Battle of Di Yan Star

Blazing Star Battle

He pressed the activation button.

Hiss~

Accompanied by a faint sound of escaping air, the transparent lid of the Simulation Pod opened, revealing the equipment inside.

Su Ming was slightly stunned. This Simulation Pod really was completely different from the ones at school.

Inside was only a semi-reclined chair. In the head area was a helmet integrated with a large number of wires, while around the Simulation Pod were only a few mechanical buttons for adjusting the chair.

Su Ming took a deep breath and sat down.

The lid of the Simulation Pod automatically closed. Immediately afterward, the transparent lid before him suddenly transformed into a holographic screen.

"Identity verification in progress."

"Verification successful: Candidate number 45712, name: Su Ming, sex: male, age: 18."

Su Ming looked at the information displayed before him, disbelief showing in his eyes. Something's wrong with this Simulation Pod. Why is it intelligent?

Before Su Ming could react, a message popped up on the virtual screen before him.

"120 seconds remain until the second examination begins. Candidate, please adjust the reclining chair to the most comfortable position."

Su Ming immediately adjusted it.

Once he had finished adjusting the chair, another prompt appeared on the virtual screen.

"Securing mechanism activated!"

Click-click~~

The reclining chair ejected securing clasps, firmly fastening Su Ming's body to the chair. However, they were not uncomfortably tight, and the whole arrangement remained quite comfortable.

The virtual screen then displayed a new prompt.

"Neural helmet installation beginning. Please relax your body and do not move your head."

Before Su Ming could react, the metal helmet had already been placed on his head.

"Installation successful. Examination countdown: 47 seconds, 46 seconds."

The virtual screen continuously displayed the countdown.

Watching the countdown change, Su Ming inexplicably felt somewhat excited.

The instant the countdown reached zero,

Su Ming suddenly felt a weak electric current sweep through his brain. His consciousness immediately went black, and his entire body seemed to lose weight as he plummeted into endless darkness.

Then, in the very next second, Su Ming abruptly opened his eyes.

He found himself inside a huge sealed space. The surrounding walls were made of high-strength, lightweight alloy, their surfaces gleaming with a cold metallic sheen, while the floor beneath his feet was cast from thick steel.

Blinding lights shone from the ceiling, and the air was filled with the mixed smell of engine oil and metal.

Su Ming was completely dumbfounded for a moment. How had he ended up here? Judging from his surroundings, this place looked very much like a spaceship's transport bay.

Before Su Ming could figure out what was happening,

Whoosh~

Familiar yet unfamiliar figures suddenly appeared out of thin air around him.

They were the other candidates.

Su Ming even saw Chen Tong appear not far in front of him.

Everyone wore astonished expressions as they chattered among themselves.

"Where is this?"

"Wow, this is way too amazing!"

"Am I dreaming? Let me pinch my face and see. Ouch."

"Damn, this isn't a dream!"

Su Ming tried pinching his own arm. A clear sensation of pain struck him, startling him so badly that his mind became somewhat dazed.

At that moment, Chen Tong walked over to Su Ming and asked with a gloomy expression,

"Su Ming, do you know what's going on?"

"I'm not sure. I entered the Simulation Pod and suddenly arrived here. But I can confirm that we should be taking an examination."

Su Ming shook his head as he replied.

"What do we do now?"

Chen Tong asked in a low voice.

"Wait and see."

Su Ming quickly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and spoke calmly.

Just then, the entire transport bay suddenly shook violently. Everyone nearly lost their balance.

At the same time, an alarm device inside the transport bay flashed red continuously and emitted a piercing sound.

A tense atmosphere immediately spread throughout the bay.

"What's going on?"

"What happened?"

"I don't know, but isn't that the sound of an alarm?"

"Why am I here? My secondary specialization is mechanical maintenance!"

"Stop complaining. My secondary specializations are nursing and treatment."

Every candidate present panicked.

Just as everyone was growing terrified and uneasy, a grim voice suddenly rang out over the broadcast.

"Greetings, candidates. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Amos, a major general of the Imperial Court Cult!"

As soon as he said this, everyone present widened their eyes. Some even cursed aloud.

"Damn, did I hear that right? A general?"

"What's going on? A general is serving as the chief examiner?"

Amos ignored the students' shock and continued in a low voice,

"You must all be confused and lost about your current situation. I'll explain it briefly. You are currently using the Federation's latest neural Simulation Pod, which can provide ultra-realistic feedback for every sensation, including pain! So although you are currently in a virtual world, it is no different from the real world. Furthermore, your secondary-specialization examination is about to begin."

Hearing Amos's words, Su Ming drew a deep breath. The Federation actually possessed such advanced technology!

In fact, the Federation had never abandoned its research into intelligence. It was simply that Su Ming and the others had never had access to it.

"Secondary-specialization examination? How will it work?"

"Exactly!"

The people present asked in confusion.

At that moment, General Amos spoke in a solemn voice.

"The final instructions will now begin. Listen carefully. I will only say this once!"

The noisy scene immediately fell silent. Everyone pricked up their ears, afraid of missing even a single word.

"Look around you. Can you see all the students from the same examination hall?"

Amos reminded them in a deep voice.

Su Ming carefully looked around. He spotted Lin Chuyu, Li Fubai, and the others in the distance, then lowered his voice and said to Chen Tong,

"All the students from our examination hall have gathered together."

"Damn it, what are these people trying to do?"

Chen Tong could not help cursing under his breath.

"Listen patiently."

Su Ming spoke calmly to Chen Tong.

"All the candidates from the same examination hall have now been placed aboard the same spaceship. Among you are candidates from the Mecha Department, the Command Department, the Maintenance Department, and the Ground Combat Department. In short, every department is represented! The core of this secondary-specialization examination is very simple: take control of the spaceship you are on and participate in the epic battle—the Battle of Di Yan Star!"

Amos announced passionately.

"No way! You're making us participate in the Battle of Di Yan Star?"

"Are you kidding?"

"Isn't General Amos being far too reckless? Hardly anyone survived that battle."

"Don't say that. Do you know who General Amos is?"

"Who?"

"That guy is one of the ruthless veterans who survived the Battle of Di Yan Star. I read an interview about him once. When he participated in the Battle of Di Yan Star, he was still an unknown second lieutenant! A hundred years have passed, and he's already a major general."

"Holy crap, that really happened?"