Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

“You’re even more impressive than I and Father guessed. With a 2E martial talent, a Level Five warrior at just sixteen years old—it’s a rare genius not only in the Gus Empire but also in the Gumerra star domain. It’s been hundreds of years since someone like you appeared. Now, Hua Deli can’t compare to you,” the young prince said, clearly satisfied.

Another exceptional talent had emerged, one who was both powerful and wholeheartedly dedicated to the Gus Empire.

“You…,” the boy took a deep breath to calm himself. “Why give this to me? If you used it yourself, you’d definitely become a Level Eight warrior within five years. Do you think I’ll owe you a favor? I won’t.”

His tone was full of stubbornness, but his expression couldn’t hide his sadness.

After a moment of silence, the young prince’s face showed a flicker of discomfort. “You’re my only brother.”

The boy was taken aback, unable to believe his ears as he looked at him incredulously.

“This is also Father’s decision. He always believed that a tiger doesn’t father a dog. He thinks your low martial talent is due to… circumstances. Indeed, you’re even more outstanding than we imagined. As long as you work hard, you definitely have the potential to become a Level Ten mecha master.”

The boy truly couldn’t believe such praise was coming from his usually cold and distant brother. Yet, he heard it clearly; it couldn’t be false—unless the person before him wasn’t his brother at all…

The boy, who had never received praise from his father or brother, felt his face turn uncontrollably red, yet he stubbornly replied, “Impossible. Father wouldn’t…”

“He is your father, and I am your brother. We won’t be harsher on you than anyone else. Our strictness comes from our high expectations for you; we hope you can achieve something,” the young prince firmly corrected his previous misconceptions.

At critical moments, family ties are the strongest. He could no longer ignore those with ulterior motives who spread incorrect ideas to drive a wedge between him and his brother.

Once he started, the young prince found it easier to speak without the earlier discomfort, though his tone remained stiff and unnatural. “No matter what, in the future… I just hope you can do well.”

This string of words, so different from usual, dissipated the boy’s anger completely, leaving him puzzled about whether he had woken up in the wrong way today or if his brother had been swapped with someone else.

“You’re different from before. From now on, work hard and don’t just believe what others say. As long as you don’t harbor biases, you can definitely judge for yourself…” The young prince’s face habitually turned serious as he said this flatly.

But the boy didn’t react as he used to, bristling at his brother’s admonition. Instead, a hint of embarrassment surfaced on his face. He knew certain things; he wasn’t foolish. But his father was always cold and compared him to his brother, so he had deliberately…

“You’re not allowed to restrict me anymore,” the boy declared, lifting his chin defiantly.

“If you miss the time limit for body refinement, the effects will be greatly diminished. If you weren’t always trying to resist and run away, I wouldn’t have to confine you,” the young prince replied with a cold expression, frustrated and disappointed.

“You can’t talk properly, can you?” The constant use of such a gaze and expression makes it hard for anyone to want to listen to him.

“Will you listen? If I tell you, you’ll just run away faster. By not doing this, you can understand the intent of battle through your desire to escape the situation.”

The boy’s face froze, as if any way he responded would make him seem at fault. He had only pushed back a little against authoritarianism; why was that so unacceptable?

After the brothers ran out of things to say, the room fell silent.

“The recruitment assessment for the Xuan Gu Military Academy is coming up soon. You should prepare to participate,” his brother finally spoke after a long pause.

What? The boy instinctively showed a rebellious and carefree expression. Hadn’t he always said he didn’t qualify? Now it seemed to matter.

“This is Father’s wish. You have the ability to take on greater responsibilities, so you need to learn more.” The young prince felt he had to firmly hold his brother down; it seemed he wanted to resist everything.

—

After breakfast, Ruo Manni dove back into the training room, surprised to find her fists clenched. Her instincts had been right; the physical training techniques she learned in the battle world were incredibly refined, and the effects were excellent.

Moreover, the telekinetic knife technique she obtained in the war world was far superior to the one purchased by Teresa Du. She realized immediately that the quality was incomparable.

On the third night in the war world, Ruo Manni’s first action was to check her inventory. Yesterday, she had been so thrilled to receive the desired technique that she forgot to look at the system-rewarded accessory and its function until she logged off.

As she picked up the accessory, information immediately popped up before her eyes:

“Gold Coin Brooch, permanent magical item, once bound cannot be dropped or upgraded. After use, the amount of gold coins earned by the player is tripled.”

Ruo Manni’s eyes widened in amazement as a golden glow filled her vision. This, this, this item was incredibly useful; there was nothing more practical than this. It was a real treasure for accumulating small amounts of money!

After being excited for a while, Ruo Manni quickly bound the Gold Coin Brooch and pinned it to her chest before heading back to Sea Star City to turn in the tasks she completed last night. She wanted to see if it was true.

The total amount of gold coins from the tasks she completed yesterday was forty, as she had been unable to return to town to turn in her upgrade task in time.

After submitting the tasks, she watched in awe as her account balance increased by a staggering one hundred and twenty coins. Ruo Manni was so excited she almost jumped up and danced.

“Oh my gosh, it really is three times the amount! The game coins in the battle world can be exchanged for credit points! With this golden finger, grinding tasks to become a little rich lady in reality is no longer just a dream.”

Feeling euphoric, Ruo Manni worried for a moment that she might have misread the description. She carefully reread the details about the Gold Coin Brooch, ensuring it was indeed a permanent and indestructible sacred item, before finally relaxing.

The novel hadn’t mentioned any such items in the battle world, highlighting just how lucky she was. If her luck hadn’t been high, how could she have received the chance for rebirth?

With this Gold Coin Brooch, as long as she diligently completed tasks, she should be able to earn enough to cover her schooling and training expenses.

Without the pressure of earning gold coins, Ruo Manni could spend more time learning mecha manufacturing in the battle world. For example, according to her original plan, she still needed to work hard to earn gold today.

However, with the boost from the Gold Coin Brooch, she already had enough coins to learn level two mecha manufacturing, so she no longer needed to follow her initial plan of doing gold tasks.

After the excitement, Ruo Manni felt invigorated and opened the youth group’s level leaderboard to assess the competition.