After a full two minutes of discussion among the three Kylin team members, they finally reached a verdict.
Huang Yan stepped forward. Wang Tianwei anxiously sipped her nutrient fluid, waiting for her teammates' "sentence."
"Sir Huang..."
"After the three of us discussed it, because your personal behavior this time was way too reckless, we've unanimously decided—"
The dramatic pause made Wang Tianwei's heart leap into her throat! Even the three from First Military Academy couldn't help but tense up as they listened.
"You're not allowed to eat hot pot until after the next competition. Not even hot pot–flavored boiled veggies.
You won't get any of the celebratory desserts after we return, and Little Bear will strictly monitor your daily meals. We hope you'll take this lesson to heart and act accordingly."
"..."
"Nooo!"
Amid the eerie silence from First Military Academy, Wang Tianwei let out a wail and collapsed to the ground.
"No way! Sir Huang, I really don't deserve a death sentence! I swear, I won't ever do it again!
This time, I only pushed it hard because I felt my mental energy was about to break through!
We're all teammates—you can't treat me like this!!!"
The three Kylin members were dead set in their decision. No amount of Wang Tianwei's rolling and tantrum-throwing on the deck could sway them.
Jian Jingyu and Zhang Lyra could truly sympathize, but Sir Huang had made it clear: if they went easy on her now, she'd do it again next time. They had to punish her thoroughly in one go! So they could only offer sympathetic looks.
Wang Tianwei felt sheer agony.
Banned from hot pot and little cakes?! Might as well be killing her!
The netizens weren't lying... sometimes the ones who hurt you most are the ones who know you best!
"I regret it, I regret it so much!!"
Huang Yan rolled her eyes at the sight of Wang beating her chest and stomping her feet.
"Regretting not waking up sooner? Or that you didn't hold on a little longer so we wouldn't catch you in the act?"
"..."
The commander's mind is just too sharp... You've said it all—what's left for me to say?
"That's a stereotype, a preconceived notion—"
The three from First Military Academy had watched the entire "trial" unfold and could only shake their heads with wry smiles.
That punishment... well, it was so Kylin!
For anyone else, it might be a slap on the wrist. But for Wang Tianwei, judging by her rolling-on-the-ground fit, it was devastating.
"...So that's what they mean by 'different monkeys need different leashes'?" Wu Pingzhuo mused, stroking his chin.
Fu Xingyuan looked at him in surprise.
"Your grasp of ancient idioms has really improved lately."
He Siyu, meanwhile, felt she'd learned a great method for disciplining her own team.
"Emmm, an internal team meeting? We could do this when our squad has disagreements in the future."
"...Captain, is that really necessary?"
Wu Pingzhuo couldn't help picturing what his teammates might do to him... what if they banned him from watching sports matches?
Seeing Wang Tianwei's tears finally fall, netizens chimed in:
"This punishment is way too harsh! For Sister Zebra, this is practically a death sentence!"
"Those two tears of hers... she must have dredged up the saddest things she could think of!"
"Tsk tsk tsk. No hot pot and no desserts? That's painful... So let me eat a little cake on her behalf!"
"No worries~ I can eat them right in front of you!"
"Ha ha ha ha! I'm gonna post all kinds of hot pot photos in the league forum when Sister Zebra gets back!"
“You people are just too wicked! I suggest the Kirin forum shouldn’t stay idle either!”
“You didn’t spare her either…”
No matter how much Wang Tianwei appealed to reason and emotion, she couldn’t change her teammates’ decision. Next, even the members of the first squad refused to let her go back into the sea.
With her head hung low, “Chef Wang” had no choice but to return to Leola’s side to work on the mech.
“Sigh…”
“Ran into a wall this time, huh?”
Leola glanced up at her, then turned back to her work. Wang Tianwei felt indignant but only dared to mutter quietly,
“Must be almost time for Sir Huang’s ‘two days’… Huh? No, wait—you heard that from all the way over here?”
Leola gave a faint smile and pointed to the brooch on her clothes.
“Didn’t you make this?”
Wang Tianwei froze for a moment.
“I did… but I didn’t turn it on.”
“You’re not the only one with access.”
Wang Tianwei stood stunned for a long moment.
“Sir Huang! You even screw over your own people!?”
Huang Yan, piloting the mech alongside the ship, replied calmly,
“This is called transparency.”
On another ship, Hiranuma Yusho expressionlessly moved his own brooch farther away.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Brutal. Just brutal.”
Wu Fangyu clicked her tongue after hearing all this and walked away. Not only did they keep Sister Zebra from eating hotpot and little cakes, but they also held a public execution? Clearly, Huang Yan was someone you didn’t want to cross!
“I’ll go help Barry and the others. Captain, keep an eye on the Kirin so we don’t lose them.”
They had no choice—their radar couldn’t detect the other ship at all. To track it, they had to rely on the naked eye… In that regard, Sister Zebra was far too authoritative.
Valcorps’ two other infantrymen were also clearing out giant tube worms.
The creatures near their ship had all been hypnotized by Hiranuma Yusho, so they weren’t nearly as aggressive, making cleanup much easier.
But why would First Military Academy people board the Kirin’s ship?
It was obvious Huang Yan wouldn’t be kind enough to let them hitch a ride for free…
Yet Hiranuma Yusho couldn’t muster any schadenfreude—after all, his own team still hadn’t filled the material deficit from the next competition…
“First Military Academy First Squad: plus thirty points.”
Hearing the announcement, Hiranuma Yusho couldn’t help but sigh, pulling out the last three-hundred-point academy button from his spatial ring, looking at it, and then putting it back.
With no bonus-point button available, First Military Academy seemed to be frantically farming giant tube worms, forcing his team to stay on guard too.
This was currently the easiest way to earn points.
Valcorps’ extra four hundred points might sound like a lot, but First Military Academy had an early advantage.
Besides, a single glance at the sea showed there were easily over four hundred giant tube worms. With two days left, if they pushed hard, they might still surpass Valcorps…
Clearly, they couldn’t let up until the very last moment.
“Valcorps First Squad: plus forty-two points.”
In the camp’s livestream, the audience had grown used to watching students clear out the alien bugs and were no longer as on edge as at the start.
The easygoing vibe from Valcorps’ side especially helped ease the viewers’ fear of the aliens.
Shen Jie and several military officials took note of this—it was exactly the goal they were aiming for.
Fearing a battle before it even began was the worst possible mindset.
Only when soldiers and civilians alike stopped being so terrified of the aliens would the Federation have a chance to win!
Just then, there was a knock at the observation room door. Someone entered, whispered a few words to the two commanders from the First Military District, and they immediately stood up. After apologizing to Shen Jie and the livestream crew, they hurriedly left.
The few remaining teachers glanced at it and then looked away, probably guessing that some urgent meeting was being called at the First Military District.
