Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 13 | Hidden Traces | Novela.app

It turned out he was telling the truth. Even if it sounded arrogant. Extremely arrogant. "I have to admit... in the domain of 'Metal,' you are a god. 'Double-S'." A man in a white coat, identifying himself as the 'Logistics Chief,' spoke unhurriedly while holding a data pad. To this praise, which sounded even more arrogant than his own previous statement, Lei Ting’s reaction was as calm as a block of iron. He glanced at the pile of 'protective suits' on the floor, now completely unrecognizable. He had stripped them off the wearers the moment the man had asked him to demonstrate... And there had been more than one set. Standing behind that one-way mirror at the time had been the entire 'Logistics Department Research Team,' along with their corresponding security personnel. Naturally, they had all left by now. They each had their own tasks to attend to, whether preparing projects or ensuring the smooth execution of the former. Only the Logistics Chief remained before Lei Ting. He was a man with an unforgettable, sharp aura, but the upper half of his face was obscured by a silver-white mechanical visor. Even his eyes were completely sealed off, preventing any outsider from seeing his features. Then, the man laid out the schedule for Lei Ting’s extracurricular hours. "First learn to dodge, then learn to block, then all-around combat... that’s the standard procedure. But for you, perhaps the intensity can be dialed up a bit," the Logistics Chief rambled on at length. "Learn how to take a hit, then master the theory, and next comes practical combat training. Offense doesn't need to be taught; it’s human instinct. What you need to learn is how to attack more scientifically, powerfully, and systematically. Ultimately, for the sake of your reason for fighting, you will resolve combat in any way you desire—do you have any questions? We will try to take your feelings into account..." "When do we start?" Lei Ting voiced his only question. "Don't be in such a hurry," the Logistics Chief chuckled. "We still need to conduct some other tests—come, look at what we’ve prepared for you!" When a man like this laughed, Lei Ting always had a bad premonition. His expression flickered with complexity, but he followed the man through a door regardless. Five minutes later, standing in a vast training hall roughly the size of the previous hangar, he stared blankly at the scene before him: hundreds of sealed canisters arranged in neat arrays, dozens of different types of melee and ranged weapons, and nearly thirty pieces of heavy equipment draped in red cloth. "You can feel it, can't you? Our passion!" The Logistics Chief ran forward jubilantly. Security personnel lined up on both sides of those monstrous things and broke into a rhythmic applause. "Look! This!" Lei Ting followed his gesture toward the sealed canisters. "Specimens of every type of metal that can be found on the Solaris! For this, we emptied the warehouse, the Principal’s hangar, and a shop!" "..." Lei Ting’s lip twitched. He had reason to suspect the shop they had emptied was 'Far-Light Quality Materials.' "And this!" The Logistics Chief reached out to introduce the weapons. "Every piece of individual weaponry and equipment, whether currently in service or not, on the Solaris! Rest assured, all parameters are clearly defined! And there are scientific, formal training procedures for their use!" *Oh, so I have to learn to use different weapons?* Lei Ting breathed a sigh of relief. Given that these weapons were at least 90% metal, this step would be quite simple for him. "And finally—this!" The Logistics Chief yanked down the red cloth—god knows where they got it—to reveal what lay beneath. "I heard you’re a traditionalist? Here, some good stuff specially procured for you!" He grinned. "Twenty-eight heavy cannons left over from the First Galactic Total War! The kind that uses gunpowder ammunition! All pulled from the Academy’s museum warehouse!" Lei Ting, who had known the internal structure of those things from the start, looked at them with a hint of confusion: Setting aside the fact that these things had long been decommissioned, surely they didn't need twenty-eight of them just for training purposes? Question marks swirled in his mind, but in the end, he only managed to squeeze out one sentence: "...Thank you very much, but I am truly not a 'traditionalist'." "Don't make excuses, I understand," the Logistics Chief said solemnly. "I also wouldn't dare tell others that I find the abominations in the galactic void more beautiful than people." *No, wait, what kind of taste is that! Don't just leak your weird fetishes to someone you've just met! Brother, your preferences are seriously messed up!* Lei Ting’s pupils shook. It was hard to describe his mood, but that didn't stop him from asking a new question: "So, what are these for?" "Oh," the Logistics Chief nodded. "They are related to the first phase of your testing and training plan." "..." Lei Ting fell silent. He slowly looked at the cannons, then slowly asked, "You're not joking, right?" "Of course not," the Logistics Chief said coldly. "Now, we proceed with a full physical examination and ability testing. If conditions permit, the first phase of training will begin tomorrow. Let’s go." ……………… ………… …… …… In the evening, at the dormitory building, the second-floor lounge was crowded. Many people were gathered there to review together and quiz each other on knowledge points. If it weren't for the fact that every floor had such a sunken lounge space, the area would likely have been completely paralyzed by traffic. However, before long, someone in the crowd mentioned Lei Ting. "Brother Lei isn't back yet?" Sandro looked aghast. "No way? Did he die in the line of duty on his first day of school?" "What 'line of duty'? Can't you say something auspicious..." Susanna rolled her eyes beside him. "Haven't you checked the forums?" "Oh, oh, oh, I was too busy today, haven't had time to look..." Sandro scrolled through the