This was practically strong-arming her into a deal!

Even though the man was intimidating and an interviewer, as a job applicant, she was supposed to be a little more compliant.

The problem was, Ji Changqing was anything but normal. She thought to herself, So, you’ve been secretly investigating and observing me for half a year and decided I’m suitable, but have I had half a year to get to know you? You don’t even mention the compensation or anything, and you just ask if I accept?!

This was just outrageous!

That was as ridiculous as walking past a beautiful woman and saying, “You’re gorgeous and meet all my requirements for a girlfriend, so will you marry me?”

If you added, “I’ve been observing and investigating you for half a year, and I think you’re perfect,” you’d be guaranteed to get beaten so badly your own mother wouldn’t recognize you.

Wasn’t looking for a job the same thing?!

With a recruitment method like this, no wonder they needed a referrer. Otherwise, people would be calling the police in minutes to report a scammer impersonating a government official!

Ji Changqing struggled to suppress her temper, silently chanting “For Major General Xie’er’s sake” several times before managing to quell the urge to talk back.

She asked calmly, “May I ask about the compensation package?”

She had originally wanted to ask what the hell the Star Corps was, some kind of special forces unit, but seeing the look of strained patience on the man’s face, she wisely chose to ask the question she cared about most.

The man let out a sigh of relief. As long as he didn’t have to give a departmental introduction, he would answer anything!

“Pre-selected members receive the treatment of a Second Lieutenant. The training is divided into three stages. After completing each stage, you must carry out a mission of corresponding difficulty. Only those who achieve a mission score of 90 or above can proceed to the next stage. Once all three stages are completed to standard, you become an official member and are granted the rank of Captain.”

He paused for a moment before adding, “Official members of the Star Corps are promoted to Major after completing ten missions.”

Ji Changqing raised an eyebrow. The difficulty of these missions must be high; otherwise, wouldn’t a promotion speed like a rocket launch be a little too easy?

“The special forces aren’t divided into Sun, Moon, and Star units, are they?”

The man nodded but didn’t explain the respective roles and differences between the three units. He only urged her to reply quickly. “You’ll understand the details later. Do you accept the recruitment?”

He wasn’t a professional conversationalist. No more chatting.

Ji Changqing thought it over seriously. A special forces unit… that was acceptable. It just meant more brutal training and more dangerous missions, right?

Stay calm. She could handle it!

Once she decided to accept, many of the minor details could be overlooked. She replied solemnly, “I accept.”

Only then did the man show a hint of a smile, which vanished as quickly as it appeared, looking more like a facial twitch. He simply told her to await further notice and ended the communication.

It had been a day of dramatic ups and downs. First, an unexpected call from Major General Xie’er, recommending a “job” for her. Then, she’d cornered the general for some wild gossip before finally being let go.

That was followed by learning about this infuriating department, which felt like another round of interviews.

Although she was still in the dark about what this department actually did, it seemed to be quite sought-after. The salary and benefits appeared to be excellent, and her start date (for training) was even set.

Right now, Ji Changqing felt a bit like a high school student who had been accepted into college through early admission, or perhaps a young person who had signed an employment contract through campus recruitment and was about to become a corporate drone.

She had signed herself away in a daze.

In all seriousness, this starting point was much better than she had previously anticipated. After all, when they had first enrolled and received military merit points, the consensus among the students was to work hard starting in their fourth year, seize internship opportunities to earn more points, and hopefully start their careers as commissioned officers.

Now, she had already achieved that small goal ahead of schedule.

Wasn’t that something to be happy about?

It was absolutely something to be happy about, enough to make her want to jump for joy!

Having already sorted out her employment, Ji Changqing’s mindset toward the increasingly intense third round of the finals was noticeably different. She was much more relaxed.

She hadn’t realized it at first, but she found herself performing with greater ease. The feeling of being constrained, of overthinking every move and trying to be perfectly thorough, was gone. In its place was a sharper, more forward-driving momentum.

In the third match, Ji Changqing advanced smoothly. Weisman, Tao Jun, and He Qingzhi were all eliminated. Among the thousand-person roster, only three fourth-year students remained.

Remarkably, Ji Changqing, who had already secured a spot in the top ten, delivered an even more stunning performance in this match, steadily climbing two places from ninth to seventh.

After the third match concluded and the thousand-person roster was released, the calls for Ji Changqing to win the championship grew a little louder.

After all, her performance had always been steady. Unless everyone in the fourth match banded together with the sole purpose of eliminating her first, it was hard to imagine any reason she wouldn’t make the top ten. And once she was in the top ten, even if her ranking was a little lower, none of the current top five could confidently say they could beat her in a one-on-one fight.

As per tradition, there was a seven-day rest period before the fourth match.

The reallocation of resources among the military academies based on the new thousand-person roster was a matter for the academy higher-ups. It had nothing to do with the contestants, nor did they need to worry about it.

But the tense atmosphere within the base had noticeably eased.

After all, the biggest piece of the pie had been divided. From now on, everyone could fight purely for themselves, no longer burdened by the heavy expectations and responsibilities of their respective schools.

The most direct evidence of this was the increase in people going out to relax, while the number of those who insisted on staying at the base to train dwindled.

Even the team leaders from the First, Second, and Fourth Military Academies were calling up friends and heading out with their arms slung over each other’s shoulders to have some fun.

Ji Changqing felt a little restless herself.

Just then, The First happened to finish her project and emerge from the research lab. Never short on cash and now with time on her hands, she was immediately inundated with news of Ji Changqing’s popularity.

