With a sinister gaze, the unreasonable Fleet Captain Xu Yi sized up Ji Yeran—the innocent bystander caught in the crossfire. In Xu Yi’s mind, since this cadet was the only Alpha among the three "offenders," it was only right that he take the beating!
Simmering with suppressed rage, the captain blatantly used the excuse of "instructional sparring" to carry out his petty retaliation. Shamelessly, he led Ji Yeran toward the starship’s dedicated training grounds under the guise of a teaching session.
Sensing that Xu Yi intended to give Ji Yeran a rough time, Feng Zhixi—the true instigator—raised an eyebrow and followed them of his own accord. He had nothing better to do, so he might as well enjoy the show.
Xu Yi glanced back at the two "little tails" following him but didn't stop them. Instead, he shot them a subtle look out of the corner of his eye. The irritable captain figured it would be good for these two brats to witness a beatdown firsthand, lest they fail to learn their lesson. He couldn't hit an Omega, but he could certainly provide some "deterrent education."
Striding ahead, Captain Xu had no idea his attempt at intimidation was only half-effective. Emil, one of the "tails," was indeed worried; it was obvious from the captain’s posture that the "sparring" was a lie and he was simply planning to bully a junior.
However, Feng Zhixi, the mastermind behind the whole mess, remained exceptionally calm. With his hands tucked behind his back and a light spring in his step, the Omega followed the captain with the sole intention of being a spectator.
Though their faces remained composed, each person was playing out a different drama in their head:
Captain Xu ╰（｀□′）╯: *I’ll show you why the flowers are so red!*
Emil Σ(っ°Д°;)っ: *What do I do? The Captain looks terrifying. Will the Class Leader survive this?*
Feng Zhixi ~o(￣︶￣)n: *Trot, trot, trot~ Off to watch the fun~ Trot, trot, trot~*
Ji Yeran: *...*
Seeing the captain and the three cadets depart, the Executive Officer hesitated for a moment before following them. It had been a long time since he’d seen the captain thrash someone; he was actually feeling a bit nostalgic.
And so, the punisher, the victim-to-be, the worried friend, and the spectators—a group of five—marched grandly toward the training grounds.
***
Soon, the group arrived.
To their surprise, the training grounds were already packed. A crowd of officers in black military uniforms stood gathered, completely blocking the massive holographic screen in the foyer.
"??!" Xu Yi was baffled. What was going on?
As he drew closer, he realized everyone was watching a mecha duel. It was being broadcast on the external screen of the ship’s largest space-fold combat chamber. Clearly, the two combatants had set their viewing permissions to public, allowing everyone to watch the battle in real-time.
With a glance, Xu Yi recognized one of the pilots. The person was piloting a classic heavy-duty melee mecha modeled after a cheetah, known for its high speed and close-quarters combat prowess.
Xu Yi smiled as he watched the Cheetah-type mecha execute a skilled sequence: a tail-flick, a whip-kick, and a triple-shot energy cannon burst. It was a classic close-combat assassination combo used by one of his own assault squad leaders.
*Always the same three tricks,* the captain critiqued internally. However, he knew the squad leader had honed that triple-threat combo to perfection. Years of combat experience allowed him to push those classic moves to their limit; once he closed the distance, few could successfully block him.
Yet, the captain’s judgment proved wrong. In the next heartbeat, the pilot of the opposing golden humanoid mecha maneuvered at an impossibly sharp angle, miraculously evading the squad leader’s lethal combo.
"It’s a Reverse Leah Maneuver!" someone in the crowd cried out. A wave of hushed excitement rippled through the room.
The soldiers qualified to participate in this joint military exercise were all elites with keen eyes. Even within the regular army, few could pull off the high-difficulty Reverse Leah Maneuver with a humanoid mecha—especially during such high-intensity combat.
The last time they had seen such a textbook execution of that move was—
"Not bad," Xu Yi remarked, stroking his chin in praise.
The familiar voice startled the crowd. Everyone turned in unison, surprised to see the man who had last performed a perfect Reverse Leah Maneuver: their Fleet Captain, Xu Yi.
While the crowd was distracted by the captain’s arrival, the battle on the holographic screen took a sharp turn. The golden humanoid mecha seized a split-second opening in the "Cheetah’s" defense and launched a decisive counterattack.
As the system declared the humanoid mecha the winner, the doors to the combat chamber hissed open. The assault squad leader and Ji Wei stepped out.
Only then did Xu Yi realize that the pilot of the humanoid mecha was the cadet who had just been released from confinement.
Glancing at the win-loss record displayed on the screen, Xu Yi stroked his chin again. His opinion of Ji Wei shifted slightly; the cadet hadn't lost a single match. It seemed he actually had some skill, which explained his arrogance.
*It seems none of the cadets in this exercise are pushovers,* the captain thought, narrowing his eyes.
Having won several matches in a row and garnered a crowd of surprised and "admiring" gazes, Ji Wei was feeling quite triumphant. He looked up and spotted the captain standing prominently in the crowd.
