Chapter 115

Chapter 115

As much as he was annoyed by the system, its response made it clear it agreed with Bai Xingshu's proposal.

Now, he could temporarily stop worrying about the mission.

Yes!

That's when Bai Xingshu finally felt like he was on vacation—even though it was technically the start of the semester.

When Shen Geng saw Bai Xingshu return, looking completely relaxed and happy, his stomach dropped.

Had he found a suitable elite Alpha?

Shen Geng thought it over, then thought some more, before concluding…

This was Bai Xingshu.

Shen Geng realized he might have developed some stereotypes about Bai Xingshu.

But when he opened his mouth, he didn’t dare ask directly. Instead, he beat around the bush: “Something good happen?”

Bai Xingshu nodded, glanced around, then pulled out a bottle of drink from his sleeve.

He secretly passed it to Shen Geng. “This is the drink I just had. Only one left, so I brought it back for you. Want some?”

Before Shen Geng could even process Bai Xingshu’s nod, he was at a loss for words. “This is your good news?”

“Isn’t this good enough?” Bai Xingshu was shocked.

This was a brand new experience!

Shen Geng looked hard at Bai Xingshu before finally laughing and accepting the drink. “Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

With that, he took a sip cheerfully—

Only to immediately spit it out.

Shen Geng: “…”

Completely dumbfounded.

Bai Xingshu burst into laughter.

“Fish mint flavor. Like it?”

Shen Geng clutched the drink in one hand and pressed the other to his forehead.

What... had he been expecting from Bai Xingshu?

That night, the camp was filled with the sound of snoring.

By the next day, the students had regained their energy, and the teachers went even harder.

But in the end, it was a battle of thousands against dozens—three regular guys could still outsmart a genius—so unsurprisingly, the two-day, 100-kilometer trek wrapped up with everyone laughing.

All the students marched back in formation to the meeting spot where they had first gathered.

Every student was bursting with energy, and judging solely by the surface outcome, everything had gone incredibly smooth.

Even the usual need to ask the Instructor for help was absent this time.

Nobody could even think about deducting points from them.

The Coach primarily responsible for this training session stood on the stage, wordlessly watching the students below.

The freshmen, though trying to appear composed, couldn’t hide the pride and defiance on their faces—each might as well have 'victory' stamped on their faces.

The students' clumsy attempts to conceal their emotions had the Coaches torn between annoyance and amusement.

But it had to be said…

The Coach at the front finally spoke, offering affirmation: "You nailed this training!"

Education was never just about criticism—when praise was deserved, they wouldn’t hold back.

Hearing the Coach’s first words being praise, the students were shocked.

Then, unable to contain themselves, everyone burst out cheering.

"We won!"

"Hell yeah!!"

"We’re the best!!!"

Amid the shouts and celebrations, the Coaches let them have their fun for a few minutes before nodding.

The return journey today still covered fifty kilometers, yet these students had energy to spare for such revelry.

It seemed the training intensity for this batch could still be increased.

Unaware of the brutal future awaiting them, the students continued their pure excitement.

Coaches: ^_^

However, this didn’t affect Bai Xingshu much.

He was already in a whole different league compared to the average student. What others might consider a brutal step-up felt just about right for him.

Bai Xingshu was more concerned with his new class schedule.

Apart from the mech training courses that would span his entire military academy career, the other classes this semester had changed.

To his disappointment, he noticed there were no close-combat courses this term.

Nothing he could do about it.

For warriors of this era, situations requiring hand-to-hand combat were few and far between.

Thus, after covering the basics and ensuring students reached good enough skills, further practice was left to themselves.

As a result, Bai Xingshu lost his weekly morning chance to take it easy.

Fortunately, the new courses were pretty cool.

The curriculum now included survival training in simulated terrain.

By the time they reach their sophomore year, the disciplinary training involves field survival exercises across various terrains. So naturally, freshmen need to learn the basics first.

Though Bai Xingshu had become a dominant figure in the post-apocalyptic world, his activities mostly stayed around his own base. Occasionally, he would take on missions at other bases, but never ventured too far.

Many terrains were still unfamiliar to Bai Xingshu.

That’s why he genuinely liked this revamped curriculum.

Lastly, there were changes in the theory courses...

This had no impact on Bai Xingshu either.

No matter what was changed, it was all new knowledge to him anyway.

After half a year of academic life, Bai Xingshu felt he had gotten used to this aspect.

Morning combat training.

Because of everyone's cocky behavior the day before, it was only natural that Director Liu gave them their routine thrashing.

But by now, everyone was used to being beaten by Director Liu.

The students eagerly chattered among themselves after sparring, discussing how to fight better against Director Liu.

Director Liu: "..."

Not only did he feel no sense of accomplishment, but he also seemed like just a training dummy.

Wherever Bai Xingshu was present, things always felt strangely different.

With the morning classes over, Bai Xingshu finally walked into the Combat Department’s maintenance room once again.

As soon as he entered, Bai Xingshu was surprised to find that the progress on the mecha repairs had advanced significantly compared to the end of the previous semester.

Inside the maintenance room, Song Xiyan froze mid-motion at the sound of movement at the door.

For a moment, Song Xiyan thought he was hearing things.

