The group entered the college's central academic building. The Mechanic Class students who accompanied them were not allowed to enter at will. They lingered outside for a while, still feeling unsatisfied, and then slowly dispersed.
The group arrived at the dean's reception room. The dean had a mechanical assistant secretary wearing a bionic skin serve drinks and invited Han Xiao and his party to sit down. He then said, "Lord Black Star, please wait a moment while I report your application to the higher-ups."
Han Xiao nodded and watched the dean leave, while the others remained in the room to wait.
Nero leaned against the window, curiously observing the scenery of the academy. Small mechanical floating islands drifted in the sky, while rows of metal buildings dotted the ground, their exteriors painted in alternating yellow and blue hues. Students glided between the buildings on mechanical skateboards, and the red, yellow, and green forests planted within the academy swayed and undulated in the air currents from the thrusters, resembling waves of forest. The coexistence of alloy buildings and artificial greenery created a harmonious color scheme, resulting in a unique aesthetic that balanced mechanics and nature.
"This place looks so different from Planet Aquamarine, it's so beautiful!" Nero found everything new and exciting.
"This is nothing. The Imperial Academy on the Crimson Dynasty's home planet is many times more magnificent than this." Han Xiao laughed. He brought Nero on this trip not only to benefit from his good luck but also to broaden his horizons.
"Really? I'd like to go see it too." Nero said with great interest.
"I'll take you sometime." Han Xiao waved for Nero to come back, pointed to the drinks on the table, and said, "Have a taste, this is good stuff."
On the table were several cups of steaming white liquid, exuding a rich milky aroma. The fragrance was irresistible; it was a dairy product specially supplied by the Terra Civilization. As the liquid swayed, it shimmered with a pale golden light, like the setting sun shining on a milky river, sparkling and shimmering.
Nero picked up the cup, took a sip, his eyes widening, then tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful, exhaling a satisfied breath, licking the white stains from his lips, looking like he wanted more.
"Is it delicious? If it tastes good, it's good milk."
"Godfather, what is this? I've never tasted such delicious milk before."
Han Xiao smiled and explained, "When the Terra Civilization was developing a colony, they discovered an endangered interstellar creature called the Hrepoliel Beast, commonly known as the Nebula Behemoth. These creatures are enormous, blotting out the sun, and can travel through interstellar space. Some even call them the Titan Mount. The Nebula Behemoth have an extremely low reproductive rate, mating only about every hundred years. After giving birth, they enter a three-month lactation period, after which the cubs are weaned. The Nebula Behemoth only produce milk during this lactation period; it's rare, precious, uniquely flavored, and extremely nutritious. What you're drinking is their milk—it's priceless."
"So that's how it is." Nero said with sudden realization, rubbing his stomach. "No wonder I felt warm after drinking it."
"Want some more? Drink mine." Han Xiao said with a smile.
Nero licked his lips, a little tempted. After a moment's internal struggle, he finally shook his head. "Such precious stuff, I can't drink it all. Godfather should drink some too."
Upon hearing this, everyone laughed.
"I won't drink it." Han Xiao waved his hand. What was an extremely precious luxury for ordinary interstellar citizens was nothing special to him; he could always get it if he wanted it.
He had no interest in luxury goods; with that spare money, he'd rather buy a few more premium nutritional pastes. That was his favorite – easy to take, quick to restore his strength, and incredibly cost-effective.
After chatting for a while, the dean still hadn't returned, so Han Xiao turned to look at the mechanical assistant secretary who was leaning against the wall, motionless.
"How may I help you?" The mechanical assistant secretary sensed the gaze and reacted immediately.
Han Xiao waved his hand and began to examine the bionic skin of the mechanical assistant secretary.
To be honest, this dean, who looks like a highly respected elder in his seventies or eighties, has an incredibly charming and alluring bionic exterior that he's given to the mechanical secretary. It probably truly possesses all the functions of a "secretary"...
After waiting a while, the dean pushed open the door and finally returned.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting, Lord Black Star. Your superiors have approved your request and granted me permission to use my privileges to retrieve the data for you."
"Okay, please Terra Civilization for me." Han Xiao breathed a sigh of relief; being able to resolve the matter by showing his face made things much easier.
He couldn't help but think of how, in the past, when galaxy-level civilizations didn't give him face, he had to ask them for help. Now, the Face Fruit ability of the Beyond Grade A was much more powerful, and even star cluster-level civilizations were willing to give him face directly.
