Chapter Summaries

Xia Chujian joined a combat exercise over Posuo City, where she learned that the operation included coordinated Ground Forces and aimed to destroy the Rebels’ air defenses. After the fighters repelled a Drone swarm, the Rebels’ defenses opened fire and the trainees received their next objective.

• Yu Fei told Xia Chujian that Ground Forces and the Kanli Star government's navy were supporting the operation, and that the air force's priority was destroying the Rebels’ Air Defense System.
• Xia Chujian flew with the other trainees aboard Peng-type Transport Aircraft to Posuo City and carefully kept near the middle of the Eagle-type Fighter formation.
• Chu Qingjuan told Xia Chujian to hold back while the Harrier-type Fighters acted as decoys to trigger the Rebels’ air defenses.
• A flare revealed the fighters, and hundreds of Rebels’ Drones rose from the Mountain Hollow and attacked.
• The Harrier-type Fighters used Electromagnetic Interference and gunfire to defeat the Drone swarm in under three minutes.
• After the Posuo City garrison’s Ground Forces began their assault, an instructor ordered the trainees to destroy 254 air defense positions, including four major positions.

Xia Chujian earned 10,000 points by destroying a rebel ammunition depot and continued attacking the highland air defenses. After spotting civilians among the rebels, she avoided firing on them and drew the ridge’s anti-air weapons toward herself, leaving instructors alarmed as she flew low over the firing positions.

• Xia Chujian intercepted a surface-to-air missile aimed at a Harrier-type fighter, then destroyed the real air defense point that had launched it.
• The instructors confirmed that the destroyed position was one of the rebels’ four ammunition depots, earning Xia Chujian 10,000 points and first place on the leaderboard.
• Xia Chujian continued surveying the battlefield and saw elderly people, youths, and women among the rebels emerging from underground, so she raised her machine gun instead of firing on them.
• Xia Chujian descended over the Ring-shaped Highland ridge and fired at its anti-air positions, provoking them to concentrate their weapons on her Eagle-type Fighter.
• Yu Fei urged the instructors to use the Ion Beam Cannon to destroy the ridge and save Xia Chujian.

Xia Chujian destroyed three rebel air-defense ammunition depots and rose far ahead of the other trainees on the leaderboard. The rebel command planned to target her D10 fighter, but she lured three pursuing Harrier-type fighters into a blizzard with daring maneuvers.

• Xia Chujian escaped a rebel air-defense lock at high speed and destroyed a second air-defense strongpoint, raising her score to twenty thousand points.
• She destroyed another strongpoint after spotting an Adjudicator No. 1 sniper rifle, bringing her score to thirty thousand and earning the instructors' admiration.
• The rebel Command HQ identified D10 as a major threat and quietly devised the D10 Shoot the Eagle Plan.
• Xia Chujian circled the ridge to draw fire, then climbed when she could no longer locate the hidden final ammunition depot.
• Three rebel Harrier-type fighters approached from different directions, and Xia Chujian evaded them by weaving through the blizzard and manipulating their speed.

Xia Chujian recruited Mao Yonggui, Chu Qingjuan, and Sang Yadi to coordinate their attacks, and the four pilots destroyed the rebels’ largest ammunition depot. Their scores surged, while Lü Luyu continued attacking rebel troops and rose on the leaderboard.

• Xia Chujian caused three pursuing Harrier-type Fighters to explode by pushing them past their engines’ speed limit.
• Xia Chujian contacted her roommates and discovered they had avoided killing rebels, so she proposed coordinated attacks on air-defense positions.
• Xia Chujian tested the scoring system with her roommates, and it split the points for a destroyed air-defense position equally among them.
• Xia Chujian led the three pilots in drawing out rebel fire and sending simultaneous missiles at an ammunition depot, earning each roommate five thousand bonus points and placing them second through fourth.
• Lü Luyu attacked rebels hiding in a tunnel with a Penetrating Bomb, raising her score to five thousand points.
• Xia Chujian led another attack that destroyed more than twenty air-defense positions and further increased her roommates’ scores.

Xia Chujian and the trainees fought off thirty camouflaged Rebel Owl-Class Fighters, but more enemy fighters appeared as they prepared to finish off the ground forces. The instructors split over whether to continue the live-combat assessment or withdraw the trainees, and Pei Zijing called for a recorded vote.

