"Let’s call it 'Solaris,'" Lei Ting said.
"Solaris?" The Medical Director was somewhat surprised by the name. "That doesn't sound like a name a child would pick... Why 'Solaris'?"
"When people think of golden light, they think of a conventional star, don't they? Isn't that the 'Sun' in our culture?"
Lei Ting smiled, making no mention of the scattered stardust in that stranger's hands. "As for the 'Star' part... on Earth in the Origin System, the Ancient Greeks said 'iron' and 'star' were the same word. Iron is also the most abundant metal in the explored universe. Isn't that fitting?"
"It is indeed quite good," the Logistics Director agreed with a solemn nod. "Furthermore, the concept of the 'Sun' aligns with your conceptual domain over metal. And you still claim you aren't a retro-ist?"
"..."
*Is this joke ever going to end?!*
The corner of Lei Ting’s mouth twitched.
Seeing his expression, the Logistics Director gave a cold snort. "Don't look at me like that! Are you still trying to hide it? I never expected you to be this kind of person..."
The Medical Director suddenly pressed down on his head, snatched a roll of flexible nano-bandages, and stuffed it into his mouth. She waved a hand at the nearby security personnel. "Take him away."
*Chak. Sshhh.* The airtight doors opened and closed.
The Logistics Director's voice gradually faded away at the end of the corridor.
By the time he was discharged again, the name of his ability—[Solaris]—had already been registered in his personal profile.
As he left, having been officially declared a victim of an "accidental incident"—well, it was close enough to the truth—he received pitying looks from the entire medical staff. He was even given a few pieces of candy upon his departure. As he thanked them and tucked the sweets into his pocket, he discovered that the candy Supervisor Vallen had given him was still there.
Although Lei Ting’s body temperature ran slightly high due to his usual level of physical activity, the candy hadn't melted. He could still smell the sweet, fresh scent of lychee through the wrapper.
Lei Ting thought back to that day and the man walking in the breeze.
Why did the Principal believe that if it were this person, he would be able to understand his ability?
Could someone with such uniqueness truly be just an ordinary person?
Lei Ting popped the candy into his mouth and headed toward the commercial street, savoring the flavor. He hadn't gone far before he saw a large crowd approaching: Lucas, Luo Xian, Sandro... and several other classmates and friends.
It was interesting to note that among the people Lei Ting, an Alpha, interacted with daily at this school, everyone except Lucas—who was an Omega—was a Beta.
This differed from the social preferences of the vast majority of Alphas. The topic had even been discussed on the public forums; supposedly, some Alphas and Omegas looked down on him because of his detachment from their respective circles...
Regardless, the ultimate conclusion the community reached was: "What does it have to do with you who the OP makes friends with?" The thread then quickly derailed into a discussion about the combat power of the first-year students.
The eternal, flame-war-inducing topic of "power scaling" swiftly obliterated the original core content of the post. Even after the OP deleted it, people were still obsessed with knowing how many students from the Superpowered Mecha Department Lei Ting could take down at once if he didn't use his superpowers.
To be honest, Lei Ting wanted to know that himself.
As for the gender of his friends... setting aside the fact that friendship has nothing to do with gender, the high number of Betas was perfectly logical, as Betas made up the vast majority of the population.
In fact, in the Federation, the population ratio was 95% Beta, 3% Omega, and 2% Alpha. Although the top-tier power-holders were mostly Alphas, Betas held an overwhelming advantage as the backbone of society.
It was only in places like the First Military Academy that the proportion of Alphas would spike. In some less prosperous regions, a person might only encounter a handful of clearly identifiable Alphas or Omegas in their entire life. Most Alphas and Omegas who submerged themselves into ordinary life spent their days pretending to be inconspicuous Betas.
Being a member of the general public... or rather, being similar to the mainstream, was nothing to be ashamed of.
"Good afternoon, everyone." Lei Ting waved at the group, a cluster of small calcium cubes floating around him like hovering pets. "Yo, what’s this? Did you all run into each other on the way to see me?"
Though it was the blunt truth, the group looked at the guy—who didn't just seem fine, but actually looked healthier than all of them combined—and their expressions contorted. "You really are something..."
"Really good at taking a hit?" Lei Ting said with a chuckle.
"Really good material for a combat medic," Sandro said, looking like he desperately wanted to complain but couldn't find the words. "They said your heart was ruptured, man. Isn't smiling like you don't have a care in the world a bit disrespectful to the hit your heart took?"
"Smiling happily is the best way to respect it. It worked hard to keep beating, after all," Lei Ting said with a laugh, not telling them that the fatal wound had actually been self-inflicted.
The crowd fell silent, finding it difficult to argue with him. Then again, there was no need to argue.
The atmosphere gradually relaxed. Once everyone confirmed he was indeed fine, they walked forward together, chatting about everything under the sun. Their conversation was no different from any other group of teenagers hanging out.
Before long, they were wandering through the cross-shaped commercial street. As they walked, people were gradually drawn away by things that interested them. Within a few steps, only Luo Xian remained by Lei Ting’s side.
This fellow wasn't much of a talker, and Lei Ting didn't like making small talk when it wasn't necessary. The two of them strolled from the end of the street to the center of the crossroads in silence.
Lei Ting actually wanted to go to the "Far-Light Materials" store at the end of the opposite street, but there wasn't much point in bringing this guy along... So, he stopped, pondering where to go next, and asked casually, "Luo Xian, what did you come to the commercial street for?"
Luo Xian, who had been somewhat absent-minded, startled and snapped back to reality. "Huh? Ah... oh, I... I was thinking about some things..."
