That incident occurred the year before last, in September of 828, when Yu Lian had just been promoted to third year.
According to the academy's tradition, all third-year students would be parachuted into an uninhabited dense forest on Mars for a three-day team confrontation exercise—Mars had undergone large-scale environmental transformation and had become a terrestrial planet; that was mentioned before, right?
Yu Lian's faction was Hong Fang (Red Team), and since the young masters of the Blueblood Brotherhood were already Bluebloods, they naturally belonged to the Blue Faction.
The battle process is not worth mentioning. The battle's outcome was also uneventful; it was just that after several back-and-forth reversals, the Blue Faction, where the young masters were, achieved victory.
However, a subsequent incident made both the process and the result no longer a concern.
Since it was a "real combat" exercise, there should naturally be a disparity between the young masters.
A classmate named Thomas Quinn from Yu Lian's Hong Fang (Red Team) went missing during the operation and was judged by the exercise directors as captured. Since it was a "real combat" exercise, there were naturally prisoners, which was nothing strange.
However, when the exercise ended, Thomas Quinn was not found in the "POW camp." It wasn't until the next day that the search and rescue team finally found him in a deep gully in the jungle, missing a hand and a foot, covered in wounds, and barely clinging to life.
Fortunately, he was found in time. And a disabling injury involving one hand and one foot is truly nothing to current gene therapy technology. However, the mental trauma he sustained was not so easy to overcome.
Quinn soaked in a culture dish for nearly three months before gradually regaining a little consciousness. During this period, his mother, who was caring for him, lost two or three sizes, becoming skin and bones.
He told everyone that people from the Blueblood Brotherhood had harmed him. They wanted to interrogate him for Hong Fang (Red Team)'s intelligence, and even more importantly, they were asking about the camping location of Feifei and her club sisters. Quinn felt that since this was an exercise, he should also show some heroic spirit of rather dying than surrendering, so he "forcefully" retorted a couple of sentences.
But immediately after, he was subjected to brutal beatings and abuse. The other party was not conducting an exercise; they didn't even seem to truly treat him as an "enemy," but merely satisfying their sadistic desires.
The perpetrators, their eyes bloodshot from excitement, finally chopped off his hands and feet and threw him into a deep gully in the jungle.
"If you haven't been eaten by the wild beasts here by tomorrow, it proves that commoners' meat is indeed smelly," someone told him.
"However, I must admit, commoner, you're surprisingly resilient despite your delicate skin."
The perpetrators laughed loudly and walked away, leaving the young man, whose body and mind were severely damaged, to slowly rot in the depths of the dense forest.
The academy stated that they would investigate thoroughly.
But after only a few days, they suddenly announced that they had not found any reliable clues, and all the perpetrators identified by Quinn had "perfect" alibis. The school believed that perhaps Quinn was attacked by fierce beasts in the jungle, and the immense trauma caused a stress reaction, leading to hallucinations… To put it more harshly, not directly accusing him of making false accusations was already very polite.
The academy stated that they would still bear all of Quinn's medical expenses, as it was considered a "work injury" during the exercise.
Thomas Quinn felt increasingly humiliated. The harm he suffered was not just physical pain but also severe mental trauma. For over twenty hours, he could feel insects crawling into his wounds and blood slowly seeping out. Carnivorous beasts seemed to roar in the depths of the jungle, ready to appear at any moment and tear him to shreds.
This young military academy student came from an ordinary family but managed to get into Central Defense University through his own abilities. Even in this elite university, his grades were quite outstanding. If he worked a little harder, he might even get a tiger amulet after graduation.
In short, he carried the hope of his entire family moving up in class, and he had basically succeeded.
...If nothing unexpected happened.
Now, the "unexpected" had happened. In the exercise's scoring, he only got a passing grade, which not only greatly dragged down the average score but also earned him the evaluation of "mentally too fragile, suspected of having paranoia, and questionable personality and will."
Quinn instantly felt as if he had lost the hope of striving, and even living, and silently walked to the top floor of the hospital, preparing to end it all, when Yu Lian, who had rushed to visit him, pulled him back.
Yu Lian swore that he would ensure justice for all of this.
He knew that the few people who harmed Quinn were all members of the Blueblood Brotherhood. Their elders included politicians, wealthy businessmen, cultural celebrities, and high-ranking military generals. However, he did not give in; he even set aside his academic performance from that year, working tirelessly to advocate for this matter, collecting information, and seeking evidence.
Fortunately, he was not entirely fighting alone. Feifei and her little sisters were completely on his side. In addition, although his popularity among boys seemed to have always been poor, a considerable number of classmates were secretly helping him.
It was said that several fourth-year students from the Blueblood Brotherhood wanted to retaliate against him, but there had been no movement. In any case, Horatio Wien, who had just become the president, did not create any obstacles for him.
The school naturally wanted to downplay the matter, but Yu Lian knew that he was not fighting alone; most of his classmates were his backing!
In short, after a story that could be made into an exciting detective and legal drama, Yu Lian finally collected a complete chain of evidence and submitted a report to the school. However, the result was instead a warning and a mix of threats and inducements from the school.
Yu Lian was very touched by the school's reaction and reasons, so he bypassed the school directly and submitted it to the Ministry of Justice's Inspection Department.
