(This Chapter combines two Chapters, making it a 4500-word section.)
"Right, doesn’t it look alive and kicking?"
Falcon said somewhat proudly.
"It’s just average."
As the words fell, the man wearing the bloody tooth mask surprisingly turned and left.
"On the left is Swamp, on the right is Wizard, they have some quirky temperaments and characters, Fan, don’t mind them."
The atmosphere seemed to cool down suddenly, as the mature and beautiful Dragon Aunt quietly said to Mu Fan, turning her head.
Mu Fan shook his head, "I won’t."
With an embarrassed chuckle, Falcon looked at Mu Fan, "Wizard is the top strategist on our ship and is not a human from the Federation; he’s always been like this, you’ll get used to it."
The uncle in the beret pointed to the effeminate man nearby and introduced, "Swamp is the weapons operator of the Flying Dragon, and he holds the final authority over many of the ship’s weapons. When you charge into battle, Swamp is definitely the most reliable support you can trust."
Mu Fan nodded politely, "Nice to meet you, senior."
With such a not-so-friendly start, a tinge of awkwardness was added to the originally cheerful atmosphere.
After passing through two more decks, the distance between the spaces in front and behind began to visibly compress.
Mu Fan knew this meant they had entered the bridge.
Yet, from the completion to the first battle of his own Dawn Battleship, he had never had the chance to examine it closely, which he now regretted.
"Going up from here would be entering the control area of the battleship. Since you haven’t undergone the Thunderhawk Mechanical Master assessment yet, you’re only a prospective member of the Flying Dragon and not qualified to enter. For now, T-Rex, take Mu Fan to his room to rest, and we’ll notify him after we’ve discussed things."
Towards the end, Falcon looked at Dragon Aunt and said.
This time, Dragon Aunt didn’t resist being called "T-Rex" and just hummed in response.
After finishing his words, Falcon looked at Mu Fan with an assessing gaze, "Kid, from the moment you spoke up, you should understand how much weight that statement carries. There is no antidote for regret here, so prepare yourself."
Mu Fan slowly clenched his fists, nodding calmly.
"If I spoke up, and if I were to die... that would be on me."
Falcon raised an eyebrow, impressed by the strong fighting spirit and conviction!
"T-Rex, after you’ve settled Mu Fan, come over for a team discussion."
Mu Fan followed the mature and alluring Dragon Aunt to the fleet’s rest cabins, and once he found his room and entered, Dragon Aunt prepared to leave, but this attractive mature woman paused and looked at Mu Fan with tenderness.
"Fan, I don’t know why, but from the beginning, Wizard didn’t like you, and he strongly opposed your joining Team S. If you really want to join, you’ll face much more resistance than you can imagine. Madman has only taken you as a disciple in all these years. I hope you live up to his reputation, but I also don’t wish for you to lose your life over it."
"If you feel the resistance is too much to overcome, and you can survive the failure, you can ask to withdraw from the assessment."
At the end, Dragon Aunt’s eyes showed a hint of reluctance, "The Thunderhawk’s Mechanical Master, even if they pass the assessment, is piloting the mecha with their life. Before Madman, all the pilots... died."
"I shouldn’t have said so much. Give it some thought, and if there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving."
After saying this, she prepared to turn and leave.
However, a calm call of "Dragon Aunt" from behind made her pause and turn back to look at Mu Fan.
"Dragon Aunt."
Mu Fan spoke sincerely; he hadn’t seen this "T-Rex" in a fierce light, but felt the care and protection of a mentor towards her disciple.
In his intuition, the mature and gorgeous female officer in front of him was filled with care and affection for him.
Since he had such a connection with the unscrupulous Bald Instructor, Mu Fan felt no need to hold back his words anymore.
"I have a question to ask."
"Go ahead," said the woman officer, who must be Mu Fan’s prospective mentor.
"Can I choose not to join Team S if I pass the evaluation?"
In Mu Fan’s gaze, there was no trace of competitive rivalry, but instead the profundity of an adult.
He was already eighteen years old. He had experienced many grand events that others would probably never be able to imagine.
After voicing this question, Mu Fan could see the fine wrinkles around the mentor’s eyes deepen.
"Tell me why. It seems to me your decision isn’t because of what just happened. Is it that you dislike the terms offered by the Flying Dragon?" Obviously, even with the wisdom of T-Rex, she couldn’t fathom Mu Fan’s thoughts at that moment, as the unwavering light in his eyes seemed so dazzling.
"It’s not that. The conditions of the Flying Dragon are generous, too generous for me to refuse."
"Then you must have other plans. But you should know that if not for the identity of the successor to Thunderhawk, you would have had no chance of coming aboard the Flying Dragon Ship. Regarding your question, if you pass the evaluation and become the official successor to Thunderhawk, you must be assigned to the Flying Dragon."
