Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Bai Xingshu processed what Zhao Gao had said and asked the system, [Do you have a record of this?]

[Yes.] The system responded quickly.

Bai Xingshu felt at ease.

When he turned around, he saw Lin Lie had already finished eating, looking indifferent, maybe a bit annoyed.

It was only then that Bai Xingshu realized he'd been chatting with Zhao Gao for too long. He quickly gestured, "Hold on, I'll be done in a sec."

With that, Bai Xingshu wolfed down his breakfast in a few bites.

Lin Lie was taken aback.

How'd he do that?

"No need to hurry." Lin Lie's slight annoyance immediately vanished, replaced by a look of helplessness.

Bai Xingshu didn't see what the fuss was about.

Once he became a big shot, he never had to worry about food or drink, let alone meals.

But back in the day, Bai Xingshu had been in situations where if he didn't eat fast, someone else would take his food.

For him, eating quickly was just second nature.

Plus, the food here was way tastier and softer than what he used to eat.

Bai Xingshu just nodded and then asked Lin Lie, "Where's class?"

"Training Ground One."

Bai Xingshu: "Where do I check the schedule?"

"Right here..." Lin Lie pointed.

[You could've asked me!] the system piped up in Bai Xingshu's head, eager to show off, [I can handle anything program-related!]

Bai Xingshu was at a loss for words: [I'm trying to flirt with him.]

He'd finally remembered to flirt with Lin Lie a little, and the system didn't even catch on. So clueless.

System: [?]

[You gotta let people show off.] Bai Xingshu said confidently, [After you beat someone, just ask for a little favor, and they'll be all over it, trying to prove they're not worthless.]

System: [...?]

It felt like something was off, but seeing how eager Lin Lie was... maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

So the system started to second-guess itself.

Could it be... that it just didn't get humans?

Bai Xingshu had meant to ask Lin Lie about the training ground, but he didn't get the chance.

Right after Lin Lie finished going over the schedule, a teacher came up to talk to him about a work-study arrangement, so Lin Lie had to bounce.

Lin Lie quietly watched Bai Xingshu's retreating figure.

Zhao Gao, who had been silent earlier, sneered and mimicked Lin Lie's words in an exaggerated manner, his voice dripping with sarcasm: "No—need—to—be—in—such—a—hurry—"

Lin Lie ignored Zhao Gao and stood up to leave.

Only then did Zhao Gao address Lin Lie, his tone finally turning serious: "Do you really like Bai Xingshu? It hasn't been that long."

Lin Lie immediately reacted as if someone had stepped on his sore spot: "How could that be?!" He shot Zhao Gao a glare, "He's an Alpha."

Zhao Gao clicked his tongue in displeasure, clearly disappointed.

It was evident that he was convinced by Lin Lie's words: "So he's an Alpha. I thought, given how attentive you were, that the Combat Department had finally gotten another Omega after so many years."

Unaware of their conversation, Bai Xingshu followed the teacher to the office to gain access to the academy's maintenance room.

"You'll be assisting the teachers in the maintenance room over the next few months. Whenever you have free time, go to the maintenance room. Teacher Song will send you daily tasks."

"You'll be paid daily based on your workload."

"Any questions?"

Since the teacher had asked, Bai Xingshu naturally didn't hold back. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Is Teacher Song easy to get along with?"

The teacher pondered for a moment: "He's a young teacher newly hired by the Mechanical Engineering Department, not much older than you. He should be quite easy to get along with."

Bai Xingshu was surprised: "Is our department's maintenance room managed by the Mechanical Engineering Department?"

That was a good question, and it made the teacher pause. He looked at Bai Xingshu with a deep gaze: "It wasn't in the past, but this year there's a lot more to repair, and some of it is quite large, requiring specialized skills to handle."

Bai Xingshu was puzzled: '?'

It seemed like there was a story behind this.

However, before Bai Xingshu could ask further, the teacher glanced at the time and said class was about to start, shooing Bai Xingshu away.

Bai Xingshu arrived at Training Field No. 1 just in time.

All the classmates were already there, and Bai Xingshu was once again the last to arrive.

Even later than the teacher.

"Alright, everyone's here," the teacher said with a serious expression, introducing himself, "I'm Liu Ping, in charge of your S-class training sessions, and your main instructor."

After saying this, Director Liu immediately pointed at Bai Xingshu: "You're the Freshman Tournament champion, so you'll be the class monitor for S-class."

Completely caught off guard by this sudden responsibility, Bai Xingshu quickly realized he couldn't take on the role of class monitor.

It seemed like a lot of trouble, especially since he had even needed Lin Lie to teach him how to read the class schedule.

He had to find a way to pass this responsibility to someone else.

Bai Xingshu quickly spoke up: "Teacher, I've taken on a work-study job at the academy, so I won't have much free time. I suggest Lin Lie be the class monitor instead."

"During the Freshman Tournament assembly yesterday, he took the initiative to maintain order."

"After the tournament, he also stood up for his classmates to ensure they received their due rights."

"This morning during the assembly, during physical training, he stepped forward to prevent conflicts."

