Chapter 613: Chapter 632: Competition Is About Winning
Typically, when a teacher says they’re going to find the slowest student, they don’t actually follow through to the very end.
Usually, they just identify the top performers and tell the rest, "That’s good enough. Try harder next time." And the little competition would be over.
But Teacher Mao wasn’t your average instructor.
After each student finished, he would call out their name and check it off on the control console.
Then he’d tell those who had finished, "You can continue practicing disconnecting and reconnecting in your mechas." To those who hadn’t, he’d say, "Hurry up, I’m about to lock in the bottom three."
His determination to see it through to the bitter end made the remaining students panic, and they all scrambled to finish.
But no matter how frantic they were, someone had to be last.
Teacher Mao grimly announced the students in last, second-to-last, and third-to-last place, deducting 0.3, 0.2, and 0.1 academic credits from them, respectively.
"A competition needs winners, losers, and stakes."
"The losers’ academic credits will be awarded to the winners. First place gets 0.3, second place 0.2, and third place 0.1."
And so, in this practical mecha class, the curtain was raised on the freshmen’s first-ever gain and loss of academic credits.
The students who lost credits were too stunned to even react.
But this wasn’t a one-time event. Teacher Mao immediately started a second round.
"Alright, I’m giving you one minute to prepare. Everyone disconnect and get ready. We’re starting the second round. The rules are the same as before; you all get the idea."
"Academic credits are hard to come by. Those of you at the back, put in some effort."
The moment he finished speaking, the second round began.
Now that a simple training exercise had turned into a competition for credits, everyone on the floor grew serious, shedding their previous laziness. Jiang Qiuqiu, who had earned 0.1 credits, also focused her concentration—
The second round was faster overall than the first.
Huo Jia was still in first place. He beat his own time by a second, finishing in 38 seconds to claim the top spot.
Second place also remained unchanged. But Jiang Qiuqiu, after barely managing to maintain her time, only placed fourth. She was overtaken by a student who finished in 44 seconds.
The rankings at the top shifted as students’ times fluctuated.
Awkwardly, the students at the bottom remained the same.
The only change was that the student in last place managed to climb up to second-to-last, while the previous second-to-last student fell into last place.
More credits were deducted.
Losing credits twice in a row made those students’ faces turn pale.
Their expressions soured even more, especially after Teacher Mao announced there would be four rounds today.
But the training wouldn’t stop just because a few people were struggling.
Jiang Qiuqiu’s performance didn’t improve, but it didn’t decline either. As time wore on, the students’ stamina slowly drained. Without any refreshments or adequate rest, many of their times began to slip.
The ever-consistent Jiang Qiuqiu became a striking sight. In the final round, she even managed to take second place, finishing only behind Huo Jia.
Teacher Mao was very surprised.
Then, class was dismissed.
After reshuffling the students’ academic credits, Teacher Mao announced they could all go eat. Then, he asked Jiang Qiuqiu to stay behind for a moment.
Not knowing how long she’d be, she told her roommates to go to the cafeteria ahead of her, so Michelle wouldn’t have to wait.
Tingting dashed over. "Qiuqiu, what do you want to eat? We can grab something for you and leave it in the dorm, okay?"
"Anything is fine! I’ll have whatever you’re having."
"Okay, I’ll just grab something for you then!"
The students slowly filed out of the training room, until only Teacher Mao and Qiuqiu were left at the control console.
