Tempest of the Stellar War
chapter-90

Zhuo Mu reminded Wang Zheng that he had great potential and should do his best in the army. Training had begun, and what the principal wanted was not quantity but quality. Ma Xiao and gang had limited capabilities, so the four spots should be given to students who truly deserved them.

Naturally, there was no need to speak for Wang Zheng. Zhang Shan and Meng Tian were full of potential too. As for Zhang Runan, Zhuo Mu had invited him because she was one of those who were actually strong in Ares College.

To be frank, Wang Zheng was slightly astonished. Zhang Shan and Meng Tian were amused, but they did not say a word. Zhang Runan saw the surprised look on Wang Zheng and plainly said, "If men can't do it, then it's up to the women. How is that odd?"

Wang Zheng shook his head vigorously. "With Chairperson Runan joining us, it would be like adding wings to a tiger."

After speaking, Wang Zheng pulled Zhang Shan aside. "Why is she here?"

Zhang Shan smiled. "Brother, time to widen your horizons! She's a master! If she had been around during the exchange, you most probably would have had nothing to do."

Zhang Runan was the chairperson of the Art Club. She was also the chairperson of the women's judo team and a specially-recruited student of the Officer's Department. To put it simply, she was a great talent.

As her name suggested, she was tough, just like a man (Runan meaning male-like). Yet she liked detailed oil paintings. In Zhang Runan's own words, this too was a form of cultivation.

In no time at all, Zhang Shan had exposed all of Zhang Runan's background, snickering while he did so.

In the past, those at the top of Ares College were concerned mainly with "fame." It was evident that Zhang Runan was not interested in becoming famous. But things were different this time. Battling was a matter of face. Being embarrassed on Earth was alright, considering Earth was home. But losing out there would be bad, considering they were representing Earth.

Gu Te had made up his mind too.

Zhuo Mu and Luomu had become good friends. They were in charge of training. One was a ironblood warrior and the other was a mecha expert, but they clicked right away. Moreover, they had a similar temperament. They couldn't bear with inattentive students and liked specialised training.

Apart from Wang Zheng, who was busy with many things, the rest attended training every day. Of course, they took students under their wings, it was just that the number was lesser than the other professors.

This was not possible at Ares in the past, but now Gu Te had opened up. They could do things according to their own styles and character as long as they groomed talent.

Very soon, Wang Zheng understood what Zhang Shan meant. Chairperson Runan's standards had truly exceeded that of men. All of her qualities were strong, much like a man.

Calm, decisive, and highly skilled in the technical aspects. To quote Zhuo Mu, she was a born female Special Forces soldier.

She and Meng Tian were completely different. Simply put, she could be and should be measured against men.

Once training ended, Zhang Runan left on her own. She did not even say goodbye. Meng Tian was busy as of late too. She seemed to be deliberately keeping a distance from Wang Zheng.

Zhang Shan patted Wang Zheng on the shoulder. "Bro, stop looking, spare us some. You won't be able to finish her all by yourself."

Wang Zheng shrugged it off. He could not be bothered to explain. Such things could not be explained logically anyway.

He was not flirting with anyone; his target was clear. He was even stubborn about it. Deep inside, he was just like Aina. They both had equally unrealistic expectations, which was hard to come by, but when they met, it was like the clash of two different worlds. In laymen terms, this was destiny.

Whether or not they could cross the great chasm was a different story altogether.

Yan Xiaosu was waiting for Wang Zheng to finish his classes. The two chatted as they ate. "Boss, I think I'll take the gamble and do it with you!"

"Hah. You convinced your old man?" Wang Zheng gulped a big mouthful of noodles down.

"My old man is uncultured, but he believes in destiny. He saw a fortune-teller. The signs showed them we'll be in luck."

"Oh?" Wang Zheng did not believe in this cock and bull story.

Seeing that he couldn't trick Wang Zheng, Yan Xiaosu shook his head. "My old man went around to inquire. It's said that the enterprises that want to participate in this project will fight with their lives for the opportunity to invest. You won't get it even if you have the money. The only company that's been confirmed is OMG. That's one of the biggest companies on all of Earth, and even with their size, they've only got 21 percent of the shares! Us getting in, it doesn't matter if we receive any shares. What is important is that our status will be pulled to the top. My dad says we can head in the direction of the Yan Financial Group in the future."

When Yan Xiaosu mimicked his father's expressions, even Wang Zheng couldn't hold his laughter back. The two of them were still too small in scale. In the field of business, especially when a certain scale was reached, the different intangible assets were more important than money as an asset.

Even though they mainly produced daily necessities, the Yan family was not short on finances. However, they were troubled over the lack of investment opportunities in recent years. Moving upwards, the better projects all had certain intangible requirements. If they could not be met, nobody could be bothered, even if you were wealthy. In another situation, you wouldn't be able to participate even after you'd pumped your money in. In short, jumping on the bandwagon of a major company to participate was a once in a hundred lifetimes opportunity.

