You Qualify for Special Recruitment

Xilin looked up. The person on his left had a Flying Skateboard, and the person on his right had a backpack and was reading Seven Luminaries Weekly. It seemed like they were talking about him, but the little kid just...

Following the voice, he spotted an Old Man with white hair sitting on a chair not far away, calling to Xilin. A pile of parts lay beside him.

Xilin looked over. The Old Man pointed to the spot beside Xilin's chair. "Hey, kid, give me a hand and pass that over."

The Old Man was a little out of breath. He was probably tired.

Xilin picked up the part that had rolled beside the chair, stood up, and took it over to the Old Man.

"Thanks, kid."

"Sir, I'm almost eighteen."

"Oh, kid, you're almost eighteen? I'm a hundred and thirty."

Xilin: "..."

Never mind. A kid was a kid.

After taking the part, the Old Man began assembling the pieces in his hands, fitting each connector into place. Many of the connections required considerable skill. An inexperienced person would need at least ten minutes to join a single connector, but the Old Man had each one connected in barely a second. He was clearly a seasoned professional. Every finger played its part—bracing, balancing, pressing...

Though the Old Man had been panting a moment earlier, his hands were steady. In his hands, the scattered parts were like fragments of art, gradually coming together to form a dazzling work of art.

The Old Man worked with intense concentration, and Xilin watched just as intently. By observing his movements, Xilin could learn all sorts of assembly techniques. He had never seen anyone put their fingers to such good use—not even leaving the spaces between them idle. The parts danced across his fingers, then, in the next instant, were fitted onto the main body.

Beyond his dexterity, Xilin realized the Old Man had a keen eye for the parts, too. He would glance at a connector on the main body, then scan the pile on his lap and pick out exactly the piece he needed.

As the Old Man assembled the parts, a three-dimensional image took shape in Xilin's mind. Once one part was fitted, he could already envision the next piece that belonged at the connector. Then Xilin's gaze and the Old Man's fingers would settle on the correct part almost simultaneously.

Ten minutes later, the Small Robot, fifteen centimeters tall, was complete. Xilin had watched the entire assembly process, and he knew how complicated the wiring and chip components inside the robot were. Even the engineers he'd seen on Brown Earth Star would need at least half a day to assemble it, and there'd still be no guarantee it would pass inspection. But the finished product the Old Man had completed in ten minutes would undoubtedly earn top marks on the testing equipment!

"Hm?" Only after finishing the assembly did the Old Man notice that the kid who had picked up his part was watching beside him. His eyes immediately lit up with interest. "Hey, kid, interested?"

Xilin glanced at the little robot in the Old Man's hands, dancing smoothly on its wheels, and answered, "No." Then he turned to head back to his seat.

"Hey, kid, don't rush off. Keep an old man company and chat for a bit. Waiting for the train alone is dull."

But you seem to be having a great time. Xilin grumbled inwardly.

"I'll just grab my bag and Flying Skateboard."

"Leave them there. Nobody's going to take them. Come over." Afraid Xilin would run off, the Old Man scooted over and patted the empty seat beside him.

Xilin had no choice. After glancing at the backpack and Flying Skateboard over there, he sat down.

"Hey, kid, you saw me assembling those parts just now?"

Xilin nodded.

"Did you follow everything?"

"There were a few parts I didn't understand."

"Which ones?"

Xilin pointed out what he was unsure about. He had remembered all the Old Man's movements, but hadn't understood the principles behind a few steps.

The Old Man was rather surprised by Xilin's questions. Someone who didn't know a fair bit about assembling this model of robot wouldn't have asked them. It seemed the young man had studied this before. But the Old Man didn't let it show. He explained each point one by one. His explanations were simple and direct, unlike those of some teachers who liked to show off their learning with hard-to-understand technical jargon.

"The circuitry is the robot's nervous system. Getting it installed correctly takes a lot of work. I have experience on my side, that's all. Practice makes perfect."

