The entire Hall fell silent when she finished. The teams from the Moon and Mars turned their attention to her. Yuan Ye was undoubtedly good at strength, but someone actually dared to challenge him?
Yuan Ye was ecstatic. “Little dinosaur, are you trying to frighten me? If you can beat me in three seconds, I’ll eat that table!”
Zhang Runan put her elbow on the table, but Yuan Ye waved his dismissively. “What happens when you lose?”
“I’ll withdraw.” Zhang Runan was always straight to the point.
“Runan, don’t stoop down to their level,” Zhang Shan urged. Zhang Shan was not the kind who’d fight a wolf. Despite having lost, he saw what the opponent was capable of. It was okay to lose out sometimes. Moreover, he used to major in physics.
“Alright, straightforward! I’ll compete with you!” Yuan Ye dropped his elbow onto the table.
Immediately, Judge Luo Fei placed his hand on theirs. “OK! Three…. Two…. One GO!”
They’d only just began and Yuan Ye felt an enormous force coming at him. Out of instinct, he flexed and tightened his whole arm, making it as hard as steel. When he had mustered all his strength, his body was no different from a chunk of metal. He would never fall unless his bones were broken.
One second… Two seconds!
Just then, Zhang Runan’s baggy clothes moved and CRASH!
Yuan Ye’s body was lifted and he was completely pinned to the ground.
The entire hall went completely silent. Yuan Ye had lost consciousness.
In that instant, Wang Zheng thought he had seen something burst out of Zhang Runan.
“Ability X!”
“And it’s strength type ability! Since when did Earth have someone like that?”
A few moments of silence later, people started whispering amongst themselves. The guys from Europa came forward and clumsily lifted Yuan Ye up, but Yuan Ye could still hold up. He woke up very quickly and stared at Zhang Runan, eyes wide open.
“F*ck off! I am not dead!” he said as he struggled to get up. In an abrupt movement, he wiped his mouth. He was aching all over. Was this the power of someone with Ability X?
“Boss, this.. we…”
Seeing that Yuan Ye wanted to cause more trouble, everyone rushed to stop him. That would be putting his life at risk! Competing with someone with Ability X was not a smart thing to do.
“I’ve lost. I said stupid things, you’re very strong!” Yuan Ye was very earnest. People from Europa were impulsive, but they admired strong people the most.
“What’s your name? Do you have a boyfriend? Let me be your boyfriend!”
Yuan Ye chirped passionately. Even though there were no stark differences in the way they perceived beauty, each planet had their own specific preferences. Take for instance those from Europa, they actually liked women who were fit and strong.
Given the extreme contrast from before and after, the whole bunch of them stared hard at him.
Zhang Runan looked coldly at Yuan Ye and said only one word: “Scram!”
Yuan Ye smiled. “No hurry, no hurry, let’s get to know each other people when we have time. What are you staring at? Send me to the sick bay!”
He couldn’t even remain upright as he spoke. He was only putting up a front. That was a harsh one. His friends from Europa quickly ushered him off.
The fatty’s eyes lit up. “Wow. Powerful. Undoubtedly the no. 1 from Earth! I’ve not met this senior. Sigh, seems like you guys didn’t give everything you had the last time.”
Zhang Runan ignored Luo Fei and continued eating, but nobody dared to belittle Ares College now. A strength-type Ability X person! There was no way that could be disregarded. In a place like this where the best of the best were gathered, only those who were truly capable could earn respect from others.
“Ah, there are actually people like that from Ares? Masasi, you never told us.” Atos chuckled.
“Seems like we really cannot underestimate our opponents.” Milo smiled. “Apart from that Wang Zheng, we should keep an eye on this Zhang Runan. And Meng Tian. Only that Zhang Shan is sub-standard.”
“We’ll fight them as we go along. Our only true match is Lear,” Masasi said coolly.
“Ha. Lear is still pretty raw, not Boss’ match. What we should focus on now is keeping things in control. We can’t breed and sow discord,” Milo answered.
Apart from making it through the selection, the contestants were also here to fight for the titles of best player and best team.
Contestants continued to arrive, but none of the strongest few were in sight.
Luo Fei had returned to the Zeus College group. Half an hour later, an officer clad in the Solar System Federation Army’s uniform entered and the hall settled down.
The officer smiled. “Hello, everybody. I’m Su Yan. I can be considered your senior. IG is a good opportunity for everyone to level up and to make friends. I hope all of you will have a good time here.”
One look and you could tell that Su Yan was a Moon person. He was handsome and looked like he was only in his thirties. His rank was colonel.
“Haha. Everybody, relax. There is no task for today, it’s just for everybody to get to know one another. It’ll be free and easy when you’re dismissed from here later. Just assemble back here tomorrow morning. Feel free to ask if you’ve got any questions. You can see me as a friend.”
Those from Moonlight College smiled awkwardly and remained quiet. Those from other colleges couldn’t care much.
