Chapter 61

Chapter 61

To facilitate communication, they briefly dropped their disguises and chatted with their true appearances in the private room.

Baisha asked her former companions, "How's it going at the Central Military Academy?"

"It's good. Compared to other military academies, the atmosphere at the Central Military Academy is quite liberal and open," Yaning said with a smile, "They even provide us with mechas for free."

"Students from the Federal Central Military Academy? No wonder," Sino Us nodded slightly to Yan Jingyi, "Your techniques are impressive."

Yan Jingyi, with a neutral expression, responded, "Thank you for the compliment. You're not bad yourself."

"Speaking of which, isn't there a joint military exercise between the Empire and the Federation this year?" Cen Yuehuai stroked his chin and asked Sino.

Sino Us recalled for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, the rough schedule is set. Both the Empire and the Federation will contribute about eight hundred to a thousand students each for the simulated military exercise."

Considering the number of students at both military academies, this scale of exercise is not large.

"Most of the military academy students are vying for a spot in the exercise," Yaning blinked, "We also planned to see you again during the exercise. But we thought you might show up in Unbounded City, so we formed a team to participate in the mecha combat here while waiting for you to come online."

Baisha expressed her regret, "I can't log into my old account anymore..."

Initially, Baisha's access to Unbounded City was arranged by Ning Hongxue.

After returning to the Empire and switching her light computer, she couldn't log in anymore. It was clear that Ning Hongxue had revoked her access.

He was erasing all traces of his contact with Baisha, not leaving any leverage to others.

Unable to inherit her previous account, her alias "Daily Money Maker" was no longer accessible.

Zhou Xiao frowned slightly, "My uncle didn't mention this to me and Ayin."

Baisha, surprised, casually asked, "By the way, how has Zhou Ying been doing recently?"

"He... he's studying at Saint Cyril Military Academy and doesn't usually join us. But he frequents Unbounded City, even more often than us," Zhou Xiao opened his friend panel and slid the light screen towards Baisha, "This is his ID, do you want to add him as a friend?"

Zhou Xiao's friend list was sparse, with Zhou Ying's ID shining at the top, named "Qing Ying Wei Chi."

Baisha tentatively sent a friend request, and immediately received a "?" in response.

Baisha typed a message.

[I Quit Being Human: It's me. Zhang Facaoi.]

[Qing Ying Wei Chi: ...]

A few seconds later, Zhou Ying sent a voice message. Baisha instinctively opened it, and Zhou Ying's voice, warm yet slightly reproachful, filled the room.

"You really are... It's been so long without any news from you. Do you know how long I've been waiting? I thought I'd never get to speak with you again in this lifetime."

His voice, cool and distant, was like plucking an invisible, exceedingly soft string, its lingering notes gently scratching at one's heart.

Baisha: "..."

Everyone in the private room: "..."

Yan Jingyi slightly narrowed her eyes and asked Baisha, "What's with Zhou Ying acting so coy? Is he that close to Sha Sha? After all, we've been with her for much longer."

Baisha coughed twice and continued typing.

[I Quit Being Human: Act normal, stop sending voice messages.]

[Qing Ying Wei Chi: Why can't I? Aren't we friends?]

Baisha didn't reply for a few seconds, only to see Zhou Ying sending another message.

[Qing Ying Wei Chi: I know you don't hate my voice. Is it because those people are with you, right?]

[Qing Ying Wei Chi: You found out my ID from my brother.]

The trio from the Federation: "..."

So, Zhou Ying was doing this on purpose! Sending voice messages just to be overheard!

[Qing Ying Wei Chi: Not much time left, I have to log off soon. I recently became a disciple of a top Federation mecha designer and drew two design sketches. I'll send them for you to see, and we can discuss them next time. I'm online every Wednesday and Friday night, feel free to contact me.]

[Qing Ying Wei Chi: Goodnight.]

Baisha: "..."

Honestly, Baisha was aware of Zhou Ying's design prowess. He possessed strong analytical skills and never confined himself to conventional frameworks. Their discussions on mecha issues always seemed to hit crucial points.

Finding a friend with whom she could regularly discuss mecha at a fixed time was indeed rare.

Zhou Ying's decision not to immediately confront them in person left the Federation trio feeling a certain dread—

This guy was playing a long game, a demonstration of both patience and confidence.

Yaning looked at Zhou Xiao with sympathetic eyes. Everyone knew the allure mecha held for Baisha. Zhou Ying might have started off at a disadvantage, but he understood the value of persistence. In contrast, Zhou Xiao, as a solo mecha fighter, was likely to fall short in this respect.

