Federation Glory

"Today marks your first major exam since enlistment."

One-Eye spoke slowly, his voice amplified by the circulation of his blood and qi, thundering across the entire square like a clap of thunder: "I'll say it again—the Federation doesn't feed idlers! Even less does it need trash!"

"Among you scum, the vast majority are destined to lack even the qualifications to stand on the front lines as cannon fodder!"

He swung his arm sharply, and the optical brain terminal above the square activated instantly, projecting several enormous holographic images dozens of meters high.

The first image showed a sunless underground mine pit.

Under dim searchlights, a group of laborers, gaunt and skeletal, shuffled forward, pushing heavy ore carts with faltering steps. Their eyes were hollow, devoid of any spark, like walking corpses.

The image shifted, turning into a heavy munitions factory, perpetually filled with acrid poison gas and blistering hot air.

Amid scorching molten iron and roaring mechanical arms, workers were disfigured by the searing heat, their skin even fused with their gas masks, forced to perform numbing labor day after day.

"Open your eyes wide and see clearly!"

One-Eye's voice carried an unyielding cruelty: "Those who fail the exam will be sent to the Mining Star and the Underground Forge! You'll serve as expendable materials there for life, until your very bones are drained of the last drop of marrow!"

"But—"

One-Eye's tone shifted, his voice suddenly rising, "Those who pass won't just officially remain in the regular army. The top seeds in this assessment will also earn military merit points and the military's specially supplied [Gene Enhancement Serum]!"

"Both serve the Federation, and both share in its glory. The choice is yours to make."

As his words fell, the holographic images above flickered wildly again.

This time, what met everyone's eyes was a dark red planet that had just endured a brutal scorched-earth battle.

The ground was piled high with the grotesque corpses of Zerg, towering like mountains, while dark green acidic blood pooled into rivers.

At the peak of that mountain of corpses and sea of blood, a terrifying warrior, clad in heavy powered combat armor and standing a full five meters tall, gripped a massive war banner with one hand and drove it straight through the head of a high-ranking Zerg broodmother!

The banner fluttered in the wind, the Federation emblem gleaming brilliantly through the smoke, proclaiming absolute victory in this interstellar bloodbath.

At this visually stunning scene, every recruit present felt a chill run down their spine, their blood beginning to race uncontrollably.

To become a glorious interstellar warrior, or to be reduced to a laborer in a sunless mine pit?

In this Great Crusade Era, where human life was as cheap as grass and countless races fought for survival, dying in battle for the Human Federation was already an unparalleled blessing for those at the bottom!

"In the ten days you've been training here like dogs, the Sirius Star System Federation Expeditionary Force has recaptured another life planet occupied by the Zerg on the front lines!"

A fervent and ferocious light blazed in One-Eye's single eye: "Today, we celebrate the Federation's victory! And I hope that one day, some of you will become part of that image, rather than a pile of mud!"

"Exam content—Gravity Chamber Pressure Resistance Test!"

One-Eye roared the command, announcing the life-or-death trial: "Passing standard: endure 1.5 times standard gravity for 10 minutes! Now, enter in batches by number!"

Rumble—

With the order given, a massive hemispherical metal structure at the rear of the square began to vibrate slowly.

Accompanied by the heavy grinding of mechanical gears, the alloy armor doors, several meters thick, slid open to both sides, revealing a bottomless gravity well shimmering with a blue magnetic field glow.

It was a steel beast capable of crushing mortal bones and blood.

"First batch! Numbers G17-0001 to 1000, fall in!"

The first thousand recruits, their numbers called out, stepped out of the formation, their faces drained of color.

Some had legs trembling uncontrollably, but under the cold muzzles of the surrounding enforcement squad, they could only steel themselves and walk into the gravity well like livestock driven to the slaughter.

The heavy alloy doors slammed shut.

The countdown began to tick.

For the first few dozen seconds, there was silence inside.

But just minutes later, when the gravity field was fully activated and stabilized at 2.5 times, the most piercing screams, mixed with the dull cracks of bones buckling and even snapping under the strain, faintly seeped through the thick armored walls to the square.

The more than twenty thousand recruits outside listened to the hair-raising wails, their faces growing paler by the second.

The long ten minutes felt like an eternity.

"Beep—Time's up!"

The moment the ten minutes ended, the armored doors burst open.

A thick, overpowering stench of sweat, mixed with the sharp smell of blood, surged out from the entrance like a physical force!

The scene inside the gravity well was a living hell.

Among the thousand recruits, several hundred lay sprawled on the cold metal floor like pools of mud.

Some were vomiting violently as their internal organs failed under the pressure, spilling filth everywhere; others had their capillaries burst from the strain, blood seeping from their seven orifices, utterly drained of the strength to even stand.

"Failures, drag them out!"

The instructor's cold voice held no trace of pity.

Tracked logistics robots, already waiting on both sides, surged forward. Their mechanical arms grabbed the fallen recruits by their limbs with ruthless efficiency, tossing them like discarded industrial waste onto the transport ship bound for the Mining Star, parked nearby.

Desperate cries and the roar of engines intertwined.

The Federation's absolute pragmatism and brutal elimination rules were laid bare before these recruits in that moment.

In a short span of time, several batches had already been weeded out.

"Batch seven, numbers 6000 to 7000, enter!"

The cold, mechanical synthesized voice echoed across the square.

Jiang Yue took a deep breath, the rise and fall of his chest carrying a pronounced rhythm, bolstered by the [Smooth Breath] inscription.

He stepped forward with steady strides, merging into the flow of people alongside Xu Bo and Li Tai—whose faces had already paled faintly, sweat beading on their foreheads—and Shen Qing, whose eyes not far away gleamed with bloodthirsty fervor. Together, they strode into the hemispherical metal structure.

Boom—

The alloy armored door, several meters thick, closed heavily behind them, emitting a grating, dull impact.

As the airtight valve locked into place, every sound and ray of light from the square outside was utterly sealed off.

Inside the vast Gravity Well, only the faint blue magnetic field indicator lights flickered.

"Gravity system activated. Initial gravity: 1.5 times standard gravity."

Without any buffer warning, the mechanical voice announced, and an invisible giant hand suddenly pressed down from above!

"Ugh—ah!"

A stifled groan of pain erupted from the crowd.

The air seemed to thicken in an instant. Many of the weaker recruits felt as though a heavy hammer had slammed onto their shoulders, their knees buckling on the spot as they crashed heavily onto the cold metal floor, their breathing becoming agonizingly difficult.

"The Military Floating Land already has higher gravity; a sudden heavy press like this does require adjustment..."

Jiang Yue could handle this level of gravity, but the assessment clearly wouldn't stop there.

"I have to regulate my body's condition, or I'll be crushed by the sudden force!"

"This assessment has ranking rewards, after all..."