Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Most students arriving for registration were accompanied by parents, with some even having five or six family members in tow—quite a sight.

Jiang Se moved alone through the bustling crowd, sticking out slightly amidst the chaos.

Leaning against a spot near the school entrance, she sat atop her suitcase, one foot touching the ground, one hand gripping the railing of the fence behind her, while the other scrolled through messages on her comm unit.

In the group chat:

Chu Yun: So many people on opening day, I’m getting overwhelmed. The second I got off the shuttle, I was stunned!

Zhu Jin: Seriously, it’s practically shoulder to shoulder!

Xi Qing: +1

Earlier, Chu Yun had arranged to meet Jiang Se at the school entrance, but after waiting for what felt like forever, Jiang Se still hadn’t spotted her.

It couldn't be helped—the entrance was so packed that finding Jiang Se in the crowd was as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack.

Jiang Se lifted her head from her comm unit, glanced around, and was just about to message Chu Yun to ask where she was when a hand landed on her shoulder, followed by Chu Yun’s breathless voice: "I’m exhausted!"

Turning her head, Jiang Se saw Chu Yun hauling two enormous suitcases. Raising an eyebrow, she remarked, "You brought this much stuff?"

"Is it a lot?" Chu Yun panted, "I even left behind several sets of my favorite clothes and plush toys."

Taking in the crowd that was getting even worse at the entrance, Jiang Se thought back to her own experience squeezing through the crowd and said a little apprehensively, "Let’s wait here for a bit. It’s too crowded right now."

"Definitely," Chu Yun agreed, "Just getting here from across the street felt like trying to snatch an enemy general’s head from amidst ten thousand soldiers—a very Individual Combat Department-style analogy."

"By the way, which zone is your dorm in?" Jiang Se asked.

Alliance University dormitories were divided into six zones, with three for male students and three for female students.

Jiang Se, being in the Mecha Department, was assigned to Zone A.

Chu Yun glanced down at the message from Alliance University on her comm unit and said, "What a coincidence, my dorm is in Zone A too."

"Perfect, we can head over together later," Jiang Se replied, pulling up the campus map she’d downloaded from the Alliance University website on her comm unit.

The vast campus of Alliance University unfolded slowly before her. Jiang Se located the Zone A dormitory and checked its approximate position.

Good news: the dorm was very close to both the Mecha Department’s academic building and the cafeteria.

Bad news: it was extremely far from the school entrance where they currently stood.

The thought of the long trek from the entrance to Zone A made Jiang Se sigh inwardly.

The two waited at the entrance for about half an hour until the crowd thinned slightly, then set off for Zone A.

As they reached the entrance, Jiang Se and Chu Yun went their separate ways temporarily, each heading to their respective department’s shaded booth for freshman registration.

The seniors handling registration had been working all morning, their voices tinged with exhaustion.

When Jiang Se approached, the senior in charge of registration asked routinely, "Are you a freshman in the Mecha Department this year?"

It was no surprise he asked—all morning, amidst the chaos, many had gone to the wrong registration booth, even leading to incidents where students from the Individual Combat Department only realized their information didn’t match at the payment stage.

"Yes," Jiang Se replied.

"Name?" the senior continued.

"Jiang Se," she answered calmly.

The moment she spoke, the previously businesslike senior straightened up abruptly. "You’re Jiang Se?"

His voice rose an octave, drawing sidelong glances from other seniors nearby:

"What’s wrong? Did something happen? Who is she?"

"Is there a glitch in the freshman info?"

...

"No glitch," the senior exhaled, "She’s Jiang Se."

"Seeing her in person is better than hearing about her a hundred times. Finally met the real deal."

At his words, the other seniors’ eyes also turned to Jiang Se.

Amused, Jiang Se chuckled, "Am I that famous?"

It was rare to be looked at as if she were a panda.

"Extremely famous. Right now, every upperclassman knows you. After all, not many people in our school can make the university team eat humble pie."

The senior gave her a thumbs-up. "Keep it up, junior. You’re the hope of our Mecha Department!"

"Thank you," Jiang Se nodded, then glanced at the final confirmation info on her comm unit and clicked to pay.

Alliance University’s tuition was the most affordable compared to other schools in the federation, and for Jiang Se now, the amount was a drop in the bucket.

After completing registration, a senior nearby kindly offered, "Would you like to wait here? The department will arrange a ride to the dormitory zone soon."

Jiang Se politely declined, "No, thank you. I promised to go with my friend."

With that, she pulled her suitcase along and rejoined Chu Yun not far away.

The distance from the school entrance to Zone A dormitory was a real hike.

When Alliance University was established, instead of choosing the capital planet like other schools, it opted for a subsidiary planet.

Land prices on the subsidiary planet were worlds apart from the capital’s sky-high rates, resulting in an impressively spacious campus for Alliance University.

