Top Warzone Analyst Chapter 72

The proctor, utterly bored, sat at the podium eating snacks. Lifting his drooping eyelids, he nodded at Cheng Feng, signaling her to leave quickly.

Cheng Feng picked up her optical computer, walked to the classroom door, and opened her email to check the test results.

The final scores weren’t out yet, but her final ranking was exactly at the 10% cutoff – it could go either way. This made Cheng Feng feel a little uneasy.

The exam was already over – why did she still have to endure this kind of torment?

She tapped the refresh button, but the interface didn’t change. Ahead, deliberately softened footsteps approached. It was Xiang Yunjian and a few others, carrying large and small bags as they came out of the room.

Xiang Yunjian tilted his head toward her, pressed his hand on her shoulder, turned her around, and pushed her toward the exit.

Only when they reached a place where they could talk did the group finally relax.

The special simulation test at the military university was essentially the final exam for all subjects. Moreover, they had been tested for three consecutive days. By now, the campus was completely empty, and no one was in sight in the teaching district.

Leaving the building, the cold air from outside immediately rushed in, dissipating the stuffiness that had accumulated over the past few days.

Jiang Linxia tugged at his collar, and his words poured out like a dam breaking. “I’m dying here. Language is such a great skill – living in an uninhabited zone is basically pushing humanity backward! I haven’t talked to anyone for three days. Three days, and no one has talked to me!”

Xin Kuang chuckled softly. “Doesn’t seem like you’ve been talking any less, though. Even just reading the written record of your ramblings would feel noisy.”

Jiang Linxia jabbed him with his elbow, laughing as he cursed, “Get lost. Communication – can it happen with one person missing?”

Xin Kuang pressed Jiang Linxia’s arm down, turned his head to look at Cheng Feng, and casually asked, “So, Cheng Feng, how are you spending the New Year?”

Cheng Feng looked confused. “We don’t celebrate the Spring Festival where I’m from.”

“Oh, right. I keep forgetting and thinking you’re from the Capital Star,” Xin Kuang said. “So where are you going for the holiday?”

Cheng Feng said, “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just stay at the dorms.”

“Stay at the dorms? There’s no on-campus drill this year. The dormitories and the cafeteria will both be closed during the Spring Festival. Where are you going to stay?” Jiang Linxia asked, puzzled. “Didn’t your class get the notice? Didn’t your advisor arrange something for you?”

Cheng Feng looked troubled. “Huh…?”

Her group chat had been flooded with messages every day. Lately, with finals to deal with, Cheng Feng hadn’t paid attention to anything other than her studies.

“It’s okay,” Cheng Feng said, used to it. “I can stay anywhere.”

Jiang Linxia joked, “The Alliance doesn’t allow kids to sleep on the streets – it’s bad for the city’s image.”

Cheng Feng was taken aback, then said dejectedly, “Why is your Alliance so inhumane?”

“You actually want to sleep on the streets?!” Jiang Linxia was shocked by her absurd idea and reached out to ruffle her hair. “You might as well go ask a stray children’s shelter, kid.”

Cheng Feng dodged deftly, ran to the other side, straightened her cap, and said, “I’m not a kid.”

Xin Kuang teased, “It’s fine. Yan Shen is even older than you.”

Cheng Feng shot a surprised glance at Yan Shen, her eyes practically saying, “This guy’s something else.”

Yan Shen: “…” What did I do to deserve this?

Xiang Yunjian explained with amusement, “He’s talking about my place.”

He pulled out his optical computer and quickly tapped a few keys on the screen.

“Let me ask my mom. She has an apartment near her company, but she doesn’t stay there often. You can crash at her place for a couple of days – you probably won’t run into her much. The quilt on the bed is clean – I washed it after I last used it. If you mind, you can bring your own to change.”

Cheng Feng hesitated, feeling too embarrassed to impose on a stranger’s home. Before she could make up her mind, a miserable cat’s cry came by the roadside. Immediately after, two balls of brightly colored fluff flew out from the freshly trimmed low shrubs, still tangled together as they hit the ground and continued their fierce fight.

On the university campus, a few stray cats usually roamed around. Since the students fed them well and were quite lenient, the cats had grown bold and unruly, doing whatever they pleased on school grounds.

Cheng Feng looked closely and saw a heavyweight tabby cat pinning down a ball of white fur, scratching it fiercely. The little owl, with its explosive tuft of feathers, fought back just as fiercely, refusing to back down.

But the safety settings of the intelligent robot meant it was destined to lose against this orange cat. No matter how precisely it pecked at the cat, the result was always the same – the stray cat’s claws would tear off a layer of its synthetic skin.

The two little creatures rolled wildly across the ground, scattering white feathers everywhere. The scene of the brawl was so brutal that Cheng Feng gasped sharply and held her breath for a long time.

Detecting Cheng Feng’s presence, the little owl’s counterattack program immediately escalated to a new level.

After all, its predecessor was a combat robot. Even though most of its database had been wiped, the instinct to fight remained deeply embedded in its programming. It couldn’t accept losing in front of its owner.

Aside from its harmless little beak kisses, as a former dangerous, violent, high-risk prohibited item, it must have retained other attack skills.

So the next second, everyone watched as the little owl’s eyes began flashing in a riot of colors. And with each color change, the tabby cat’s attacks only became more ferocious.

Jiang Linxia watched the spectacular brawl between these two unlikely combatants and uttered two words in sheer awe. “…Damn impressive.”

Cheng Feng ran over, trying to rescue her friend. The orange cat, unafraid of humans, refused to leave. Only when Cheng Feng stomped her feet in desperation did the cat let out a loud yowl and scamper away.

Cheng Feng picked up the little owl to examine it and found that at least half of its outer layer of feathers had been torn off. Its beak was moving nonstop, murmuring something. Leaning in closer, she could make out a string of complex attack codes – enough to pin the orange cat to the ground and thrash it over and over.

