School Finally Started

The day before school began, Zhou Yi was added to a group chat with over three hundred people—all of them this year's incoming freshmen.

A teacher acting as the group administrator posted a notice about the time and place to report the next day, telling everyone to contact him if they had any questions.

Zhou Yi opened the man's profile. He was a very young male teacher named Lin Xu.

He was probably a counselor specifically responsible for managing students. Zhou Yi added his contact information; she would need to find him if anything came up at school.

With more than three hundred young men and women in the group, it was incredibly lively.

At first, everyone spoke rather cautiously with a teacher still in the chat. But as the conversation deepened and they saw that Lin Xu had no reaction, they gradually let loose.

Before coming to Huadun, they had probably all learned something about the school and their own futures, which made them even more uninhibited.

Everyone vaguely understood that these three years at school would likely be the last happy years of their lives.

Though it was the lowest-tier mech school, for a group of children who had never encountered mechs before, starting school was still exciting enough.

The next day, everyone got up early, cleaned themselves up, and headed to the school field to assemble.

Zhou Yi had only three sets of clothes and two pairs of pants. She casually threw on an outfit, washed her face, and headed out, drinking a tube of Nutrient Solution as breakfast before leaving.

She had spent until late last night studying how to replace a mech's power unit. She had barely slept, yet she was still full of energy.

The most abundant and least valuable resource on a D-Class Star Block was land, and Huadun's field was frighteningly huge.

The second- and third-year students were in the building attending class, while only the first-year freshmen had gathered outside in neat rows.

Zhou Yi arrived rather late and casually found a spot at the very end of a row.

At the front of the formation stood an elevated platform with stairs. The principal and several of the school's key leaders were standing atop it, waiting for everyone to arrive before speaking.

Seeing this scene and thinking of the inevitably lengthy speech to come, Zhou Yi suddenly found it hard to keep her eyes open.

She had not rested well to begin with, and the sudden drowsiness made her yawn.

Unable to wait any longer for the principal's long-winded speech, Zhou Yi began studying the people in the formation.

Three hundred people sounded like a lot, but placed in the middle of this enormous field, they did not seem like many at all.

Looking around, most of the figures had short hair. There were very few with long hair in braids and dresses, making it difficult for Zhou Yi to tell which were boys and which were girls.

In the interstellar era, people faced star beasts outside and the constant threat of their homes dissolving and leaving them displaced within. Their sense of insecurity was profound.

Combat power had become the most important thing to humanity. Survival was the first instinct.

Thus, in the evolution of survival of the fittest, women had gradually abandoned some of their original gender traits. Neat short hair and clothes that allowed easy movement had become the choice of most.

The instinct to survive had made women give up fragility. Beauty was no longer so important; resilience and courage mattered more.

Most people in this formation were standing around in boredom, just like Zhou Yi.

Only one particularly sturdy figure caught Zhou Yi's attention.

It was a chubby boy about Zhou Yi's height. Unlike everyone else's lazy posture, his back was ramrod straight, and his hands hung obediently at his sides.

His head was held high. Even from behind, Zhou Yi could guess how earnest his expression was at that very moment.

"There's such a serious good student in Huadun? That's rare."

The weather was hot, and the chubby boy stood so seriously without moving that his clothes had been soaked through with sweat.

Zhou Yi rather appreciated well-behaved children like that. He was quite cute.

After she had looked over everyone around her, the principal's speech finally began.

"Hello, students. I am Huadun's principal, Zhang Qingshan. I'm very happy to have you join us. I wish you a fun time at Huadun and a smooth graduation. Dismissed."

The moment the last two words left his mouth, the principal began clapping first. He wore a smiling, kindly expression.

The leaders behind him immediately followed suit. None of them showed any intention of continuing with another speech, and the atmosphere was remarkably harmonious.

Ten seconds...

From the beginning of his speech to dismissal, the principal had taken only ten seconds...

The students below froze, unable to process it for a moment. Once they did, the formation erupted in enthusiastic applause.

The applause was warm and sincere. Even Zhou Yi clapped happily.

As expected of Huadun. You really knew what you were doing!

Having read some collections of famous examples from past principals, Zhou Yi was not surprised in the least that they handled things this way.

Once the applause stopped, there was already no one left on the platform.

Good grief, they had just started work and were already off duty.

But although the leaders had left, the meeting was not truly over.

"Everyone, listen up. Now that you're all here, you'll first be divided by specialty today. Classes will officially begin tomorrow."

A male teacher picked up a loudspeaker and shouted to everyone.

Zhou Yi recognized him. He was the counselor, Lin Xu, who had posted the notice in the group chat yesterday.

"Those choosing Mech Infantry, stand on my left. Those choosing Mech Master, stand on my right. Move quickly."

Though Lin Xu looked quite young, he handled things decisively.

Before long, the formation was split into two groups under Lin Xu's direction.

One side was a large group with more than two hundred people. Zhou Yi was standing among the Mech Infantry group.

The other side had far fewer people, only several dozen—not even half the number of the other group.

The smaller group was naturally the Mech Master group.

"Once you've chosen your position, don't move yet. Wait for me to register you. After registration, the Mech Infantry students may leave first. The Mech Masters, wait for me a little longer."

Though the Mech Infantry group clearly had more people, Lin Xu began registering them first.

Fortunately, registration was quick. Lin Xu took out a small square Intelligent Brain with a display screen and lightly scanned the Star Brain on each person's wrist, instantly recording all their information.

Soon, the information for more than two hundred Mech Infantry students had been entered, and the group dispersed.

Zhou Yi was finally free. Instead of returning to the dormitory, she strode toward the library.

She had not forgotten what she had promised Aunt Lan yesterday, nor the things Aunt Ying had mentioned on the library's third floor.

"Hey, Zhou Yi! Are you going back to the dorm? Let's go together."

A girl called out to Zhou Yi.

"You are?"

Zhou Yi had no impression of the girl before her at all. She did not even know how the other girl knew her name.

"I'm Lu Xiaoxiao! I live next door to you. We met yesterday—I came over and said hello. Do you remember?"