"It seems Ayin can come online regularly every week," Zhou Xiao nodded, "Why don't we set a fixed time to gather in Unbounded City? The frequency doesn’t have to be high; just inform everyone in advance if unavailable."

Everyone in the private room was a student, burdened with heavy coursework, making frequent visits to Unbounded City impractical.

Baisha readily agreed, "Sure, shall we set our next meeting for seven days from now?" Starting tomorrow, Baisha would be attending additional mecha engineer courses, leaving her no free time for simulated mecha combats in Unbounded City. In the future, it would be mostly Sino leading Cen Yuehuai in two-on-two battles. Therefore, being able to schedule a meeting with Zhou Xiao and the others in advance was perfect for her.

"Alright," Zhou Xiao smiled lightly, "See you next week."

Yaning gave Jingyi a discreet thumbs-up behind her back.

Zhou Xiao's move was brilliant! He effortlessly turned Zhou Ying's individual invitation into a group event!

Although the Zhou brothers were unassuming, both were men of action.

……

After logging out of Unbounded City, Baisha and Cen Yuehuai climbed out of the holographic simulation pods. Cen Yuehuai, yawning, bid her farewell, and they both returned to their respective rooms to sleep.

The next day, Baisha officially started her courses in the Mecha Engineer program.

While students in the Combat program had group classes, they still trained together during combat exercises. The Mecha Engineer program, however, was different.

At Tianquan Military Academy, the four grades, excluding the fourth-year students who had begun off-campus internships, from first to third year, received mixed instruction.

Those who hadn't obtained a Mecha Engineer qualification had to follow the school's curriculum to earn credits. Those who had acquired the junior qualification could skip some of the basic courses. After achieving the intermediate level, students had the freedom to choose their courses, focusing on areas of interest — the highest achievement for most military academy students was "Senior Mecha Engineer." As for the rare "Special Mecha Engineers," while one might chance upon them, they couldn't be deliberately cultivated.

As an Intermediate Mecha Engineer, Baisha had the privilege to plan her own curriculum.

Baisha had spent the past decade in the Federation and had been self-studying since arriving in the Empire. Now, she finally had the opportunity to systematically and comprehensively study Imperial mecha design from the basics.

She had enrolled in several basic courses in the Mecha Engineer program and chosen two advanced courses according to her interests and current bottlenecks. The wide gap in difficulty levels was astonishing.

Unable to attend some classes in full, she planned to watch the recorded sessions on her light computer. Dual-majoring didn't require attendance, only passing the final exams.

The school issued a design board to all Mecha Engineer students. Baisha, with her timetable and design board in hand, headed for the "Introduction to Mecha Structure" class — one of the three foundational courses alongside Energy and Manufacturing Studies.

The Mecha Design department's building was constructed in a beehive shape, centered around a white statue in the main square. The statue depicted Volgan Ronin, the Empire's second emperor and the founder of Tianquan Military Academy, who was not only a powerful warrior but also skilled in mecha manufacturing.

Baisha entered the classroom to find it already occupied by over a dozen students.

She casually picked a seat and, upon sitting down, noticed the curious and discreet glances from those around her.

"That must be the new royal family member who just enrolled…"

"Isn't she from the Combat program?"

"Looks like she's planning to take the Mecha Engineer program as well..."

"My goodness, the courses our department assigns to students with no background are so numerous. All the minor papers and assignments have nearly overwhelmed me. Studying in two departments? Who is this formidable person? Can she really graduate successfully?"

The general attitude towards royalty was respectful but distant. Thus, a vacuum zone formed around Baisha, with about four or five seats in every direction remaining empty. This became more pronounced as the classroom filled up.

The atmosphere calmed instantly when the course instructor entered the room.

The teacher, a graduate of Tianquan Military Academy and a Senior Mecha Designer, conducted the class in a standard manner, sticking strictly to the curriculum without digression. He explained concepts clearly and at a steady pace, constantly feeding the students' minds with information. It was as if a ladder had descended from the heavens for the students to climb, gathering meaningful knowledge along the way.

Baisha listened intently, cross-referencing her own notes. Wherever she found discrepancies or misunderstandings, she quickly corrected them. While there were few major corrections needed, she found the experience incredibly enriching.

After covering "Basic Frameworks," the teacher initiated a fun quiz session. He projected various mecha parts on the screen, challenging students to piece them together, testing their understanding of mecha structures.

"Consider this a pop quiz. Who wants to give it a try? Answering five questions correctly counts as passing the challenge and earns an extra point in your regular grades," the teacher said with a smile from the podium.

