The Self-Disciplined Mecha

The old man took his form, gave it a casual glance, and spat out two bits of tea leaves from his mouth.

"Xu Jiang, right? Are you sure you need to attend vocational training?"

"Of course, I just changed classes—there's a lot of professional techniques I don't know yet." Xu Jiang looked at the man's expression and asked with some confusion, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem. I'm the training instructor for the Mech-type."

The old man took a deep drag on his cigarette, blowing smoke rings as he said, "It's a bit discouraging, but I'd advise you to just find a factory job. Or hey, food delivery isn't bad either."

Food delivery!

This Seat, a proud Mech Warrior, going from piloting a mech to riding an electric scooter? You're really underestimating my SSS-Rank Talent, aren't you.

Of course, Xu Jiang understood the principle that a tall tree catches the wind. He had hidden [General's Order] and only revealed [Mech Overload] for others to see.

But even so, he had successfully changed classes, right? Was there really a need to compete with ordinary people for jobs?

Seeing Xu Jiang's furrowed brow, the bored old man started to chat.

He pulled a beautiful silver revolver from his waist, spun it with a flashy flourish, and just as Xu Jiang thought he was showing off, the old man took a bullet from the cylinder and set it in front of Xu Jiang.

"This is an Armor-Piercing Bullet. Just one of these, and I can punch through the shield of a Qi Practitioner below level 50."

Hearing this, Xu Jiang's eyes lit up.

This was exactly what he needed!

A powerful bullet, paired with his overload burst ability, would definitely be...

"One sells for 30,000 credits. Can you afford it?"

"..."

That was a brutal blow. Forget 30,000—he couldn't even scrape together 300. In the three months since he'd transmigrated, he'd been surviving entirely on odd jobs.

Seeing Xu Jiang thoroughly crushed, the old man decided to go even harder. He gestured at the desolate surroundings and asked, "You know why it's so empty here?"

"Why?"

"Because promising classes get their talents poached by scouts on the spot after changing classes. You? You don't have much cultivation value."

Was the Mech-type weak?

No, it was just astronomically expensive.

Almost all combat power came from equipment—ammunition, power cores, parts, shells—all consumables. Upgrading and modifying weapons and mechs was a bottomless pit.

Never mind Xu Jiang's orphan background; even a comfortably well-off family would struggle to support a powerful Mech Warrior.

As he spoke, the old man handed over a training list.

"Take a look. The training courses for Mech Warriors."

[Mech Warrior Crash Course: 3 Years of Mech Construction, 3 Years of Precision Weaponry, 3 Years of Programming and Modification.]

Clearly, this world had no concept of nine-year compulsory education. The total tuition for this nine-year training came to 1,888,888 Credit Points.

As for the free crash course this old man ran? It only lasted three days. If you could learn how to pull the safety catch, that was already decent.

Xu Jiang stared at the price and couldn't help asking, "Does anyone actually take this?"

"Of course not. Why would anyone with money waste it on this? I told you, it's a crash course—doesn't even include combat techniques. What's the point of studying for nine years and coming out with nothing?"

This old man was brutally honest. Those with talent got snapped up by major powers and trained individually.

Those without talent? Spending a million credits wouldn't teach them a damn thing.

Was he really going to have to reveal his SSS-Rank Talent? Xu Jiang hesitated.

Living in a place like this, just hiding at home was useless. Improving strength required massive resource support, and only by standing out with exceptional results could he gain more backing.

But standing out depended on the situation.

Success born from hard work earned recognition; success born from extraordinary talent only invited jealousy.

He didn't want to be a tall tree catching the wind. Before he had the ability to protect himself, it was better to be cautious.

Seeing Xu Jiang's lost expression, the old man patted his shoulder and comforted him:

"Alright, I'll start class tomorrow. If you're interested, come take a look. Maybe after you see it, you won't be lost anymore—you'll just be hopeless."

The old man really knew how to comfort people. Xu Jiang walked with heavy steps, dragging his mech case back to his otherworldly home.

A tiny ten-square-meter room—this was the upper echelon's token help for refugee orphans like him. As for the Credit Points needed to survive, that had to be earned through odd jobs.

Staring at the bare, empty room, Xu Jiang flopped onto his bed in self-defeat, feeling lost about life.

But the moment he lay down, his pistol and mech floated out on their own.

The Desert Eagle hovered in the air, its barrel tilting upward in a salute as it announced crisply, "Sir, please provide the next training directive."

This one was full of energy, still looking for things to do.

Xu Jiang waved a hand and replied, "You just got here. Rest tonight. Tomorrow, I'll find a way to get some bullets, and then we'll train."

A very tactful way of saying he was broke—couldn't even afford bullets. The seven rounds he came with were fine for self-defense, but training was out of the question.

