Chapter 2: Assignment Day on the Federation’s Warship

Within the Human Federation, there are currently a total of five fleets.

The First Fleet stands as the most powerful among them—on paper, its size alone is double that of the others.

Many even refer to it as the Guardian Fleet.

After all, the First Fleet is tasked with protecting humanity’s homeworld, Earth—the heart of civilization and administrative command.

The others are deployed at Europa as the Second Fleet, Titan as the Third Fleet, and the Fourth Fleet holding position in the Kuiper Belt.

If you call the First Fleet the Guardians, then the Second through Fourth Fleets are the border forces. Together, these three fleets—

form the Federation’s outer line of defense.

As for the Fifth Fleet, it’s just been assembled and hasn’t reached full strength yet.

Currently, it’s stationed temporarily in Mars orbit, waiting for more ships and personnel to arrive.

That’s why most Federation soldiers see the First Fleet as the place to be.

Better gear, a shorter trip to the Federation’s Moon Headquarters, and the chance to visit Earth more often.

Most importantly, the First Fleet offers more opportunities for advancement than any other.

But once the aptitude reports came out, all those dreams vanished in a puff of smoke.

Just like the first line in the book ‘Age of Super Evolution’ says:

Hard work sets your floor, but your brain development sets your ceiling.

Maybe you’re doing better than others now, but their potential could leave you in the dust.

Lin Yu was frustrated, but there was nothing he could do about it.

By tradition, aside from the three prodigies given direct appointments, anyone else with a 20% brain development is still considered gifted—they can be assigned to destroyers. Sure, it’s not as prestigious as starting on a cruiser, but it’s not bad either.

If you’re not a genius, no matter how good your grades are—

you’ll probably have to start off on a frigate.

And if you’re unlucky, you might not even make it that far; you’ll end up serving a few years on a patrol ship first.

——

The next day.

For every graduate, today is a huge milestone.

Second only to the innate brain aptitude test and final exams, it ranks third in importance.

That’s why everyone gets their graduation assignment orders today.

Beep—beep—

Lin Yu’s wrist AI suddenly chimed, a blue projection bursting to life in the air:

[Federation Fleet Transfer Order]

It’s here!

Lin Yu jolted, took a deep breath, then reached out and opened the message.

He fixed his gaze on the assignment in front of him.

A second later—

The air seemed to freeze.

Lin Yu rubbed his eyes hard, then checked the order again.

His face was one of pure disbelief.

“Fifth Fleet… Qiongxiao?”

“Operations staff officer—no trainee title? And the rank of Captain?”

Right now, Lin Yu seriously doubted whether this transfer order was real…

Qiongxiao—the iron heart of the Fifth Fleet, one of the Federation’s only five Warstars.

Every year, graduates scramble just for a trainee staff posting on a cruiser.

But here he was, skipping trainee altogether—straight to operations staff officer, with an instant promotion to Captain?

And he’d landed on a Warstar, without even going through a battleship?

Lin Yu tightened his grip on the wrist AI, the metal edge digging into his palm and leaving a red mark.

What in the world…

was going on here?

——

At that same moment.

Qiongxiao, First Bridge.

Beyond the massive observation window, Mars glared at the warship like a rust-red pupil.

Officer Ye Lingwei gripped an electronic file and approached the command chair from the right. “Admiral, I don’t get it! This kid’s brain development is only nineteen percent, yet you pulled special rank—why…”

The woman in the captain’s seat lounged with her chin propped on her hand, epaulets and rank stars glowing coolly in the dim light.

“Lingwei, have you ever heard of a ‘Gene Lock’?”

She swiped her fingertips across the holographic screen, and a combat simulation of Lin Yu unfolded in the air.

The star clusters turned into a chessboard. Cruiser formations sliced into enemy lines with the precision of a surgeon. “Brain scans can only pick up dominant genes, but some people’s talents… They’re like neutron stars, ordinary on the outside but burning and collapsing inside.”

Ye Lingwei’s eyes went wide. “Are you saying his test results were tampered with?”

Suddenly, realization dawned—Ye Lingwei’s face was filled with disbelief.

“The tamperer is quite clever.” The admiral gave a faint smile. “But they didn’t know that genes saturated with dark energy… leave a lingering echo.”

She pulled up a set of waveforms—a strange frequency pulsed like a heartbeat in the chaos of data streams.

To most it’s just feedback from the simulated combat systems, but to Mu Qingxue, those numbers whispered truths about what lay hidden behind the data.

In fact, across all humanity, she was the only one with such an ability—she called it…

Quantum Resonance!

Because—

since the age of Super Evolution began, she was humanity’s first confirmed “New Human.”

So what exactly is a New Human?

Federation scientists believe—

when a person’s innate brain development exceeds twenty-five percent, they might develop extraordinary abilities.

That’s why the twenty-five percent mark is the dividing line between Old and New Humans.

Of course, none of this has ever been made public.

Even Mu Qingxue’s own file is deemed SSS-level top secret by the entire Federation.

Fewer than five people in the Federation have clearance to view it.

She was already outstanding—her potential is second to none in human history. Add in her military family pedigree, and a grandfather who was the Federation Fleet Commander…

With so many gifts far beyond the ordinary, she reached the peak of fleet command at just thirty-two…

Promoted to Federation Admiral, and appointed commander of the Fifth Fleet.

Her future prospects are limitless.

——

Three days later.

As the shuttle cleared Mars’ gravity well, Lin Yu pressed his forehead to the porthole.

The Qiongxiao’s shadow swallowed up most of his view. Its armored hull was studded with rivets as big as craters, and the railgun batteries gave off a cold, deathly glimmer in the vacuum.

Even a battleship seems like a child compared to the Warstar.

After all, Warstar is nicknamed both the space carrier and the space fortress.

It’s more than twice as long as a battleship.

After about ten minutes, Lin Yu’s shuttle docked on the Qiongxiao’s portside deck.

Facing an airport so massive it felt almost unreal, Lin Yu suddenly remembered his instructor’s words from the academy.

—Warstars aren’t just ships. They’re the mobile torchbearers of civilization.

—The moment you step aboard, you become part of that flame.

Those words belonged to Commander Xiao Chen, captain of the Federation’s first Warstar in year 78.

Standing here now, Lin Yu felt every word.

The shuttle’s airlock hissed open, lights flickering on one by one down the dark corridor—a pathway to the very heart of the starship.

Lin Yu took a long, steadying breath, then stepped forward into the red glow.