Beyond the Zenith

Mira slapped the wooden platform twice, eliciting two loud whacks in an attempt to pull Han Qingyu’s attention back.

This future platoon leader sometimes wondered if it was better for her to temporarily act more gently to be more likable. However, if she did that, she feared it would make her look weak or unreliable. A platoon leader had to be revered after all!

Based on her memories of her own training days, recruits usually picked arrogant, brutish bastards with their noses constantly in the air. Those were the ones who gained the recruits’ trust.

“Han Qingyu!”

“Present.”

“Please pay attention, okay? I’m about to explain something important.”

“Sorry, Platoon Leader.”

“It’s alright. You were just distracted.” Clearing her throat, she stiffened her expression, turned her head back, and then glared at the injured Dormitory 11 recruits. “Have you ever wondered why recruit hand-to-hand training begins with chaotic brawls like today? Or why this platform is so small when our battles against Sharpies take place in much larger environments?”

The answers to these two questions were so obvious to the instructors that they did not even need to be considered.

Wen Jifei almost reflexively quipped, “Actually, I haven’t wondered that,” but, out of respect to her, he held his tongue.

“The answer to the first question is simple. Soldiers wearing armor are still human, and human instinct is valuable. People who rely on established forms and techniques often become slower at reacting on instinct. That’s what the Azure Coalition has learned. So first, we strengthen your combat instincts and responses, making your bodies remember them. In most life-and-death situations, instinct determines survival.”

Mira’s gaze swept across the recruits. It was rare to see them so serious, and she couldn’t help but feel like a true platoon leader.

“As for the small platform,” she continued, “that’s intentional. It trains two critical concepts in future combat: acceleration and restraint.”

She paused, then added weakly, “Restraint... means stopping.”

“Understood.”

“Mm. You may think that we’re not limited by location size when we’re fighting the Sharpies, but in reality, the actual engagement range against a Sharpie is much smaller than you imagine. Judgments on when to start moving and how fast to move affect whether you seize or lose an opportunity. Being able to stop when necessary, coupled with the level of control you have over your body, affects whether you get hit. The difference between life and death can be measured in millimeters.”

She paused, letting them discuss among themselves. Then, she suddenly shouted, “Wen Jifei!”

“Huh?”

Mira’s fist was flying toward his face before he could finish turning around. Unable to react in time, he continued turning his head for a fraction of a second.

A loud bam echoed through the field.

Mira had pulled her punch, but Wen Jifei still hit the ground.

Trying her best to suppress her awkwardness, Mira said coolly, “You’re dead. A pillar sword to the head means certain death.”

Wen Jifei was speechless.

“If you had stopped your motion even one-tenth of a second earlier, my fist would’ve missed. Situations like this become magnified once you’re wearing a source energy maneuvering device, and especially when you’re facing the Sharpies.”

She couldn’t help but glance at where Wen Jifei was scrambling to stand up. Unable to help herself, she took out a tube of ointment and tossed it to him.

“Apply this to the bruise,” she said, doing her best to remain cold.

At that moment, Han Qingyu understood why Mira seemed destined to remain a deputy platoon leader. Apparently, Mira realized it too, because she hurried to recover her authority.

“You’ve all seen that I brought my gun today,” she said. “I want to demonstrate something.”

Twisting around, she threw an iron can that was about fist-wide and palm-long into the air without looking. She then lowered her head and raised her Mira 11.

As the can reached its peak, it seemed to hover briefly before spinning downward.

Her gun went off with a bang, then came the dull clang of metal on metal. The bullet was too fast to see, but the can was once again spinning upward into the sky.

This movement suggested that the bullet had hit the can from a diagonally upward angle, accurately clipping the edge of its base. If it had hit the can’s body, it would not have moved this way.

“Mira 11 is my custom autocannon. I’m not using the standard bullets today. They’re... very girthy.”

It was a little strange hearing a pretty girl say something was girthy, but they had no time to think about it.

