Wu Qingqing had just been thoroughly defeated by her cousin, with no way to fight back.
If she doesn't surpass his piloting skills before he graduates, she'll have to change her major.
Wu Qingqing: "Am I useless or what?"
"Do you want me to say something comforting?" Su Xiaocai knew well that Wu Qingqing subconsciously sought others' approval.
She wanted someone to tell her she wasn't lacking in talent, just a matter of age difference or varying levels of experience, and other encouraging words.
But Su Xiaocai stuck to the facts, "There's an inevitable gap in skill between you and your cousin. Leaving aside the differences between individuals, even if you have the same talent and put in the same effort, he's had three years under the guidance of great teachers, while you just started. It's perfectly normal to be crushed."
Su Xiaocai wasn't trying to put her down, but the facts were there, and she had to accept them.
Wu Qingqing was in a daze, "Is there no hope for me?"
"Following the normal course, attending classes, and working as hard as your cousin, indeed the hope is slim."
"What can I do? I'm at my wit's end. I even hired a coach during the holidays, but when I competed with my cousin, I still couldn't beat him." Wu Qingqing muttered, "I should have given up earlier and applied to transfer departments now."
Under the big tree, the short-haired girl's vitality seemed to have been drained, leaving only an empty shell, staring blankly at the distant mountains.
"Do you really like piloting mechas that much?"
The ethereal female voice brought her back to her senses.
Wu Qingqing thought carefully, and she did.
"I like piloting mechas to soar through the universe, wanting to become an Insect Slayer, wanting to be a protector."
Wu Qingqing, with an inherent hero complex, always wanted to be recognized by everyone as a powerful Mecha Master, rather than a businessperson.
But her cousin was like a towering mountain in front of her.
"I can't beat my cousin." Wu Qingqing had a headache, unable to find a coach for special training at school.
Su Xiaocai: "Didn't you ask me to teach you? I'm your only hope right now. Have you seen anyone else who can take down hundreds of Insect Men with an initial-set mecha?"
"You?"
At this, Wu Qingqing was skeptical whether Su Xiaocai could really teach anyone.
Yesterday she mentioned consulting Su Xiaocai out of curiosity, given her young age.
"Can you really help me improve significantly?"
"That depends on whether you can follow my instructions completely." Su Xiaocai said, "If you are determined to learn from me, I can guarantee that in two years, you will beat your cousin. Let me state first, everything must follow my requirements, including your diet, schedule, no training can be skipped. Once we start, I need your trust long-term. If you give up halfway, you'll have to compensate for my losses."
Wu Qingqing was curious about how much compensation?
"Conservatively, about a billion." Su Xiaocai said with a sweet smile, sending a chill down Wu Qingqing's spine, making her realize Su Xiaocai wasn't as harmless and enthusiastic as she seemed, "That much?"
Su Xiaocai didn't elaborate, she folded a small stool and put it back in the Space Button, "Think it over, I mean what I say. If you can't trust me fully, we can just remain good roommates."
Su Xiaocai walked back with her hands behind her back, contemplating setting up some fences in the fields tomorrow. The military training school's fields were close to the forest, and she heard there were often wild beasts around.
It might actually be better to check the fields of the upperclassmen, to make better judgments.
Under the shadows, Wu Qingqing pondered if Su Xiaocai could be relied upon. Could she really deliver what she promised? The coach her family hired was a lieutenant colonel from the Mechanical Army and couldn't help her surpass her cousin, what made Su Xiaocai different?
Wasn't she a farmer? Would she use illegal methods to enhance her?
Wu Qingqing thought about it and realized she didn't need to worry too much, since both she and Su Xiaocai were within the school grounds, she wasn't defenseless and wouldn't let Su Xiaocai act recklessly.
She was just afraid of trusting the wrong person and wasting time.
Finally, Wu Qingqing made a call to find the coach.
"Hello, Coach."
"Miss Wu, is there something you need?"
Wu Qingqing asked the question that had been stuck in her mind, "Coach, I want to ask, if I want to surpass my cousin within two years, can you help me?"
The coach paused, "It's not impossible, but Miss Wu, can you accept practical combat? Going to the battlefield, you can grow fast."
"What if my cousin also goes to the battlefield?"
"I'm sorry, Miss Wu, but I can't help you; you have talent, as does your cousin. If you want to get as close to him as possible, you might consider a research institute. They offer more services and can adjust your state and push your limits. If I were to recommend, I'd suggest the Non-human Research Institute. They have quite a few successful study cases."