Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Thinking of the various romantic entanglements Hua Deli faced in the novel, Ruo Manni couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Mina-Olli. Having a fiancé like him must be incredibly frustrating.

While Mina-Olli seemed to attract admirers effortlessly, those were all good relationships—supportive and non-destructive, wishing her well as long as she was happy.

In contrast, Hua Deli encountered nothing but troublesome suitors who wanted to break them apart.

Ruo Manni recalled that the second female antagonist was supposedly Mina-Olli’s cousin…

Just as Ruo Manni was processing this, Sheila pulled on Mina-Olli’s hand, playfully saying, “Cousin, when did you arrive? Hello, Brother Hua Deli.”

Ruo Manni wanted to exclaim, “Seriously?” So they really were cousins. Who knew she had to guard against both friends and relatives?

She touched her nose, realizing that as a small orphan, it was better to keep her distance from these main characters and remain invisible, lest she get caught in the crossfire.

Ten people gathered, and Instructor Dudley called them to the hall downstairs.

“You are the top ten students of this year’s students and will be the leaders. Therefore, you must maintain absolute excellence in your cultivation, which is not an easy task. I wonder if you have complete confidence,” Instructor Dudley said, his tone calm.

Except for Ruo Manni, the other nine confidently responded, “Reporting in, we have confidence.”

Instructor Dudley’s gaze shot toward Ruo Manni like an arrow: “Does Classmate Ruo Manni have an objection?”

Ruo Manni saluted and said loudly, “Reporting in, the student is short-sighted and didn’t react immediately. Reporting in, we have confidence.”

Instructor Dudley felt that he, too, had been short-sighted, as he had never heard such a confident response. The other nine looked on with bright eyes, unsure whether to laugh or scoff.

Eventually, Instructor Dudley waved his hand helplessly but made a decision in his heart: for the next two months, he would “teach” Ruo Manni well so she wouldn’t be “short-sighted” anymore.

“We’ll start by testing your potential, as this will help tailor your training,” Instructor Dudley said.

Ruo Manni walked at the back with Gao Haitao, the student ranked third. Although he had a name from the Chinese culture, Gao Haitao was a mixed-blood whose appearance bore no trace of typical Chinese features. With silver hair and silver eyes, he wasn’t particularly handsome, but being a mid-level fourth-tier warrior at just fifteen or sixteen years old was certainly impressive.

The fourth-ranked Su Forty-Three is also a mid-level fourth-tier warrior. He has black hair and brown eyes and appears somewhat introverted and silent. It’s said that he comes from the second-tier star, Lili Star.

Fifth place goes to Ninja King Ren Wuyue, who has black eyes and deep brown hair. He is at the mid-level fourth tier and hails from the first-tier star, Puqiu Star.

In sixth place is Tino Venamoinen, with dark golden hair and green eyes, also a mid-level fourth-tier warrior from the first-tier star, Rio Star.

Seventh place is Ruo Manni herself.

Eighth is Tamaki Kazia, who has deep brown hair and black eyes, with a doll-like face and a somewhat shy demeanor. He is a mid-level fourth-tier warrior from the second-tier star, Maple Star.

Ninth is Mina-Olli, and tenth is Sheila; both come from the Imperial Capital Star.

Among the ten, the other eight freshmen are from first- or second-tier stars in the central star domain. Only Ruo Manni is from a third-tier star in the outer ring, and Gao Haitao has it worse, coming from a fourth-tier exile star.

However, judging by his clothing and demeanor, his parents are likely not ordinary people; otherwise, even with great potential, he wouldn’t be a mid-level fourth-tier warrior at fifteen. Compared to him, Ruo Manni is still poorer.

The first to be tested is Hua Deli. He stands at the testing column, and a white light beam shoots down, enveloping him, making his figure only vaguely visible to those nearby. Then, two numbers on the testing panel start to flicker with decimals, slowly increasing.

Finally, the green number stopped at E, and the yellow number settled at 63 without further changes. The white light beam then vanished, and Hua Deli immediately looked at the testing column.

“Warrior potential: E level, Psychic potential: C level. Mid-level fourth-tier warrior cultivation,” said Instructor Dudley, patting Hua Deli’s shoulder with satisfaction. “It’s been five years since our academy has seen a talent like you.”

Ruo Manni felt a bit dazed; she remembered that in the novel, the male lead’s potential was rated 2D or 3D, but definitely not E. How did this change?

Next up was Mina-Olli: “Warrior potential: C level, Psychic potential: E level. Mid-level fourth-tier psychic, late-stage second-tier warrior, excellent! Mina, you and Hua Deli make a great pair.”

Ruo Manni was certain that something was off here; she remembered the female lead’s cultivation potential much more clearly, and it was definitely not E.

Dean Atchison had a warrior potential of 3D and a psychic potential of 3B. The other five newcomers following him had similar results, with warrior potentials around 2D and psychic potentials between 2B and 3B.

Finally, only Ruo Manni and Gao Haitao were left to be tested, and everyone turned to look at them. Ruo Manni stepped back, signaling Gao Haitao to go first, and he didn’t hesitate to step forward.

Unexpectedly, Gao Haitao’s results were very impressive: he had a warrior potential of 3D, the same as Dean Atchison, and a C-level psychic potential, which was slightly higher than Dean Atchison’s.

Everyone was first surprised and then felt it was expected. As a descendant of a criminal exiled to a forsaken star, Gao Haitao’s ability to apply to the Xuan Gu Military Academy indicated that his parents were not criminals but had made a serious mistake that led to their punishment.

Secondly, Gao Haitao’s cultivation potential was outstanding, so much so that the empire would create a green channel for him to attend a military academy on the capital star, as evidenced by his ranking as the third best among the newcomers.

Finally, only Ruo Manni had yet to be tested. While others were testing, she contemplated whether to reveal her true data. After weighing the pros and cons, she decided to show it honestly, as only then could the instructor tailor the best training plan for her.

“Psychic potential: 3E, Warrior potential: 2D level, Psychic level: early-stage level five, Warrior level: late-stage level three, perfect completion…” Even Instructor Dudley’s voice changed, and others looked at Mani with expressions of disbelief.

“With such great warrior potential, how come you’re only at late-stage level three? What have you been doing? Haven’t you been training?” Dean Atchison really wanted to say she was wasting such a good cultivation potential.

This kind of data hadn’t been seen in the Gus Empire for hundreds of years.

Ruo Manni touched her ear and cleared her throat: “This was just an accident. Actually, six months ago, I couldn’t even meet the minimum requirements to apply for the Mecha Manufacturing Department at Xuan Gu Military Academy. After some motivation, I used a second-generation gene enhancement serum… cough, after barely surviving, I became a genius.”

The crowd showed expressions of shock, and Dean Atchison gasped, “You really are lucky to be alive.”

“This child, that gene serum has a 80% chance of failure! How could your guardian allow you to take such risks?” Instructor Dudley was also taken aback, wondering how such a delicate girl endured that kind of pain.

“They don’t know that I secretly added it to the holographic game pod,” Ruo Manni said, feeling a bit embarrassed. Now, she was truly Ruo Manni, and she had to take responsibility for the original owner’s mistakes.