Chapter 111

'The big boss never looks back at an explosion.'

Qin Su welded himself to the Warship. Before the shockwave of the explosion hit, he held the position above the blood mist for three seconds and then naturally steered the Warship toward the location of the entire 1st Brigade without looking back.

They successfully avoided standing still and getting caught in the blast of gunfire from behind.

Amidst the utter chaos of the unrecognizable ground, the group watched as Qin Su, covered in blood, drew ever closer.

Qin Su stood before them, and the members of the 1st Brigade were still reeling from the series of shocking scenes Qin Su had created.

They stared blankly at Qin Su, who had stopped in mid-air not far from them, then stiffly turned their eyes to look down at the place below, which had returned to silence after the explosion and was now a pile of ruins, distinctly different from everything around it.

Meeting Qin Su's cold, emotionless black pupils, and seeing the countless different colored insect bloodstains on his body caused by his Pheromones breaking apart amidst thousands of insects, a storm of shock surged in everyone's hearts.

Everyone was so shocked that they were temporarily speechless, completely unsure of what to say to express their utterly awed feelings in the face of Qin Su.

Forcing yourself to speak will only lead to saying the wrong thing; it's better to remain silent.

Though they didn't say it aloud, their minds were racing, and they couldn't help but recall the words Qin Su had said when he went down.

They didn't understand what Qin Su meant then, but now they do.

Qin Su's "minor expression of dissatisfaction" actually meant that "in a short time, he used Pheromones to instantly kill tens of thousands of queen insects and blow up all the rarest but most expensive Mecha among all the weapons he brought to dust."

The reason they didn't damage any Warships or Spaceships is most likely because Warships were their means of transportation, and Spaceships were the medium they needed to Hyperspace Jump back.

The Mecha, however, have been largely unused during this Purge, aside from those used by the team leaders.

Without them, given Qin Su's ruthless approach of maximizing each person's exchange quota—a move that would be considered cold-blooded by the Federation —all the weapons and Warships used on this trip would likely have been destroyed by Qin Su.

Even in his revenge, Qin Su considered them.

Thinking of this, everyone looked at Qin Su with shock, fear, and even more so, emotion and admiration.

Qin Su stood still for less than two seconds, his gaze calmly sweeping over his classmates, when he noticed that their eyes had changed from fear and apprehension to sparkling with excitement as they looked at him.

"..."

Qin Su didn't quite understand what everyone had imagined in such a short time, causing such a huge change in their emotions.

Taking too long and making the flow disjointed makes him seem deliberate; the urgent task is to finish the strong piece cleanly and efficiently.

Qin Su temporarily put his doubts aside, glanced at everyone, and said simply in a calm voice, "It's over."

"!"

The eyes of the entire 1st Brigade members looking at Qin Su immediately lit up even more.

Qin Su's casual tone and unwavering gaze suggested he was completely unaware of the astonishing things he had just done...

Indeed, only inexperienced newbies like them would make such a fuss. To Qin Su, these were just everyday occurrences.

After Qin Su finished speaking, there was a moment of silence, and then someone shouted an excited "Yay!"

Qin Su anticipated that after he announced the 'successful conclusion of the Third Practical Exercise,' his classmates would surely cheer with joy, given their personalities.

Unexpectedly, everyone seemed to be still in shock; apart from staring at him with shining eyes and their chests heaving violently, no one uttered a sound.

That was kind of awkward.

Suddenly, a loud and cheerful voice rang out. Qin Su immediately seized the opportunity, his gaze fixed on the classmate who had shouted "Yay!" He quickly looked away and decisively said, "Five-minute break. Meet me at my location in five minutes to return to the Jump Point."

Qin Su didn't see what expressions everyone had. He knew he couldn't relax in front of his classmates, the acupuncture he had just received had lost its effectiveness, and every nerve in his body was screaming in pain. He also needed his own space, so he forced himself to keep his pupils from dilating. On the verge of a mental breakdown, he piloted his Warship and swiftly passed by the swarming 1st Brigade not far away.

