Interestingly, this was the first time the blue betta fish faced Yu Chen head-on.
It usually showed him its backside.
Now, forced to confront him, it had no other choice—Yu Chen had crushed the bubble nest it painstakingly built!
With an alpha’s tough and resilient body, no matter how desperately the blue betta fish tried to bite him, it couldn’t actually harm Yu Chen. It could only watch helplessly as the love nest it worked so hard to create was destroyed.
As for Yun Xunlan, he finished his test paper and looked up just in time to see Yu Chen coming from the direction of the bathroom. Noticing that Yu Chen’s right hand was slightly damp, he assumed the man had simply washed his hands and didn’t think much of it.
“Teacher Yu, I’m done,” Yun Xunlan said as he handed over his test paper. “I think I probably scored full marks.”
Yu Chen picked up a red pen, ready to grade the paper: “Student Lanlan is quite confident, huh?”
Yun Xunlan smiled faintly: “After all, it’s all theoretical knowledge.”
The *War Psychology* exam was entirely multiple-choice questions, making it quick to complete and easy to grade.
Yu Chen took only a minute to finish grading—and just as Yun Xunlan had claimed, his test paper scored full marks.
In terms of theoretical knowledge, Yun Xunlan was flawless. Even Yu Chen had no suggestions for improvement. He decided they should focus more on practical training instead.
Both of them put on simulation battlefield helmets and activated the virtual battlefield together.
For this first practical session, Yu Chen didn’t merely observe like last time. Instead, he joined Yun Xunlan’s assessment battlefield as a teammate. He even added a layer of identity to his character—he was Yun Xunlan’s trusted partner and a loyal comrade who had fought alongside him through life-and-death situations.
Having already witnessed Yun Xunlan’s unconventional behavior during the previous assessment, Yu Chen wasn’t surprised this time when he saw Yun Xunlan refuse to leave the dormitory after hearing the morning assembly whistle in the military camp. Yu Chen stayed in the dormitory with him instead of heading out with their other roommates for assembly.
Aside from refusing to leave, Yun Xunlan behaved normally in other aspects. He even proactively reminded Yu Chen: “Yu Chen, the assembly whistle sounded.”
Lying on the top bunk with one hand supporting his forehead, Yu Chen replied: “I heard it.”
Surprisingly, Yun Xunlan shamelessly asked him: “Then why aren’t you going to assembly?”
Yu Chen countered: “Why aren’t you going?”
“I’ll die,” Yun Xunlan said while picking up a gun and adopting a defensive posture—a stance that shouldn’t be directed at a close friend. Slowly retreating into the dormitory bathroom, he locked the door with a sharp “click.”
Yu Chen: “…”
Jumping down from the top bunk, Yu Chen walked to the bathroom door and knocked: “Lanlan, what are you doing in there?”
Yun Xunlan’s calm and composed voice came from inside: “Using the toilet.”
“The officer is calling for assembly, and you still have time to use the toilet?” Yu Chen pressed further. “Even if we wet ourselves, we’re supposed to go to assembly!”
“Mm.” Yun Xunlan replied in an utterly emotionless tone as he thoughtfully advised Yu Chen: “So you should go to assembly now. If you’re late, you’ll be punished by the officer.”
Yu Chen insisted that he open the door first: “I need to use the toilet too. Let me go first; then I’ll head to assembly.”
Yun Xunlan said flatly: “You can wet yourself.”
Yu Chen: “…”
“You’ll die, and so will I. Everyone dies, but I’ll protect you,” Yu Chen played the emotional card, trying to persuade Yun Xunlan. “I swear, I won’t let you die before me. Lanlan, let’s go to the assembly together, okay?”
Yun Xunlan still refused: “I trust you, but I still can’t leave. Don’t worry about me—just go to the assembly.”
Seeing that appealing to emotions wasn’t working, Yu Chen tried reasoning with him: “We’re partners. If you don’t go to the assembly, how can I go? If I go alone and you’re not there, I’ll get punished by the officer too.”
“…I’m sorry, Yu Chen.” Yun Xunlan’s voice finally carried some emotion, and his guilt was evident. “I’m dragging you down—I’m really sorry. You should find another partner. I’m truly sorry…”
“We’re friends—you don’t need to apologize to me,” Yu Chen decided to test Yun Xunlan and said: “Alright, I’m going to the assembly.”
In reality, Yu Chen only created some noise to make it seem like he was leaving. He wanted to see if Yun Xunlan would come out of the bathroom after he left.
The answer was: No.
Yu Chen waited outside for an hour, but Yun Xunlan didn’t open the door or come out—he even tried having the AI officer personally come to the dormitory door to call Yun Xunlan; it didn’t work. Issuing orders through the communicator didn’t work either. Even deploying the corps commander to issue the highest directive didn’t work.
Yun Xunlan’s refusal to leave was absurdly resolute.
When asked why, his answer was always three words: “I’ll die.”
If pressed further, his response would change to: “When it’s absolutely necessary for someone to sacrifice themselves, I’ll go out—even if it means I’ll die.”
At this point, Yu Chen ended the practical session.
He removed his simulation battlefield helmet and looked down at Yun Xunlan’s perfect-score test paper in front of him, speechless for a long time.
It’s worth noting that in formal practical exams, all characters in the virtual battlefield must be randomly generated AI—no real people are allowed. Yu Chen’s actions of speaking as a “close friend” and saying all kinds of things to persuade Yun Xunlan were technically cheating. Yet even with Yu Chen helping him cheat, Yun Xunlan scored zero—a remarkable talent in its own right.