After explaining the wiring, the Old Man pointed to several parts of the robot. "These things may look simple, but they take a lot of work to manufacture. For example, you young people like guns. Those with money often have custom barrels and firearms made, but they never pay attention to how they're manufactured. I won't even get into the design—that's a real brain-burner. After that, you have to choose the materials, expand the barrel, cut the rifling... Every step has to be precise."...

The Old Man got more and more carried away. He even used several of today's bestselling gun models as examples, tearing them to shreds. Among them were the DKC Series Multi-functional Titanium Gun, so popular with young people, and the Slaughter Sprite, which Xilin had seen before.

"But I heard those fools from the Daongs Family came out with a Slaughter Sprite II these past few days. I haven't seen it myself, so I can't say how it is. Hopefully it doesn't have a fatal flaw like the Slaughter Sprite—"

The Old Man spoke with such enthusiasm that spittle flew, his face flushed. Seeing Xilin silently watching with an approving look in his eyes only made him criticize them more fervently.

Xilin was sweating inwardly. Those fools from the Daongs Family... I'm technically on their payroll now.

Beep—beep—beep—

The chime sounded. The train had arrived. Everyone waiting by the platform stood up, and people in the waiting room began streaming out.

"Sir, let me help you onto the train first."

Xilin picked up the two bags of parts, intending to carry them onto the train for the Old Man before going back for his own backpack and Flying Skateboard. The bags weren't heavy for him, but the Old Man was getting on in years, and carrying them would be a strain. Besides, Xilin admired the Old Man's dedication to his research. Whenever he got onto a subject related to it, he seemed to forget all about how tired he was.

"Hey, you're a good kid. What's your name? Who's the Grand Tutor for Mechanical Engineering? I'll put in a word with them and have them give you some extra Credits." As he walked toward the train door, the Old Man asked him.

In principle, students' Credits were strictly based on their usual performance. In practice, though, many factors went into the final tally, and if someone influential recommended a student or put in a good word, their instructor might give them a few extra. Each course had many instructors, but there were never more than five Grand Tutors. Since the Old Man had mentioned a Grand Tutor so casually, he clearly held a high position at Seven Luminaries. Still, weren't people of his rank usually assigned a Private Car?

"Thank you, I really appreciate it. But I'm a new student at Seven Luminaries this year, and I haven't registered yet. I don't know who my instructor will be."

"You were specially recruited?"

"No. My family paid to get me in so I could continue my education."

The Old Man looked genuinely surprised. After a pause, he said, "You qualify for Special Recruitment!"

He said it with absolute conviction, without even the usual preface of "I think" or "In my opinion." It was as if he were saying, "You qualify because I say so." That confidence probably came from his position. He was used to speaking that way.

Apparently unhappy that a student like Xilin hadn't been specially recruited, the Old Man snorted. "Your name!"

Xilin smiled and set the two bags of parts beside the Old Man's seat. "My name is..."

Vroom—vroom—

The roar of speeding flying cars rang out.

Two open-top flying cars—one scarlet, the other bright yellow. As they sped past the station, the driver of the red one reached out and snatched Xilin's backpack.

The theft had happened right in front of everyone, yet the people at the station seemed used to it and barely reacted.

The Old Man had obviously seen it, too. His eyes went wide. He'd just told Xilin nobody would take it.

"Go on ahead." With that, Xilin quickly jumped off the train, grabbed the Flying Skateboard they hadn't taken, unfolded it, and took off in pursuit.

"Hey, if there's nothing important in the backpack, he should just let them have it. Chasing a flying car on a Flying Skateboard is pointless," someone remarked.

"Exactly. This sort of thing happens all the time. Those people in flying cars are bored out of their minds. It's not like they need the money. They just do it for fun, to rile people up. Even if the Security Team catches them, all they have to do is pay a fine and compensate the victim, then settle it privately. So they're not afraid..."

Listening to the people nearby, the Old Man fell silent for two seconds. He tapped his comms device, searched through the panel that appeared, confirmed a number, and made the call.