Philip Turner was momentarily stunned by the words. He came from a military background. Compared to Emily Thompson, who had no military experience and only a superficial understanding of military affairs, he understood Brian Carter's value much better. He was just about to interject when he heard Emily Thompson continue, “But if Principal Foster is willing to join my company and serve as the Chief Fleet Commander, then I can promise on behalf of the company to give him a regiment-level sub-fleet.”

“Why is that? I think, for your company, he is more suitable than I am.” James Foster raised an eyebrow, a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes. A regiment-level sub-fleet meant a force of a hundred warships, a position that required at least a colonel’s rank. But in James Foster’s eyes, this was still far from enough.

A sly smile appeared on Emily Thompson’s face. “A fledgling eagle still needs the protection of its parents to learn to fly. Brian Carter may be a genius, but he still lacks experience in commanding a large fleet. Suddenly putting him in such an important position might actually do more harm than good. Dean, why not help him a bit more? If Brian Carter is truly, as you say, the most talented fleet commander in the Federation in the past three hundred years, then he alone should be more important than all the students in your academy—”

This time, it was James Foster who was at a loss. He leaned back slightly, his brow furrowed. “Let me think about it.”

Chapter 7: Friends

When Brian Carter walked into the academy’s underground parking garage, his mind was still a bit dazed. Even now, he could hardly believe that in his first battle against George, with the combat strength ratio almost two to one, he had actually won a complete victory. And that was without using his precognition ability!

Since entering the military academy, this was the first time he had achieved a perfect score in a single-ship simulated opponent battle without using his precognition ability.

When did his ability to command warships become this strong?

Could it be that his tactical skills were already on par with those so-called top students like Peter Wright and George, or even surpassed them?

At this thought, Brian Carter quickly shook his head, a self-mocking, bitter smile appearing on his face.

How could that be possible? In the first simulated battle, he had encountered a very special terrain—the asteroid belt. And the opponent’s ambush was only discovered in advance thanks to his precognition ability. It had nothing to do with his own abilities.

If it hadn’t been for George underestimating him, and if those guided missiles hadn’t destroyed the mecha launch bay of a raider ship, he would never have won so smoothly in a two-to-one situation.

After the first simulated opponent battle, in the following three battles, didn’t he only achieve complete victories after using his precognition ability?

And the most obvious example was the upcoming man-versus-machine simulation. Even though the AI was only at C-level, he still failed one of the tests.

Thinking of this, Brian Carter’s face darkened.

In the three man-versus-machine simulation exams that afternoon, thanks to his outstanding performance in the morning, he had preserved a lot of precognition time. After a midday rest, he was in almost perfect condition. Yet even so, in the last of the three exams—the fleet defense battle—he was defeated. The computer gave him a score of fifty-seven, just a hair short of the passing line. This also meant that his hope of graduating this year was already shattered—

“Brian Carter senior!”

Just as he stepped off the last stair leading to the underground parking lot, Brian Carter saw a tall figure emerge from the shadows. The clear voice interrupted his train of thought.

“George, is that you?”

When Brian Carter saw the person’s face and the striking blond hair come into view, a look of surprise appeared on his face. He pointed around suspiciously and said, “You’re waiting for me here on purpose? Is there something you want?” He thought, could it be that after losing to me twice today, he’s not convinced and wants to pick a fight? Well, he’s got the wrong idea.

“My exam schedule was different from yours, and I didn’t know which simulation room you were in, so after the last subject ended today, I could only wait for you here.”

George gave a wry smile, then bowed slightly. “I wanted to make friends with you, senior, and I hope you can give me some guidance on single-ship tactics and fleet tactics in the future.”

“Guidance? Haha—”

Brian Carter couldn’t help but laugh out loud, rubbing his nose in embarrassment. “George, don’t you think that’s a bit ridiculous? You’re the top student of this class, the academy’s recognized genius in fleet command. And I’m just the perennial repeater everyone calls an idiot. If people knew you wanted me to give you tactical guidance, they’d probably die laughing.”

“They’re the real idiots! Just a bunch of blind fools who can’t see the truth.”

George shook his head slightly, his face sincere. “I’m sorry, I used to be one of them too, thinking that someone like you was a disgrace to our academy. But now, I want to apologize for my past stupidity. In fact, you are the real genius of our academy! I believe your talent surpasses even Yvonne Welkom! After being completely defeated by you twice today, I am truly convinced.”