"..."

As they watched Qin Su leave with his back to them, everyone swallowed involuntarily, only belatedly realizing that Qin Su had instantly killed everyone and received a notification on his Optical Brain that 'the 1st Brigade's Purge mission was over and they had won.'

With a mix of good news, the emotions that everyone had suppressed due to the overwhelming shock erupted at this moment, now that Qin Su had given him permission.

A series of joyful, nonsensical shouts erupted from the crowd.

"It's over, it's only been five days... no, it's only been five days and we've already finished this morning!"

"As expected of the Commander, not only did he lead us to complete the mission ahead of schedule, but we also got so many Star Coins. He even left me some space by leaving himself. He's truly the most compassionate god in the world! I love him to death!"

"I hereby declare our Commander 1 a god! Who agrees? Who disagrees? Anyone who disagrees, drag him out and sell him off!"

"Laughable, Raymond. Your comment clearly shows you're following the trending 'selling literature' on the StarNet lately. By the way, where is that whole family of 'legitimate Omega's selling off?"

"Sold to Commoner A." Raymond replied quickly, "I heard the next chapter will be about selling the leopard that Commoner A raised."

"Speaking of which... oh dear, I'm so stupid, I completely forgot to record a video!"

"!"

"Help! I didn't take any pictures either!"

"Damn, this is a mistake you'll regret for the rest of your life!" Who knows if they'll have another chance like this next time.

They had already finished their mission, the kill count had stopped, and the recording of the kills was turned off.

What a great opportunity to show off, acquire traffic secrets, and experience the popularity that Class 6) once had is gone!

These words immediately reminded countless students, and voices of regret and remorse rang out from the crowd.

"Hey-hey."

"Whee."

"He's still young; he clearly lacks experience."

The students in Class 6 were more experienced than those in other classes. They were so shocked that their jaws dropped to the ground, but that didn't stop them from taking a moment to focus on taking pictures first.

Amidst the general regret of other classes, the gloating and smug look of Class 6) seemed particularly irritating.

Judging from the appearance of the students in Class 6, they seemed to be very arrogant after being recorded. The students from other classes resisted the urge to elbow and mock the students in Class 6, and swallowed their pride to ask them questions.

Upon inquiry, it was found that almost everyone in Class 6) had a copy.

The other 58 classes were shocked.

Sophia raised her head and said with a smile, "Don't you understand? Our (Class 6 motto is: Don't panic when you encounter anything related to Qin Su. No matter what, even if you're buried in a coffin, you must first dig a hole to start filming and strive to record every beautiful frame of Qin Su!"

Other classes. "..."

'No wonder they're Class 6, a bunch of sixth graders.'

--

Amidst the commotion behind him, Qin Su stopped some distance away from the 1st Brigade.

Qin Su outwardly turned his back to the crowd, ignoring their gazes, but in reality, he used his Visual Helmet to check if his classmates were watching him. He then gracefully sat down on the Warship with his back to them.

Sitting on the edge of the Warship, Qin Su saw that the platform in the center of the Warship, with different weapons hanging on it, blocked everyone's view, and he completely disappeared from the sight of the Viewers both inside and outside the comic. His tense body relaxed slightly, and he lowered his eyes to look down.

He planned to sneak out that night while everyone was resting to inspect the area he had deliberately bombed into ruins.

Normally, after such a violent explosion, all traces he left behind last night would have vanished along with the insect corpses, but he still wanted to check one more time to be at ease.

Although the explosion used too much flammable and explosive energy, he obtained a lot of the Glands of the insects he needed while 'setting up' last night.

He owns his own Military Factory here, and can openly purchase raw materials for making firearms and ammunition. Considering his current need for a large amount of insect Glands, it's not too bad.

Only...