She was ecstatic and contacted Ji Changqing at once. “Wow, you’re amazing! I’ll get Pencil and the others to come watch your match with me!”

They had spent three New Year’s together in the Alliance, but due to the special circumstances this year, they hadn’t had a chance to get together yet.

“Come on over!” Ji Changqing was in a great mood too. “Pencil and the others mentioned they were going on an internship mission. Ask them if they’re done.”

Fourth-year students were eligible to register for the military academy league, but since Pencil and his friends hadn’t made it to the finals, they had opted for an internship mission to accumulate military merit points. They should be about done by now, right?

The First quickly contacted Pencil and the others and arranged a time. “We’ll be there in two days. Will you be able to get out?”

Ji Changqing hesitated slightly. “How long can you guys stay?”

The First checked her schedule. “I can stay for half a month, so I can watch the finals before heading back. Pencil and the others said they have to leave after the fourth match.”

Ji Changqing thought for a moment. She had just received messages from Gu Changge and Eve, inviting her to a get-together with everyone. The others were fine, staying here to watch the grand finals, but Gu Changge and Eve needed to return to the Capital Star first for their grandfather’s two-hundredth birthday banquet.

They would rush back after the banquet, just in time to catch the grand finals.

Although none of them had participated in the third match, watching Ji Changqing cut down anyone in her path was just as exciting. As hot-blooded youths, they were naturally eager to pull the person of the hour out and share in the joy and excitement together!

Ji Changqing considered it. It would be a good chance to see both groups at once. With so many people, it should be fine, right?

Two days later, Ji Changqing left the training base and met up with Gu Changge and the others at the gate. They picked up The First, Pencil, and their friends and headed to a hot spring resort hotel.

Watching her leave the training base from a distance, the man who had previously stared at her and said, “It’s not time yet,” smiled and sent a message. “The fish is out. Prepare to reel in the net.”

The hot spring resort hotel was situated in a valley not far from the training base.

Nestled by mountains and water, with lush forests of flowers and trees and babbling brooks. Thanks to the natural hot springs, the valley was filled with a steamy mist, and a faint scent of sulfur hung in the air.

This planet had four distinct seasons. Though remote, its tourism industry was extremely developed. The reason for this was not just that the finals training base for every military academy league was located here, and the grand finals could be watched live on this planet.

It was also because the planet was exceptionally suitable for recuperation. The military had long-term partnerships with a total of nine recuperation planets, and this was one of them.

The hot springs here were piped directly into the rooms. Everyone returned to their own rooms to soak in the springs and wash away the fatigue of their journey before gathering in the restaurant for dinner.

As they were leaving the restaurant, Ji Changqing was stopped by a group of fans who had been waiting for her. They were incredibly excited, shouting, “Ji Changqing, we’re from Blue Star! We all got together to come and cheer for you!”

Ji Changqing had never encountered such a scene before. Her first instinct was to turn and run, but when she heard “Blue Star,” she understood their sentiment.

They might not be true fans, but they all came from the same planet. After experiencing the gap between Blue Star and the Alliance, the sudden rise of someone with the same origins, like a brilliant new star, brought glory to Blue Star and, indirectly, allowed them to hold their heads high.

Their sense of planetary pride had suddenly exploded, which was why they had spontaneously organized this.

There weren’t many of them, only about a dozen. After all, for people from Blue Star, having the money and leisure to come to this planet was no small feat.

So Ji Changqing paused and chatted with them for a while, casually asking how they had so coincidentally ended up staying here.

The group didn’t think much of it and answered candidly, “Well, it’s a hot spring resort, right? The accommodation costs here are about the same as the hotels near your training base, and it’s convenient to get there. We heard that a lot of contestants come here during the breaks between matches, so we just decided to stay here. We didn’t expect to be so lucky to run into you.”

Ji Changqing’s suspicions eased slightly.

Finally, at their request, she took a group photo with them and signed autographs for each of them before saying goodbye.

They stayed at the hot spring resort for two days. Gu Changge and Eve left at noon. He Qingping and the others, along with The First, Pencil, and their friends—twelve people in total—remained, planning to stay one more night and head back the next afternoon.

After all, Ji Changqing’s match wasn’t until three in the afternoon the day after tomorrow, so there was no rush.

That evening, someone mentioned a specialty bar in the area, and they all agreed to go check it out and try its unique cocktails.

Ji Changqing was initially hesitant, feeling that bars were high-risk places for incidents. But when she heard that this bar was actually inside their hotel and primarily served its guests—it was just famous for its specialty cocktails, so occasionally people came specifically to try them—she relented.

It was a relatively quiet bar.

Ji Changqing rarely drank, but she didn’t want to be a spoilsport, so she went along with them.

At the bar, by a remarkable coincidence, she ran into the same group of people from Blue Star who had waited for her to get photos and autographs. She smiled and greeted them, asking casually, “How come it’s just you few? Where are the others?”

“They went to pick up some new arrivals. Three more people are coming today, also from Blue Star. Oh, and one of them is even from the same country as you.”

Ji Changqing smiled. “Well, have fun then!”

“When they get here, if you’re still around, would it be okay for them to come over and get a photo and an autograph?” The group knew she was easygoing and asked with a grin.

“Sure!” That was no big deal, completely fine.

Ji Changqing pointed to their table. “We’re over there. Just come find us then.”

As she said this, Ji Changqing never imagined that she would, in this very place, see Qiao Nansheng again.