CHAPTER 388: CHAPTER 388: GOAL

A group of young lads, when words fail, are ready to throw punches...

Ji You and Chu Jiaojiao teamed up, one with the strongest combat power, the other with the strongest gab, and for a moment, they actually managed to suppress the momentum of the ostensibly united but actually estranged twin brothers Yue Qiguang and Yue Qiyuan.

Sheng Qingyan?

Rather than thinking of stopping them, he was enjoying the show from the side, occasionally egging them on: "That’s enough... Why are you not fighting yet?"

Just as the room was about to become a scene of utter chaos, the hotpot restaurant owner was a bit frightened and worried. He turned his head and happened to see Shen Changqing sitting quietly by the side with an exceedingly calm expression.

The hotpot restaurant owner couldn’t help but express his concern: "Shen Changqing, why don’t you care? Why don’t you try to break it up?"

Shen Changqing looked up, glanced at the noisy bunch, sighed, and said, "Can’t stop them."

The hotpot restaurant owner: "..."

Shen Changqing added: "So it’s unnecessary."

The hotpot restaurant owner: "..."

"And besides—" Seeing the worry of the hotpot restaurant owner, Shen Changqing kindly reassured him: "They’re just arguing for fun, they won’t really fight. It’s fine if we just watch from the side."

His words were as if he had seen it all before and was completely unfazed by the situation.

The hotpot restaurant owner looked and saw indeed, as Shen Changqing had said, these four guys, one cusses out the other’s nose, then the other retorts back at the first one’s nose, back and forth...

It was just verbal jabs, satisfying their need to talk trash.

They really wouldn’t start fighting.

In no time at all, the hotpot restaurant owner stopped worrying needlessly.

However, the alpaca Mengmeng, seeing Ji You’s raging and spitting image, thought it was amusing and toddled over. Whenever Ji You cussed, Mengmeng would bleat.

And so—

The chaotic scene became as follows:

Yue Qiguang: "Fight! Whoever doesn’t is a ’son’!"

Ji You: "Come on! Just itching to beat up a ’grandson’ here!"

Mengmeng shouts: "Baa~"

Yue Qiguang: "You think I’m afraid of you just because you’re loud?"

Ji You: "Grandpa’s not only loud, but he’s also got big fists!"

Mengmeng: "Baa~"

...

This spectacle was simply unbearable to watch.

In the end, Chu Jiaojiao retired from the battlefield, folding her arms, quietly watching the show.

Yue Qiyuan, seeing his temples throbbing, couldn’t stand it any longer and backed away as well. He was afraid if this went on, even his IQ would be dragged down.

After a while.

Yue Qiguang’s voice had gone hoarse.

Ji You fiercely gulped down some water, clenched her fists, and said, "Keep going! I’ve got nothing else to do today; I’m just going to keep chatting with you."

Mengmeng: "Baa~"

Even Mengmeng’s voice had become somewhat hoarse from bleating too vigorously.

Yue Qiguang rolled his eyes shut: "Only an idiot would continue."

Sitting on chairs and calmly enjoying the show, Chu Jiaojiao, Sheng Qingyan, Shen Changqing, and Yue Qiyuan all stood up and started to leave.

The hotpot restaurant owner looked puzzled: "Why are you all leaving just like that?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Changqing kindly replied: "It’s over."

The hotpot restaurant owner: "..."

Over here.

The ferocious Ji You, in the instant she turned her head towards Mengmeng, immediately turned amicable, "Mengmeng, your sister is leaving, I have things to do this afternoon, be good."

Mengmeng stretched out its head, its large eyes still filled with the excitement of having just had an argument with Ji You, and now it felt somewhat unwilling to part. It rubbed its head vigorously against Ji You’s palm: "Meh~"

Ji You raised her hand and gave Mengmeng’s head a good rub, smiling and saying, "Good kid! Remember the task sister gave you, eat your grass well, sleep well, and next time I come over, I’ll check to see how well you completed your task."

Mengmeng knew it was futile to resist, so it just nodded its head: "Ao!"

After pacifying Mengmeng, the group finally left the hotpot restaurant. Because the business district was a great distance from the Material Department’s grand hall, and one couldn’t reach the grand hall by merely walking until darkness fell, in order to make it in time for the event scheduled with Professor Ye Hong and Professor Jiang Yulan, the miserly Ji You gritted her teeth and, with determination, flagged down a Floating Car.

The entire trip, the carriage was silent.

Having had a noisy argument at the hotpot restaurant, where they vented an indescribable emotion, everyone was now devoid of any impulse to quarrel or make trouble.

With the two most troublesome individuals, Ji You and Yue Qiguang, keeping quiet, the rest of the crowd also maintained their silence.

Ji You’s eyebrows furrowed; her heart felt stifled, as if something was stuck there.

120,000 warriors.

Not twelve, not one hundred and twenty, but 120,000...

Did she know any of them?

No!

No!

No!

Ji You quickly tried to discard the thought that had just emerged in her mind, but—could she not feel sad or heartbroken simply because she didn’t know them personally?—When the list of combat losses was published, how many families shattered in that moment, how many once familiar, acquaintance, or even strangers met once and would never be seen again...

Ji You tightly pursed her lips.

She remembered the cheerful senior Yang Bin, the elegant and handsome Lu Zhen, and the countless figures at Taoyuan Space Station, who, having only met her once, hurriedly left...

They...

Ji You suddenly clenched her fists.

Scavenging on the garbage planet, collecting in the suburbs, laboring on the Star Network, failing interviews, splitting a single nutrient solution into two meals... Scenes of the past surged continuously in her mind.

To live.

To make sure she lives well, and that Xiao You also exists well.

One could say that since she had crossed into this world, this was Ji You’s sole objective. She spared no effort, pinched pennies, and exhausted her energy, all for the sake of surviving well in this splendid and colorful interstellar era.

Learning and becoming stronger was also to live a better life.

However—

When Ji You thought she would always maintain this mindset, the faces of senior Yang Bin, senior Lu Zhen, and Admiral Bai Ji’s grandiose words—"The menace of the Star Beasts shall be eradicated eventually."—flashed through her mind, unintentionally and countless times.

Remembering...

Now, after hearing the clear future plans of Chu Jiaojiao and Yue Qiguang, Ji You felt a resounding explosion in her head at that moment.

She suddenly remembered that, regarding herself, Xiao You, and many other things, she had always maintained a resigned attitude. She knew she needed to work hard, to become stronger, but she didn’t have a concrete plan, a specific standard.

How strong should she become? What should she do?

To what extent should she reach?

What are the short-term goals?

And the long-term goals?

...

Such questions—and many more alike—left Ji You totally confused, utterly clueless.

Now what?

Should she continue like this?

...

The Floating Car kept moving towards the Material Department’s grand hall, drawing ever closer. The carriage was as quiet as ever. Suddenly, Ji You lifted her head, looking at her fellow students with a determined glint in her eyes:

"I’ve decided too, after graduation, I’m going to join the Sixth Legion."

She spoke softly.