“Ha, Marshal Barbara is clearly from our Federation.”

“Bullshit! She’s from the Empire!”

“Please, her star registration is with our Federation now, okay? And she's also the honorary principal of our Federation's First Military Academy!”

“So what? Don’t forget, Marshal Barbara graduated from our Central Military Academy back then.”

“Ha, but she’s with the Federation now, nyeh nyeh nyeh~”

The first lesson in the morning was about the history of the Empire's Central Military Academy, and naturally, the teacher talked about the outstanding alumni of past generations.

Soon, the first controversial figure emerged—Barbara Forbes.

A tough woman with an ultra-SSS physique who graduated from the Empire's Central Military Academy but became the Federation's First Marshal.

She was also the "mentor" that Mingmei's mother always avoided mentioning, although Mingmei had a good impression of her, her mother and Barbara loathed each other.

When the teacher talked about these aspects in class, the Federation students sitting below were polite enough not to say anything immediately.

But they couldn't help exchanging knowing glances. When the teacher announced group discussions, the Federation and Empire students in each group immediately engaged in heated debates.

Mingmei listened to the group behind her arguing fiercely about who Barbara's glory belonged to, while the discussions within her own group were equally intense.

Julian believed he wasn't petty, especially after cooperating well with Lu Gui in the previous game, considering him his first friend from the Empire.

However, he was still puzzled by Lu Gui's sudden hostility that morning.

Could it be because he said Lu Xiaoyao sucked at the game this morning?

Was this guy such a *mei kong*? (sister-obsessed)

To this day, he was still incredulous that Lu Gui was this kind of person, recalling the way Lu Gui questioned him when he appeared that morning, then left with Lu Xiaoyao without a word.

They had drawn lots and were assigned to the same group again, and Lu Gui was even more sarcastic during the discussion.

Julian would have been a fool not to get angry!

At that moment, Lu Gui mentioned that even though Barbara was with the Federation, she was indeed born in the Empire and received the Empire's training, which was closely related to the glory she later achieved.

Incidentally, Lu Gui also mentioned that Barbara became a member of the Federation by following her partner.

The implication was that the Federation liked to use underhanded methods to poach people.

After saying that, Lu Gui glared at Lu Xiaoyao, who was actually chatting with Mingmei, completely distracted.

Lu Gui: Lu Xiaoyao! Are you even listening to what I'm saying!

Unfortunately, Lu Xiaoyao, oblivious to Lu Gui's inner turmoil, was still chatting with Mingmei about Barbara.

"I heard that if Mu Chen's physique continues to develop like this, he could reach Marshal Barbara's level. Wouldn't that mean… he could also tear apart mecha with his bare hands in the future?"

Mingmei: "Huh?"

Mingmei's gaze fell on the tall and handsome Mu Chen. It was hard to imagine such a person tearing apart mecha or Zerg with his bare hands.

Didn't that seem out of place?

A musclebound Barbie?

Yikes!

Mu Chen, who had been quietly "watching the show" on the side, noticed Mingmei's gaze and tilted his head to look at her, his lips moving as he silently asked, "What is it?"

Mingmei shook her head, smiling sheepishly to dismiss the topic.

"Our General Garen naturally has his unique personal charm that conquered Marshal Barbara. It's best not to make reckless remarks without solid evidence."

Julian wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but when he said "personal charm," did he hear Lu Gui spit?

Like a very disdainful "tui"?

Julian turned his head and happened to see Mingmei's side, a smile appeared on his face, and he said refusing to lose, "Even if your Empire is indeed good at cultivating talent, it can't stop you from failing to retain people!

"Someone as amazing as General Mei Qiu couldn't be protected by your Empire either. He had to endure humiliation and hide his name for so many years to do something big. You couldn't even control the public's accusations and misunderstandings of him…"

Incidentally, Julian also brought up Mingmei's second brother.

Hearing someone mention her second brother again, Mingmei quietly perked up her ears to listen.

As a result, Julian was just a brainless fan?

He even attributed all of her brother's past scandals to the Empire, as if it was truly the Empire's fault.

Even as his own sister, Mingmei was embarrassed to say that her second brother was a completely perfect and righteous person.

"You… you're not a rabid fan of my brother, are you?"

Unable to hold back, Mingmei asked what was in her heart.

As a result, the other two Federation students in the group looked at Mingmei's sudden excitement and said, "Ah? Your brother… oh! You, you, you're General Mei Qiu's sister!"

Mingmei nodded, and seeing their excited looks, she realized that there might be more than one rabid fan present.

"Wow, really! Oh my god! I still felt like it wasn't real when I watched the videos before. I, I, I grew up watching General Mei Qiu's movies."

Mingmei: ??

"That, that General Mei Qiu's *Blood Battle in the Insect Cave*." Realizing he might have misspoke, he re-explained.

"I remember… that movie was 16+ because it was too gory, wasn't it?"

Wasn't it a bit of an exaggeration to say he watched it since he was a child?

"No… I watched it with my dad when I was little." The other party smiled shyly, practically extending his adoration to Mingmei, seeing her through rose-tinted glasses.

Everyone: "…"

Your dad has a really big heart.

There were many such "historical" issues between the Empire and the Federation. After all, compared to the Federation, which was only a few hundred years old, much of the Federation overlapped with the former Empire.

However, the Empire tended to mention the positive aspects of the same event to prove that there was a reason for the Empire's long existence.

The Federation preferred to amplify the negative aspects, then highlight what experiences they had learned from them, which led them to decide to secede from the Empire.

For this reason, the students from both sides often argued with each other when the teachers weren't around, and the teachers who secretly observed ultimately concluded that they were too young and had bad tempers.

They could argue endlessly just by attending a class.

Until they left the Central Military Academy and went to the next school to begin the second half of their experiential life, they still hadn't been able to argue about which was better, the Federation or the Empire.

Mingmei had a headache from hearing it these days. She and Mu Chen were both from Hua Lan Star, unlike the Empire and the Federation. Hua Lan Star also had its own set of systems inherited from ancient Lan Star. It was good that they didn't drag Mingmei and Mu Chen into the argument, asking them "outsiders" to judge which side was better.

In response, Mingmei could only close her eyes and say that Hua Lan Star was better!

Yes, she and Mu Chen almost had a battle with everyone from the Empire and the Federation because of that sentence _(：3」∠)_

……

The Empire's Second Military Academy was also located on the Empire's central star, but their school was located on an island, and the architecture was more natural, with just as much greenery as the Central Military Academy.

When Mingmei first arrived at the school, just strolling through the campus gave her a sense of comfort that made her relax involuntarily.

The dormitories at the Second Military Academy were not single rooms like at the Central Military Academy, but at least four-person rooms.

There were even sixteen-person rooms. If you were antisocial or had social anxiety, entering such a room would be the death of you.

Sometimes, things happen just as you fear them.

When Mingmei stood in front of a sixteen-person dormitory, she was silent. When she learned that the other socially awkward people in her class had all entered such dormitories, she silently lit a candle for herself and for everyone…