Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

After receiving their acceptance letters, Baisha and her friends were ready to prepare for the military academy's preparatory course.

The training ground for the military academy's preparatory course was not in the main campus of Lanslo High School, but in the west district branch. The government had allocated a large area for them on the barren hills to the west, far from the urban area, allowing them free rein. Thus, the surroundings of the west district branch were desolate, with no major shopping centers near the transport station, and the students' daily necessities were provided by the school.

The west district branch was a boarding school with semi-military management. Students only had Sundays off and needed permission slips to leave school on other days. New students had to bring various living supplies when moving into the dormitories.

On the day of registration, Baisha, Yaning, and Jingyi, carrying large and small bags, took a public hoverbus. Yaning and Jingyi only brought the essentials, planning to bring anything else they needed during their weekly return, but Baisha had more luggage, so Yaning and Jingyi helped her carry some.

"My goodness... Your bag doesn't look that big, what did you pack in it? It's so heavy," Yaning asked in surprise.

"It contains my toolbox," Baisha replied, instantly clarifying things for Yaning.

"I see," Yaning nodded, having seen Baisha's toolbox before, with its dazzling array of tools, "It's really not easy for a mechanic to move."

"What mechanic? I'm going to be a mech pilot," Baisha raised an eyebrow.

Yaning: "Alright, Mech Pilot, could you help me get three cans of beef from my backpack? I'm hungry after carrying all this stuff from the orphanage to the transport station."

Jingyi, sitting nearby, frowned at him, "Eating is prohibited on the public hoverbus."

"Don't be so rigid," Yaning, taking the cans Baisha passed him, tossed one to Jingyi, "Here, one for each of us!"

The scenery outside the window blurred into streaks of light as the hoverbus smoothly traveled for half an hour, passing three transport stations before arriving at the Lanslo High School west district branch.

Entering the dormitory area, Yaning had to part ways with Baisha and the others. Baisha checked the girls' dormitory assignment list and found she and Jingyi were in the same room. Actually, she had casually requested this from the school when they offered her a scholarship, not expecting them to agree.

The dormitory conditions were basic but still better than the orphanage. The dorms were two-person rooms with a toilet. Two small dorms were connected, sharing a living room and bathroom. Baisha's dorm was 301A, directly opposite 301B. When they arrived, the dorm was quiet, but footsteps gradually approached as they finished arranging their beds.

A few minutes later, two roommates from the opposite dorm knocked on Baisha's door. One had a round face and eyes, looking quite cute; the other was flamboyant and beautiful, wearing and using expensive items, her manner of speaking also carried a hint of arrogance.

"Hello," the bright blonde girl narrowed her eyes and extended her hand to Baisha like a queen awaiting a hand-kissing ceremony, "I'm Parfen Luqi. This is my roommate, Nico."

Baisha shook hands with her, exchanging names. However, after Baisha introduced herself, the other girl's demeanor noticeably cooled.

"Baisha, Yan Jingyi? Are you the ones who ranked first and second in the entrance exam?" Parfen scrutinized Baisha with a slightly drooping corner of her lip, displaying a mocking expression, "I heard you both are orphans from the orphanage?"

Parfen's tone seemed to twist the word "orphans" into something more derogatory, as if she meant to say, "I heard you both are wild seeds from the orphanage."

Baisha and Jingyi's faces fell immediately upon hearing this. They had encountered such attitudes before over the years. They had intended to chat with their new classmate, but seeing Parfen's attitude, they decided it was not worth the effort.

"Ah yes, we are the top two of this exam," Baisha said with a drooped face, holding the doorknob, ready to close the door, "Now that you've seen us, is there anything else? If not, please leave."

Baisha closed the door with a loud "bang."

Just before the door shut completely, Baisha caught a glimpse of Parfen's eyes widening in disbelief.

"To meet such a person on the first day of school, what bad luck," Jingyi commented.

"She knows about the orphanage," Baisha noted, "The school wouldn't publicly announce that the top two entrants are orphans. The only explanation is that she did some background check on us. Does she have that much free time?"

As she spoke, Baisha realized that the name Parfen Luqi sounded familiar. Thanks to her almost photographic memory since her transmigration, she quickly remembered that Parfen ranked eighth in the entrance exam.

A total of three hundred students were admitted to the military academy's preparatory course, and the school had publicly announced the admission list based on scores.

"I think she's not right in the head," Jingyi said coolly, "If she dares to trouble us again, I'll make her regret it."

In Jingyi's logic, any problem that could be solved with force was not a problem at all.

