"The chain you're using isn't right," Clarens said.
Jiang Hui touched the blue silver chain and shook her head. This chain was given to her by Stark.
It wasn’t something she had bought herself.
“This material is typically used for components of mental swords. It’s extremely hard and can block energy waves. It’s tough and difficult to forge. The advantages are obvious—it’s a high-grade material, usually circulated within the military. It’s hard to find on the open market.”
But the downside was that it was heavy. Even a small chain like this could weigh over ten pounds. It might not feel like much when held, but worn around the neck all day, it was noticeably burdensome. If you didn’t pay attention, your neck could end up marked with red and purple streaks from what looked like a mere decorative necklace.
Jiang Hui took the advice to heart and decided to swap out the chain tomorrow—or at least figure out some way to save her neck.
“Jiang, have you been too excited to sleep lately?” Zhou Xiuwen said with a smile.
Owning a mecha was likely the dream of many young people. Most teenagers probably harbored fantasies of piloting one. If Jiang Hui was caught up in that excitement, it wouldn’t be surprising.
Well, she really hadn’t slept well last night—not even in her consciousness space. Jiang Hui thought to herself, recalling what had happened in her consciousness space the previous night. She’d almost convinced herself it was a dream.
But two nights of such dreams in a row were hard to explain. In the context of the consciousness space, the things within it might feel even less real than a dream.
She decided to push the thought aside and try again tonight. This time, she wouldn’t back down. She’d fully release whatever it was—she refused to believe that the illusory thing could actually burst her little house in the consciousness space. Well, if it did burst, that might not be a bad thing. Jiang Hui had long wanted to leave that cramped little room and see if the space outside was as self-contained as the house.
But she couldn’t share these thoughts with her friends, as even she couldn’t fully make sense of them.
“Oh, by the way, have you guys heard? There’s supposed to be a school announcement later. I heard the new senior instructor is holding a big lecture open to the entire school, no restrictions,” Xierman said.
This immediately drew the attention of the group, who had been engaged in separate conversations. They all turned to look at him.
Xierman rubbed his nose. “Uh, I’m not entirely sure. I heard it from my father. He told me to attend.”
The new senior instructor—most of them might not know, but this group did. Not long ago, Jiang Hui had even interacted with him up close. They all knew the new senior instructor was a renowned mecha master.
“But isn’t he a mecha master? Why’s he giving a big lecture?” Zhou Xiuwen voiced the question on everyone’s mind.
“Exactly. That’s Mr. Carlo. He was supposedly a highly famous ultimate mecha master in the capital. He created the Fire series, an empire-certified line of mechas. My father was a huge fan of his work back in the day. He bought and collected the entire series. It’s a pity he’s on a business trip and couldn’t come to the school to audit the lecture,” Xierman said, shaking his head, clearly thinking of his father’s fanatic enthusiasm.
“The Fire series?” Huan Xian suddenly glanced over.
“Yeah, you guys didn’t know? The moment he arrived at the school, he was inducted into the Hall of Elites. That’s a column reserved for campus legends—only about twenty people have been included in the past century. He didn’t even need an evaluation; they put him right at the top.”
The reason he surpassed others who hadn’t made it into the Hall of Elites without causing resentment or opposition was the Fire series.
Those were empire-certified mechas. Across the entire interstellar region, only a handful of mechas earned that distinction each year. The mecha library was truly the stage for mecha masters—products from factories or manufacturers rarely stood a chance. To meet the high standards required for an empire-certified mecha, a design needed unparalleled, groundbreaking innovation and had to pass rigorous imperial audits to be included in the empire’s mecha database with the coveted certification label.
The Fire series was a standout model nine years ago, heavily promoted at the time. Carlo had even earned the qualification to be evaluated as a senior mecha master because of it. But for some reason, the matter fizzled out, and he withdrew from the capital’s stage. Still, he remained an ultimate mecha master to this day.
“Have you had any exposure to those mechas before, Huan?” Xierman asked curiously.
The boy shook his head, indicating it was just curiosity.
In truth, he had encountered them. Years ago, when he was still in ‘that place’, in a laboratory, he’d heard of this mecha. The researchers there had been so frustrated with the designer of the Fire series that they gritted their teeth in anger. When it was selected as an empire-certified mecha, it caused quite a stir. That day, he’d been forced to repeatedly test a rival prototype mecha, nearly draining his mental strength to the point of collapse.
For various reasons, he hadn’t thought to seek out this mecha later. Now, hearing everyone mention it stirred up those painful memories. Just how formidable was this designer?
“Are you interested too, Jiang?” Xierman keenly picked up on something, her excitement growing. “Should we all go check it out together?”
---
Carlo walked through the office, unfazed by the many gazes of his colleagues.
“That’s him…”
“…The one Wanhua High School poached. How did…”
“…Right, right… The school hopes he’ll talk about the Fire series… It’s a big lecture…”
“Ugh, I’m so jealous…”
Passing through the general education office and several corridors, he finally reached his destination.
“Teacher Duan.”
“Mr. Carlo, what brings you here? Please, have a seat,” Teacher Duan said, looking surprised. He immediately set aside his work and adjusted a half-person-high stack of documents nearby, saying a bit awkwardly, “Sorry, it’s a bit messy here. I hope you don’t mind.”
As he spoke, he quickly instructed the intelligent machine to bring tea. Soon, the two were seated in a corner of the office.
“Your big lecture is tomorrow. Is there anything else you need to arrange? This is our first time hosting a lecture of this scale, so it might be a bit chaotic. The school will assign teachers and staff to maintain order. You just focus on teaching according to your plan, Mr. Carlo. No need to worry about the rest,” Duan said.