Yao Mo glanced at the form that had just been pushed back, her expression shifting slightly, but it didn’t affect her response in the slightest. “I’ve always believed that the student council should serve as a bridge between noble students and commoner students. Through the council, commoners can see that not all nobles are arrogant and indulgent—that most nobles put the Empire’s interests above everything else. Meanwhile, nobles, by working with commoners, can understand the will of the people and learn about their hardships. The success or failure of the student council is the key to whether nobles and commoners at Leland Military Academy can truly coexist in harmony.”
Jin Huan nodded repeatedly. “And what do you think about those nobles who are arrogant and indulgent?”
Yao Mo’s expression sharpened instantly. “They’re parasites of the Empire. Trying to patch them up is useless—they must be rooted out completely before the Empire can continue to progress.”
Jin Huan said admiringly, “No wonder you were admitted to the Mecha Academy as the top scorer. You really do have insight.”
Yao Mo lowered her head with a faint smile. “It’s just empty talk. Saying it is easy, but actually putting it into practice is where I’d be lost. There’s still so much I need to learn from my seniors.”
After Yao Mo left, Jin Huan turned to Lu Xiao in confusion. “She seemed excellent in every way. Why didn’t you let me give her the application form?”
When I was about to hand it to Xu Linlang earlier, you didn’t stop me.
Of course, Jin Huan only dared complain about that silently in his heart—never aloud to Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao’s eyes narrowed. “She is excellent. But too much ambition isn’t a good thing.”
Jin Huan froze. “Huh? How is that being overly ambitious? I thought she sounded pretty sincere.”
Lu Xiao’s tone turned cold. “Her intentions are too obvious. She must’ve caught wind of the council’s upcoming recruitment. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown up so deliberately ahead of time.”
Jin Huan frowned. “Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Xu Linlang came today too, didn’t she?”
Lu Xiao fixed his gaze on him. “Do you realize how dangerous her ideas are?”
Jin Huan looked stunned. Dangerous was practically the same as saying subversive. Yet to him, Yao Mo had just sounded like a motivated, outstanding freshman.
“On the surface, her thoughts sound like reconciling class conflicts. In reality, they would accelerate them.”
“For a commoner, the best way to gain commoner support is to stand firmly against decadent nobles. But the nobles who can afford such decadence—who among them doesn’t have close relatives who earned great military merit on the battlefield? If we really got rid of them, those generals would lose faith in the Empire. Do you think commoners with weaker genes could simply replace them? Among the five races, aside from the beast race already in decline, the others are evenly matched. Without those generals holding the line, humanity could very well end up like the now-fallen beast race.”
“Besides, outstanding commoners don’t stay commoners forever. Sooner or later, they rise to become nobles themselves. This world isn’t just black and white. If the Empire truly wants to prosper, it has to find balance in the gray areas.”
Jin Huan pressed his lips together. “You’re right. I actually got swept away by her reasoning for a moment.”
Lu Xiao patted his shoulder. “That kind of righteous rhetoric is undeniably stirring.”
He despised those nobles who drowned themselves in luxury just as much, but that didn’t mean now was the time to purge them. Not when other races still posed a threat to the Empire. For now, they had to be kept around.
Xu Linlang returned to her dorm frustrated and disheartened. After wandering around campus, she still couldn’t find any trace of her kitten.
As she debated whether to try the “superstitious scissor method” or start plastering missing-cat posters, C8 appeared with afternoon tea in hand.
“I’m not eating right now. I don’t have an appetite.”
C8 tilted its head. “Master seems awfully troubled.”
Xu Linlang sighed. “Snowball’s gone missing. I don’t know if she ran off somewhere.”
An exclamation mark flashed above C8’s head, then it squinted and smiled proudly. “That’s easy. I’ve got a solution.”
Xu Linlang immediately looked up. “What solution?”
C8 put its hands on its hips. “I have a full-field vision detection function. Using the genetic traces Snowball left behind, I can figure out where she went.”
Full-field vision detection? Xu Linlang’s eyes lit up—it sounded so high-tech. “C8, you’re amazing!”
C8 scratched its head sheepishly. “Honestly, I can only run the most basic full-field scans—but luckily, that’s enough to track animal traces.”
“That’s still amazing!”
C8 blushed and ducked its head at the praise.
It tapped a few buttons on its terminal, and with a soft whoosh, a holographic projection glowed from its chest screen, lighting up the area ahead.
C8 turned in a slow circle, then exclaimed, “Found it!”
Xu Linlang followed its gaze. Starting from the windowsill was a trail of crooked little pawprints. Under the glow, the golden prints looked absolutely adorable.
She followed them all the way until they stopped at a massive barrier.
