Dark Moon Era

Fastening the last button on his purple uniform, Yang Kong walked out of his office with a rather agitated face.

The new cadets of the First Reserved Camp were coming in which meant that he would be having some very busy days in the next two months.

The depletion of energy in the Genetic Chain Measuring Machine was also another troublesome matter.

In fact, during each activation, the cosmic energy that it absorbed was not enough to support the exhaustion of each test. The machine had to accumulate energy on normal days in order to be sufficient for the examination day.

During the exam for the new batch of reserved warriors, the machine obviously had 80% energy left, but after that, the energy was depleted.

It should not have happened. According to normal calculations, even if a Purple Moon Warrior went in to test their training progress, it could have supported at least 30 or more warriors with that amount of energy, let alone several reserved warriors.

Therefore, a thorough machine-wide scan was necessary to find out the problem. Even if the test returned fine, recharging the energy would take up to half a month, and the machine could not be used during the charging period.

All these were troublesome trivial matters and the whole sector could only rely on Yang Kong to solve it.

A scientist was an even more precious talent than a Purple Moon Warrior. Technically speaking, Yang Kong was not exactly a scientist. He could, at most, be recognized as a reserved candidate.

“Which little rascal depleted the energy?” Yang Kong could not help but suspect the candidates as he walked along the quiet corridor and recalled every detail from the exam.

Was it Tang Ling? Yang Kong shook his head. It was impossible.

He only had a three-star Genetic Chain Potential. Even if his spirit displayed talent, the spirit was not an independent ability and still had to rely on the Genetic Chain Talent.

The talent that was displayed at the start could only be considered as a healthy start in development, but the exhaustion of the cosmic energy was closely related to the spirit.

In an environment filled with cosmic energy, a person with strong potential but had yet to grow could also rely on the cosmic energy to support his spirit to perform outstandingly. The potential was strong after all.

Only such a situation could explain the depletion of energy in the measuring machine.

“Could it be Amir?” A five-star Genetic Chain Talent was something to look forward to. Aside from the other details, all of Amir’s stats had higher growth potential than the others.

With the chaotic questions in his mind, Yang Kong walked past Fei Long’s office. He looked at the shut door and could not help but grumble, “He claims that this batch is the most outstanding one, but in the end, he still tossed the responsibility to others and ran away.”

It was not Fei Long’s fault either. Safety Sector No. 17 might seem safe and sound, but in fact, the external and internal threats were getting more and more obvious.

Fei Long held great responsibility. After the exam, he led three teams of Purple Moon Warriors to that ‘place’.

Yang Kong started to worry about Fei Long because that ‘place’ was exceptionally dangerous. He could not help but think of what the Lord Castellan once said.

Everything changed because of the environment. All kinds of prodigies coming into the world might not hint at a peaceful world but might be signs of a bigger threat coming their way.

Thinking about the sector had just welcomed a real five-star talent that had not grown fully, a trace of worry flashed in Yang Kong’s eyes.

“How much worse can this era get?”

******

In Glory Square, the seven new reserved warriors of the First Reserved Camp had arrived.

They were all standing in a straight line under the statue of the castellan of Safety Sector No. 17 like seven young cedar trees. They might be young but their straight postures emanated vitality.

Tang Ling stood at the end of the line. This time, even Orston did not complain and ask Tang Ling to stand in the third position. From a hero in terms of combat ability to a hero in terms of potential, everything was a consideration.

However, Amir did not take the first position either. Yu and Orston refused to give up their positions as first and second.

It was only because of Amir’s kindness. If it were Tang Ling, he would have snatched the first position. It was his right to stand and reap the harvest from that position, so he would never step down if it was his.

However, the Perfect Genetic Chain was a secret.

Pondering upon the jumble of knowledge in his head, Tang Ling stood quietly under the light of dawn.

The sun was not that harsh yet, so it did not emanate crazy heat. Dawn and dusk were the best times to stand under the sun.

If the instructor before them could slightly tone down his gaze, it would be even better. Tang Ling could not get used to being sized up multiple times by a stranger as it was uncomfortable.

However, Instructor Thuja did not care whether the little warriors liked it or not.

He was pleased inside though. This time, the first round of exams was very harsh, yet seven younglings were able to emerge. In the past exams, there were not more than five each time, and sometimes none at all. Two to three was the standard number of individuals that made it through.

Since there were seven this time, he ought to grind them and train them harshly.

With that thought in mind, Thuja’s expression showed a smile with extra kindness, but every other reserved warrior at the scene felt chill take over their hearts.

Fortunately, the instructor did not plan to keep quiet. His frosty smile lasted for less than a few seconds.

After he recovered his poker face, Thuja simply said, “Follow me.” He did not even introduce himself.

Whether it was intentional or if he had gotten used to his own pace, after Thuja told the reserved warriors to follow him, he did not even pause and strode towards the back of Glory Square.

His pace was not exactly fast, but everyone behind him had to jog to keep up with him. Three minutes later, jogging could not cut it anymore, so everyone started to run. Five minutes later, they had to sprint at full speed to barely catch a glimpse of Thuja’s shadow.

Ten minutes later, if they had not maintained their full speed, they would not even know where Thuja had gone.

However, sprinting at maximum speed was not something they could maintain for a long time.

Even the tenacious Tang Ling was panting. His throat was burning as if he had swallowed fire. Despite that, he was still in third place with Amir closely behind him. Living a hard life in the settlement was not entirely without perks.

The others started to fall behind to the point that they went out of sight.

Instructor Thuja seemed to like the little game. He purposely brought the bunch of reserved warriors to run around and they almost visited half of the entire inner city.

At the end, when even Yu could not catch up with his speed, Thuja slowed down and started to go back to search for the lost little warriors.

Another five minutes later, all the reserved warriors were gathered under a residential house, panting heavily. They did not even have the strength left to stand straight.

Thuja said in an upset tone, “So, you are the new warriors of the First? You can’t even sprint all the way to camp! Since every one of you is still new, I’ll give you all a second chance. Whosoever cannot keep up, I’m sorry but I’ll have to disqualify you.”