Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Since the day of the pledge meeting, the 'Orphanage Trio' quickly gained popularity in the military academy preparatory class with their unique style.

At first, everyone thought they were daydreamers. Aren't there enough dreamers on Lanslo Star? Many lower-class citizens dream their whole lives of sudden fortune, but never have the chance to realize their dreams, eventually taking them to their graves.

Their bold declarations were dismissed as madness by their classmates. Furthermore, as information about their orphanage background spread, most people treated them as a joke.

But a few days later, they started to suspect a startling fact—

The Orphanage Trio actually had some real talent.

The schedule of the military academy preparatory class was tight. The first year’s curriculum included basic hand-to-hand combat, shooting, flight training, as well as military machinery basics, military history theory, and command simulation training.

For most students, these subjects were unfamiliar. After all, most came from poor backgrounds, unable to afford professional tutors, lacking shooting ranges for practice, and certainly not having various aircraft at their disposal... In the first week, the packed schedule overwhelmed them, putting immense physical and psychological stress. The differences in student aptitude began to emerge in this cramming-style training.

After the first week of training, the teachers gathered to hold a meeting about the new students’ education.

"Those three kids are really something," said the usually stern teacher, now lively with excitement. Although there were many topics to discuss regarding new student admissions, the conversation inevitably drifted towards the 'Orphanage Trio'. "Their combat skills are solid, with bold and upright moves, no less than those traditionally trained in the military. As for flying, it's hard to tell; the top students are all pretty similar, especially that girl from the Luqi family, who seems to have been born in a plane. Frankly, our preparatory class has little to teach her. Regarding shooting..."

At this point, the teacher’s smile grew even wider, making him look somewhat like a goofy bear.

"The others are progressing normally, but that Bai Sha, she's extraordinary."

The teacher tossed out a few performance sheets.

"On the first day, target shooting, she scored bullseyes."

"The second day, we moved to dynamic shooting, and she hit every target."

"The third day, aerial shooting, she was unshakable, wiping out all the drone robots we released, not leaving a single one."

"Out of curiosity, I asked her, and guess what: she’s never been to a shooting range before. It means she's a natural-born shooter, flawless in every aspect. Those eyes of hers, they're not human, they're like an eagle's! Even eagles don't have vision as sharp as hers!"

The teachers sitting around the table looked at each other, understanding his excitement.

When an ordinary child suddenly exhibits extraordinary abilities, it's often because they possess psychic powers.

Psychic powers...

At this thought, the teachers’ faces revealed a mix of subtle wistfulness and envy.

If Bai Sha has psychic powers, even just a C-grade, it's like she's already stepped through the doors of the military academy.

The chief instructor responsible for training the new students, the one who had shouted at all the students during the pledge meeting, was not as optimistic as his colleagues.

"Bai Sha is indeed impressive, let's assume she has psychic powers," the instructor said calmly, "But her ambition is to become a mech pilot. Does our Western District branch have the capacity to train a mech pilot? We don't even have a few functioning mechs. The few remaining mechs on Lanslo Star are all retired, now just exhibits in a military museum."

His words were like a bucket of cold water, dampening the teachers' newfound enthusiasm.

"She's still young," the teacher who first praised Bai Sha couldn't help but interject, "Just persuade her a bit. For her future, she should be able to understand on her own."

"Do you think you can persuade her?" the chief instructor asked emotionlessly, "You were in the auditorium when she declared her ambition. She's the type who wouldn't turn back even if she hit a south wall."

The teacher who had been arguing fell silent.

"But you're right about one thing: all three of them are exceptionally talented. In all my years as an instructor in the preparatory class, it's rare to see students with such caliber. The key is their solid foundation and individual strengths, with no apparent weaknesses. Such students will progress no matter how you teach them, but we, as teachers, must not slacken. We cannot let these rough diamonds be ruined on our watch."

"These kids are geniuses, sure, but they also sleep at ten and wake at five, training hard under our guidance, like oxen. We teachers must be worthy of their effort and dedication."

