"You can be more invincible than me?!" Shen Ning’Er leaned forward.

"I *am* invincible!" Gao Neng didn’t back down, meeting her challenge head-on.

"..."

Time seemed to stop in that moment.

The auras of both were incredibly powerful, clashing head-on.

Their Spiritual Power collided in the air. Unconsciously, their bodies drew closer and closer, until their faces were nearly touching.

"You really do have Spiritual Power! I sensed it back at the underground factory, but I couldn’t confirm it!" Shen Ning’Er’s eyes were bright.

"Well, now you’ve confirmed it! I can release my Spiritual Power and perceive my surroundings with perfect clarity!" Gao Neng didn’t hide it. The truth about his Spiritual Power was bound to come out sooner or later.

"Very well, then. I’ll be waiting! You said it yourself: in three years, if you can’t beat me, I’ll beat you to death!"

"And what if I win?!"

"Then I, Shen Ning’Er, will give you a *real* full service package!" After saying her piece, she didn’t spare Gao Neng another glance and walked straight out the door.

’A real full service package? Is she trying to latch onto me?’ Gao Neng’s expression was strange. ’If I’d known, I would have proposed a five-year plan. The odds would’ve been better.’

He didn’t dwell on it, though.

’Who cares? We’ll see in three years. Maybe in three years, I’ll have become a War God myself.’

...

「At the military training base, in the physical aptitude training room.」

Shen Ning’Er stared intently at the training machine before her. Her aura was at its peak, Spiritual Power enveloping her fist, causing the very air around her to tremble.

BOOM! 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

She slammed a fist into the training machine.

The machine shuddered violently.

A terrifying number instantly appeared on its display.

Explosive Force: 20188

Standing guard behind Shen Ning’Er, Chen Bai’s face went slack. He stared at the number on the training machine, momentarily stunned.

But he quickly recovered.

"Major, you... you had a breakthrough?!"

"Mm, go make the arrangements. Gao Neng is still waiting. I’ll cover the cost of the energy materials for his breakthrough!" Shen Ning’Er nodded, retracting her externalized Spiritual Power.

"Yes, ma’am!" Chen Bai nodded and immediately withdrew.

Shen Ning’Er, however, threw another punch.

Another strike.

The number on the training machine refreshed.

Explosive Force: 20866

’"Full mastery over marrow, muscle, and blood? Able to exert 200% of his strength? What a load of crap!"’ Shen Ning’Er gritted her teeth and threw another punch. ’"But the Spiritual Power is real, even if it’s much weaker than mine... And they did detect an unknown energy in his blood. Hmph! I’d like to see just how strong you can possibly be!"’

...

「In the room.」

Gao Neng had no idea what was happening outside.

He was waiting.

He believed his reasoning had been enough to persuade Shen Ning’Er.

And as he expected, it wasn’t long before Chen Bai appeared before him, though the look in the lieutenant’s eyes was clearly a bit strange.

"What in the world did you do to Major Shen?" Chen Bai was truly shocked. He knew that Shen Ning’Er had been stuck at her current stage for some time.

But in just this short a time, Shen Ning’Er had actually achieved a breakthrough?

And most importantly, she had actually given Gao Neng the energy materials for his breakthrough. This was not at all in line with her usual way of doing things.

’What kind of dirty trick did this kid pull?’

"Nothing much. Just did her once," Gao Neng said with a nonchalant expression. ’I paid the 50,000 service fee. Can’t exactly say I did nothing, right?’

’Would I even be a man then?’

A man’s got to have some pride.

Gao Neng thought nothing of it.

But Chen Bai’s eyes went wide. He truly wanted to slap Gao Neng to death.

’This guy’s got some real nerve!’

’To openly slander Shen Ning’Er’s reputation in front of an Alliance officer... Isn’t he afraid that if someone overheard, he’d be beaten to death?’

"Ahem... Gao Neng, there’s something I think I need to remind you about. Do you know Major Shen’s true identity?" Chen Bai felt he really had to give Gao Neng a heads-up. Otherwise, if Gao Neng actually went to the City of Hope and started spouting this nonsense, getting beaten to death would be a light punishment.

"Sure I do. She’s an Alliance Major." Of course Gao Neng knew that.

"Major Shen is more than just a simple Alliance Major... You... you really don’t know that the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Military Department is also named Shen?" Chen Bai was a bit speechless.

"I know now. Is there a problem?" Gao Neng’s face was calm.

"If you say there’s no problem... then I guess there’s no problem." Chen Bai froze, then immediately wanted to slap himself. ’Was I really just being nosy?’

’So this guy knew all along!’

’What a badass!’

’Wait a minute...’

’If this guy really knew Shen Ning’Er’s identity, there’s no way he’d dare to spout such nonsense. Which means... what he said just now might actually be true?!’

’This guy really... did *that* with Major Shen?’

’Holy shit!’

’Doesn’t that mean this guy is basically a "Prince Consort-in-waiting"?!’

"Lieutenant Chen, if there are no other issues, can I go to the isolation pod for my breakthrough now?" Gao Neng prompted, seeing Chen Bai just standing there motionless.

"Ah? Of course! I’m here to take you for your breakthrough!" Chen Bai immediately snapped out of it, his tone unconsciously shifting to use a respectful form of address with Gao Neng.

