"Then I hereby announce... this time's top cadet is... Xu De."
He listened as the instructor weakly announced his victory, and the applause welcoming him was even more enthusiastic than before.
Xu De wasn't particularly excited. He simply saluted the instructor.
Still as straight as ever.
First of all, he had achieved his goal this time.
And there was definitely someone behind this instructor.
Based on Xu De's experience, that person was most likely Revil.
But it didn't matter if he was wrong. At least he knew someone higher up was involved.
But if that person wasn't showing himself now, perhaps there were still more trials waiting for him.
Either way, he could only keep moving forward, seizing every opportunity.
Only then could he escape this state of being at the mercy of others.
"Xu De! When you find a girl, you've gotta bring me along!"
Unlike Xu De, Hans had gone from being dejected just moments ago to looking incredibly excited.
"I'm not planning to get a girlfriend."
"...Since when did you get so rigid?"
Hearing Xu De's answer, Hans asked in confusion.
Like Hans, the men here had been cooped up for months, full of restless energy. Most of them probably had similar thoughts.
Otherwise, there wouldn't have been so many scandals within the ranks.
But that had nothing to do with Xu De. The young man only shook his head.
"That's not being rigid, okay?"
"Besides, this isn't over yet."
"Look over there."
As Xu De spoke, he pointed.
"What?"
Following Xu De's gesture, Hans saw Thomas.
The burly man stood glaring at them, bristling with hostility.
Like a raging bear.
Under that dangerous stare, Hans instinctively shrank his neck.
Even if they all piled on, they probably wouldn't be enough.
"What are we going to do?"
"Won't the people upstairs step in?"
Hans asked nervously.
"It's not that they won't."
"Maybe it just isn't time for them to intervene yet."
As Xu De spoke, the instructor finished his speech.
In the end, he only told Xu De to wait for tomorrow's arrangements. Then everyone dispersed.
"Let's go."
Xu De spoke as he watched Thomas leave ahead of them.
Hans let out a sigh of relief.
"Nothing's going to happen?"
"It will in a moment. Stay back."
Without waiting for Hans to say anything, Xu De headed for the exit.
Along the way, some of his former peers warmly approached him when they saw him.
Among the new recruits, Xu De clearly had an unparalleled advantage.
"Uh... Xu, you're really impressive!"
"Exactly! I had no idea you were this strong!"
With Xu De's abilities, he was sure to become a remarkable figure in the future, so the flattery came one compliment after another.
With social classes so rigid, joining the military was a good way to rise through the ranks if you didn't have a high level of education.
And Xu De seemed to have the best prospects right now, so more people naturally wanted to get close to him.
Of course, there weren't that many people sucking up to him—just a handful.
Not everyone was willing to set aside their pride.
"I'm only average. I just got lucky."
Xu De wasn't arrogant.
Humility was a virtue. As long as people didn't target him, he had no interest in wasting time retaliating.
And if they wanted to chat and build a connection, he would simply parry their attempts with a few vague replies.
He wasn't stupid enough to let a few compliments go to his head.
Especially now, the ones rushing to cozy up to him were most likely people willing to do anything to get ahead.
If he really helped them with something,
then when he needed them someday, most of them would probably run as far as they could.
Xu De had seen plenty of things like that before.
"Xu really is so modest. No wonder he's our top cadet."
"Exactly! Haha."
Surrounded by admirers, Xu De made his way to the corridor outside.
Before they could say anything else, Thomas emerged from a corner with four men of similar build and started approaching.
All four wore the same vicious look.
Thomas in particular looked even more twisted as he listened to the praise Xu De was receiving—the praise that had once been meant for him.
As Thomas approached, the people standing beside Xu De finally realized what was happening and scattered.
As for Xu De, he looked at Thomas with a knowing expression.
"If you attack first, you'll have to bear the consequences."
Xu De spoke softly.
"Go to hell, dumbass!"
Thomas cut him off, then charged.
Xu De stepped back as Thomas and the four men with him attacked.
He backed into the narrow part of the space station's corridor.
The passage was only wide enough for two people, and getting surrounded in a group fight was the most dangerous situation.
With the terrain on his side, this kind of fight wouldn't be difficult to handle.
As he thought this, Xu De met the charging Thomas with an elbow strike.
After sending Thomas reeling, Xu De pressed forward and slammed the next man in the stomach.
It was just like the Calabash Brothers going to save Grandpa, one after another.
Before long, Xu De had dealt with all of them, their expressions changing from vicious to terrified.
"Want to keep going?"
Xu De's breathing had grown a little ragged as he spoke.
It was still difficult for him to limit his opponents to temporarily losing the ability to move.
He was already panting after fighting a few new recruits. He needed more training.
As for Thomas, the moment Xu De finished speaking, he instinctively clutched his throat, still aching from the elbow strike, and stumbled back several steps.
Xu De was better than him at hand-to-hand combat, and he was also a better fighter pilot.
What had Thomas done to deserve this?
Amid Thomas's terror and the others' fervent admiration and resentment,
several military police officers in United Army uniforms finally arrived with their guns raised and surrounded Xu De.
"Don't move!"
At their words, Xu De raised his hands in compliance.
The instructor, who had already left, now approached Xu De with a sinister grin.
This was exactly what he had been waiting for, whether Thomas won the fight or not.
Xu De had no choice but to fall into this trap.
These men were all under his command. He could punish them however he liked.
Xu De was just a new recruit with no connections, after all.
With that thought, the instructor looked at him disdainfully and spoke slowly.
"Corporal Xu De, for fighting and brawling, you're being confined for a week."
A week... Forget Moebius; Xu De would probably be locked up here until the World Tree collapsed.
Of course, Xu De wasn't going to surrender without a fight. He straightened up and said,
"Reporting, Instructor! Corporal Thomas struck first!"
As Xu De spoke, he quietly lowered his raised hands, standing tall with his chest out in the open.
He really wasn't used to this French-style salute.
"Oh?"
The instructor turned thoughtfully to look at Thomas, who was still lying on the ground, and smiled.
"Corporal Thomas, what do you say?"
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