By the time they had finished packing and were ready to arrive at the gate of The No.1 Military Academy, Ren Yunying had already been waiting there with her team for quite a while.
Beside her were the medical staff who always accompanied her on trips, specifically there to attend to Chloe's health.
Ren Yunying would always complain about the trouble, but she was invariably the first to bring them along on every outing.
Seeing that line of people from afar, Chloe felt a bit uncomfortable.
No matter how long she'd known them, she always found that group of medical staff too cold and rigid, not at all like the caring healers they were supposed to be.
Their demeanor was so aloof, they looked more like specially trained assassins or bodyguards.
So Chloe, thoroughly displeased, slowed her pace, trying to delay her arrival.
Unfortunately, Ren Yunying had spotted them early on. Chloe had barely taken a few slow steps when Ren Yunying started scolding her from afar, pointing at her nose.
Due to the distance, Chloe couldn't make out a word of what Ren Yunying was saying.
In fact, if she had used her heightened senses, she could have heard clearly, but why would Chloe want to subject herself to that?
So she turned to her friends with enthusiasm and said:
"Look how much Instructor Ren loves me, she's praising me from all the way over there."
Qin Huaibei glanced at Ren Yunying's livid, contorted face and was momentarily speechless.
Katherine, however, responded with the utmost composure:
"Yes, Instructor Ren is very fond of you."
As usual, Chloe was delighted to receive the flattery.
Even though she got a knock on the head as soon as she approached Ren Yunying, she didn't feel angry at all.
Seemingly impervious to pain, Chloe excitedly stood on her tiptoes to peek at the massive aircraft after being hit:
"Dear Instructor Ren, where are we going this time?"
Instructor Ren glanced at her and replied: "Tagar Military Academy."
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
Qin Huaibei: "Doesn't that mean we're going to the Human Race territory?"
Come to think of it, it had been a long time since he'd been back to Human Race territory. Even during the past few family visit days, he had spent them at Chloe's home.
Of course, he occasionally went back to his own home too.
But compared to his empty living room at home, Chloe's place was obviously livelier.
Not to mention Tagar Military Academy... it had indeed been a long time since he'd been in contact with friends there.
Chloe was excited.
"Great, being cooped up in The No.1 Military Academy all day was driving me crazy!"
With that, she started climbing onto the aircraft.
However, halfway up, she was yanked down by Ren Yunying.
At eighteen, Chloe had grown tall, probably about 1.78 meters, no longer the little kid who barely reached an adult's waist.
But Ren Yunying still handled her with practiced ease, as if it were nothing.
Daniel, watching this, couldn't help but comment:
"Our Instructor Ren must be an iron giant, right?"
Chloe was already considered quite tall among girls, but compared to Ren Yunying, she was still a head shorter.
She was probably about the same height as the boys in their group.
Qin Huaibei covered Daniel's mouth, advising for the umpteenth time: "The more you speak, the more mistakes you make."
Daniel gave an OK hand gesture.
Meanwhile, Ren Yunying, having pulled Chloe down, said irritably: "Can't you wait just a moment?"
Feeling that this was quite undignified, Chloe struggled free from Ren Yunying's grasp and complained:
"Is there someone else coming with us?"
Then, putting on an injured expression, she continued: "So, in your heart, we're not the only ones anymore, are we? Now your mind is full of your newly enrolled first-year students!"
Ren Yunying: "..."
Unexpectedly splashed with such dirty water, a vein throbbed at her temple.
She then berated: "What on earth are you thinking about all day?!"
"Am I wrong?" Chloe wore a righteous expression, "In the past, whether it was for missions, competitions, or the arena, you would only take us five. But ever since those first-year brats came, it's become about going with them."
At this point, Chloe paused, then turned to look at her companions.
Daniel immediately chimed in with perfect synchronization: "Not just that, you've taken them without us several times!"
Ren Yunying couldn't bear it anymore: "Don't you know why I didn't bring you?"
"It was the All-Race Junior Competition. Should I have brought you instead of them? You lot of eighteen-year-old overgrown kids, do you have the nerve to compete for trophies with thirteen and fourteen-year-old juniors?!"
Chloe: "What's there to be embarrassed about? It's not like they explicitly said eighteen-year-olds couldn't sign up."
Daniel nodded in agreement.
Seeing Ren Yunying's expression gradually turning towards rage, Chloe quickly backed down, grinning mischievously:
"Oh, I was just kidding, you know we're all obedient good kids."
"You didn't let me on the aircraft because we need to go through checks, right? I get it."
With that, Chloe willingly walked to the middle of the medical staff, spreading her arms to let them examine her.
Ren Yunying's anger dissipated as quickly as it had come, leaving her momentarily stunned, then amused:
"If only you were always this obedient."
She then turned and boarded the aircraft.
Taking advantage of Ren Yunying's turned back, Chloe promptly made a face at her.
The medical staff saw this, and their stony faces twitched almost imperceptibly.
Once the full-body check was complete, Chloe and the others boarded the aircraft one by one.
The massive aircraft roared to life and took off, finally crossing the sea that enclosed The No.1 Military Academy and entering the territory of the Human Race.
As a key institution cultivated by the upper echelons of the Human Race, Tagar Military Academy gathered all the backbone of the younger generation of the Human Race.
Looking out from the gates of Tagar, there were hardly any individual students; all were marching in neat formations, either in large troops or small squads.
Regardless of age.
Chloe, wearing the combat uniform of The No.1 Military Academy with the school badge pinned to her chest, was now squatting at the entrance of Tagar Military Academy. She had a strawberry-flavored lollipop, fed to her by who knows who, stuck in her mouth as she peered inside with a slouchy demeanor.
She looked every bit like a street hooligan.
Originally, it was just Chloe skulking there alone.
But the cohesion of these five from The No.1 Military Academy was terrifyingly strong. As soon as one went over, a whole bunch followed.
Daniel squatted beside Chloe: "What are you looking at so intently?"
Chloe turned her head to glance at him, then pointed at the students inside Tagar Military Academy, particularly singling out those who were young and short.
"Look at them. At such a young age, they have to endure the scorching sun and biting wind. Life at Tagar Military Academy is truly unbearable for humans."
Qin Huaibei chimed in from the side: "And they're not allowed to use electronic devices either. Their terminals are confiscated and they only get to hold them once a month. They must train for over eight hours every day."
Hearing this, everyone expressed their amazement.
Chloe: "No wonder you didn't come to Tagar back then."
While they were speaking ill of Tagar, Ren Yunying was having a pleasant conversation with the principal of Tagar Academy on the other side.
"...Yes, yes, all the students at our No.1 Military Academy have an excellent and upright mentality. They're also very much looking forward to this meeting. Oh, they're here right now, they're..."
Ren Yunying turned around with the principal and immediately spotted the five troublemakers in black combat suits crouching at the gate of Tagar Academy.
Ren Yunying: "..."
