On her side, in order to quickly improve her actual combat ability, Xie Xingyan spent one thousand points in the system mall to purchase a simulated combat training robot.
She bought this solely to strengthen her close-quarters combat skills, so that she could raise her strength in a short amount of time.
Ever since she arrived in this crisis-ridden interstellar world, Xie Xingyan had felt a constant sense of urgency pressing at her heart, reminding her that she must improve her strength as soon as possible.
Although she could also purchase this robot on the public interstellar network platform, the price there was as high as one million starcoins. That was far beyond what Xie Xingyan could afford, especially now, under an ongoing financial blockade.
How ironic—her father clearly wanted to use her to seek benefits, yet wasn't even willing to invest in her early on. At present, Xie Xingyan was still relying on the monthly subsidies distributed by the Alliance government to get by.
In the ten years that followed, Xie Xingyan steadily studied at the Federation's First Primary School while diligently earning every kind of prize money she could. Her reputation for loving money gradually spread far and wide.
Because she had once exposed the Zerg ambush on Qingmu Star, during these ten years the school no longer dared to arrange field training exams for its students.
This long period of peace made many people believe that the previous incident had been an isolated case, and that the Zerg would no longer appear so easily.
Now, the school's graduation assessment had arrived. Only by combining one's results in this exam with their regular academic performance could students apply for slots in higher education institutions.
This assessment accounted for 40% of the overall score, so recently all the students were busy searching for teammates to form groups with.
"Classmate Xie, I hope you'll consider joining my team. If you do, you'll have the highest say in decisions after me."
"Sorry, classmate Dalba, but I'm preparing to form my own team. I can't join yours."
"No problem. Then perhaps we'll have the chance to cooperate another time."
Invitations like this, Xie Xingyan had already received quite a few lately. The reason was simple: she was a cultivation fanatic who majored in two courses at once.
If she could be invited into a team, that would save them from having to recruit an additional pharmacology student. That way, they wouldn't have to deal with unfamiliar strangers, and it would also raise the overall strength of their squad.
After all, it was common knowledge that pharmacology students generally had weak individual combat ability—so teams often avoided recruiting them.
In contrast, Xie Xingyan alone was worth two people. Naturally, she became the most sought-after candidate.
Actually, ever since learning there would be such an assessment, Xie Xingyan had already been planning to take the position of captain and form her own team.
Since this test was destined to be a group battle, choosing to be the captain meant she would hold the most authority and be able to better control her own fate. She had never been willing to submit beneath others.
Although Xie Xingyan was already dazzling in the Mecha Warriors' Class B, her physique, under her conscious control, still remained at D-grade.
There was no helping it. Before, she hadn't cared, since she hadn't undergone testing. But now, she couldn't expose the secret that she could raise her physical grade in a short time.
Once that was exposed, without the strength to match it, what awaited her would be imprisonment, secret interrogations, and the full course of being turned into a research subject.
So, forming a five-person team wasn't an easy task.
As soon as she mentioned building a team, Emil responded enthusiastically, even bringing along his childhood friend.
That friend turned out to be Sayer, from Mecha Warriors' Class A—a small but famous prodigy.
At first, Xie Xingyan worried he might be arrogant and hard to discipline. Later she realized she had worried in vain.
Sayer was completely Emil's echo, obeying orders like a puppet. Watching them, Xie Xingyan even felt her teeth ache.
Another teammate volunteered himself—it was her pharmacology classmate, Dalman.
In recent years his temper had mellowed, and since Xie Xingyan knew his character well, she readily accepted him.
That left one more person. After careful discussion, they decided the fifth member should also be from the Mecha Warriors Department, which would further strengthen their combat power.
But finding this last member wasn't easy. On the surface, Xie Xingyan's team didn't look particularly strong. Apart from her reputation, only Sayer stood out.
The registration deadline was approaching—just two days left—when a female student took the initiative to find her.
"Classmate Xie, I'm Li Yuanyuan from your class. I'd like to join your team."
"I'd like to ask why you want to join us. After all, we've only ever exchanged nods in passing."
Though it was a volunteer, Xie Xingyan still found it strange. They had no real connection, and yet—this girl's surname was Li.
"To be honest, the teams I wanted to join are already full. That's why I came to yours."
In the end, Xie Xingyan accepted her, since the deadline was almost here.
Still, in her heart she kept a faint guard up. This Li Yuanyuan's voluntary offer to join couldn't be as simple as she claimed.
Rather than waste effort speculating, it would be safer to keep her under close watch right in front of her eyes.
Meanwhile, on the Garbage Star, Direna received the secret report and burst into delighted, crazed laughter.
"Good, just perfect. That brat Xie Xingyan is finally coming out of her shell. Let's see how you run away this time."
With that, Direna led an elite Zerg squad, plunging straight through a nearby wormhole as dark as a bottomless abyss.