Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

After her rebirth, Aoi Dan was busy training and using her prophetic abilities to earn credit points. Initially, she had no interest in her neighbor, the girl who had died young. She figured she could talk to Ruo Manni after her mother went missing; that girl was foolish enough.

It wasn’t until Aoi Dan saw the news about the War Realm preparing to launch that she got excited about making big moves with her “prophecy.” At that moment, she remembered Mina-Olli’s special holographic game pod and realized something important.

If her memory served her correctly, in her previous life, Ruo Manni had managed to secure one of the special game pods during the limited sale in the War Realm.

Aoi Dan remembered this detail even after a lifetime because Ruo Manni had spent most of her credit points to grab that game pod, which meant Aoi Dan couldn’t “borrow” many credit points from her. Naturally, Aoi Dan felt unhappy and thought Ruo Manni was foolish for wasting so many credit points; she had privately cursed Ruo Manni.

At that time, Aoi Dan didn’t yet understand the unique advantages of the special game pod. After the War Realm launched, she had mocked Ruo Manni several times, both openly and covertly, for being rich but foolish.

By the time Aoi Dan learned about the special features of the game pod, Ruo Manni had already been missing for two to three years.

Aoi Dan remembered that the year she was accepted into the Xuan Gu Military Academy’s Mecha Combat Department, Ruo Manni couldn’t even apply due to her poor physical fitness. She eventually entered the Mecha Manufacturing Department a year later.

However, Ruo Manni wasn’t lucky in her previous life; after finally getting into the Xuan Gu Military Academy, she encountered space pirates on her way to school, and Aoi Dan never saw her again. She vanished just like her mother.

Recalling this, and realizing she couldn’t afford a special game pod herself, Aoi Dan finally felt a connection to Ruo Manni and thought that maybe she could become friends with her after all.

The two were not only neighbors but also classmates in the same grade. It just so happened that Ruo Manni was in a vulnerable state due to her mother’s disappearance, making it easy for Aoi Dan to befriend her without any defenses. Ruo Manni was very generous when it came to “good friends,” and in her previous life, Aoi Dan had borrowed quite a few credit points from her using this approach.

Sure enough, Aoi Dan quickly became “good friends” with Ruo Manni and effortlessly learned that Ruo Manni had indeed purchased the special holographic game pod, spending double the credit points compared to a regular one. Even though she was mentally prepared for this based on her past life, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of jealousy, her eyes turning red.

If that special game pod were hers, she would definitely be able to reach the late stage of Level 4 by next year, and from there, she could achieve so much more…

Jealousy can make a person ugly, and greed can drive one to madness. Moreover, in her previous life, after following a powerful figure on the fringe planet for the last few years, Aoi Dan had become ruthless, capable of killing without a second thought.

Filled with a desire to possess, Aoi Dan naturally developed a malicious intent to find a way to acquire Ruo Manni’s special game pod.

In her past life, Aoi Dan had lived in tight circumstances due to her father’s unemployment, relying on the military academy’s stipends. Even though she had been accepted into the Xuan Gu Military Academy, she was at the bottom of the ranks, becoming a laughingstock for the privileged children of noble families. The first three years of her life were filled with deep insecurity.

It wasn’t until she reached the late stage of Level 4 that those people finally silenced themselves and dared not bully her openly. However, their gazes revealed that they still looked down on her in private. This time around, Aoi Dan was determined not to fall into such a situation again.

Ruo Manni’s special holographic game pod would be the second step in Aoi Dan’s plan to change her fate. After all, Ruo Manni was destined to be short-lived; letting her disappear a year later and wasting the game pod would be a loss. It was better to take it for herself now.

Aoi Dan felt no psychological burden about killing. However, the Gus Empire had excellent security measures; even in a third-tier fringe planet like Topaz Star, surveillance was highly advanced. Killing someone without leaving a trace was not an easy task, and at least for now, Aoi Dan lacked the capability to do so.

Especially since Ruo Manni had recently lost her mother and was registered as an orphan with the police, she attracted special attention from law enforcement. Police officers checked on her almost daily to ensure her safety.

Additionally, military officers stationed on Topaz Star would occasionally visit her, showing genuine concern. Everyone nearby knew that even though Ruo Manni was an orphan, she had powerful connections and was not someone to be easily bullied.

After observing for about ten days, Aoi Dan realized that with her current abilities, it was impossible to discreetly take out Ruo Manni without leaving evidence.

Having a rare second chance at life, Aoi Dan didn’t want to throw it all away and jeopardize her promising future.

So, she set aside the thought of taking matters into her own hands. However, her credit points were too limited, and she was reluctant to spend money on hiring a hitman, so she decided to think of another method. As the destined one with “prophetic abilities,” Aoi Dan was confident she could find an opportunity.

Sure enough, in less than two days, she recalled an incident from her previous life. She was incredibly excited and felt fortunate that over the past month, she had been pretending to care for Ruo Manni, feigning friendship and casually suggesting ways for her to improve her combat skills.

Under these circumstances, Aoi Dan naturally decided to express her concern for Ruo Manni and made a suggestion.

Ruo Manni’s physical fitness was below standard, and if she wanted to successfully apply to the Xuan Gu Military Academy, she needed to improve her physique before the entrance exams. This was common knowledge among those familiar with Ruo Manni; her mother had gone missing in search of ways to enhance her cultivation potential.

With just over two months left until the application date for the Xuan Gu Military Academy, even if the War Realm’s holographic game pod could gradually improve Ruo Manni’s physique, there wouldn’t be enough time. Thus, Ruo Manni was still troubled by this issue.

Using the excuse of wanting to help Ruo Manni, Aoi Dan tricked her into purchasing a new type of gene enhancement serum from the black market. She suggested that Ruo Manni mix it with the auxiliary fluid on the day the War Realm launched, which would quickly improve her physical condition.

When Ruo Manni heard her close friend Aoi Dan say that the second-generation gene enhancement serum could rapidly enhance her physique, she became excited at the thought of training in the game at night and practicing diligently during the day. It was estimated that within half a month, her physical potential could reach level B, and her combat skills could advance to level 2.

This enticing opportunity definitely caught the attention of the eager Ruo Manni, who was desperate to improve her physique.