Volume 5: Chapter 8 – The Smell of Earth
"These two people are definitely experts from the army, otherwise they would not be able to display those kind of skills!"
"Who would have that much free time on their hands? Regardless of who they are, at least we are able to broaden our knowledge by watching them fight."
The small group of girls were chit-chatting and very soon the topic shifted to the gender of Skeleton.
An Mei felt that Skeleton might be a girl because Skeleton was too calm. Usually, female soldiers were more subtle and meticulous.
Wang Zheng initially was having a fine rest, but, suddenly, he sneezed a few times as if he had been brushed by a cold wind.
In the dormitory, Chen Xiu and Yao Ailun were creeping about like night cats. Their Skeleton Corps had just begun to play together. If not for the fact that both of them were bad at fighting, they would have gone with the rest to the battlefield.
Initially, they had led their teams into battle, but had ended up in miserable defeat. The key reason was that, during battle, their knowledge seemed to fly from their heads. It was as if they were theorists through and through.
Wang Zheng was sneezing in bed in the ackground as the two looked at each other. When it came to Wang Zheng's lost love, Yao Ailun and Chen Xiu had nothing to say. Experiencing something like that at this age was beneficial, especially since the two of them had been loners from the start
Zhang Shan had yet to return. That fellow had been practicing like a maniac since his battle factor in his genes had become fully awakened.Using Ailun's words, he had gone down the path of bodybuilding and it was a path of no reurn.
The meeting between the Three Great Military Academy had ended not long ago and the news about Masasi quitting the school had attracted quite a lot of attention.
The foreign talents that the Ares College had been proud of were leaving one by one. Gu Tei had tried his hardest to retain them but Masasi was determined. The lifestyle there did not suit him well.
Masasi had arrived grandly but had left silently; arriving with nothing and leaving with nothing. As Masasi's performance had been rather unimpressive, his departure caused only a small commotion among the students. Furthermore, he had always maintained a low profile.
Carrying only a simple backpack, Masasi headed for the Moon-bound space lift. From the windows of the space station, Earth could be seen clearly. His time there had left him with some memories.
His Skylink rang and Masasi opened it. A beautiful young lady with short hair appeared, dressed in a graceful silver uniform, unique to Moon.
"What, are you missing Earth already?" Milu teased.
Masasi smiled lightly, "Earth is indeed beautiful."
"You are just saying what everyone has said. After going to Earth, it seems like you have become more sentimental. How do you feel about Earth? How high is their current level?"
"Roughly speaking I would give them a C grade. Their average levels are, indeed, low but there are several people who are passable. Lear is quite powerful."
"Hehe, those who Boss takes note off are naturally strong. Laying down a foundation is never a poor choice. You should come back quickly. Everyone has already gathered and, overall, we are still the strongest."
Milu smiled sweetly.
Wang Zheng suddenly flashed across Masasi's mind. In some ways, Wang Zheng was childish, but in others, simply shocking.
"Why? Did you make some accidental discoveries?"
"I may have discovered that person," Masasi said softly.
Milu was stunned. "Are you sure?"
"Not really, from my investigation, his gene score is only 28. His body is pretty strong but he does not possess Ability X."
Masasi shrugged.
"My intuition might be wrong. However, if there's one thing that we are sure of, it's those that do not possess Ability X have a limit. So it's probably not him."
Both of them chatted for a while. It was clear that they were quite knowledgeable about the key forces in the Sol Federation including the most remarkable people in the younger generation of each planet.
However, Wang Zheng was still on Masasi's mind. His performance at the college exchange was superb, but to be frank, this was also within Masasi's own capabilities. Masasi was confident in his ability to perform even better than Wang Zheng. However, that was not the main point; During his interaction with Wang Zheng, Masasi was unable to feel his "presence".
The space shuttle arrived and Masasi looked at Earth one last time. He would surely meet some of those people again.
When they met again, it would be as opponents.
✫ ✫ ✫
Wang Zheng woke up early in the morning, having completely reverted to his previous schedule. He would go to class when it was time for class and practice when it was time to practice. Even though Aina disappeared without a trace, Yan Xiaosu was less worried now that Wang Zheng had, more or less, returned to his old routine.
Now, the key thing on Yan Xiaosu's mind was the arrival of Huiyin. The thought of seeing Huiyin made both An Mei and him utterly ecstatic.
With Ye Zisu joining them, the four of them were eating lunch. Ye Zisu did not know whether to feel happy regarding Aina's departure. Actually, she had seen this coming long ago, but, it was still somewhat painful regardless.
When they were talking in the dormitory, Ye Zisu's behaviour had caused An Mei much annoyance. She should have been happy that her competitor had left and quickly seized the opportunity to capture his heart. Why should she bother with whether he was hurt or not? From what An Mei could see, Ye Zisu was quite interested in Wang Zheng. An Mei had no idea how someone like Weng Zheng was able to capture Ye Zisu's heart. Besides his above average intelligence and his small amount of time in the limelight, he really wasn't anything special.
From what she heard from Yan Xiaosu, even though the two of them had been school mates, they had walked different paths and had rarely ever interacted with each other.
Love at first sight?
Ye Zisu was not an impulsive girl, but a guy that she had been silently noticing would be someone special in her heart no matter their identity.
