Chapter 62: History Mutated

Chapter 62: History Mutated

Chen Feng felt a little confused about this upcoming dream.

His original intention, of course, was to shamelessly copy songs again, and this time he planned to copy at least ten.

But what puzzled him was, besides copying songs, what else could he do?

The square face of Instructor Ding Hu kept popping into his mind over and over.

It wasn’t because he was gay, but he felt a bit embarrassed about leaving the Military Camp last time so coldly, despite Ding Hu’s reluctant and eager gaze.

Last time, he forced his way out using a flimsy excuse, which made many of his comrades worry about him and ask if something had happened at home.

Chen Feng was not a person who liked to owe others, whether it was money or feelings.

He felt he had let down Ding Hu and his comrades’ expectations, and his heart felt a little empty inside.

That was why he always tried very hard to keep his distance from others before, purely because Chen Feng knew his own weakness: he found it hard to ignore the feelings others showed him, whatever those feelings were.

…

“Private Chen Feng! Step forward!”

In a daze, Chen Feng opened his eyes again.

Even without looking, he knew what was happening.

This time, Chen Feng decided not to give Ding Hu the chance to order him to run laps. He quickly focused his mind, looked ahead intently, and prepared to take a step forward, putting a little force into his feet.

His lips slowly parted, ready to let out a loud and confident “Here!”

But he didn’t manage to do any of that, because he was utterly surprised to find that the training Base he saw before him didn’t quite match what he remembered.

The first three times he came here, the first aircraft he saw was cone-shaped.

That was the Type A3 intra-atmosphere medium transport craft, the most widely used by the Military, powered by a small nuclear fusion reactor, still using traditional medium thrust for propulsion, narrow at the front and wide at the back.

The upper part was the cargo hold, the lower part the power system.

Due to the propulsion method, the Type A3 transport still needed to accelerate during takeoff. It wasn’t fast at the beginning, only reaching an astonishing top speed after continuous sustained thrust.

The limitations of shell Materials Science and heat insulation/absorption energy conversion technology restricted the Type A3’s maneuverability, with a top speed of only Mach 8.

But this time, Chen Feng didn’t see the familiar Type A3 transport.

Hovering in the air, then suddenly emitting blue light and accelerating forward with far greater acceleration than the Type A3 transport, the vehicle was spindle-shaped.

Just a simple change in form, yet it gave Chen Feng a huge shock.

The Type A3, from design to final production, might seem like the result of countless accidents, but it was actually the inevitable outcome of technological development.

But what on earth was this spindle-shaped thing!

Chen Feng was completely baffled.

With some basic military training, he knew without thinking that the spindle-shaped aircraft’s Materials Science, dynamics, and control principles must be worlds apart from the cone-shaped Type A3.

And what was with that translation maneuver? It didn’t emit blue light, it didn’t jet anything out, so how was it translating? Telekinesis?

Ding Hu’s deafening roar sounded again by Chen Feng’s ear. “Still daydreaming? Go run ten laps around the field!”

Only then did Chen Feng snap out of it. His face scrunched up like a bitter melon, and he quickly lowered his head and started running laps.

Even with his guard up this time, he still couldn’t escape the fate of running laps.

But at the same time, he continued to look around at other parts of the training Base.

The more he looked, the more astonished he became.

The Individual Combat Armor he used to operate with great familiarity had also changed.

The Individual Combat Armor in his memory still showed exposed gear and mechanical structures from the outside, standing seven or eight meters tall.

But now, the armor the veteran soldiers were training with on the other side was smaller, more streamlined and sleek, fitting closely to the body. The height wasn’t uniform anymore either, ranging from just over two meters to just over three meters.

This was probably the result of custom tailoring, or perhaps the production line technology was more advanced, allowing for Individual Combat Armor in sizes suitable for people with different body types.

Smaller in size, but these combat mechas were even more agile, dodging and moving faster.

This meant that this new type of combat mecha’s Materials Science and power system were far more powerful than the mecha he encountered last time he was here.

This proved that more advanced mechanical structures had emerged, and there could only be one reason.

At the very least, in the foundational discipline of Materials Science, humanity had made a qualitative leap.

If the materials hadn’t become stronger, if the toughness, hardness, and ductility of the main structural materials hadn’t greatly evolved, this smaller-sized Individual Combat Armor simply couldn’t handle such powerful maneuverability.

The internal engine structure must have also become more microscopic and more powerful, which was also a huge test of Materials Science levels.

Chen Feng was truly unable to figure it out.

It seemed humanity had become a bit stronger than during his last dream, but…

Why?!

What exactly did I do? As a slacker, I know my place very well!

Chen Feng clearly knew that he was the only variable in history.

If he did nothing a thousand years ago, just quietly shut himself in his room as a recluse, bothering no one and bothered by no one, then surely nothing would change.

If something different from the past appeared in the future, then the source of that change must lie with him, Chen Feng himself.

But he couldn’t understand.

He had only copied a few songs and helped Zhong Lei become famous a few years early.

Writing six songs in one night last night might earn him a fleeting reputation in history as a stunningly talented prodigy.

Other than that, he did nothing!

So why, as soon as he traveled here this time, did he find it had changed?

“What are you staring at? Don’t be envious of others. These are the most outstanding reserve soldiers in our Base. Once they officially enlist, they will directly board a Warship and become ship-based troops. Do you know what kind of physical fitness standard is required to withstand the Qinglong-type Individual Combat Armor? Do you know that the Coagulation Serum they inject before each training session could even cause an ordinary person’s heart to stop and kill them?”

Ding Hu’s voice rang in Chen Feng’s ear again.

Chen Feng had been staring so intently at the Individual Combat Armor that he had slowed his lap-running pace too much. Ding Hu caught up and gave him another round of fierce scolding.

Chen Feng was jolted awake by his scolding. Looking at this fierce guy, he remembered how Ding Hu had given him an energy drink last time.

Brother Hu, stop pretending. You have a cold exterior but a warm heart.

This era had changed a lot, but judging by your voice, your personality definitely hadn’t.

“Instructor, then tell me, what kind of physical fitness is needed to wear this armor?”

Before leaving the Military Camp last time, Chen Feng had already become one of the undisputed strongest fighters in this training Base.

Many veteran armored soldiers had lost to him back then. Hearing Ding Hu look down on him like that now, he felt a little unwilling.

“Oh, ambitious. Well, let’s use the lap-running as an example. If you can run twenty laps in under thirty-eight minutes, you might barely meet the standard.”

Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.

Interesting.

When he left the Military Camp last time, he had just set the Base’s fastest record for twenty laps at thirty-seven minutes and fifty-nine seconds.

Now, the baseline to become an armored soldier was thirty-eight minutes.

Over the month since he traveled back, he hadn’t slacked off on training. His physical fitness shouldn’t have declined; it should have improved slightly.

He raised an eyebrow. “Shall I try?”

“Hah, what are you, a rookie, trying for? Be careful not to run yourself to death!”

Ding Hu patted Chen Feng on the head and went back to the other reserve soldiers standing at attention.

But seeing Chen Feng had already sped up, he curled his lip and called a new soldier out from the ranks. “Go tell the emergency team to get ready.”