Chapter Fifty: The Teacher Guides You to Soar

“Carter, we’re in trouble.”

Rita burst into Dr. Carter’s weapon repair room, bringing Zhou Shu and Tom with her.

Dr. Carter, closing the door behind them, grumbled, “What trouble? I’m the one in trouble here. Rita, you should have told me you were coming.”

“I don’t have time for your complaints. Both of them have the same ability I had before Verdun,” Rita said hurriedly. “And don’t bother with the two-finger test—they say we’ve already been here many times.”

At that, Carter awkwardly pulled out his hand from behind his back, two fingers extended, then quickly shifted the subject with a delighted expression, “Isn’t it great to have two? That makes three super soldiers. Humanity is bound to win!”

“That’s exactly the problem, Carter.”

Rita glanced at Zhou Shu and Tom. “Both of them saw the ‘Brain,’ but in different places—one at a dam in Germany, the other at the Louvre in Paris!”

“Ah, well…”

Dr. Carter was left speechless. He had never considered such a possibility.

Watching all this, Zhou Shu felt a headache coming on. He hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

He’d already repeated the scenario twenty-three times, gaining significantly in all aspects; all his attributes had broken past one, and on the battlefield, he could unleash carnage.

He never bothered memorizing positions, simply relying on his strength to push forward. After all, he wasn’t here just to experience the story; he was here to improve himself.

Despite that, he kept pace with Tom and the Valkyrie. Now, with only two “lives” left, he felt emboldened to take risks—like charging straight into danger.

He wanted to see if he could kill the Omega “Brain” himself. But since it was his first attempt, he wasn’t confident, so he borrowed the protagonist’s approach from the plot and considered forming a team.

So, he made up a story, claiming he’d seen a vision of the “Brain’s” location.

But then Tom said he’d seen it too, right after Rita shot him dead last time. The vision had been crystal clear.

That left them with two outcomes: one at a dam in Germany, one at the Louvre in France.

And for the dam, there was no need to search—Tom said he’d seen it from a satellite perspective and knew the exact location.

Zhou Shu realized then that the system was toying with him, intent on making him tackle this alone.

Rookie missions with a team? How embarrassing!

Carter didn’t remain stunned for long. Zhou Shu’s location was obvious; everyone knew where it was. Tom’s, however, was less clear, so it needed confirmation.

Maybe, by analyzing the information, they could figure out the truth.

They gathered around the holographic display, searching for the location, while Zhou Shu checked his latest stats.

He pondered the possibility of charging through on his own.

[Hunter System (Simulation Mode)]
[User: Zhou Shu (Rookie)]
[Mental: 1.17 (+0.37)]
[Strength: 0.86 (+0.16)]
[Agility: 0.84 (+0.19)]
[Endurance: 0.84 (+0.18)]
[Vitality: 0.84 (+0.23)]
[Special Abilities: Bullet Time (Beginner), Alert (Beginner)]
[Weapon Skills: Firearms Proficiency, Powered Exoskeleton Operation (Proficient)]
[Support Equipment: Standard Edge of Tomorrow Powered Exoskeleton (Good Condition)]
[Source Energy: 2.07]

These stats were a complete transformation.

All attributes had broken past one, and his mental stat was above 1.5!

He felt that if he faced the first monster he encountered in reality again, he might be able to take it on barehanded.

Whether he could kill it would depend on how effective his “Bullet Time” and “Alert” abilities were.

Now, his physique fully supported “Bullet Time.” If he could employ this ability, he could land several devastating blows in an instant.

With the powered exoskeleton, he’d be even more formidable. Given his current physical condition and exoskeleton proficiency, a punch now could have left that monster half-dead.

One more kick, and it would be over!

No need for the rifle barrage or grenade bombardment that had followed.

That scene had been so overblown, he still didn’t know how to explain it.

A regular soldier with an exosuit had a “melee equivalence” of about 1.3; the Valkyrie with an exosuit reached 2.3; alien monsters were at 1.8, while that first monster was only 1.16.

When Zhou Shu first fought that monster, his melee equivalence with the suit was about 1.2—he could have chosen to pummel it to death, but he’d have suffered significant injuries too.

So he opted for firepower.

Now, with the exosuit, his melee equivalence was around 2.5, which looked even stronger than the Valkyrie.

But that was simply because his base stats were far superior; his exoskeleton proficiency was still well behind the Valkyrie’s.

If he reached her level of mastery, his melee equivalence might hit 3.

That would be overpowering!

If he added firepower on top… the scene would be unimaginable.

As he mused over these things, Dr. Carter and the others pinpointed the dam’s location. After analyzing, they agreed that either place was possible.

So, things reached a stalemate. Carter kept searching for a solution and asked Zhou Shu and Tom if they’d learned anything from their previous encounters.

Tom said all he’d done was die, either killed by the Valkyrie or by aliens.

Zhou Shu, on the other hand, had more to offer. Besides what Tom had experienced, he’d come here often to study, even becoming Carter’s student and learning a great deal.

At first, Carter didn’t believe it—after all, they’d only met twenty-odd times, and never for a whole day. How could he have learned so much?

But after probing some technical details, he was convinced Zhou Shu was indeed his pupil—and felt, once again, that Zhou Shu was a prodigy.

As they talked, Tom grew excited, determined to head to the dam, and the Valkyrie supported him. They even wanted to gather J Squad and take them along.

Their instincts told them the “Brain” was at the dam.

They planned to invite Zhou Shu too—three of them, plus J Squad, should be enough to end this and save the world!

As for Zhou Shu, he had no intention of joining them. The dam was a trap—a dead end. He was ready to tackle the Louvre alone.

But then, unexpectedly, Dr. Carter stepped forward and said, “I’ll go with you to the Louvre.”

Well then… the plot was completely off the rails.

J Squad wouldn’t be there for the final boss fight—they were running into the trap instead.

Originally, Dr. Carter was just a technical specialist, vanishing when it came time to face the boss. But now he was stepping forward.

Was this the system’s arrangement too?

Zhou Shu felt a mix of happiness and confusion.

He looked at Carter’s thin frame and remembered the sense of responsibility the doctor showed when teaching him. In the end, he shook his head and said, “Professor Carter, it’s too dangerous there. I’ll go alone. Maybe it’s a false lead.”

Carter shook his head as well. “Though I haven’t taught you anything today yet, you’ve called me ‘teacher’ over twenty times, and you’ve learned my best lessons. I can’t let my prized student head into danger alone.”

Seeing Zhou Shu wanted to protest, Carter pulled out his trump card: “In all our meetings, did I ever teach you how to fly a plane? Or do you know how to fly one already?”

“Uh…”

That stumped Zhou Shu. He really didn’t know how to fly.

“Seems you don’t,” Carter stroked his beard and smiled. “So, are you planning to swim across the English Channel?”

“Professor, please don’t tease me.”

“Since you call me teacher, I’ll take you. Watch carefully while I fly—you’ll learn quickly. When we get back, I promise you’ll be able to fly a plane yourself.” Carter patted him lightly on the shoulder.

Hearing this, Zhou Shu, who had just been touched, was now speechless.

Professor, do you realize you’ve just set up a flag?