AGTCTCC Chapter 10
by VolareChapter 10: Chu Qi, You Should Be Glad I Pretended to Be Tired…
The sunlight was still intense, so blinding that it was hard to open one’s eyes. Since the outbreak of the Polluted Entity virus, even the thickest clouds couldn’t block the sun.
Outside the barrier was one way of life, inside the barrier was another.
The closer one got to the military base, the more desolate it became. The base was only a mile away from the barrier.
With the Source Stone gone, shrinking the barrier was inevitable to ensure its stability, and the military base was the first place to be cut off.
Xiang Li: “…”
He silently watched the nth trainee pass by. Wasn’t the training supposed to start in a week? How come there were so many people already?
“Your previous comrades are already capable of independent missions. We’ve also reviewed the files of this year’s recruits. There are a few promising talents, and we’ve already written out their training plans.”
Chu Qi was holding several files in his hand. All the work had piled up during his months of leave.
Shen Gui, the reluctant caretaker (who didn’t want to be named), sorted through the files: “This isn’t urgent, this isn’t urgent either. Let’s set aside the non-urgent stuff for now and give it to Chu Qi when he gets back.”
The two walked side by side. Trainees would occasionally come over to greet them, and Xiang Li also noticed their scrutinizing gazes on him.
“Will you come to our training?”
Chu Qi looked up from the files, taking in Xiang Li’s question: “You have professional instructors for your training. Sang Quan Shi Li will go, to teach you some emergency mech repair techniques.”
Speaking of mechs, Chu Qi closed the files in his hand.
“Your Combat Suit has already been delivered. Go find Sang Quan Shi Li to get it when you have time.”
“Do they have them?”
The “they” Xiang Li was referring to were the other trainees, his eyes questioning.
“The school’s uniform Combat Suits will be issued a few months later.”
Chu Qi glanced at Xiang Li, reminding him.
“In military academy, Spiritual Power talent isn’t everything. Your ability must be worthy of your talent.”
Xiang Li didn’t seem interested in this.
Dormitory building.
It was built with two-person rooms, but there weren’t enough people this year to fill even the single rooms.
“Hey, isn’t that Xiang Li?”
“He’s Xiang Li!”
A crowd of people suddenly swarmed over. Xiang Li hadn’t even touched his dorm door before he was being gawked at like a monkey.
“!” Was he violating some heavenly law?
“You’re Xiang Li, right? I heard you don’t have an academy?” One person asked first.
Then another person butted in, clutching their chest dramatically.
“We thought the top spot would go to the Ke Man or Ke Shi Zhuo brothers. We even made bets on who would be number one. Who knew a dark horse like you would emerge.”
“I saw on the forum that you came with Commander Chu. Wow, Commander Chu, will he teach our class?”
“I heard Commander Chu taught several people well in previous years…”
Xiang Li gave a wry smile. There were a lot of surveillance cameras here, which was a real hassle.
He casually looked in one direction, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
“Cough!” A loud cough came from the side, somewhat deliberate, drawing everyone’s attention.
The corners of Xiang Li’s mouth instantly turned down, his face numb. He turned his head, wondering who it was now.
“Don’t be noisy, don’t be noisy, I know. Xiang Li was personally taught by Commander Chu, right?” It was the person who had spoken to Xiang Li on Energy Measurement Day, giving Xiang Li a cheeky wink.
*I’m right, aren’t I?*
Xiang Li: “…”
Personally taught? How come he didn’t know about that?
“That day!” The person didn’t notice Xiang Li’s expression, waving his hand dramatically, his eyes following the trajectory of his hand, looking very serious.
“I noticed the faint halo emanating from Xiang Li at first glance! What was that?”
“So I took the initiative to talk to Xiang Li, and as expected—”
At this point, the person paused, glancing around, his face clearly saying, “You can ask questions now.”
Someone said: “Bu Lu, you should change your major.”
“…Didn’t you listen to what I said? Immersion, do you understand immersion!”
With Bu Lu stirring things up like this, everyone’s attention was drawn to him. Xiang Li was happy to be left alone and turned to run.
