Infinite Terror: Infinite Reversal

Chapter 520 Old and New

Today's remote live-fire training has come to an end, but while the other recruits returned to their respective dormitories, Mu Xiang and the others were left behind.

The old man gestured for them to sit down, and Mu Xiang nodded and sat down first. Zheng Zha was quite easygoing, but Luo Gandao hesitated for a moment. The instructor stood behind the old man, and when Luo Gandao looked at them, the old man nodded. This forced Luo Gandao to sit down.

Zhao Yingkong remained silent. She sat down next to him almost immediately, but her face clearly showed no desire to communicate.

Everyone initially thought only Mu Xiang and his two companions would be kept on, but thanks to the instructor's recommendation, Zhao Yingkong, who would have been considered excellent in previous years, was also retained. She herself was indifferent and even impatient about it, but after Mu Xiang offered a few words of encouragement through the mental link, she finally accepted the outcome.

“According to the standards of previous years, trainees who perform well in this step are also eligible for recommendation,” the instructor said. “So you have that opportunity today too.”

If it's as I think... then it would be faster, but the arrangements will probably have to be changed.

As he was thinking, Mu Xiang noticed that Zhao Yingkong's expression was slightly cold. He smiled bitterly to himself and tapped Zhao Yingkong's leg under the table with his left hand.

"What kind of training have you received before?" The old man smiled faintly. "I'm afraid that apart from that old fellow, no one else could have taken the preparatory training to this level."

Zheng Zha was stunned for a moment, Luo Gandao was completely baffled, Zhao Yingkong was expressionless... and then Mu Xiang smiled faintly and snapped his fingers.

“Oh dear, just as you thought…” Zhang Jie’s somewhat helpless voice rang in everyone’s ears, “Although he was definitely infected by the spiritual power that had been spread out before, if it’s a specific requirement, you can’t do it with that little bit of infection.”

"It's alright, I'm here for you." Mu Xiang smiled to himself. "Let him skip this problem. He's starting with a royal flush, I can't handle it."

The conversation flashed through their minds, but for the old man, the instructor, and the guards, it was as if some means had taken away those few seconds. Then the instructor introduced the old man to them.

It was as if... the old man had never asked that question.

Mu Xiang sat upright in the first row of the hall, pretending to be conversing with the elderly man in front of him. But his gaze was fixed on a set of regulations on the wall.

The old man had previously ordered all the cameras in the training hall to be turned off, so that no one except himself, a few new recruits, guards, and instructors could hear the conversation.

However... in one corner of the electronic screen displaying the training regulations, there was a miniature camera that remained unaffected.

[Having good eyesight definitely has its advantages... I was originally planning to look for an opportunity, but now it seems there are undercurrents brewing even within the Allied training base.] This old man was named Alexei Vasilyev, a veteran Mecha Dragon pilot who had retired from frontline duty and was now in charge of the Allied Mecha Dragon training program. According to the instructors, he was one of the two prodigies of his generation, alongside Teks Conway, and was once a contender for the title of the world's strongest.

Back then, besides his own mech, the Allied's most advanced mech, the Kobalvsky 7, was also piloted by only him... It wasn't just the most advanced in the Allies, but also in the entire world. In fact, the design of that mech was epoch-making; almost all subsequent gladiator mechs were based on it.

However, the instructor didn't say what happened next, but Mu Xiang and the others knew... because they had all seen the movie.

This state-of-the-art mech was destroyed in a battle against Tex Conway, the current commander of the United States' Mech Dragons, when it was struck by its only weakness.

The United States mech's laser cannon struck the state-of-the-art mech at the perfect position and time, instantly reversing the situation. The Allies lost the most crucial battle as a result, and Tex Conway became a legendary hero of the United States.

After that, his feat of defeating the strongest mech with a less advanced one became legendary, and the title of the strongest mech of that era was no longer in doubt.

Mu Xiang pushed up his glasses. It seemed that Vasilyev's retirement to the second line was related to World War I.
Alexei smiled calmly: "There's nothing to hide. After losing to Tex, I stepped down from the front lines. Although the Kobalvsky 7 was destroyed and its technology was stolen, it wasn't difficult for the Allies to produce it again. After that, I focused on studying mech piloting techniques."

A hint of embarrassment flashed across the instructor's face. This feeling of trying to avoid offending someone of higher status without being appreciated was truly unpleasant... But he still said, "General Alexei is a legend of the old era and a pioneer of new technologies in the new era. Many elites of the United States have come to the General for advice. The technology he developed for the new mechs has spread all over the world along with the popularization of the new mechs."

"As for how the new mechs became widespread... well, that's not exactly something to be proud of," Alexei said with a self-deprecating laugh.

The instructor, of course, couldn't take the bait. He smiled politely and looked at Mu Xiang and the others.

Mu Xiang rolled his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that? Wasn't it you who wanted to say it?"
Alexei straightened up. He was quite old, but still possessed a remarkable vitality; his lean, yet well-built physique was far superior to that of Tex Conway from the United States in the film. The old man's smile faded, and he tapped the armrest of his chair.
“In the past, each training base on each front would select the best trainees and send them to the Central Federal District for centralized training… This is the right of each base, but if I were present, I could also select trainees for training. At the bases in the Central Federal District, I would give them a few lessons. The fact that you are sitting here today already qualifies you for this…”

Zheng Zha muttered to himself, "Aren't there many classes in this base? We're just one class."

“However, if it were just for this qualification, I wouldn’t have come in person. I could have just submitted the list once the entire base’s roster was finalized.” Alexei’s gaze swept over Logan, then over Zheng Zha and Mu Xiang. “Every year on this day, I come to the bases along one of the front lines to find the most suitable candidates. You could consider becoming Alexander’s junior brothers?”

Alexander… that Allied's most powerful mecha dragon who appears as a villain in the movie, is Alexei's student. And the implication of becoming his junior is quite obvious.

[Is it because after Alexander, there hasn't been a sufficiently outstanding new generation... just like Achilles, the protagonist of the United States?]

(End of this chapter)