Without making a sound, Qin Su moved his arm at the spot where the injection was placed. As his consciousness gradually blurred, he decisively gave himself another injection, having no choice but to use medication to keep himself awake. He continued to silently draw out the areas he needed to focus on checking that night from the images captured by his Optical Brain.

This is his way of metabolizing his body without increasing his exercise, using Glands on his body that are indiscriminately attacked by Earthlings, Zerg, and Interstellar People.

Instead, it is used outside of one's own body, which means it cannot form a protective layer for oneself during use.

To make oneself, like other insects and Interstellar People who sense Glands, pay a painful price.

No matter how it's used, he's going to suffer anyway.

The difference is that he needs to experience two different situations to increase his experience. He already had experience using it internally during the Second Practical Exercise, and this time he also has experience using it externally.

Rounding up, this isn't a bad deal.

After calming himself down and confirming the key areas to check that night, before another wave of pain surged through his brain and limbs, Qin Su, accompanied by the cheers of his classmates behind him, set an alarm to be forcibly woken up by his personal Optical Brain and then fully savored the exhilarating pain.

--

Hearing the sounds from afar, the Unit 2 remained silent for a long time.

Blumer: "..."

His perspective is too narrow. What kind of thing requires 1st Brigade to spend a day cleaning it up?

LOL, Qin Su could end all this with his Pheromones in the blink of an eye.

"Am I seeing things? Pheromones can work on insects? Qin Su... is he even human?"

After saying this, Su Zhanghua realized there was something ambiguous about it and quickly corrected himself amidst the fierce glares from his classmates.

"Of course, I don't mean to insult Qin Su. Qin Su is my idol. I mean Qin Su is like a god or something. After all, I've never heard of Pheromones having a deterrent effect on things other than humans before."

Only then did the others look away, satisfied.

"We think Pheromones are useless against insects, perhaps because our Pheromone levels aren't high enough, so we can't imagine a world like Qin Su's, where people have extremely high Pheromone levels."

"Support."

After a while, another sound rang out.

"If you don't understand, just ask. Based on what we saw from a distance, Qin Su... could have easily wiped out the insects on a large scale without using any weapons. Why did he keep making the other students work so hard to Purge themselves?"

"... Then what are the others doing here? Just standing around? Qin Su is clearly giving them a chance to practice."

"Ordered. This is the right way to think of them. Otherwise, without Qin Su, they'd just be food for the Zerg. They wouldn't even need to fight; they'd be chewed up by the Zerg after a couple of steps."

This statement was largely agreed upon by the majority of the Unit 2.

During this period, apart from the 'Zerg food sharing' post that Qin Su led his 1st Brigade to share last night, they did not post anything else this time.

However, even though they hadn't gotten close and didn't know exactly what the people from the Unit 2 1st Brigade had said, they could still deduce something from what they had witnessed not long ago.

Nowadays, everyone's tone of voice is full of envy for the members of 1st Brigade.

After their initial envy, they belatedly realized their guilt and looked at their Commander, Blumer, offering one apologetic remark after another.

"Commander, you're very kind too. We didn't mean anything by it."

We like you too.

Blumer looked away, his voice devoid of any displeasure. "No need for that. Let alone you guys, I myself am quite envious of the people in the 1st Brigade."

Seeing that Blumer didn't seem angry, the people in the Unit 2 breathed a sigh of relief.

--

Let's rewind to four minutes ago.

Under pressure from all sides, Zhang Minglang was forced to add the task of 'monitoring Qin Su's kill data'. He watched helplessly as Qin Su's ranking, which was originally 0 and last place, rose steadily to the top in less than three seconds, instead of climbing step by step.

At the same time, a congratulatory pop-up message appeared on the Optical Brain screen of Qin Su, the Commander and class Class Advisor, announcing the completion of the 1st Brigade's Purge Optical Brain and their Third Practical Exercise.

"...?"

Staring at the real-time kill rankings on the screen, Zhang Minglang rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

"Just... in the blink of an eye, it's full?" Zhang Minglang's voice was full of disbelief.