Aside from Bai Sha, Yaning Kelly and Yan Jingyi, to some extent, proved that their pledges were not just daydreams.

Yaning, rugged and extroverted, had an encyclopedic knowledge of military history. He had studied the great and small battles in the history of the Federation. The current military history theory class was too basic for him, forcing the teacher to assign him extra work. In simulated command exercises, he showed astonishing intuition. Although he had no personal command style yet, he was undoubtedly a promising seedling.

As for Yan Jingyi... within a week of school starting, she had already earned numerous fantastical nicknames like "Yan King Yi," "Human-like Combat Robot," and "Armed Meat Grinder." These names spread after Parfen Luqi led a dozen students to attack her during free combat time and were utterly defeated. It was said that some of those students trembled at the mere mention of "Yan Jingyi," and seven or eight of them even dropped out of school.

According to the teachers' experience, the peak of student dropouts usually started a month after school began and lasted until the end of the year. However, it was rare for students to drop out just a week after school started—students had their pride. Even if they no longer wanted to attend the military academy, they would grit their teeth and endure a month in the preparatory class before leaving. To go home after just a week would be difficult to explain to their families. But these students chose to flee home immediately.

This spoke volumes about the terror of Yan Jingyi.

Thinking of the entanglement between Parfen Luqi and the Orphanage Trio, the teacher sighed softly.

They had thought about mediating—but Parfen's father was the chief pharmaceutical engineer at Kangheng Life Sciences Company. Since eight years ago, the Luqi family had been residents of Lanslo Star's first district, belonging to the top echelon of society. Even the teachers felt hesitant to provoke them. Fortunately, Bai Sha and the others had managed to handle several disputes victoriously, keeping the situation under control.

Setting aside the trio's issues, the teachers filed the other students' grades and drew up a preliminary training schedule.

This new batch of students had just started. Although a few had already stood out, training was a long march, and time would reveal their true strength. As educators, the teachers couldn’t make hasty judgments about any student's future, so they needed to train all students diligently and responsibly.

The school's faculty was actually prepared for a military academy preparatory class of about sixty students—because, by the end, that was roughly the number of students who would remain. However, at the start of the new term, there were nearly three hundred students, often requiring teachers to work overtime. For the purpose of filtering students, the teachers scheduled an almost rigorous timetable. But they also had to be careful not to overload the students to the point of causing problems. They were instructors at a school, and not causing fatalities was their bottom line—though that was about it.

So, two months down the line, even Bai Sha felt as though she had shed a layer of skin.

On a certain Sunday, the Orphanage measured the children's height as usual. Standing on the machine, Bai Sha then said, "Did I grow taller?"

"We grew taller too," Yaning yawned, "And Jingyi even got tanner."

Jingyi shot him a cold glance and delivered an elbow strike, eliciting a pained scream from Yaning.

Bai Sha, speechless, remarked, "Why do you always provoke her? You're just asking for it, aren't you?"

Baisha stepped down from the physical examination machine, catching two young children who were unwilling to have their height measured, laughing and running around in the crowd. She grabbed them by the collars and handed them over to the caretaker. The children, refusing to let go and clinging to Baisha's legs, were carried away like sacks of carrots by the caretaker.

"It seems the institute has stopped taking in children with intellectual disabilities these last two years," Baisha observed, watching their noisy departure thoughtfully.

"The institute is short-staffed, and it’s hard to care for too many such children," Jingyi explained, joining her. "Moreover, Kangheng Life Sciences Company recently opened radiation disease gene testing to the public at a low cost. Many fetuses diagnosed with radiation disease are now aborted before birth, naturally lowering the birth rate of children with intellectual deficits."

Radiation disease is a curse that looms over the Federation's history, a curse born alongside the Federation's colonization and wealth creation in the starry sea. The mysterious and varied radiation of the universe affects the human body when exposed. Although scientists have developed devices and medicines to weaken radiation, and the Interstellar Federation conducts radiation assessments before opening new colonies, radiation still leaves traces in human genes as humanity proliferates.

