Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Jiang Se: "..."

She remained silent for a long moment before looking at Zhu Jin and saying, "Can't a person have even a little ambition?"

What's wrong with letting people dream?

Chu Yun chimed in, "Yes, exactly! You have to have dreams in life. What’s the difference between having no dreams and being a salted fish?"

"Alright then!" Zhu Jin rubbed his forehead and said, "Have you all decided what weapons to bring for your mechs?"

"A sniper rifle and a knife!" Jiang Se replied without hesitation. "I can handle both long-range and close combat—it’s just perfect for me!"

"Firearms are romance!" Chu Yun added.

Xi Qing thought for a moment and said, "Just one long blade is enough for me."

"Fine. Since you’ve all made your choices, I’ll submit the application. For this Mecha Championship, the commander has to register and list the models of mechs and weapons each team member will use."

"Roughly how many teams are participating in this Mecha Championship?" Jiang Se asked casually.

"The exact number isn't clear, but there should be at least as many as in the previous simulated battles. It’s been many days since the semester started, and those who hadn’t found suitable teammates before have probably found them by now," Zhu Jin explained.

"The more, the merrier! It’ll be more exciting with more people!" Chu Yun said, cracking her knuckles.

"I think this can serve as practice for the upcoming school tournament. Eventually, we’ll be competing against teams from the whole school, but for now, we only need to compete against our classmates in the same grade," Jiang Se remarked casually.

After saying that, she yawned. "I’m so sleepy. I’m going to sleep first. I hope everything goes smoothly for us tomorrow!"

Seeing this, Zhu Jin also said, "Then let’s all head back early and get some rest. Good night!"

With that, everyone left and headed toward their respective dormitories.

*

The next day, the same whistle blew. Jiang Se sat up halfway in bed, clutching her blanket. Her slightly messy hair covered half of her eyes as she hugged the blanket, zoned out for over ten seconds before finally getting out of bed.

After yesterday’s physical and mental training, although the nutrient solution distributed by the military base likely contained elements to aid physical recovery, Jiang Se still felt extremely exhausted.

She yawned, picked up her wash bucket, and went to the hallway to wash up. After everything that had happened before, Jiang Se had become famous among her classmates.

Along the way, Jiang Se occasionally overheard people whispering behind her back:

"That’s Jiang Se from the Mecha Department!"

"Wow, it’s her! I heard she’s incredibly talented with mechs and has a good chance of making it into the school team this year!"

"Not only that, I heard she’s also skilled with a sniper rifle. A friend in the Mecha Department told me she took down a student from the Individual Combat Department with a single shot during the holographic simulation!"

"Damn, she’s that skilled?!"

...

As Jiang Se washed her face, she thought to herself: Hearing people praise me behind my back feels pretty weird!

But she had no interest in joining the school team. She just wanted to fight alongside like-minded friends!

When it was time to assemble, everyone still stood in formation as the first Mecha Department squad.

Once everyone had gathered, the instructor looked over everyone, pausing slightly when his eyes landed on Jiang Se.

He then said, "Today is your second day of training. I assume you all know what we're doing today, right?"

"Today, we’ll be holding the Mecha Championship. It’s a perfect opportunity for me to see how much you’ve improved during this training!"

"Alright, all students participating in the Mecha Championship, step forward now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, about three-quarters of the group stepped forward.

After all, compared to Mecha Pilots and Commanders, Mecha Pilots were relatively scarce and in high demand.

The remaining quarter who didn’t step forward seemed to form a clear divide from those who did.

Some were Mecha Pilots preparing to engage in frontline combat, while others were more focused on mech blueprints and design in their career plans.

Not every Mecha Pilot was passionate about combat, after all.

The instructor looked at the group that had stepped forward and raised an eyebrow. "Quite a few people are participating in the Mecha Championship this year. It seems everyone’s enthusiasm for combat is pretty high!"

Jiang Se overheard a classmate nearby muttering quietly, "What enthusiasm? If my friend's team hadn't been able to find a suitable Mecha Pilot, I wouldn’t have volunteered!"

The speaker wore a pair of glasses and looked thin and weak, fitting the stereotypical image of a Mecha Pilot.

"Since you’ve decided to participate, I assume you’ve all found suitable teammates. Go find your teammates now. You’ll be notified later about where to assemble."

With that, the instructor turned his attention to the remaining students and said, "The rest of you, come with me to the auditorium to watch the competition!"

"I declare, dismissed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the students dispersed from the formation to find their teammates.

Jiang Se glanced at the small group chat on her device and typed:

"Where should we meet up later?"

Chu Yun quickly replied: "We’ve been dismissed. Should we meet at the cafeteria entrance? It’s pretty close to the Mecha Championship venue."

Zhu Jin also replied promptly: "Sure, let’s meet at the cafeteria entrance."

Xi Qing followed up with: "Okay."

Jiang Se shoved her hands into her pockets and strolled leisurely toward the cafeteria entrance. On the way, she ran into the instructor leading a group and waved hello: "Instructor, good morning!"

The instructor glanced at her and said with a smirk, "You’re still so relaxed even with the competition about to start!"

"Hey," Jiang Se replied in her usual laid-back tone, "The important thing is to participate, right?"

"Alright then. I look forward to seeing you keep this attitude during the competition!"

With that, the instructor led the students behind him toward the auditorium.

As the students passed Jiang Se, they quietly cheered her on:

"Good luck, ace! I’ll be rooting for you from the sidelines!"

"The Mecha Department is counting on you, ace! Don’t let us down!"

"We believe in you, ace! You’re the hope of the Mecha Department!"

...

"Thank you, everyone. I'll do my best to bring my A-game and show what I'm made of in the competition!"

After parting ways with her classmates, Jiang Se arrived at the cafeteria entrance to wait for Chu Yun and the others. When Chu Yun approached, Jiang Se waved to her from afar: "A-Yun, over here!"

Perhaps because the cafeteria was indeed a very prominent landmark, quite a few people had agreed to meet here. By the time Jiang Se arrived, a crowd had already gathered at the cafeteria entrance.

"Hey, Jiang Jiang!" Chu Yun slung an arm over her shoulder and casually asked, "Where are Zhu Jin and the others?"

"Probably not here yet. Their Command Department squad is quite far from here—I heard they’re out in the middle of nowhere."

After about two minutes, Zhu Jin arrived. He had clearly had quite a hike, a little out of breath.

Seeing his three teammates, he caught his breath and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Our squad is just too remote—it took quite a while to get here."