At Dining Hall 16, in a corner near the garden.

Li Xiao watched the person sitting opposite him, Song Jin, pour eight packets of sugar into his coffee, stir it, take a sip, and, feeling it still wasn’t sweet enough, grab another handful of sugar and pour it in.
Li Xiao felt suffocated from the sweetness just by watching.
Wouldn’t it be more convenient to just pour the sugar directly into your mouth? It would even save a step.

“Thanks for earlier. I haven’t asked your name yet?” Li Xiao asked in Danse language.
“Song Jin.” Song Jin put down his cup and teased, “We’ve already had half a day of classes and you still don’t know my name. You truly don’t care about your classmates at all.”

He surprisingly also had the surname Song.
Li Xiao looked at Song Jin in confusion and followed his words to ask: “By that logic, you know what my name is?”
“If I remember correctly, it’s Li Xiao, right?” Song Jin rested his chin on his hand, looking over and probing without alerting him, “The same surname as the Danse royal family.”

“Li is a large ethnic surname; not everyone surnamed Li is a royal.” Li Xiao met his gaze. “Your surname is Song. I remember the Holy Ya royal family is also surnamed Song.”
Song Jin used his own words to retort: “Song is a large surname; not everyone surnamed Song is a royal.”

Li Xiao pressed on: “Then, are you?”
Song Jin asked in return: “Do I look like one to you?”
Li Xiao took a sip of his coffee and put down his cup: “Can’t tell, but your eyes are very beautiful.”
Song Jin: “What, are you interested in me?”

The food delivery robot came over, and Li Xiao placed a flashy, colorful dessert in front of Song Jin: “Wasn’t I afraid you’d say I don’t care about my classmates?”
Song Jin: “Do you care about my opinion that much?”
Li Xiao spouted nonsense with a straight face: “I have a people-pleasing personality. I care very much about everyone’s opinion.”
Song Jin: “…”
Fine, you’re really something.

At another table diagonally across from them, Qian Can was chewing on his spoon, occasionally glancing over there, chuckling: “The boss’s offensive is so fierce, I wonder if that Danse brother can handle it.”
Qin Le stretched his neck to look.
Those two looked harmonious on the surface, but he always felt like he could smell the scent of gunpowder.

“Can you speak Danse language?” Jiang Hao, who had been forcibly dragged over to sit at their table, asked.
Qin Le looked at Jiang Hao sitting opposite him and said in Danse language: “Sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier. After we finish eating, come with me to pick up a translator. It will help with both daily life and classes.”
“Thank you.” Thinking of his big brother who only scored three points, Jiang Hao added, “Can I pick one up for my big brother too?”
Qin Le: “Of course you can.”

Qian Can leaned over and asked curiously: “Little Jiang, you and he are classmates? Have you known each other for a long time? Is he very popular in Danse too?”
With this question, even Da Bei, sitting next to Jiang Hao, put down his bowl, looking as if he was waiting to hear gossip.

Jiang Hao hadn’t known Li Xiao for much longer than they had. Furthermore, the matters on N2781 couldn’t be randomly discussed with just anyone; he was now an “honest and good” citizen.
“Big brother is popular wherever he goes.”

After a meal, Li Xiao and Song Jin had been probing each other for a long time, but neither managed to extract even the slightest bit of useful information from the other. However, they did discover that their tastes were both extremely polarized.
Song Jin heavily favored sweet things, while Li Xiao heavily favored spicy things.

For the practical combat assessment in the afternoon, Li Xiao and the others gathered at the designated M669 Practical Combat Training Hall after their lunch break.
After the two head instructors took roll call, they led everyone to the training grounds.

Instructor Chen Xing stood in front of the group, looking at everyone seriously: “This afternoon is the practical combat assessment. You all see the training system ahead, right? There are 64 obstacles in the sandy area and 128 invisible launch ports. Everyone needs to avoid the incoming balls and reach the finish line within the designated time.”

Everyone looked in the direction Chen Xing pointed.
The sandy area was piled with many rocks of varying heights. The straight-line distance from the starting point to the destination was two hundred meters. But having to dodge obstacles while also evading balls fired from unknown directions made it quite difficult.

Chen Xing called roll call in order according to the morning’s written exam rankings.
Discovering he was the first one up, Qian Can felt nothing but regret. Had he known, he would have just slept on his desk during the morning exam too.

The whistle blew, and the virtual screen suspended in mid-air started a three-minute countdown.
The moment Qian Can stepped into the sandy area, three small balls instantly shot at him from different directions. He pulled up his legs and ran.
“Ahhh—!”
Dodging and hiding all the way, even falling and rolling a few times in the sand, he reached the finish line in a sorry state, taking two minutes and fifteen seconds.

The virtual screen displayed the real-time score ranking and a slow-motion replay of his entire run.
The others sitting outside the starting line watching saw that the trajectories of the small balls almost formed a three-dimensional net, and they were already starting to feel afraid.

“If you remember the sequence, direction, and frequency of these balls being launched, it will be easier to avoid them.”
“Thank goodness I wasn’t the first one to go.”
Instructor Chen Xing added faintly: “The launch sequence and frequency of the balls are completely random.”
Everyone: “…”
You’re just messing with our mindset, aren’t you?

