Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Upon hearing his fiancée’s question, Hua Deli nodded, a deeper smile appearing on his face. He said to Mina-Olli, “My mother asked me to tell you that you’re welcome to visit our home after the training. She hasn’t seen you in a long time.”

Mina-Olli was a bit surprised. Since his mother had mentioned her, it seemed that not only had Auntie been home yesterday, but they had also talked quite a bit. No wonder he was in such a good mood today.

As Hua Deli’s fiancée, Mina-Olli had naturally met her future mother-in-law, Lady Lixi Amber, several times.

Therefore, she somewhat understood that Auntie Lixi was usually cold and reserved towards Hua Deli. Lixi was often busy with military duties and rarely returned home, showing little interest in Hua Deli’s upbringing. He could be said to have been raised primarily by his father.

Thus, every time Hua Deli received care from his mother, his mood would brighten immensely.

Mina-Olli understood her fiancé’s feelings well, as she had it even worse. Hua Deli’s mother might be often away, but his father was still present, while she could count the number of times she saw her parents in a year on one hand.

Last night, when she called home, the one who answered her communication was still the old butler who had taken care of her since childhood.

Seeing Hua Deli happy, Mina-Olli felt a bit down but was still glad for him. However, when Instructor Dudley approached, they quickly fell silent and stood at attention.

Mina-Olli turned her head and caught a glimpse of Ruo Manni’s profile, and an inexplicable feeling welled up inside her.

It truly was striking; over the past month, she had increasingly felt that Ruo Manni resembled Aunt Lixi quite a bit, while Hua Deli only bore a slight resemblance to her. Indeed, the world is full of surprises.

That night, Li Qixing was enjoying the sea breeze in the courtyard, softly whispering sweet words to his wife. Suddenly, his light communicator emitted an annoying beep, interrupting their intimate moment.

“Who is it at this hour?” Mrs. Li pouted a bit unhappily.

Her busy husband had rarely taken a long vacation to accompany her, and they had come to Blue Sea Star just for a sweet getaway. It was frustrating to be disturbed by constant communications.

“It’s my cousin,” Li Qixing said, casting an apologetic glance at his wife before answering the call.

Mrs. Li noticed her husband’s expression shift from relaxed to extremely serious as he quietly listened to his cousin on the other end, without saying a word. It was clear that she had something important to discuss.

Curious, Mrs. Li wondered what could make her usually reserved cousin speak at such length. Just as she was thinking this, she saw anger flash in her husband’s eyes.

“You’ve done something so foolish! Why didn’t you say anything before? You should have investigated this…”

“Even if the Amber family and the Hua family don’t support you, you still have us, the Li family.” Li Qixing reprimanded his cousin in a low, angry voice.

“What’s there to say? Sure, family is important, but what about your own importance? Have you thought about how pitiful that child is?”

After her husband hung up the call, Mrs. Li was surprised to see him looking both frustrated and pained. He was usually a gentleman with a calm demeanor, and she had rarely seen him so angry. What had his cousin said or done?

Concerned, Mrs. Li asked, “What’s wrong?”

“My cousin made a mistake when she was young, and I never knew she could be so foolish. She shouldn’t be nice at the wrong times, and now she just wants me to step in… I’m sorry, dear. This is a private matter of hers, and she hopes I won’t tell anyone.” Li Qixing suppressed his anger and spoke gently to his wife.

Although his cousin didn’t want to share details, Mrs. Li wasn’t upset. It was normal for someone to keep private matters to themselves, especially since she was just a distant relative and didn’t like to meddle.

However, even though his cousin wasn’t someone who lacked judgment, Mrs. Li still worried, “Will what she’s asking you to do affect you in any way?”

Li Qixing sighed, “No, in fact, I might be the one benefiting greatly from this.”

As long as her husband wasn’t at a disadvantage, Mrs. Li set the matter aside and gently said, “You promised to stay with me these days. You’re not changing your mind, are you?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. Nothing is more important than you, dear.”

That night, Mrs. Li woke up hazily to find her husband leaning against the headboard, checking something on his holographic device. Squinting through her sleepiness, she noticed it was information about the military academy and muttered, “Why aren’t you asleep yet? Aren’t you tired?”

“You go back to sleep; I’ll be done soon.”

In the blink of an eye, the new students had undergone special training for over a month, and each of them had made noticeable progress. They originally thought this training would continue until school started, but on the last night of July, Instructor Dudley suddenly announced they would take a break for the night and dropped a bombshell: “Physical training ends today; starting tomorrow, we’ll switch to mecha training.”

The new students were taken by surprise, taking a full two seconds to process what he said, still in disbelief: “Instructor, are you saying we can pilot mechas now?”

For the combat-oriented boys, mechas were their ultimate goal.

However, mechas were expensive. For those without wealthy families, even a Level 1 mecha was out of reach. Training at a mecha club wasn’t something an average family could afford either.

So even someone from a prominent family like Hua Deli had limited experience piloting mechas. While they didn’t have to worry about access, the circumstances weren’t always favorable for just hopping into a mecha whenever they wanted.

Additionally, the Gus Empire had restrictions not just on access to mechas but also on age; one could only start touching mechas after turning fourteen. They were only fifteen now and had barely had a chance to pilot mechas a few times.

It’s easy to imagine how excited the new students were once they processed the news. They surrounded Instructor Dudley, completely ignoring his stern expression as they peppered him with questions.

Ruo Manni was even more thrilled. Coming from Earth, where mechas were just a beautiful fantasy, she had only assembled various models in the virtual environment of the Net but had never seen a real one.

When she arrived at this training base, she had hoped to pilot a mecha, but the area was too small, and there was no mecha training facility.

With a month left before school started, if training began tomorrow, they would have at least twenty more days to practice.

Ruo Manni had initially felt a bit disappointed, but now, unexpectedly, the instructor had arranged such a big surprise for them.

“Right now, go back and pack your things. The warship will arrive in half an hour. If you’re slow, you’ll return the way you came.” Instructor Dudley didn’t say much more, just giving a direct order.

“Yes!” The new students excitedly dashed toward their dorms, their speed like they had been stepped on the tail.