What the Hell Is This — Preferential Treatment?

The green-haired, squinting commander glanced over at Lu Yuan's group, then smiled.

"Student Zhu Zhengyang has decent strength. Pity he doesn't quite cut it as a soldier."

Zhu Zhengyang came back to himself, a flush of shame and irritation crossing his face. "That was just a sparring match!" he shot back. "How was I supposed to know that guy would throw his own life away?! I admit I underestimated him — but if we did it again, I wouldn't make the same mistake!"

The commander smiled. "Oh? If you were asked to bet your life — would you be willing?"

Zhu Zhengyang blinked, staring at him without understanding.

"As a soldier," the commander continued, still smiling, "there will always come a time when you face an enemy stronger than yourself. If you knew, beyond any doubt, that fighting meant death — would you still throw yourself into that fight?"

Zhu Zhengyang opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

He was a prodigy of the Talent Camp, with a Battle King for a father and a brilliant future stretched out before him. If things went smoothly, becoming a Battle King himself was well within reach. Against an opponent he could never beat — would he really throw his life away?

"If you already know you can't win," he said at last, "why fight at all? Isn't that just stupidity?"

The commander's expression didn't change. His voice stayed warm, almost gentle. "What if your hometown is behind you? What if your comrades are at your back? Would you be willing to give your life — to buy them even the slimmest chance?"

Zhu Zhengyang went quiet.

The commander said nothing more, just smiled. "All right. Your evaluation is over, Student Zhu Zhengyang. Next."

Zhu Zhengyang turned without a word, stepped down from the stage, and rejoined the group.

None of them had anything to say. Even Lu Yuan, standing there with those words ringing in his ears, couldn't help asking himself the same question. *If it were me — would I?*

He had the Evolution Cube. If things went according to plan, he would one day reach War God — or beyond. But before that day came, facing an enemy he simply could not defeat — would he stand firm and fight to the death?

He didn't have an answer.

He wasn't alone. The others all wore the same distant, distracted look.

Seeing them lost in thought, the commander spoke again. "Next. Who's going up?"

They snapped out of it. Maige said calmly, "I'll go."

He pushed off the ground and landed on the stage in a single leap.

His expression was serious. "My name is Maige. Second-rank, peak Chief Grade, Assassin Type. I look forward to this."

After watching Zhu Zhengyang, some of Maige's earlier irritation had given way to something more measured.

"I'll take this one."

A tall man with a square jaw and hair cropped into stiff spikes stood up from the crowd. He jumped onto the stage — the whole platform shuddered under his weight — and grinned at Maige.

"Lufu. Second-rank, peak Boss Grade, Guardian Type. Let's see what you've got."

Without further preamble, the two of them clashed.

Maige fought with twin short swords, his movements blindingly fast. Lufu wore heavy battle armor and carried an enormous shield and war hammer. Despite Maige's speed and footwork, Lufu — a Second-rank Boss Grade warrior — held firm, turning aside every strike with steady, unhurried defense. The few hits that landed were shallow scratches, nothing more.

The efficiency of it caught even Lu Yuan off guard. *He's incredible with that shield.* Every movement was textbook-perfect — not learned from a manual, but forged through years of life-or-death combat.

The fight dragged on. As time passed, both men burned through their Spirit Power, and the force behind each technique began to wane. As a peak Chief Grade warrior, Maige had the larger reserve — but as the attacker, he was spending it faster than Lufu, who only needed to hold the line.

By now, both men were bleeding. Maige had taken only superficial cuts. Lufu, though, had accumulated deep gashes — some bone-deep — and a jagged slash now marked his face.

Yet Lufu didn't make a sound. He just kept blocking, steady and relentless — until, in the opening of one of Maige's strikes, he did the unthinkable. He dropped his shield — the lifeline he'd been clinging to — and before Maige could react, threw himself forward and wrapped his arms around him in a crushing bear hug. He let both short swords drive into his chest and gut, and pressed the war hammer to a halt right against Maige's throat.

The moment Maige conceded defeat, Lufu collapsed from blood loss. One of those blades had come within a hair's breadth of his heart.

Maige's loss left the Talent Camp prodigies shaken — questioning themselves.