• Lü Luyu and the other trainees fought the Rebels as Posuo City's garrison tightened its encirclement, leaving fewer than five thousand Rebels alive.
• Pei Zijing warned the trainees that thirty Rebel Owl-Class Fighters were approaching, and Xia Chujian organized her roommates to fight together while controlling their own firing timing.
• The Rebels' special paint defeated the trainees' far-infrared detection systems, but Xia Chujian exploited an Owl-Class Fighter's instability to make it crash and earned four thousand points.
• Mao Yonggui, Chu Qingjuan, and Sang Yadi coordinated to destroy three more Owl-Class Fighters, prompting other trainees to team up and eliminate the rest.
• After the trainees destroyed all thirty fighters, more white Harrier-type Fighters rose beyond the mountain hollow, and Yu Fei urged the instructors to withdraw the trainees.
• Zhuo Wangying and his supporters argued that the trainees should continue the mission, so Pei Zijing called for a recorded vote on whether to continue or withdraw.

Xia Chujian used the Shao Siming Black Silver Mecha’s Mechanical Intelligence to identify and destroy the Rebels’ stealth-coated Harrier-type Fighters, turning the battle in the trainees’ favor. As the remaining Rebels were surrounded, she saw a trainee shoot down a parachuting pilot and discovered that Sang Yadi’s fighter was under attack.

• Pei Zijing continued the battle and ordered instructors to send trainees the positions of the newly arrived Rebel fighters.
• Xia Chujian connected her Shao Siming Black Silver Mecha helmet to her Eagle-type Fighter and used its Mechanical Intelligence to lock onto and destroy a Harrier-type Fighter.
• Xia Chujian shot down more than twenty Harrier-type Fighters, and the Rebels concentrated their remaining aircraft on hunting her.
• Xia Chujian attacked the pursuing formation and destroyed more Harriers while the other trainees moved to surround the remaining Rebels.
• Chu Qingjuan called for help, and Xia Chujian saw a trainee shoot down a parachuting pilot from D09 before identifying Sang Yadi’s D08 as the fighter in danger.
• Xia Chujian told Chu Qingjuan and Mao to escort Sang Yadi from either side while she cut across to help.

Xia Chujian exposed Lü Luyu for killing a trainee and warned Command HQ that the battle was too dangerous to continue. After scanning the hollowed-out Ring-Shaped Highland Ridge and finding hundreds of hidden Rebel fighters, she left the chapter determined to report Vice Chief Instructor Zhuo Wangying.

• Xia Chujian used her Shao Siming Black Silver Mecha to identify Y21 as the shooter pursuing Sang Yadi, then publicly accused Lü Luyu of shooting down a friendly fighter and killing its pilot after she ejected.
• Lü Luyu claimed her fighter's Mechanical Intelligence had malfunctioned and fled until she escaped Xia Chujian's radar lock, then returned toward the battlefield after confirming she had risen to twentieth place.
• Xia Chujian scanned the Ring-Shaped Highland Ridge and discovered warehouses, Ground Fighters, and interconnected special-metal chain Beams hidden inside the hollow mountain.
• Xia Chujian asked Chief Instructor Pei to withdraw the trainees, then warned that their ammunition was nearly gone and more Rebel fighters might still be hidden nearby.
• The trainees joined Xia Chujian in challenging the instructors, while Pei Zijing and Yu Fei questioned Zhuo Wangying's confidence in the faulty intelligence and Zhuo refused to make a Military Pledge.
• Xia Chujian recognized Zhuo Wangying's voice as the instructor opposing withdrawal and resolved to report him to the Special Security Bureau.

Xia Chujian rallied 150 trainees and coordinated a simultaneous strike that collapsed the Rebels’ hidden headquarters inside the Ring-shaped Highland, exposing the enemy’s main force and saving the trainees from likely annihilation. Afterward, the instructors condemned Zhuo Wangying’s disastrous intelligence failure and called for him to face a Military Department investigation and Military Court.

• Xia Chujian challenged Zhuo Wangying over assessment points and the leaderboard, then argued that trainees should control the battle while instructors served as judges.
• Xia Chujian took command of 150 fighters, gathered their ammunition reports, and coordinated attacks on ten critical points inside the Ring-shaped Highland.
• The fighters’ simultaneous missile and bomb barrage triggered a collapse and earthquake, burying the Rebels’ hidden fighters and exposing their headquarters and elite forces.
• Xia Chujian ordered the trainees to attack the fleeing Rebels, while the Posuo City Garrison advanced across the plain; she then demanded that nonparticipating fighters lose their points.
• Pei Zijing blamed Zhuo Wangying for the intelligence failure, and Yu Fei argued that Xia Chujian’s attack had prevented the trainees’ total annihilation and demanded that Zhuo face a Military Court.

