The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 636: Methods of Disguise

Mu Jianling stood with his hands clasped behind his back, and with sharp eyes, he slowly said in front of Ji You, Shen Changqing, Chu Jiaojiao, and others: "Shen Changqing, come out."

Hearing his own name, Shen Changqing was momentarily stunned, but still reflexively stepped forward: "Teacher..."

Mu Jianling nodded faintly: "Mm."

Shen Changqing’s heart hung in suspense, not knowing what challenge he was about to face.

Suddenly, Mu Jianling said: "First, smile twice."

Upon hearing this, Shen Changqing tried his best to squeeze out a smile.

Mu Jianling brought his hand to his forehead and sighed, "Your smile looks uglier than a cry. With such acting skills, who could you possibly deceive?"

Deceive?

Shen Changqing was taken aback and boldly asked, "Teacher... why do we need to learn how to deceive?"

As a warrior, isn’t one’s duty to strive to enhance one’s strength to secure victory in every battle? Deceive? If victory can be achieved through deception, then wouldn’t all those Best Actors and Actresses in the film industry be mighty warriors?

In Shen Changqing’s heart, the strength of a warrior ultimately comes down to true might.

Teacher Mu is actually asking them to learn how to deceive?

Shen Changqing was puzzled.

When Shen Changqing asked this question, the surrounding students all thought it would surely bring about a round of mocking from Teacher Mu Jianling. Unexpectedly, Mu Jianling did not resort to sarcasm but seriously said: "As Commander of the Legion, General Shen Chi possesses strong combat skills, but even stronger is his command ability. A qualified, excellent general needs to have comprehensive capabilities; strong martial power is only a part of it."

Saying this, Mu Jianling looked at Shen Changqing and asked, "Do you only wish to be a foolish martial artist like Yue Qiguang?"

Yue Qiguang: "..."

Yue Qiguang, sitting aside dejected after his assessment failure, felt even more dispirited when he was dragged out for a bout of ’insult’.

Shen Changqing, upon hearing this, remained silent.

Mu Jianling went on to say: "Humans have the Seven Emotions and Six Desires—happiness, anger, sorrow, joy, fear... Everyone expresses their emotions in different ways, but the most direct and simplest expressions are crying, laughing, being angry... In this year’s online competition, why is it that number 4444, Ji You, despite not having outstanding physical strength and being unable to fight prolonged battles, is able to deceive to gain a chance to catch her breath?"

Indeed, at this point, none of the students present were foolish or stupid. Even someone like Yue Qiguang who didn’t enjoy thinking had understood Teacher Mu Jianling’s intentions...

The students reflected on this thoughtfully.

Mu Jianling raised his eyebrow and looked around, saying: "Instead of calling it deception, it would be better to describe it as camouflage. On the battlefield, not only do we camouflage ourselves, but so do our enemies; some high-level Star Beasts also camouflage..."

"And—camouflaging emotions is just the most basic, most fundamental form of camouflage."

"What you must do is not only learn how to camouflage yourselves but also to be able to identify the enemies’ camouflage."

...

With just a few words, the students benefitted greatly, and as a consequence, they felt that the seemingly pointless and bizarre acting assessments proposed by Teacher Mu Jianling were very necessary.

Therefore, in the entire training room, the students’ resistance towards the acting assessment disappeared without a trace.

Many students began to seriously think about how to make their crying appear natural and their laughter hearty...

Over here.

Shen Changqing tried hard to recall a joyful memory, flashing a smile at Mu Jianling.

Mu Jianling glanced over and shook his head, saying, "It still seems fake."

Shen Changqing’s expression turned slightly forlorn.

Mu Jianling said, "Cry first."

Suddenly, Shen Changqing lowered his eyes, and inexplicably, his eyes reddened, and tears streamed down.

Huh?

Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, and the others were all wide-eyed: [Holy shit! Is he really crying?]

Impressive!

Mu Jianling raised an eyebrow, smiled, and asked, "Thought of something sad?"

Shen Changqing, a bit embarrassed, gently wiped his eyes with his hand and whispered softly, "I thought of my grandma."

Shen Changqing’s parents died early, and his grandparents were stationed at the frontier for years. He was mostly taken care of by the nanny robot at home during his childhood. Later, after his grandmother was injured and retreated from the front lines, Shen Changqing finally had family companionship.

However, his grandmother could not rid her body of the Star Beast virus that remained after an attack, and she passed away in less than two years.

Shen Changqing would never forget how his grandmother looked before she passed away. The two sat in the garden, holding his little hand, her lips curved into a smile, her eyes filled with affection, and she said calmly, "Changqing, grandma loves you, but grandma has to leave now. From now on, you have to take care of yourself."

Her tone was too calm, and the young Shen Changqing did not realize that his grandmother was in her last moment of consciousness.

It was only when she no longer spoke that he understood she had passed away.

To leave—

Is for the person you love to never meet you again, to never talk to you, to never embrace you, to never smile at you, to never gaze at you tenderly, to never...

Shen Changqing understood.

From a very young age, he had been taught what ’leaving’ meant.

It’s just—

Even with clear knowledge, when the moment really arrived, Shen Changqing was still devastated and at a loss... He was holding his grandmother, with his eyes open, sitting alone in the garden for two days and one night, until his grandfather returned.

...

The young Shen Changqing did not cry at the time. Now, looking back, that grief did not fade with time. Instead, it took root deep in Shen Changqing’s heart, usually hidden very well and rarely shown, but when it surfaced, it was like a breach in a dam, difficult to control again...

On Shen Changqing’s clear yet sorrowful face, tears continued to flow, with a slight redness in his eyes, yet he still looked remarkably composed, with a profoundly restrained sorrow lingering around him.

This scene left Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, Yue Qiguang, Yue Qiyuan, and others deeply moved.

Everyone found it unbelievable, the usually quiet, subdued, and steady Shen Changqing, now showing his emotions, unexpectedly stirring a sense of compassion...

Suddenly, Teacher Mu Jianling made another request directly: "Smile!"

Shen Changqing wiped away his tears with his hand. He looked up at Teacher Mu Jianling, his eyes still red and wet, blinked, and suddenly, his tears turned into laughter...

This laughter wasn’t abrupt in the least. Had they not known the context, outsiders might have mistaken Shen Changqing’s tears as those of joy followed by laughter.

Mu Jianling, witnessing this scene, felt a bit reassured, nodded, and said, "Leveraging past events and memories to regulate one’s emotions is a very simple and effective method, which everyone can take note of."

After saying this, Mu Jianling announced, "Shen Changqing passes."