That crude, uncultured soldier-thug was standing right there, his jaw covered in unkempt stubble—the very picture of a slovenly brute.
The moment he saw Xu Yi, Ji Wei stopped in his tracks.
He looked at the captain with a provocative gaze, asking in a condescending tone, "Sir, care for a match?"
Having been thrown into confinement by Xu Yi, Ji Wei could hardly contain his fury. He wanted to show this lowly Fleet Captain exactly what he was capable of!
*Oh? Someone’s actually looking for a fight?*
Having risen to the rank of Fleet Captain by brawling his way through the First Legion’s mecha training camp as a "Devil Instructor," Xu Yi missed the days when ignorant brats would line up at his door to get beaten.
He hadn't expected that after all these years, another brat who wasn't afraid of death would volunteer for a thrashing. How nostalgic.
Facing the eager Ji Wei, Captain Xu gave it some serious thought and nodded. Beating one brat was a chore, but beating two was a party. His knuckles were itching anyway; two would be much more satisfying!
Besides, this cadet’s strengths and weaknesses were equally glaring—he was the type with the most room for growth.
"Come then," Xu Yi said, loosening his collar as he officially accepted Ji Wei’s challenge.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy. The spectating officers were thrilled; it had been far too long since they’d seen the captain in action.
As Xu Yi and Ji Wei entered the combat chamber, the onlookers outside gathered excitedly. Based on their past experiences of being thrashed by the captain, the cadet was guaranteed to lose. The real suspense was how long he could hold out.
"Ten minutes!" the assault squad leader said, having just fought Ji Wei. He felt he had the most authority on the matter.
He judged that with the cadet’s skill, lasting ten minutes against the captain was a reasonable estimate—provided the captain didn't go into "berserk mode."
The squad leader—a bit of a ruffian himself—stroked his chin with a ruggedness that mirrored Xu Yi’s. Like general, like soldier.
"Impossible. This cadet will last seven or eight minutes at most," the Executive Officer chimed in, eager to join the discussion.
With two leaders starting the talk, the rest of the officers joined in.
Seeing that these bored officers were about to start an unofficial betting pool, Feng Zhixi suddenly interjected smoothly, "I bet on one minute and fifty seconds." Ji Wei had shot him a look before entering, and the Alpha’s gaze had been utterly repulsive.
The sudden appearance of a new face startled the soldiers. Before they could react, the battle between the two humanoid mechas on the screen took a violent turn. The ferocious black mecha executed a sudden dash to the rear, moving like a ghost. It struck once and retreated instantly, but not before a black energy dagger was plunged directly into the golden mecha’s back-wing core.
Blue energy surged along the black blade, instantly destroying the golden mecha’s cockpit area. Victory was decided in a flash. On the screen, the system timer froze at exactly one minute and fifty seconds. Not a second more, not a second less.
The officers stared, dumbfounded. *Did the Captain eat gunpowder for breakfast?*
As the only person who guessed correctly, Feng Zhixi’s eyes crinkled with a smile. He won.
Inside the combat chamber, Ji Wei crawled out of the holographic pod, his face deathly pale. The ship’s combat chambers provided a one-to-one simulation of real combat, including sensory feedback. Just now, he had experienced the genuine, bone-chilling despair of a near-death experience.
His head throbbed with a splitting migraine, and he struggled to keep his body from shaking. Meanwhile, Captain Xu Yi emerged from his own pod and proceeded to add fuel to the fire.
Xu Yi looked at the pale cadet and offered a sincere compliment: "Your ability isn't bad." He had originally thought Ji Wei would last a minute at most; he hadn't expected him to nearly double that time.
The cadet had great potential, even if he needed more polishing. The captain kept the second half of that thought to himself, fearing he might crush the boy's spirit.
However, his sincere praise was taken as a stinging insult by Ji Wei.
Never having suffered such a humiliation, Ji Wei’s face darkened completely. He glared at Xu Yi’s retreating back with a sinister gaze, a flash of murderous intent crossing his eyes.
On the other side, having vented some frustration on the first brat, the captain walked out of the chamber feeling much refreshed. He beamed as he called out to Sandbag Number Two—Ji Yeran.
"Your turn~" The captain, having just loosened his muscles, wasn't satisfied yet. He looked at Ji Yeran with a wide, predatory smile.
Hearing his name, Ji Yeran let out a helpless sigh. Under the sympathetic gazes of the crowd, he followed Xu Yi into the combat chamber.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 反式利亚回旋 | Reverse Leah Maneuver | A high-difficulty mecha evasion technique. |
| 空间折叠对战室 | Space-fold combat chamber | A specialized room for mecha duels using spatial folding technology. |
| 三板斧 | Three-trick pony / Signature trio | Literally "three swings of the axe," referring to a limited but effective set of skills. |
| 季崴 | Ji Wei | A new character, an arrogant Alpha cadet. |
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Starry Rebirth: The Warden and the Outlaw’s Interstellar Revenge | Chapter 51 | The Next Sandbag | Novela.app | Novela.app
