The next day, approximately ten thousand students gathered on the assembly field of the Imperial Academy.
Among them, three thousand were individuals capable of using monster cards to transform. These were not all from the same year; rather, they included all transformable trainees from the freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior classes. Each year, the academy typically admitted about 750 students capable of transforming, though Ye Feng's current freshman class was slightly smaller, with only about 500.
Aside from combatants like Ye Feng, the remaining seven thousand students belonged to other departments: transport, medical, and research. Within the medical department, they differed from standard hospital doctors; they were essentially battlefield medics.
"Tsk tsk, looks like this test won't be simple..." Seeing the entire student body and faculty gathered, Ye Feng knew that what Lu Bai had said about the Tengger Desert was likely true.
"Do you have confidence in this test?" Each class was organized with a row for males and a row for females, much like in high school. Standing nearby, Qin Yuxin overheard him and chimed in.
"I can only say, not necessarily."
"Why?"
"My card can't be used with a standard Monster Ring. I was able to transform once before, but I don't know if it can happen again." The last time he transformed, he had used the light energy within his body to modify the Monster Ring. This time, Ye Feng wasn't sure if he could replicate that with a new one.
"Is that so? Then I can only wish you luck." Thinking of the Ye Feng who had fought seven enemies at once, the image of Cosmos appeared in Qin Yuxin's mind. That form indeed stood in stark contrast to ordinary monsters or aliens.
After their brief exchange, the two stopped talking. Each took out a tablet and submitted the equipment choices they had selected.
In reality, "preparing equipment" wasn't about physically packing gear yet; it was more of a test question for students to answer and submit. Since they wouldn't naturally know what gear was needed for a desert mission, they had to research. They chose items for desert survival, special equipment for encountering monsters, and distress signals. It was essentially an open-book exam.
Once the answers were submitted, Principal Jiang began his address. The content was quite tedious, but it could be summarized in one sentence:
You are heading to the Tengger Desert to face real monsters; prioritize safety and life above all else—grades come second.
That was the conclusion Ye Feng reached after Principal Jiang's hour-long speech.
When the address concluded, the students followed their respective instructors to the Imperial Departure Terminal. Indeed, while the Imperial Academy was a university, it possessed its own private airfield. After students entered their sophomore year, they would not only have monster fusion combat courses but flight training as well. Of course, they started with virtual flight simulations before moving on to actual piloting.
The training aircraft at the Imperial Academy were the now-decommissioned GUTS Wing 1 models.
When he first learned this, Ye Feng had briefly wondered if he had ended up in the world of Ultraman Dyna. He turned out to be wrong; this was merely a parallel universe with similar technological development. There wasn't a trace of Dyna, nor a shadow of any other Ultraman—except for himself.
They arrived at the vast airfield, which was no smaller in scale than the Imperial International Airport. Aside from combat students like Ye Feng, the other seven thousand students had already boarded transport planes. Some were bound for the Tengger Desert, while the majority were headed to other regions. After all, if that many logistics personnel flew to a single location, what would they be doing? Going shopping?
On the side of the three thousand combatants, a special directive was received, leading to a redistribution of missions.
"Attention: A special notice has just been received. Aside from the freshmen, the sophomores, juniors, and seniors will be deployed to Mount Everest, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Diaoyu Islands, respectively."
"Ehh?!"
"No way! We're already facing real monsters, and now the seniors are being pulled away?"
"Exactly! We haven't even had a transformation simulation yet. Is this a suicide mission?!"
The mission orders quickly met with dissatisfaction from the freshmen. After all, they hadn't even had a simulation, whereas the upperclassmen had. Without any experience, wasn't this just sending them to their deaths?
Unlike his complaining peers, Ye Feng didn't join the outcry; he was deep in thought. Lu Bai nudged his way over to Ye Feng's side. Since Ye Feng had a record of taking down seven monsters, sticking close to him was the best option in the absence of upperclassmen.
"Say, Ye Feng, what are you thinking about?" Despite knowing Ye Feng was capable, Lu Bai was curious about his calm demeanor in the face of danger.
"I'm thinking... if we are going out for training to deal with real monsters, and the upperclassmen are being sent elsewhere, does that mean monster traces have appeared in those locations as well?"
Ye Feng didn't mind Lu Bai being so close and quickly shared his theory. Nearby, Qin Yuxin, her three roommates, and Lin Fei instinctively moved closer to "the carry." Hearing his explanation, they all froze.
Was Ye Feng's guess correct? Even if it wasn't 100% certain, there was at least a sixty to seventy percent chance. If it were true, then what had happened to cause so many monsters to appear simultaneously?
"Quiet!"
Watching the noisy students, the Chief Instructor let out a "Lion's Roar," silencing all three thousand people present. Seeing this particular instructor speak, they all behaved like mice seeing a cat, not daring to make a sound for fear of being singled out.
"Remember this: from the moment you entered the Imperial Academy, you became the first line of defense for humanity. Retreat is not an option. Because if you retreat, what will happen to your families? What will happen to the defenseless ordinary people?!"
The Chief Instructor's voice boomed, suppressing most of the students. However, a few from influential families still stood up and shouted, "We didn't say we'd retreat! But we've only trained for one year and haven't even had a transformation simulation. In the past, which senior didn't train for seven years before facing a real monster? Why should we be forced to go now?!"
"Yeah! Why did they get to wait seven years while we only get one? It's not fair!"
"Not fair!"
"Not fair!"
"Not fair!"
The freshmen continued their outcry. The three upper classes remained silent, as they couldn't use the freshmen's excuse.
"These people... it's just facing a monster a bit earlier. What's the big deal? You have to face them sooner or later anyway." Qin Yuxin found the outcry of her fellow students incomprehensible. After all, they had a year of training; she had transformed and fought monsters less than an hour after her awakening. She hadn't complained about it at all.
"Ahem, Student Qin Yuxin, we are different. We are different."
Seeing Lu Bai, Lin Fei, and Qin Yuxin's roommates looking at her with strange expressions, Ye Feng stepped in to offer a mild defense for his fellow students. Qin Yuxin's behavior could only be described as "humble-bragging."
However, she wasn't necessarily wrong; there wasn't much difference between facing a monster today versus tomorrow. But what the others were protesting wasn't the task itself, but the sudden change in strategy that left them with zero preparation time.
Because news of monsters in the Tengger Desert had leaked yesterday, even if it wasn't officially announced, all students knew about it privately. Having had nearly half a day to mentally prepare, there had been no initial protest. But now? Not only had the plan changed, but nearly two-thirds of the experienced personnel were leaving. It was inevitable that there would be grievances.
"Is there really a difference between meeting them early or late?"
"Furthermore, while the number of monsters is high this time, they are within your power to handle. You are the future talents of this planet; we would never let you sacrifice yourselves for nothing."
The Chief Instructor offered one final explanation before cutting off further discussion. He gave a direct order: "Any who disobey will be expelled immediately, and their authorization to use Monster Rings will be permanently revoked."
For students who had tasted power, having it stripped away was a fate worse than death. Moreover, everyone present knew they couldn't entrust their safety to others; they had to hold it firmly in their own hands. Despite their reluctance, they had no choice but to comply.
"Very well. Next, we will begin distributing the Monster Rings and providing data on the monster species you will be facing on this mission."
The Chief Instructor paused, then added: "By the way, Student Ye Feng, please step forward and come to me separately to receive your Monster Fusion Device."