Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Although the sky over the capital star had three “moons,” these moons were small and dim, combined they were not as bright as the single large “moon” of Topaz Star. Thus, while it wasn’t completely dark, the nights on the capital star were quite shadowy.

When the hovercar had just landed in this pitch-black, unlit area, Ruo Manni could vaguely make out that they were surrounded by water. Therefore, she concluded they had landed on an island, and not a very large one at that.

Ruo Manni had never been to the capital star, but she had checked the campus of the Xuan Gu First Military Academy online and was certain that this place was definitely not it.

“New students will arrive for joint training after dawn. You should rest well tonight. This area has private information shielding. I’ll report your safety to your Uncle Lin, but since you are Lin Changfeng’s adopted daughter, I will hold you to the strictest standards,” Instructor Dudley said.

“Understood, Instructor.” Ruo Manni gave a standard salute.

For a competent instructor, being almost ruthlessly strict with students and demanding the best from them was the best way to teach and elevate them. For soldiers, sweating more in training could mean survival on the battlefield.

Instructor Dudley took Ruo Manni to the third floor and let her choose a room to settle in, while he went up to the fourth floor.

Ruo Manni walked to the end of the hallway and chose the innermost room. The room was not large, about thirty square meters, with one bedroom and one bathroom. Aside from a bed, it was completely bare, and even the bed was just a plain frame.

Fortunately, she had brought her belongings. Ruo Manni activated her robotic butler, which transformed its hands into a vacuum cleaner. With a low humming sound, it cleaned all the dust in the room in under two minutes.

Once the sheets were laid out, Ruo Manni remembered how, since acquiring the special game chamber, she had rarely used the bed except for short naps.

Thinking of the game world, Ruo Manni checked her light brain and found that she could connect to the network, but communication and messaging functions were restricted.

She checked again and discovered she could still access the game world to play, which made her very happy since she was used to completing tasks and training there.

Ruo Manni hurriedly set up her holographic game chamber and placed a mechanism she had designed behind the door, capable of alerting her and temporarily stopping intruders. After washing up, she eagerly connected to the network.

After a dreamless night, she emerged from the game chamber in the morning, refreshed and ready to meet her future companions. Instructor Dudley had mentioned that this special training would include new members from the elite class of the Xuan Gu First Military Academy.

Today, she would likely meet the male and female leads, marking the third step in overturning the original protagonist’s fate.

As she sensed a hovercar landing outside her residence, she stepped out into the hallway and saw a tall, handsome young man with deep brown hair getting out of the vehicle.

The boy with silver-gray eyes spotted Ruo Manni in the third-floor hallway and smiled, “I don’t love mechs, why are you here so early?”

Ruo Manni smiled back and said, “Hello.”

After greeting him, she quickly made her way downstairs. By the time she reached the ground floor, another boy and girl stepped out of the hovercar, standing beside Dean Atchison.

The boy had black hair and dark eyes, looking quite handsome with a somewhat aloof expression. He was the same boy Ruo Manni had seen in the second prince’s room on challenge day.

The girl beside him had her dark red hair tied up high, and her bright green eyes sparkled at first glance, but on closer inspection, they conveyed an unmistakable pride—she exuded the air of a rich young lady.

As Ruo Manni approached them, she noticed that all three wore clothing that looked very expensive.

Having lived two lives and focusing solely on training since her rebirth, Ruo Manni didn’t pay much attention to her appearance. After arriving here last night, she felt the temperature was a comfortable twenty-four to twenty-five degrees Celsius. After bathing in the morning, she casually wore a plain white T-shirt and black cropped pants.

This outfit was common among the lower classes on the fringe planet. While her clothes were of decent quality, compared to the three aristocratic youths, the disparity was stark enough that even Ruo Manni noticed her clothing was too cheap.

Although Ruo Mnani noticed the disparity, she felt no discomfort. She understood her own worth and didn’t believe that external factors could diminish it. Therefore, she greeted them confidently, without any shyness or insecurity typical of someone from a lower-class fringe planet, saying, “Hello, I’m Ruo Manni, from a third-tier fringe planet.”

“Dean Atchison, from the Capital Star. You should recognize me,” Dean Atchison replied warmly.

“Yes, your features are quite distinctive,” Ruo Manni smiled back.

While she sensed a refined and somewhat pretentious air about him online, seeing his smile up close made her feel that he was naturally more cheerful.

Dean Atchison immediately recognized Ruo Manni, noting her striking features as a black-haired, black-eyed girl with mid-level third-tier martial skills—these traits were hard to miss.

However, he hadn’t noticed these specifics online, and seeing her in person made it all too apparent. He glanced at Hua Deli.

Hua Deli, with his black hair and eyes, studied Ruo Manni closely, his expression shifting to one of complexity as he assessed her. Finally, he coolly introduced himself, “Hua Deli.”

Ruo Manni’s smile turned more reserved as she politely replied, “Hello.”

She guessed that Hua Deli intended to be cold towards her due to his fiancée, but upon seeing her appearance, he seemed to be caught in a complicated emotion he couldn’t quite articulate.

“I’m Mina Olli. Are you really from a third-tier planet?” Mina Olli genuinely doubted the information she had received.

Before meeting the main characters, Ruo Manni had speculated about their possible attitudes—indifference, disdain, disgust, rejection, or even hatred.

To her surprise, the reaction was one of shock.

Even with some mental preparation, Ruo Manni nearly showed her own surprise. How could it be so similar? This cliché of fate.

So it was no wonder that Mina Olli and Dean Atchison kept studying her, glancing at Hua Deli, their faces betraying their astonishment.

“I was born on a fringe planet, and this is my first time leaving it,” Ruo Manni continued to smile, ignoring their shocked expressions.

Having read the Gus Empire’s human rights protection laws, Ruo Manni knew that private photos of non-public figures couldn’t be circulated without their consent.

Seeing Mina Olli and Dean Atchison so surprised, Ruo Manni guessed they hadn’t seen her photo before.

“Mr. Dean Atchison, why do I feel like you don’t look as tall in person as you do online? You definitely don’t seem as grand as a planet,” Ruo Manni teased, deliberately changing the subject.