Almost just after class came to an end, Ye Muo’s terminal vibrated a few times. It was Ye Yun. He had taken Ye Muo’s class schedule beforehand and made him promise to stay with him any time outside of class. Ye Muo always received a message from Ye Yun right after class.
[I’m in the lounge.]
[Just come straight in.]
The second message was sent only a few minutes after the first.
Zhou Ran came over and threw an arm around Ye Muo’s shoulders.
“Coming to eat with us?”
“Sorry, not today. I have to go meet someone.”
Ye Muo looked a bit embarrassed. He didn’t know how to explain his father requesting him to stay by his big brother’s side all the time. It sounded strange even as-is.
Yet Zhou Ran was very easygoing. He skipped off and struck up a conversation with someone else. Before he left, he reminded Ye Muo what was happening this afternoon.
“Then we’ll be going first. Don’t forget to meet up with us in the academy’s auditorium this afternoon!”
Ye Muo responded with a smile. Packing up his textbooks, he walked against the flow of people to Class A’s lounge.
Class A was taught separately from the rest of the classes aside from a few shared courses. Their classrooms and lounge were in different places.
This was Ye Muo’s first time going there too. The number of people in the corridor kept dropping, the space becoming more and more quiet as he approached the lounge.
He couldn’t hear anything from inside. After a moment’s hesitation, he recalled Ye Yun telling him to go straight in and slowly pushed the door open. Ye Muo paused at the doorway.
There were people in the lounge, maybe seven or eight students in white uniforms. They were spread out all across the room, leaning against the walls or sitting on the couches.
The insignias on their shoulders were the same red as the rest of the first years. At this moment, all of them turned to look at Ye Muo. No one spoke. The silence in the room was inexplicably oppressive.
“Excuse me, I’m looking for Ye Yun.”
Ye Muo saw that Cairns was among those here. The boy was sitting on the sofa like he owned it. He didn’t see Ye Yun, however.
“Ye Yun’s–” in the locker room.
A girl sitting on a cabinet was just about to answer when Cairns interrupted.
“You shouldn’t be here. Trash should learn to stay in its place.”
Cairns’ words just fell when Ye Yun kicked open the locker room door and came out with a shirt in hand. He obviously heard what the other boy just said. He wasn’t wearing the jacket that was a part of the uniform. In just a loose, white T-shirt, he seemed more lively than usual.
He marched straight towards Cairns, grabbed his head, and slammed it hard into the wall. Just one blow was enough to draw blood. It dripped down Cairns’ forehead.
“Cairns, are you trying to defy me? Why not challenge me then?”
Cairns chuckled a little.
“Why not indeed.”
Cairns twisted out of his grasp before the two of them exchanged a rapid series of blows. Like two wolves tearing into each other, each strike was aimed towards their opponent’s vitals. Soon, Cairns and Ye Yun were both littered with minor wounds.
No one stopped them. On the contrary, they all backed off to give them space. Medical technology was quite advanced these days anyway. Any injuries they sustained could be treated with a session in the treatment pods.
Ye Muo stepped forward and touched Ye Yun.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Pa’r olcf, Dlu Dgbatfg. Qtja tf rjlv lrc’a kgbcu.”
Tf Tec’r fsfr kfgf ralii olzfv bc Jjlgcr, eckliilcu ab fcv atlcur pera ilxf atja.
Jjlgcr ifjcfv jujlcra atf kjii jcv iloafv tlr tfjv ab ibbx ja Tf Zeb.
“Glv sbe tfjg atja, Tf Tec? Lf jvwlaafv tlwrfio atja ktja P rjlv kjrc’a kgbcu. Zlcv sbeg bkc yerlcfrr.”
Ye Muo hurriedly held Ye Yun back. He scrambled to find a reasonable excuse. In his opinion, he really wasn’t a student from Class A and it was a fact that he wasn’t as good as them. This wasn’t something worth getting angry over.
“Let’s go, Big Brother. I’m hungry.”
Only then did Ye Yun turn to give Ye Muo a look. He reluctantly said.
“Fine, let’s go eat first.”
Ye Muo pulled Ye Yun out the door as Cairns spat out a mouthful of blood-laden spit.
“What? Is this what your prostitute mom taught you, to please people? Not bad.”