They could all see it now: compared to these soldiers, they unconsciously held back. They second-guessed themselves. And when an opponent threw their own life into the exchange, they flinched away. That ferocity — the willingness to spend your life without hesitation — was something none of them possessed. Even when the mind commanded the body to meet fire with fire, the flesh refused to listen. It stepped back. It dodged. It fled.

It was the survival instinct — the animal drive to avoid death that every living thing was born with. Overriding that instinct, truly staring death in the face without blinking, was no small feat. Those who could do it deserved respect.

The evaluations that followed were bloodier than what had come before. These were prodigies with pride, and against opponents who were technically weaker, losing was simply not an option. Even Yan Jing let something harder and colder show in her eyes as she fought — and she pushed herself further than the others, and paid for it with a broken arm.

Fortunately, they all carried high-grade healing medicine, and the camp's medical Gene Warriors were on hand. The injuries were dealt with quickly.

Before long, all nine of the others had completed their evaluations — everyone except Lu Yuan. The first two, Zhu Zhengyang and Maige, had struggled to adapt. The rest had at least gone in mentally prepared, and with higher raw stats on their side, the odds had tilted in their favor. In the end, four of the nine lost, and five won.

"One more." The commander turned his gaze to Lu Yuan, still wearing that same easy smile.

Lu Yuan vanished from where he stood and reappeared on the stage in an instant.

He swept his gaze over the rows of soldiers watching below — burning eyes, hungry for a fight — and grinned. "Lu Yuan. Second-rank, beginner Lord Grade, Guardian Type. I look forward to this."

His words landed like a stone in still water.

The soldiers who had been watching with such eager anticipation went still. The battle-hunger in their eyes extinguished all at once.

The hulking man with the mechanical eye — who had been standing on stage with the commander — snapped his head up. The red light in his mechanical eye flickered rapidly, and the arms folded across his chest slowly dropped.

The red-haired woman beside him also looked up, surprise flashing in her gaze as she studied the figure on the stage.

Even the commander — still on stage — froze for a moment. Those perpetually narrowed eyes opened, just a sliver.

He looked at Lu Yuan and smiled. "Didn't expect to find a young genius with Innate Lord Grade in our 256th Camp."

Lu Yuan blinked, then smiled. "My Lord, I'm not Innate Lord Grade."

"Not Innate Lord Grade?"

The commander's eyes opened a fraction wider.

Below, the mechanical-eyed giant and the red-haired woman stared at Lu Yuan with naked disbelief.

The assembled soldiers widened their eyes and broke into hushed murmurs.

The commander studied Lu Yuan, a flicker of shock crossing his face. "...You went through an ordinary Awakening?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "That's right."

The corner of the commander's mouth twitched. His expression shifted entirely. He muttered almost to himself: "...An ordinary Awakening, and you've already inscribed Lord Grade genes at Second-rank? There are monsters like this? How did the Talent Camp ever agree to send you out here?"

Down below, Maige and the others exchanged glances.

Their expressions darkened. They stared at the commander, utterly speechless.

This was the same man who had just been calling Talent Camp students pampered greenhouse flowers — too soft for real soldiering. And now, the moment it was their junior Lu Yuan's turn, he was saying the Talent Camp shouldn't have let him come at all?

*What the hell is this — preferential treatment?*

Lu Yuan himself looked a little taken aback. *This feels kind of absurd.*

The commander seemed to notice the strange looks he was getting, and caught himself. His eyes narrowed back to their usual slits.

"You don't need to be evaluated."

Lu Yuan blinked. "Why not?"

"Our warriors here aren't prodigies like yourselves," the commander said. "Among our Second-rank soldiers, the strongest gene inscribed is Boss Grade. Against the rest of your group, a Second-rank Boss Grade could put up a decent fight — but the gap between Boss Grade and Lord Grade at Second-rank is simply too wide. There's no match to be had."

Lu Yuan stared.

*I was looking forward to this.* He'd been planning to put on a good showing and earn a higher-stakes post — one that would bring in more battle merits and, by extension, more Credits. And now he was being told he didn't even need to fight?

He straightened up. "Reporting to the Commander! If there's no evaluation, then I'd like to formally request assignment to the most dangerous post available."

That stopped everyone cold.

A top-tier prodigy — asking for the most dangerous position?

