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Editor: max
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Lu Xingwang wasn’t really nervous about this matter of entering the army.
After all, as a prince who often served as a military instructor in the army, he was familiar with all the military procedures as if it was his own home.
Zuo Qingshan gave him a fake identity card, named Lu Zhuang.
“……”
When he saw this identity card, Lu Xingwang was silent for a moment.
Zuo Qingshan looked at his baffled face, leaned over, and said, “How is it? I especially picked this name for you. It means a strong body, strong ability, and top-notch in all aspects. How about it, Zhuang-ge? Are you pleased with the name?”
Lu Xingwang didn’t know how to express his complicated thoughts. He could only put away the card and said unenthusiastically, “Don’t call me next time to do these kinds of favors.”
“Ai?” Zuo Qingshan looked at Lu Xingwang’s cold face and hurriedly said, “I was wrong, I was wrong, don’t be angry. I’ll never forget Your Highness’ kindness.”
“No need to remember that long.” Lu Xingwang looked back at him. “Just remember to fulfill the conditions you promised.”
What a ruthless man.
Zuo Qingshan didn’t dare to refute. He could only watch Lu Xingwang enter the reporting location. After the person in charge checked his identity, he entered smoothly. Most of the people around were new recruits this year, and most of them didn’t know what would happen yet. After passing through the security check, they were all excited and filled with curiosity.
After the inspection, they were instructed to wait in the auditorium. While waiting for instructors and leaders to come, many people began to talk quietly.
“Do you have divine power?”
“I don’t have it either.”
“Looks like we’ll be assigned separately right away.”
“I heard that we will be trained together with people with divine power this year.”
“Ah……”
Everyone was talking when someone came from outside.
The man who came in was wearing boots and a blue uniform. He wasn’t very tall and had a slightly darker complexion. He said, “Everyone be quiet.”
All the recruits became silent instantly.
The instructor came over and read out several new recruits’ instructions. After that, he announced the content of the training, including things such as a successful registration didn’t automatically mean they would be regarded as an official soldier. A person still had to go through a primary elimination exam and strength evaluation. If a person fell below the standard 0.5 points, that person would be eliminated and sent home. The elimination exam was different every year. The tasks assigned to this year’s recruits would be announced from tomorrow onwards.
It was already getting late so the instructors arranged accommodation for the recruits.
The instructor began to roll call and told the recruits whose names were called to go to their dorms. However, as he announced the names, many people gradually discovered something amiss. For no reason other than that the names announced by the instructors were… all men with divine power.
The dorms of the recruits were actually pretty comfortable.
The first ones to be called would definitely be assigned a better dormitory and better bed while those who go in later wouldn’t be at too much of a disadvantage.
The crowd began to whisper relentlessly.
The instructor frowned. He turned around and said sternly, “What’s with all the noise?”
“If anyone dares to speak without permission again, you’ll be sent home immediately.” The instructor reprimanded them sternly. “Do you understand?!”
Everyone shut their mouths and remained silent.
Of course, much to everyone’s expectations, when the people without divine power went into their assigned dorms, the remaining rooms were filled with eight-person beds and some old things.
When the instructor left, someone whispered:
“Why is there such a difference in treatment?”
“Those big aristocrats ah, their family is well-off and have connections.”
“That’s right. It’s already good for people like us to have the chance to participate in training.”
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.
Oe Wlcukjcu jirb mtbrf j yfv. Lf vlvc’a qjgalmlqjaf lc atflg mbcnfgrjalbc, tf pera rja cfza ab atfw jcv ilrafcfv delfais.
All of a sudden, the person from the upper bunk came up to him with a washbasin and said, “Xiongdi, why haven’t you been talking?”
Oe Wlcukjcu rjlv, “Jbwf jujlc?”
Ktlr rabqqfv atf qfgrbc ogbw jrxlcu.
“You’re quite introverted.” The man smiled. “Xiongdi, why did you join the army?”
Oe Wlcukjcu rjlv, “Kb rfgnf atf wbatfgijcv.”
“……”
Ktf ktbif vbgw ofii rlifca gluta joafg tf rjlv atbrf kbgvr.
After that, it was unknown who laughed first, but the others followed suit.
The man next to him patted Lu Xingwang’s shoulder and said, “Xiongdi, your family must be well-off, right?
Lu Xingwang asked, “What do you mean?”
“Me, including a couple of buddies from the same town, all came here for the subsidy money.” The person beside was very honest. “If you get chosen as a soldier, you can get 30 gold coins a month.”
