Chapter 21 Andrew

Chapter 21 Andrew

Ji Anzhi was amused and couldn't help sending a message to needle them.

"Zhu Yue: But you guys didn't beat those three first-year chiefs either, right?"

The messages in the general channel went quiet for a moment, then exploded.

"Hui Xing: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"zxcvbnm: Who does this freshman think he is?!"

"Alphas Don't Deserve Love: @Zhu Yue, reveal your identity! I'll teach you some manners!"

"zxcvbnm: Which department? Let's exchange pointers."

"NA: Freshman, you wanna fight in the arena? Don't worry, I'll go easy so you have a chance to lie in the med pod."

" : Freshman, I advise you to cherish your life and stay away from trash talk."

"Feather Eagle: Meet me in the arena tomorrow, I'm dead serious!!!"

"Oka: Freshman, don't be too arrogant! Apart from those three who defeated the fourth-year chiefs, the rest are nothing special. Don't think just because they could beat fourth-years, you can too!"

"RedSaltedFish: Fight me in the arena, I'll put you in your place."

"QNMD: Arena duel, teach you a lesson +1."

"Seeker of Knowledge: Arena duel, teach you a lesson +2."

"................"

"Kayside: Arena duel, teach you a lesson. Here's my StarNet ID."

"Clarks: Wait, I remember this 'Zhu Yue' sent messages during the military training. He's one of the seven who skipped training..."

"See Through Scum Alphas: …"

"See Through Scum Alphas: I remember now, that privileged freshman asking about the 10,000-credit privilege..."

"RedSaltedFish: I was there, it seems it was indeed him..."

" : Saw the screenshot, it's definitely him…………"

"NA: …………"

"Hui Xing: …Did we just piss off the actual person?"

"Oka: A two in seven probability..."

Seeing their conversation was about to uncover his identity, Ji Anzhi quickly tried to divert their attention.

He thought no one remembered his message from a month ago...

"Zhu Yue: Can't you just answer my question?"

"Hui Xing: First, tell us your identity."

"Order: +1."

"Zhu Yue: If you say so."

"Zhu Yue: I don't mind taking the credit."

"The Wise: Are you really a freshman chief?"

"Alphas Don't Deserve Love: Isn't it obvious? During military training, only the privileged students who skipped training and got the student handbook early could log into the internal network. Everyone else had to wait until today to log in."

"See Through Scum Alphas: It seems this 'Zhu Yue' probably isn't one of the two from the Star Chart Department or the Energy Department."

"Clarks: Agreed. Someone this arrogant is definitely an alpha. I doubt the one from the Jian family would even glance at the general channel."

"The Wise: Let me answer your question. The principal is over eighty years old this year, and he's always finding ways to make trouble for the upperclassmen. That's why he's called the old man."

"Zhu Yue: Thank you."

"The Wise: You're welcome."

"......................."

Having gotten his answer, Ji Anzhi immediately exited the general channel. His cover was almost blown; he'd better keep a lower profile.

Fortunately, they didn't pinpoint his true identity, or he'd really be in big trouble...

He acted a bit impulsively today; he needed to tone it down in the future.

Recalling the message about the principal being over eighty, with the current average interstellar lifespan around 150 years and the longest record being 223, the principal is halfway into the grave yet still so energetic.

Actually, strictly speaking, the principal is still in his prime. Most people consider the gradual physical decline after 150 as entering old age.

But compared to students in their teens and twenties, calling the principal an old man makes sense.

There was no way he was going back into that chat channel now. Ji Anzhi turned to look at the official military academy notifications about class assignments and course selection.

Meanwhile, "The Wise," who had answered his question, went silent.

"The Wise" was Li Zhi's account nickname on the internal network. He had been browsing the forum channel, reading their analyses of today's challenges, when he noticed a sudden surge of activity in the general channel.

Curious, he clicked in and saw what seemed like a freshman chief causing a stir. He scrolled up and spotted the name "Zhu Yue."

Nicknames couldn't be duplicated, and once set, they couldn't be changed. So Li Zhi knew immediately this was the owner of the Bamboo Moon Shop.

He's really a first-year freshman?

Li Zhi instantly felt the fourth-years' loss was justified. With three prodigies this year, they seniors never stood a chance.

Li Zhi screenshotted the messages related to Zhu Yue from the general channel and sent them to his dorm group chat.

Since everyone was busy in their own rooms, they might have missed the commotion. A few minutes later, Ye Qiming replied.

"Ye Qiming: A first-year freshman?"

"Li Zhi: Yes, it's confirmed."

"Ye Qiming: Is it Jian Fuxu?"