Before Zhang Minglang could even be surprised for a second, his Class Advisor, Blumer, who had also received a congratulatory pop-up notification, sent him a congratulatory message.

The congratulatory telegram contained only one word: Absolutely.

Zhang Minglang: "..."

Zhang Minglang's eyes lingered on the word "absolute" and the fact that not a single person in the 59 Classes the 1st Brigade had died, and that the average number of kills per person had reached the maximum reward. He muttered to himself, "Didn't expect that, did you? The most amazing thing is yet to come..."

Upon the return of 1st Brigade, each member will receive an average of 6.66 million Star Coins, and will also receive an additional percentage bonus of their exchangeable Star Coins to winning the Third Practical Exercise.

Zhang Minglang didn't know if the talent who proposed the quota exchange against Qin Su would be assassinated by the Federation overnight. He only knew that he was just imagining it, and he gasped.

'As expected of Qin Su, he's more than just ruthless; he's a wolf in sheep's clothing.'

Zhang Minglang looked at the students' names, his eyes filled with envy.

With Qin Su and others now dead, aside from everyone who tried to scheme against him, from this day forward, probably no one will dare to suggest 'punishing' Qin Su again.

The thought had barely crossed Zhang Minglang's mind when he received a video call pop-up. The first thing the other person asked him was Qin Su's kill count.

Zhang Minglang reported the facts truthfully.

Upon hearing that Qin Su had reached the maximum kill-to-earn bonus, the other party hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but say, "Teacher Zhang, as Qin Su's teacher, I suggest you fully utilize your role as a teacher and properly manage him. We're all family; there's no need for such confrontation."

The exchange limit had been zero the whole time, and then suddenly it was full. It was clearly Qin Su deliberately manipulating the system to mock those of them who were secretly watching.

Zhang Minglang: "... Take my advice, your suggestion was very good, but don't give suggestions like that next time."

Tube?

What a joke! Otherwise, why would he be allowed to be the Class Advisor? How could he possibly manage Qin Su?

That's easy for someone who doesn't understand the situation.

"?"

"Teacher Zhang, I'm calling you Teacher Zhang out of respect, considering you taught him many years ago. What kind of attitude is this?"

Zhang Minglang: "... Sorry, I've had too much to drink."

He was just being nosy.

He stopped worrying; everything was already set in stone. There were still a few days left until the 1st Brigade returned. Thinking about how these people would be choked half to death by Qin Su's retaliatory actions, Zhang Minglang was too lazy to argue with the person on the other end and hung up with a smile.

Before long, countless people knew that Qin Su had killed a full number of people.

This includes the Fourth Military Academy Principal, Aiseboer.

"Call..."

Upon hearing the news, Aiseboer looked at Zhang Minglang on the other end of the video, leaned back in the chair that perfectly conformed to the curves of his body as he moved, and exclaimed, "Just as I thought."

Then she jumped up and happily paced around. "That's great, I can finally relax!"

He felt uneasy because the numbers had been consistently zero.

Fortunately, there was a limit this time. Qin Su's kill count was definitely higher than this, but because of the limit, the kill count couldn't increase further. The Purge of 1st Brigade was also over, so he could relax and not cause any more trouble.

"Oh, by the way." With his major worry gone, Aiseboer had time to gossip. "Teacher Zhang, have you seen those photos and videos of Qin Su's highlights that the kids from the 1st Brigade sent you privately?"

"No." Zhang Minglang smiled wryly. "The kids are simple-minded, not stupid. After their first real-world experience, why would they still communicate with me privately?"

Aiseboer clicked his tongue, thinking to himself that these kids were quite vengeful, and then asked, "Don't you think those pictures of Zerg food that the kids from 1st Brigade posted on the Forum yesterday... were a bit weird?"

There had been absolutely no prior information; the only thing posted was a video and photos of 'cooking' insects, without a single word or phrase about the Purge or Qin Su. Not only him, but almost everyone who followed Qin Su felt something was strange.