Halfway there, Jiang Se was already feeling worn out. Leaning on her suitcase, she asked, her voice weak, "How much farther do we have to go?"

As a Mech Pilot, Chu Yun’s physical stamina was way better than Jiang Se’s. "About fifteen more minutes."

Hearing Jiang Se’s groan, Chu Yun looked at her helplessly. "If you can’t handle this, what are you going to do during wilderness training on barren planets?"

Jiang Se leaned on her suitcase, her gaze distant and unfocused. "I work with my brain, not my brawn; I’m not cut out for physical activities. The training intensity for the Mecha Department on barren planets shouldn’t be too extreme, right?"

After all, expecting a group of Mecha Pilots to match the training load of Mech Pilots would be asking too much.

"It’s definitely not the same intensity, but with your current physical condition, I doubt you can even handle the basic training load. You have such bad dark circles, and you look completely drained. Did you pull another all-nighter?"

"I didn't pull an all-nighter."

Only stayed up half the night, so it doesn't count as a full all-nighter—more like a half-all-nighter.

Last night, Jiang Se sent the completed version of the design drawing to Yuan Yihan.

The other party was clearly very satisfied, repeatedly saying "great" several times, and even accompanied the praise with several cheesy memes.

It was obvious that he wasn’t someone who frequently surfed the StarNet like her and Chu Yun. His memes seemed several versions behind, and honestly, Jiang Se had never seen any of the ones he sent before.

Thinking of this, Jiang Se took out her light brain and messaged Yuan Yihan:

"I’ll be heading to a deserted planet for a while, so my replies might not be quick. If you have any feedback on the design drawings, feel free to leave a message. I’ll respond when I see it."

After all, their training exercise location was on a deserted planet. Jiang Se had browsed the StarNet a bit and didn’t have high hopes for the internet connection there.

"Are you going to the deserted planet to collect mecha materials?" the other party replied quickly.

Jiang Se hesitated for a moment but still replied, "Yes."

She didn’t really want to reveal her identity as a new student. From her time surfing the Mecha Pilot Forum, she had seen countless cautionary tales shared by senior mecha pilots: if you expose yourself as a novice mecha pilot or a new student, the other party won’t give you more consideration or understanding because of your inexperience. Instead, they’ll lowball you aggressively and treat you with more condescension during negotiations.

After all, being a new student or a novice means you’re easy to fool—a prime target for exploitation as cheap labor.

Even if their design drawings are no different from those of experienced mecha pilots, or even better.

The other party fell silent for a moment before replying, "Stay safe."

Jiang Se muttered a "tsk," gaining a deeper appreciation for this client’s professionalism. Among the clients on the Mecha Pilot Forum who treated mecha pilots like workhorses once they paid, this person was truly a breath of fresh air.

After replying with a "thank you," Jiang Se put away her light brain.

She looked up at the scorching sun overhead and continued walking toward the A-Dormitory with Chu Yun.

As they walked, Jiang Se complained, "I’ve never resented Alliance University’s massive campus this much before."

Then she added, "Once the semester starts, I’m definitely buying a skateboard to get to class."

Chu Yun, walking beside her, nodded and said, "That’s a good idea! Skateboarding can also help you exercise!"

After a long walk, the two finally arrived at the A-Dormitory.

The lobby at the entrance was filled with students and parents, and long lines had formed in front of the elevators.

The elevators in Alliance University’s dormitories were efficiently designed to ensure smooth student traffic without congestion.

The fact that it was so crowded today was a clear indication of just how overwhelming the sheer number of people was on the first day of the semester.

As they waited in line, Jiang Se glanced down at her light brain and asked, "Which floor is your dorm on?"

Chu Yun replied, "I’m on the third floor."

Jiang Se nodded. "I’m on the eleventh floor."

Since they were in different programs, it was unlikely their dorm assignments would be close.

With a "ding," the elevator arrived.

Chu Yun and Jiang Se boarded the elevator. When they reached the third floor, Chu Yun turned and waved to her. "Let’s meet downstairs later and get lunch at the cafeteria together?"

"Sounds good."

On the eleventh floor, Jiang Se found her dorm room—the second door around the corner.

The dorm environment at Alliance University was excellent: single rooms with private bathrooms, four people sharing a common living room. The living room had a sofa and a large dining table, next to which was a small kitchen. Though compact, it was well-equipped, and even included a small refrigerator beside the dining table.

Jiang Se had arrived early, so she was the only one in the common area.

Her room was the innermost one at the end of the hallway. Pushing the door open, she was greeted by a bed directly opposite a small desk.

The space was very spacious, enough to accommodate her tools and some mecha materials.

The room was immaculate—clearly, the cleaning bots had done a thorough cleaning. The windows were clear, and everything was tidy.

Jiang Se thought to herself: I should get a housekeeping robot too!