“Lanlan, this question might offend you—you can choose not to answer,” Yu Chen raised his eyes toward Yun Xunlan and carefully chose his words, softening his tone as much as possible. “Do you have… a psychological disorder?”
According to Galactic Interstellar Universal Law: individuals with severe mental illnesses cannot enlist in the military.
Mild psychological disorders can theoretically allow enlistment in non-core administrative positions if cured and approved by both instructors and psychologists. However, in reality, no instructor or psychologist would ever issue an approval letter for enlistment.
“No,” Yun Xunlan replied calmly. “I only occasionally experience mild anxiety symptoms—not severe enough to qualify as a mental illness.”
Yu Chen frowned slightly: “Was this assessment given by a professional psychologist?”
Yun Xunlan nodded: “Yes.”
Yu Chen leaned back slightly, his expression growing serious.
To be honest, he couldn’t understand or accept this assessment result because Yun Xunlan’s behavior in the virtual battlefield was abnormal—almost bordering on “paranoid.”
Of course, Yu Chen wasn’t a professional psychologist; whether he accepted the assessment or not didn’t matter. After all, Yun Xunlan’s situation could also be explained as harboring an unusually intense fear of death deep within—a survival instinct stronger than most people’s— and avoiding death is a biological survival mechanism unrelated to psychological disorders.
Perhaps the psychologist based their assessment of Yun Xunlan on this point, concluding that he didn’t have any psychological disorders.
Yu Chen couldn’t help but recall the time Yun Xunlan scored in the twenties on an exam.
He put his simulation battlefield helmet back on: “Lanlan, let’s take the test again.”
Yun Xunlan also pressed the connection button on his helmet.
In the next moment, the two of them once again plunged into the virtual battlefield for the second time that night.
This time, Yu Chen didn’t assign Yun Xunlan a standard examination battlefield; instead, he constructed a special battlefield scenario.
In this battlefield, Yu Chen’s identity remained as Yun Xunlan’s close friend and roommate. The background was set during a massive invasion by the Severir Insectoid race. The corps they served in was the galaxy’s last line of defense—if they failed to hold the line, the insectoids would breach it, invade the galaxy, and slaughter all of humanity.
This perfectly matched Yun Xunlan’s stated condition for leaving his room: only when someone had to sacrifice themselves.
“Stop sleeping! The insectoids are attacking! Are you all deaf? Get your lazy asses up now!!!”
A harsh and furious voice blared through the broadcast, assaulting everyone’s eardrums.
—Wait, did it randomly generate an AI officer that sounded like me?
Just as this thought surfaced in Yu Chen’s mind, he felt someone lightly pat his cheek twice. Yun Xunlan’s urgent voice sounded by his ear: “Yu Chen, stop sleeping! The insectoids are invading—get up and assemble!”
What in hell?
Yu Chen opened his eyes and took in the visuals of the new virtual battlefield, confirming that it was Yun Xunlan speaking to him—not someone else.
Seeing Yu Chen awake, the silver-haired youth tossed him the military uniform hanging by his bedside. His tone was fast but clear as he relayed the officer’s orders without a hint of panic: “The stealth insectoids have already infiltrated compartment five. We need to break through their encirclement and reach compartment six to activate the mechas.”
Only after finishing his explanation and noticing Yu Chen still sitting on the bed staring at him did Yun Xunlan urge him: “Hurry up and get dressed.”
Yu Chen decided to test him: “Let me use the bathroom first.”
Yun Xunlan replied flatly: “You can wet yourself.”
Yu Chen: “…”
“Forget it—don’t bother dressing,” another explosion sounded from outside. Yun Xunlan couldn’t wait any longer. He grabbed Yu Chen by the wrist and dragged him toward the door. “We’ll be changing into mech suits later anyway—just follow me now!”
Despite Yu Chen’s sturdy build, he was still tugged off balance by Yun Xunlan’s forceful pull.
“Bang bang bang—!”
With one hand pulling Yu Chen and one foot kicking open the door, Yun Xunlan raised his gun with an expressionless face and fired three precise shots. Each bullet hit its mark, instantly killing three stealth insectoids guarding the door.
He handed an energy rifle to Yu Chen, who was still dressed in just a tank top and underwear: “Take this and follow me.”
Yu Chen silently accepted the gun and followed Yun Xunlan toward compartment six without a word.
Throughout their journey, Yu Chen deliberately held back and slacked off—after all, this battlefield assessment was for Yun Xunlan, not him.
While slacking off, he observed Yun Xunlan’s actual combat abilities as well as how he reacted when teammates performed poorly.
Would he get angry?
Would he abandon his teammates?
Would Yun Xunlan push his teammates forward to take the hit in a critical moment?
Yu Chen observed for a while and found that Yun Xunlan didn’t react—not because he was indifferent, but because his marksmanship was so precise that it rendered Yu Chen’s presence irrelevant.
The silver-haired alpha moved like a highly efficient killing machine. His heart rate remained steady, his emotions calm, and even when faced with dense waves of insectoids, there wasn’t a trace of fear on his face. Every bullet he fired—its timing, direction, and speed—seemed to be the optimal solution calculated by a quantum computer.
The places he passed were littered with insectoid corpses, yet not a single drop of their blood stained him—they were killed before they could even approach him.
The stealth insectoids, whose size resembled that of ordinary humans, were powerless against Yun Xunlan.
He only stopped when he reached the corridor connecting compartment five to compartment six. The reason? A towering 9-meter Xuanjia Stinger Insect stood in his path.
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