Xia Chujian helped destroy the Rebels’ hidden main base near Posuo City, then stopped Lü Luyu from killing more Garrison soldiers. After learning Nobility could receive leniency for killing Commoners, Xia Chujian questioned whether she belonged in the military, but Pei Zijing persuaded her to continue as they returned to base.

• Zhuo Wangying realized the Rebels’ enormous base and supplies pointed to high-ranking traitors, while his fellow Instructors refused to defend him.
• Pei Zijing announced that the students who destroyed the Rebel base would be recommended for commendations, and Xia Chujian revealed it was her first battle and first time commanding.
• Lü Luyu fired on Posuo City Garrison soldiers, so Xia Chujian destroyed her fighter and prepared to shoot her after she parachuted out.
• Pei Zijing and Yu Fei stopped Xia Chujian from killing Lü Luyu and explained that Nobility could receive leniency for accidentally killing Commoners.
• Xia Chujian doubted her place in the military, but Pei Zijing encouraged her, and she agreed to talk after returning to base.
• The surviving students returned to the Flight Training Base and praised Xia Chujian, while Chen Yansheng declared himself her lackey.

After returning to the Flight Training Base, Xia Chujian gained the trainees’ gratitude and reported Deputy Instructor Zhuo, whose full name was Zhuo Wangying, for suspected collusion with the enemy. Lü Luyu came to apologize for her fighter’s attack, but Xia Chujian challenged her to take responsibility for the deaths caused by the malfunction.

• Xia Chujian added Lü Luyu and Deputy Instructor Zhuo to her Villain List after Mao Yonggui identified Lü Luyu as the Nobility pilot from Warehouse No. 7.
• The trainees thanked Xia Chujian for helping them earn military merit, and many added her as a friend while Chen Yansheng helped fend off the crowd.
• Chu Qingchen urged Lü Luyu to apologize to Xia Chujian to avoid Military Court, and Lü Luyu reluctantly agreed.
• Xia Chujian learned that Deputy Instructor Zhuo was named Zhuo Wangying and messaged Meng Guanghui to ask him to investigate Zhuo’s inaccurate combat intelligence.
• Lü Luyu visited Xia Chujian and offered an apology, but Xia Chujian insisted she reflect on her actions and answer for the trainees and soldiers killed.

Lü Luyu faced an online Military Court hearing for killing her comrades, but she claimed a fighter malfunction and then a newly awakened Superpower caused the deaths. The hearing grew more dangerous when she offered to demonstrate the power, and Xia Chujian demanded protection for the witnesses.

• Xia Chujian sent Lü Luyu away and told her to await her Military Court hearing.
• Pei Zijing reported Lü Luyu's wartime killings, and the Military scheduled an online trial while limiting who could attend.
• Lü Luyu's lawyer argued that the deaths were accidental, while Xia Chujian questioned why the Posuo City Garrison soldiers could not testify.
• At the hearing, Lü Luyu blamed her fighter's Mechanical Intelligence, and Pei Zijing offered to show cockpit footage from the recovered data recorder.
• Lü Luyu claimed she had awakened a Superpower called Slaughter and said it made her unable to distinguish friend from foe.
• When Lü Luyu offered to demonstrate her Superpower and aimed a finger-gun at Xia Chujian, Xia demanded helmets to protect the four witnesses.

At Lü Luyu’s hearing, Xia Chujian challenged her claim that her “Slaughter” superpower was useful and requested an A-Class Ability Defense Helmet before facing her. The judge authorized a demonstration, and Pei Zijing cleared the council chamber for their fight.

• Lü Luyu refused to demonstrate her “Slaughter” superpower on Remnant Species Infected, and Xia Chujian called it useless; Lü Luyu then launched a Mental Attack against her.
• Pei Zijing restrained Lü Luyu, while Chu Qingjuan warned the judge that Xia Chujian was a decorated hero and demanded Ability Defense Helmets for the witnesses.
• Xia Chujian persuaded the judge to let her wear an A-Class Ability Defense Helmet and challenged Lü Luyu to prove her superpower was not trash.
• Pei Zijing fetched the base’s only A-Class Ability Defense Helmet, put it on Xia Chujian, and offered to intervene if the fight became too dangerous.
• Xia Chujian asked where they would fight, and Pei Zijing used a remote to clear the council chamber by moving its furniture and equipment through a rear door.