"Radiation disease" isn’t rare, but Lanslo Star has a high incidence of it, seemingly emerging after the mining of T-crystal veins on the planet. Some say it's genetic pollution caused by extracting T-crystals buried deep underground, but this claim has never been officially or medically confirmed. And T-crystals aren't unique to Lanslo Star; there has never been any indication that mining this mineral causes diseases among the populace.

For Lanslo Star, T-crystal mining brought temporary glory. At the time, mining was deemed necessary for the planet’s development. Now that the veins are nearly depleted, Lanslo Star's various industries have shrunk considerably. Considering "radiation disease" is too late; survival is now the priority.

After the routine checkup and dinner, Vian and Kleiza appeared at the care institute.

They were the two boys who Jingyi had beaten up until they bled years ago.

Now independent from the care institute, working in factories, they occasionally brought food and toys for the children, always surrounded by a crowd upon arrival. Among the institute's "graduates," they were considered successful and conscientious, always remembering to visit their old home.

"Hey, Teacher Bai!" Their eyes lit up upon seeing Baisha, crowding around her and presenting her with a box of sweets like an offering, "Long time no see! We heard you went to a military preparatory school and even got a scholarship, that's incredible!"

Baisha replied, "…Actually, you don't have to call me 'teacher' every time you come."

"How could we not?" Vian said. "If it weren't for you teaching us how to use those machines, we couldn't have reached our positions today!"

When Vian and Kleiza first started learning in the factory, they faced the cold shoulder from their masters. In the fiercely competitive industries of Lanslo Star, those old workers, skilled but not formally trained as mechanics, were easily replaceable. Fortunately, Baisha had learned everything necessary from Old Liao and passed it on to Vian and Kleiza. Earlier this year, they finally qualified as junior mechanics—not a highly prestigious certificate, but enough for them to earn a higher status and salary than their old masters, ensuring their livelihood. They were even planning to combine their experience and the study materials Baisha gave them to create a "Junior Mechanic's Pre-Exam White Paper" to share with the eligible orphans at the care institute.

"Mr. White," said Vivian and Clyde, their biggest change after growing up was their increasing skill in flattery without a change in expression. "We both think that with your skills, passing the intermediate mechanic exam would be a breeze."

"But my goal is to be a mecha pilot," Mr. White sighed deeply, causing Vivian and Clyde to pause and exchange awkward looks.

Mecha pilot. That's a great ambition. But where would they get the money for a mecha?

They were orphans who knew each other's background very well, fully aware of each other's impoverished state.

The conversation naturally cooled off.

"You two are here again," Holman appeared out of nowhere, patting Mr. White on the back, signaling her to cheer up, "Now that you've become mechanics, returning to the orphanage would be a triumphant homecoming. But White is still young, her future uncertain, and anything is possible. Don't make such faces when mechas are mentioned, what if it hurts her dreams?"

Vivian and Clyde quickly lowered their heads to apologize. They had been intimidated by Holman since childhood and quickly made excuses to leave as soon as they saw him.

Holman chuckled, saying to Mr. White, "I heard about your performance at the oath-taking ceremony. Quite brave of you, ignoring all those reminders from old Liao to pursue a career in mechanics?"

Mr. White: "…"

She wanted to explain, but then saw Holman's knowing look as he said, "I knew you wouldn't willingly give up on becoming a mecha pilot."

"How about this, I'll take you to a place to test your psychic strength—if you have it, that's great news. No matter what happens in the future, I'll support your pursuit of becoming a mecha pilot. Just be aware, this test might be life-threatening."

Holman, reeking slightly of alcohol, looked like a disheartened, impoverished teacher, but in his eyes, Mr. White could see a reflection of galaxies and gunsmoke.

The next second, she heard herself respond.

"Alright."