"Li Zhi: Most likely."

"Da Anli: The fourth-years never had a chance this year."

"Navis: Jian Fuxu is really something else..."

"Li Zhi: Remember not to spread this, and it's best not to reveal your identity in front of Jian Fuxu either. Based on previous interactions, Jian Fuxu doesn't want anyone to know his true identity. Got it?"

"Ye Qiming: Mm."

"Da Anli: Okay."

"Navis: Understood."

In his room, studying 5000-unit energy storage, Jian Fuxu sneezed. Was he coming down with something?

...

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The next day

Ji Anzhi brought Xiaoxue along to the Star Chart Department classroom, which was on the third floor of Building One today.

Now, Xiaoxue could sit steadily on Ji Anzhi's shoulder without falling off.

Originally, Ji Anzhi wanted to leave her in the dorm, but perhaps because Xiaoxue was currently in a curious stage, she insisted on clinging to him this morning, her claws firmly hooked into his pants, wouldn't let go for anything. In the end, he had no choice but to bring her along.

Because he brought Xiaoxue, they attracted attention all the way, and coupled with Ji Anzhi defeating a fourth-year student yesterday, they were swamped with stares.

Feeling uncomfortable, Ji Anzhi pulled down his hat brim, a stark contrast to her, who curiously looked around.

Quickly walking to the classroom for today's first class, Ji Anzhi was met with the stares of the three classmates inside.

Used to this by now, Ji Anzhi ignored these stares, calmly took a seat in the second row with Xiaoxue.

After entering the classroom, Xiaoxue didn't make a fuss, obediently resting on the cushion Ji Anzhi had prepared.

She'd been quite active last night and had even been told off once by Ji Anzhi when he got up in the middle of the night.

The other students all sat in the first row. Ji Anzhi came in and sat in the second row, making it clear he wasn't looking for company. Seeing his obvious distance, they stayed quiet and didn't try to talk to him.

However, there was one exception. Andre Gnoss, seeing Ji Anzhi sit in the second row, got the person next to him to move over, gathered his books, walked to the second row, and sat two seats away from Ji Anzhi.

After sitting down, he looked earnestly at Ji Anzhi: "You're really good. Can we be friends? Or could you be my tutor? Name your price."

Unprepared for this blond alpha's directness, Ji Anzhi was visibly taken aback.

Those in the first row were also caught off guard by Andre's move. Is that how you're supposed to make friends?

Ji Anzhi quickly snapped out of it and shook his head apologetically: "Being friends is no problem, but tutoring is out. If you have questions, I'll answer them when I have time."

Although Ji Anzhi didn't agree to be his tutor, he accepted being friends and was open to answering questions.

After they exchanged contact info, Andre opened his notebook of questions and handed it to Ji Anzhi.

"Can you explain the questions on this? I couldn't solve them."

Ji Anzhi: "..."

A man of action.

Ji Anzhi lowered his gaze to the ink marks on the paper notebook. They were pretty tough. After mentally calculating for a few minutes, he took out two blank sheets of paper from his Space Bracelet and wrote down the solutions and detailed explanations.

The content was extensive, and since he didn't know Andre's foundation or existing knowledge, he spelled out every step in painstaking detail. It took over ten minutes, and he almost ran out of space on the two sheets.

Finishing writing, Ji Anzhi handed the notebook and papers back to Andre, said in a gentle voice, "I wrote detailed steps. Take a close look. If you don't understand, you can look it up later. If you can't find the answers, you can ask me."

Andre took the papers and notebook, nodding: "Thank you."

Then he earnestly began reading the detailed process and explanations on the papers.

Snow, sitting in the first row, had been itching to ask. Seeing Ji Anzhi solve Andre's problem in detail, he finally couldn't hold back and walked to the back row.

Like Andre, he sat two seats away from Ji Anzhi, like a young wolf just leaving its mother, cautiously poking its head out to test the waters.

"Ji, can I ask you too?"

Ji Anzhi remembered this black-haired alpha, named Snow, who, though sun-darkened, still had the same voice.

Since he'd been decent to him before, and Ji Anzhi wasn't the arrogant type, he nodded to indicate it was okay.

Snow, delighted, took out his notebook and handed it to Ji Anzhi, opening to a page and asking, "Can you explain the Giraldo theoretical formula to me? I know how to use it, but I'm not very clear on why."

Ji Anzhi knew the Giraldo theoretical formula, a standard formula for calculating the rotational velocity of spiral galaxies. He asked Snow to move closer and gave him a detailed explanation of the formula's origin and derivation.