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Lei Ting asked kindly.
Luo Xian didn't seem to want to say much, but after looking into Lei Ting’s eyes, he spoke as if possessed. "...These past few days in class, I’ve been exposed to a lot of new things."
Lei Ting nodded. That was to be expected. Although the "New Solar System" where they both came from was the starting point for the Orion Human Federation back in the day, it was now considered remote and outdated by the current Federation.
"So, I was thinking," the Beta youth, who looked somewhat frail compared to the current Lei Ting, said in a low voice, "the things I used to believe in so firmly... are they really correct?"
"...Hm??" This question even confused Lei Ting.
"I mean... uh, it’s just..." The boy bit his lip and whispered, "There are clearly so many people better than me, yet I still ended up here, just like you and Romu...
"...Never mind. Saying these things will only cause you trouble." Luo Xian gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'll be going now."
With that, he bowed his head slightly to Lei Ting and turned to leave.
"Luo Xian," Lei Ting suddenly called out.
"...Yes?" Luo Xian turned back blankly, seemingly not expecting him to speak.
"Even though we’ve been classmates for a few years, I don't know what you’ve been through, I don't know why your relationship with Romu turned out like this, and I don't know how your personality was formed... Your past has nothing to do with me."
Lei Ting’s expression was calm.
"Whether it was stopping the school bullying against you in the past or targeting Romu on the airship, those were my own choices. You don't need to take them to heart, nor do you need to think I'm someone worth relying on because of them," he said. "You don't need to rely on anyone, because you got into this academy on your own merit."
Under the artificial sunlight, the handsome black-haired youth reached out and patted the shoulder of the boy who was half a head shorter than him.
There was no expectation or comfort in his gaze. He simply didn't think the person in front of him was actually lacking in any way.
"Before you decide to perform a self-reflection, first choose to believe in the abilities you definitely possess," he said, turning to leave while waving a hand dismissively. "Go back and look in the mirror. I believe that someone who got into the Federation's highest military institution on their own strength can see their own heart clearly."
Lei Ting had always known that Luo Xian’s special attitude toward him wasn't because of any particular feelings for him as a person. It was because, in this boy's eyes, he was a strong and reliable "target."
The old Luo Xian treated this target as an object of reliance, a personal habit built upon his past life.
But now, in a military academy's "Logistics & Coordination Department," he must—and inevitably would—learn to detach those feelings of "reliance" and become someone who could handle affairs independently.
As for why a guy with that kind of personality would apply for a management department... that wasn't a question Lei Ting cared to answer. After all, it had nothing to do with him; it was someone else's private business. Lei Ting respected his classmates' privacy.
Thus, he said nothing more and paid no further attention to the boy standing there in a daze. He headed straight for "Far-Light Materials."
...
Inside the "Far-Light Materials" store, Enan Vallen sat with his legs crossed, leaning back in a lounge chair while swiping through his private data pad.
To be fair, while his shop couldn't exactly be called busy—it was practically deserted—it still needed to exist. Its very presence would be a striking highlight on the resume of "Far-Light Materials."
In truth, the shop had been established because "The Solar" had proactively sent invitations to several small and medium-sized interstellar enterprises, including "Far-Light Materials." Every company that received an invitation was ecstatic, especially "Far-Light Materials." However, when management wanted to send their trusted aides over, they found that every one of them was in the heart of the Alliance, far away from where "The Solar" was at the time...
"The Solar" wouldn't wait for them. It never waited for anyone. Thus, Enan Vallen, who happened to be the closest at the time, was sent. He was even given a "hard jump" promotion to the position of Supervisor, simply because it would look bad if his rank were too low.
At the time, many people joked that this guy’s ten-year streak of bad luck had finally turned around. Even though this Supervisor didn't have a single subordinate under him, it was still a Supervisor position. The salary was much higher than before.
But was this truly just a "coincidence"?
Of course not.
Hardly anyone on "The Solar" needed these raw materials. Without some inside information, why would the Principal have authorized the management to send out those invitations?
It was, of course, because her long-lost star pupil, "Ivenheiler," had made a request of her.
And as for "Ivenheiler"—or rather, Enan Vallen—without some inside information, why would he have used his original name, which hadn't moved in ten years, to make such a request to the Principal?
The black-haired man lay leisurely in his lounge chair, casually swiping to send out a few seemingly mundane work emails. He turned off the data pad and set it aside. His optical computer's external unit clicked, and his "glasses" popped out in front of his eyes, this time covering his entire field of vision.
Then, humming a tuneless melody, he opened a game interface.
The loading screen, featuring the logos of the game and the development company, displayed briefly. Then, the number one ranked player in the entire galaxy for the game *Galactic Superpower War*, "Half-Life," came online.
An AI-synthesized voice, deliberately designed to sound slightly non-human, played in his ear: [Welcome back, Superplayer 'Half-Life.' You have an exhibition match scheduled for this morning, which is now in the preparation stage. Would you like to enter the arena lounge?]
At the same time, the sound of the shop door opening rang out: [Welcome!]
Footsteps sounded, significantly steadier than they had been a month ago. Vallen didn't move; he simply twitched the corner of his mouth in a helpless smirk, swiped away the unnecessary system prompts, and adjusted the opacity of the game interface in front of him.
A handsome teenage face appeared before him, dark eyes meeting his with a gentle gaze.
"Good morning, Supervisor Vallen." Lei Ting obediently and earnestly followed the form of address the other had previously requested. He asked curiously, "What are you doing?"
***
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