The Star Knight

For a period of sixty days, the person in charge of the college arranged board and lodging. There were very few recruits, and almost all of them looked nervous. They arrived in Battle Star City from all over the country. At first, no one dared to speak, let alone move around.Afraid of any harsh training.

It turned out to be unexpectedly relaxed. The teacher who came to class looked like he was not a regular teacher at all, but an alien dozing off with mucus all over his body.

A few days ago, I talked about the history of Lie Xing. Lie Xing was established in the 300th year of the Guang Era. At first, it was some foreign visitors who came to the God of War galaxy. This part of people can be traced back to the ancient human era.

Lie Xing's ancestors were a group of criminals, including soldiers who participated in the revolution and eventually failed.They killed the captain during the escort and left the constraints of the interstellar community.

At that time, the republic and the empire had not yet split, and they were collectively called the interstellar community. There were too many areas in the universe that had not been explored, the order was in chaos, and the star space gate had not yet established a perfect node and network.The human life span is less than 100 years, so the greeting "May you live a hundred years" has been handed down, until the common life expectancy reaches more than [-] years, mercenaries are still used to congratulate each other with this sentence—perhaps " "Hundred years old" has become a virtual concept of "I wish you a happy death".

This part of the revolutionary army settled down on Liexing and organized an armed resistance alliance. Apart from adhering to the original revolutionary ideas, they also gradually formed their own political power.

The God of War galaxy more than 1 years ago belonged to the three-way zone in the universe. Interstellar drug trade, arms smuggling, murder and money laundering often used this place as a transit point.Over time, a black market for hired murderers has formed. After thousands of years of evolution, the first generation of revolutionary army and their descendants have died of old age on this planet. A new mercenary organization has risen to replace the armed resistance alliance and become the main force.

Most of them are composed of interstellar refugees, many of whom are fugitives and desperadoes. In order to avoid being wanted by the interstellar community, they come to the God of War galaxy to serve as mercenaries, accept commissions from all over the universe, and complete tasks.

Gradually, the Ares galaxy became synonymous with mercenaries. After participating in a civil war in the interstellar community, in 11207 of the Guang Era, the Milky Way and the Lion Galaxy were split, and the Republic and the Empire stepped onto their respective stages.

The mercenary force of the God of War galaxy played an extremely important role in this civil war, so after the civil war ended, it became an independent middle force.

At this time, Lie Xing was still in chaos. The quality of the mercenaries varied. There were nearly [-] million mercenaries. They interfered in the internal affairs of the country, massacred the rebels of the weak and small planets, bought and sold arms privately, gathered crowds to fight and make trouble, and elected the strongest to become the leader. and split into factions.

Until the appearance of the first mercenary king, he unified the status quo of the fragmented regime with thunderous means, and established the presidium system of the mercenary trade union.

The mercenary king created the Burning Star Constitution and retired into the background.

Since then, the country of mercenaries has been operating in an orderly manner according to the charter.The mercenary king became the spiritual leader of the entire galaxy, and after several revolutions, conflicts with the empire and the republic, and even a desperate war broke out once.

In the end, the new mercenary king Azeroth led the mercenaries to a beautiful victory. After the Republic withdrew its troops, the Star Alliance entered into a new agreement——the country of mercenaries does not allow prisoners from other galaxies to be accommodated or smuggled. Or, in exchange, the Empire and the Republic recognize the independent status of the God of War galaxy.

The consequences of this condition are huge. Death row prisoners, life sentences, smugglers, pirates and others are the main source of soldiers in the country of mercenaries. In this way, they have been reduced by nearly...

Opal was dizzy when he heard this, and sighed for the history of this galaxy.

The person next to him was expressionless and impatient.

"Azeroth is a very courageous person." Opal said.

"I knew it earlier." The classmate next to him said helplessly: "This is all the content of junior high school. You didn't attend the class?"

Opal shook his head and said, "I haven't studied."

The classmates looked at him strangely, Opal actually knew this history, and had seen it on Rector's chip a long time ago.But it is far less shocking than listening to lectures.

It's time for the end of get out of class, and the alien teacher with a drowsy face and slime face is still talking about history slowly.

"Don't delay the class!" The students booed one after another.

"Teacher! I wish you a long life!" Another student shouted, causing a burst of laughter.

