Huang Yan's mecha was finally assembled. Urged by Wang Tianwei, he got in to test it out. It felt even handier than before?
"The parts haven't been changed yet, I just adjusted a few parameters. Try it out and see which is better compared to before. Is there anything you can't adapt to?"
Huang Yan piloted the mecha through a series of maneuvers.
"It's great, no issues adapting."
"That works, come on down!"
Jian Jingyu couldn't wait to ask,
"Sister Zebra! Can we start making the A-rank mechas for the two of them!?"
"No rush. There are still a few A-rank elective classes we can sit in on over the next couple of days!
That chief mecha maker from the Ninth Military District gave me a lot of inspiration too! Let me adjust the blueprints a bit more, and I'll redraw a new version of your design as well."
After that day, Bei Liu would occasionally message her to discuss mecha-related matters.
A chief is on another level! She could hit the nail on the head with just a few words, and she herself was a mecha maker capable of creating cross-rank mechas!
Back at the arena, she had been too busy looking at her mecha to realize just how incredible she was!
Now, it wasn't just questions about cross-rank mechas; she could also directly ask her about materials that the school didn't recommend or were hard to access! It was like having an extra teacher!
She also felt more confident about building Jian Jingyu's S-rank mecha!
"Alright, mechas definitely can't be rushed, but when are you planning to start making the S-rank parts?"
Aside from Wang Tianwei herself, Jian Jingyu was probably the happiest about her ranking up to A-rank! He constantly felt that he was getting closer to a Super S-rank mecha!
"...Lyra, didn't you say your mecha got bumped? Let me take a look for you."
**********
As the end of the term approached, the news of Wang Tianwei's spiritual power upgrade caused a massive uproar at Qilin!
She was the first person in recent years to rank up after only half a semester of her freshman year!
The students who had already submitted their final projects thought they could finally take a break, but little did they expect the "King of Overachievers" to drop a bombshell on them right before the holidays!
Consequently, the Qilin forum blew up again.
"Someone please send this mythical beast back to Planet Tianshu!!? I can't study here anymore!"
"I heard Wang Tianwei managed to rank up because she eats a lot... From today on, I'm practically living in the cafeteria at mealtimes!
Two portions of food and two packs of nutrient fluid! I'm not leaving until I finish!"
"...Is the person above sure there's any scientific basis for that?"
"Starting today! I will only drink Yida's nutrient fluid!"
"The mecha maker department is forced to overachieve even at the end of the term... Hahaha! Originally, we only had to build mechas of our own rank, but now people are handcrafting cross-rank parts! Haha! So great! Haha!"
"Is this the infirmary? Another one upstairs has gone mad, drag them away!"
"My body feels hollowed out every day... Wang Tianwei, I'll never forget this name even if I die! The ultimate 'other people's child'!!"
"My mentor is Eugene. I feel like I know more about Wang Tianwei's daily study progress than her own mother does..."
"It's just Wang Tianwei, right!? Huang Yan hasn't ranked up, right!! Don't let this affect us over in the command department!!!"
"Question! Jian Jingyu and Zhang Lyra haven't ranked up, right!? Please don't let it affect us single-combat soldiers! I'm begging."
"Emmm... It's hard to say. I think I saw them doing one-on-one sparring with Feng Yi, a second-year S-rank soldier.
You heard that right, first-years against a second-year... A-rank versus S-rank. When Feng Yi came down, he was grimacing in pain."
"Damn it!!!"
"Here's the thing, I have a question: should I still go on vacation this summer? I already bought my starship tickets [Image]..."
"Vacation!? Wang Tianwei has already started redesigning her A-rank mecha! And you still want to go out and play? If she makes a Super A-rank out of this... from now on, I'm only praying to her before exams!"
"..."
Wang Tianwei also hadn't expected that the mecha she had poured so much effort into, spending all her tournament savings to build, would fall behind her own rank so quickly!
She had to start all over again. Who could be more desperate than her!?
Actually, she could make do with the Super B-rank for now... but after going out for a match, she realized that
piloting a lower-rank mecha in combat would drag down her overall spiritual power activity. Moreover, the structural strength and some sensor components were not enough to support her fighting at full power.
Bei Liu also mentioned that using a low-rank mecha long-term would do her no good, as neither her stamina nor her spiritual power would get the training they needed.
There was no helping it. The new rig had become obsolete before she could even warm it up... as soon as one project ended, another began!
But this was fine too. Once she finished building an A-rank mecha, she'd have the experience! Then, building ones for Little Bear and Huang Yan would be much easier.
"There's still one promotion match before the holidays. Are we participating in that one?"
Huang Yan asked the group, looking at the tournament schedule sent by Zero Boundary.
"When is it?"
"Three days before the holidays, on a Saturday."
The other three raised their optical computers to check.
"No, let's wait until we come back next semester to fight."
"Agreed." "Agreed!"
Huang Yan was just about to click register, but unexpectedly, all three unanimously vetoed it? In all the time they had been competing, he had never seen them refuse a match.
"Why? Last time was just a low-probability event. It's not like we'll run into major-rank opponents every time..."
Jian Jingyu shook his head.
"Those are the days your 'old illness' acts up. Won't you feel unwell?
We've all agreed that from now on, during those few days every month, we'll try our best not to let you use your brain or participate in matches!"
Huang Yan couldn't help but freeze in place. Wang Tianwei turned to look at Jian Jingyu next to her,
"Right, don't forget to give Sir Huang his nutrient injection when the time comes."
Jian Jingyu made an OK gesture.
"...What nutrient injection?"
Why couldn't he understand what the three of them were saying?
Wang Tianwei picked up her pen and buried her head in a blank piece of paper to jot down materials.
"Dr. Tao said that the reason you experienced that situation last time was because you pushed yourself too hard. It's best to get regular nutrient injections.
Fortunately, that stuff isn't a banned substance, so I had the director prescribe a few months' worth.
Jian Jingyu and the single-combat department's curriculum also includes first aid, so giving you an injection won't be a problem."
What she didn't mention was that after the three of them returned, they spent ages searching on their optical computers, discussing what kind of problem could cause a person's spiritual power to suddenly cut off and make them bleed from all seven orifices.
Both Dr. Tao and the director of the Spiritual Power Research Center kept Huang Yan's condition a secret, but the group was truly worried.
Unexpectedly, the search results were scarier than the last! They all looked like incurable diseases...
But considering how wealthy Huang Yan's family was, if he really had a disease, they could just throw money at it until he was cured... Thus, they decided to strictly follow the doctor's orders and take good care of our Sir Huang!
"I have a few questions... First of all, why do you have Dr. Tao's contact info?"
Huang Yan really had no idea how they managed to do it. Wang Tianwei wrote the final stroke on the paper.
"It's a secret!"
Zhang Lyra also looked up, her tone serious,
"I've also been studying first aid diligently. I'll take turns with Goldfish to give you your injections, I absolutely won't forget."
"..."
