Chapter 330: Back To School
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Although the three students had improved in different areas after spending half a month at the TNN training facility, they all left with one thing in common: confidence.
At the transit terminal where Cao Yi and the other two were about to part ways, Cao Yi turned to his Ayrlarng friends and said, “Thank you for the great time we had spent together.”
“Thank you too! I will see you on the Moon!” Hu Yangxuan replied.
“Yea! Time to show them the results of our secret training.” Wang Tong said with a broad smile.
“Cheers!” Cao Yi waved his hands and soon disappeared in the throng of people at the transit station.
Although Hu Yangxuan had worked hard to improve himself, he felt that Wang Tong was the main reason why he was able to pick up the slack. Hu Yangxuan had a good family background, and he had also trained in the Templar. But, this head start wouldn’t carry him too far without the constant encouragement of Wang Tong.
After the half month of training at the TNN, Hu Yangxuan had gotten rid of his bad habits, and was then more devoted to his training than ever.
After the two returned to Ayrlarng, they were surprised to find out that their school had also changed a lot. A brand new building was erected at the place where Wang Tong and his gang used to hang out all the time, and they found out that this new building was filled to the brim with new and advanced equipment. Due to Ayrlarng’s recent outstanding performance, the school board had received increasingly generous donations. After spending much time investigating Ayrlarng’s success at the tournament against Bernabeu, and subsequently, Capth, the investors were confident that Ayrlarng would prevail at the coming pan solar tournament.
It was common knowledge that unlike the local tournaments, the stage at the pan-solar tournament belonged to the great houses. But, the competition went beyond the battlefield, as the cooperation also fought against each other to carve out their share of the profit.
The final matches would be held at the legendary Sky Arena, and the rest of the matches would be taken place at twelve different cities across the moon.
As a sport, METAL combat enjoyed greater popularity than Fleet combat, since the ability of the METAL warriors was tied directly to the fate of human race. It was in everyone’s interest to not only enjoy watching the fight, but also assess the likelihood of their survival in a Zerg attack based on the performance of their soldiers.
Every planet had received a quota for participants based on their population and the results of previous participation. Considering the unprecedented amount of applications the committee had received, the tournament hosting committee had decided to increase the quota to meet the demand. Although the minimum requirement for the applicant’s soul energy was level four, the committee had set up a special application stream to process the applicants who were lower than level four but possessed much higher damage output.
The public academy students had made up the bulk of the applicants. The tournament was an opportunity for students to showcase their ability and be recognized by future employers. However, there were also participants from private schools. Driven by the promise of increasing their fame, many private schools had set aside heft prizes for the combatants they had sent to the tournament should they prevail.
Thanks to the new investments, Wang Tong was assigned a new living quarter. Although the living standards were much higher here in the new building, Wang Tong missed his old dormitory beside the girls’ apartment.
Wang Tong found out that he had somehow become the center of his schoolmates’ attention after he had defeated so many formidable opponents for Ayrlarng. He was no longer the “Caretaker Wang”. Instead, he had become a hero, especially to the girls, and his presence inspired respect rather than snickers.
Due to Wang Tong’s grassroots origin, most students at Ayrlarng felt Wang Tong relatable. Therefore, Wang Tong enjoyed wholehearted support from his male schoolmates, as no one seemed to be jealous of his sudden rise to fame.
Wang Tong laid in his large and soft bed, trying to view himself in light of his new fame. However, didn’t find it particularly enjoyable. Wang Tong was not bothered by his lack of enjoyment for being adored. He knew too clearly why people liked him, and was too cool to care. He was Wang Tong, and Wang Tong never cared about what other people thought of him.
Wang Tong’s train of thoughts were disturbed by approaching heavy footsteps towards his door. Wang Tong smiled knowingly, his friends were here.