Of course, the reason it could be successfully submitted was not because Zhi Xia had a father who was a senator, or because Liu Li had a mother who was a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Justice, but because Yu Lian learned through them that the newly appointed Attorney General of the Ministry of Justice was a political opponent of the then Defense Committee Chairman...
Judging from these memories, the former student Yu Lian was not just a pure hothead!
In short, Ranger Yu Lian once again cheered for student Yu Lian's stubbornness, intelligence, and initiative.
Thinking of this, he sighed again. If this guy hadn't died, in the glorious history of the 830 Party in his previous life, there should have been a person named Yu Lian, leaving a significant mark.
However, in that historical timeline, he remained unknown.
Perhaps it was just a stray bullet, or a sandstorm, or perhaps a monster's sneak attack.
Alright, now that I'm back, you should get your rightful place in history, and at the same time, I will try my best to fulfill your regrets for you. For example, the conclusion of this matter!
"So, those things did so much, only to be expelled!" Yu Lian scoffed silently.
"They were really sent to the Military Justice Department; I saw them get into the military police car with my own eyes," Feifei said.
"If they were truly to receive the punishment they deserved, shouldn't they be sent directly to the Ministry of Justice? I don't need to tell you how deeply the Military Justice Department is influenced by military bigwigs, do I? The reason Toby was made to sign a non-disclosure agreement and was sent away early wasn't just to try and suppress the matter and let it end quietly, was it?"
Yu Lian shrugged, thinking that he had long remembered their names and faces, so they shouldn't think it was over! Student Yu Lian might still be a good kid who tried to act within the rules, but Ranger Yu Lian was not.
Feifei continued driving, but still subtly glanced at Yu Lian through the rearview mirror.
"Yu'er, Colonel Weige suffered quite a setback in this incident. It's said that he and Vice Principal Robnan were responsible for assigning you to New Yumen."
Yu Lian nodded, also feeling a bit troubled. After all, one was a colonel and the other a brigadier general, and they were both staying within the tightly monitored school, making it really difficult to find an opportunity to roll them into a ball and feed them to amoebas.
Leaving Vice Principal Robnan aside for now, Yu Lian had indeed never met him. However, when Colonel Weige, the head of the school's student management department, was mentioned, his teeth immediately started to ache; it was a conditioned, physiological aversion.
He recalled a private discussion he had with Colonel Weige about this matter at the time.
"Student Yu Lian, we need you to understand that fairness and justice are actually relative concepts. This matter, of course, caused great harm to student Quinn, so our school will quickly discuss a compensation plan," he said sanctimoniously, earnestly, with a face full of sorrow, as if he were truly grieving for the young student who had lost half his soul.
But then, he immediately changed his tone and whispered, "Also, regarding student Quinn's exercise evaluation, we will make some modifications. You see, student Yu Lian, things can be resolved through negotiation; there's no need for us to make this kind of thing known to the world! If reporters outside knew about this, what would become of Central Defense University's reputation? Isn't this your alma mater too?"
...I don't want to blow all of this up. After all, if it gets blown up, Toby's life will be completely ruined," Yu Lian replied.
Reporters would pounce like hyenas smelling blood, and Thomas Quinn, who suffered the most in this incident, would be the appetizing flesh to them.
Pity? Have you ever heard of hyenas having pity?
"Yes, I don't want to blow it up. But the people who harmed Toby should receive the punishment they deserve!"
"Why do you still not understand? In many matters, harm is actually relative! Student Quinn's case is naturally a tragedy, but what he said currently lacks concrete evidence. So, isn't what he said also a form of harm to those students?"
"If that's the case, why don't you want me to continue the investigation? If the truth is investigated thoroughly, wouldn't the harm cease to exist?"
Colonel Weige frowned, a little headache, completely not expecting to encounter such a difficult student, and suppressed his anger, saying, "Uh, as soon as you start investigating, it's already a form of harm to those students listed as suspects. Now, you've already caused widespread panic in the academy, and they've also been subjected to baseless accusations and ostracism from other students. If this continues, it's only a matter of time before the media finds out. And..."
"And, those people Toby pointed out include Senator Meier's son, Mr. Chen's grandson. And Lieutenant General Salvatore's son, oh, right, that person is also your nephew, isn't he?"
...You're still too young, student Yu Lian. I understand that young people like you have heroic dreams, but our society naturally has its way of operating. You are an excellent student, but at this time, you should prioritize your studies. Understand? Prioritize your studies!"
At this point, he made a feigned humorous joke: "Things like chivalry, just leave them to the legendary Black Moon Earl! You are still young; there's no need to bear such a heavy responsibility. How about this, you can hand over some of the clues you've collected to the school, and we will definitely continue the investigation. You know, we are more experienced and can investigate with more appropriate methods, without causing any commotion, and better protect all students. This, of course, includes student Quinn."
"Director, I am neither a phantom thief nor an immortal demon, and what I am doing now is only what a normal person can do. Who exactly is it that makes all of this so heavy?"
Yu Lian looked at the other party's ashen face, knowing he could no longer converse with this person, and stood up directly: "I have class soon, Director. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
"At ease," he said, his face grim, as if squeezing the words through his teeth.
"Student Yu Lian, you still have two years to stay in this academy! I hope you can spend your last two years happily and fulfilling."
As Yu Lian was about to leave the office, he added this sentence.