Chapter 17: The Seventeenth Iron Pillar

Voices of discussion arose inside the cabin.

“What are they doing? Weren’t they supposed to send us to the military academy?”

“Has the higher-ups suddenly changed their minds?”

“Who knows?”

“Could it be that the transport ship was hijacked?” someone let their imagination run wild.

An experienced member of the Hive speculated, “It’s probably a screening process. The strength of this batch of recruits varies greatly. They need to sort out the general power levels so they can tailor the training methods accordingly.”

Xin Yue listened to their discussion and thought the last opinion made a lot of sense. She glanced over, curious to see who the seasoned one was.

He was a young man with black hair, standing upright with a strong, muscular build, like a poised leopard ready to pounce.

Even though they weren’t close, Xin Yue found it strange that he suddenly looked over at her.

As he turned his head, Xin Yue noticed a long scar beneath his left eye, almost cutting into the eyeball itself. The jagged mark sliced across half of his youthful face, lending him a fierce and intimidating aura.

Xin Yue calmly shifted her gaze away.

But he kept looking at her.

The broadcast continued: “Please scan the program code on the armrest of your seat to download the testing application. One minute from now, your app will automatically assign you to groups of five. Team members must cooperate to complete the tasks issued by the app and reach Tengri Military Academy within the allotted time.”

Xin Yue took out her light brain device and began scanning the code.

The broadcast went on, “Each team’s landing point will differ, so luck plays a part. But I believe the warriors of our hive are the bravest; with absolute strength, they can disregard luck.”

Information then appeared.

Xin Yue could see her team members. Coincidentally, her group included two familiar faces.

[Number One]: Avis

[Number Two]: Xin Yue

[Number Three]: Jing Yang

[Number Four]: Gong Chengzhou

[Number Five]: Catherine Percy

The broadcast said, “Group information is displayed. Team members are temporarily linked by mutual location data to facilitate finding each other. A friendly reminder: any member who fails to promptly reach Tengri Military Academy will be penalized upon return.”

Xin Yue opened the app.

On the screen, the numbers 1, 3, 4, and 5 were clustered closely together.

She tapped two fingers on the screen and stretched outward; as the view zoomed in, the distances between the numbers expanded.

These were her teammates.

The broadcast continued, “In a sense, this pre-entry test will count toward your academic credits, so please take it seriously. You now have five minutes to locate your teammates using the location data.”

“My lady, I’m in the same group as you!” Avis exclaimed excitedly. “It’s fate that brought us together. No one can separate us now.”

After spending these days together, Xin Yue had grown accustomed to Avis’s extravagant, poetic way of speaking.

Silencing Avis’s enthusiasm in her mind, Xin Yue read the names: “Jing Yang, Gong Chengzhou…”

Two were complete strangers.

Looking around, Xin Yue noticed many people searching for their teammates, wandering about aimlessly, which made finding others more difficult.

Xin Yue said, “Let’s head to a corner.”

Avis happily agreed to follow.

Staying in a corner was indeed a good choice. With Avis by her side, they hadn’t waited long before someone approached.

A boy with a baby face—though actually an adult, his youthful features made him appear younger.

But here, “looking younger” referred only to age.

This male bee was about the same height as Avis. He wore a long coat, and beneath it, the contours of his lean muscles were faintly visible with every movement.

“Hello, I’m Gong Chengzhou,” he said, extending his hand toward Xin Yue.

Xin Yue was momentarily stunned but quickly remembered this was a form of greeting.

She reached out her hand, “I’m Xin Yue.”

Gong Chengzhou’s baby face belied the thick calluses on his palm.

Compared to Xin Yue’s calm demeanor, surprise flickered in his eyes.

Her hand was two sizes smaller than his, soft as a spring bud, prompting him to instinctively hold back all his strength.

Gong Chengzhou thought his half-blood teammate might be of average strength.

Strangely, he felt no disdain. Instead, a faint excitement stirred within him, one he couldn’t quite explain.

He pursed his lips, eyes clouded with confusion.

Avis hadn’t introduced himself, but everyone knew who he was since the app displayed the numbered positions corresponding to names.

“Team One, please gather at airlock C,” the broadcast announced.

Xin Yue checked her team number: seventeen.

“The assembly is starting. We need to find the other two,” Xin Yue said just as Catherine rounded the corner.