’Huh? He’s pretty sharp... Does he know I’ll be invincible after my breakthrough, so this Chen fellow is trying to suck up to me in advance? Mm, not bad perception!’ Gao Neng was slightly surprised, but quickly dismissed it.

His entire mind was now focused on his breakthrough.

In truth, he hadn’t quite caught the full meaning of what Chen Bai had said earlier.

However, after Chen Bai led him out of the room and he felt a cool breeze, he suddenly felt that something about what Chen Bai said had been off.

’What did Chen Bai say just now?’

’The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Military Department... is also named Shen?’

’What does that mean?’

’Why would Chen Bai deliberately remind me that the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Military Department is also named Shen?’

’Wait!’

’Deputy Commander-in-Chief!’

’Is Shen Ning’Er’s father or grandfather the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Military Department?!’

’Does it have to be so dramatic?’

’This is going to be the death of me...’

"Um... Lieutenant Chen, what I said earlier was just a joke, you believe me, right?" Gao Neng wasn’t a coward; he just believed a man should know when to stand firm and when to yield.

"What words?" Chen Bai was a perceptive man and instantly understood Gao Neng’s meaning. "Don’t worry, I didn’t hear a thing!"

"..." Gao Neng was speechless.

’This Chen Bai... he didn’t actually believe me, did he?’

’What is he thinking!’

’It was only ten or twenty minutes. That’s not nearly enough time! After all, I’m someone who can use ’Lifeform Transformation’!’

Just as he was thinking this, Chen Bai had already led him to a room.

It was a room filled with all sorts of instruments and surveillance monitors of various sizes. In addition, inside a glass enclosure, there were five huge isolation pods.

The isolation pods were built in an oval shape, looking somewhat like eggs.

But they were much larger than eggs.

They were a full four meters tall and nearly three meters wide, with various metal pipes of unknown material running across them, in addition to some buttons.

This was Gao Neng’s first time seeing an isolation pod. Curiosity and excitement drove all other thoughts from his mind.

Just then, a familiar figure appeared before Gao Neng. It was the same Dr. Lan that Shen Ning’Er had introduced him to earlier.

"Well now, it’s Gao Neng, isn’t it? We meet again!" Dr. Lan was very enthusiastic, her eyes constantly scanning Gao Neng up and down.

"..." Gao Neng immediately had that feeling of being seen right through again.

"Hello, Dr. Lan. I’ve brought Gao Neng for a physical examination. If there are no issues, he will enter an isolation pod to undergo his breakthrough!" Chen Bai seemed very respectful toward Dr. Lan.

"Excellent. In that case, let’s just do the physical inside the isolation pod," Dr. Lan nodded, then walked right up to Gao Neng. "Take off your clothes."

"Take off my clothes?" Gao Neng was startled.

"Of course you have to take off your clothes. Do you need my help?" Dr. Lan said with a smile.

"Gao Neng, hurry up and get changed. You have to wear a special isolation suit to enter the pod. The changing room is right over there. We’ll look after your clothes for you," Chen Bai explained.

"Understood." Gao Neng said no more and went into the adjacent changing room.

Inside were several sets of brand-new clothes.

They were made of a black material that felt very breathable to the touch. They looked similar to military uniforms, but there was no place to attach a rank insignia, and there wasn’t a single piece of metal on the entire outfit.

Gao Neng found an isolation suit that fit, changed into it, and came back out.

The door to the glass enclosure was already open.

Chen Bai gestured for Gao Neng to follow him inside.

Gao Neng didn’t hesitate much. Since he was already here, he figured he’d just let them take the lead. He followed Chen Bai’s instructions and got into an isolation pod inside the glass enclosure.

Chen Bai then helped by pressing various buttons on the outside of the pod, after which the pod’s glass door closed.

The world before Gao Neng’s eyes instantly transformed into a starry sky.

The sky had a moon and stars, each one twinkling with brilliant light. It felt as if he were floating in outer space.

Most importantly, he couldn’t hear a single sound.

Chen Bai had disappeared.

He couldn’t hear any outside sounds at all.

’The soundproofing is really good.’

’From what Shen Ning’Er said, the breakthrough process is quite long. Breaking one human limit takes about a week, two takes two weeks, and four would take at least a month.’

’A whole month...’

’Half of my wonderful summer vacation will be gone just like that.’

’Wait.’

’Did I forget something?’

’If I have to stay in here for a month, how am I supposed to submit my college application?’

"Wait, I haven’t submitted my college application yet! Chen Bai, are you out there? If you can hear me, let me out! I’ll come back for the breakthrough after I submit my application! Hey! Hey! Hey!" Gao Neng frantically pounded on the isolation pod.

...

「Outside the glass enclosure.」

Chen Bai watched Gao Neng struggling inside the isolation pod. He couldn’t understand what Gao Neng was trying to do, so he could only turn his gaze to Dr. Lan.

"Gao Neng’s mood seems a bit off? He was fine just a moment ago. Should we open the pod?"

"This is normal. You can’t hear outside sounds in the pod, you can only see the starry sky. Many people can’t adapt right away and develop a sense of anxiety. We have a solution for this. A little jolt of electricity is all it takes." After speaking, Dr. Lan pressed a button in front of her marked with a lightning bolt symbol.

ZZZT!

A sound of electric current buzzed.

The inside of the isolation pod fell silent.

"See? All better now, right? Don’t you worry. Leave everything to us. We’re professionals!" Dr. Lan gave Chen Bai a slight smile.