Its body might not be able to do it, but its spirit would never admit defeat! Cheng Feng couldn’t help but feel deep sympathy for it.

Who says robots have no feelings? Cheng Feng could strongly feel its resentment, humiliation, and anger.

How tragic.

She smoothed down its feathers, and after tidying them up, realized it was so bald that its appearance had been severely affected. It needed repairs.

After a long, wide-eyed stare at the little bald owl, Cheng Feng suddenly remembered the hefty repair cost. Her hand trembled, and sorrow welled up inside her.

Jiang Linxia deeply shared her sentiment and laughed out loud in sympathy. Afraid that Cheng Feng might take her frustration out on him, he quickly scurried away from the side.

Xiang Yunjian was silent for a moment, then said, “She said it’s fine. I’ve sent you the address. We’ll be in touch by then. I’m going back first to pack my things.”

Along with the address came a red envelope – much more compassionate than Jiang Linxia’s reaction.

After some hesitation, Cheng Feng accepted the red envelope and went to get the little owl’s feathers restored.

The commercial street was deserted during the holiday break. Cheng Feng asked the store clerk about the repair costs and was told that for this level of damage, the original feather replacement would cost at least four thousand credits.

If she went with knockoff materials, it would only be a thousand credits, but the feathers wouldn’t be as soft or high-quality as the originals.

The three-thousand-credit difference could buy countless small cakes.

Cheng Feng’s heart was torn with struggle. After an intense internal battle, she managed to resist the temptation of good food and decided that no matter how poor she was, she couldn’t shortchange her little companion.

If others had nice things, her little owl couldn’t go without!

After paying the bill and powering down the little owl robot before handing it over to the clerk, Cheng Feng squatted dejectedly by the door, sinking into a state of utter listlessness.

Her optical computer buzzed. She raised her wrist and saw it was a message from Mr. Kong.

Mr. Kong: I saw your final score on the backend [thumbs up]. You did very well. You should be able to get the San Yao scholarship this year.

Mr. Kong: Don’t walk with Yan Shen anymore. That guy’s luck is definitely a bit off.

Mr. Kong: Oh, by the way, you can come to my place for the New Year. My wife is a great cook, and she really likes young girls. I mentioned it to her, and she’d be happy to have you as a guest.

Cheng Feng read the messages twice, then carefully typed out her reply.

Ye Guicheng: I’m going to Xiang Yunjian’s place.

Mr. Kong was clearly nervous. The top of the chat box kept showing “typing…” but no message appeared.

After deleting and retyping several times, he finally sent a very reluctant response.

Mr. Kong: Oh, I know about his family. His mother is very busy with work and basically doesn’t cook for herself.

Cheng Feng thought the message sounded a bit sour. She wanted to say she could just buy food, but then realized that the word “buy” felt a bit beyond her means right now.

Mr. Kong: If you’re not comfortable staying there, you can always come to my place.

Cheng Feng was always polite in response to others’ sincere concern, and she knew that the fierce-looking, hot-tempered middle-aged man on the other end had been showing her his gentleness all along – even if his methods were a bit clumsy.

Cheng Feng carefully sent back a [grinning face] emoji, then closed the chat window.

During the holiday, Cheng Feng still stayed on campus for a few more days.

The time off left her at a loss, and the growing festive atmosphere around her felt deeply unfamiliar.

On post-war planets, festivals weren’t really a thing. The biggest celebration was probably the anniversary of the war’s end.

On that day, the orphanage would give the children a bowl of bone broth with a piece of meat. Cheng Feng could also queue up at the central square to receive a bowl of thick, sweet porridge. The people around her would, for once, become uncharacteristically kind and willing to forgive minor mistakes.

But there was always a heaviness to this kind of celebration – it wasn’t exactly a riot of joy.

When Cheng Feng browsed San Yao out of boredom, she could clearly feel the difference in a peaceful country. As the New Year approached, even the strategy section of San Yao had completely changed its tone.

“Too Late! Essential New Year’s Shopping List (Dehydrated Version)!”

“Exposing Scammers: This Store Raised Prices Before Lowering Them Again. These Cheap Businessmen Who Can’t Take a Loss Should Get the Hell Out of My Wallet!”

“This year, why hasn’t San Yao released a co-branded version of red thermal underwear? Without it, I’d rather freeze to death this winter than wear thermal underwear at all!”

Cheng Feng’s wallet was already pretty lean. She thought that with her worldly experience, she could definitely resist temptation – she just wanted to get a taste of the festive spirit from the Capital Star and see what crazy things people were buying at the end of the year.

After browsing two posts, Cheng Feng resolutely deleted the forum app and decided not to re-download it until after the Spring Festival.

…The sales traps of the Alliance couldn’t even be simply described as “terrifying.”

A couple of days later, her academic advisor sent a notice saying the school dorms would be closed and that Cheng Feng needed to move out temporarily. The advisor also repeatedly confirmed whether she needed any help.

Before Cheng Feng could even contact Xiang Yunjian, he – as if possessing some kind of god-mode perspective – directly created a small group chat.

Xiang Yunjian: [Image] Anything else we need to buy?

Xiang Yunjian: I just borrowed a car. I’ll come pick you up now. Is that okay with you guys?

The image showed various snacks – a full ten-plus bags.

Cheng Feng casually opened it, then her eyes suddenly widened. She checked several times – inside were her favorite small cakes, chocolates, braised chicken legs, and a bunch of things from the “must-buy” list that she couldn’t afford at all.

Holding her breath, she saw Yan Shen reply.

A Little More Reckless: Okay, wait for me.

Cheng Feng quickly followed suit.

Ye Guicheng: I’m good too!