The long-lived Angstar creatures are like snails, dragging out mucus and leaving slowly. They are all slime creatures. The brain neurons are all over the body, which can store a lot of information, but the thinking speed is very slow, just like a computer memory.

Opal said: "Mushu, let's have lunch together."

His deskmate stood up, stretched, and nodded.

"They can actually show holographic movies." Opal's tablemate Mu Shu said to him: "I don't know what education is called at all. When we were in Female Luoxing, we just stayed at home and watched holographic projections..."

Opal said: "I think this kind of education is good, at least it can let the students know each other."

"Perhaps." Mu Shu is a young man much older than Opal. He is very poor in the family of the female star Luo, and has six younger brothers to support. Take a chance on the galaxy.This reminds Opal of his former friend Oman on the B-11.

They left the building in a small disc, flew over the large square in the central area of ​​the City of Souls, and went to eat snacks at the entrance of the Mercenary Theater. During the 36-hour day, they had to eat four meals and sleep for twelve hours. Opal was very nervous at the beginning. Not used to it.It took a day to adjust gradually.

There are many alien races in the City of Souls of War, and many inter-galaxy clients are willing to come here to carry out the commission in person. The mercenary union in the main city will receive it seriously and give a suitable evaluation of the task reward.

"That guy looks really strange." Mu Shu said, "How much can you eat in one meal?"

Opal and Mu Shu put their shoulders together and walked across the theater garden to find the food stalls. Their eyes rested on a huge fluffy ball in the middle of the garden that was as tall as a person.

Human beings are the most prosperous race in the universe. Although they have a basic lifespan of only 200 years as intelligent life, their gene reproduction ability is very strong. In addition, the development of science and technology makes people's life extend almost without limit, which leads to Humans have become the largest race among the stars.The citizens of the country of mercenaries are nearly 80% human.As a registered member of the Star Alliance, anti-racism laws also apply here.

Opal said: "Is it going to eat the whole street? Its mouth looks big and sharp."

The huge furball squatted in front of the food stall and opened its mouth, revealing its sharp white teeth.The boss shouted: "Don't come here! You didn't pay! Otherwise, I'm going to call the police!"

"Where's your mother?" Mu Shu went over and patted it: "This is not good, kid..."

The fur ball swallowed Mu Shu in one gulp.

In an instant, there was screaming everywhere, and the bosses turned blue and ran away yelling.

Opal's expression changed in horror, and he shouted: "What's going on! Mu Shu!"

He immediately and subconsciously opened Maoqiu's mouth, Maoqiu opened its mouth and laughed, and spit out Mushu again.

"Don't bully my pet!" A woman's voice screamed, "Go! Da Da!"

The hairball followed the woman away with a hop.

Mu Shu's body was dripping with saliva, and Opal laughed out loud.

"I really hate these rich people who keep their pets unleashed!" Mu Shu was still brushing his hair during class in the afternoon.

Opal said sympathetically: "She may think that this large pet has a good temper and won't eat people...Racism is not good. As the teacher said, we must accept the rest of the intelligent life population from the heart. Helping you carry out alien missions..."

The classroom fell silent, the history lesson was over, and the next lesson was combat.

A person came into the classroom, and the recruits stood in an empty classroom, all solemn and silent.

"Hello, recruits, my name is Gray Wolf." The new teacher was a normal human being wearing a jacket, so he finally had someone reliable.

He only wore a jacket on his upper body, his chest was exposed, his lower abdomen was covered with scars on his chest muscles, and there was a mark of injury on his face. His tone was full of cold aura, and he began to give them combat lessons.

First is the theory, and then the practice process. Opal has learned many combat skills from Rector. Rector has already taught it once when he stayed on the B-11 star, but the theory is more profound than that of the Gray Wolf instructor. , more thoroughly.

"To become a junior mercenary," Gray Wolf said, "you must choose a weapon that is convenient for you. You cannot fight the enemy empty-handed. I found that many of you have your own weapons, and People who know the basic fighting methods and don’t have any weapons now need to go through a test to choose a suitable weapon.”

Opal has a mechanical greatsword, and he could not participate in the test, but he couldn't help but follow seventeen recruits to do the weapon test.

The instructor did not let him go, and watched them patiently choose weapons.