Lu Xingwang frowned. “If you’re not sincere about joining the military and just want to make a living, instead of coming here, why not get a job in your town?”
“Xiongdi, you just came out of the village,” said the man who just came out of the bathroom wearing slippers. “Did you know that people like us who have no divine power can only do those inferior jobs in the town? It’s already difficult enough to find 10 gold coins, not to mention 30 gold coins. You said that it’s hard to keep making a living. Are you still in the mood to talk about sincerity?”
Lu Xingwang was silent.
He suddenly remembered what Zuo Qingshan said to him a long time ago. “Your Highness has lived in the palace for a long time, how would you know how tough some people without divine power have it?”
They gained a lot on this trip.
He was thinking when a faint voice came out. A thin and feeble-looking bespectacled student said, “I want to join the army because of His Highness, the Third Prince.”
The others, including Lu Xingwang, looked up at him at the same time.
“Have you all watched his game? The third prince doesn’t have divine powers now either, but he’s still as good as ever.” The thin student pushed up his eyeglasses. “I just think that even we have the right to pursue our dreams, right?”
Life was indeed difficult.
But during these hopeless moments, the hope in the hearts of many people sparked because of that person’s existence.
Someone sneered and said, “Idiot. Can you be compared to His Highness, the Third Prince? He’s a genius, are you?”
The others also agreed and seconded.
“That’s right. Even without divine power, he’s still better than us.”
“It’s all about talent.”
“And he’s a prince. Some things are within his reach, you simply can’t compare.”
The thin student was intimidated by the group and couldn’t speak.
Amidst the noise, Lu Xingwang who had always been silent spoke up. “Why can’t he compare?”
“The words ‘can’t compare’ should be the words of regret after making the greatest efforts, instead of giving up without even trying.” Lu Xingwang was sitting on the edge of the bed, but the plain-looking man somehow attracted the attention of everyone at this moment. He had a kind of aura around him and the words he said were very convincing. “He’s not as highly talented as you think. There’s nothing impossible in this world as long as you put in enough effort.”
Silence fell over the room.
After a while, the man from the upper bunk broke the silence. “Xiongdi, I don’t know why but when you said that, I got a little fired up and wanted to serve the motherland.”
The other laughed along and the serious atmosphere was broken.
This conversation closed the gap between them and brought them all much closer. After talking about their families, they all fell asleep.
Tonight was his first time sleeping with a group. He wasn’t used to having people around him when sleeping, not to mention the number of people. In addition to the occasional snoring and sleeptalking, the cold and hard bed was also very uncomfortable. He’d been awake all night, so he was the first one to react when someone came in from the door.
The instructor came in with a stick and hit the beds of the people who were still asleep. When he was about to hit Lu Xingwang’s bed, his heart skipped a beat when he met those eyes. In the end, he just snorted and didn’t hit his bed but yelled at the top of his lungs. “Everyone stand up, line up, and go downstairs to eat. You will participate in the elimination exam today!”
The room was filled with the wails and cries of others.
Everyone complained bitterly, however it seemed that no one really reported a complaint about this kind of behavior of not treating people as human beings.
Lu Xingwang said to the man on the upper bunk who had just woken up, “Do you have no problem with that attitude of his?”
“They’re instructors.”
“And they have divine powers.”
“What’s the point of messing with them? You’re already lucky enough that you didn’t get hit.”
Lu Xingwang frowned but in the end, he remained silent.
After that, they gathered for breakfast. Although others didn’t pay much attention, he patiently observed everything. He found that the people from the civilian dorms were covering their waists or backs, or perhaps covering some wounds, which showed that these people had been beaten. However, the people who came out of the frontmost dorms were still sleepy-eyed and looked like they had just woken up, but none of them showed any discomfort. In other words, the people from their dormitory also woke up late but weren’t beaten.
A hint of coldness flashed across Lu Xingwang’s eyes.
Stan Star had always been a planet with a hierarchical system. Along with the imperial family, the great aristocrats, and members of upper society, the struggling people at the grassroots level and discrimination against people without divine power had long existed. He had already known about it but didn’t expect the situation to be this serious.
Upon arriving at the meeting place, the instructors announced the content of the elimination exam. The venue was a decommissioned scientific research institute and their mission was to rescue a doctor and his R&D team who were trapped inside the facility. There were 50 robbers scattered inside the research institute and the recruits were assigned in a team of 30 people. The final score was calculated based on the number of robbers killed and the members rescued.