The remaining alpha in the first row, seeing this, seethed with resentment.

Hmph. Bunch of suck-ups.

He had had a conflict with the other during the military training opening ceremony. Though it wasn't major, he truly couldn't swallow his pride. Seeing the other two go over to ask questions today, he couldn't help but feel slighted.

But he also knew he couldn't make a scene, as the current situation clearly put him in the wrong. He could only grit his teeth and bear it.

The other female alpha arrived late, finding the classroom and entering just before eight o'clock. Seeing this year's top-ranked student explaining a problem to Snow, with a little white cat in front of him, and Andre—that guy who only had eyes for star charts—also sitting in the second row, she went straight to the second row and sat down next to Andre.

Before even sitting down, Chi Yunjiang saw the two papers in front of Andre, crammed with notes. Glancing at them, it was clearly not Andre's handwriting.

Chi Yunjiang asked in a low voice: "Did the top student write this?"

Andre gave a soft "Mm."

Chi Yunjiang curiously looked at the content on the two papers, but after just reading two or three sentences, Andre shot her a warning look.

*Stay away from me.*

*Don't look.*

Chi Yunjiang brazenly pretended not to notice, under his glare to continue reading the content on the papers.

She believed that even if Andre was displeased with her, he would never actually take action.

Sure enough, Andre gave Chi Yunjiang a cold glare, mentally noting her down in his little black book, then tried hard to ignore her, focusing on carefully following Ji Anzhi's line of thought in the explanations.

The alpha in the first row felt that he was sticking out like a sore thumb. After hesitating for a while, he finally also sat in the second row, though only on the end.

A few more minutes passed, and the teacher for the first class finally entered the classroom.

Those in the second row put away their papers and notebooks, waiting for the teacher to speak.

The teacher who entered seemed older, probably already over a hundred years old, but his smile was bright and cheerful, making even his somewhat graying hair appear quite fashionable.

Wearing a kindly expression, the teacher looked at the students in the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Wang Liangzhong, and I am your instructor for the core Star Chart course. As you likely know, our department offers just one required subject and one elective, so I hope you'll all apply yourselves."

After all, Star Chart studies depend mostly on natural aptitude, so the curriculum isn't extensive.

With that brief introduction, the teacher opened the attendance roster.

"Let's do a quick roll call to get to know everyone."

Wang Liangzhong: "Ji Anzhi."

Ji Anzhi raised his hand and responded.

Wang Liangzhong looked at Ji Anzhi, his eyes filled with admiration, affection, and pride. He chuckled and said, "Our department's top student this year. As a beta, you naturally have fewer advantages than alphas, yet you still bested Kassim, a fourth-year in Star Chart. That's really something."

"If anyone ever gives you trouble, come find us Star Chart teachers. We'll stand up for you!"

Ji Anzhi gave an amused smile and nodded. "Thank you, Teacher Wang."

Wang Liangzhong's smile grew even warmer and more amiable. He was increasingly pleased with Ji Anzhi and told him not to stand on ceremony and to relax.

That blockhead from Communications still wants to poach him? Get lost!

Such a promising seedling in our Star Chart Department—you'd have to be crazy to give him up!

He continued calling names.

"Chi Yunjiang."

Chi Yunjiang raised his hand and responded.

Wang Liangzhong knew this young man from the Chi family. He was also talented, though not quite on par with Ji Anzhi. Still, he could already hold his own against the second-year top student.

After nodding and offering a few words of praise, Wang Liangzhong continued, "Snow Willeray."

Snow also raised his hand and responded, playfully winking at Wang Liangzhong with a grin.

Seeing Snow's mischievous demeanor, Wang Liangzhong couldn't help but chuckle. Wasn't this just like the child of our department's former ray of sunshine?

Truly the same cheerful and playful spirit.

Wang Liangzhong smiled back at Snow and continued the roll call.

"Fifer Kla."

The alpha sitting at the far edge of the second row raised his hand. "Here."

Wang Liangzhong noticed he seemed in low spirits, so he simply nodded at him without further comment.

"Andre Gnoss."

Andre raised his hand. "Here."

Wang Liangzhong actually didn't quite like Andre, mainly because Andre had entered through backdoor channels. If it weren't for Andre's genuine passion for the Star Chart Department, his grades being only slightly below the mark, and his diligence—which even made the old-timers feel a bit sorry for him—they wouldn't have allowed such an exception.

So, Wang Liangzhong casually mentioned, "Keep working hard."

Andre was well aware of his situation and replied earnestly, "I will. Thank you, teacher."

The roll call was completed in less than a minute—only the Star Chart Department could manage such speed.