Dragon Aunt looked equally serious. She needed to get a precise answer from Mu Fan, not ambiguities.
Mu Fan tilted his head, listened carefully to the words opposite him, and then replied, "Does this mean the Flying Dragon Ship is bound to Thunderhawk and not the Flying Dragon Ship bound to the pilot of Thunderhawk in Team S?"
"It’s not entirely like that. As long as you’re Thunderhawk’s pilot, at the very least, you have to become an external member of Team S. External members do not enjoy core benefits and are not privy to core secrets. They may possess certain freedoms. But indeed, Thunderhawk is the property of the Flying Dragon."
Mu Fan nodded pensively and then looked intently at Dragon Aunt, "Just by me calling you Dragon Aunt, I won’t let you or the teacher lose face. However, I hope to form my own team in the future. I have my own friends, and I want to fight alongside them."
"So... perhaps the conditions offered by the Flying Dragon Ship may not be suitable for me."
At that moment, Mu Fan’s words left the Flying Dragon Ship’s second strategist in a daze.
The gaze of the young man before her was even prouder and more rebellious than Ruan Xiongfei when they first met.
It was a gaze full of immense confidence in himself.
"If you pass the evaluation and are willing to be an external member, then your freedoms include forming your own team. But as for the secrets of Team S and the Flying Dragon Ship, you are strictly forbidden from disclosing them. However, all this is predicated on you passing the evaluation!"
"Thank you, Dragon Aunt. I will await your message."
Behind his back, Mu Fan’s right hand clenched into a fist, gently tightened.
His dictionary... had no word for failure!
Without seeing the look in Mu Fan’s eyes and just listening to those words, they seemed like the frivolous rivalry of a youth, laughable and absurd.
However, T-Rex saw Mu Fan’s determination and immense confidence.
So, she relayed his words exactly as he said them into the discussion among the members of the Flying Dragon Ship.
"He must have his reasons for saying so, but I object not because I dislike him, but because of his age restriction. If he were ten years older, and if he passed the evaluation normally, then I would have no reason to object to his experience and background. But now, does he truly understand the significance of all he intends to do in the future?"
"Justice isn’t proclaimed, nor is truth seen with the eyes alone. When his ideals clash with those of the members, do you want to see another traitor?"
The Wizard, wearing a mask with blood-red teeth, watched the others with a detached gaze.
"You didn’t see his eyes. He doesn’t yearn to join the Flying Dragon. It seems he just wants to prove that Madman Ruan’s choice... was not wrong."
Dragon Aunt on the other side, a woman of mature beauty, shook her head and adjusted her glasses.
"Really interesting. If what you said is correct, T-Rex, then this kid’s spunk is no less than Madman Ruan’s back in the day. But why do I like him so much!"
Falcon’s face bore a long scar that twitched, but his mouth, clenched on a cigar, was smirking.
"I still oppose this, we need not absorb such people, nor waste time evaluating him. I can perform a spirit hypnosis on him and erase his memories from tonight." The Wizard’s palm revealed a strange triangular silver metal badge.
"You dare!" T-Rex’s brows furrowed in anger as she spoke solemnly.
The two strategists had a blatant falling out during the internal discussion, preventing the other members from participating.
"Alright, since we’ve initiated the evaluation process, let’s follow through with it. Set aside other matters for now." Finally, Falcon spoke, setting the tone.
"Let’s discuss the first step of the test," a voice spoke, "we need to select the location for testing the physical limits as planned."
"The strategist suggests advancing the second step," another voice proposed. "There’s no need for further testing if the elimination occurs in this round."
"Why don’t you just move the last step forward! Wizard, you’re being too harsh on a junior," T-Rex said, heavily slapping the alloy table as he stood up.
"The first and second steps do not conflict, so my proposal is without error."
"You!"
Seeing another round of argument about to kick off, Falcon grabbed a pistol and fired a shot at the ceiling.
The bullet bounced repeatedly off the irregular yet hard alloy ceiling, finally landing with a ’ding’ in the trash can nearby.
"For the love of... stop arguing," Falcon growled through the cigar smoke, slamming his pistol down on the table.
"Initiate the Extreme Nine Forms trial! A performance perfection rate of over 60% within 12 hours constitutes a pass!"
T-Rex’s eyes lit up with joy, but the next sentence from Falcon made her heart skip a beat.
"After passing, you’ll proceed to the laser corridor infiltration test with the cutting standard set according to a 60% motion completion rate."
"No word ’simulated’?" the woman asked, her eyes narrowed and fists clenched tightly.
"No, there are no weaklings in S Squad’s history," Falcon declared, pressing his cigar into the ashtray.
"I second that."
The Wizard’s voice was calm but carried a hint of satisfaction.
...