“Mowhahah! Boss, you are home, finally! Common, give a fist-pump! Holy sh*t! The rumor is true!” Karl was the first one who rushed into the room, and he stared at Wang Tong’s new room in disbelief. Lumi, Zhou Sisi, Tita, and Zhen Zhong followed suit.
“What does the rumor say? How did you guys know that I am back?”
“Principal Samantha definitely played favorite! They said that your room was the best, and it was true! Look at this! They said Samantha herself had seen to the renovation of your room.” Karl smiled broadly.
“Your room was the second best, if not the same, Karl. Would you like to exchange room with me?” Tita jested.
The positive study environment at Ayrlarng had encouraged the students more than any instructor would. When all the students were engrossed in a friendly competition, they seldom felt that their tedious school work was unbearable, since the burden was shared by everyone. As time passed, the students would have unwittingly improved themselves.
Thus, most of Wang Tong’s friends had already seen the rewards for their hard work. In addition to Karl, who had made a name for himself at the fleet combat tournament, Lumi had also snatched a gold medal at an information warfare competition. Skittish as she had always been, Lumi had somehow taken away the gold medal like a boss. Due to Lumi’s petty size stature, everyone had taken care of her like a younger sister. With Lumi in the group, the S club felt more like a family than a student group. One would be hard-pressed to find any drama within the group, since the students were all focused on fighting for a common goal. Although the group might seem immature or idealistic, their youthful energy was admirable.
Wang Tong was delighted to see the faces of his friends again. The weight on Wang Tong’s shoulder meant that it was almost impossible for him to take a break and relax. His only source of outlet for venting the stress was spending quality time with his friends. In addition to that, ever since his destiny was revealed to him by general Li Feng, he could feel like a normal human only when he was with his friends.
Sisi kept her quietness as always when she was hanging out with Wang Tong in a group. She quietly studied Wang Tong’s face, trying to discern even the smallest change since she saw him last time. Although she didn’t speak a word, she had never felt so content before.
“Stop ogling, your eyeballs are going to fall out!” Lumi quietly reminded Zhou Sisi.
“Hey, I am not ogling!” Zhou Sisi retorted.
“Fine, fine, whatever you say. ” Lumi pulled a naughty face at Zhou Sisi.
“Is it just me or you are really bold today? “
“Haha, i am emboldened by our Boss’s return, and finally, someone else other than you would be calling the shots,” Lumi said with her hands on her hips.
“Sisi would always be the one calling the shots, haha. Don’t cause me any trouble, please.” Wang Tong said with a smile.
“Boss, tell us what happened at the TNN boot camp!”
“Ah-ha, I have prepared something for you guys. Here, look!” Wang Tong turned on the skynet and sent a file to everyone. “This is what I managed to get out of TNN’s vault. It contains the most updated technical analysis. Don’t forward the files to just anyone. We can only share it among ourselves.”
Everyone fumbled in their crystal to find the Skynet terminal, and started reading the material that was relevant to their major.
“Boss! I found information regarding the new RFF system. This is awesome! Not even the Zhang Brothers could get their hands on it! ” Lumi exclaimed, her face beaming from side to side.
“The martians’ heavy METAL assembly instruction! Cool! Thanks, boss!”
“I am glad you guys find it useful.” Wang Tong nodded. He had spent a lot of time in compiling the material. Since all the information in the file were harmless research material, Ma Sa had made an exception and allowed Wang Tong to bring them out of TNN. Gansus had also requested a copy, as he intended to use it in his class.
“Gosh! This is a lot of information. Boss, you are awesome!”
Zhou Sisi was also engrossed in the sea of information. From fleet combat to METAL combat, many topics in the compiled file had caught her attention. Dabbling in almost all subjects, Zhou Sisi was a master of none, but the broad knowledge base was critical to a fleet commander, since familiarity in all subjects would help her maintain a clear mind and make the right decision at the right time.
She firmly believed that all the hard work that was beyond the requirement of her current curriculum would eventually pay off one day.
