everyone on the Starnet.
“Evan’s combat skills are really good. He’s probably in the top fifty of the Second Star Ring, right?”
The Minister of Education for the Second Star Ring said proudly, “He’s exceeding himself. He’s usually ranked sixty-fourth.”
“Gabriel’s leadership is also impressive. He makes decisions very decisively, no hesitation at all.”
The Minister of Education for the Second Star Ring chuckled. “His greatest idol is Marshal Chu.”
Then, the Minister tagged Cassian. “So? Isn’t Gabriel’s performance way better than Lin Xiaohe’s? How about asking Marshal Chu to consider Gabriel instead?”
Cassian sneered coldly. If he could actually convince Marshal Chu, would such a great opportunity even fall to Gabriel? Every single student at the Central Military Academy is stronger than Gabriel!
Gabriel and Babyface charged awkwardly into the Presidential Palace.
To pull off this plan, only ten of the fifty examinees responsible for the frontal assault were left, and five of those were guarding the main entrance.
“Hurry! Find Johnson.”
Gabriel and the others split up. But after searching the entire three-story building, they couldn’t find Johnson anywhere.
Gabriel was panting heavily, his eyes murderous. Was this another trap set by [Nuwa]?!
One of the female examinees hacked into the Presidential Palace’s surveillance system. Rewinding just five minutes, she found Johnson.
“Gabriel! Lin Xiaohe went through the sewage outlet and rescued Johnson!”
“What?!”
The group rushed to the monitor room.
On the screen, while Gabriel and the others were fighting tooth and nail with the Imperial defenders, Lin Xiaohe had popped out of the sewage outlet and, without lifting a finger, simply hauled Johnson away and left!
“Damn it! Just five minutes!” Gabriel’s face turned ashen. His gaze could kill. He spun around and kicked a nearby stool across the room.
His face twisted with rage, his mouth curling down into a snarl, he spat viciously, “Lin Xiaohe, I will never forgive you!”
Babyface looked like he was about to cry. This didn’t make any sense!
How did Lin Xiaohe know the sewer route map? The sewers under the capital were like a labyrinth! How did she find the Presidential Palace so precisely?!
It wasn’t fair!
He was taking an open-book exam, but he was given the wrong answers, while [Nuwa] just handed Lin Xiaohe cheat codes!
A complaint! He was definitely filing a complaint!
Gabriel gritted his teeth so hard they creaked. “The assessment isn’t over yet! Before Lin Xiaohe can escape the capital, we’re taking Johnson back!”
