The tent that Huang Yan had discarded was pitched by Wang Tianwei on the balcony of her apartment.
She had too much to learn, so whenever she really couldn't focus, she would come here.
Zipping up the tent and turning on just a small electric lamp actually helped her get into the zone much faster. Books she normally couldn't get through were readable here, boosting her efficiency!
Today, Mr. Eugene taught them that Spirit-Alloy was the most suitable metal for spiritual power resonance. A mecha made of this metal allowed for complete sensory synchronization, and it was also a rare growth-type material!
Wang Tianwei flipped through her notes, recalling the overall structure of a mecha in her mind.
She had already completely dismantled her own mecha and was currently in the process of putting it back together.
Mr. Eugene's teaching method was simple and brutal. During his lectures, he made them dismantle the mecha components themselves, and then review everything while reassembling them. Just two rounds of this were enough to memorize everything!
Although she had been incredibly busy lately, it was also very fulfilling.
As she mastered more and more information, her insecurity as an outsider gradually faded.
However, perhaps due to overworking her brain, Wang Tianwei noticed that her appetite seemed to have grown significantly!
It wasn't very obvious at dinner when she just drank nutrient fluids, but originally, her daily breakfast only consisted of two steamed buns and a cup of soy milk! Now, even after adding a meat pie, she still felt like she hadn't had enough!
A single portion of staple food for lunch wasn't enough either; her appetite was catching up to Zhang Lyra's... However, her body didn't seem to become sluggish because of it, and the muscle lines on her arms were actually becoming more defined!
Jian Jingyu said she might be gaining muscle, so she didn't pay it much mind.
As a student, it was a time of heavy brain usage, and since she was attending a military academy, a high caloric expenditure was totally normal!
She pulled up her mecha design draft on her optical computer. This was her midterm project: designing a B-class mecha.
Choosing the course Ancient Mecha Restoration and Modification Techniques was definitely the right move!
The energy sources, engines, and materials used in so-called ancient mechas were much more familiar to her! They also aligned better with her understanding of machinery.
This course took her through the history of the mecha's creation anew, providing excellent reference material for her design!
Wang Tianwei continuously adjusted the 3D mecha model displayed on her optical computer, comparing it with the materials in her notes.
This was her first time designing a mecha on her own. If possible, she wanted to modify her own mecha according to this blueprint at the end of the semester!
Actually, some people had modified their school-issued mechas as soon as they received them. She had held off on doing so because she wanted to do it herself.
As she tweaked the design, she unconsciously started browsing through A-class and S-class materials... It was such a pity she couldn't use them!
Materials below A-class either focused on hardness or spiritual power resonance, but the major prerequisite was that a B-class spiritual power could handle them!
Currently, the best material she knew of was something like Spirit-Alloy, which combined spiritual power resonance with growth attributes, and was still within her operational capacity.
However, every single material above A-class had attributes several points higher than B-class ones!
Meteor Crystal Iron: extremely high hardness, exclusively used for outer shells and skeletons!
Phantom Alloy: could refract light, allowing the mecha to achieve invisibility!
The aircraft the teachers rode in during freshman training used exactly this metal!
Actually, she had secretly smelted A-class materials herself.
Ordinary materials were sold on the market, and as a military academy student, they weren't hard to buy.
Her first attempt at smelting almost caused her spiritual power to dry up, nearly making her pass out... But later, by stopping to rest every ten seconds or so, just like when she first started handling B-class materials, no major issues occurred.
It took her a day and a half, working on and off, to complete a single A-class basic part!
Meanwhile, for the same B-class basic part, she now needed a minute at most...
The gap caused by spiritual power was massive, but Wang Tianwei didn't give up, because she discovered that her spiritual power was also slowly growing during this process.
Just as the teacher had said, no mecha master could resist good materials! None!
The next day was Monday.
Eugene received the design drafts submitted by the entire first-year mecha master class.
Since they were just design blueprints, the students had fully unleashed their imaginations.
The labeled materials disregarded cost, and the exterior designs were trying to out-cool each other, looking somewhat like they were heading to a competition.
That was until he saw a draft submitted by one particular student. Eugene frowned the moment he laid eyes on it.
This exterior...
He magnified the 3D model to observe the data.
This mecha didn't use the absolute best materials like the other students did; instead, it maximized the advantages of every single material used!
The combination focused heavily on practicality, and the precision of the data was particularly remarkable!
If this B-class mecha were actually built, paired with the pilot's skills, it could exhibit at least B+ or even A- level performance! It was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into it!
Glancing at the signature on the draft, it was indeed that kid!
Eugene felt a bit proud, but taking another look at the blueprint... he couldn't help but head over to the office of Jin Xi, a fellow teacher in the mecha master department.
Mr. Jin.
Mr. Eugene? What can I do for you?
It's like this. I fully respect your love and appreciation for ancient mechas, and I also think the course you teach, Ancient Mecha Restoration and Modification, has great educational value.
But could you please preach a little less about the aesthetic appeal of ancient mecha exteriors in your future classes!?
Jin Xi was baffled, but he was quite displeased with Eugene's accusation, which questioned his taste right off the bat without any explanation.
The exterior of ancient mechas reflects humanity's purest pursuit of power and beauty at that time!
In contrast, most of our current mecha designs are overly flashy!
It's precisely because everyone has a mecha that the kids add so many personalized elements into them!
This kind of personalization isn't always beautiful! Nor is it always useful!
Mr. Eugene, you should be the one properly guiding the students in this regard! Don't just focus on so-called personality and throw away what's most practical!
Eugene was furious. He just knew his perfectly good student had been corrupted by this stubborn blockhead who ought to be teaching history instead!
It's already the Interstellar Year 300!
No matter how much you worship ancient mechas, Mr. Jin, may I ask what you would think if you saw a mecha like this today!?
He simply pulled up Wang Tianwei's design work, magnifying the virtual projection so everyone could see it.
You...
Uh...
All the teachers in the office frowned in silence.
An interested teacher came over to adjust and look at the mecha's data.
This... hmm... the data is excellent... hiss, quite unique.
Eugene looked accusingly at Mr. Jin Xi.
Mr. Jin! Tell me! Did you teach her to design a mecha exterior like this!?
...
Jin Xi suppressed his indignation and rotated the 3D blueprint back and forth... The data was virtually perfect. A glance at the signature below confirmed it was indeed that very diligent student from his class...
...Does it have to be me who taught her that?
Eugene let out an exasperated laugh.
Who else could it be!? Mr. Jin, who else in this entire school likes this kind of square, rigid mecha exterior that looks like a stack of bread cubes!?
"She'd even be willing to run separate aerodynamic drag calculations just for these sharp edges!!!"
"..."
