Chapter 14: To Strive or Not to Strive

Fang Minghui was taken aback. Before she could say anything, another boy rushed over and hastily exclaimed, “No! She’s mine!”

Song Zining’s expression suddenly darkened, and he coldly retorted, “What do you think you are, to dare compete with me for a woman?”

The boy paled, stuttering, “B-But…you already have two women.”

“Two are not enough,” Song Zining said coolly.

The boy was left speechless by this statement, throwing an unwilling glance at Qian Ye before slowly retreating.

This boy had been with several other companions. When he ran over, the others stopped and watched.

At this moment, a tall youth stepped forward, his voice heavy, “Song Zining, this is quite inappropriate. We’ve always respected you and made allowances, but you can’t hog all the benefits. You certainly shouldn’t bully my brother!”

Qian Ye recognized this youth; his name was Wu Jin, and he ranked right behind Song Zining, although their scores were fairly close.

Unfazed by Wu Jin’s seemingly calm but threatening words, Song Zining sneered, “I am bullying your brother. What of it?”

Wu Jin’s eyes narrowed, exuding a frightening aura as he said, “There doesn’t seem to be such a big gap between us. It has indeed been a while since we had a proper fight!”

“That’s because you didn’t dare challenge me, not because I avoided fighting,” Song Zining snarled, then suddenly straightened up, a sharp, lethal intent rising from him like a drawn sword!

Loosening his joints, Song Zining sneered, “Wu Jin, you’re not stupid enough to take that lousy score seriously, are you? How about we go to the combat room and have a real fight? But this time, I won’t hold back. After this, your so-called second place can go to hell!”

Facing Song Zining’s challenge, Wu Jin’s face changed, and he let out a heavy hum before turning and walking away.

Song Zining called out to Wu Jin’s back, “Wu Jin, if you want to join forces with others, do it soon. In another two months, I’ll ignite my second node!”

Second-class warrior!

Wu Jin’s body trembled, and he turned back, looking at Song Zining in disbelief before hurrying off, his earlier bravado gone.

The dozen or so children watching were equally shocked and immediately became even more respectful towards Song Zining. Fang Minghui, her gaze shifting, quickly and obediently stood beside Song Zining, saying softly, “Whatever Brother Song wants me to do, I’ll do it. I’ll be with whoever you want.”

Song Zining pointed at Fang Minghui and told Qian Ye, “Qian Ye, she is what you deserve. In this place, if you don’t take what you deserve, others will start to doubt and test you. A proper display of strength will reduce a lot of trouble.”

Though Qian Ye wanted to refuse, Song Zining’s resolute gaze stopped him, leaving him no choice but to allow Fang Minghui to stay by his side.

Back in his bed, Qian Ye still replayed the scene in his mind.

Song Zining wanted to tell Qian Ye that power was the key. Without power, one could only retreat or be killed on the spot when facing someone like Song Zining.

Even Wu Jin, who ranked second, could only leave in humiliation. As for Fang Minghui, a girl near the bottom of the rankings, her will was irrelevant; she would follow whichever man claimed her.

Qian Ye felt he understood Song Zining’s meaning.

Fang Minghui quietly climbed onto Qian Ye’s bed, but Qian Ye, tortured by the Bīng Fá Jué all day, showed no interest. He gave her a quick squeeze on her soft waist and then fell asleep.

In the following days, Fang Minghui stayed by Qian Ye’s side. Although Qian Ye did not touch her, he also did not send her away. Among the students, Qian Ye’s overall ranking was consistently high, hovering around tenth.

This was due to his excellent performance in every subject, especially in knowledge courses and those related to firearms and machinery. His physical training scores were slightly lower, but in practical combat, his brutal approach kept his scores within the top twenty.

Song Zining was right; given Qian Ye’s current ranking, he was entitled to a permanent female companion. His reluctance to claim one made others perceive him as lacking in confidence and strength.

Life in the training camp was never dull.

One day, during a mechanical class, Qian Ye, using simple tools and after failing more than ten times, finally successfully crafted a high-precision cartridge. Qian Ye was very satisfied with his work. A cartridge was easy to make, but creating a high-precision one without precise tools was much harder, requiring a significant degree of control over force and movement.

This was a core skill in battlefield repair. With this ability, Qian Ye would be able to fix damaged weapons in most battlefields, a skill of immense value.

As Qian Ye admired his work, a girl’s voice suddenly sounded, “That’s amazing!”