Even if they had to compensate with extra financing, a huge company like OMG would not care. The whole company's status had risen, and their stock prices would also see a sharp increase.

Old Yan was no fool.

"My dad wants to buy you dinner to thank you properly. I said you're busy and we'll leave it till when you have time,"

Yan Xiaosu smiled. He knew very well that Wang Zheng did not enjoy such social engagements.

Wang Zheng chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up. "If that's the case, I'll negotiate with Demon Lady Xiao to fight for our rights and benefits!"

"Boss, you've got my support. Go on, be brave. When necessary, sacrificing the body is nothing!" Yan Xiaosu said generously.

Wang Zheng knuckled his head. This idiot, couldn't he think of something proper?

"Boss, what I meant was, if there's a need to sacrifice the body, I can do it…" Yan Xiaosu said to his chagrin, rubbing where he was hit.

Uhm...

Knowing that Wang Zheng had a battle date that night, the two of them did not waste a single second and went straight to Brothers Net Cafe after eating. Wang Zheng readied himself for the battle, and Yan Xiaosu directly made contact with Solon to network.

Yan Xiaosu knew that Wang Zheng was superb at this. To be more accurate, he had never seen anyone as good. But taking this path was walking on a rope. Yan Xiaosu was undoubtedly an experienced player even though he was just an average player. The Wargod No. 1 had too many limitations, and it was not merely the energy shield deficiency. Some high end mecha were horrifyingly well-rounded. It was so attractive because everyone knew about this.

Direct invitations from high level players had appeared. It was bound to become tougher towards the back. Winning a game was energy-consuming, so they had to negotiate with CT. As a businessman, Yan Xiaosu understood that nobody would know the consequences of losing a battle.

In this space project, Wang Zheng was a technician. Yan Xiaosu was not entirely confident of what he could bargain. But if Wang Zheng could also fork out some money, they would definitely have a larger say.

Yan Xiaosu was going to make use of this opportunity to discuss the "big projects" of the next five battles with Solon.

Solon was happy to receive Yan Xiaosu's negotiation demands. He was not worried about their demands, he was worried that they had no demands.

CT had hefty funding, so money was not a problem. The problem was whether it would be worth it. Could they promote CT and widen their sphere of influence? To Solon, he was more concerned about the area he was in charge of, whether it could set even better records so that he could hold his head high in the company.

Student Wang had no mood to study this aspect of things, but Yan Xiaosu knew such things very well due to having watched his parents do business ever since he was young. Although the scale of the Yan family's business was nowhere comparable with CT, they had everything they needed. In Wang Zheng's words: "Xiaosu had a pretty high EQ."

The two of them split the workload. Yan Xiaosu could negotiate whichever way he wanted. Wang Zheng would close the doors and wait in the VIP room for the competition to begin. The room was huge, and Wang Zheng did not slack off. He did exercises on a handstand.

During the last round, the Magical Bird incident had allowed everyone to recognise that the experts were now using all sorts of methods to challenge Skeleton.

They initially thought that the throned players or a few of the top diamond class players from Earth would strike. It did not occur to anybody that the first to play would be a super player of the diamond class from the Moon.

Lady Stormsword.

She had started the hype of women players on Moon in the span of merely one month. She made her way into diamond class within a very short period of time. Her rate of winning was shocking. The mecha she was most skilled at using was the Brightmoon 8.0. At her peak, no one could defeat her. Even in group battles, she showed outstanding leadership. But just as everyone started to guess how long she would take to become the King of the Kings, she disappeared.

Nobody could have thought that her comeback battle would be directed at Skeleton.

This was the first time a renowned player from the Moon had taken the initiative to challenge a player from Earth. From the official notice, it seemed that the topic was hot beyond imagination.

Just as Solon said, it was easier to pray with foreign monks, especially those who came from a district of higher standards.

The Moon had always displayed the highest standards within Solar System CT. They took pride in it themselves. There were masters everywhere. The Moon held the championship titles for all CT competitions without exceptions. If not for the category distinctions, it was likely they'd win all top three positions.

And this Lady Stormsword was, up till now, the player who held the best record among players who used the Brightmoon 8.0… and she was a female player.

She was quite mysterious too. No one knew what she looked like; they only knew that she was female.

This time, not only did the Earth district pay close attention to the match, some players from the Moon also started paying attention to the "pre-historic planet."

Even before the battle began, videos of the players' Best of the Best moves received unprecedented numbers of hits. On Earth, Skeleton's supporters were relentless. Cries to defeat Moon Gal arrived wave after wave, but those who saw Lady Stormsword's battle videos fell silent after a while.

Young Deer and Bubbly Foam were in position. As this was the main event, they had to offer their customers some treats. They commented on the unique points of Lady Stormsword's skills.

As a girl, Bubbly Foam liked the Brightmoon series too. The mecha on Earth were indeed weaker in this aspect, and the Moon had more exquisite designs. But Bubbly Foam could only operate the 6th generation. The controls of the 8th Generation were too complex and difficult. Even though it was merely a CT game, she'd fumble and lose all control.