For some reason, Leola found that as long as she was around Wang Tianwei, she had an endless stream of ideas!
Things she normally couldn’t think of suddenly came flooding back all at once…
What was so special about this person? If this kept up, she’d have to drag her into First Military Academy!
As she mused that the only thing First Military Academy lacked compared to Qilin Academy was probably the cafeteria—and made a mental note to send a complaint letter to the school administration once she got back—her hands kept busy. She pulled a calculator, paper, pens, and some of the materials Wang Tianwei had mentioned from her space buckle. Huddled beneath the kelp, she began sketching out a rough design.
The tsunami only gradually subsided after three hours. The giant tube worms finally realized where the true threat was coming from.
They converged from all directions, swarming in for a concentrated assault!
Hairy red tube worms began crawling up the hull in an orderly fashion, and their psychic attacks were no longer as scattered as before.
Wang Tianwei had been completely absorbed in watching Leola’s sketches. The moment she closed her eyes, it felt like she was on the ocean floor? Then, with another blink, she was back on the ship.
"Sorry, I didn’t mean to neglect you just now."
Sir Huang had been practicing the psychic condensation technique that He Siyu had taught him, too focused on the two soldiers fighting ahead to remember that there was also an A-level psychic mech pilot on the boat.
"It’s fine."
Wang Tianwei looked up at the situation around the vessel, clapped her hands, and stood up.
"Leola, keep working on that. I’m going to help them."
Leola, utterly absorbed in her mech research, hummed a couple of dismissive sounds and continued working.
Wang Tianwei deployed her mech at the ship’s railing, then entered the cockpit and piloted it into the water.
The three members of First Military Academy watched, stupefied, as they saw how confidently Qilin’s mech handled underwater operations… It seemed like the Federation’s mechs were likely in for another overhaul?
"Be careful, Sister Zebra."
"There are too many bugs down there. Don’t push yourself if the psychic pressure gets too much."
Jane Jingyu and Zhang Lyra cleared out the alien creatures while still taking time to warn her.
"Got it," Wang Tianwei replied.
As soon as she entered the sea, she was swarmed by a mass of bugs.
Hordes of giant tube worms surged at her, plastering themselves against the exterior of her "submarine," making the mech’s weight nearly unbearable!
The psychic assault was also far more intense than before—completely different from the astral beasts she had encountered previously!
Seeing more and more alien creatures gathering around her, Wang Tianwei quickly hit the electrify button, only to find that these giant tube worms were immune to electricity! Barely any of them were electrocuted.
"Uh, what the heck!?"
What was going on? Could she only take them out with explosives?
In just a few seconds, the observation window of her "submarine" was packed with bugs, completely blocking her view.
She had no choice but to fire a few shells, then hit the acceleration button. Soon, it became her "submarine" racing ahead, with a massive swarm of giant tube worms chasing behind.
When Jane Jingyu saw this from the sea surface, she couldn’t help but laugh. From time to time, she’d pilot the mech down and blast a few shots. The efficiency was far better than picking them off one by one!
"Qilin Military Academy, Fourth Squad, plus twenty-five points."
"Sister Zebra! Head this way!"
The cleanup was effective, but it came at a cost—she was definitely draining her teammates…
Wang Tianwei quickly noticed her emotions starting to fray. Every time someone spoke in the team channel, she felt irritated; even Sir Huang’s perfectly normal commands grated on her nerves.
"Sister Zebra, if it gets too bad, come back up. These alien creatures’ psychic attacks are unusual. I can feel them penetrating the psychic barrier," Sir Huang said in a low voice.
Unlike the simple illusions created by astral sharks, these bugs’ psychic attacks seemed to seep in, subtly influencing perception and judgment.
That was extremely dangerous—even he couldn’t completely guard against it.
Wang Tianwei pressed her lips into a thin line.
If mere bugs living on the seafloor without parasitic threats were this hard to handle, how dangerous must the Federation’s reported bugs with evolved consciousness be?
With her A-level psychic ability being so easily affected, could she really become a qualified soldier?
Was she going to hold the team back?
Gritting her teeth, she summoned all her psychic power to resist… It was tough, but it seemed somewhat useful.
So she didn’t rush to get back on the ship.
"I can hold on… Call my name every two minutes. I’ll practice my psychic abilities down here."
She said this in the shared communication channel of both teams.
Wang Tianwei’s logic was simple: her own team had only three people, but with First Military Academy, there were at least six. Each person could take fewer turns.
That way, she wouldn’t burden them too much, and her own life would be safe.
Besides, she had a feeling lately that her psychic power was stuck at a bottleneck. Even though she could craft super-S-class mechs with ease, for some reason, it just wouldn’t level up. It was time to push herself!
Otherwise, no matter the opponent, they’d just go straight for her psychic abilities—wasn’t that bullying the meek?
Wu Pingzhuo was shocked by what he heard, instinctively glancing toward Zhang Lyra and Jane Jingyu.
Was… this how Qilin typically trained?
Even at First Military Academy, they never pushed people this hard!
Practicing psychic abilities surrounded by bugs? Come on, that’s just absurd!
Fu Xingyuan also couldn’t help searching for the black silhouette underwater… With that kind of grit, you’d succeed at anything.
He Siyu didn’t comment on Wang Tianwei’s decision; she simply filed it away in her mind, feeling an unprecedented sense of urgency.
She glanced sideways at the "little bee" drone broadcasting live.
Everyone at First Military Academy saw this, right? See how other schools train?
If they kept complaining and slacking off, they’d soon be left far behind by Qilin.
"Copy that."
"Copy that, Sister Zebra!"
"Copy that. Watch yourself."
Back at school, Wang Kaiyu’s squad members were speechless for a long time.
"Looks like Qilin isn’t all underhanded tactics… Losing to them really isn’t something to be ashamed of," Xu Mo said, scratching his head and offering his opinion.
Wang Kaiyu couldn’t tear his eyes away from his sister’s mech. The way it sped up and slowed down unpredictably in the water showed just how severe the psychic attacks on her were… Sis, did you have to train like this?
Lucas ran a hand through his hair from front to back.
"Damn… Sister Zebra."
And they still had the nerve to take breaks? Better get moving!
Ye Yingxuan glanced at the time on her light band.
"Let’s go. Next class starts soon. Don’t be late."
Xu Mo stood up.
"Let’s go, let’s go. We can’t afford to miss a single class now! Otherwise, we’ll fall too far behind to catch up…"
Lucas patted Wang Kaiyu on the shoulder.
"When Sister Zebra gets back this time, let’s buy her some good food and send it to the camp, okay? She’s working so hard… I heard there’s a nice new dessert shop nearby."
"What’s the name of the shop?"
