Regardless of the situation, Solon was extremely happy. He had set a new record, so the first step of his plan had succeeded. He felt as though a huge weight was off his shoulders. If it had not happened, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Right now, Solon’s new priority was regarding Lin Huiyin’s concert on Earth. The company Natural Echoing Sounds was quite mysterious. They seemed as though they had no concern for money. Although Lin Huiyin was extremely popular, most of her endorsement events were for public welfare.
Even though they had no regard for money, Solon was still extremely hard working, so he managed to broker excellent terms for their arrangement. Regardless if it was the plan for Skeleton or for the Asian CT region, all of it would rise to a new level soon.
It has to be said that the TV rights for broadcasting the concert had already been bought at sky high prices. Furthermore, this was Lin Huiyin’s first time performing on Earth.
Naturally, the policemen of the capital were extremely busy and nervous. The more people there were, the more important it was to prevent troublemakers from arising. Recently, with the Princess’s visit to the Solar System Federation, Earth had an increase in exposure. With Lin Huiyin coming down to release her new record, it showed that the Aslan Empire was willing to cooperate with the Solar System Federation.
In terms of socioeconomics and especially when it came to technology, the Solar System Federation was severely lacking and required the assistance of the Aslan Empire. Despite all this, they still wanted to retain a sense of bearing and hence had to do a good job.
It was rumored that a large portion of the VIP tickets had already been reserved by the higher echelons in the numerous social and economic circles.
However, the concert was still predominantly for the youth, especially those still in school. Huiyin’s biggest fans were in charge of obtaining the tickets for everyone, but even they had issues obtaining them.
Wang Zheng held no interest towards this; he felt that paying a sum to listen to the concert on his Skylink was sufficient. However, he could not help but be affected by the excitement as the hype for the concert far exceeded that of the Tri-College Exchange and Competition.
Tyrant Su was willing to pay any price to make An Mei happy. It was hard to imagine that he had managed to obtain two tickets. Even without saying how much he had spent on them, his dedication and effort had made her very happy.
What was truly fortunate was that Aina and Wang Zheng felt the same way. Although they liked the music, they were not rabid fans.
The school’s preparations had gone into full swing. Zhang Shan was barely seen and Wang Zheng had only bumped into Meng Tian just once ever since she came back from her special training. It could be said that this time, the training was extremely secretive.
Wang Zheng continued to attend class and train as per normal, spending the rest of his time with Aina. The two of them enjoyed exploring the capital together and Wang Zheng had even managed to amass a small fortune.
After his last treat, he realized that his bank account had received tens of thousands of credits. This was a huge sum to Wang Zheng, enough to make it so that he no longer had to worry about his future school fees and living expenses.
Although Aina was a princess, she was not haughty. On the other hand, she was not interested in expensive things but enjoyed the simple streetside attractions. Wang Zheng’s first gift was a small glass pendant with a bear engraved onto it. It was carved by hand and only cost 10 credits. He felt that it looked adorable and thus bought it on impulse. However, he did not expect the quality to be so… shabby. However, Aina still loved it and wore it.
Dear Student Wang couldn’t help but feel extremely fortunate. Sometimes he even wondered if this was the legendary “sweetness after bitterness.”
It was no wonder people often said that college life was the most beautiful, even if it was a military college.
Two tables in the canteen were joined together. A small group of people with solemn expressions were gathered around it before they suddenly burst out into laughter.
“What in the world, how could this be possible?!” Tyrant Su said depressingly.
His face was full of make up and was barely any different compared to that of an opera performer. [1]
An Mei smiled as she patted Yan Xiaosu. “Good boy, time for another round.”
She took out a tube of lipstick and drew another cross onto an empty spot on his face.
The ones playing were Wang Zheng, Yan Xiaosu, Yao Ailun, Chen Xiu, Aina, Ye Zisu, An Mei, and Du Qingqing.
Card games were eternal and they were playing blackjack.
When the guys lost, the girls would use lipstick to draw on their faces. If the girls lost, slips of paper would be stuck to their faces.
Without question, the two most impressive players were Wang Zheng and Yao Ailun. Chen Xiu and Tyrant Su were the sacrifices. On the side of the girls, Aina and Du Qingqing were extremely pitiful; numerous strips of papers had been stuck onto them.
Although Wang Zheng was slightly reluctant to do so, Aina was extremely happy.
“Wang Zheng! Have you and Yao Ailun trained in this before? Why aren’t you two losing?!” Du Qingqing asked in frustration. The two of them were targets of hostility.
Yao Ailun adjusted his golden rimmed spectacles, his eyes flashing with wisdom. “This is actually just a simple mathematical problem. You can easily calculate the odds.”
“Wang Zheng! How about you?! I have never seen you doing any calculations!” An Mei stared at him as she shouted, “Even my Tyrant Su cannot keep this up any longer!”
Wang Zheng shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and said, “I have good luck.”
In actuality, Wang Zheng was also calculating the odds. However, it was all instinctive; doing such mental calculations was extremely easy for him. Furthermore, he was playing with a bunch of newbies. When he played with the Old Merchant, that was when things turned nasty. The two of them had set upon an agreed time limit and even tried to distract each other actively. However, Wang Zheng usually lost so terrifyingly that one would piss their pants. Although the Old Merchant was extremely old, it was amazing how agile his mind still was.
“If you call this luck, then I think you should be known as the God of Gamblers!”
