The Reunion

After touring the entire legendary super-large deep-space carrier, more than four hours had passed.

He still couldn't get enough.

Wang Dong opened Star Sea Expedition and tried his hand at a few matches.

Three wins, two losses.

The gap in performance was too great. No matter how he played, he couldn't turn things around.

Then he tried joining a thousand-ship battle.

It was indeed thrilling.

The feel of a massive battlefield was entirely different from one-on-one combat between ships.

It placed far greater emphasis on battle formation discipline and the ability to command and coordinate.

The role of any single ship was reduced to a minimum.

Immersed in the game, time flew by. Before he knew it, it was time to log off.

One thing was a little disappointing: Tu Tu Tu hadn't come online the whole time.

The girl was still a student, after all. She couldn't spend every day on the virtual net.

After leaving Meizu Internet Cafe, Wang Dong didn't head straight home.

Wang Dong had grown up in an orphanage, but that didn't mean he had no one in his life.

He still had a social circle.

Aside from the interstellar miners' community, he also kept in close touch with the friends who had gone through primary education with him.

In other words, his classmates.

Wang Dong couldn't speak for the rest of the Purple Thorn Kingdom, but at least in Baron Black Stone Territory, twelve years of primary education were widely available.

As for higher levels of education, such as secondary school and beyond, unfortunately, Baron Black Stone Territory couldn't provide them.

Wang Dong was going to a small class reunion that day.

He entered the private room ten minutes before the agreed time. Sixteen or seventeen of his male and female classmates had already arrived.

Wang Dong greeted everyone in turn with a smile.

Like Wang Dong, most of his classmates had stayed in the mining region and found jobs after finishing their primary education.

Although mining was a heavy industry, in practice, the workload in the mining region wasn't especially demanding.

After all, this was the interstellar age. With technological progress, exploiting manual labor had become inefficient and pointless.

Even most people in the commoner class didn't live particularly difficult or strained lives.

It wasn't hard to support themselves and their families.

Life was relatively easy, and the mining planets' daily routines were fairly monotonous. As a result, class reunions were held quite often.

"Wang Dong, how've things been going lately?"

After Wang Dong found a seat, the first person to come over was a handsome young man with a sturdy build and a bronze complexion.

This was Wang Dong's good friend, Chen Linfeng. They had shared a desk for three years. On top of that, every now and then, Chen Linfeng would find some excuse to bring Wang Dong, who had grown up in an orphanage, home with him.

Chen Linfeng's family had always treated Wang Dong like one of their own, as if he were a nephew.

Even after Wang Dong chose to become an interstellar miner upon graduation, he still often visited the Chen Family.

He slung a thick arm over Wang Dong's shoulder, handed him a can of foamy beer, and greeted him.

"Not bad, I guess. What about you? I heard the factory's adding another production line. Any chance you'll move up?"

Wang Dong took the beer and gulped down a mouthful. The refreshing liquid flowed down his throat into his stomach, leaving a trail of coolness in its wake.

He let out a satisfied breath and replied lazily.

Chen Linfeng currently worked at a fairly large smelting plant.

"How could it be that easy? They haven't even started buying the production line, and the positions—like team leader—have already pretty much been spoken for. By the time we hear about it, it'll be too late."

Chen Linfeng scoffed dismissively.

Wang Dong patted his broad shoulder in sympathy.

Being at an informational disadvantage was one of the most common reasons people ended up on different paths in life.

"Honestly, it doesn't matter. If the old man hadn't insisted, I wouldn't want to waste my life at a smelting plant anyway."

Chen Linfeng shrugged.

Wang Dong believed him. His friend had never been the type to settle down.

"Wang Dong, I want to find a chance to go to Viscount Highland Territory. They've got secondary schools for warship studies there! I want to see if I can pass the entrance exams."

Chen Linfeng pulled Wang Dong closer and whispered in his ear.

Wang Dong raised an eyebrow.

The existence of kindling warships wasn't much of a secret. After all, everyone who needed to know had known for years.

Besides, kindling warships needed all kinds of personnel.

Helmsmen, radar operators, engineers, damage-control crews, and other shipboard staff, as well as service personnel, all had to be recruited from the public.

So for commoners, getting professional training and working aboard a kindling warship was also a very promising path.

Still, Chen Linfeng's idea was rather bold.

The Purple Thorn Kingdom was a feudal state, and it wasn't easy for commoners to move between noble territories.

If he wanted to apply for immigration through regular channels, he'd have to wait for the right opportunity. That was especially true for someone like Chen Linfeng, a commoner born and raised in the territory.

"You're not thinking of sneaking across the border, are you? Uncle Chen would probably kill you."

Wang Dong whispered back.

"Of course not. If I tried that, my whole family would get dragged into it."

Chen Linfeng waved his hands emphatically.