Finally, an hour later, the shipborne Sky Communication system inside the rest pod sounded.
Mu Fan, sitting cross-legged on his bed, opened his eyes, revealing a bright brilliance.
Is it finally coming?
He looked unperturbed as he gazed at the portrait surfacing on the shipborne Sky Communication panel.
Falcon’s eyes, fierce with a soldier’s brutality, made the scar crossing his eye appear particularly menacing through the smoke.
Upon seeing Mu Fan, his raspy voice came through:
"Mu Fan, kid, follow the guard at the door to the command room. For the next twelve hours, you need to pass the first assessment. And remember — this assessment... can be deadly."
Now, there was not a trace of jest in Falcon’s eyes, only the sternness of his warning, which Mu Fan registered fully.
Yet, Mu Fan was not the least bit intimidated, and he replied with a light smile, "Okay."
Soon, Mu Fan followed a guard into the command room.
The command room had an air reminiscent of the Round Table Knights. However, only seven people sat around the long conference table.
When he walked in as the eighth, the door of the command room gently closed behind him.
"Mu Fan, an hour has passed; you must have given this some thought. But as I’ve already made clear, there’s no such thing as regrets here," Falcon stated.
Mu Fan smiled at the group before him, catching Dragon Aunt’s worried glance, realizing that this first assessment was probably not going to be easy.
However, he calmly said, "I never regret the promises I make. And if I die, it’s on me."
No one in the room made a sound, leaving only even breathing to fill the silence.
Finally, Falcon broke the quiet.
"Since that’s the case, you may now begin the first step of the assessment. The Body Techniques you will encounter are the top of this country’s training, the essence of countless battles, crafted by the military to train Super Soldiers, known as the Extreme Nine Forms."
"Every Trainer who comes aboard Flying Dragon goes through this step, as it greatly reduces mortality rates on the battlefield."
"Today, you’ll practice the Extreme Nine Forms within the environment we provide — you have only twelve hours. After twelve hours, we will evaluate your movement and deem it an initial success if you achieve 60%, which will lead to the final assessment of step one."
"A standard of less than 60% will be considered a failure in assessment, resulting in elimination."
"The time is now 1800 hours, and you have twelve hours for a continuous assessment. The start time is up to you. Within these 24 hours, you can rest now and take the assessment tomorrow morning if you wish."
Until now, Falcon had not mentioned what that final assessment for initial success entailed...
And naturally, Mu Fan didn’t know that his Dragon Aunt’s worry was about precisely that.
Falcon had actually been quite considerate. Failure at step one usually wasn’t fatal, and one could normally withdraw from the assessment.
But Mu Fan wasn’t thinking about that, not delving into the nuances of Falcon’s words.
He had a hunch...
Why did this Extreme Nine Forms sound so oddly familiar?
"No need, let’s start now."
Mu Fan furrowed his brow. His time was precious. He had set 48 hours for Donald, and a third of that time had passed.
When it came to revenge, he never liked to delay.
"Brave young man, Tank, take him to the trial room," Falcon commanded.
The solid figure of Tank grunted in agreement, standing up and gesturing for Mu Fan to follow.
Mu Fan got up, took one last look at the people in the command room, and then turned to leave.
Behind him, the thick alloy door closed, and he followed the bulky Tank into the elevator, descending to the second to last deck.
"Here we are. This is the trial room. The movements of the Extreme Nine Forms will be demonstrated in three dimensions on the holographic screen inside. The room also possesses mechanical linkage equipment that will forcibly correct your posture. I will demonstrate the first learning session together with the hologram. You can ask me if you have any questions."
Mu Fan entered the trial room alone, vast with an area of over one thousand square meters and an eight-meter ceiling.
Steady, ready.
A three-dimensional hologram sprung up before Mu Fan’s eyes.
At the same time, a description of the Elite Body Techniques, the Extreme Nine Forms, began playing through the speaker overhead.
But when Mu Fan heard the first sentence, his expression turned strange.
[The Extreme Nine Forms of Body Techniques: surpassing the body’s limits, unsuitable for ordinary people. The foundation of these nine forms lies in exploring the limits of the body, and after ceaseless tempering of one’s physique and strength, one performs movements that engage over half of the human muscles, which ordinary people simply cannot execute, thus truly surpassing limits!]
"The Extreme Nine Forms, if mastered beyond half, can significantly improve the practitioner’s survival rate on the battlefield," the voice continued.
"First Form movement, Lean Gyro."
"Second Form movement, Reverse Skeletal Fold."
...
As the movements unfolded on the hologram with accompanying descriptions, another image formed in Mu Fan’s mind.
There was only one person in that visualization—his true mentor, the gentleman who had gone by ’Fighter’—Mohandas.
Mohandas had once taught Mu Fan the essence of everything he knew.
That essence, named by the instructor—
Six Forms.