75: Chapter 75 spot secured!! Teammates traveling with me

The smoke of the qualification battle had long dissipated, but the aftershocks of victory still reverberated throughout the North Star Central Military Academy.

Li Yuan, Elia, Laya, Sai Wei, and Yimoku—these five names spread through every corner of the academy at an unprecedented speed.

As first-year freshmen, they defeated numerous strong senior teams and ultimately triumphed, winning a spot in the combat team representing the academy in the Ten Thousand Races Visit Season. This in itself was a legend.

For several days, Li Yuan's team enjoyed heroic attention, attracting countless admiring, curious, or scrutinizing gazes wherever they went—be it in classrooms, training grounds, or cafeterias.

After a brief rest and celebration, an official document from the Academy's Supreme Council was sent to Li Yuan and his four teammates via their personal terminals, and also publicly announced on the academy's internal bulletin system.

[North Star Central Military Academy - Ten Thousand Races Visit Season Delegation Member Roster (Official)]

At the beginning of the document were gilded characters, highlighting its importance. The first line of the roster clearly stated:

Core Combat Team:

Captain: Li Yuan

Team Members: Elia, Laya, Saiwei Krol, Yimoku

Li Yuan gently caressed his name on the terminal screen, his heart filled with emotion. From struggling to survive in the ruins of Edge Star No. 7 to now representing North Star Academy in the vast starry sky... it all felt like a lifetime ago.

Immediately after, the roster announced the allocation of other specialized positions. These spots were not contested through arena battles but were determined by various departments of the academy using internal evaluation methods.

Manufacturing Expert: Chen Jingyi

Pilot Expert: Luo Lan

Tactical Commander: Chu Xinghe

This name was somewhat unfamiliar to Li Yuan and his team. This person was the captain of the academy's previous combat team and was currently interning on the Eastern Starfield front lines, possessing extremely rich practical command experience. He would directly rendezvous with the team on the diplomatic fleet and serve as the overall commander for this Visit Season delegation.

Research Genius: Xingchen

When Li Yuan and his team met the recipient of this spot in the academy's highest-level research institute, everyone was momentarily stunned.

A small, thin boy who looked only fourteen or fifteen, wearing a clearly ill-fitting white research uniform, with thick smart glasses almost covering half his face.

He tightly hugged a transparent data tablet flashing complex data streams, his eyes somewhat evasive, but when discussing his professional field, they would burst forth with a brilliance like stars.

The old professor who brought him out patted his shoulder affectionately and introduced him to Li Yuan's group: "Xingchen, the treasure of our research institute. Don't let his young age fool you; his understanding of Void Energy Basic Theory and High-Dimensional Mathematics Application even surpasses many senior researchers. Yimoku, as a senior student, you must take good care of him."

Xingchen timidly pushed up his glasses, his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "H-hello, I'm Xingchen... Please, please take care of me."

Yimoku muttered softly, 'Taking my spot and I have to take care of him too.' However, she turned her face with a beaming smile: "Yes, leader."

Finally, there was one more position on the roster:

Reserve Slot/Special Advisor: (Permissions encrypted, to be revealed on boarding day)

"Still playing coy?" Sai Wei raised an eyebrow.

"Probably someone from the military or a major family pulling strings for experience," Li Yuan guessed, not paying too much attention. As long as it didn't affect the team's operations, an extra idle person was fine.

...

Finally, the day of departure arrived.

At North Star Spaceport, docked at a berth specially for interstellar voyages, was the spacecraft for the journey from North Star to the Military Port—the "deep space walker" Hyper-Warp Ship. The streamlined silver-gray hull stretched for several kilometers, with the Blazing Dragon Federation's fiery dragon emblem and North Star Academy's star school emblem painted on its bow, gleaming under the starlight.

Li Yuan's team of five, Chen Jingyi, Luo Lan, and Xingchen, had all arrived on time. Chen Jingyi still maintained her emotionless demeanor, accompanied by two small Autonomous Robots carrying her luggage. Luo Lan walked beside her. Xingchen, meanwhile, hid behind Yimoku, curiously and nervously surveying the colossal vessel.

Just as the appointed deadline was approaching, a small, exquisite private aircraft, elegant like a swan, silently glided into the Spaceport and docked next to the "deep space walker."

The cabin door opened, and a graceful figure stepped out.

When he clearly saw the newcomer's face, Li Yuan almost popped his eyeballs out.

"Senior Student Chen Yao?! Why are you here!" He blurted out, his voice filled with disbelief.

The newcomer was indeed Chen Yao! She had changed out of her combat attire and was wearing a moon-white, modified casual outfit with an Eastern ink wash aesthetic, her robes fluttering, which further enhanced her cold and ethereal demeanor.

However, the iconic, now seemingly refreshed sword box on her back, indicated that her identity as a Sword Immortal remained unchanged.

Chen Yao's gaze calmly swept over the astonished Li Yuan and the others, seemingly having anticipated their surprised expressions. Her crimson lips parted slightly, and with a tone that was matter-of-fact, even a little self-righteous, she softly uttered five words:

"Because I'm a 'connected' person."

Li Yuan: "..."

He felt as if something was lodged in his chest, almost choking him. His mind was instantly flooded with countlessMake complaints (tǔcáo) bullet comments:

'A connected person?! You, a connected person, fought tooth and nail with us before! Where's the logic in that?! What for?! Experiencing life, Young Miss?!'

At this moment, Li Yuan suddenly remembered a casual chat he had with Lin Feng, who claimed to be a successor of the "Flying Heavenly Control Sword Stream" from Chen Yao's team, shortly after the competition.

At that time, Lin Feng hooked his arm around Li Yuan's shoulder, with a 'you know, I know' expression, and whispered: "Brother Yuan, I'll tell you a secret. Don't let our captain's constant facade of a cold fairy, a Sword Immortal descending to the mortal world, fool you... It's all fake! It's all strategic disguise!"

Lin Feng's face showed a mixture of admiration and lingering fear: "You don't know, all those flashy moves and tactical harassments in the competition—like Flying Sword Drone firepower coverage, manipulating metalshavings (xiè) to blind people, simulating Super Electromagnetic Cannons for area attacks... she planned and personally taught all of it!"

"Our captain's famous saying: 'In the face of victory or defeat, pride is worthless. Any tactic that effectively interferes with the opponent and wins is a good tactic! She's not a good person, you must be careful if you meet her again!'

Recalling Lin Feng's words, and then looking at Chen Yao, as cold as a Guzhe Fairy, like Lu Xueqi from the world of "Zhu Xian."

Well, she was waiting for me here!

Snow Sword Immortal? Just a disguise! This girl... is not a good person! Uh, no, it should be said she's not human!

Those who play tactics have dark hearts!

Including myself!