Chapter 52: Chapter 31: Labor Punishment

“Huh?” Su Jiameng was dumbfounded, why am I being punished too? And punishing two beautiful officers to clean up, feels like this guy has no sense of pity at all, “Why do I have to?”

“Miss Su is not an Alliance soldier, so a minor reprimand is sufficient. But for you two, after the punishment you’ll need to write a deeply thoughtful self-critique!” Though the crew-cut officer showed no expression, the cold anger in his eyes was palpable, “Explain thoroughly what mistakes you made earlier, where exactly you went wrong!”

The Alliance military is relatively lax; internal conflicts aren’t surprising, but airing these disagreements publicly and becoming a laughingstock is absolutely intolerable! Having said this, the captain strode away with great vigor amidst the solemnity of all onlookers holding their breath, while Su Jiameng sourly scratched her nose. Sometimes, having a sharp tongue isn’t always a good thing…

Training Room 39 is huge, at least four times larger than a rescue warship. Su Jiameng and her two companions could only endure cleaning with bitter frustration. Of course, given Private Wan’s poor social standing, she worked alone, while An Xiangjiao openly and secretly helped Su Jiameng. In An Xiangjiao’s view, Su Jiameng was just an ordinary commoner, and such a large workload would exhaust her.

Due to the cleaning task, Su Jiameng had no time to train in the training room; once finished, she returned with An Xiangjiao. Just as she was about to use her key card to enter her room, An Xiangjiao’s cool voice rang out, “I want to apologize for today’s incident, as for Private Wan… I hope you pay attention to her; her temperament means she won’t easily let things go. If there’s nothing going on, staying in the room is safer… That’s all I have to say.”

Watching the spectacle-wearing officer enter her room, Su Jiameng dully scratched her nose. After replenishing nutrient liquid for two obedient eggs, Su Jiameng performed the intermediate physical training moves thrice until her body started feeling uncomfortable, then stopped. She showered and rolled onto the cot, logging into the virtual network. As soon as she got online, K3 teased, “Heard someone got punished?”

Su Jiameng wordlessly glanced at him and muttered, “Yeah, first time feeling the training room being so big is a scam.”

“Xiao Meng got punished? What’s going on?” Xu Na, while warming up, overheard the conversation and turned to Su Jiameng, “Earlier, Boss Qin said Xiao Meng would log in late today, also because of this punishment?”

Su Jiameng helplessly recounted the whole story, “Then I was punished to clean the training room… Looking back, seems like I’m on a path to my doom, offending a captain. Don’t know if they’ll make my life difficult later…”

Lucy, tinkering with her mecha, took a moment to quip to Su Jiameng, “When you say this, can’t you at least pretend to be a little scared and remorseful? Honestly, you seem pretty proud, not ashamed at all.”

Xu Na added, “Should say you’re really carefree, but Xiao Meng’s boldness is surprising, daring to openly mock an officer.”

Su Jiameng shrugged, indicating she still quite respects officers, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m a law-abiding citizen. I respect officers greatly, but Private Wan’s behavior I find a bit unacceptable.”

Influenced by her past life, she holds Alliance soldiers in high regard. She knows that in any group, there are a few bad apples, but when this reality stares her in the face, Su Jiameng finds it hard to accept.

Since her four pals are Alliance soldiers reserves, she didn’t linger on this topic for long. Once they adjusted their state, they all participated in a team battle. Compared to before, this match was obviously more challenging, but fortunately, they secured victory. After the competition, Su Jiameng frowned, feeling something’s off with recent matches.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Meng?” K3 was panting heavily, drenched in sweat, with a slightly damp towel on his head, expression tired, “After this match, you’ve maintained this look, feeling something’s amiss?”

Su Jiameng shook her head, not wanting to add to their mental burden. The higher the consecutive wins, the more pressure K3 and the others have to bear. Considering the current situation, whether in terms of time or mental state, if they break the winning streak, forgetting five thousand points is one thing, but the fear is this would leave a lasting scar on their hearts.

“I’m just thinking about tomorrow’s challenge match…” Su Jiameng casually lied, shifting her gaze away, looking at the mecha not far away, “Although I don’t take those rookies seriously, one against fifty is still quite stressful.”

“Only worrying about these things now, Xiao Meng’s reflexes are quite slow.” Xu Na commented while toweling her hair, shaking her head, “I’ve already checked out the challenge list for day one, seems there’s no real threats. But the idea of one against fifty… just thinking about it is daunting. If you can’t hold out, remember to speak up; it’s not worth forcing it.”

“Of course I know that! But if I lose to those folks, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get over it myself.” Su Jiameng stretched lazily, suddenly thought of something, and asked, “I remember the Mecha Fighting Arena has a mecha scanning section, right? Can scan real-life mechas into the virtual platform…”

PS: The exams are finally over, feels like escaping from hell ╥﹏╥…

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep