The classroom of the Superpowered Mecha Department was a massive semi-circle embedded into the ground. Its interior was surrounded by expansive screens, consisting of a nearly 340-degree curved display and a rectangular screen used for tracking attendance.
Beneath the rectangular screen, a female instructor of modest stature sat within an anti-gravity, egg-shaped multi-functional console. She kept her head down, recording the arrival times of each student on a faculty data pad while distributing a unique white data pad to every individual.
Once the three hundred students had trickled into the circular room, she looked up and asked, "Do you all have the notification data pads you were required to bring?"
"We have them, we have them," the crowd replied in succession.
"In that case, please take your positions. Enter your respective consoles in the order you arrived," the instructor said with a gentle smile.
Because Lei Ting had lingered before the "Everlasting Life" monument, he ended up sitting in the middle of the very last row. This did not hinder his ability to follow the lecture, however, as the entire curved screen ahead began to glow softly after a gentle flickering prompt.
The instructor maneuvered her anti-gravity chair, drifting into the air toward the front. As she rose, the soft cloth blanket draped over her legs fluttered slightly, appearing as light as a feather.
"Before we begin with introductions, I would like to ask a question..." She came to a halt in mid-air at the front, positioned slightly higher than the students. Then, her gentle voice echoed through the vast room: "...Students, why have you come here?"
"To attend class!" someone suddenly shouted.
The two to three hundred students burst into laughter, the collective roar startlingly loud. Yet, the young and beautiful instructor merely maintained her soft smile. Her gaze swept over the crowd, and through the wide curved screen broadcasting her image, she was watched by everyone in return.
Her dark brown, nearly black eyes were so calm that a sense of power seemed to be born within them. Lei Ting did not sense the activation of any superpower, yet the room gradually fell silent of its own accord.
Finally... "Correct," she said. "To attend class, to study, to earn credits, to graduate from this academy, and to live the life you wish to lead."
"And then comes the 'but,' right?" a few students also sitting in the back row asked with a laugh. Lei Ting glanced sideways at them and realized they were a group of Alphas, both male and female. On their other side sat the red-haired Alpha who lived on the same floor as him.
Interestingly, judging by the lights on their neck collars, most of those sitting in the front rows—those who had arrived earlier—were Betas and Omegas. The Alphas, naturally more powerful than the former two, were instead concentrated in the rear sections. This made the handsome but not particularly hulking Lei Ting appear quite inconspicuous among them.
"Yes, the 'but,'" the instructor smiled. She did not use a synthetic vocal component to replace her vocal cords; instead, she spoke directly, her voice amplified through the system. "But, in my view, most of you do not possess the possibility of surviving the first academic year."
No one spoke up this time, but a faint stir of unrest began to rise.
"It seems saying it that way was a bit inappropriate. Let us rephrase it—" Facing the students, the instructor’s smile widened. "—The spirit and mettle of the vast majority of you are so weak that you failed to leave me with a complete first impression."
To those capable of making it here, these words were nothing short of an insult. One student slammed the desk, intending to stand up from their console, only to discover with shock that they had been confined within it by a force field barrier at some unknown point.
"Quiet, children." The instructor’s tone remained gentle and slow. "Quiet, and obey orders. By coming here and officially enrolling, you are already reserve officers. Do you understand?
"Even if you have only lived on this starship for a few days, you have already been registered into the official establishment. From here on, your studies will revolve around military secrets, your lives will be governed by confidentiality regulations, and upon graduation, you will be non-commissioned officers by default. Furthermore, whether during your annual internships or for twenty years after graduation, you must serve in a combat zone."
She spoke these words with a rhythmic precision that almost sounded like a rap; Lei Ting felt a slight urge to smile as he listened.
"Do you want to quit? To withdraw from the arduous study and combat that is clearly visible in your future?" The instructor winked with a smile.
No one spoke.
"Well, it seems everyone read the enrollment contract thoroughly..." She sighed. "Correct. If you withdraw without cause, you will face four years of imprisonment—a term equal to your intended period of study. This is permitted under Federal law."
Though theoretically everyone should have read those regulations, a small collective gasp still rippled through the crowd.
"Now then, starting with me, let us introduce ourselves." Amidst the shifting light and shadow of the giant curved screen behind her as it changed content, the instructor leaned back into her chair.
The next moment, an electronic resume appeared. It had no photo and was riddled with black redaction bars, scrolling slowly from top to bottom.
"I am Li Fu. Phonetic name: classified. Ability: classified. Formerly served in the Seventh Legion’s Superpowered Mecha Assault Squad. Past codename: classified. Total number of combat missions executed: eight hundred and seventy-seven. Combat locations: classified. Incident codenames: classified."
The instructor introduced her terrifying past record in the gentlest of tones.
"Currently retired. Primary reason for retirement: classified. Secondary reason..."
She faced everyone and smiled. "I am a disabled person. Not only are my legs paralyzed, but my spine also had to be replaced. At the same time, my 'Heavenly Eye' is damaged. Currently, I cannot even mobilize mental energy; my cognitive functions are primarily regulated by implants."
"...Hiss..."
At that moment, nearly everyone drew a sharp breath. Lei Ting included.
It wasn't just because of that horrifying resume, but also because a person with such a record had personally admitted before them that she had lost it all.
"Of course, I am actually quite lucky," Instructor Li Fu laughed. "The other superpowered mecha pilots who graduated from this academy with me have all been confirmed killed in action. Except for one person..."
"Who?" the talkative fellow next to Lei Ting instinctively asked.
"Him..."
The smile on Li Fu’s face became a bit more sincere.
"Perhaps you have heard his name... he is a legend," she said. "His codename was 'Starstream.' Nearly twenty years ago, he and I were partners for a time."
"Starstream..." The crowd pondered the codename, and soon someone reacted: "Is it that insanely powerful S-rank hero from *Galactic Superpower War*?!"
"...Huh?" Instructor Li Fu was momentarily stunned.
"...?" Lei Ting was also momentarily stunned.
"Oh, oh, that’s a competitive game made in collaboration with the official database. The whole galaxy plays it..." The voice of the gaming-addicted youth gradually faded into an inaudible mumble.
"Oh," Li Fu nodded. "The game that supposedly uses a large number of historical figures? I’ve heard of it. I’ll have to try it later."
A ripple of light laughter went through the crowd, and the classroom atmosphere gradually eased.
"In any case, 'Starstream.' Male. Original name: 'Evanhilem.' The last 'S-rank.' In the war fifteen years ago, the final assault he led secured a decisive victory for us.
"But he himself vanished in the stellar eruption of the mission's target system. After an official search, he was presumed dead, though some say he survived. I am not sure; regardless, his registered status is 'Missing,'" Li Fu said. "At least personally, I choose to believe he is still alive."
The laughter died down. None of the three hundred students spoke, for everyone knew that the Orion Human Federation had a tradition: for personnel suspected of being dead but not confirmed, the records would forever only list the word 'Missing.'
Those who vanished fifteen years ago were 'Missing'; those who vanished three hundred years ago were also 'Missing.' Even if one flipped through the missing persons database back to the year 2000 AD, they would only see 'Missing' written after those names.
"Now then, did anyone here notice the 'S-rank' standard?" Li Fu asked with a smile.
Simultaneously, her gaze swept over the crowd and landed on the back row, directly at the seat facing her.
Guided by her gaze, the eyes of nearly three hundred people shifted toward the back.
Finally, Lei Ting, who had been using his light-brain to record the lecture on his data pad from the start, slowly stopped his hand and looked up.
Under the scrutiny of the crowd, he remained silent for a moment before looking at Li Fu.
"Lei Ting. Phonetic name: 'Raytine.' Male. 17 years old. From the 'New Solar System,' the place where our interstellar social history originated..."
Li Fu leaned forward slightly, speaking to him with a smile.
"...I noticed you, our 'Double S' Alpha. You were actually the first person to arrive here today. When you were staring blankly at 'Everlasting Life,' what were you thinking?"
"..." Lei Ting gazed at her from a distance, their two pairs of differently shaded black eyes meeting across the room.
After a moment, he unhurriedly set down his data pad and stood up amidst the crowd's gaze. He bowed his head slightly in accordance with the academy's classroom etiquette, paying respect to the one who imparts knowledge and resolves doubts.
"Reporting, Instructor," he said. "I was thinking that if given the chance, I could lift that Earth."
The students burst into laughter once more, but a few did not join in. And at the front, Instructor Li Fu’s expression slowly turned solemn.
"That is an 'iron' Earth..." she murmured slowly, her words heavy with meaning.
"Ah, yes. Or rather, it is more than just 'iron,'" Lei Ting said, pointing to the light-brain mounted by his ear. "Therefore, I have just informed my advisor that my awakened ability is not 'Calcium Manipulation,' but 'Metal Manipulation.'"
...
"What was that... he has a sense for all metals, and there’s evidence?!" The person lying on a creeper under a spider-like joint mecha, tightening a bolt, was suddenly startled. With a kick of their legs, they slid out, nearly crushing a custom light-brain external unit lying on the floor.
But this person didn't care about that. They twisted their body and leaped up with ease, looking at Kingsley, the advisor who had rushed over to find them, in shock: "That Double S awakened 'Metal Manipulation'...?! Are you sure?!!"
***