The tracks continued inside, but when Xu Linlang tried to step forward, the barrier rebounded her harshly and sent her tumbling to the ground.
There was no way through.
How had the kitten gotten in?
Could it be that the barrier blocked humans but not animals?
C8 helped her up. “I forgot to remind Master… the student handbook says this barrier is dual-purpose: humans can’t enter, and beasts can’t leave the trial grounds.”
Xu Linlang frowned. “Then how do I get in?”
C8 quickly searched the handbook. “The barrier requires an administrator’s iris scan to unlock. Since classes haven’t officially started yet, the trial administrators haven’t returned to Leland Star. Right now, only the student administrator, Miel, has clearance.”
Miel?
The same student council union president who had deliberately made things hard for her?
C8 hesitated. “I don’t think Miel would unlock it for you. His father, Robert, has always been at odds with Marshal Xu.”
Miel’s father was Robert? The same General Robert who constantly undermined Marshal Xu and plotted to replace him?
Now it all made sense why Miel had gone out of his way to target her.
Their families were enemies. If he embarrassed her, he embarrassed the Xu family.
In the game, if Qi Ye was the ultimate final villain, then Robert was just a petty clown of a stepping-stone—always pestering the protagonist, only to end up utterly ruined.
To think such a small-time character was trying to suppress the Xu family—it was laughable.
Xu Linlang straightened. “Take me to the Student Union.”
She wanted to meet this Miel head-on.
When Miel saw Xu Linlang, his eyes carried a trace of resentment. Last time, he thought she’d embarrass herself for sure, but instead she had stolen the spotlight.
Now, among the freshmen, Xu Linlang was no longer the infamous good-for-nothing heiress, but the stunning, elegant young lady—beautiful, graceful, with her only flaw being a fiery temper.
There were even quite a few boys privately calling her their goddess.
The thought made Miel grind his teeth. He finally understood the bitter taste of working hard only to hand someone else the glory.
He slammed a file down on his desk. “Well, well. What brings junior Xu to me today?”
Xu Linlang smiled. “I’d like you to unlock access to the trial grounds for me. My cat accidentally ran inside.”
Miel gave her a mocking look. “Your cat again? If it went in, let it stay in. Beasts belong where they belong.”
“Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough before,” Xu Linlang said, sitting down casually on the sofa. “I’m not asking. I’m telling you.”
Miel sneered. “Telling me? What are you trying to throw your family’s weight around again? Aren’t you afraid of damaging Marshal Xu’s reputation?”
After last time, he’d figured out one thing: Xu Linlang cared a lot about her father’s reputation.
And once you found someone’s sore spot, they were easier to control.
But Xu Linlang frowned at the word privilege. Anger surged in her chest.
He really thought she was easy to push around just because she hadn’t snapped before?
Well, today she’d show him what real privilege looked like.
Her smile widened, dazzling. “My father is out on the battlefield killing Zerg, while his daughter has lost a cat. And the Peter family can’t even lift a finger to help? That sounds like betrayal to me.”
Miel shot to his feet. “What nonsense are you spouting? How is that betrayal?!”
“Isn’t it?” Xu Linlang asked coolly. “My father risks his life for the safety of the Empire. Meanwhile, General Robert’s family won’t even help his daughter find her cat. How ironic. Tell me, if word gets out, will people accuse me of abusing privilege—or will they be disheartened that my father has colleagues like yours?”
Miel’s face darkened. He knew exactly how heavy her words were.
To the Empire’s people, Marshal Xu was practically a war god. If this spread and he refused to help Xu Linlang, the Peter family would be torn apart by public outrage.
He clenched his jaw. “You’re just making excuses for abusing the Xu family’s privilege.”
Xu Linlang rose to her feet as well, locking eyes with him meaningfully. “Wake up. If the Xu family were truly abusing privilege, the Prime Minister would’ve cut us down long ago. What you call ‘privilege’ is simply power His Majesty has tacitly allowed us. And has anyone in my family ever broken the law? You’ve studied law—don’t tell me you’ve forgotten the principle of proportional fairness. The Xu family bears extraordinary burdens. Having a little extra leeway in return is hardly something to condemn. The Prime Minister allows it because he needs the Xu family. The Empire needs the Xu family. Otherwise, would your father like the honor of going to the front lines instead?”
Step by step, she advanced, forcing Miel to retreat under the weight of her presence.
She was right, and he knew it. They had simply chosen to play dumb, so they could stand on the moral high ground and accuse her, tarnishing the Xu family’s reputation.
They had always assumed Xu Linlang was too foolish to fight back.
But they hadn’t expected that one day, she’d be the one to tear their falsehood apart.
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152