Qian Ye turned and saw a girl standing beside him, looking at the cartridge in his hand.

Her looks were average, but her figure was quite good, already over 170 cm. This girl, named Mi Mi, was one of the few in the class who did not need to rely on others. Her overall ranking was higher than Qian Ye’s, stable at sixth place.

“Just a bit of luck,” Qian Ye casually tossed the cartridge aside.

Mi Mi picked it up, examined it carefully, and said to Qian Ye, “You’ve piqued my interest. With you in the team, we won’t have to worry about our weapons breaking or running out of bullets in the future.”

“My repair skills aren’t much better than yours,” Qian Ye remembered, as Mi Mi’s scores in various mechanical subjects were not far behind his own.

“But you can never have too much of this ability! It seems you’re not interested in that Fang Minghui. Why don’t you become my partner?” Mi Mi directly invited.

Qian Ye frowned slightly, asking, “Partner? In what sense… partner?”

“No, in the combat sense,” Mi Mi leaned in close to Qian Ye, whispering, “It seems you’re not interested in women, and I’m not interested in men. Our combat styles complement each other, so it would be perfect. We can form a team on the battlefield!”

Qian Ye was genuinely tempted by this proposal and nodded, “Let me think about it.”

Over the next few months, Qian Ye and Mi Mi interacted more and spent increasing amounts of time together. Fang Minghui was roughly dismissed by Mi Mi.

Song Zining had no objections; he just wanted Qian Ye to have a female partner, and who it was didn’t matter. From a helpful standpoint, Mi Mi was clearly much more capable than Fang Minghui.

During this time, Mi Mi and Qian Ye often sparred in combat classes. Mi Mi’s combat style was sophisticated and balanced, steady in defense and unpredictable in attack, with her practical skills surpassing Qian Ye’s. Song Zining once privately mentioned that Mi Mi must have had a foundation in combat before joining the camp.

Naturally, Qian Ye wouldn’t use a mutually destructive fighting style against her, so he often lost in their spars. Over time, sparring with Mi Mi significantly improved Qian Ye’s combat skills.

By mid-year, the children faced their first true survival test.

All ten classes of students were to be dropped into a vast, wild mountainous area, along with hundreds of dark race warriors.

The students had to survive for ten days in this rugged and complex terrain. During this time, they had to contend not only with the dark races but also with other students, as killing a dark race warrior or a student earned the same points.

The rules were simple: kill a dark race warrior or a student to pass. The top ten killers would receive extra rewards.

If unable to kill, they needed to hide well. The exam would end when only six hundred students remained or after ten days.

Each student was issued a common dagger, the only weapon allowed in the exam.

At dusk, a shrill whistle sounded, signaling the start of the exam.

Qian Ye quickly moved into the woods and hid. As night fell, he emerged from his hiding spot and began moving cautiously.

Qian Ye blended into the darkness, moving patiently while observing his surroundings. His movements were slow, almost silent. His excellent wilderness survival skills proved useful; Qian Ye meticulously executed every stealth move and adjusted according to the terrain.

As Qian Ye passed by a large tree, he suddenly paused in the shadows. About ten meters away, two students appeared, and a fierce battle broke out. Within minutes, one of the boys was stabbed multiple times and fell dead!

The victorious boy, still unsatisfied, viciously stabbed the corpse a few more times before wrenching a special whistle from the dead boy’s waist, inspecting its markings, and muttering curses.

The surviving boy, though wounded, tended to his injuries, stopped the bleeding, and prepared to blow the whistle. These whistles, when blown with original force, could be heard for kilometers. The instructors scattered in the exam area would hear the whistle, verify the kill, and then escort the passing students out of the exam area.

The whistle was already in his mouth, but the boy found he had no strength to blow it. A dagger’s tip suddenly appeared at his throat!

Stunned, the boy turned but could say nothing, only pointing at Mi Mi, who emerged from the forest, before he collapsed.

Mi Mi stooped to pull the dagger from the dead boy’s body, searched them both, and took their daggers and whistles. Each special whistle had a number, serving as the identity markers for the exam participants.

At the end, rankings would be determined by the number of whistles in each student’s possession. Losing one’s whistle meant, even if alive, being ranked last.

Mi Mi placed the dagger in her belt and suddenly sensed something, looking up and focusing on Qian Ye’s direction, “Who’s there! Come out!”