Ye Zisu laughed, “Shishi, is this your first time playing this?”
Aina smiled and nodded her head. Actually, it didn’t matter what game they played; it was the atmosphere that mattered most. Aina was like a curious baby with a cute expression on her face. Wang Zheng sneakily tugged at Aina’s hand from below the table.
The guys were very casual, but the girls were extremely focused.
“I don’t want to play anymore. Playing with you Physics Department students is just too exhausting. The competition is going to start in three days and I don’t even know how Zhang Shan and Meng Tian are doing. The two of them are the pride of us freshmen. I hope they can win some glory for our sake!” An Mei said, before taking a wet towel to clean Yan Xiaosu’s face.
“We have Masasi this time, so there shouldn’t be any problems right?” Yan Xiaosu said.
“Don’t be overly confident in the Moon man’s strength. Apollo and Zeus College are not to be trifled with. This time we are just aiming not to lose too disastrously!” Yao Ailun said as he smiled.
“Brother Ailun, it can’t be that exaggerated, right? Isn’t our team really strong this time?” Chen Xiu asked curiously.
“Hehe, how could we be the only college to recruit foreign talent? The strong want to get stronger. Furthermore, they will do their best to train the most talented. Although Earth’s standards are lower, if you think about it, numerous elites of Aslan are from Earth!” Yao Ailun replied cooly, mimicking Agent 007.[2]
“Doesn’t that mean that we are going to get destroyed?” Chen Xiu ask frustratedly. Even the girls felt slightly worried.
“We have no other choice. From what I know, the other two colleges possess extremely strong experts.”
“How do you know?” Du Qingqing asked doubtfully.
“Hehe, I’m sure you all know of Wild King. That bastard is a new freshman from Apollo College. He is currently a member of Skeleton’s Army and he loves to play CT. However, even with his skill, he is only fit to be a substitute.”
The rest of them looked at each other, but Yao Ailun looked as though he had not finished speaking. “This exchange is extremely important. The ones who perform exceptionally will gain the privilege of representing Earth in the Solar System Federation’s Military School Grand Tournament. Thus, some of those individuals who usually do not compete will be out as well.”
Ye Zisu nodded her head. “What he says is true. The mecha used for the competition have been sponsored by OMG. Those who participate in the competition upon graduation will likely become a pillar of the army. Most of them directly enter the Solar System Federation Army.”
The group had stunned looks on their faces. Although the Solar System Federation was part of the Milky Way Alliance, within it were three large factions. The Earth Federation, the Moon Federation, and the Mars Federation. Each of them had their own garrison of troops and they were of a lower rank compared to the Solar System Federation’s army. The Solar System Federation possessed the troops of the highest caliber and their strength was something an ordinary army could not compete with.
Military students all aspired to enter the Solar System Federation Army as that was the only way to enter the broader stage to expand their horizons.
“It can’t be. Wouldn’t we be cheering for nothing? Everyone was hoping that we would have an exhilarating victory!” An Mei said dejectedly. It could be seen that these weren’t just words to frighten them.
“Everything is dictated by one’s strength. How could it be easy to rise from the bottom? Furthermore, Masasi can’t be relied upon when all’s said and done. He might just leave at any moment,” Yao Ailun said, as he cleaned his spectacles.
“I couldn’t tell that you were such a pessimistic individual.” An Mei said, as she looked at Yao Ailun.
Yao Ailun gave a wry smile. ” I just like to pursue the truth.”
“F**k, we will just react to the situation. We aren’t from the Military Department, so let’s just await Lin Huiyin’s concert.”
Yan Xiaosu changed the subject. Wang Zheng felt great regret. Such a great opportunity would definitely be a lot harder than his CT games. No matter how hard it was to play CT, he could not experience the collision and intertwining of life and death in it. Ah, it was all going so well, but that d**ned Bonehead had to ruin everything.
With his strength, even if he could not be a main member, he would not have been chased away so easily either.
Regardless, what was supposed to happen would happen. Zeus and Apollo Military College’s interviewers had arrived. Gu Te naturally received them with the highest of standards and the school itself was bustling with activity.
The competition would not begin immediately; the reception would start with the students themselves. Ares College’s students would organize representatives to engage the students from other colleges.
With the competition as the main focus, there would still be interactions and activities. However, the finale would culminate with the battle between the three.
Apollo College’s captain was Campbell. He was in his third year in the Commander’s Department and the champion of the previous meet. He was also the president of the student council and possessed unparalleled prestige in Apollo College.
Zeus College’s captain was known as Lear Cronos. He was a freshman and chairman of the student council. He was also from the Commander’s Department and was new. No one had ever heard of a freshman being the chairman of the student council. His fame was different from Campbell’s. It looked as though Zeus College was planning to nurture their freshmen quite seriously.
Ares College’s captain was Masasi. He was also a freshman from the Commander’s Department.
It could be seen that Zeus College and Ares College were going to use such a method to challenge Apollo College. It looked as though Apollo College had to do more to ensure the success of their future competitions.
Although they were competitors, Campbell’s entrance received the loudest cheers. He could be considered a celebrity in the military colleges. After he graduated, he would likely enter the Solar System Federation Army’s Ace Fleet. In his situation, he would likely be promoted to a lieutenant almost immediately and surpass what many took years to achieve.
[1] http://pete.langezone.com/pics/hug09/opera2-1920.jpg
[2] This is in reference to James Bond.