“Hey!”
Suddenly, a hand patted Xiang Li on the shoulder. Before Xiang Li could react, a head popped into his face.
Xiang Li dodged urgently, taking a few steps back, then smiling politely.
“Friend, you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not Xiang Li, my name is—Want-to-beat-you.”
“I’ve seen your picture.”
As soon as that face steadied, another face stuck itself to him.
Xiang Li’s expressionless face was a little stiff. The sun was a bit strong, and he was starting to hallucinate.
“Let me introduce myself, I’m Ke Shi Zhuo, I’m the bro…”
“I’m the older brother, my name is Ke Man.”
The sun was indeed strong, shining on two identical faces, equally vibrant and full of life.
Xiang Li’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two faces. Twins?
Ke Shi Zhuo protested: “Bro, didn’t we say I’d be the older brother today?”
Ke Man: “It’s important to be clear for the initial introduction.”
Ke Shi Zhuo: “You’re going back on your word.”
The twins argued, then turned their heads in unison to stop Xiang Li, who was about to run away.
“Student Xiang Li!”
Xiang Li (crossed out) Student Want-to-beat-you quickened his pace, *can’t hear, can’t hear, can’t hear.*
“Hello, Commander Chu.”
Xiang Li suddenly stopped in his tracks.
He turned his head and, sure enough, saw Chu Qi. The twins were not far from him, and their words clearly reached Xiang Li’s ears.
Chu Qi gave a small “Mm,” in response to their “Hello, Commander Chu.”
He said, “This is your training schedule. If you have any problems, tell your teacher to relay them to me. I’ll have him give you my methods then.”
“Understood, Commander.”
“Training schedule, Commander Chu, what schedule?” Ke Shi Zhuo took the folder Chu Qi handed over and asked curiously.
Chu Qi listened quietly as they spoke, waiting for them to finish before gesturing for them to look at the contents of the folder.
“Take a look first.”
“Okay!”
Chu Qi was about to leave after speaking, then glanced at Xiang Li out of the corner of his eye. The corners of his eyes curved slightly, and he nodded in greeting, then mouthed silently: *I’m leaving.*
Xiang Li nodded, feeling like his cheeks were starting to ache from faking a smile for too long.
“Xiang Li.”
After Chu Qi left, Ke Man and Ke Shi Zhuo quickly walked over while Xiang Li was silent, each grabbing one of Xiang Li’s arms.
“We’re going to training this afternoon, let’s go together.”
“Are you calling me?” Xiang Li stared at the files in their hands, then raised his eyes to look at them.
“Let us see what the double S-rank talent is capable of.”
“Let’s try it out.”
…
Simulator room.
This was Xiang Li’s first time here, and it was different from the simulator at Chu Qi’s house.
The space inside the simulator was very large, taking up an entire floor, with several capsules. A closer look revealed that it was suspended above the ground.
They weren’t the first students to arrive. Several capsules were already closed, and they ran into a few other students, who greeted the twin brothers familiarly.
Ke Shi Zhuo was eager to try: “What difficulty should we play, Star Chains or Polluted Entities?”
Ke Man: “Either is fine.”
Xiang Li: “Whatever.”
Ke Shi Zhuo looked at the two emotionless men in front of him: “…Then let’s do Polluted Entities.”
Upon entering the capsule, they were immediately enveloped in a warm halo of light. The sudden brightness made them involuntarily close their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, all the scenery in front of them had changed.
When Xiang Li opened his eyes and saw the scene before him, his breath suddenly hitched slightly, and his heart began to beat faster.
He lightly opened his teeth and bit his tongue, trying to calm himself down, feeling a faint taste of iron rust in his mouth.
This was—Planet C079.
He was now on Planet C079, on the eve of the Polluted Entity virus outbreak.
Familiar high-rise buildings, orderly hovercars, and normal people.
“Get ready.”
Ke Shi Zhuo’s confident and excited voice came through the headphones.
Xiang Li’s throat slowly bobbed.
Once.
Twice.
…
“Okay.”
Xiang Li was stunned for a moment as he spoke.