Due to her pride and dignity, she was unable express her feelings. Ye Zisu had often wondered if should would have ended up with Wang Zheng if she hadn't feared Yue Jing's mockery.
"Wang Zheng, Huiyin is almost here. Have you thought of where to bring her?" Ye Zisu suddenly said as she ate.
An Mei and Yan Xiaosu immediately turned to stone, "Little Ye, what are you saying? Lin Huiyin?"
Girls naturally like to form cliques. Even four people could split into two groups of two. In the dormitory, Ye Zisu was closer to An Mei and Meng Tian was closer to Du Qingqing. Even their forms of address were more affectionate.
"It is a job arranged by the school. They wanted Wang Zheng and I to be representatives in bringing her around but I do not know what she likes."
Wang Zheng slapped his head, "Damn, how did I forget about that?
The three of them looked at each other blankly. Yan Xiaosu felt like bursting. If not for fear of spilling Wang Zheng's big secret, he would have jumped up long ago.
"Boss, Lin Huiyin, Lin Huiyin!" Yan Xiaosu looked at Wang Zheng with a face full of exasperation.
Wang Zheng smiled, "An Mei, you must teach this guy a lesson. He actually dare to be so arrogant in front of you."
An Mei pinched Yan Xiaosu's chubby face, "I will give him special approval for this. If this guy has the ability to charm Lin Huiyin, I can be the second wife."
Wang Zheng was shocked and showed a big thumbs up to Yan Xiaosu, "A true man!"
Yan Xiaosu smiled like a chrysanthemum in full bloom.
"A big celebrity would be hard to please. We cannot do what we would normally." Wang Zheng said as he shrugged.
"True, I also think that would not turn out well."
"Sigh, the two of you really do not know how blessed you are. If it were me, I would get her to sign 100 autographs and sell each one for 10,000. With that I would have 1,000,000!"
Tyrant Su immediately thought of a way to profit from this.
Wherever Yan Xiaosu went, he would bring joy with him. This fellow's crazy thoughts always brought shock and joy to everyone.
✫ ✫ ✫
At this moment, in the far away Aslan planet, Aina had already returned. The whole planet had been preparing a big celebration for Princess Aina's coming of age ceremony: her sixteenth birthday.
Without a doubt, this was not only a day of celebration for Aslan, but also a joyous occasion for the bachelors of the the Milky Way Federation.At this banquet, the princess would choose someone to lead the first dance with her.
The Aslan royal family controlled a large amount of wealth and power in the Aslan Empire. Due to this, bachelors from many different families would do their best to get their names on the attendance list for the banquet. If they were able to take the first dance with the princess on such a momentous occasion, they would be able to leave a strong impression on her, regardless of their future chances.
Even though there was still sometime before the banquet, there was already a jovial and celebratory atmosphere in the Aslan Empire. There was even more festive spirit than on Aslan's Easter Day.
As Kashaven looked at Aina, who was very calm at the moment, she was quite happy. Aina was always someone who thought of the big picture — more so than Huiyin — and Kashaven had faith in her.
Aslan needed a great queen and only Aina could achieve that. Naturally, she would have to sacrifice a lot for that.
"Aina, the royal family had already begun their preparations. If you have any special requests, feel free to speak your mind and everyone will do their best to satisfy them."
Aina smiled lightly, "Even though this is my coming of age ceremony, this is also an occasion for others, so I hope they will be happy as well"
"Silly girl. Even though you are not the only one undergoing the ceremony, yours is the most important. After all, there is only one Aina in the entire Milky Way Federation." Kashaven understood Aina well. Aina's mother had passed away when she gave birth to her. As the king had often been busy managing the empire, Kashaven had been the one who had taken care of Aina most of the time.
Aina maintained her smile. Kashaven understood well that a girl that was experiencing her first love would not be able to get over it so quickly, "Aina, let me ask you a question. You have a property on your hands right now valued at $100,000. However, in three years you would be able to sell it for $1,000,000. Would you choose to sell it now or three years later?"
"Naturally three years later."
Kashaven smiled and nodded her head. The royal family would only tolerate her actions to a certain extent. She believed that Aina would understand that the current her would make different decisions compared to the her three years later. What was fine for the average girl was not for her. She was the symbol of Aslan and could not make any mistakes.
Aina's blinked her eyes. She naturally understood what Kashaven was saying. As the Iron Fist Prime Minister, not only was she decisive, she was also skilled in influencing people.
"Auntie, let's make the ceremony grander. I hope that more people would be able to share this joy with me!"
"Hehe, rest assured. The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Milky Way Federation will attend, as well as VIPs from other planets. Your coming of age ceremony will be the Aslan's pride."
Kashaven's tone was filled with pride towards the Aslan Empire. That was something that was buried deep in the veins of every Aslan citizen.
The Alsan Empire had been built on pride and confidence, and it's citizens were willing to sacrifice themselves for the country. As such no one would dare offend a powerful country like the Alsan empire.
Kashaven believed in Aina. That was because since she had left Earth, her Skylink had never contacted anyone on Earth. Furthermore, Kashaven did not believe that there would be anyone that was exceptional in that backwater place.
Perhaps after seeing gems for a long time, one would occasionally yearn for the smell of soil.