Guns, swords, mechanical axes, long-handled photon cutters, etc. are arranged in sequence, and hundreds of weapons that can be named or not named are dizzying.The trainees who participated in the test tried one by one, using the weapons in their hands to inflict damage on the virtual training dummy three times, scored and took the average effect.

Opal tried one by one, and the instructor supervised from behind their line.

"Who gave you your mechanical sword?" Gray Wolf instructor asked.

Opal said: "My... an enlightenment teacher."

The instructor nodded and refused to comment. Opal tried to use a light-energy boomerang and hit the dummy when he threw it. The score was 7.9. He asked, "How about my weapon?"

The instructor said: "Try it, maybe there is something more suitable for you. This is the scoring system of the Imperial Military Academy. It is not calculated entirely based on the damage you cause, but also through your body's reaction, grip strength and posture when using the weapon for the first time. , every muscle reaction in the whole body, etc., give a comprehensive fit evaluation.”

Opal said: "That's not how he tried when he asked me to choose a weapon."

Gray Wolf had an interesting taste: "How do you try?"

Opal said: "He made me look at twelve weapons and feel which one was speaking to me..."

Gray Wolf laughed and said with a smile, "Interesting, I've never heard of such a plan."

Opal knew he couldn't understand, he tried one by one for a round, and finally said: "I still use the mechanical sword."

Gray Wolf didn't force him, the two stood aside, watching the students try out their weapons, Opal couldn't help asking curiously: "Why are there only so few newcomers in Lie Xing?"

Gray Wolf said: "This class is taught on a recurring basis, and you can attend classes whenever you come. But in recent years, there have been fewer people willing to be mercenaries, especially when the planet's political stance is clearly facing The empire is tilted, and it is possible to go to war with the forces of Commander-in-Chief Coron."

Opal nodded, Gray Wolf said indifferently: "Do you like this planet? What do you think of it?"

Opal said: "Currently...it's really not very..."

Gray Wolf laughed and said, "Lie Xing is a place full of masculinity, and we welcome every fighting partner."

Opal nodded and said, "I hope I can blend in here."

Opal found himself gradually accepting the ideas of the people here, after all, this was the first planet he set foot on after leaving his hometown.The mercenaries of Lie Xing are still very friendly. They seem to have a sense of being seniors, or they may be subconscious protection among colleagues, trying their best to prevent every new member from being scared away—of course The reason for being scared away may come from themselves.

After choosing the weapon, Gray Wolf left and replaced it with another female instructor to start the class. They fought in groups of two. Although the practice weapons were not fatal, they still hurt after a single shot.It took nearly a week, and the recruits were practicing endlessly. For Opal, the mechanical sword was already familiar to him. He was on the same team as Mu Shu, and almost became Mu Shu's training instructor. .

Until the two magnetic storms pass, the weapon training course cycle ends.

In the dormitory, Mu Shu said wearily: "Obo, the instructor said that a suitable primary gun needs [-] credits."

Opal lay on the bed, turned on the projection device of E7 to watch the mercenary daily, which recorded some strange tasks and how the mercenaries overcame difficulties.He said casually: "They will give you a discount. If you have no money, ask IRC to provide your personal account proof. You can also get a loan from the union to buy a gun in installments."

Mu Shu said: "But that gun is very ordinary, there is no good gun, I think I will die very easily in the future."

Opal glanced at him, pointed at him, and said casually: "A good weapon is not necessary. The instructor said that when facing the enemy, the key is calmness, will and courage. Have you forgotten?"

Mu Shu said helplessly: "I just want to earn some money, and rent a small farm on Female Luoxing."

Opal lazily leaned on his arm, flipped through the Mercenary Daily and said, "There will be, you can do it."

Mu Shu said: "The price of female Luoxing is very low, this gun is worth as much as my farm."

Opal said: "You can also buy a cheaper one. Don't worry too much about it. A spaceship costs tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of credits, and the one with the jump function costs 80 billion. My goal is to buy that one. "

Mu Shu said: "What do you buy the jump ship for?"

Opal thought for a while in astonishment, and then replied: "Don't do anything, it's more convenient to drive around to see, travel, or perform tasks."

Mu Shu let out a long sigh.

The second training cycle begins, and the gray wolf is back.

"Pain is the most important factor affecting your judgment." The gray wolf instructor said in a deep voice: "The past examples tell us that a mercenary often dies not at the hands of the enemy, but because of his own misjudgment."