Baisha instinctively calmed Jingyi down, feeling that they didn't need to escalate the situation yet.

After settling all their affairs, they gathered in the grand auditorium of the campus at two in the afternoon for the freshmen's induction speech.

"First of all, congratulations to all the freshmen on passing the assessment." Baisha recognized the teacher speaking on the stage, having seen her at the finish line of the trial field that day. The teacher's rigid and resolute demeanor had left a significant impression on Baisha, "You are the cream of the crop of the new generation of Lanslo Star. If you weren't exceptional, you wouldn't have the privilege to stand before me."

"As you all know, our west district branch is actually the preparatory class for the military academy. Why do we measure ourselves in terms of 'classes' when we have such a large auditorium full of people? Let me make it clear: only after three years here, you will be eligible to take the unified federal military academy entrance test. However, according to past data, less than twenty percent of the new students manage to endure these three years."

"This means, out of the three hundred new students, only sixty will take the federal unified exam. Don't ask me where the rest went; they are failures. Failures belong where they should be, just like trash belongs in a trash heap—"

Suddenly raising his voice, he continued, "I know you all came here for the 'military academy' part of this preparatory course. Yes, getting into the military academy means you can escape from the backward planet of Lanslo, crawling out of the trash heap to carve out a decent life. But which of you gets admitted is not for me to decide, but for you to determine!"

"Now, everyone stand up! Head out and run twenty laps around the field, then come up to the stage and shout out the name of the military academy you aspire to join! If you don't have the energy to shout or if it's not loud enough after your run, pack your bags and leave tonight!"

The teacher slammed the table, his fierce shout echoing through the sound system like a ferocious beast intimidating a flock of lambs.

However, these students had been through the 'Devil's Path' and without much ado, quickly formed lines and headed out. The school's field was vast, similar in size to the trial grounds, and though running twenty laps under the scorching sun was tiring, most managed to walk back comfortably.

Back in the hall, the teacher called out names one by one, inviting them to express their ambitions on stage. The order of names was randomized, not based on entrance exam rankings.

The podium was only two meters high, yet those standing upon it looked as if they faced an abyss. Some students were sweating, others choking up, as they tremblingly voiced their dream military academies—any hint of fear or uncertainty in their tone, and the teacher would demand they start over.

Watching this, Baisha noted most students were pragmatic. Instead of choosing top-tier institutions like Central Military Academy or Saint Cyr, akin to daydreams, they opted for mid-tier academies from the top nine, with only a few daring to aim for the higher-ranked ones.

Baisha believed some students did aspire to Central Military Academy or Saint Cyr... but under the teacher's sharp gaze, they doubted themselves, feeling 'unworthy.'

That is until Yaning broke the stalemate.

He sauntered onto the stage with a carefree smile, defiant under the teacher's fierce gaze, and, turning the microphone towards himself, bellowed, "My ambition is the Federal Central Military Academy, Command Division!"

His voice was loud and spirited.

The teacher, nearly deafened, stood aside: “…”

Indeed, after years of debate, Jingyi and Yaning had finally agreed on whether Central Military Academy or Saint Cyr was the better choice. Now, they both chose Central.

A subtle murmur rippled through the students below.

The teacher's forehead vein throbbed as he kicked Yaning off the stage, calling the next student.

Jingyi walked up emotionlessly, declaring firmly, "Federal Central Military Academy, Mecha Infantry Division."

Everyone: “…”

Jingyi bowed to the teacher and quickly stepped down from the podium.

With the interference from Yanning and Jingyi, the atmosphere at the scene lightened considerably.

Since then, many young faces with bright eyes have stood on the podium, earnestly declaring their aspirations.

Bai Sha stood below, clapping for them. It had been a long time since she felt this atmosphere reminiscent of a college entrance examination pledge meeting, stirring a mix of nostalgia and emotion.

"Alright, the last one—new student number 001, Bai Sha, come up and state your ambition."

Unexpectedly, Bai Sha was deliberately scheduled as the last speaker.

Bai Sha, composed, stepped out of line and slowly ascended the podium, hesitating momentarily before the microphone.

She took a brief pause, looked up, and gazed calmly at the faces of everyone below.

"Bai Sha, my aspiration is to join the Federal Central Military Academy, Mech Pilot Department."

In a deathly silence, her voice softened slightly in the second half of her statement, yet no one asked her to repeat it.

"A nobleman worries about his path, not about poverty," she said. "There’s no rule that a border star can’t produce a mech pilot, right?"