Bang.

The falling can was sent skyward again in the same arc as before.

“The Mira 11 is normally a five-barrel weapon.” Mira nodded at the barrel.

Bang.

“Keeping the can intact is harder than hitting it.”

Bang.

“Most regular soldiers can’t control the Mira 11 at full power. Even among Azure soldiers, very few have the talent.”

Bang.

The can continued to rise and fall, traveling both farther away and higher up with each shot.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Nearly everyone on the training field was staring up at the can, watching her send it flying repeatedly into the sky. Based on how tiny it was in the distance, it seemed to have traveled more than a thousand meters through the air.

Bang.

The bullet hit the faraway can, and it exploded.

Mira stood, holding her gun upright. “Machine guns are useless in combat against Sharpies, but I’m the only soldier in the Ninth Army both authorized and encouraged to use firearms on the front lines of the Witnesses. I’m Mira Jo, and this is my custom five-barrel ultra-heavy machine cannon, the Mira 11.”

The field was silent for a long moment. Then, cheers erupted.

This demonstration truly astonished the recruits.

***

“As you know, my gun and I still can’t kill a Sharpie,” Mira explained slightly awkwardly after things had settled down. “But I can do certain special things. For example, imagine a Sharpie turning clockwise while swinging its pillar sword.

“The Mira 11 can land a critical hit on a Sharpie’s left shoulder. While it cannot kill a Sharpie, with the right timing and angle, I have one-tenth of a second to add a bit of force on its left shoulder. That tiny force can shift its center of gravity and make its attack slightly slower or off target. This is something a regular machine gun cannot do. Do you understand? Imagine a person turning clockwise, and you push him on his left shoulder.”

Her role may seem like a small thing, but it could still save lives or even prevent Sharpies from reconvening after they were separated. Despite this, there was no pride in her voice.

“I don’t want you to become me,” she said bluntly. “If possible, in a moment like that, I’d rather see you step in and slash the Sharpie yourselves. I only showed you this because I want you to understand how I view combat against Sharpies.

“If you ever wear a source energy maneuvering device, the first sentence printed in bold red letters on the first page of your combat manual will be: Don’t jump. Don’t jump. Don’t jump. That’s because, once you leave the ground, there’ll be a slight delay in acceleration or braking, which turns you into a target. This is something you all will learn in the future. But what I want to emphasize to you today is angle, angle, angle.”

Afterward, she stepped onto the platform and sparred with every dorm member. Although she used little force, her fists seemed to appear from every conceivable angle toward joints and weak points.

***

Dormitory 11 was resting and getting ready to go eat after the training session ended when Mira approached Han Qingyu.

“You did pretty well,” she praised. “My lipstick got smudged from the fight.”

Only then did everyone realize she had actually been wearing lipstick.

“The midterm assessment is coming soon,” she said, going on to briefly explain the format.

Apparently, recruits would face a combat examination before the source energy integration test. The fight would take place on the same wooden platforms they had used today, and their opponents would be two-year veterans wearing simplified source energy equipment.

“They’ll only defend. You get to attack them with ordinary iron blades for two minutes. If you hit them, you win.” She clapped her hands. “I hope all of you perform well.”

Then, after walking away from the group, she abruptly turned again to Han Qingyu. “Can you win it for me?”

“What’s the prize?”

“A banner... and assessment points.” Mira blushed as she recalled the promise she had made during her first meeting with Dormitory 11. Still, that was only if they won first place. Even if Han Qingyu won the midterm assessment, their total points would still be far from first.

“Any money?” Han Qingyu asked bluntly. “If not, I’m not interested.”

What do you mean, not interested?! Mira was stunned, but Han Qingyu was already walking away while muttering to himself.

She ran up to him and caught his arm. “Win it for me.”

When he turned around, their eyes met.

“Win it for me, okay?” she asked awkwardly but sincerely, keeping his gaze. “Show everyone that I’m actually half-decent.”