Chapter 516: The Second Day of Transmigrating into an Interstellar World

Chapter 516: The Second Day in the Interstellar World

An Yi stood at the center of the observation platform, gazing up at the starry sky.

He wore a deep-blue cadet uniform.

A faint stain marked the cuff—scraped against something in the maintenance bay earlier, and the original owner hadn't had time to change into a new uniform.

His collar was slightly disheveled, two buttons undone, like he'd just come from a hectic job.

On his left chest was the academy badge—First Interstellar Military Academy.

Outside the window, a small transport ship was slowly easing out of the station's docking bay.

Its engines glowed a soft blue, trailing a thin streak of light across the pitch-black void, like a shooting star streaking past.

An Yi watched the transport ship recede into the distance.

He recalled the identity he'd inherited in this new world.

The original owner was an orphan, raised in a children's home, and had earned his way into First Interstellar Military Academy through sheer hard work.

No tangled background, no illustrious family.

Twenty-one years old, a third-year student, majoring in warship maintenance.

Because of his outstanding grades, his instructor had brought him to this base for hands-on experience ahead of schedule.

The small transport ship that had just flown past was something the original owner had repaired.

Just then, his wristband buzzed.

An Yi glanced down and tapped it. A screen appeared in front of him.

On the screen was an elderly woman with snow-white hair.

Wrinkles lined the corners of her eyes and forehead like tree roots, but her back was ramrod straight, and her gaze was sharp enough to slice open a warship's hull and rework its internals on the spot.

Cong Tianyue—his instructor.

Over three hundred and sixty years old, already considered old in this interstellar world where human lifespans barely stretched past four hundred.

"An Yi, come to my office now," Cong Tianyue said.

"Yes, Instructor," An Yi replied.

The screen went dark.

An Yi turned and walked through the long corridor, guided by the original owner's memories, the alloy floor beneath him catching the cold white light from the overhead lamps.

Occasionally, people in various military uniforms brushed past him.

He stopped at the office door. It was slightly ajar, and he could hear voices inside.

An Yi raised his hand and knocked twice.

"Enter."

He pushed the door open.

Several people were inside, some standing, some seated, their uniforms wearing insignias from different organizations.

And then he saw him.

He stood by the window, backlit by the light.

He stood tall and straight, with several bars on his epaulettes marking his rank.

His uniform was immaculately pressed, cuffs buttoned tight at the wrists. He was in profile to the door, jawline sharp as a blade.

At the sound of footsteps, he turned his head slightly.

His gaze settled on An Yi.

It was an ice-cold stare. His eyes lingered on An Yi's face for two seconds.

In that instant, a familiar voice rang in An Yi's ears.

An old friend from the comment section.

Long time no see, buddy.

"......"

"......Holy shit."

"Who else gets an entrance like this—"

"Wait, no, who is this? Is this the female lead? (confused.jpg)"

"Are you blind? That's a guy!"

"Cross-dressing, obviously! How else do you explain that huge chunk of appearance description!"

"Got it! The number one beauty in the starfield, right? Maybe even a princess! (dog.jpg)"

"Hahahahaha, so that's it?"

"So that's it! Now I get it! (epiphany.jpg)"

"Forget the cross-dressing crap—can't he just be the male lead's bro♂?"

"(funny) (funny)"

"Can't he just be a handsome supporting character?"

"Either way, he's definitely not some extra. Honestly, given how much description his entrance got, you know he's a major character!"

"True, there's a lot—but eighty percent of it is just looks. Does that make sense?"

"Right, right!"

"No, no!"

"Right, right!"

"So my guess is she's the cross-dressing female lead!"

"......"

An Yi: "......"

The female lead? Who, him?

An Yi withdrew his gaze without any change in expression.

He quickly pieced together the story's outline in his head—oh, so he'd been dropped into a book again.

He'd figured since he picked the world himself, maybe it wouldn't be a book scenario. But nope, still was. Whatever, that worked too.

He walked into the office, greeted the teacher, and waited for her to speak.

Starlight from outside spilled into his eyes, his lashes breaking it into tiny glints.

Someone in the office glanced at him twice.

An Yi didn't pay it any mind. He just quietly absorbed the info from the original novel.

The book was called—"Star Empire: The Stars Shine On." The stern-faced man before him was the protagonist of this book, Xing Ruize. It was a male-led novel with no romance.

The story followed Xing Ruize, a soldier in the Star Empire, as he worked his way up to Marshal. Along the way, he fought battles against the Federation. Later, the Empire and the Federation teamed up to fight another intelligent species over resources and territory, and in the end, they won big.

Of course, a lot of people died along the way. The guy whose body he'd taken over was a character who died mid-story—part of the early main group, serving as the team's engineer and repair tech.

The original host was supposed to join the protagonist's team today. Doing the math, the novel was only about ten percent in.

Cong Tianyue waved him over.

"Come over here, An Yi."

An Yi walked over and stood by her side.

"This is the An Yi I mentioned," Cong Tianyue said, her gaze sweeping over the people in front of her. "Warship Maintenance major, third year, one of my best students. He'll be your repair tech for this operation, and he'll work with you."

An Yi gave a slight smile, matching the teacher's tone, and nodded at the others: "Sir!"

His voice was soft, as unthreatening as the starlight outside.

Jiang Biao reacted first.

He was a burly man, his shoulders so broad they looked like they could haul a small ship. Hearing An Yi speak, he raised an eyebrow and let his eyes linger on An Yi's face for a couple extra seconds.

Their team had never had someone so... so soft. He looked like he'd be easy to push around!

Ma Zhiye stood beside Jiang Biao, a half-head shorter but just as sturdy.

He didn't react, just glanced at An Yi and then looked away, fixing his eyes on a transport ship pulling away outside the window.

Cheng Hong leaned against the wall by the window, arms crossed.

His build was lean, his posture relaxed, but his eyes were sharp and steady. An Yi noticed he hadn't looked away since he'd walked in.

George Conrad was the only one who smiled.

He was a young man with blond hair and blue eyes, a medic's insignia pinned to his left chest. Hearing An Yi speak, he curved his eyes and waved at An Yi.

"Hi, An Yi." His pronunciation carried a slight Federation accent. "I'll just call you An Yi, right? No need for 'sir'—none of us are officers."