Preliminary Selection Test

When Xilin reached the Training Department, Knight had already spoken with Huoding about Xilin joining the operation. Huoding had only agreed to let him join the preliminary selection, though. Xilin wasn't the only one— all ten Seven Luminaries Cadets had to pass the selection. If they failed, they wouldn't be allowed to take part in the operation. After all, they were cadets, not soldiers, and their overall abilities had to meet the standards. Their usual test scores were no indication of how they would fare on a real battlefield.

There were ten cadets—or, rather, eleven. As they prepared for the preliminary selection, Pride came hurrying over, looking excited, and handed Huoding a communications device.

Huoding immediately had a bad feeling. He took the device Pride had handed him and went into his office to answer the call. When he came back out a short while later, he looked constipated. Seeing Pride standing with his chin raised, arguing back and forth with Knight, Huoding felt that the road ahead was bleak.

And so Pride joined them too.

The first event in the preliminary selection was marksmanship. The guns issued this time were different from the ones they used in regular training: the bullets were slightly larger and traveled a little more slowly, while the targets moved just as fast as ever—and were highly aggressive. Everyone wore a Protective Suit fitted with sensors. Each sensor started with ten points; if a cadet's score fell below five by the end of the shooting test, they would be eliminated.

The selection tested the cadets' marksmanship, reflexes, and ability to adapt. It also made them realize that this operation was different from their usual training, and they began to guess what it might involve. Fear would keep them from reacting calmly and decisively, and the effect on their shooting was obvious. The number of shots fired, their hit rate, and the points deducted were displayed on a screen outside the Testing Ground throughout the allotted time. The soldiers from the Training Department and Public Security Department, who were preparing to head out, could all see it.

This was a team operation. Without a certain level of ability, the soldiers wouldn't accept you. They wouldn't trust you to watch their backs, and they would feel uneasy even fighting alongside you.

The ten cadets were stationed in ten different areas of the Testing Ground. Each area had a thousand targets in total. The first to eliminate all their targets within the allotted time would earn an excellent rating.

Xilin entered the Testing Ground after checking his equipment. The light inside was dim, and the environment had been set up to feel dark and damp. He could clearly sense something lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce.

Whoosh—

A black shape the size of a medium-sized dog charged at him. Xilin raised his gun. Bang! One shot hit its mark, and the shadow shattered and disappeared. Then two more shadows appeared, followed by four, then eight...

Once he had gotten used to the speed of the bullets and the recoil of the gun, things went fairly smoothly, even as the targets grew more numerous. Farther in, the shadows multiplied and grew more aggressive. Several times, they rushed right past Xilin. Thankfully, his reflexes were quick, or he would have been hit. He had to shoot while dodging sudden attacks. As long as he kept the targets from approaching in a group, there would be room to evade them. And as long as he had that room, Xilin could respond as quickly and efficiently as possible.

It was strange. Xilin felt unusually calm. He wasn't afraid or anxious. It was like eating a bowl of noodles: he simply looked at the noodles in the bowl and picked them up one chopstickful at a time. That was all.

Meanwhile, outside the Testing Ground, people watched the ten cadets' Battle Situations on the display screen and reacted in different ways. Two cadets had been affected by the atmosphere as soon as they entered. A trace of fear crept in, and, combined with the change in their guns and their misjudgment of the bullets' speed, it wasn't long before the targets started attacking them. After five minutes, the points on their Protective Suits had fallen to five, and they were still dropping. Huoding ordered someone to pull the two out. There was no point in making them continue.

The two cadets who had been eliminated so soon removed their helmets, their faces drained of color and their spirits low. An instructor stayed beside them to offer encouragement.

As the test continued, three more cadets were eliminated, leaving only five inside.

Knight was still the first to eliminate all the targets and come out within the allotted time. His expression was calm. He had been doing this kind of training since childhood, and he assumed Pride had too. So after coming out, Knight watched only Xilin's screen.

Pride came out not long after. When he saw Knight, he seemed a little put out, but still raised his chin and gave a snort.

Xilin was the third to come out. He had gathered all the necessary data, and he had also guessed that Knight and Pride had finished the test and were waiting outside. There was no need to drag things out, so he quickly took care of the last few dozen targets and walked out...

Besides the three of them, two other cadets had taken the full allotted time, but at least their Protective Suit scores hadn't fallen below the passing mark, so they passed as well.

Knight, Pride, and Xilin earned excellent ratings. The other two cadets passed.

After the preliminary selection came the Antibody Allergy Test. The five cadets who had passed were injected with a small amount of Serum Antibody. If their bodies accepted it without an allergic reaction, they would pass and be allowed to board a Transport Aircraft with the others preparing to depart.

The targets they were about to eliminate were apparently not only highly aggressive, but also carried toxins. As he analyzed the antibodies injected into his body, Xilin thought. After the Serum Antibody Injection went in, he used the antibodies to infer the antigens. Combining that with the Testing Ground's environmental conditions and the target data, Xilin was certain that the targets were rodents.

What kind of rodent had a high Reproductive Capacity, preferred dark environments, and was widely used in biochemical experiments?

Rats!!

If the targets in the Testing Ground really were that size, Xilin had never seen rats that big.

The good news was that none of the five had an allergic reaction during the Antibody Allergy Test.

The situation was urgent, and there was no time to give the five cadets any further instructions. By the time all the equipment was ready, their tests were finished, and Huoding reluctantly took them aboard the Transport Aircraft. The relevant details would be explained on the warship.

One Transport Aircraft after another carried the soldiers and cadets to the warships waiting at the Spaceport.

When he saw the warship, Knight whistled. "A Military Warship outfitted with Heavy Weapons and a high-end 'Sentinel' Defense System. Looks like this is pretty serious. But they haven't mobilized the garrison, so it can't be all that serious."

After boarding the warship, everyone aboard—both the operation's participants and the warship's pilots—was injected with more antibodies than they had received during the Allergy Test. Afterward, each person was given two more syringes of Antibody Serum. If the serum they had already been injected with didn't work, they could use the other two.

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