The dean pressed a few buttons on his desk, and the desktop color changed, instantly transforming into the operation screen for the internal database. He looked up and asked, "Lord Black Star, do you remember the time and location of the data?"
Han Xiao nodded and explained it again. The dean immediately entered the relevant parameters, ran the search system, and found the relevant data.
Although he agreed to help, he naturally wouldn't easily let a Beyond Grade A mechanic operate the internal database; the dean would still do it on his behalf.
Countless items scrolled across the screen like flowing water. After scrolling for a while, only one item remained on the screen, perfectly matching the search parameters.
The dean breathed a sigh of relief. "Found it. It seems Harofal uploaded the file before; the time and location are correct. See if this is the data you're looking for."
Han Xiao leaned over and carefully examined it. Although he wasn't like Harofal, who specialized in wormhole research, he had relevant professional knowledge and could understand positioning coordinate data. However, this set of coordinates was not on the star map of the Explored Universe, and the parameters were very complex. Without a reference star map, one couldn't understand anything from the data alone. Only by studying it could one know where it ultimately led.
"The Sorokin is so concerned about this data, I wonder where his clone was thrown into the universe back then..." Han Xiao thought to himself.
Having confirmed that this set of data was from the time Harofal banished the Sorokin, Han Xiao blinked and instantly took hundreds of photos, uploading them to Phillip's database. He then nodded to the dean.
"Looks like I'm in luck. I've already made a backup. Thanks a lot this time."
The dean turned off the screen, restoring it to the desktop background, and smiled. "I'm glad you're satisfied. I have a favor to ask of you."
Han Xiao wasn't surprised at all; the Terra Civilization obviously intended to trade something with him and wouldn't help for nothing.
"I'll help if I can."
"Hey, you've misunderstood. We simply want to appoint you as an honorary professor at the Terra Official Mechanical Academy, on behalf of the academy."
Is it really that simple? Han Xiao was somewhat surprised, then thought for a moment and suddenly realized.
As the only Beyond Grade A mechanic in the Shattered Star Ring, if he were to become a professor at the official mechanical academy of the Terra Civilization, the academy's reputation would soar, its attractiveness to students would skyrocket, and many Mechanic Class students would apply to the academy because of his name, providing Terra Civilization with more talent resources. Moreover, taking a professorship at an official academy would also represent a certain stance, which would definitely be a win for Terra Civilization.
They had just helped him, so Han Xiao wouldn't refuse such a small request. He nodded and said, "I agree."
The dean's face lit up with joy. "Then I'll have someone arrange it immediately. By the way, you're an honorary professor of the college, so I'd like to invite you to give a lecture here. It can be held tomorrow or the day after; it won't take up too much of your time. If you have no objections, I'll have someone promote it within the college."
"Alright, then I'll bother you for a few more days."
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Xiao thought for a moment and suddenly said, "By the way, now that I've become a professor at the academy, could you make a copy of your academy's basic and advanced courses for me?"
The courses in these official academies are carefully compiled, and the basic teaching materials are quite useful to the faction. They can be brought back to systematically train the legion's Mechanic Class superhumans.
Some high-level superhumans may be strong individually, but they may not be good at teaching... For example, Ray Nader, who uses a cramming Mechanic Class courses can basically be summarized as going from beginner to grave, from advanced to coffin. Players don't care, but training ordinary recruits is much worse.
Now that he had become an honorary professor at the academy, Han Xiao decided to take advantage of the situation and make the most of his position.
The following day, the Terra Civilization made a grand announcement that they had successfully hired Black Star as an honorary professor at the official Mechanical Academy, and contacted a large number of interstellar media outlets to spread the news.
Many civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring are now business allies of the Black Star Army, and becoming honorary professors at the official academy goes a step further than a business relationship. The first to receive the news were several star cluster-level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, who were all surprised and taken aback. How did the Black Star suddenly get involved with the Terra Civilization?
The Amethyst Civilization was even more astonished and uncertain. They could accept being slept with by the Crimson Dynasty —they couldn't afford to offend them, so they accepted it. But to actually flirt with their shameless neighbor? You bastard, do you even respect your original partner... cough, your earliest and most invested ally?!
After being bombarded with calls from Laifer, Han Xiao finally managed to calm him down.
This news also caused a huge uproar within the Terra Official Mechanical Academy, shocking countless students.
