Lin Xiaohe told Dong Yuxuan that someone from the Iron Meteor Plunder Group would come to pick him up, and that all he needed to do was wait patiently.
Dong Yuxuan obediently said he would listen: “Master, do you have enough money left?”
“Enough! I earned 10 billion from this military academy competition.”
“Master, you’re amazing!” Dong Yuxuan sincerely felt happy for Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe sent the Candy Bean Manual to Dong Yuxuan: “This is a mental energy training method. Practice it whenever you have free time.”
Dong Yuxuan was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears. He knew it—his master wouldn’t abandon him or stop caring about him!
After hanging up the phone, Dong Yuxuan showed off the Candy Bean Manual in front of his older brother: “See this? This is our school’s secret manual! Once I train hard, my mental energy will definitely surpass yours!”
He looked so smug, like a petty person who’d just gotten a taste of success, that his brother couldn’t stand to watch. “Lin Xiaohe is just fooling you. Even the Central Military Academy doesn’t have a specialized mental energy training manual. Where would your master even get one from?”
“Hmph, you’re just jealous and bitter, that’s why you’re bad-mouthing my master. Just wait. Once I surpass you, even if you beg me to teach you, I won’t.” Dong Yuxuan pushed his brother out the door.
Now that he had his master backing him up, he wasn’t afraid of his brother at all!
…
Lin Xiaohe calculated the time. From the Third Star Ring to the First Star Ring, the travel time plus quarantine time would take over a month.
Her second sister also needed half a month to prepare the specialized chemical fertilizer for soil conditioning.
So, Lin Xiaohe decided to return to Tigris Star to audit classes in other departments.
“Which department do you want to attend?” Cassian offered his full support.
After some thought, Lin Xiaohe decided on the Mecha Design Department.
The Mecha Design Department at the Central Military Academy wasn’t as prestigious as the one at the Federal University of Technology, but because the academy had so many skilled mecha pilots, many designers with their own unique ideas were willing to study there.
Cassian gave Lin Xiaohe an audit card for the Mecha Design Department: “Once you finish designing your first mecha, you can have Chu Huaizhi test-drive it. Leave the dangerous stuff to him.”
“Hehe, thank you, Principal.” Lin Xiaohe took the card and headed to the Mecha Design Department.
Walking through the campus of the Central Military Academy felt like going back to her university days on Blue Star.
The environment was beautiful, the spaces were wide and open, and the whole place was full of energy.
The courses in the Mecha Design Department were split into two parts. One part was theoretical classes, which could be accessed through the campus network for self-study.
The other part was practical classes. Although the sessions were also uploaded to the campus network, they weren’t as engaging as face-to-face interaction.
What Lin Xiaohe wanted to attend were the practical classes.
She arrived at a small, unremarkable gray building. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary cement structure, completely lacking that futuristic, interstellar vibe.
As soon as she stepped inside, she saw a man wearing only a pair of shorts, bare-chested, with a standard Federal mechanical repair auto-arm strapped to his hand.
“Lin Xiaohe? What are you doing here?” The man glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to his workbench.
Not sure who this person was, Lin Xiaohe held up her audit card. “I’m here for class.”
“Oh, just find any workbench.”
Lin Xiaohe looked around. Her classmates only glanced at her in surprise for a few seconds before diving back into their own projects.
The entire classroom felt like a warehouse—spacious and open. Except for an empty workbench next to the man who had just spoken, every other spot was taken.
Lin Xiaohe waited for several minutes by her workbench, but no teacher showed up. She turned to the man beside her and asked, “Where’s the teacher? What’s today’s lesson about?”
The man sighed, put down what he was holding, and picked up a towel draped casually nearby to wipe the sweat off his face and body.
“I’m subbing today. For our department’s practical classes, the rule is simple: design whatever you want, and by the time finals come around, you need to have your design built. Teachers are only here to offer guidance. So first, you need to figure out what you want to design.”
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes sparkled, and without hesitation, she said, “Teacher, I’ve got it. I want to design a mecha!”
“I’m not a teacher. Just call me Nick,” Nick said calmly. “If you want to design a mecha, you should start by learning the theoretical basics first. Get a solid understanding of mechas, then come back for the practical classes.”
Seeing how confident Nick was and how he radiated the aura of a top student, Lin Xiaohe humbly asked for advice.
“Teacher, I have a question. If I want to modify a pink beetle mecha into a colonization mecha, which books should I start with, and what areas should I focus on?”
“Colonization mecha?” A glimmer of interest lit up Nick’s eyes as he looked at Lin Xiaohe with intrigue.
Lin Xiaohe opened her smart brain and showed Nick a short animated video.
The video was simple, with no background—just a 3D template of a humanoid AI.
Then, from the back of the figure’s spine, a flowing liquid appeared, quickly covering its entire body. After a series of clicking and shifting sounds, it transformed into a individual mecha suit.
Nick watched the video several times before asking in a low voice, “Did you make this video?”
“Yes. This is the kind of effect I’m going for.”
Nick took off his mechanical auto-arm and waved for Lin Xiaohe to follow him. “Let’s go to the break room and talk.”
The break room was on the second floor, divided into about a dozen small cubicles.
Nick randomly picked one, poured a glass of purified water for Lin Xiaohe, and asked, “What gave you the idea of making a colonization mecha?”
Lin Xiaohe told him about encountering the little white blob after entering the wormhole: “I got the idea from that little white blob. It could emerge from the gray mist and merge back into it, and it could even enter my body through my pores. If a mecha could do something like that, wouldn’t it be way more convenient?”
Nick’s eyes were the color of haze, and when he focused on someone, they felt cold and mechanical.
Judging from Lin Xiaohe’s expression, he determined she wasn’t lying. Only then did he speak.
“Actually, fifty years ago, Starlight Life researched something similar to a colonization mecha. Back then, they even put out a bounty across the Federation, offering 1% of their shares in exchange for a liquid material that met their requirements.”
Starlight Life was a mega-corporation in the Federation, and 1% of their shares was worth an unimaginable fortune.
Lin Xiaohe frowned. “They failed?”
“Yes. Their lab was exposed for conducting cruel human experiments. Under public pressure, Starlight Life permanently shut down the project.”
Nick said meaningfully, “I suggest you drop this idea. We can already store mechas in mecha hubs. Why do we need to merge with them?”
Not ready to give up, Lin Xiaohe asked, “If I still want to try, do you have any advice for me?”
Nick stood up and waved his hand dismissively. “If you can’t find the right metal material, then try bio-mechas.”
Ding.
Lin Xiaohe received a reading list from Nick.
Introduction to Bio-Mecha Engineering, Bio-Material Mechanics, Applications of Neural Engineering in Mechas…
The book list is densely packed, with at least a hundred titles.
Most of them could be downloaded from the campus network, some required access permission from the school library, and a few were papers even the Central Military Academy didn’t have—probably internal documents from [Mechanical Life].
Sigh. Lin Xiaohe scratched her head. Looked like she was in for another period of hardcore studying.
She saved the reading list and prepared to go find Cassian to claim her reward.
Her meteorite was still waiting for her in the resource library!
A new month is about to begin!
Do you still remember Nick? One of the special admittees, the designer of Mechanical Life.
Typing, typing, frantically typing…
