Chapter 43

Chapter 43

As soon as the words fell, cheers erupted from the crowd:

"Hooray, instructor's the best!"

"Finally, some free time!"

"A whole afternoon to ourselves—so awesome!"

"This afternoon, I'm going to crash in my dorm all day. Who's with me? No objections?"

...

Amid the bustling crowd, the instructor smiled slightly and said to them, "I forgot to tell you—the dorms are closed this afternoon. The areas you're allowed in today..." He paused to think before continuing, "One is the mecha training ground, and the other is this cross-country course. Also, although it's free time, you still have a task this afternoon: each of you has to maintain a mecha."

After all, these were only first-year students, and the training base staff weren't about to let them participate in actual mecha repairs. After all, someone as skilled as Jiang Se is pretty rare.

As soon as the instructor finished speaking, the crowd erupted in groans:

"I knew it—there’s no such thing as a free lunch."

"Hahaha, so much for that 'free time.' The reality is we have to maintain mechas."

"Ugh, mecha maintenance is such a pain! I bet one afternoon won't even be enough!"

...

Despite the complaints, the group quickly accepted the situation. After all, compared to standing at attention or doing drills under the scorching sun, working on mechas indoors with AC was far more enjoyable and better suited to their nature as Mecha Pilots.

Jiang Se was still lying peacefully on the ground. Seeing her so lazy, the instructor was frustrated. "Why are you still lying there? Everyone else is rushing to grab a mecha. Aren’t you afraid you’ll end up with a troublesome clunker?"

After all, mecha maintenance varied. Some mechas were newer with low wear and tear—maintenance just meant oiling parts, dusting, or waxing the exterior. Though a lot of work, it wasn’t particularly difficult.

But some older, damaged mechas were not only shaky but also full of problems. Maintaining them was more like performing a full repair.

Hearing this, Jiang Se opened one eye, glanced at the instructor, then closed it again. She said lazily, "What’s done is done. For now, I’ll sleep!"

Seeing her couldn't-care-less attitude, the instructor shook his head and left.

Nearby, Feng Qing overheard and glanced at Jiang Se with concern. "The instructor has a point. Shouldn’t we go pick a mecha first?"

Jiang Se lay on the soft mat, trying to muster the energy to get up but finding herself too exhausted. She sighed and said, "Ah, A-Qing, why don’t you go first? I’m so tired—I really don’t want to move."

She sprawled on the mat like a lazy big cat.

Seeing her like this, Feng Qing sighed. "Then I’ll go ahead. Remember to check your light brain—I’ll keep an eye out for any low-mileage mechas left."

"Okay, thanks, A-Qing!"

Jiang Se opened her eyes, made a heart gesture at Feng Qing, then closed them again.

After Feng Qing left, Jiang Se lay sprawled on the mat, drifting in and out of sleep, when her light brain suddenly pinged with a notification.

Struggling to move her fingers, Jiang Se opened her light brain and glanced at the message. It was from her client:

"Hello, are you available lately? I recently discovered a metal on a barren planet—its quality is excellent. Do you think it could be incorporated into the mecha arm design?"

Below the message were pictures of the metal, followed by data from professional instrument scans.

The design drawing for that mecha arm was already completed. Jiang Se had a general plan for the materials to be used, but this material’s performance clearly surpassed her earlier estimates.

After a moment’s thought, Jiang Se replied, "This material’s performance is excellent. I think it can be incorporated into the mecha arm design."

Then, she opened the Star Network and searched for information about the material based on the images. But she came up empty—the Star Network had no information about this material.

However, Jiang Se had spent enough time on the Mecha Pilot Forum to have a guess—this was likely a controlled material not permitted for circulation on the market.

"Ugh, this is a bit troublesome!" Jiang Se muttered to herself.

After all, controlled materials were not only tough to get your hands on and crazy expensive but also required strict approval procedures for use.

She thought for a moment, then typed with one hand on the floating semi-transparent keyboard: "Is this material controlled? It might be hard to acquire, and I’ve heard that using controlled materials involves a very lengthy approval process."

Based on what she’d learned from the Mecha Pilot Forum, the time it took to go through approval could easily allow Jiang Se to assemble four more mecha arms.

There was a pause on the other end. Just as Jiang Se thought he might abandon the plan, he replied:

"These aren’t problems. Just say how much material you need."

"Wow, he’s got connections!" Jiang Se murmured under her breath.

She had initially thought this client was a rich second-generation heir, but it turned out he was also a well-connected official’s son!

On the other side, Yuan Yihan and the Central University team were on a spaceship traveling through the starry sea of the third galaxy.

Yuan Yihan leaned against the spaceship’s bulkhead, while behind him, the Central University team members dozed in their seats.

In the freezer behind them lay a slain alien beast, its heart pierced by a massive wound from which blood was still oozing. Beside the beast was a large crystal.

If Jiang Se had been there, she would have recognized it—this crystal was identical to the metal image Yuan Yihan had sent her.

This wasn’t some rare metal at all—it was an alien beast crystal, a material even rarer and more precious than any metal.

The teacher accompanying the Central University team was also feeling drowsy but forced himself to stay alert.

After all, if anything happened to the team, he'd be to blame.

Just as he was thinking this, a hand gently tapped his shoulder. Yuan Yihan gestured for him to step outside.

The two moved to the back of the spaceship, and Yuan Yihan got straight to the point: "Teacher, I need this alien beast crystal for the reconstruction of my mecha arm."

Hearing this, the Central University teacher was taken aback but replied, "No problem. You were the main force in hunting this alien beast. According to university regulations, two-thirds of the spoils belong to you."

Yuan Yihan shook his head and chuckled lightly. "I don’t need two-thirds—one-third is enough. You can donate the rest to the university."

"Also, can the approval process for the material be expedited? I need it urgently."

"Ah?" The teacher was surprised. "Isn’t Qiu Feng designing it for you? For internal use at Central University, we don’t need to go through that approval process."

"No," Yuan Yihan shook his head.

Considering Yuan Yihan’s status, the teacher formed a guess—it must be the Yuan family’s private mecha designer.

He said, "Alright, I’ll put in the request when we return. The approval should be completed within a week."

"Thank you for your trouble, Teacher."

On the other side, Jiang Se finally got up from the ground and walked to the entrance of the mecha training ground.

*