"When the pain enough to affect your judgment occurs, you will no longer be able to fight correctly in the next step, and you will have a chance to turn defeat into victory. Once you miss it, there will only be one end in the end-death."

"So now I will give you pain training." Gray Wolf instructor said: "If you can't stand it, you can ask to leave. This training adopts an elimination system. I hope you can persist until the end."

The chairs floated out from the field, and the helmet fell from the ceiling. Opal looked at the others and put on the helmet under the instructor's demonstration.

The helmet is not big, it only sticks to the back of his head, forehead and temples, covering an extremely limited area.

This is a way of stimulating the nerve center. After the mercenary instructor turned on the button, he ignored it and turned to leave.

The sudden pain overwhelmed him in an instant, and the direct stimulation of the pain-sensing nerve came more directly and thoroughly, which was something Opal had never been exposed to, and it was also something Rector had never taught.

That kind of pain was thousands of times more painful than the fractures, broken skin, and scratches he had encountered when he was digging.

"Ah——!" Opal's facial features were distorted in pain. For a moment, his whole body, from his fingers to the center of his eyebrows, seemed to be pierced by a sharp weapon. The pain felt like thunder piercing through his whole body, pulling his soul out of his body. , Throwing it into a heavy object and crushing it into a sheet of paper, Opal almost lost consciousness, his vision was pitch black, his ears could not hear any sound, and the long-lasting pain rolled repeatedly throughout his body.

The next moment, a gentle force emerged from nowhere and dispelled his pain. Opal opened his eyes wide and panted slowly. The stars in his spiritual world were shining, and the black and blue sky spread to cover his body. .

The pain gradually eased, and after an unknown amount of time, the instructor's voice sounded, "Are you all right?"

head

The helmet was taken off, Opal closed his eyes, his face was pale, and he lay on the chair panting heavily.

The instructor took off his helmet, and the recruits around him were exhausted. The instructor said: "This is controlled by neuromodulation, and it will automatically stop after unconsciousness. How dare you hold on for so long?"

Opal said: "I...I..."

Gray Wolf said: "Try again, turn up the pain."

Opal's face changed: "No, no! I will die!"

Gray Wolf laughed and said, "Just kidding." After finishing speaking, he took the helmet away and said, "Everyone has worked hard, go back and rest."

Opal couldn't even stand still, leaning against the wall and trembling all over.

"Are you all right?" Mu Shu was the first to faint, and now he has almost rested, Opal's mouth is still pale, sweating like rain, and he nodded his head.

Mu Shu asked Opal to put his shoulders on his shoulders, and went back to the dormitory.

After ten hours of rest, it was the second wave of training.This time it is mental pain. The so-called mental pain is a deeper layer than pain. It is a primitive conditioned reflex of addiction, itching and collapse. This kind of torture is stronger than pain and more difficult to get rid of.

The recruits who received the training couldn't help but howl on the ground, scratching their hearts and lungs. Opal will never forget that feeling in his life, and his heart is so itchy, as if there are thousands of ants gnawing on them, but they can't catch them. arrive.

One recruit couldn't help but slammed his head on the ground, and finally passed out as he wished.

This time, Opal's faith didn't help him anymore, as if the power of faith would spontaneously drive away the intruders of consciousness only when the spirit would be permanently damaged.

But Opal still made it to the end. When he took off his helmet, he almost had the illusion of dying once.

The instructor said: "How does it taste?"

"Poppy! Phantom blue fluorite! The milk of the mother of dills! Distant star radio!" The instructor said sharply: "These things can make you dependent, and they are called drugs! If you lose them after long-term use, drug addiction will become a thing of the past." Like what you've just been exposed to."

"How many mercenaries are there to paralyze themselves." The instructor said coldly: "Using these prohibited drugs, they finally lost all their fighting ability and became wastes like bugs rolling on the ground. I believe that after this time, you will not Will be interested in interstellar drugs again."

Opal waved his hands with difficulty, stood up staggeringly, wiped away his tears and snot, and nodded.

"I wish you a long life." The instructor said casually, "Take a break for 24 hours and continue in the next class."

There was a full cosmic day difference between the third course and the second. It was still a mental stimulation training, but this time it was replaced by the fear effect.

