Chapter Two: The Seventh Army

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The entrance exam was not held in the underground city, but rather in the subterranean examination hall beneath the military academy at the military base. This underground space was situated differently from the underground city, which lay much deeper below. The entrance exam for the Interstellar Fleet was typically classified at a three-star confidentiality level, so each candidate was assigned to a separate room to take the exam individually. Both candidates entered their designated examination rooms.

The room was not particularly large, about ninety square meters, with metallic walls on all sides except for the door through which one entered. The unique lighting system built into the metal walls bathed the room in bright, artificial light, making it feel even more vacant.

At the center stood a holographic simulation device for the exam. This simulator could project various exam components as specified by the test. Only after submitting one's answers would the door automatically open and invite the candidate to leave.

"Please scan your citizen information," the simulator announced in an artificial voice.

"Scan complete. Citizen identification: cjnbg124011266511. Citizen Liu Shaoyu confirmed. Entrance examination for the Interstellar Fleet Command Academy of the Huaxia Republic. Confidentiality level: three stars. Please abide by the examination rules and maintain confidentiality. Any violations will be subject to..."

"Question One: Assemble a new type of destroyer-class strategic drone. Time limit: five minutes." After the AI finished its lengthy instructions, the previously empty room was suddenly filled with holographically simulated components.

Without hesitation, Liu Shaoyu immediately began working quickly, his hands moving deftly among the myriad of parts.

"Question One submission received. Time taken: one minute thirty seconds. Completion: 100%. Question Two: Configure at least three high-energy laser emitters on a strategic drone with a capacitor of 100hf. Endurance must last for five combat hours. Time limit: seven minutes," the AI voice sounded again. Now only a single drone's holographic projection remained in the room; the previous parts had all vanished.

Hearing the question, Liu Shaoyu did not rush to act, but began to think. The challenge lay in the fact that a 100hf capacitor was already considered a low-end configuration for drones. With his preschool-level access, he could only view drone configurations from three generations ago, which had capacitors ranging from 150 to 200hf.

A 100hf capacitor barely sufficed for a complete strategic drone configuration. Equipping two high-energy lasers was manageable, but three lasers would allocate at least seventy percent of the core capacitor, with another fifteen percent required for the core module. The remaining fifteen percent would be insufficient to support energy shields, ballistic control, or relay operation, and the added weight of three emitters would make it impossible to support armor shields.

"Whoever designed this question is downright malicious. This drone would barely move, lack any armor, and what's the use of three turrets? It'd get shot down like a paper plane," Liu Shaoyu grumbled inwardly.

Despite his complaints, he started working. Five combat hours of endurance. If the three laser emitters were set not to operate simultaneously, but powered alternately through current modules—two at a time, with timed intervals substituting for cooling—and the heavy alloy armor was removed...

"Question Two submission received. Time taken: two minutes forty-five seconds. Completion under review. Question Three: Assemble the core power module of a light Iron Cavalry destroyer drone. Time limit: ten minutes."

"Figures, just my luck," Liu Shaoyu thought. In preschool, they were only taught the assembly of basic drone components, rarely touching on core module principles—let alone the most critical part, the power module for a light Iron Cavalry destroyer drone, likely rated at four-star confidentiality. Most students would be stumped by this, but not Liu Shaoyu.

He recalled the small cube he had asked Wang Weifu for before the exam—it was, in fact, a miniature robot’s core power module. This drone’s module was only slightly larger. Just a bit.

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Meanwhile, in another sealed chamber within the academy, a middle-aged man sat upright in a chair, his gaze fixed intently on the display before him. The screen showed three preschool academy candidates currently taking the exam. The man wore a dark military uniform, his features stern and dignified, with a broad face and prominent, well-defined features. On his shoulders gleamed a golden epaulet with one star—a general, a general of the Cosmic Fleet. Only the Cosmic Fleet embroidered red lines onto their dark uniforms.

"This Liu Shaoyu is rather interesting. He’s completely abandoned drone armor, forcibly reduced three turrets to two, allocated only five percent to the energy shield, and stripped out the cooling system altogether. He’s even added a twenty percent capacitor allocation to the thrusters. The only thing left working reliably is the engine," the man remarked. His voice was deep and powerful, and although he kept it low, every word was clear.

