"Chairman, can you at least give us a straight answer?"
The team-leading teachers from the three military academies were each quarantined in their own dormitories. After watching the latest livestream, they were all consumed with anxiety.
Why did the bugs have to pick Blizza as the first planet they took over?
They knew full well this was a provocation—a move designed to grab attention, to bait the Federation and the military into making the most reckless decision possible.
But when the hostages were their own students, no one could sit still. They wanted nothing more than to fly to Blizza that very second and bring those kids back themselves!
So the sudden surge of animals near the camp had been linked to the bugs? They had been watching the kids since back then?
Even Selena was beginning to wonder whether signing up for the Inter-Academy Tournament had been the right call.
Every single match had to go wrong? Every single one?
She knew deep down that this was just misplaced anger—no one could have predicted a bug invasion.
But seeing the students still blissfully unaware, thinking they were competing in the finals while hundreds upon hundreds of hungry bugs circled around them, she could barely contain her restlessness...
"Chairman, maybe we can put together a special task force? At the very least, we should find a way to warn the students," Fu Manli urged.
"Let us go! We won't take up any Federation resources—just give us the flight route," Chao Hao said, his tone dead serious. He had led plenty of similar missions back in the First Military District.
The students had come here with them for the competition. It was their duty to bring the kids back safe and sound.
Shen Jie fully understood how the teachers felt. They were all quarantined inside the camp, and at least they could still hold video calls to discuss things.
The parents of those twelve students had nearly defied the Federation's lockdown orders to rush straight to Blizza!
Huang Taihe owned not only a starship but his own spaceport—word had it he almost pulled it off.
As for Wang Tianwei's parents over at Yida Technologies, they lost out purely because they didn't have their own spaceport. Same for Hiranuma Yusho's father, and He Siyu's family...
"Everyone, I've already reported this to the Grand Commander. He said the rescue operation would be handled entirely by the military, and the specifics of the action plan cannot be disclosed. Please trust us—trust the military!"
"..."
On the other side of Lin Youfu's video screen was a live stream of his own students.
Hiranuma Yusho and the others were still down in the tunnels beneath the ice, killing star beasts and racking up points.
If the Federation had been infiltrated by bugs disguised as animals, could the star beasts and mutated creatures be infected too?
If that was the case, the more star beasts and mutant animals they came into contact with, the more dangerous things would be for the kids...
"First Squad of Valk Military Academy: +13 points."
He couldn't get in touch with them, and he couldn't leave the camp. This was driving him out of his mind!
After ending his call with Shen Jie, the chairman of the organizing committee, he got back on a video call with Gaskell.
They had nothing particular to talk about, but neither wanted to sit alone in their room, so they just kept the call open and watched the broadcast together.
Every teacher in quarantine had several projection screens in front of them. Before, they only kept an eye on their own academy's team—now, none of the three squads could be ignored.
For the people of the Federation, tonight would be a sleepless one...
4:00 AM.
The sky was still dark, but the howling winds of Blizza that had raged all night finally died down.
The three squads woke at roughly the same time, washed up, changed clothes, had breakfast—no dawdling at all.
Valk, though underground, woke up a little later—but only by about half an hour.
This was already day four. If they still couldn't find the bonus point button, they couldn't stay down here much longer. It was time to head back up to the ice.
The students' frequency of oxygen use was dropping, a sign that their bodies were gradually adapting to Blizza's conditions.
That was good news for them. If they ran into other teams and had to fight, they wouldn't be as hindered physically.
Before setting out, Wang Tianwei gathered everyone together. After Huang Yan packed up the tent, she was the first to start stepping out tracks across the pristine snow.
Jian Jingyu followed closely behind, one hand resting on Sister Zebra's shoulder, afraid of veering off course.
On the live feed, three "bandits" and one "terracotta warrior" marched in single file, circling aimlessly in the snow. At one point, Wang Tianwei even pulled off a high-difficulty one-handed handstand—twice!
In minus sixty-five degree weather, it took the four of them a full five minutes to finish their work of art.
Carefully stepping out along their own footprints, the "little bee" drone rose higher, and there it was in the snow—a giant cartoon face of a boy.
A goofy, innocent expression, short straight hair. Wang Tianwei finished by condensing a shimmer of liquid gold into a sharp point on her finger, writing beneath it the words: "Happy Birthday, Wang Kaiyu!"
Only after that did she grab the "little bee" and pull it close.
Part of the liquid gold covering her face peeled away, revealing a person in goggles and a face mask underneath... Though you still couldn't see her expression, her voice came through far more clearly now.
"Hey there, little bro. Today's your birthday, and your dear old sister is wishing you a happy birthday!"
Right after she said that, Jian Jingyu squeezed into the frame.
"And me too! Happy 17th birthday, Wang Kaiyu~ hahaha!"
Zhang Lyra and Huang Yan also jumped into shot.
"Happy birthday, little bro."
"Happy birthday. As for the gift, I'll make it up to you when the competition's over."
Wang Tianwei laughed with a "heh heh."
"Your new mech is done—I finished it just before the finals. I scheduled a timed delivery for today, so be sure to check your package! Don't worry, the shell is the white-and-blue you like!
The conditions out here are absolutely terrible, and I need to save my energy to take home the championship, so I'll skip the banner-hanging and dance number for now.
When we get back with the trophy, I'll let you borrow it for a photo op~ Make sure you eat a bowl of long-life noodles today. As for the cake, you can push that back—wait till I'm home. That ice cream cake from the place you bought before, that's a solid pick!"
"Wang Tianwei?"
"Sister Zebra... you just blew my cover."
"Cough! Anyway, this drawing is for you too. Peace and joy, best wishes all around!"
And with that, she quickly scrambled up into her mech.
"Right! Time's tight and the mission's heavy—Huang Yan, let's move out! Got to find that bonus point button today!"
Wang Kaiyu had been watching the live stream all night. From worry, the dark circles and bags under his eyes had practically dropped to his chin in a single night, and stubble was starting to show. He stared at the scene, unable to speak for a long moment.
"Sis..."
A moment later, tears poured out like a floodgate had burst open.
"...You have to come back, okay? I'm begging you."
Back home, Wang Yi and Cheng Yin watched the scene and sobbed until their hearts were torn apart.
Tianwei—their daughter!!!
The students from then "24K Heavenly Talents Mutual Aid Society" —some of them had already entered the reserve forces.
The rest felt sick watching Wang Tianwei send birthday wishes to her brother from Blizza.
Lucas simply sat up from his cryo-pod, turned on the light, and with the live streams running on his comm device, went back to studying his unfinished mech designs.
Don’t just sit around... you need to think more about what else you can do.
