From the corner of Alice's eyes, she saw the team members of the Golden Raven Guild sleeping inside the pods, dreaming of a dream called 'the real world outside the game'.

And a new Suit was sleeping inside Lance's hibernating pod.

Alice was just about to retract her gaze when someone from the other side of the room caught her attention.

Marshal Klein just pointed them out as the group of trainees who just arrived. On the front is an ordinary young man with a build that is not noticeable, especially in a crowd full of muscular men.

But Alice knew this man. And she could not mistake the anger and uncontrollable rage burning in his eyes when he watched his teammates trapped inside the hibernating pods. Forcibly having their minds controlled by aliens.

"Why is he here? Wasn't he supposed to go to the other fortress?"

[I…also don't know. I did not receive communication from system W-XH3441 about this. I believe this is not my fellow system's arrangement but the mecha alien species' decision.]

In Alice's sight, pop up screens suddenly appeared. Codes fly and disappear before a live footage of the boring process when Lance undergoes the whole tiring process of cleansing his body with the black fluid.

[It seems the other high ranking officers in this fortress sent the order of bringing these trainees here. The 67th fortress encountered a mishap with one of their Suits being corrupted and infecting other Suits. The trainees and other Suits that are not infected were sent to different fortresses.]

"They plan to isolate the 67th fortress to contain the infection?'

One of the men who came with Marshal Klein grabbed Alice by the arm and shoved her towards the group of strong and bulky men and women trainees.

The head chief of the personnel who escorted the trainees saluted Marshal Klein and the others before handing over a thick pile of papers.

"These are the complete personal details of every trainee and their everyday vitals that we recorded. Unfortunately, because of the incident, we lost some of the trainees. But rest assured, sir, that everyone was thoroughly cleansed and purified from the black fluid before we let them step foot in this place."

"Good. A new trainee will be joining for the scheduled survival examination today." Marshal Klein waved his hand, beckoning for Alice.

When Alice stepped forward to go over to Marshal's side, the man with green eyes who'd been pulling and dragging her since earlier suddenly grabbed her right hand. Under the eyes of everyone, he broke Alice's elbow.

The crisp sound of bones cracking made some of the new trainees scalps rise. Even Alice groaned in pain. Her eyes reddened, and she bit her lips, trying her best not to let a scream escape from her throat.

Lance, who had been silent since earlier, immediately stepped forward and grabbed Alice away from the man.

"What the hell are you trying to do here?" The green eyed Marshall gave Lance a cold look.

Lance also did not know why he stepped forward. He also doesn't know why he felt the urge to protect this young lady.

But watching her silently endure the pain and did not even utter a sound as this man broke her arm, Lance could not help but be angered.

"Isn't it too extreme for you sir to break a woman's arm?"

The green eyed Marshall snickered. "Ha! You dare to question my authority? Has new trainees these days no longer know the hierarchy and ignored the natural law?"

The law of submitting to the strong and showing complete obedience towards the people above has always been the natural law of the mecha alien species that were strictly followed. Even before they evolutionized, this law keep the order.

The green eyed Marshal pulled Lance by the collar. In his other hand, there was a flash of spark. He really ought to teach this new seedling a lesson. If he don't, will the other trainees learn to disrespect him? Absolutely not!

Just as the spark reach Lance's face, Marshal Klein's cold voice reverberated in the closed room.

"Enough."

"The trainees will take the assessment as scheduled. There's no need to make trouble after coming this far." The second sentence was spoken without much emotion.

But it hit right where it hurts. The pride of the green eyed Marshal was critically hit.

How can he bear such shame!

Marshal Klein nodded to the other soldiers who have been waiting at the side.

"Everyone, please look this way." Marshal Klein stepped forward and pointed to the different hibernation pods lining up in the corner.

"These are the new batch of suits this fortress had invested to. Each member possessed great potential, strong attack power and great coordination. Their performance has been exceeding our expectation recently because of the addition of the new Suit member. However, in the last fight against the monster alien base, they lose this promising rookie. A new member was placed to replaced the rookie. However, a new arising problem has emerged."

Marshal Klein pointed to the young man at the center. His face could barely be seen because of the strands of hair constantly weep in front of his face. But Lance recognized him. Even without the suit or having the person awake.

This was his captain he had great respect for for years.

"In just a month, his life expectancy will end. This Suit has been serving his purpose for more than a year. On the 29th day of next month, he will hit his limit. And losing the captain will certainly affect the fighting power of the whole team. To address this issue, the board has decided that instead of randomly choosing Suits to take up the role of a captain, how about choosing a captain from one of the cultivated trainees?"

This speech stirred a series of reactions from the trainees. It was evident these trainees trained for hours each day just to limb the ladder. Each are eager to strive and provide themselves worthy. So how could they refuse such an opportunity?

Marshal Klein swept his eyes across these trainees' faces, his heart knotted. During the meeting he had with the other Marshals in this fortress, his intention to place Alice as the captain of the team were thrown at the side.

None of the other Marshals wanted to hear it. Alice already has a bad record on her name. She broke the rule, tried to escape and even dared to point her finger at a Challenger!

These offenses warrant immediate death!

But out of respect for Marshal Klein and also to avoid tarnishing his reputation, The board decided to demote Alice. She will lose every award, status, and title. She will no longer be the direct subject of Marshal Klein.

In other words, she needs to start from the bottom again.

Marshal Klein was saddened to hear this, but he hardened his heart and deliver this news to Alice.

As he spoke to her, his eyes conveyed the words, "After all of your hard work, was it really worth it to lose everything just because of a Suit?"

Sadly, Alice refused to look at him.

Now, Alice also did not look nor did she acknowledge the presence of Marshal Klein.

She was standing among the group of trainees. Making her presence as scarce as possible.

"Overall, the assessment consists of three different levels. The first is to test your fighting skills, second is your survival skills, third is a simulation of conquering a F - grade monster alien base."

"For the benefit of all, the corruption level in the F - grae monster alien base can be cleansed immediately and no harm shall befall on you. However, once you are corrupted, you will be immediately eliminated. Further explanation of the rules will be provided on the assessment. Your performances will be graded by us, three marshals. S the highest and C the lowest. If one of us give you a grade of D, it means you are directly eliminated and have failed the assessment. For the final grade, you will also be considered to fail if your overall score equals to C. Do you have other questions?"

The trainees were silent. The green eyed Marshal took this opportunity to step forward and stood in front of Marshal Klein.

"They don't have any question but I do."

Judging from his tone, it was obvious he was up to no good. The other Marshal frowned at him, obviously not pleased by his conduct. His repeated offense already garnered bad impression from the trainees. If they let this rogue flaunt his dick like attitude, the trainees impression of the Marshals in this fortress will definitely plummet.
One of the Marshals who've been silent since earlier decided to step forward and placed his hand on the green eyed Marshal's shoulder.

"Time is tight. You can ask the question after the trainees have settled in - "