But I can't quite put my finger on what's strange about it.

Zhang Minglang's thoughts were similar to Aiseboer's, but he pretended to be oblivious.

"Huh? You mean the things that have been circulating widely on various social media platforms on StarNet from yesterday to today, like 'Qin Su took photos after seeing it,' 'Qin Su mentioned his family for the first time because of it,' 'Let's unveil the mystery about the Qin Family through it,' 'Peeping into Qin Su through this insect,' 'The Qin Family members all say this insect must have some unspeakable deliciousness,' 'Buying the same insect as Qin Su at a high price'... and so on?"

"That's right!" Aiseboer nodded.

It seems Zhang Minglang has memorized these trending topics on the StarNet so well; he must have been following the gossip just as closely as he has.

He thought he was the only one over a hundred years old who was diligently pretending to be a mature and composed adult every day.

Seeing that the other person was over two hundred years old and still like this, Aiseboer felt a sense of balance.

"There's a 99% chance that Qin Su is simply sharing his daily life with his family. However, to those who are desperately trying to get closer to Qin Su, his daily life isn't just a routine; it's an invisible path leading to Qin Su."

That's why it has attracted such a fervent following.

Aiseboer thought the same thing, "Teacher Zhang, you have a lot of experience fighting the Zerg, have you ever eaten them? Those bugs are so ugly, can they really taste good?"

"Don't judge a book by its cover." In fact, he doesn't eat insects unless absolutely necessary.

Since its inception, the Federation has been spreading the message that the Zerg carry Virus and that food should not be consumed unless absolutely necessary.

In fact, among those who eat insects in private, besides the poor local residents who have no other choice but to rely on insects to survive and who take advantage of the Purge efforts to drag away the Zerg Corpses, there are also some powerful and wealthy people who have a penchant for eating foods that ordinary people do not eat.

Following yesterday's incident of 'Qin Su sharing Zerg delicacies with his family,' he knows that many powerful and wealthy people are already on their way to getting the same food Qin Su.

Those who were quick showed it off on StarNet's own Social Media Accounts, attracting widespread envy and jealousy.

In less than 24 hours, the same insects that Qin Su consumed had been secretly destroyed on different planets and in different habitats by schools and armies that were not responsible for Purge the Zerg.

Unlike the wealthy and powerful who are stingy with their private armies and weapons, the elites don't skimp on supplies for students and anti-insect troops. They lavishly provide them with firepower, even if they lack experience.

The next Purge will definitely include...

Etc!

As his thoughts drifted to this point, a glint of light flashed in Zhang Minglang's old, cloudy eyes.

' Qin Su never does anything meaningless, so why would he be foolish enough to think that Qin Su is simply sharing his daily life?'

'If what he guessed is true, will this... really work?'

Whether it's possible or not, Qin Su is challenging a perfectly established chain of vested interests that has been built up over many years.

As a beta who had fought on the battlefield, purely from his own perspective, he hoped to see the day he envisioned arrive.

"Teacher Zhang, what's wrong?" Aiseboer asked, puzzled, seeing Zhang Minglang's furrowed brows followed by a sudden realization.

"It's nothing." Zhang Minglang's expression returned to normal, and he had no intention of telling anyone his guess.

--

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye. Qin Su forced himself to stand up, prompted by the instructions in Optical Brain. Through his Visual Helmet, he saw the students of the 1st Brigade strictly following his orders and heading towards him within the allotted time.

Even with that brief rest, Qin Su could clearly sense that his mind and body weren't feeling much better.

He needed to go out again that night and desperately needed rest.

After the 1st Brigade finished assembling, Qin Su didn't say much and led the entire 1st Brigade back to the 0725 Jump Point Platform.

Watching the 1st Brigade leave in groups, a student from the Unit 2 suggested to Blumer, "Commander, how about... we send a request for help to the 1st Brigade?"