But this one had absolutely no intention of giving up.

He pulled back the hammer, chambered a round, and stood at attention like a soldier saluting, replying loudly: "Reporting to the General, Little Deagle has never thought about resting since enlisting."

Truly an employee of the year, commendable spirit.

The problem was, I really didn't have any bullets for practice here! How was I supposed to train?

Just then, the mech spoke up: "Little Deagle, the General's logistics supplies are still being allocated. Let's skip live combat training for today."

A voice as clear as wind chimes, revealing calm composure, like a valiant female general. With just one sentence, it cooled the pistol's surging bloodlust.

Clank~ Clank~ Clank~

The mech walked over. Black tactical suit paired with a dark gray alloy shell. Though the suit was hollow, its gait was as natural and fluid as a human's.

Standing before Xu Jiang, it closed its legs, raised its right hand in a salute, and announced clearly: "General, please allow us to conduct self-tactical training tonight."

While having a spirit born in the machine was a good thing, watching this headless thing suddenly salute him was still a bit unsettling.

"Mm, this mech..."

"Reporting to the General, my model is T-1000 Mech. If you don't wish to assign a new name, you may call me Qianji."

"Qianji, mm, a good name. I'll call you Qianji from now on. Train if you want, just don't break the furniture. Do as you please."

"Yes, thank you for the permission, General."

Judging by Little Deagle and Qianji's voices, they seemed quite pleased? Like they'd found a worthy master who wouldn't hold them back.

But in the end, it was still Xu Jiang who was clueless.

Anyway, the place was only this big, so nothing too crazy could happen. Xu Jiang picked up his bucket and headed to the bathhouse for a wash.

Three months since crossing over, Xu Jiang had already adapted to life here.

His old identity was definitely unusable. Fortunately, in this shattered world, no one would dig too deep into his refugee status.

Relying on aid from the upper rings, he had a private room in the Slums outside the Seventh Ring. The bathhouse and toilets were shared.

Luckily, the people in this refugee camp were easy to get along with. As soon as Xu Jiang came downstairs, he saw a crowd gathered around chatting.

"Little Gong's made it big! Such good talent! Looks like you'll be leaving here soon!"

"Yeah! When you do, don't forget us neighbors!"

"Little Gong, you don't have a girlfriend yet, right? My eldest daughter Zhenzhen..."

Uncles and aunties surrounded a young man, chattering nonstop, leaving him red-faced and helpless.

Seeing Xu Jiang approach, the young man called Little Gong's eyes lit up. He waved happily: "Xu Jiang! You're back! Did you successfully change class? I got a pretty good talent."

The young man was named Gong Zhiwei, Xu Jiang's neighbor. He was a straightforward guy, the kind you could chat with easily.

But familiar or not, don't drag me into this now!

That shout instantly drew everyone's attention to Xu Jiang, and the uncles and aunties swarmed over.

"Xu Jiang! Did you change class successfully? What class?"

"Little Jiang, you don't have a girlfriend yet, right? My second daughter Ai'ai..."

The care from the uncles and aunties was overwhelming. Xu Jiang was cornered and quickly said: "I changed class successfully, but the talent isn't great. Mech Warrior class."

A poor man playing with mechs—that was pure overreach.

But the neighbors didn't mind at all. Instead, they got excited and started giving advice.

"Mech Warrior is good! You'll learn driving fast. Go haul cargo outside the city with Little Gong—that's a decent living."

"Yeah, yeah! I heard a single trip can earn up to 2000!"

Listening to the enthusiastic crowd, Xu Jiang had gone from delivering takeout to hauling cargo. Guess that counted as a promotion.

At the same time, Xu Jiang learned from everyone that Little Gong had changed class to [Combat Master], with a C-rank talent [Strength Enhancement].

Though the rating seemed low, to Little Gong, it was pretty good. After all, [Strength Enhancement] was great for carrying heavy loads as a laborer—he'd never be out of work.

Seeing how unambitious this guy was, Xu Jiang quickly reached out and stopped him.

"Don't rush. I'm not planning to go hauling yet. I want to be a combat class."

Xu Jiang's words made Little Gong calm down quickly. Being a combat class definitely paid more than being a laborer.

"But becoming a combat class isn't easy! I've heard buying equipment and learning skills costs a lot of money."

Right. Besides upgrading the mech, there were tons of skills to learn. Xu Jiang's head ached again at the thought.

No money to learn skills meant weak strength. Weak strength meant no way to earn money. It was a vicious cycle.

Given their situation, all they could do was pray for skills to fall from the sky.

[Congratulations, Admiral Qianji has trained diligently and comprehended skill: Robust Physique Lv1]

What! Skills really were falling from the sky!