Xia Chujian fought Lü Luyu in the council chamber, using a pistol and her shooting skill to overwhelm the A-Class Gene Evolver. Pei Zijing ended the duel when Xia Chujian attacked the unconscious Lü Luyu, and both sides rushed to their injured companions.

• Pei Zijing cleared the council chamber and raised an Electronic Curtain around the duel area.
• Xia Chujian exchanged her powerful Qu Zhong 110 Handgun for Pei Zijing’s ordinary Killer 018 Pistol after Chu Qingchen objected to her weapon.
• Lü Luyu attacked Xia Chujian with her Slaughter Superpower, but Xia Chujian evaded her and fired a full magazine, striking Lü Luyu and injuring both her wrists.
• Xia Chujian pressed the empty pistol to Lü Luyu’s head, then tossed it aside and struck Lü Luyu after she fainted.
• Pei Zijing removed the Electronic Curtain and flung Xia Chujian away to stop her, while Lü Luyu’s noble friends and Xia Chujian’s roommates rushed toward them.

Xia Chujian argued that Lü Luyu was too dangerous to return to the battlefield, but the military court ruled that Lü had criminal immunity and could retire after apologizing and compensating Zhao Ganghe’s family. Outside the council chamber, Xia challenged Lü’s friends to explain why her superpower only harmed weaker comrades.

• Xia Chujian accused Ji Nabi of double standards and urged the judge to keep Lü Luyu off the battlefield, while Lü’s lawyer argued that her injuries could be repaired.
• Xia turned the lawyer’s argument about accepting battlefield losses against him, and the judge ruled that Lü was guilty of negligent homicide but protected by criminal immunity because she was noble.
• The judge ordered Lü to apologize to Zhao Ganghe’s family and pay one million Beichen coins, and allowed her to retire because her hands were severely disabled.
• Pei Zijing said Zhao Ganghe’s family would accept the compensation, while Lü’s lawyer arranged for her parents to secure a letter of forgiveness and transfer the money.
• Outside the council chamber, Chu Qingchen asked why Xia had testified for Zhao Ganghe, and Xia said she acted to protect her own side from Lü’s unpredictable attacks.

After Xia Chujian returned to the dorm, Huo Yushen and Meng Guanghui reviewed footage of her actions and discussed how to protect her. Meng Guanghui accepted a perilous Exotic Metal mission, then asked Kang Shanxing to keep an eye on Xia while he was away.

• Xia Chujian told Chu Qingchen that her priority was keeping Lü Luyu off the battlefield, then denied having a superpower to her roommates and credited her victory to her training and marksmanship.
• Meng Guanghui watched the trial and footage of Xia defeating the Rebels on Kanli Star, while Huo Yushen explained that the Military Court judge had connections to Lü Luyu’s uncle by marriage.
• Huo Yushen told Meng Guanghui to warn Xia that her benefits would be cut in half if she caused another Military Court incident, and Xia promised to follow the rules to protect her benefits.
• Meng Guanghui sought a dangerous mission to earn merit and promotion, accepted an Exotic Metal expedition with a ninety percent chance of death, and received Huo Yushen’s approval.
• Meng Guanghui assembled an elite volunteer squad and asked Kang Shanxing to watch over Xia Chujian during his absence; Kang agreed to consider the request after confirming whom he meant.

Kang Shanxing agreed to look after Xia Chujian while she trained at the Flying Base, and Meng Guanghui departed Beichen Star with his elite team. In class, Xia Chujian learned that Starry Sky Fighters transformed into Mecha, while Yang Ling began showing the Beichen Empire’s territory from ten thousand years ago.

• Kang Shanxing agreed to watch over Xia Chujian during her two months at the Flying Base and added her as a friend.
• Meng Guanghui left Beichen Star overnight with the elite team he had assembled.
• Yang Ling taught Xia Chujian’s class about Starry Sky Fighter types, their weapons, and their ability to transform into Mecha.
• Xia Chujian learned that her Ghost-Class fighter could transform into a fifteen-meter Advanced Mechanical Mecha and felt confident about her upcoming scores.
• Yang Ling explained that the Beichen Empire had not yet used Breaking Sky-class fighters and displayed a map of the empire’s territory ten thousand years earlier.