The helmet stimulates the surge of adrenal hormone secretion, and stimulates everyone to generate fear, trembling, and loss of control. When it reaches a certain level, they will enter a hallucination state before destruction.This time Opal was almost completely unaffected by fear, and his belief was like an iron wall, unafraid.

Three courses ended, followed by another three cycles, but this time the instructor adjusted the stimulation intensity of the helmet, opened it according to each person's acceptance limit, and asked them to perform simple actions - including answering questions, puzzles, walking around, in a closed environment Look for the exit.

Until another week later, when the trainees were tortured to the point of exhaustion, the final assessment came—the three kinds of reactions were cross-stimulated, and when they rushed together, Opal was almost driven crazy. He had to deal with these three attacks in turn Or the intense excitement that comes at the same time, wearing helmets, escaping the maze in the training ground in groups of two, and fighting endlessly with combat robots with weapons.

He was put into a group with his roommate and tablemate Mu Shu, and he was on the verge of despair several times, and finally he stumbled out of the maze with Mu Shu on his shoulders.The moment you take off the helmet, it's like being reborn and reborn.

The instructor said: "Teamwork is also very important. Most of you don't know how to cooperate, but this is no longer my responsibility. After joining the mercenary group, I believe someone will teach you."

Thankfully, the assessment was finally over. When Opal returned to the dormitory and lay down that day, he was like a dead dog and didn't want to move.

"Opal." Mu Shu said.

"What." Opal replied weakly.

"I've dragged you down." Mu Shu said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm suitable to be a mercenary."

Opal said: "Don't say that, we all passed the test, and the instructor said that there will be no such hard tests in the next time."

Mu Shu said: "No, I plan to go back."

Opal sat up abruptly and said, "My friend, think about it, do you really want to leave?"

Mu Shu took a deep breath and said, "I don't want to die..."

Opal said: "No, Mu Shu, you will not die, listen to me..."

Mushu said: "No, friend, listen to me. I can't die. I think if I become a mercenary, I will definitely die. I'm not made for fighting. I won't live long. I still have brothers to support. I'm not that material, you understand? I'm not like you, you have your own pursuits, you know what you want to do, but I can't..."

Opal said: "You can too, you can do it!"

Mu Shu said: "I can't do it! I'm only doing it for money! I became a mercenary because I heard that there is money to be made here. What about you? You are not short of money, but you have pursuits. You really want to fight, but I don't want to fight." ...I have no choice but now I feel that this industry is too dangerous..."

Opal couldn't say a word for a while, Mu Shu said: "I have to go, go back to the female star. Opal, this is for you. I am very glad to have known you as a friend in a short time."

Mushu handed him a shell-like thing, and said: "This is the fruit of the mother of Nuluo. When you want to take a vacation, bring it to me on Nuluoxing. I will treat you to something delicious. Take you to play, the female dill tree will not attack the person who holds this fruit."

Opal said: "Wait, Mushu. I'll take you to take the long-distance ship."

Mu Shu nodded wearily, and Opal accompanied him to the academy to report to the sales office, the person in charge didn't say anything, just told him: "I wish you happiness, sir."

Mu Shu arrived at the space landing pad with his simple luggage on his back. Opal said, "Wait for me here."

He turned around and took out all the ores from the spaceship, and brought them to IRC to cash out, a total of 18 credit points.Opal transferred [-] points, made a temporary card, and handed it to Mu Shu.

Mu Shu was stunned, Opal said: "Take it, try to do some small business."

Mu Shu said: "Too many! I can't take it!"

Opal laughed and said, "Now it costs [-] points to clean a spaceship, not much."

Mu Shu said: "A voyage ticket only costs [-] points..."

Opal said: "Take it, I lent it to you, here. You said that the female dill fruit in your hometown tastes good. If it can be cultivated smoothly, I will try it when I go to your house for vacation. Well, after the farm opened and made money, don’t forget to return the [-] to me. What’s that word called—investment? Yes, this is my investment in you. "

Mu Shu was silent for a long time, nodded and said: "Thank you, friend, no matter when you come, I welcome you."

Opal patted Mu Shu on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Friend, I wish you success, don't let my investment go to waste."

Mu Shu and Opal hugged tightly, and boarded the voyage ship. Oper watched the interstellar voyage ship leave, and turned back to continue his training.