The commander looked him up and down with a peculiar expression. "Reason?"

"The most dangerous post means the most battle merits, right?" Lu Yuan said. "Our school's mission requires converting battle merits into Credits, and I'm running a bit short."

"Ha. Student Lu Yuan, I appreciate the honesty." The commander chuckled. "The forbidden zones have been stirring lately — a beast tide is likely not far off. When that happens, anyone in the Guard will rack up merits regardless of their post. That said, if you want the most merits possible, I can assign you to the Vanguard. During a beast tide, the Vanguard takes the full brunt of the charge head-on. Mortality rate is very high. You sure?"

Lu Yuan's eyes lit up. "The Vanguard really does get the most merits?"

The commander looked at that eager face with a peculiar expression. *That wasn't quite the question I was asking.* Still, he nodded. "Indeed it does."

"Then yes, I'm sure!" Lu Yuan paused, struck by a thought. "Actually — since the beast tide hasn't started yet, do Vanguard soldiers still earn a lot of merits in the meantime?"

The corner of the commander's mouth twitched. A cold grin spread across his face. "...Then I'll assign you to the Vanguard's Scout Unit. Before the beast tide begins, they're responsible for scouting Feral Beast movements across our camp's sector. Guaranteed most merits. Though — the Scout Unit's annual mortality rate runs above sixty percent. Still want in?"

Lu Yuan looked completely satisfied. "The Scout Unit it is! Thank you, Commander! You're a good man!"

At that, every soldier in the plaza — the commander included — wore the same baffled expression.

The Vanguard's Scout Unit. Annual mortality above sixty percent. This prodigy couldn't wait to join, and he was calling the commander a *good man* for agreeing to it.

*Is this guy insane?*

Everyone was staring at Lu Yuan like he'd grown a second head — Maige's group included.

"Wait, wait, wait — seriously?!" someone exclaimed. "Junior Lu Yuan wants to join the Vanguard Scout Unit — the one with over sixty percent mortality?!"

Zhu Zhengyang's mouth fell open. He couldn't form words.

Yan Jing stared wide-eyed. "...Junior Lu Yuan is absolutely out of his mind. You'd risk your life just for Credits?"

"A talent like Junior Lu Yuan just needs to keep cultivating steadily — he's bound to become a powerhouse someday," someone else added. "This is way too reckless."

The sentiment rippled through the crowd.

Maige's expression was grim. "...I'm going to talk some sense into him later."

Up on the stage, the commander stared at Lu Yuan for a long moment before gathering himself. He said slowly:

"You can join the Vanguard Scout Unit — but only if you have what it takes. Let me see what you're capable of." He paused. "Groat — you're up."

A blond-haired man rose to his feet, blurred into a streak of afterimages, and landed on the stage in an instant.

He looked at Lu Yuan with a relaxed grin. "A calf that doesn't fear the tiger — Lord Grade genes at Second-rank, a genuine little monster, and here you are itching to throw your life away. Beat me first, or don't bother going."

Lu Yuan looked at the blond man. *He's just worried about me.* With a mortality rate like that, Groat probably didn't want to watch a promising kid walk into the grinder.

"Thanks for the concern, sir," Lu Yuan said with a smile. "But let me try."

The commander glanced at him and smiled faintly. "Very well. Begin."

He stepped off the stage, leaving it to Lu Yuan and Groat.

They stood facing each other. Groat's grin was easy, casual. "Names aside — I'm Third-rank, low-level Boss Grade, just broke through not long ago. Assault Type. Ready?"

"I gave my introduction already," Lu Yuan said. "Let's go."

Black-and-gold battle armor materialized around his body, and a black-gold greatsword nearly two meters long took form in his hands.

The moment his Gene Armament took shape, a powerful aura surged outward — and the easy smile on Groat's face stiffened.

The casualness faded completely. His eyes on Lu Yuan now held genuine shock, and something heavier beneath it.

Years of battlefield experience had honed his instincts to a razor edge, and those instincts were screaming at him now, clear and unmistakable: *Lu Yuan is dangerous. Very dangerous.*

He was a Third-rank, low-level Boss Grade warrior. His opponent was a Second-rank beginner Lord Grade. And he was sensing a lethal threat.

*What kind of joke was this??*