From the front, the instructor said, “Now those whose names are called come forward to receive your supplies.”
Considering the instructor’s way of doing things, Lu Xingwang thought that they might distribute the supplies according to the grade, which was a clear violation. Under the new military law, recruits must be treated equally and receive the same supplies. Fortunately, these instructors were still quite rational and didn’t really do anything illegal. The supplies issued to everyone were the same, so it seemed fine.
“Lu Zhuang! Yang Zhao!”
Lu Xingwang didn’t react when he was called at first. Yang Zhao, who was beside him pushed him a little before he moved forward.
Out of the 30 people, half of them had divine power. The officer said, “In order to ensure fairness during the elimination exam, a divine power blocking system will be activated in the venue, the research institute. None of you are permitted to use your divine powers, this is to test your reflexes and overall level.”
As he spoke, he led everyone inside the research institute.
As soon as he entered, Lu Xingwang discovered the problem. It wasn’t a divine power blocking system that was activated but a signal blocking system which meant that almost all the people who had divine power could still use their powers. Ordinary people could only be left unfairly in the dark and then end up getting eliminated and feel that they have inferior skills from getting a low score.
The instructor shouted, “All of these are in accordance with the principles of fairness and justice. I hope that all of you will remember it and not commit any misconduct or violations.”
The others shouted. “Yes!”
It was ridiculously ironic.
When the test started, most people subconsciously dispersed and moved with caution.
Lu Xingwang was no exception either, but he didn’t expect that the rules of this test were even more absurd than he originally thought. When some people began to eliminate the robbers, they realized that the supplies and bullets were limited, thus some people set their eyes on their companions.
Yang Zhao said to Lu Xingwang, “Did you know that some people have already started…attacking their companions in order to ensure their scores?”
Lu Xingwang said, “Isn’t that a violation of rules?”
“It’s not against the rules.” Yang Zhao was very thin and weak and was wearing small eyeglasses. “So it’s best to walk together.”
Lu Xingwang nodded. “Okay.”
The two of them walked together and the sound of footsteps and voices came from the corridor ahead. The sound was almost indiscernible but Lu Xingwang reacted fast. He quickly pulled Yang Zhao and retreated. There were burnt marks on the ground, which were from the fire divine power.
Sweat broke out on Yang Zhao’s forehead. “How could this happen?”
Lu Xingwang said to him, “They haven’t found us yet. This is the scouting Yin fire of the fire divine power. As long as we don’t touch it, they won’t be able to see us.”
Yang Zhao hurriedly said, “Thank you, otherwise, I would have fallen into their trap.”
Lu Xingwang never liked saying empty words, he just nodded lightly. “Be careful.”
The two went through several corridors and also encountered another robber halfway through. Hitting the red part on the robber’s heart was considered a successful kill and taking the robber’s badge after a successful kill was counted as 1 score. Lu Xingwang’s marksmanship was remarkable and he almost single-handedly collected all the kills. Yang Zhao got injured during this time, so he suggested, “Let’s go into a small room and bandage it up.”
Lu Xingwang nodded. “Okay.”
He found a room that looked safe and pushed the door. Just as he was about to look for the medicine in his supplies, there was a ‘bang’ sound of the door closing behind him.
When he turned around, the door had been shut tightly.
Yang Zhao’s voice came out from the outside. “Sorry, Zhuang-ge, I took one of the badges. I really want to stay but I can’t get a badge with my strength alone. This quota is very important to me, I’m sorry!”
Lu Xingwang looked at the closed door in silence as the sound of footsteps gradually faded outside.
He actually wanted to tell Yang Zhao that even if he didn’t do this, he’d have given him all his badges in the end because he didn’t need them. There were also three people with fire divine power lying in ambush not far from here, so if he left the corridor at this time, he’d be eliminated. That was the reason why he chose to take a short rest in this room and look for an opportunity to fight back.
But now none of his words needed to be said; they were pointless.
After staying here for a day, he might have found the reason for the low acceptance rate of the recruits here. He was also a little tired and didn’t plan to continue, so he turned on the communication terminal to contact Zuo Qingshan and tell him to clean up this mess. With the military in such a state, I don’t know if the major general still has the face to meet his ancestors.
Ding.
No signal.
Upon turning on the communication terminal to contact Zuo Qingshan, he found that there was no signal. Lu Xingwang remembered that before he came in, this place was blocked from signals. He fell into deep thought, turned off the communication terminal, and sat in the dimly lit room. After all, this elimination exam would end sooner or later, and he could still get out.