Ye Muo stopped. He let go of Ye Yun’s hand.
“Big Brother.”
Ye Yun, who was already raring to go, rushed past him and punched Cairns. The match was settled in an instant. He grabbed Cairns’ head and pressed it to the floor.
“Challenge failed. Looks like you’ll be taking orders from me for a while longer. Be good, Cairns. And wash that mouth of yours out with soap. Don’t you dare mess with my little brother.”
Ye Muo stood in the doorway behind him. His previous gentle demeanour had been replaced by cold aloofness. His lips quirked up coldly. The sunlight shining through behind him enveloped him in a halo. It highlighted his raven black hair, fair skin and phoenix eyes, revealing his startling beauty.
“It seems that I really am good at pleasing people.”
Even Cairns, who wanted to get up and go a few more rounds with Ye Yun, froze. His impression of Ye Muo had always been a slightly timid character, like that lover his mother took.
Ye Yun was not surprised in the slightest. Ye Muo was just this kind of person. He didn’t care what happened to him, but he would get angry if anything happened to Mom or his other family members.
The first time this came to light was when he uncharacteristically got in trouble at kindergarten for fighting for the first time ever and the school had called his parents. He refused to say why he fought no matter what. It was only after Ye Zhiyuan harshly scolded him that he admitted between sobs that the other party was saying bad things about Ye He.
The girl sitting on the cabinet quietly took out her terminal and pointed it at Ye Muo.
The sound of a shutter clicking broke the silence in the room. She shrugged, holding up her terminal.
“I’d like to upload this to the forums. You guys probably don’t mind, right?”
Ye Yun was the first to snicker contemptuously.
“I don’t mind. Zoom in a little on this grandpa’s heroic posture. Put a caption if his face isn’t clear.”
He was referring to Cairns.
Cairns scoffed but did not retort. Might made right in this academy. He could still afford to play the game.
The girl paused for a moment to add back the Ye Yun that she had cropped out.
The post’s title:
[Is it time to change the school idol?]
In the auditorium, all the students were gathered in their training uniforms. Those in the first row were all wearing white, everyone else behind them in black. The students at the front were all sitting pencil straight with a determined glint in their eyes, as if someone had just clicked copy paste. The other classes behind them were much more casual.
An old man wearing glasses slowly read out the manuscript in his hand. His already partially white hair was combed back. Medals of various sizes were pinned to his chest. Although he was getting on in age, his shoulders were much broader than the average person and his posture was very straight. He was reminiscent of a dozing lion.
“…This experiential learning opportunity is offered to all first years. It is designed to familiarise you with the space combat environment as well as allow you to gain a preliminary understanding of the internal structure of a warship…”
Zhou Ran rested an arm on the back of the chair in front and whispered to Ye Muo.
“As expected of Class A. The principal’s been reading for more than half an hour and they still haven’t moved a muscle. If it was me, I wouldn’t be able to resist fidgeting.”
Ye Muo also wouldn’t be able to resist. He and Zhou Ran basically muddled their way through classes. One was only interested in the mecha part of the curriculum while the other only wanted to graduate and plant plants. Ye Muo said with admiration.
“After all, they are all one in ten thousand elites.”
On the podium, the principal suddenly cut off in the middle of a sentence. He flipped to the last page before continuing to read.
“…This time, the teachers leading the experiential learning opportunity will be Instructors Aaron and Claire. I hope all students can go forth and learn with an open mind. Enrich yourselves and become capable contributors to the Empire as soon as possible.”
With that, the principal onstage underwent a sudden shift. Like an elderly lion waking from a lazy afternoon nap, his original majesty returned. He rested one hand over his heart and raised his voice.
“May imperial glory endure, and Grantz forever be immortalized!”
All the students stood up and also put their hands over their hearts in unison. They loudly recited.
“May imperial glory endure, and Grantz forever be immortalized!”
The entire auditorium echoed this sentiment. Even students muddling by like Ye Muo and Zhou Ran were caught up in the fervour.
“Very well. Students, the next step is for Instructors Aaron and Claire to lead you on board the warship for a special journey.”
Two instructors came up onto the stage. Both were very young. The principal, who was taller than even them by a full head, radiated a kind of indescribable oppression. They stood behind the principal until he nodded to them and went offstage. Only then did the two instructors step forward.