"Colonel, I must admit I don’t quite understand the rationale behind this question. A drone like this, without shields, would struggle to approach enemy ships in a strategic engagement. And with three turrets unable to cool properly, the firing rate would decrease by at least thirty percent. Most importantly, it would be impossible to recover the drone," said a young female officer, about twenty years old, dressed in the same uniform but with two bars and one star on her shoulder—astonishingly, a major at her age.

"In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are required. Xiao Wu, you’re still too bound by convention. After this review, you’ll report to the Ninth Fleet," the general said calmly, his tone brooking no argument.

"Yes, General." At the mention of the Ninth Fleet, Major Wu’s expression betrayed her displeasure, but she complied without protest. The Ninth Fleet was responsible for logistics and supply transport between alien battlefields and space bases—rarely seeing direct combat. For a young soldier, this meant a great deal.

An hour later, the examination room door slowly opened, and Liu Shaoyu emerged, looking exhausted. Sixty minutes of intense mental exertion had left the ten-year-old sweating profusely. Still, as a product of the Human Complementation Project, he needed only a brief rest to recover.

Exam results would be released in about an hour. Most scores were computed by computer, but some required manual assessment.

Leaving the testing sector behind, Liu Shaoyu collapsed onto a chair in the lounge, where water and protein bars awaited him.

On Earth, the rise in sea levels and industrial development in the 21st century had caused global warming and mass extinction, reducing land area. Once interstellar exploitation became possible, Earth’s energy giants set their sights on the vastness of space, mining floating minerals for energy. Industries shifted their focus to the cosmos. Hunting of terrestrial animals was banned, and the remaining species were kept under the control of the Military District Guard. All meat now came from cloned extraterrestrial livestock.

The cost of interstellar transport meant that most families could only afford synthetic protein-based meat, and most people supplemented their diet with protein bars like these.

Liu Shaoyu had just taken a sip of water when a boy in a white uniform, also about ten years old, entered. With neat short hair and a slightly pointed chin, the boy was surprised to see Liu Shaoyu, but quickly replaced it with a smile and a nod before taking a seat. He wiped his cup with a tissue before pouring himself some water.

The two sat in silence.

About ten minutes later, Wang Weifu strode in, travel-worn, sat down, and gulped down a glass of water.

"My goodness, you jinxed it—there really was a power core module!" Wang Weifu spoke through gulps of water.

"Hey, aren’t you the military district commander’s son?" Wang Weifu blurted out to the boy beside him, not even swallowing his mouthful of water.

"Hello, you can call me Murong," the boy replied with a warm smile, dimples appearing on his cheeks, unfazed by Wang Weifu’s bluntness.

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"Murong? Is that your family name, as in the compound surname Murong?"

"No, my surname is Mu, given name Rong," he replied, lowering his head to tidy his clothes, clearly uninterested in continuing the conversation.

"Oh, I’m Wang Weifu. By the way, Shaoyu, how did you do?" Wang Weifu asked, oblivious to Mu Rong’s withdrawal.

"We’ll know soon enough. Mu, how did you do?"

"Ah? I... aside from that strategic drone question with the 100hf capacitor and the three high-energy laser emitters for five combat hours, the rest was fine." Mu Rong was caught off guard by the question and answered hastily.

"Requesting exam results transmission," came three different AI voices.

"Receiving."

"Yes! I passed! Hahaha, I passed!" Wang Weifu shouted with joy at the word "Passed" flashing on his holographic screen. Liu Shaoyu and Mu Rong turned to look—sure enough, the screen read, "Passed. Score: 85. Please report to the school in three days."

Wang Weifu was still flushed with excitement. "Mu, how about you?" Liu Shaoyu asked quietly.

"I passed. And you?"

"Yeah, I passed too, but it looks like I’m to report for an interview immediately, not in three days."

Following the guidance lines on the wall, Liu Shaoyu made his way to a room on the second floor of the exam area. Waiting at the door was the same Major Wu from before.

"Hello, Liu Shaoyu. Please go right in," she said, standing coldly at attention.

"Thank you," Liu Shaoyu replied politely, nodding before entering.

Inside was the general who had earlier remarked on his performance. Before Liu Shaoyu could even collect himself, a voice rang out like a tolling bell.

"Congratulations. You have been admitted to the Seventh Military Direct Preparatory Academy of the Interstellar Fleet Command Academy, Huaxia Republic."