Books on the Third Floor

Class started on time, but after staying up all night assembling a mech, Zhou Yi was even more brazen in class today.

If yesterday she had at least shown the teacher some respect by sleeping with her head propped on one hand, then today she had completely passed out face-down on her desk.

Fortunately, after the novelty of the first day had worn off, quite a few people were slumped over their desks in class today too.

The students actually listening had become the minority, making Zhou Yi seem far less conspicuous.

"Poor Zhouzhou. She didn't come back last night because she was working all night. I went to knock on her door early this morning, but she wasn't there. Look how exhausted she is."

During the break, Lu Xiaoxiao, usually so talkative, did not wake Zhou Yi. Instead, she and Hu Manduo stood on either side of her and spoke quietly.

The classroom was noisy during the break, yet Zhou Yi still did not wake up.

Seeing how deeply asleep Zhou Yi was, Hu Manduo could not help nodding in agreement.

Working all night...

At that moment, Zhou Yi was sleeping soundly, dreaming of being surrounded by countless mechs. She had no idea that, in the eyes of those two, she had become the very embodiment of diligence, courage, self-reliance, perseverance, and resilience.

People shone all the brighter because of misunderstandings.

She slept until noon, only waking when it was time to eat. Zhou Yi stretched lazily.

But without saying a word, she gulped down another two bottles of nutrient solution and went back to sleep.

In truth, Zhou Yi had mostly caught up on sleep already. She just wanted to sleep a little longer.

After all, she knew herself too well. Tonight would be another sleepless night spent assembling mechs.

Seriously, when she had the time, she had to see what upper-year Mech Masters looked like and whether they had lost any hair.

It was a dangerous profession. One careless slip, and you could go bald.

She slept through the two afternoon classes as well.

When the dismissal bell rang and the teacher had already left the classroom, Zhou Yi suddenly stood up.

Just as she lifted her leg to leave, Hu Manduo called out to her.

"Zhou Yi, wait. Today... how about coming to my dorm to hang out? I'll treat you to something."

Hu Manduo had gathered all his courage before extending the invitation.

After all, they were friends he had finally managed to make at school. They were friends, right...?

Hu Manduo's heart pounded nervously.

"Hu Manduo! Don't tell me you brought dried bugs!"

Lu Xiaoxiao did not have so many worries. She exclaimed in delight, completely forgetting that Hu Manduo had mooched nutrient solution off her for lunch yesterday.

"Anyway... anyway, just come hang out."

"Not today. I have to work. How about tomorrow night? I can get back early."

Zhou Yi thought it over before replying.

At the normal pace, she would be able to finish assembling the mech tonight.

Tomorrow, she should give herself a break too. If she kept pushing herself like this, she might drop dead before becoming a Star Weaver Master.

"Yay! Then tomorrow, Zhouzhou and I will come find you, Hu Manduo!"

Lu Xiaoxiao cheered. In her heart, Zhouzhou, Hu Manduo, and herself were already good friends.

As usual, Zhou Yi went to the storage room on the third floor of the library and immediately rolled up her sleeves to begin assembling.

After yesterday's piecing things together and repeatedly rereading the books, although she had not yet finished assembling a single mech, she was clearly much more proficient than she had been yesterday.

This time, she encountered almost no major problems. She simply proceeded step by step, and under Zhou Yi's hands, the entire mech was restored to its complete form.

"So this is what it feels like to be a Mech Master?"

Looking at the mech she had reassembled before her, Zhou Yi felt incomparably familiar with the position of every component in its body.

Only after personally taking apart and assembling a mech could one truly integrate the theoretical knowledge from books.

Fortunately, it had not taken too long today. Zhou Yi roughly tidied up the storage room before heading back.

She had been staying up too crazily these past few days. She was not pressed for time, she had the storage room key, and although the things in the storage room had legs, they would not run away on their own. There was no need to rush.

If she kept pulling all-nighters like this, she really might not live to become a Star Weaver Master.

Zhou Yi slept very well that night.

When she woke up the next day, she felt full of energy, her entire body brimming with strength.

"Zhouzhou, why aren't you sleeping today?"

Seeing that Zhou Yi had finally stopped sleeping, Lu Xiaoxiao and Hu Manduo felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

"Maybe... you should sleep a little more? Otherwise, you won't have any energy for work tonight."

Hu Manduo said thoughtfully. He was still hoping Zhou Yi would come hang out in his dorm that evening, so it would be better for her to replenish her energy during the day.

"I slept pretty well yesterday, so I'm not tired today. I get off work after eight tonight. Hu Manduo, send me your dorm room number. I'll come over when I get off work."

It was already break time, yet Zhou Yi was still holding a pen and scribbling on paper.

"Zhou Zhou, what are you drawing? Why can't I make sense of it...?"

Lu Xiaoxiao leaned over for a look, only to see a mess of strange lines, like large circles nested around smaller ones.

Hu Manduo leaned over as well and stared at the strange drawing for a long while.

"This... looks like a mech?"

Thankfully, Hu Manduo's imagination was rich enough. Otherwise, no one would have been able to tell.

"Smart!"

It really was a mech. It just did not look much like one...

After taking one apart and reassembling it, Zhou Yi had happened to be in the mood today, so he kept sketching the mech's organizational framework and internal structure on paper.

Of course, he had no talent for drawing, and he was probably the only one who could understand what he drew.

"This is actually a mech?"

Lu Xiaoxiao's eyes widened even further, and she practically wanted to press her face against Zhou Yi's drawing.

Though she had never seen a real mech, that did not stop her from seeing plenty of mech pictures in news materials.

If that was a mech, then the circle she had accidentally drawn in her book while yawning was practically a giant isopod itself.

After class in the afternoon, Zhou Yi arrived at the library on time as usual. This time, however, he did not hurry to the warehouse.

Instead, he took some tools and cleaned the third floor from top to bottom.

After all, he was technically working here. He had to do something once in a while, or even he would feel embarrassed.

Compared with the first and second floors, the third floor was much more spacious.

Other than the huge locked warehouse with no windows, there were only two large bookshelves standing there, bare and empty-looking.

The cleaning was quickly finished, and Zhou Yi turned his attention to the books on those two shelves.

He had not planned to take apart a mech again today, and there were still more than two hours before he got off work. He might as well read.

He had already read the books on Mech Masters on the second floor many times. The books about Mech Infantry were not worth the time, so he was in no rush to read them.

As for the scattered books on the two shelves on the third floor, Zhou Yi had never come up to look at them before.