Chapter 619: Chapter 638: Collective Consciousness
The next day, when Jiang Qiuqiu went to class, she attracted more looks than usual.
The emotions behind these looks were complex, but in the end, they were just looks.
A few glances couldn’t affect Jiang Qiuqiu, so she simply ignored them.
The morning was half theory and half practice. After lunch in the cafeteria, she was in the mecha lab for the afternoon session. Before class could even start, the PA system crackled to life.
It was Teacher Mao, forcing the students who had spoken so carelessly to apologize.
After the apology was broadcast, everyone looked at Jiang Qiuqiu, but she alone showed no reaction.
That afternoon, Teacher Mao came for Mecha class again. Today, after teaching a few simple maneuvers, he didn’t immediately announce the start of the competition for credits. Instead, he suddenly called Huo Jia and Jiang Qiuqiu out of their Mechas.
"Huo Jia, go over to the Light Armor and give it a try. Link to it as fast as you can. Let’s see how long it takes."
’He’s going to let the facts speak for themselves.’
Jiang Qiuqiu glanced at Teacher Mao. His expression was stern, but she found his serious face to be surprisingly endearing.
Huo Jia hadn’t expected to be given such a task. After Teacher Mao finished speaking, he glanced at Jiang Qiuqiu before walking over to the Mecha.
When the timer started, he began.
Unleash the power of his Genes, quickly enter the Mecha, power it on, and link it to his Spirit Sea—
The whole process was brief, but every single student was watching intently.
About 35 seconds later, a green light flashed on.
Huo Jia climbed out.
After Huo Jia climbed out, Teacher Mao called on Jiang Qiuqiu and then the student who had spread rumors in yesterday’s post to give it a try.
Jiang Qiuqiu took 42 seconds. The student who ranked last in class desperately tried to save face, but still took nearly a full minute to establish a successful link.
Still at the bottom of the class.
After the simple, un-graded practical test was finished, Teacher Mao had everyone return to their Mechas. "Didn’t you think you could get first place just by switching Mechas?"
"Think you’re better than everyone else?"
"Did your ethics teacher not pay attention to the few of you? I’ll say it again: this is the Mecha Single Soldier System. You are being trained to the standards of soldiers on the battlefield."
"What is a soldier? Do you even know? What is military-style discipline? Do you know?"
"So what happens when you join the army? If you have a minor disagreement with someone, are you going to secretly sabotage their Mecha?"
"You are all classmates. In the army, that would make you a single unit."
If soldiers can’t band together and act as one, like the sharp edge of a blade, how can they even be called soldiers?
"You need to have integrity. Let me make this clear: the competitions in this class are relatively fair, understand? If you’re looking for absolute fairness, you’ll never find it."
"Alright, we’ve wasted another ten-odd minutes. We’ll start today’s credit competition now. Using the set of maneuvers I just showed you, let’s see who can link them together the fastest."
"If anyone thinks this competition is unfair, you can raise your hand and refuse to participate."
No one objected. No one raised their hand.
Jiang Qiuqiu’s spiritual power was highly sensitive, and her control power over her Spirit Sea was also very strong. Piloting a Mecha was definitely her strong suit, so it was no surprise when she ranked near the top in the afternoon’s competition.
Unlike yesterday, when her classes ended, Jiang Qiuqiu didn’t head straight back to her dorm. Instead, she went to the training hall.
Starting today, she was prepared to follow the training regimen Teacher Mao had given her.
’If I can pilot a small or medium-sized Mecha before I transfer out of the department, it’ll be a good validation of all the hard work I’ve put in.’