Qian Can, panting heavily, returned to the group and slumped down: “The military academy’s training programs really are perverse.”
Li Xiao and Song Jin, one ranked second to last and the other dead last, were both very calm.
Song Jin’s entire attention was on Li Xiao.

Having stayed up all night and found nothing, and having asked nothing useful during lunch, his interest in Li Xiao grew exponentially.
When they were first brought here, he noticed Li Xiao glancing at the mid-air above the sandy area. It didn’t look like his eyes were wandering, but rather as if he genuinely saw something.
But the launch devices around the sandy area were highly camouflaged into the environment, achieving an invisible state invisible to the naked eye. So what was Li Xiao looking at?

The students went onto the field one after another; very few managed to pass smoothly.
Most people accidentally got hit by a ball halfway and were eliminated early.
For the exchange students, it was their first time experiencing this kind of training mode.

Zheng Lin looked up at his score of two minutes and twenty-eight seconds, feeling somewhat satisfied. Upon returning, he subconsciously looked towards Li Xiao, but the other party was smiling and saying something to Meng Tao, who was about to go up, completely ignoring him. This made him feel somewhat annoyed.

After the whistle, Meng Tao rushed into the sandy area.
From his route planning to his techniques for dodging the balls, everything was perfect. His final time was one minute and fifty-nine seconds, surpassing Qian Can to take first place.
The virtual screen played the full replay, and even the two instructors kept nodding their heads.

Meng Tao wiped away his previous humiliation and returned to the group amidst the cheers of the exchange students. His gaze towards Li Xiao carried a hint of provocation.
Seeing his sense of superiority overflowing, Li Xiao couldn’t let him die holding it in, and said very understandingly: “You really are strong, I wasn’t wrong about you.”
Meng Tao lifted his chin: “I haven’t adapted to the venue, so I didn’t perform at my best.”

Hearing this, the other students nearby couldn’t help but take a few extra glances at Meng Tao.
This score was considered very good even in the entire grade. The strength of this batch of exchange students from Danse was quite good, except for one or two individuals.

Chen Xing: “Next, Qi Ge.”
Li Xiao sat on the steps, watching Jiang Hao’s roommate start from the beginning. Noticing Qi Ge’s gaze, his brow twitched.
Ordinary people couldn’t see those launch ports, so their gazes would wander. But Qi Ge’s gaze accurately landed on the positions of the launch ports several times.
Once or twice could be called a coincidence, but as Li Xiao counted, he looked a total of seven times throughout the whole run.

Qi Ge came from the major aristocratic Qi family; his grandfather was currently one of the five admirals in charge. If he remembered correctly, the Qi family had no Bique tribe blood.
For some reason, Li Xiao suddenly remembered that vial of blood Ghost Dragon used as a prize, and he felt a faint sense of unease in his heart.

Song Jin had been observing Li Xiao the whole time and naturally noticed his subtle expression changes immediately. He raised his eyes to look at the replay on the virtual screen.
The score was two minutes and three seconds—standard, nothing special.

An hour and a half later, Jiang Hao, wearing the micro-translator, heard the instructor call his name and stood up to respond.
“Big brother, I will pick up the face I lost this morning.”
Li Xiao: “It’s fine, just play around as you like.”

Qian Can sat cross-legged on the side, looking around excitedly: “Little Jiang looks like a good student at first glance, I wonder how his athletic nerves are.”
Considering Jiang Hao only scored nine points on the written exam but looked handsome and obedient, even the iron-blooded instructor Chen Xing couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for this foolish student and gave him a few extra pointers.

The whistle blew, and Jiang Hao precisely dodged six balls flying at him simultaneously, and rushed out.
“Awooo—!” Outside the field, Qian Can suddenly stood up and cheered, “Little Jiang is awesome! Go!”

The actual combat environments Jiang Hao had been exposed to were a hundred, a thousand times harsher than this simulated environment. Although he couldn’t see the launch ports, it wasn’t too difficult for him.
Seeing Jiang Hao’s speed, Meng Tao’s face immediately darkened.
This guy surnamed Jiang, who usually kept quiet, was actually hiding such strength.

Jiang Hao’s evasion routines and strategies were clearly different from the other exchange students; they definitely weren’t trained in the same place.
Song Jin observed Li Xiao’s reaction out of the corner of his eye and saw that the other party was calm and composed, seemingly not surprised by this at all.

Approaching the finish line, five balls came at him simultaneously.
Jiang Hao dodged four of them and habitually reached out to draw his sword to block the last ball. Unexpectedly, he grabbed empty air and was hit in the shoulder by the ball.

The time on the virtual screen stopped at one minute and thirty-two seconds.
If he hadn’t been hit by this ball, his score would easily surpass Meng Tao’s.
Even though he maintained first place, this feeling of almost being surpassed left a bad taste in Meng Tao’s mouth, especially since this person was Li Xiao’s follower underling.