The students immediately became enthusiastic. An extra point meant getting closer to an excellent grade, an opportunity too good to miss.

"There are too many hands... To be fair, I'll draw student numbers. Let's see, first up — student number 2603?"

The automatic roll call on the projector screen halted at the number "2603."

The teacher's expression subtly changed.

Most students in this basic class didn't realize their student numbers all started with "0," indicating no prior foundation. Those who entered with a Junior Mecha Engineer qualification were assigned a "1," Intermediate "2," Senior "3"... This "2603" clearly indicated an Intermediate Mecha Designer.

An Intermediate Mecha Engineer in a basic course?

The teacher immediately thought of a particular individual.

Baisha looked up to find the teacher's gaze fixed on her. A closer look confirmed that her student number had indeed been called.

Why hesitate? This was an easy opportunity to score points.

Approaching the podium, Baisha heard the teacher say with a chuckle, "Ah, aren't these questions too simple for you? This extra credit seems almost too easy to earn."

Baisha raised an eyebrow slightly, "Teacher, a promise is worth its weight in gold. You can't renege on it in public."

Rolling up her sleeves and just about to start, she saw the teacher wave his hand dismissively, "Never mind, consider the extra credit a gift from me. Don’t waste my carefully prepared questions." These were once-used-only questions, and the teacher had put great effort into compiling them.

Baisha chuckled softly and turned back to her seat.

The entire classroom fell into a deathly silence.

The students looked at Baisha as if she were a creature from another planet.

"What's going on? She earned extra credit just by having a brief chat with the teacher?"

"The teacher even said the questions were too simple for her," one student squinted at the first question, a twitch in his eye, "They're not particularly hard, but they're certainly not giveaway questions either."

"Is this some kind of royal privilege?"

"Nonsense privilege. Which royal ever got special treatment while studying in a military academy? Receiving special treatment is the most embarrassing thing, okay? No one would flaunt it in public! Getting tips in advance from the teacher, now that would be special treatment!"

The classroom buzzed with low-voiced debates as the teacher calmly selected more students to answer questions, proceeding with the usual commentary and point distribution.

After class, the teacher called Baisha to the podium, "Baisha, doesn't my class bore you?"

"Not at all," Baisha shook her head, "Your explanations are insightful and interesting."

The teacher, having seen Baisha organizing her notes, couldn't help but ask to see a few pages. After perusing them, he fell silent.

"…I suggest you find a mentor as soon as possible," he advised earnestly, "Although instructors here generally don't take on new students with shaky fundamentals, you're already an Intermediate Mecha Engineer with evident self-learning capabilities. Students like you are rare. Find a mentor to plan a specialized learning path for you. That would be most suitable for your level."

The teacher spoke earnestly, looking sincerely at Baisha: "I'll send you the teaching plan I prepared for this course. May I make a copy of the notes you've compiled?"

Baisha: "...Of course." Was he suggesting she memorize the teaching plan?

"Well, I'll address you as Your Highness. I heard that your mecha was designed jointly by three Special Mecha Engineers at the Imperial Mecha Research Institute?" the teacher asked curiously, "Actually, the three designers, Zhu Sheng, Tai Shi Rong, and Clive Davis, are all young but profoundly skilled mecha designers. You could choose one of them as your mentor. Although, you probably have many other options..."

The path of contemporary mecha engineers, aside from innovation and exploration, mostly involves imitation and replication.

With mecha having evolved over a millennium, groundbreaking innovations seem scarce. Mecha engineering has entered an era of design and data comparison, as reflected in the grading system for mecha—while the threshold for "Exceptional" grade mechas has lowered, the number of "Legacy" and "Legendary" grade mechas has steeply declined in the past century.

Hence, for mecha engineers, the adage "better safe than innovative" prevails. Current military academy teachings also lean towards conservatism.

For those with the potential to become Special Mecha Engineers, choosing the right mentor is crucial.

After a moment of contemplation, Baisha asked the teacher, "Do you have any good recommendations?"

The teacher paused, then nodded and pulled up the Special Mecha Engineers ranking list from the Mecha Association, beginning to annotate it. He marked out those who no longer took students, were too busy with research to teach, or had extremely niche research areas that might lead to skewed learning.

Baisha inhaled softly, "You're quite knowledgeable about these, aren’t you?"

"Actually, I once considered seeking a Special Engineer as a mentor to further my studies and did extensive research... but alas, I lacked the talent. I'm content being a basic course instructor," the teacher said somewhat sheepishly, shaking his head, "I always dreamt of being mentored by a Special Engineer, so in my free time, I liked researching them, accumulating a lot of information. I'll share this with you, and you can make your choice."

