Early the next morning, the four students woke up according to their biological clocks and washed up.
The heavy snow outside had stopped, but the temperature was still very low.
Zhang Lyra's family also woke up early. Christine and her husband had already prepared breakfast for the children.
Zhang Qishui liked Jian Jingyu very much. Sitting next to him, he kept saying,
"You look exactly like me when I was young!"
Wang Tianwei was still groggily brushing her teeth. Hearing this, she mumbled to Zhang Lyra beside her,
"Really?"
Before Zhang Lyra could say anything, Christine walked by and snorted,
"Hmph, don't listen to his nonsense. The two of them look absolutely nothing alike!"
"..."
Zhang Qishui wasn't angry. He turned his head to look at Huang Yan,
"This young man also has a bit of my demeanor from back in the day."
"...Dad, it's time for your injection."
Zhang Lyra couldn't listen anymore and spoke up to remind him.
Zhang Qishui was dragged back into the room by his little daughter,
"Injection, injection!"
The medication for treating mental power dissipation still required a daily injection, but his condition had stabilized a lot recently!
He could get out of bed to walk around and eat on his own, and he could also help his wife with some chores within his capacity. Everything was heading in a good direction.
After breakfast, the four young people planned to first clear the snow in Zhang Lyra's yard, and then clear the doorway, treating it as their morning workout!
"Come on! Let's get to work!"
Wang Tianwei clapped her hands and took a confident step forward. The next second, her entire body sank into the snow, leaving only her head exposed above the surface.
"Forgot to tell you... there's a platform here, and the snow below it is deeper."
Little Shirley Zhang, bundled up in a temperature-regulating suit by her mother, poked her head out from behind Jian Jingyu.
"Huh? Where's Sister Wang??"
"Hahahahaha!"
Jian Jingyu laughed heartily. He and Zhang Lyra reached out to pull Wang Tianwei up.
"Sister Zebra, just follow behind us. Let us pave the way for you!"
Wang Tianwei returned to the platform, brushed off the snow that had poured into her collar, and said expressionlessly,
"Permission granted."
Jian Jingyu went down first to clear a spot to stand on, then started the snow blower from Zhang Lyra's house to clear the path ahead.
The rest of them were responsible for sweeping up the spots the snow blower missed. There were also some icy patches on the ground that needed to be broken up with a shovel first before being swept into a pile.
Half an hour later, the yard and the main gate were completely cleared.
The snow blower was still running to the side, melting the ice and snow into water, which was filtered and then flowed into Zhang Lyra's family's reservoir.
The four young people did their morning workout right there. Without equipment, they did push-ups, squats, and practiced some martial arts...
Shirley Zhang followed along with the older brothers and sisters, practicing impressively well for her young age!
During the workout, she was even lifted up like a dumbbell by Jian Jingyu, having the time of her life!
After everyone finished their morning workout and broke a light sweat, Jian Jingyu and Wang Tianwei couldn't sit still and wanted to take advantage of the clear weather to go for a walk.
Zhang Lyra and little Shirley Zhang led the way, and the four of them left in a hovercraft.
Huang Yan returned to the house. Zhang Qishui had finished his injection and was sitting to the side playing chess against himself. Huang Yan walked over, watched for a while, and joined the game.
"You don't have to go easy on me..."
After one game, Zhang Qishui said helplessly,
"I'm just a combatant, my chess skills are poor. Even Lyra's mother can beat me!
You are the top student of the Qilin Command Department, how could you not even beat a terrible chess player like me?"
Huang Yan smiled gently and helped set up the chess pieces again.
"Let's play another game."
"...Don't feel too much pressure when you go to the competition this time, just perform as you normally would."
Zhang Qishui moved his Knight away from the black Queen's line of sight.
"But you must pay attention to safety! You are the team's commander, remember to keep an eye on them.
Lyra is very well-behaved in front of outsiders, but she actually has a ruthless streak in her. She easily loses her head in a fight. Demihumans all have this flaw... which isn't really a good thing."
"Combatants all seem to be like that."
Huang Yan moved his black Bishop to capture the opponent's Bishop. Zhang Qishui shook his head.
"Lyra has been quite good at enduring it since she was a child. Her threshold is considered high now... That kid Jian Jingyu is not bad either!
I've watched your training videos, and his sustained striking ability as an assaulter is also very strong!
Whether it's a combatant, a commander, or a mecha master, only those who can survive on the battlefield are good soldiers..."
As Zhang Qishui spoke, his voice lowered. Huang Yan couldn't help but ask,
"I heard you were from the Tenth Military District back in the day, Uncle?"
"Hehe, the Tenth Military District... Third Battalion, Second Company, the strongest heavy mecha gunner Zhang Qishui!
I'm not bragging, but in my prime, even that kid Jian Jingyu might not have been able to beat me!"
Huang Yan nodded.
"Anyone who can pilot a heavy mecha is no ordinary person. The teachers said that the gap between Lyra and Goldfish is already very small. Who knows, she might rank up at any time!"
Hearing this, Zhang Qishui couldn't help but feel proud.
"Of course! Look at whose daughter she is!
Lyra made up her mind to be a heavy mecha combatant since she was a little girl! Even the boys her age aren't as strong as her!"
"Yes, right now no one in the school can beat her in heavy mecha combat."
"Sigh... The Federation hasn't been peaceful lately. You guys must be careful when going to the competition.
Mental power is especially important! You must remember to protect it well!
I've watched previous matches, and those kids use their mental power without any restraint... You don't want to end up like me, do you?"
"Uncle, back then... did your mental power dissipate on the battlefield?"
"...That year we ran into a star beast tide. We fought for forty-eight hours straight, but the star beasts kept appearing wave after wave, as if they would never stop!
Other military districts also experienced outbreaks of beast tides during those two days... Unable to wait for reinforcements, my captain and teammates all sacrificed themselves...
I was young back then, relying on my good physical fitness and the fact that my mental power was about to rank up! So I recklessly tried to mimic our commander and mobilize other people's mecha weapons.
Thinking that no matter what, I couldn't let them cross the defense line."
Huang Yan looked up in surprise.
"Did you succeed?"
"Half-succeeded, I suppose... I mobilized the mecha of a fallen B-rank warrior.
But my mental power really couldn't hold up, and my firing was always inaccurate..."
Huang Yan didn't know what to say for a moment. Even commanders wouldn't dare easily mobilize other people's weapons...
Zhang Qishui chuckled softly.
"But at least I held on. In the end, only a few of us came back... I honestly didn't think I would make it back alive back then..."
"It's a good thing you came back."
Zhang Qishui was pulled out of his thoughts by Huang Yan.
"Otherwise, Lyra might not have been able to come to Qilin, and she wouldn't be as happy and hardworking as she is now."
Hearing this, the somewhat frail middle-aged man shifted his gaze out the window.
"You're right... It's a good thing I came back."
After a long while, Huang Yan pushed a chess piece.
"Checkmate. Uncle Zhang, you lose."
Zhang Qishui hadn't been feeling sentimental for long before he heard the cold word Checkmate. He stared in disbelief for a long time.
"...This game doesn't count, let's play another one!"
"...I heard the memory steel Lyra bought for me earlier was through someone you helped find, Uncle?
I have an idea, let me know if you think it's feasible..."