The spectating students all felt it was a pity for Jiang Hao. Instructor Chen Xing went over and patted his shoulder: “You performed very well, but you actually could have dodged that ball, right?”
Jiang Hao was in low spirits: “My wife isn’t here, I’m not quite used to it.”
Chen Xing: “??”
Wife?

When it was Li Xiao’s turn, Qian Can led the jeering.
Let alone the Danse exchange students, even the students on Holy Ya’s side were very much looking forward to seeing his performance.
Song Jin stood up directly, walked out of the group, and watched from a close distance.

As a senior instructor, Chen Xing knew just by looking at Li Xiao’s posture that this kid’s athletic nerves were pretty good, and his score wouldn’t be too bad.
“Little Li, perform well.”
Li Xiao didn’t really care either way. Hearing the whistle, he stepped into the sandy area, only to be unexpectedly hit in the thigh by a small ball the very next moment, leaving a white powder mark.

The virtual screen timer stopped at one second, and the replay only showed Li Xiao’s long, straight leg.
The entire venue was silent for a full three seconds.
Qian Can’s face was full of astonishment: “Ah this… Little brother, you’re playing a very new type of training, right?”
Jiang Hao: “…”
So when big brother said it, he wasn’t just being polite; he really didn’t care and just played around casually.
Understood.

Seeing Li Xiao’s nonchalant expression, Song Jin raised his hand and signaled Chen Xing to let him go again.
Li Xiao: “No need, my stomach hurts, I need to rest.”
Song Jin: “…”
Are you a child? Having a stomachache.

Before Chen Xing could stop him, the person had already left.
“…”
This kid has no fighting spirit at all! Could it be jet lag? Not acclimatized?

In the group, Meng Tao was already displeased. Seeing Li Xiao return, he couldn’t help but jab at him: “Even if you can’t get a good score, you can’t just give up right at the start. You need to properly adjust this mentality of yours.”
Li Xiao: “I have slow reactions, I can’t play this kind of game.”

Song Jin handed in a blank paper in the morning and was the last to go up in the afternoon.
He stood at the starting point, glanced at Li Xiao talking to Meng Tao over there, and raised his hand to signal the instructor to start.
Chen Xing blew the whistle. Song Jin vanished from the starting point instantly, and in the blink of an eye, he was already over ten meters away.

“Awooo, awooo, awooo—! Boss is awesome!” Qian Can yelled at the top of his lungs.
Everyone held their breath, their gazes moving with Song Jin, their hearts in their throats.
This speed was even faster than Jiang Hao’s just now!

As he approached the finish line, only a little over a minute had passed.
Song Jin scanned the seven balls flying at him from all directions, dodged five, and deliberately raised his leg to kick the sixth ball.
After the seventh ball was hit, it flew directly out of the field, heading straight towards the back of Li Xiao’s head in the group.

Only the two instructors, Chen Xing, who were close by, noticed this split-second turn of events. But the ball’s speed was too fast; they simply had no time to shout a warning.
“Dodge!”

At the same time Song Jin crossed the finish line, the ball hit Meng Tao’s chin.
Everyone heard the sound of the ball bouncing on the ground and only then realized someone had been hit.
Meng Tao was completely dumbfounded.
What just happened?!
Suddenly, there was a pain in his chin, and he fell over, wiping away a handful of white powder.

“Whoa—! Half a minute faster than first place!” a student shouted.
The screen showed Song Jin’s time was one minute and twenty seconds. In the slow-motion replay, a ball that was knocked out flew towards Li Xiao from behind. But just as it was about to hit, Li Xiao slightly tilted his head to avoid it, and the ball squarely hit Meng Tao.

What happened in an instant was stretched out in the slow-motion replay.
The difference in reaction speeds between Meng Tao and Li Xiao couldn’t be more obvious.

Watching the replay, Qian Can excitedly whistled: “So strong!”
Looking at Song Jin’s score, Jiang Hao’s eyes lit up: “Truly so strong.”

Meng Tao, Zheng Lin, and the others couldn’t help but look at Li Xiao, their pupils quaking.
Impossible, it must be just a coincidence!
Reacting to a sudden situation while not in a combat state—this insight and reaction speed were simply too terrifying!

Chen Xing checked Meng Tao’s chin. Seeing there was no problem, he looked at Li Xiao with a pleasant surprise: “I knew you weren’t bad! Train properly for me, you hear me!”
Li Xiao, who had only dodged purely out of instinct: “…”

Catching a glimpse of Song Jin walking over amidst the crowd’s jeering, Li Xiao turned his head, his gaze meeting the other party’s across the space.
This little golden lion was obviously causing trouble on purpose.
It seemed he was being targeted.

“Sorry about that, my hand slipped. You’re not hurt, are you?” Song Jin’s tone had not a shred of sincerity, and he even carried a smile.
Li Xiao: “Your hand slipped very accurately. With so many people around, you didn’t hit anyone else, but hit me?”
Song Jin: “Who asked me to only be interested in you?”
Li Xiao: “…”
Song Jin: “How about this, to express my apology, I’ll treat you to dinner tonight?”
Li Xiao: “…”

He had been targeted, in every sense of the word.