"Thank you..."

Mingmei took the refreshing fruit tea from Mu Chen and immediately took a sip before the teacher arrived.

The sweet and sour fruit tea, with its blend of fruit and tea aromas, instantly jolted Mingmei's senses awake. After the first sip, she drank several more in quick succession.

"You really enjoyed last night's stream, watched it for a long time?"

"Mhm, mhm!"

Seeing Mingmei nodding without any reservation, Mu Chen's mood worsened.

So, he really was no match for those outside "siren."

Mingmei finished the fruit tea and added, "You have no idea how hilarious Lu Xiaoyao was last night."

Mu Chen: ???

Lu Xiaoyao?

Lu Xiaoyao was sitting not far in front of her, and Mingmei lowered her voice as she spoke.

The unsuspecting Lu Xiaoyao only felt a chill run down her spine.

"Tss—"

She shivered suddenly. She had been complaining to Bai Xiao and Hu Yue about her game last night. Seeing Lu Xiaoyao's reaction, they asked her what was wrong.

"Maybe I didn't sleep well, feeling a bit unwell..." Lu Xiaoyao took out her textbook, and her expression became contorted when she saw the thick tome in her hands.

"Why is 'Interstellar Geography: Border Regions' a physical book, and so thick?"

The course was originally designed to provide科普 (kēpǔ – popular science) information about the environments soldiers would encounter after joining the military.

It used to be an electronic textbook on their personal terminals, but this year it had been changed to a physical book, which was very retro and direct.

The content of this course was ridiculously extensive!

Moreover, Lu Xiaoyao flipped to a random page and actually saw a strange line of text: "Students are required to recite the entire book."

Lu Xiaoyao: ????

Realizing something was wrong—

Lu Xiaoyao: !!!

Crap!

What the heck is this?!

"We want to know too. I heard this course used to be for sophomores, but this year it's been changed to freshmen." Speaking of the changes in school regulations, Bai Xiao and the others naturally mentioned joining the military next year.

"Not only our school has changed, but many other schools have also followed suit. However, because it's the first year, the reform only applies to freshmen and sophomores. So this year, we'll see the magical sight of sophomores and juniors entering the military together."

"Ah... no wonder I haven't seen Leng Youyou since the semester started. Has she already gone to the military?"

Lu Xiaoyao also remembered her little group of friends who had met through their shared interest in couples, Leng Youyou. However, she was a junior, and because she wasn't a frontline combatant, her entry into the military was a semester later than the frontline combatants.

As for the sophomores, they had been caught up in the change, having just returned to school this semester before being hastily packed up and sent away.

"Leng Youyou joined the Sixth Army and is working there as an intern military doctor." Speaking of this, it was Hu Yue's area of expertise. After all, her father and brother were both in the Sixth Army. "The Sixth Army is far from the central star and not as advanced and prosperous, but I think it has more of a down-to-earth vibe, and I think it's quite free."

Hu Yue had a look of longing when she spoke of the down-to-earth vibe and freedom, which gave those who didn't know the truth some ideas.

However, Wang Wenfei, Yuan Fang, and others who knew the inside story remained silent.

Heh, who didn't know that the Hu family's Sixth Army was a regular army comparable to space pirates? No, it should be said that they were licensed space pirates.

They fought every day, a small battle every three days and a big one every five days. How could they not have a "down-to-earth vibe"?

The Hu family's Sixth Army was stationed in the most chaotic area of the empire's border.

In that place, interstellar fugitives, space pirates, and the Zerg lived together, often fighting together as well.

The planet was lacking in resources, and there were hardly any ordinary people living there.

It was simply a paradise for criminals and the best place for the Zerg to smuggle into the human world.

Even so, the Hu family's Sixth Army had taken root in such a harsh environment, guarding the empire's most dangerous and barren area. The Sixth Army, which should have been praised and respected by everyone, had "run amok" there for so many years that others couldn't even bring themselves to praise them.

The people of the Sixth Army were warlike and notorious throughout the interstellar for their ferocity.

After defeating the Zerg and space pirates, they weren't satisfied. They would take the initiative to attack for no reason, dragging you out of your home to beat you up and loot your entire family.

In the end, that place was transformed from a paradise for space pirates, criminals, and the Zerg into a "free city" that the Zerg ignored and the space pirates shook their heads at.

How free it was. As long as you weren't human, or you broke the law, you would definitely be beaten up if you went out.

As a result, students who had served in the Sixth Army in previous years couldn't adapt to the oppressive atmosphere here after returning. Why bother reasoning with you when problems could be solved with fists and mechs?

Therefore, many of them packed up and went to the Sixth Army after graduation.

When mentioning the life of the Sixth Army to outsiders, they generally used the same rhetoric: "Full of down-to-earth vibe" "Freedom."

"Freedom is good."

As expected, Bai Xiao, who came from a family of educators, didn't quite understand the ins and outs of this. After playing with Hu Yue for so long, she had gradually and imperceptibly come to believe that the Sixth Army might, perhaps, be a little bit "wild."

So, she sighed softly with an envious tone and looked at Yuan Fang, who had been reading a book without saying a word.

Yuan Fang noticed the gaze from his fiancée and smiled slightly: "If you want, we can find a way to be assigned to an outer army group.

What do you think of the Eighth Army? The border stars there have lush vegetation, a natural oxygen bar."

"His Majesty won't agree." Bai Xiao gently shook her head, rejecting Yuan Fang's suggestion. She looked at his profile and thought for a while, then said, "It's better to prioritize your safety. I think the First Army on the edge of the central star is also good~"

Yuan Fang, as a member of the royal family, his father was the Emperor's brother. He and his wife died on the battlefield for the empire in his early years. He had been raised in the palace since he was a child and treated by the Emperor as his own son, even cherishing him like the apple of his eye.

This was to compensate for his brother's sacrifice to the empire.

Allowing Yuan Fang to study at a military academy was already a huge concession made by the Emperor. It was absolutely impossible to let his brother's only child be put in any dangerous place.

He should be placed in a safe place where everyone could feel at ease.

Bai Xiao stared at Yuan Fang's face, unable to help but recall the words her grandfather had asked her before the engagement.

If she married such a person, she would lose a lot. Did she still want to continue?

"But I really want to go outside and see the world too." Yuan Fang didn't say that Bai Xiao wanted to. He reached out and gently squeezed the back of her hand, saying, "I'll talk to His Majesty. I really want to go."

"Ew~"

As experts at ruining the atmosphere, Hu Yue and Lu Xiaoyao really didn't want to pay attention to these two with their expressions of not wanting to watch.

What were they doing?

Class was about to start!

Meanwhile, Mingmei and Mu Chen had finally managed to steer the topic away from Lu Xiaoyao and were chatting about other things, such as date plans for their upcoming break.

At this moment, Mu Chen noticed Mingmei's personal terminal light up.

Then, Mingmei received a nonsensical question from Lu Xiaoyao about which army group sophomores who entered the military would apply to join.

As a result, Mingmei forgot about the dating plans that Mu Chen had just mentioned for their month-long school anniversary and started telling Mu Chen about this in a low voice.

Mu Chen: "..."

Actually, he didn't really want to talk about this.