"Alright."
Just as Tang An and Levi were about to continue their fight, Erwin and Keith walked over.
Tang An dropped his combat stance and looked at the blonde man with a resolute expression.
As the 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, he possessed accurate judgment regarding the grand scheme of affairs and long-term strategic vision, making him a qualified leader.
His charisma was truly among the top tier in the entire anime.
It could be said that he made extraordinary contributions to humanity's exploration of the world beyond the walls.
"Are you interested in joining the Survey Corps?"
Erwin wore a rare trace of a smile as he looked at Tang An, briefly reminded of his first meeting with Levi.
Though the identity of the person before him remained questionable, his strength was undeniable. Besides, keeping someone like this under his nose made observation much easier.
"Erwin, isn't this too hasty?"
Keith couldn't help but speak up.
"What do you think?"
Erwin raised a hand to stop Keith, his gaze fixed entirely on Tang An.
He knew what Keith was worried about.
"My ideal destination is the Garrison Regiment."
Tang An smiled, forming a complete contrast to Levi, who wore a cold expression year-round.
"If someone of your strength doesn't join the Survey Corps, it will be humanity's loss."
Erwin spoke after a brief moment of silence.
"I heard that the Survey Corps is made up entirely of elites."
"You are one."
Before Tang An could finish, Erwin interrupted.
Tang An didn't answer, instead locking eyes with Erwin. After about ten seconds, his smile reappeared. "Then I'll be in your care."
Tang An had changed his mind. Even though he didn't know what this man was plotting, joining the Survey Corps might make his upcoming actions proceed much more smoothly.
Besides, since he had already learned Shave and Moonwalk, it didn't really matter whether he joined the Garrison Regiment, the Military Police Brigade, or the Survey Corps.
"This..."
Keith was completely lost.
"I will report his exceptional promotion to the higher-ups."
Erwin was extremely decisive.
"Fine then!"
Keith felt helpless. While he didn't know Erwin's ultimate intentions, he knew Erwin wouldn't make such a decision without a reason.
"I will report to the Survey Corps in seven days. After all, I'm still not very familiar with the vertical maneuvering equipment."
"Very well."
Erwin nodded, then turned and left with Keith and Levi.
Upon returning to the Survey Corps headquarters, Erwin and Levi were left alone.
"Keep a close eye on Tang An once he joins the Survey Corps."
"Understood."
Levi was a man of few words, a cold gleam resting in his eyes.
"According to the original plan, we will conduct a survey of the northern region of Wall Maria tomorrow."
"Good."
Meanwhile, back at the Training Corps grounds, Tang An was still practicing with the vertical maneuvering equipment.
The appearance of Erwin and Levi had only wasted a tiny fraction of his time.
"Did you guys hear the conversation between Commander Erwin and that guy?"
Eren and the others, peeking from around a corner, strained their ears.
"Too far away, I couldn't hear clearly."
Connie shook his head.
"He's been invited to join the Survey Corps."
Reiner maintained a blank expression, his gaze locked firmly on Tang An as the latter used the vertical maneuvering equipment among the buildings.
"What?"
"Is this an exceptional promotion?"
"Which training batch is this guy from?"
"We've never seen him in our batch, the 105th, or the 106th."
"I have to get into the Survey Corps. We're graduating in just a few days anyway."
Determination filled Eren's face; he had waited a full five years for this day.
"Let's head back! If we get caught sneaking out, we're definitely getting chewed out."
All of their expressions shifted, and they quickly vanished into the alleyway.
The next day, the entire Training Corps grounds were packed with cadets, including the soon-to-be-graduated 104th Training Corps Cadets, which was Eren's batch.
Although they were close to graduation, their daily training routines still had to be completed.
Keith was notoriously strict, after all.
Right now, however, a large number of people--including Keith--were staring in one direction with pounding hearts.
"Who is that guy?"
"Never seen him before!"
"Good grief, how is it even possible to sustain that kind of training?"
"I lost count, he's already done a thousand push-ups."
Whispers broke out among the crowd as every cadet watched Tang An performing his routine physical training while drenched in sweat.
At this point, Tang An's daily baseline training--push-ups, sit-ups, handstand push-ups...--was set at a thousand repetitions for every single category.
After that came practicing with the vertical maneuvering equipment.
"What are you all staring at? Get back to training!"
Keith coughed, his fierce gaze glaring at all the cadets.
At lunchtime, Tang An sat among the cadets of this batch.
While everyone else gathered in groups, Tang An occupied a table entirely by himself.
Even so, the majority of the cadets kept casting glances his way.
By now, word had gotten around, and they knew Tang An had been exceptionally promoted by Survey Corps Commander Erwin.
In just a few days, he would be able to join the Survey Corps directly.
There were also rumors that he had actually traded blows with Captain Levi.
"Where's Eren?"
"Getting food, probably!"
"Over there!"
"That idiot Eren."
Connie and the others stared helplessly as Eren carried his food and sat down directly across from Tang An.
This guy just couldn't help himself.
"My name is Eren, nice to meet you."
Sitting opposite Tang An, Eren introduced himself.
Tang An kicking Levi away with a single sweep yesterday had left a deep impression on him.
"Tang An."
Tang An smiled faintly.
Eren let out a sigh of relief, having worried that Tang An would be hard to approach.
"I saw your fight with Captain Levi yesterday. You're too strong."
"How did you pull that off?"
Eren's gaze burned with anticipation; he wanted to become just as strong as Captain Levi.
"Just do 1,000 push-ups, sit-ups every day like I do..."
Tang An ate his meal leisurely.
"1,000?"
Eren's mouth twitched. He couldn't even manage 500, let alone push-ups combined with sit-ups and everything else.
"Eren."
Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha, and Reiner walked over from behind.
"Hello, I'm Connie."
Connie set down his tray and introduced himself first.
"I'm Sasha."
"Reiner."
"Jean."
"Armin, and this is Mikasa."
"Tang An."
Tang An wore a genial smile. The protagonists and supporting characters of the entire anime were all right here.
Reiner the Armored Titan, Bertholdt the Colossal Titan, and Eren the Attack and Founding Titan--unfortunately, Ymir the Jaw Titan and Annie the Female Titan were absent.
"Uhm, were you exceptionally invited by Commander Erwin to join the Survey Corps?"
Armin couldn't help asking.
Everyone else stared fixedly at Tang An, save for Sasha the foodie, who kept shoveling food into her mouth.
"Yes."
Tang An nodded.
"It's actually true."
Connie and Jean gasped. Although they had heard rumors, hearing the person himself confirm it still packed quite a punch.
"How did you get so strong?"
"Tang An just said it, doing 1,000 push-ups, sit-ups every day..."
Before Tang An could reply, Eren blurted out impatiently.
"What?"
"1,000? Your arms would fall off."
"A monster--sorry, I didn't mean you're a monster..."
"It's fine."
Tang An didn't mind at all, appearing quite mild-tempered and easy to get along with.
Slowly, the atmosphere livened up, though most of the questions directed at Tang An came from Eren and the others.
Reiner and Bertholdt said very little.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the Survey Corps was carrying out an investigation of Wall Maria.
That region had already been overrun by Pure Titans, leaving humanity with only Wall Rose and the innermost Wall Sina.