"He has a sense of responsibility and the ability to take action, making him very suitable to lead and organize our S Squad," Bai Xingshu said with logical reasoning.

Lin Lie originally had no thoughts about Bai Xingshu being appointed as the squad leader.

After all, in the Combat Department, strength reigns supreme, and it's customary for the top performer in the squad to be the leader.

But he never expected...

Lin Lie looked at Bai Xingshu, his gaze fixed in shock.

The things he said and did had actually gained such high praise from Bai Xingshu.

Director Liu, following Bai Xingshu's lead, turned his gaze toward Lin Lie, and Bai Xingshu naturally followed the teacher's gaze to Lin Lie.

Seeing Lin Lie completely taken aback, staring blankly at him, Bai Xingshu was instantly alarmed.

Oh no, he only remembered to pass the buck and completely forgot that Lin Lie was the person he was trying to win over!

Bai Xingshu quickly gave Lin Lie an apologetic smile, attempting to win back some favor.

However, it seemed to have no effect.

Bai Xingshu watched helplessly as Lin Lie quickly averted his eyes, completely ignoring him.

[Sigh, this mission is so hard.] Bai Xingshu mourned the effort he'd made over breakfast, now all for nothing.

The system, detecting Lin Lie's ears turning red: [...?]

It felt like its host was flexing.

Director Liu never expected that the Lin family's little troublemaker would actually feel embarrassed.

Originally, he hadn't planned to agree to Bai Xingshu's suggestion.

After all, military rules state that orders from above must be absolutely followed.

But seeing Lin Lie's reaction, he immediately changed his mind.

"Lin Lie, S Squad leader, Bai Xingshu as Deputy Squad Leader," Director Liu reassigned the roles. "Other committee members will be elected internally after class, and the leader will report the results to me."

"Now, let's begin."

As soon as Director Liu finished speaking, the large screen in the training room lit up, showing clips from yesterday's Freshman Tournament.

"Last night, I reviewed your matches."

"In summary, it was a total disaster!" Director Liu scolded, pointing at Bai Xingshu. "Especially you, look at this mess!"

The screen showed Bai Xingshu's performance footage, and Director Liu used a pointer to point out mistakes on the screen.

"Look here, is this how you push the control stick? All raw strength! You're just strong, right? Don't you know the proper technique?"

"And here, why didn't you dodge when you could have? The mech sustained avoidable damage. You depend solely on your reflexes, with no regard for technique."

Director Liu ripped apart Bai Xingshu's entire performance in the Freshman Tournament, and when others appeared in the footage, he also tore into the rest of the squad.

—With Bai Xingshu's level of skill, he managed to outshine all of them. They're all useless, the bottom of the barrel!

When it comes to scolding people, Director Liu is undoubtedly very experienced.

Many students in Class S were initially quite full of themselves, believing that their entry into Class S made them the top of the class. After being scolded by Director Liu for half an hour with well-founded arguments, they all turned red with embarrassment, wishing they could disappear into the floor of the training room.

Director Liu, seeing the students' reactions, was quite pleased with the result.

However, when his gaze swept over Bai Xingshu, it paused.

Bai Xingshu's expression didn't change at all. He looked at the large screen with a thoughtful expression, looking like a model student paying close attention.

Bai Xingshu had been through hell and back; there was nothing he hadn't experienced.

So what if Director Liu was a bit harsh? The guy was actually teaching some solid stuff!

Moreover, his teaching was truly fitting for a pro instructor.

Bai Xingshu tuned out the fluff, focusing on the meaningful parts. After careful consideration, he had a lightbulb moment.

He was itching to grab the login device and verify what he had learned as soon as he got back to the dormitory.

Director Liu paused, then said, "Bai Xingshu, are you feeling不服? Let's have a match! Director Liu's voice was filled with anger. "Let me tell you, don't think that just because you won the Freshman Tournament, you're something special. You wouldn't even last a single move against me!"

Bai Xingshu paid no mind to Director Liu's sarcastic remark about his resentment, instead focusing on extracting the useful information. He looked up, his eyes lighting up as he gazed at the two shiny new mechs parked in the training room.

Director Liu's fake anger instantly crumbled, his emotions completely disrupted.

He even felt a wave of panic he couldn't control.

He quickly spoke up: "Not that! Don't even think about it!!"

If those new mechs got wrecked, the asset management team would have his head.

Director Liu pointed: "Hop into the simulator!"

The simulator was just a mech cockpit, with an operating console identical to a real mech, except the front window was replaced with a display screen.

This was way more real than BattleNet.

Bai Xingshu sat inside, placing his hands on the control stick, testing the gestures Director Liu had demonstrated earlier.

It was indeed more comfortable, and the response speed was faster.

Bai Xingshu's pre-battle tinkering was fully projected onto the large screen in the training room.

The screen, which had just been used for teaching, was now split into three sections: the interiors of both cockpits and a display of the overall battle between the two mechs.

The classmates saw Bai Xingshu's awkward exploration, and many of them laughed.

He looked like a total noob.

Lin Lie, however, was focused.

Bai Xingshu's actions, from the sequence to the force applied, looked exactly like Director Liu's demonstration.