But...

It was the third day of the new semester.

Also the first day after the freshmen’s disciplinary training had ended, marking the official start of classes—and Bai Xingshu’s return to his regular academic routine.

So, it wasn’t a hallucination.

Song Xiyan was so overwhelmed that he spun around sharply, unable to suppress the joy rising in his eyes as he stared intently at the familiar face he hadn't seen in ages.

Naturally, Bai Xingshu could sense the strong welcoming emotion in Song Xiyan’s reaction as he turned to look at him.

This deserved a response!

Bai Xingshu raised his hand high and waved vigorously at Song Xiyan, his voice cheerful and loud: "Teacher, I’m back! Long time no see!!"

Song Xiyan bit his lip, unsure of what to say.

He wasn't as open with his feelings as Bai Xingshu, even to say a simple "long time no see."

Bai Xingshu missed Song Xiyan's moment of sadness.

Quickening his pace, Bai Xingshu bounded over to Song Xiyan's side: "Teacher, you came here often during the long break too! Several mechs are missing—you fixed them all!"

Song Xiyan was speechless.

He even averted his gaze slightly, avoiding Bai Xingshu's bright, earnest eyes.

Yes.

During Bai Xingshu's long break away from school, Song Xiyan had taken to coming here in his free time to relax and work on the mechs.

To Song Xiyan, this place had started to feel like their secret hideout.

While repairing the mechs, Song Xiyan sometimes felt as if Bai Xingshu were right beside him, his cheerful chatter involuntarily accompanying him in his mind.

This made Song Xiyan happy—happier than resting in his dorm.

While doing this, Song Xiyan hadn’t thought there was anything odd about it. But now, being called out so bluntly by the person involved, he suddenly felt embarrassed.

He was flustered.

Bai Xingshu didn’t notice Song Xiyan’s subtle emotions at all. His words were simply meant as praise.

Bai Xingshu had always been free with praise, never overthinking it.

After speaking, Bai Xingshu turned to his real purpose.

Producing two sets of repair tools from his pocket, he handed them directly to Song Xiyan: "These are gifts. For the new semester, I’ll be counting on you to continue guiding me!"

Before, he hadn’t had the resources, so he could only craft things himself for Song Xiyan.

But now, having earned money during the long break, he couldn’t just give a shoddy gift.

Bai Xingshu had carefully selected specialty tools that Song Xiyan didn’t already have, aiming to supplement his collection.

Of course, these were tools Song Xiyan already had in abundance—the ones he frequently relied on.

Though giving repair tools might seem strange, Bai Xingshu couldn’t come up with anything better.

With that thought, Bai Xingshu’s gaze drifted to Song Xiyan’s long, silvery-white hair.

He had considered giving hair ties but only in passing.

Mainly because he’d never seen Song Xiyan use them.

Buying something the other person wouldn’t use seemed wasteful to Bai Xingshu, so he dismissed the idea.

Song Xiyan looked at the newly gifted tools and felt a warmth in his chest.

As a seasoned professional in mechanical engineering, Song Xiyan could tell these tools were specialized.

This also meant such tools were relatively hard to find.

He wondered how long Bai Xingshu had searched to locate them.

Many specialized mechanical repair shops didn’t stock these tools, so when someone needed them, they often had to beg online for tips on where to buy them.

Song Xiyan, of course, didn’t have that problem.

Given his family background, he had every tool under the sun—he just didn’t carry them all in his portable kit.

But right now...

Song Xiyan carefully stored the gift away once more, then glanced around his toolbox, feeling disappointed and a little lost.

He couldn't seem to find anything good enough to give Bai Xingshu in return.

Never one to wear his heart on his sleeve, Song Xiyan hadn’t exactly prepared anything that might reveal his emotions.

So he missed his chance.

Bai Xingshu, however, didn't notice any of this. He only noticed the smile that kept growing brighter on Song Xiyan’s face when he accepted the gift.

Song Xiyan looked truly happy, and for Bai Xingshu, the one who had given the gift, that was more than enough.

Pleased with how things went, Bai Xingshu surveyed the entire repair room, eyeing the remaining mechs with eager determination, making his bold declaration.

"Teach, I bet we can knock all these out before the semester even ends!"

Hearing Bai Xingshu’s words, Song Xiyan—already quiet from failing to find a return gift—went even quieter. After a long pause, he finally spoke: "We won’t be able to finish them."

Bai Xingshu turned back in confusion. "Why?"

Song Xiyan replied calmly, "We’ve received notice that there will be equipment replacement work this semester."

"Gear being phased out from the front will be delivered to the school. The whole Mech Engineering faculty will need to handle this."

That was the story for official records.

The real reason was...

Song Xiyan didn’t want to finish repairing these mechs.

If they were completed, then just like during this long break, he'd have no reason to spend time with Bai Xingshu.

If he was being selfish, Song Xiyan wished that their time together could last just a little longer.

Right up until Bai Xingshu graduated from Capital Military University.

Until he was no longer Bai Xingshu’s professor.

Song Xiyan lowered his gaze. "I’ll apply to handle the Combat Department’s incoming gear. Then... just like during the competition zone before, you can continue being my assistant."