“Colonel Su, when will the contest begin?”
“Right here in Moonlight College?”
“Are we allowed to woo the pretty girls here?”
The hall burst into laughter. Su Yan was amused. “That will depend on your capabilities! Information pertaining to the contest will be released right here at 8 AM tomorrow. You’ll know then. Anything else? Ask!”
“We’d like to know how many people will be selected this time around,” someone from Kalaka asked.
Su Yan nodded. “Good question. There’s no limit. You’ll get to stay on as long as you make it through the rounds. It is something you should feel honored for. Those who make it through will have their portfolios recorded in the Federal Army and may even get to represent the Solar System in the actual IG. This can be described as your stepping stone to the universe.”
“Colonel Su, have you taken part in the actual IG contest?”
Su Yan chuckled. “Yes, but I did poorly.”
Those seated could no longer bring themselves from laughing anymore. There was no way anyone who qualified to compete was weak.
“A friendly reminder. To make it through the selection, apart from tough individual capabilities, character is also very important. Perhaps some of you here have character but are merely average in skills. That is okay as long as you pass the round. If your character is outstanding, you’ll stand the same chance. So, putting yourself on display is the most important thing. The judges will naturally assess you.”
Su Yan’s words caused some commotion. The IG selection had always been the cradle for generals. Other than picking out the outstanding warriors, other capabilities were important too. This was every contestant’s opportunity. If they won, their lives would take on an entirely different path from here on.
It was indeed as relaxing as Su Yan had described. The briefing ended promptly, and they were simply dismissed. It didn’t feel like a contest, more like a holiday.
Masasi did not shun away. He took the initiative to say hello. “Welcome to the Moon. Even though we’re now opponents, I hope everyone gets great results.”
“Same goes to you! The Moon is a beautiful place.” Wang Zheng smiled.
As for Carlos, he didn’t have a good impression of Ares and couldn’t be bothered with them. Masasi didn’t say much. At this point, everything could be left to the battlefield.
Thanks to Zhang Runan’s outburst, they immediately won respect from everywhere. Even the treatment they received was not the same. Moonlight College had specially appointed someone to bring them around. Otherwise, nobody would have cared about them at all.
Fatty had disappeared the moment they were dismissed. Soon, he reappeared in a mansion outside of the college’s campus.
Luo Fei looked around and sized up the place. He smiled upon seeing Lear walk out after a gym session.
“Boss, I’ve acted according to plan. But there was a little mishap. Ares College has got someone with the ability. Her name is Zhang Runan, she’s got a strength-type ability.”
Fatty remained relaxed in front of Lear.
Lear nodded. “Not too bad.”
“Boss, there’s something I really don’t understand. You had asked me to fail on purpose at the exchange, and now, to provoke Ares. But now at IG, they’re not even our targets!”
Luo Fei was troubled. He didn’t care much about being teased, but he just didn’t get it. Yet Boss didn’t like it when he asked questions.
This time round, Lear smiled lightly. “And who is our target?”
“Achilles.”
Lear gazed out of the window and smiled. “Did you know that the Moon never had someone who was destined to be king?”
Luo Fei shook his head truthfully. Were they simply unlucky?
“The Moon’s status is considerably good in the whole of the Milky Way. But historically speaking, they’re powerful, yet never once rulers. That’s because they seek perfection. Not just perfection for themselves, but also for their opponents. I told you to make a mistake, so strategically speaking, it was actually my responsibility. A poor understanding of the situation means misplacing the right people. How do you think Achilles will feel when Masasi reports the situation to him?”
“Aha! His pride will definitely make him feel uncomfortable about it.”
“Having buried this seed, whatever grows out will be a positive result to us. Moreover, the title from the exchange doesn’t matter to us. As for Ares, there’s no need for you to know. Let everybody have a good rest and get ready. We had better not embarrass Earth people.”
“Yes, Boss!”
Luo Fei nodded. The fatty was Lear’s cherished comrade, it’s just that it was hard to understand what sort of abilities a cheeky, mischievous fatty had that caught Lear’s attention.
For a very long time now, the Chronos discovered young people with potential from all over the Earth and groomed them. The Chronos’ family motto, “To charm your warriors into dying for you”, worked extremely well on Lear.
After Luo Fei left, Lear sipped on his afternoon tea which was in unadorned silverware. This was extremely rare on the Moon.
The state of mind for the way of a king. Somehow, Lear had been in excellent condition. It was as if he was enlightened, and he had the feeling that he had everything in control. It seemed like his Ability X was getting better.
Achilles, Lie Xin, Raston, and Taros were his four opponents at the moment.
Achilles was thought to represent the younger generation of the Solar System. He had maintained the best score at Academy X. He was flawless, he was calm, he was wise.
But to Lear, people like that were just long term opponents who would not affect him regardless. Moon people simply did not have strong desires and were overly idealistic, especially when it came to power. They were more concerned with “a good name”.