39 4.1 (1/2)

The instant Lu Guantiang had spotted Zhang Hua's last note, the mission had been deemed a success.

Chen Yu didn't linger, he directly absorbed the energy and progressed to the next world.

Before he could adjust, however, he sensed a strong blow coming toward him. Instinctively dodging, when he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting high above the ground, confronting a huge humanoid robot.

Uncertain how seriously he should retaliate, Chen Yu kept half his mind on eluding the other's attacks and turned the rest of his attention to swiftly skimming the plot.

Apparently, the system had sent him to a world poles apart from the last one.

Here, there was no royalty, the most exalted organization was the military, especially mecha operators. Also, only women could give birth—Chen Yu checked.

But leaving aside gender, class, nationality, everyone strove above all for physical strength and expertise in mecha control, since that was the sole path to absolute freedom. Because war was a constant reality, this ideology was particularly encouraged by the various governments, which sought to create the strongest military forces.

This body's name was Jin Yongguang, he was a twelfth-grade student at the Elite Federation Academy, less than a year away from graduating.

His family was a top-tier political giant, every descendant except for him pursued a position in the government. While his parents hadn't approved of his entering the military, considering such a crude profession beneath Jin Jia's designated heir, Jin Yongguang had pushed his decision through.

Even at the risk of being disowned, he'd refused to relinquish his obsession with battles and mecha and successfully entered this world-class academy. From this, Chen Yu could guess that despite this boy's sunny, forthright personality, at heart he was extremely stubborn. Fortunately, he wasn't unskilled, he was consistently ranked within the top three of his grade.

Chen Yu furrowed his brows.

He could handle staying in character, but he wasn't experienced enough with mecha to guarantee that he could keep this position. Although he'd played around with mecha in his first life and dabbled in it during a few other missions, he'd found the comprehensive safety precautions too stifling, there had been no thrill at all. Well, he sighed, he'd endure it for one task.

Resolving to tolerate the boredom, he read through to how this child had died.

Surprisingly, Jin Yongguang was close friends with the plot's protagonist, Murong Wen, who came from a commoner family and could only attend the academy through a scholarship. Notwithstanding their vastly different backgrounds, the two had bonded from the academy's initiation ceremony due to their balanced levels of strength.

Actually, Jin Yongguang wasn't all brawn and no brains, he'd realized from the beginning that Murong Wen had approached him largely in order to gain the favor of Jin Jia's heir. He'd continued to maintain their good relationship, however, because he felt that being able to spar with a skilled partner was worth it. Thus, they always stayed friendly as they competed for their year's second place.

At this, Chen Yu facepalmed. This simple-minded fellow...

But this was rather odd. Given the fact that Jin Yongguang's power rivaled that of the protagonist's and that, at least on the surface, they were bosom buddies, how did he become a piece of cannon fodder?

Indeed, there had been a dramatic turning point.

Jin Yongguang's downfall had started from the regular quarterly assessment trials, which determined the student rankings. Like everyone had predicted, he had been pitted against Murong Wen in the semi-finals. As soon as the round began, he had immediately attacked wholeheartedly with a flurry of punches. This was a habit he'd developed from training with Murong Wen, when he'd determined that he could only clip the faster boy if he didn't let up on his strikes at any point. Unexpectedly, however, the opponent's mecha didn't respond quickly enough, so that every hit landed, causing great injury to the pilot even with the mecha's defense mechanisms.

Since the academy's ultimate goal was to cultivate the future's elite soldiers, it encouraged competition, but it harshly punished cruelty against comrades.

Nevertheless, the teachers didn't stop the competition but, spitefully declaring Jin Yongguang the winner of the semi-final round, they pushed Hou Yi, the reigning champion of the twelfth grade, onto the stage. This student was the product of generations of military heroes, and he lived up to his family name, never having scored less than perfect marks. Obviously, Jin Yongguang was no match for him, he was promptly crushed with more critical injuries than Murong Wen's.

Chen Yu faltered. Hou Yi? This name was too loaded with connections to Lu Guanting...Shaking his head, he put the notion aside. That moon goddess myth didn't even exist in this world.

Returning from his brief daze, he rushed through the aftermath of the assessment.

Despite his disastrous performance that got him expelled from the academy and, worse, labelled a viciously inhuman brute, Jin Jia was a noble household, it didn't disown its child. Instead, his parents exiled him to a distant planet for 'recuperation,' 'temporarily' transferring his position as heir to his younger brother.

From his hospital room, Jin Yongguang wasted away the rest of his life, mourning his inability to fight again as well as his carelessness in hurting his friend. Although he sensed that he'd been framed, because he didn't believe he was clever enough to seek revenge, he put it out of his mind.

Even when he learned that Murong Wen's admirable, resolute recovery had gotten him adopted into the Hou family and, a few years later, that he'd become one of history's youngest captains, he merely felt relieved. As for his family, being a battle maniac, he had never cared much about taking over the political Jin Jia, so he scarcely noticed that his position had been usurped.

Jin Yongguang's sole regret was that he'd never reached the pinnacle of mecha control.

For Chen Yu, who meticulously repaid every insult, the original owner's choice to genuinely not bear a grudge was fairly novel. After all, it wasn't as if the boy hadn't realized that he'd been tricked, he'd just...forgiven it...? Chen Yu smiled. Of course, that didn't mean he'd be so merciful, but all in all, the kid was interesting, silly yet cute. En, a worthwhile little original.

His mood was further improved because this world suited his current taste. Having to deal with political maneuvering would have been tiresome directly after dealing with palace life. Luckily, the culture here adhered to the 'might is right' creed, even political leaders had to treat soldiers with respect.