But not long after, a sound coming from outside the room caught Lu Xingwang’s attention.
Someone must have been chased by a robber into the corridor. There were miserable cries and pleas for mercy.
“I was wrong, I was wrong, please stop beating me.”
“Can’t I just surrender?”
“I give up! Stop it.”
The pursuers obviously didn’t listen and regarded this as a hunting game. The other party’s surrender wasn’t enough, they just continued to inflict violence. The smell of blood coming from the gaps in the door would make people frown. People with divine power were using their power as a weapon and using the exam to harm others without any limits or restrictions.
Lu Xingwang frowned, he was not about to stand by and watch. He was about to get up to find a way to open the door when the communication terminal suddenly vibrated. There was a faint ‘dingdong’ sound that sent a shiver down his spine in this no-signal environment.
Then Lu Xingwang looked down and saw a message from Jian Mei. [Good afternoon, we finished our final exams today and got off from school early.”
The communication terminal showed that the signal strength was zero. He tried sending messages to Zuo Qingshan but all of them had red exclamation marks, yet he could receive Jian Mei’s message with no difficulty whatsoever.
Lu Xingwang tried to send a little symbol to the child. [?]
Jian Mei asked him. [Why did you send a question mark? Is there something wrong?]
He thought of a very strange idea and for a moment, Lu Xingwang didn’t know how to express it. The most high-tech communication devices in the universe couldn’t send messages without a signal, but he and Jian Mei could do it so easily. This showed that his connection with Jian Mei wasn’t linked by a signal.
If it wasn’t a signal, what could it be?
Lu Xingwang’s heart sank. An answer came to his mind, but it made him feel a little uncomfortable.
However, there were still wailing sounds coming from the outside. He didn’t have the time to think about anything else right now. So he just typed a message to Jian Mei.
[Can you do me a favor, I’ll send you a phone number in a moment. Try searching for it on WeChat, add it as a friend, and send him a message. Just say…] Lu Xingwang paused, feeling a little helpless. [Just say Dazhuang-ge asked you to come straight to the research institute.]
He finished typing and clicked send. Unexpectedly, it got a red exclamation point, indicating that there was no signal to send the message successfully.
Lu Xingwang: ?
“What the hell is going on?” Lu Xingwang questioned himself as Jian Mei’s message was sent successfully.
Lu Xingwang clicked on all the options and found that except for emojis, all other options were grayed out. Only one communication option was still lit and it was the video call which meant that if he wanted to talk to Jian Mei today, he had to make a video call. There was a mirror in this room and at this moment, His Highness stared at the unattractive and plain-looking him in the reflection and was speechless.
Never mind, he thought.
Wouldn’t it be fine as long as I don’t turn on the front-facing camera?
Lu Xingwang thought over and over, but in the end, he still clicked the video call option. The response was also very quick, it was answered in almost a second. Lu Xingwang was still trying to turn off the front camera when he found that this option was actually grayed out because there was no signal so this feature couldn’t be used.
?
What peace of mind could this lousy device do?
It was at that moment the video call was connected. His Highness covered the camera on his wrist with one hand.
Jian Mei was faced with a dark screen and asked in confusion. “Dazhuang-ge, what happened to you? Did something happen?
Lu Xingwang endured and finally spoke in a slightly calmer tone. “Nothing, don’t worry.”
The author has something to say:
He just doesn’t have the confidence to see someone for a bit, it’s not a big deal.
Whoops, I overslept today!
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
Merci pour le chapitre🥰🥰
tysm ❤️❤️❤️
The hierarchical system is absolutely disgusting.
+1
+2
+3
+3
+4
Thanks for the chapter ♥️♥️
Hahahaha, he doesn’t want Meimei’s first impression of him to be plain lol
Lol
Tf? Time to reform even more Dx
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
Don’t look at the unattractive in-disguise me! Wanting to be stunning for Mei Mei—so lmao! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️
It’s good to have such a morally responsible person as prince.😌
Thanks for the update!😘
+1
Haha our crown prince doesn’t want him to see his ugly face🤣
Thank you for the chapter! What a bad time XD I mean, Mei could have seen his face already but XD
Hide! cover the cam 😆. You’re Dazhuang-ge is still in potion, need to be good looking when facing Jian Mei
💜💜💜
When you’re trying to keep yourself handsome for your man…