Hearing this, the long-haired woman behind them let out a short laugh. It was sharp and grating, her pretty face filled with disdain.
"Hah, do we need a reason to beat you?"
"My brother is in a bad mood. What's wrong with him finding someone to take it out on?"
"You bunch of Grade D superpower users are only good for this, anyway."
Every word she said was a sharp sting to Shi Feng. He looked down at Lin Jingjing in his arms, half-dead, with blood occasionally trickling from her lips.
His hands slowly clenched into fists. 'They've gone too far!'
The hatred flaring in his eyes caught the attention of the yellow-haired man, who raised an eyebrow and said nonchalantly, "Not happy about it?"
"It's your own fault your spiritual power levels are so low."
"I'm a Grade A. Even if I beat you to death, I wouldn't face any punishment whatsoever."
"You should be grateful to be killed by me, understand?"
He spoke so casually, with a complete disregard for human life.
Shi Feng couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, clenched his fists, and charged forward to hit him, only to be sent flying by a single slap to the face from the yellow-haired man.
The higher one's Spiritual Power Level, the more their body's various functions are enhanced.
Because their Spiritual Power Levels are high, the Mechas they pilot are also of the highest grade.
They are powerful and indispensable figures on the battlefield.
One side of Shi Feng's face was red and swollen, and two of his teeth had been knocked out.
His pathetic state, sprawled on the ground, made the group of them burst out laughing.
"Look at what a mess he is, just like a little lapdog."
"HAHAHAHA—"
Listening to their laughter, Shi Feng clenched his fists, his heart filled with a burning hatred.
'If my Spiritual Power Level were higher, I could have protected Sister Lin. These people wouldn't be looking down on us like we're ants, and we wouldn't have to endure their ridicule.'
"You four. Attacking people from our logistics department comes with a price." The voice of a stubble-faced captain rang out. He was tall and burly, with a face full of stubble and arms packed with solid muscle.
A cheap cigarette dangled from the corner of his mouth as he stood with his arms crossed, his sharp gaze sweeping over the four of them.
The four of them wiped the smiles from their faces when they saw him. The yellow-haired man simply said, "What price?"
Hearing this, the stubble-faced captain raised his hand and smashed a fist directly into the man's handsome face.
The single punch sent him flying. The yellow-haired man slammed violently into a tree trunk before coming to a stop.
"This is the price," the stubble-faced captain said, his face devoid of expression as he rotated his wrist.
The cigarette in his mouth didn't fall out as he spoke, only shedding a bit of ash.
"Get lost!"
Seeing the sheer hostility radiating from him, the four knew they couldn't afford to provoke him. They helped the yellow-haired man up and scurried away in disgrace.
It was in that moment that the two people lying on the ground, on the verge of death, truly understood the cruelty of this world.
'Survival of the fittest. What a brutal law of nature.'
The stubble-faced captain looked at their condition, tossed his cigarette, and, with a look of annoyance, slung one of them over each shoulder and carried them to the infirmary.
His mouth didn't stop running the entire way to the infirmary.
"What were you two weaklings doing provoking that bunch? If you want to die, just tell me. I'll send you to meet your maker with one punch."
"Dammit, they send two weaklings to our logistics department. The kind even the trash collectors would reject."
"When you're out and about, don't you dare say you're from our department. We can't afford the embarrassment."
"You don't work properly from morning till night. Took you a whole week and you still haven't finished shoveling pig manure. You can't even lift a wok to stir-fry. What good are you? A couple of useless wastes."
He cursed as he dumped them in front of the military doctor, then stood to the side and said viciously, "Don't you let these two brats die. There's a mountain of crap waiting for them to do."
The military doctor looked at him and finally let out a sigh.
'This Captain Li is the same as ever—all bark and no bite.'
"I know."
After a quick examination, he found that the young woman's injuries were quite serious.
Since Captain Li had ordered him not to let her die, he had no choice but to take out a Grade B Recovery Agent.
After feeding each of them a bottle of the green Recovery Potion, he said in a cold tone, "Their injuries aren't that severe. They'll be fine after drinking the Recovery Potion and waking up."
After drinking the Recovery Potion, Lin Jingjing felt the pain throughout her body slowly fade away, and her whole body began to feel light.
Her eyes were squeezed shut, her mind replaying the arrogant faces of those people from before.
'In the Empire, the weak can only be bullied.'
'The two of them were beaten to this state, yet everyone else acts as if it's completely normal.'
'This world... is insane.'
Seeing that they were out of danger, Captain Li didn't spare them another glance before turning and leaving.
The military doctor was busy treating other injured people and had no time for them.
Only the two of them were left in the small infirmary room.
The severe swelling on one side of Shi Feng's face had begun to subside. He sat on the edge of the bed, his head lowered, staring at his own hands.
'If my Spirit Level had been just one or two ranks higher, Sister Lin wouldn't have been beaten so badly.'
'And I wouldn't have been knocked to the ground with a single slap.'
"Xiao Shi..." Lin Jingjing opened her eyes, her voice slightly hoarse.
"We have to survive."
Only by surviving first could they do the things they wanted to do.
"Yeah." Shi Feng nodded heavily. 'I can't even think about grand ambitions right now. First, we just have to survive.'
After their brief exchange, the room fell silent again. Lin Jingjing stared at the flawless white ceiling, her fists clenching tightly.
'I can't be weak. Otherwise, I'll die.'
The force behind that man's kick earlier was terrifying.
If she hadn't spent the past two weeks building up her physical endurance with all that intense, heavy labor, that single kick might have actually killed her.
It was also the first time Lin Jingjing had truly felt the damage someone with a high Spiritual Power Level could inflict.
"Take these two bottles of Nutrient Liquid to those two in there." The military doctor's impatient voice sounded, followed immediately by a much sweeter, female voice.
"Okay."
The girl walked in with the purple Nutrient Liquid and handed it over, saying, "Your lunch."
When they got a clear look at the newcomer's face, the two of them—one lying down, one sitting up—both stared with wide eyes.
Expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces. Shi Feng even pointed at the girl, his voice filled with excitement.
"You..."
Lin Jingjing looked at the girl's cute, round face and took a deep breath to calm herself.
When the girl saw them, the Nutrient Liquid in her hands suddenly fell to the floor, with one bottle even rolling under the bed.
The girl blinked, then swallowed hard. After a moment of deliberation, she spoke: "Red Phoenix, Pink Phoenix."
The moment she said it, both of them replied in unison: "Pink-red phoenixes are all chickens!"
After getting the correct answer, the girl's eyes immediately reddened.
"You... How did you two transmigrate here too?" Her voice was full of excitement and disbelief.
With that, she lunged onto the bed and hugged Lin Jingjing. "Sister Lin, why are you lying here?"
"Did someone bully you?"