forums. "Eh? Taken away and hasn't returned yet? Wait... his ability isn't Calcium?" "Yeah, people have been saying that since class ended, but it seems the Super-Powered Mecha Department was slapped with a gag order." Someone nearby shrugged. The crowd sighed loudly, but they understood that if the ability was truly significant enough to alarm the school authorities, it had to be kept secret. Shortly after, the gossiping crowd dispersed. The red-haired Alpha returned with his two Omegas, but as he passed the group of Betas, he uncharacteristically turned and asked, "Lei Ting isn't back yet?" The group looked at each other, thinking that this matter was indeed a big deal. Then, Sandro maintained his smiling expression and replied, "Nope, we haven't seen him anyway." "Seen what?" a voice drifted over. Everyone instinctively turned to look and found Lei Ting, who had just come up from the elevator. His appearance seemed perfectly normal, and those few small metallic calcium cubes were still floating around him—except this time, there were sixteen of them. Sixteen silver-bright metal spheres, like stars, revolved around him at different speeds, angles, and rotations, looking like a miniature galaxy. In the eyes of a group of people who had not yet awakened their super-powers, this scene was truly a bit too dazzling. The red-haired Alpha’s brow furrowed instinctively, and he used his body to block the gaze of the two Omegas beside him. But the person being watched didn't care about them at all. He merely nodded kindly and walked into the lounge area carrying a bag. "Want some? They're pastries," he said lightheartedly, appearing to be in a good mood. "I scrounged them from somewhere; supposedly they taste pretty good." Sandro led the cheer: during those past few days without credits or classes, he had truly drunk far too much free nutrient solution! While nutrient solution was fine, having other snacks was, of course, better! One of the two Omegas seemed to want to say something, but the other stopped him. In the end, the three of them didn't disturb anyone and quietly went to their own rooms. No one in the crowd wanted to bring them up either. These pastries, seemingly made from improved glutinous rice and mung beans, were indeed well-crafted—not too sweet, but with a lingering, fragrant aftertaste. After the group of teenagers finished eating, either a whole piece each or sharing halves, they all praised them highly and tried to ask Lei Ting where they came from. "A teacher made them himself." Lei Ting brushed the crumbs off his hands and shrugged. "I don't know if I can get more in the future; if I can, I'll bring some back for you. But if you guys find anything good to eat or play with, don't forget me." The crowd naturally agreed, their gazes toward him becoming much closer this time. After joking with them for a few more minutes, Lei Ting entered his room— The moment the airtight door closed, he suddenly deflated. In a state that could almost be described as 'hanging,' he leaned crookedly against the door. Then, with a bitter smile, he took off his uniform—which no one had noticed was actually a different set—and instead of magnetically hanging it by the door, he tossed it casually onto the clean floor, which was cleaned daily by nano-cleaning robots controlled by 'Pacific.' *THUD!!* The uniform, which looked light and neat on the outside, hit the floor with a heavy, dull sound. Next, he took off his uniform trousers and short boots. These items were equally heavy, and after removing them, his entire body felt much lighter—relatively speaking, of course. Because, on the parts of his body covered by his clothes, a layer of shiny gray metal was currently spread. And on top of that, there were patterns composed of silver-blue metal. This was the reward he had received today... and also the culprit that would cause his body weight to quadruple if he stopped activating his ability. Of course, it was also the 'crutch' that allowed him to maintain a somewhat normal posture while walking back to the dormitory. Lei Ting controlled this metallic outer casing, moving like a puppeteer pulling strings, and walked somewhat stiffly to the bed, collapsing face-first into it. As he fell, the Osmium and Chromium flowed away, shrinking and shaping themselves in mid-air into the cubes he was accustomed to. One the size of a basketball, one the size of a coconut. Well, perhaps their sizes should be given a more scientific and precise description, but Lei Ting was still used to describing them with things he was familiar with. One silver-gray, one silver-blue; the two cubes weren't placed anywhere but remained floating permanently in mid-air. Such a simple action wouldn't cause that strange golden energy to appear. Today's tests had confirmed that it only began to manifest in his eyes and the air around him when his output exceeded a certain limit. 'Visualized energy discharge,' was it...? Lei Ting rubbed his brow, feeling lost regarding that golden energy, the nature of which still hadn't been figured out. But it didn't matter; the Logistics Department said they would update the components of the energy detector to make it more accurate. Besides, there were many super-powers in this world that were 'unprecedented.' He didn't need to worry too much; he just needed to believe in his own strength. What he was worried about was something else. —Those pastries had been given to him by the Logistics Chief. The man said he had made them himself, and they were just simple food with no other strange effects... a reward for his cooperation with the testing today. Although that guy was emotionally unstable, had an obscured face, and had even cackled while firing a heavy cannon at the metal shield Lei Ting had propped up during the ability test, his culinary skills were indeed excellent. But after Lei Ting took the pastries and before he left, the Logistics Chief had asked him a question that made his heart skip a beat. —"By the way, Double-S... do you know that you carry traces of long-term mental interference on you?"