The voice was so dry and unlike his own, so muffled that you couldn’t tell it was his voice at all, but fortunately it was only one syllable, and the other two didn’t notice.
Xiang Li didn’t see Ke Shi Zhuo and Ke Man. The people around were quiet, and there were no unusual activities.
Just then, on the street, as someone brushed past Xiang Li, their eyes suddenly changed color, and the fingertips hanging by their side began to split, like new buds blooming in spring.
Humans were cells, splitting into countless people, strangely shaped people.
The reflection was visible on the glass next to him, and Xiang Li could see it clearly out of the corner of his eye.
His pupils shrank. So… this is how they thought the Polluted Entities came to be?
The splitting Polluted Entities searched for hosts, frantically attacking the people around them.
Whether it was because Xiang Li wasn’t a real person or because of the system settings, the Polluted Entities didn’t attack him.
The sound of the wind was real in Xiang Li’s ears, and the taste of blood in his mouth grew stronger and stronger.
Ten seconds later, his wrist turned, and a dense blackness burst from his wrist, eventually solidifying into a huge cleaver.
Xiang Li’s lowered eyelids lifted, his pupils dark and inky.
“Chopping scum, it’s what I’m best at.”
Xiang Li’s voice was as heavy as an unsharpened blade.
The cleaver followed its owner’s movements and slashed at the Polluted Entities. The cleaver was wide and seemingly unsharpened, but when it struck the Polluted Entities, it felt as if there was no resistance at all.
The moment the cleaver moved in Xiang Li’s hands, the Polluted Entities seemed to finally notice Xiang Li’s existence.
In just a few seconds, the Polluted Entities had completely differentiated, the viscous liquid in their mouths slowly thickening, transparent with a hint of blue.
“Roar!” The Polluted Entities began to stir.
Not only here, but Polluted Entities were rushing here from all directions at every moment.
“Xiang Li, what are you doing? Find a mech!”
The voice in the headphones was muffled, and Xiang Li couldn’t hear it clearly.
He was now surrounded by countless corpses of Polluted Entities, dying and coming back to life, endlessly regenerating.
Perhaps the system had noticed the abnormality in Xiang Li’s data. Countless mech fragments were also rushing towards Xiang Li, attaching themselves to Xiang Li’s arm, automatically assembling into a mech.
Several times, Xiang Li couldn’t stop himself, and it looked like he was about to chop at a piece of the mech, but he just passed through it without incident, and it stuck tightly to Xiang Li’s body.
After the mech stuck to Xiang Li’s body, it turned into a solid, quietly enveloping Xiang Li inside.
He tilted his head back. The Polluted Entities were hitting the outside of the mech without any reason, making the sound of metal colliding, sparks flying, and the shape of the mech slightly deformed due to the impact.
Xiang Li suddenly remembered when he had saved Chu Qi two months ago. Chu Qi was in the same situation, except he was virtual and Chu Qi was real.
At that time, what was Commander Chu thinking?
Xiang Li was too crazy, the mental link data began to malfunction, and the system forcibly ejected him. With the familiar blinding light, Xiang Li uncomfortably closed his eyes again.
“Xiang Li.”
When he opened his eyes, the twin brothers were there.
Ke Man couldn’t help but exhale a sigh of relief when he saw him open his eyes.
“Xiang Li, are you motion sick? It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“You scared me. You were motionless at first, but you’re amazing! What was that move you did just now? Can Spiritual Power be condensed into a solid? It was great, how did you do it?”
Xiang Li reached up and covered his eyes, not wanting to listen to them. The simulation was virtual, but it was also real.
The feeling of weakness after that frenzy now swept through every cell in his body.
“Shut up, I want to rest.”
Xiang Li was expressionless. For the first time, he shed his well-behaved facade. His gaze swept over a familiar red dot and he snorted lightly.
Chu Qi, you should be glad I pretended to be tired.
The two brothers each grabbed one of Xiang Li’s arms and walked towards the dormitory, but they didn’t stop talking.
Ke Shi Zhuo: “I’ll copy the replay later, and I’m going to study it frame by frame tonight.”
“Hehe.”