"Thank you, teacher," Baisha thanked him instinctively, her gaze then drifting to the top of the mecha designer rankings.

—The current number one on the Special Mecha Engineers ranking list, Jiang Gui.

If she was choosing a mentor, why not choose the best?

"What about the Special Engineer, Master Jiang Gui? What do you think of him?" Baisha asked.

The teacher’s initial reaction was: "Difficult."

Baisha: "Why?"

The teacher: "Because Jiang Gui is extremely selective." He sighed, "Despite his seemingly approachable demeanor, as his colleague who has interacted with him a few times, I can tell you he maintains an invisible distance from everyone, as if no one can influence him."

"As mecha designers, besides having a solid foundation, a lot of our work depends on mood and sudden inspiration to achieve any substantial innovation. We have our limitations as individuals. As for major research directions, they are generally handled by well-staffed labs conducting experiments..."

"But Jiang Gui is different."

"His designs don't rely on 'inspiration' but on extreme acuteness and almost cold objectivity. His achievements, besides mecha design, are numerous in the fields of energy and materials innovation—he's like a lab unto himself!"

"Do you think such a person is suitable to be a mentor?"

Everyone's talent has its own style.

And Jiang Gui is best at negating personal styles. He has advanced so far that he seems unreachable, making students feel that their own innovations are insignificant. Such a person isn't suitable for a guiding role.

After listening, Baisha remained noncommittal, lost in thought.

The teacher took a sip of water from his thermos and asked, "Your Highness Baisha, after all that I've said... what are you thinking about?"

Baisha looked serious, her deep blue eyes, clear as gems, shining with intelligence—

"I was just thinking, if I really do take Master Jiang Gui as my mentor and eventually surpass him to become number one on the Special Engineers ranking, would people think it's a case of 'the student outshining the master'?"

The teacher almost spit out the water he had just sipped, caught off guard by her audacity.

What a bold thought!

The teacher felt a surge of admiration. He thought giving her the teaching plan directly had been a wise decision. Such a student is too much for ordinary people to handle!

If Baisha could really become Jiang Gui's student, that wouldn't be bad at all.

—Master Jiang Gui, please be selfless and take on this prodigy!

The teacher ranted internally.

But despite his internal commentary, he didn't skimp on offering help. He explained that the Empire had a comprehensive mecha engineer training system. Even without a Special Engineer as a mentor, after achieving the Senior Mecha Engineer qualification, one could access numerous courses left by legendary designers through the Mecha Design Association.

"Many top mecha designers have recorded courses for future generations," the teacher said, "Your Highness Baisha, if you one day become a Special Mecha Engineer, this is also something you should consider doing."

Sharing and legacy are the keys to the Empire's never-ending progress in mecha development.

Baisha was reminded by the "Introduction to Mecha Structure" teacher that she didn't need to attend every basic course session—she could at least play them back at a faster speed. But there were key factors to consider: the teacher's plan contained insights beyond the textbook, and his teaching style closely followed his plans, ensuring no loss of important content even if she didn't attend classes in person.

Not every teacher had the same approach as him.

Following suit, Baisha obtained the teaching plan from the "Mecha Energy Overview" instructor, but the "Manufacturing Studies" teacher was a unique case—a Special Mecha Designer known for his divergent thinking and spontaneous teaching style. Baisha found even his most scattered thoughts valuable, so she attended his classes diligently and planned to request leave from the Combat program to ensure she didn't miss any of his lectures.

Unbeknownst to Baisha, she was highly sought after by some teachers, especially those Special Engineers planning to take on students.

Many instructors at Tianquan Military Academy were Special Mecha Engineers who had taken notice of Baisha's talent and were pleased with her background.

Mecha engineering is a field that consumes vast resources and materials; without proper supplies and facilities, progress is nearly impossible. Baisha's background ensured her access to most of the research resources she needed, benefiting her and her potential mentors.

The outspoken "Introduction to Mecha Structure" teacher even shared Baisha's bold statements with others—

"Master Jiang Gui, you dare not take in little Highness Baisha. She's claimed she'll eventually surpass you and leave you behind like a wave crashing on the shore!"

This was a jest among Special Mecha Engineer colleagues.

A man of unassuming appearance but distinct features sat behind his desk, his cool, deep blue eyes slightly downcast. His calm demeanor was offset by a small mole on the left side of his nose, adding a touch of liveliness.

"Look at you all, eager to take her as a student. Go ahead, you don't need to make such remarks to test me."

"I don't take students."