Aaron had a very serious air about him. Claire seemed a bit more relaxed in comparison.
Aaron stepped forward first, his sharp eyes sweeping past the students below.
“Recruits, you have fifteen minutes to go and equip yourselves. Meet us at the warship mooring port. I hope you won’t be late.”
“Understood!”
The entire auditorium scattered, everyone quickly rushing to the equipment room.
The equipment room was very large, with row upon row of lockers inside. It was usually not open to students unless a training class needed something from within. Ye Muo found an unclaimed equipment locker and opened it by swiping his card. He quickly started putting on the gear inside, sliding a dagger into the side of his boot while strapping the gun and ammo by his waist.
Next to him, Zhou Ran was loading bullets into his gun while grumbling to Ye Muo.
“Isn’t this just an introductory experiential learning class? Why does it have to be so strict? I have a feeling it’s just a simple tour where we’re not allowed to touch anything.”
The chatter around him suddenly quietened. Ye Muo closed the locker door and paused as he sensed something off. Like everyone else, he turned to look behind him.
Ye Yun had been standing not far away from who knew when, looking in his direction. There were seven or eight fellow white uniforms either standing or leaning against the wall by his side. Cairns was among them. His head was still wounded.
Ye Yun raised an eyebrow when Ye Muo finally turned around.
“Ready?”
Ye Muo nodded.
“Then let’s go.”
As soon as Ye Yun spoke, several of his companions stood up to leave.
Ye Muo was still a little confused about the situation.
“This counts as class, right? I want to be with my friend then–”
Before Ye Muo could even finish, Zhou Ran silently pushed him over and took a few steps back himself. He swung an arm around another student’s shoulders and gave Ye Muo a big thumbs up in silent support.
Ye Yun thanked Zhou Ran before bringing Ye Muo close and whispering to him.
“It may not be that simple this time. Stay close to me.”
Ye Yun explained to Ye Muo as they headed out.
“I checked the ammunition in advance. They’re live rounds.”
“More importantly, of course, we just sent someone to the senior class to scout for information, and the seniors said–”
Ye Yun moved closer to Ye Muo with a serious look in his eyes. He stated very softly.
“Be prepared to die.”
Ye Muo’s eyes widened. He’s seen dead people before. His very first memory in this world was of the sticky sensation of blood and a still warm corpse.
He remembered how he had crawled out from under that woman’s body. Time had erased her features, but he could still recall the ghastly pale shade of skin that had lost too much blood.
Ye Yun, of course, also sensed Ye Muo tensing. He tightened his grip on Ye Muo’s hand.
“Don’t worry about it too much. Just stay close to me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
He pulled Ye Muo closer to his side and mingled in with his companions.
The two instructors were already waiting for them at the entrance of the warship.
Aaron looked down at them from above.
“This batch of students is far worse than the last.”
Claire was unconcerned.
“You say that every year. Have the fawns been herded into the enclosure?”
“Of course. They’ve been herded onto Z472. There’s not many people there so it’s a perfect hunting ground. It’s time to have them see blood. The Empire has no need for dogs that can only wag their tails.”
Aaron frowned.
“If I remember correctly, His Majesty’s warships are anchored at a nearby port right now?”
“We’ve already made contact with the Secretary-General. His Majesty replied: ‘do as you wish’.”
Author’s Corner
This is a cub raising novel with a tyrant dad who’s single with no CP. The cub’s CP is up to fate. There’s a real throne to inherit in the family, so it’s not excessive to carefully select the future prince consort, right? (dog head.jpg)
Ahhhh. I hope he can plant plants…
What kind of school trip is this?!? Not going to be planting plants…
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️😳
Thanks for the chapter!
oohhh a future Emperor Ye Muo 😳
Ye Muo might like King George from Bridgeton show xD
To be honest, the cub I was expecting to see seems like a teen instead of a toddler or a little older than that.
Please don’t let anything happen to his family :'(
Are they out of their minds?
Blood for 1st year?
What’s with this explosive desensitization man ?
At least the MC is a decent age and not a baby exposed to war.
But he’s 17, the cub has grown XD
What’s CP?
his majesty is writing off his son/nephew to death, how nice of him
i just hope he gets away from the fighting and finds a garden and has fun