TCFGBH Chapter 86

The discussion reached a stalemate.

As a military academy student, Edwin wanted a strong and dependable captain, not a pretty vase who relied on privilege to seize the position and then did nothing.

Unfortunately, in the Imperial Capital, very few dared to go against Xia Yan.

Grinding his teeth, Edwin glared at the languid young man who was clearly shirking responsibility. Then, reluctantly, he turned to Ludwig, who rarely spoke. “Vice Captain, do you have a plan?”

This was a reluctant acknowledgment of someone’s earlier actions.

Xia Yan felt a spark of joy in his heart. His eyes darted sneakily to steal a glance at the protagonist gong, waiting for him to reveal his brilliance and dominate the situation.

However, just as he looked over, Ludwig happened to glance his way.

Their eyes met briefly but intensely before breaking apart.

The arrogance in Xia Yan’s golden eyes was momentarily absent, replaced with curiosity and anticipation—like a big cat waiting for its favorite toy.

Ludwig’s fingers curled instinctively, his fingertips itching. For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly had the urge to touch something.

This unfamiliar emotion puzzled him.

His icy blue eyes, typically devoid of warmth, now flickered with confusion.

Why was Xia Yan looking at him with such eager expectation?

Xia Yan Gardner… What a strange person.

Ludwig was momentarily lost in thought, and it took several calls from Edwin and Betty to bring him back to reality. Setting aside the unfamiliar emotions, he looked at his expectant teammates and said coldly, “Let’s follow the captain’s plan.”

The team: “???”

Xia Yan, who had been pretending to admire the scenery after getting caught peeking: “???”

What?! It’s bad enough for the scapegoat to slack off, but why is the protagonist gong doing it too?!

“The Zerg are diverse, prolific breeders, fearless of death, greedy, and brutal. Planets occupied by them are left barren, like a locust swarm leaving nothing in its wake.”

Ludwig began by reciting material straight out of the first-year textbook. “Currently, 357 known types of Zerg exist, and we have no idea which species the school will use for this exercise.”

Analyzing the battlefield hinged on two key factors: the enemy and the terrain.

The enemy species was unknown. As for the terrain, everyone had been to Training Field No. 1 countless times—it was just a plain, flat field with no cover or traps. There was nothing to analyze.

The three teammates quickly realized the implications, exchanging uneasy glances.

Thinking about it that way… it seemed Xia Yan’s plan wasn’t actually wrong.

Zhao Jiang, always quick to react, immediately seized the moment to heap praise. “As expected of the top cadet—he cuts through the surface to grasp the essence of the problem, perfectly pinpointing the key factors!”

Xia Yan remained expressionless. “…” No! That’s not it! Don’t praise me!”

Edwin and Betty, who had been the most vocal earlier, now wore awkward expressions. However, admitting they were wrong and apologizing to Xia Yan was absolutely out of the question.

They kept their heads down, refusing to speak.

Xia Yan… Xia Yan was losing it.

Who says there’s nothing to analyze?!

Sure, Zerg species were diverse, but their breeding cycles differed. Considering the season, the border war situation, and the capacity of the transport ships, it was possible to narrow down the likely “enemy” species.

The Central Military Academy wasn’t full of idiots. In three days, anyone could memorize the narrowed-down species’ behavioral traits and attack methods by sheer rote learning.

From there, they could create Plans A, B, C, D, and E to address different scenarios.

Thinking about the pile of information in his mind and the upcoming live combat three days later, Xia Yan felt the urgency of time. He decided not to waste any more of it in the classroom, quickly packed his things, and left without hesitation.

Ludwig, who had been quicker to act and managed to avoid being caught watching him, was left behind: “…” Staring.

Zhao Jiang was dumbfounded. “He just left like that?”

Betty, still stunned, muttered, “There’s… nothing much left for us to discuss here anyway.”

“…” Zhao Jiang hesitated, glancing around the classroom.

Since it was their first live Zerg combat mission, everyone in Class 3A was on high alert. Even if there wasn’t much to discuss, they all chose to stay and familiarize themselves with their teammates.

Xia Yan was the only one who left.

Naturally, this drew some criticism.

—

#A certain someone who doesn’t get along with his teammates in live combat classes#

#A completely useless captain#

…

That night, the campus forum was once again in an uproar, full of heated debates and accusations.

Meanwhile, the subject of their discussions was hard at work drafting a detailed report. Filtering out the Zerg species that were either too elusive to capture and could only be killed or those too weak to provide any meaningful training, Xia Yan finally narrowed the list down to twenty-nine potential species.

He painstakingly compiled them into a report, including illustrations for each species, detailed descriptions, weaknesses, and recommended strategies for dealing with them. Starting at 3:30 in the afternoon, he worked all the way until past 7:00 in the evening, producing over 10,000 words.

If Ludwig hadn’t been in their dorm today, Xia Yan would have definitely used voice input.

Why was he here today of all days?

Xia Yan was filled with silent frustration, sneaking a glare in Ludwig’s direction—only to be caught once again. How did Ludwig always notice his little actions?

Awkwardly, he retracted his gaze and sent the finalized report to their team chat.

[Information provided by my family.]

[PDF report on Zerg species most likely to appear in live combat, analyzed based on reproductive cycles and seasons.]

To conceal his efforts, Xia Yan chose the most official-sounding file name possible.

“Buzz~”

Ludwig’s smart device vibrated softly. He opened the group chat and, seeing that the message was from Xia Yan, stared at him for a few seconds before clicking to download it.

Soon, the file showed four additional downloads.

Zhao Jiang: [Thanks, Captain. This information is very useful.]

Betty hesitated for a moment before adding: [Thanks for the trouble, Captain.]

Edwin downloaded the file silently without saying anything.

Ludwig looked at the screen for a moment and typed: [Thank you.]

Xia Yan, who was sharing the same dorm room: “???”

Whatever! It didn’t matter! The report was done, and since it wasn’t yet time for his scheduled meeting with the protagonist shou, he could finally hop into the holo-world and play some mecha battles.

His face lit up with excitement as he quickly donned his VR headset and entered the virtual world.

Ludwig, who had just been ignored: “…”