“Here I am, cutie,” Catherine said, returning from the restroom.

It was normal to use the restroom before the drop, but Avis narrowed his eyes at Catherine.

Catherine Percy.

The surname “Percy” was uncommon among the hive, but Avis suddenly recalled who this worker bee was.

She had once belonged to the Royal Shield Legion but was reportedly expelled after some incident. Her previously bright future was abruptly cut off.

No promotions, no further information.

To think they’d run into her here.

“One more to go,” Xin Yue said, glancing at the coordinates.

Four differently colored dots had already gathered together; the last one was nearby and moving closer.

“Team Two, please gather at airlock A,” the broadcast sounded again.

Following the first assembly notice, it felt like a starting signal, with subsequent orders coming in rapid succession.

Xin Yue spotted the final team member: the black-haired youth with the scar under his eye.

She smiled with satisfaction.

From his earlier analysis, he seemed to be an experienced male bee.

That was good.

After Jing Yang arrived, they greeted each other and exchanged names, completing the introductions and becoming familiar at last.

The broadcast said, “Team seventeen, please assemble at airlock G.”

“Let’s go.”

The airlock was easy to find; inside the cabin, signs indicated every airlock’s location.

The five reached airlock G, where male soldier bees from the transport ship were already waiting.

“Records show there’s one half-blood in your team,” one soldier stated.

Xin Yue blinked and suddenly noticed all eyes were on her.

She nodded, “That’s me.”

No one was surprised.

Of course, it was her.

Poor thing.

“What races make up your heritage? Are you of the flying kind?” the soldier pressed.

Xin Yue was stumped. How was she supposed to answer? She didn’t even know herself.

Her silence made the soldier think she was ashamed, struck a sore spot.

He understood—she must be of a lower caste and likely not a flyer.

The soldier’s tone softened considerably.

“Here, take this. Press the blue button to deploy the parachute, the red button to release the glider. Use as needed.”

Xin Yue was handed a small backpack, which she lifted curiously.

It was very light and made of a special material—she had no idea what it was.

The backpack had several straps; the two on the sides were thick, each with a button—blue on the left, red on the right.

“I’ll help you put it on,” Avis took the backpack and carefully threaded the straps over Xin Yue’s arms, fastening the remaining support straps meticulously.

As if fearing she might forget, Avis kept chattering, repeating his instructions.

“I’m still young, not getting senile yet,” Xin Yue cut him off.

Avis worked quickly, and soon the combined glider and parachute pack was securely fixed on Xin Yue’s back.

“Ready? Once ready, step beyond the yellow line,” the soldier instructed.

Nearby was a sizable recessed area, with two lines painted along its edge—one red, one yellow.

All five stepped into the recess.

A transparent light screen extended upward from the yellow line near the cabin.

Once it reached the top, the outer airlock door beyond the red line slid open.

The transport ship hovered high above, the wind outside roaring like a stampede.

“Now, jump!” the soldier ordered.

Jing Yang was the first, standing at the front and leaping without hesitation.

Next was Catherine.

Xin Yue, positioned near the edge, was the third to jump.

Plunging from the high altitude, the fierce wind tugged at her, making her feel like a tiny speck in the vast ocean.

She reached for the red glider button on her pack.

But—

Nothing happened.

She froze—was it jammed?

She pressed again—still no response. The glider was broken.

With no movement on that side, she tried the other.

Pressing the blue button to deploy the parachute also failed; the entire system seemed damaged.

Xin Yue: “...” Oh no.

The others were descending.

Gong Chengzhou, Jing Yang, Catherine, and the rest had already unfolded the thin wings on their backs, stabilizing their descent.

Their fall was swift, now approaching the ground.

Avis watched Xin Yue, who hadn’t deployed her parachute, and his heart skipped a beat.

Could the princess’s parachute pack be malfunctioning?

It was well known that ninety percent of the royal princesses lost their wings within a day of birth.

Because these wings stored vast amounts of energy, absorbing that energy allowed their pheromones to evolve to a higher level.

With the princess’s intense pheromones, she definitely wouldn’t still have wings.

He had to hurry and save her!

Just then, they saw Xin Yue quickly remove the pack from her back with a few sharp tugs.

“Whoosh—”

Something unfolded.