Instructor Yang taught the cadets about the Beichen Empire’s lost Habitable Planets and urged them to reclaim the Empire’s former glory. After class, she spoke privately with Xia Chujian about her poor written score and offered to send her a study outline.

• Yang Ling explained that the Beichen Empire had lost forty-nine of its fifty-four Habitable Planets, and a cadet listed how the planets had been lost or occupied.
• Xia Chujian asked Mao Yonggui why the Empire had not reclaimed planets after defeating the Southern Cross Star Kingdom, and Mao said the Cabinet and Senate had refused them.
• Ji Nabi accused Xia Chujian of disrespecting Yang Ling, but Yang Ling reprimanded Ji Nabi for disrupting class and encouraged Xia to keep earning military merit.
• After class, Yang Ling asked Xia why her written assessment was weak despite her excellent practical performance.
• Xia admitted that books made her sleepy, and Yang Ling offered to send her a condensed study outline that night.

Xia Chujian impressed Yang Ling with her ambition and quickly excelled at Starry Sky Fighter maintenance after receiving specialized study materials. She learned how dangerous the Fifth Interstellar Fleet’s combat missions were and asked Meng Guanghui for advice, unaware that Huo Yushen was answering from his account.

• Yang Ling asked Xia Chujian why she had dismissed her suggestion, and Xia Chujian said she wondered whether soldiers were trying hard enough to reclaim occupied Habitable Planets; Yang Ling hoped a future commander would challenge the Military Department’s top brass.
• Yang Ling sent Xia Chujian study outlines, then shared a 3D Holographic Projection video about Starry Sky Fighter maintenance, which Xia Chujian memorized and applied during hands-on training.
• Xia Chujian’s roommates asked her to join their Starry Sky Fighter combat training group, and she learned that the Fifth Interstellar Fleet’s missions were dangerous and had a thirty percent casualty rate.
• Xia Chujian messaged Meng Guanghui to ask about piloting Starry Sky Fighters in combat, and Huo Yushen replied using Meng Guanghui’s Quantum Optical Brain, explaining how the fighters transformed into Mechanical Armor and coordinated with their Mechanical Intelligence.

Xia Chujian and her roommates prepared for an eleven-day Starry Sky Fighter assessment through the dangerous Asteroid Belt between Kanli Star and Cangge Star. As they worried that unstable communications would separate them, Xia Chujian asked Meng Guanghui for help, and Huo Yushen replied through his account by questioning why she needed to stay in contact.

• Pei Zijing announced that the trainees would travel to the Asteroid Belt and compete to reach the Interstellar Terminal on Cangge Star, warning them that navigation and communications could fail.
• Yu Fei drove Xia Chujian and her three roommates to the dormitories and privately warned Xia Chujian to watch out for hazards and attacks from fellow trainees.
• Xia Chujian and her roommates armed themselves and discussed how the difficult training might relate to the Special Military Operation.
• Xia Chujian packed her flight gear and nutrient supplies, then learned from Yang Ling's Starry Sky Fighter data how the fighter handled personal needs during long flights.
• Mao Yonggui, Chu Qingjuan, and Sang Yadi worried that they could not stay together without reliable communications, so Xia Chujian messaged Meng Guanghui for a solution.
• Huo Yushen replied using Meng Guanghui's Quantum Optical Brain and asked Xia Chujian why she needed to communicate smoothly with her roommates for an individually scored assessment.

Xia Chujian planned to cross the Asteroid Belt with her three roommates using wired data cables to avoid electromagnetic interference. When she discovered that Jiang Yongbai’s name had been placed on the Ghost-class fighter assigned to her, she reported the mix-up and took her fighter back, leaving Jiang furious as she climbed inside.

• Xia Chujian and her roommates agreed to connect their four fighters with optical fiber data cables, despite the risk that asteroid fragments could sever them.
• At Warehouse No. 7, Xia Chujian obtained tough, color-changing cables and then found that she had been assigned a Thunder-class fighter instead of a Ghost-class one.
• Xia Chujian confirmed with Yang Ling that she was one of the six Ghost-class pilots and discovered that Jiang Yongbai’s name had been placed on her fighter.
• Xia Chujian scraped Jiang Yongbai’s nameplate off and sent evidence to Yu Fei and Pei Zijing, who ordered the Equipment Department to correct the assignment.
• Jiang Yongbai protested as Xia Chujian entered the Ghost-class fighter, but she shut the canopy and began inspecting its controls.