Black Star is going to be our honorary professor and even give a lecture?!
How did that perverted dean manage to persuade Black Star?!
Countless students were thrilled, felt incredibly honored, and beamed with pride.
Originally, the lecture was scheduled to be held inside the teaching building, but there were so many students who came to listen that the college ultimately decided to have Han Xiao give the lecture outdoors in the central square.
On the day of the lecture, the venue was packed with people, completely full, and there were simply not enough seats. Countless students listened to the lecture while riding in the air on mechanical skateboards. More than 90% of the entire college attended.
Most of the teachers, instructors, and professors also eagerly came to sit in on the class; in front of the Beyond Grade A mechanic, they were also students.
Standing on the temporary platform erected in the center of the square, Han Xiao surveyed the entire area, a bitter smile playing on his lips.
He thought he was just sharing his experience with a small group of students, but he didn't expect the academy to create such a huge spectacle. Not only was he the center of attention, but there were also numerous recording devices recording his every move, making it seem like a concert, or even a sermon.
Stage fright is out of the question. He and Heber were fine fighting shirtless in front of trillions of interstellar citizens back then, so giving a lecture now won't change his mindset at all. With his Beyond Grade A skills, he can easily satisfy these students by sharing some experience.
However, Han Xiao felt somewhat uncomfortable with this art style. Currently, the one who uses lecturing as his core competitive advantage is that old geezer Austin.
"Ahem, let's begin then..." Han Xiao cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Black Star went and gave a public lecture at the official academy of a star cluster-level civilization? He's about to go to the Shattered World, and he still has the time to do this?!"
At the War Realm headquarters, Heber was completely bewildered and had no idea what to do.
"Is this kid trying to create some kind of mechanical hermitage like I did?"
In the Palace of Hidden Spells, Austin wore a strange expression.
"Tsk, I hate mechanics."
On the home planet of the Star Pupil Protoss, Sisko turned off the screen without saying a word. He didn't want to see Han Xiao at all. Every time he saw the Evolution Cube that Han Xiao wore around his neck, his heart ached... aches for every single one of them.
"Hey, this guy's at it again?"
At the Crimson Dynasty's embassy, Suy shook his head and chuckled. In his view, Han Xiao was not satisfied with the status quo and had gone to form alliances with other star cluster-level civilizations.
He was happy to see this, as long as it didn't interfere with important matters; Suy was more than happy to see the influence of the Empire's allies growing in a star system.
Meanwhile, some players who were playing together at the Black Star Army headquarters also discovered the broadcast on the interstellar channel. The news spread like wildfire, and soon more and more players opened their communicators to watch Han Xiao's lecture out of curiosity.
"That's strange. I thought the legion commander was still at headquarters. I didn't expect him to have gone to another civilization after just a few days."
"What is he saying? He's babbling incoherently, and I can't understand a word he's saying."
Just as many players were curiously watching, suddenly, all the Mechanic Class players in the crowd were startled; a notification appeared on their screens:
[You are listening to Black Star (Lv:?) explain the knowledge of the Mechanic Class. Due to the large gap, an Intelligence and Luck judgment is performed... The judgment is over, and you seem to understand but not quite -- one of your random Mechanic Class skills has gained 50,000 experience points.]
[You are listening to Black Star (Lv:?) explain the knowledge of the Mechanic Class. Due to the large gap, an Intelligence and Luck judgment is performed... https://www. hetushu. com. com... Judgment complete, you are thoughtful -- your two random Mechanic Class skills have gained 120,000 experience points]
[You are listening to Black Star (Lv:?) explain the knowledge of the Mechanic Class... The judgment ends, and you suddenly realize—your four random Mechanic Class skills have gained 350,000 experience points.]
All the Mechanic Class players watching the broadcast were taken aback.
"This is... imparting skills and experience?!"
Many Mechanic Class players were overjoyed.
This is the kind of prompt that appears when NPCs impart skills or experience to players, but it's rare to encounter events where skill experience is randomly increased. Many Mechanic Class players never expected that simply watching the Legion Commander's broadcast out of curiosity would trigger such a good thing!
Soon, the news broke on the forums and spread like wildfire to all the Mechanic Class players. They were overjoyed and immediately started watching the live stream.
"Holy crap, my Mechanic Class skills have leveled up!"
"This must be a random event!"
"This is much faster than me doing tasks... Wow, my [Intermediate Mechanical Affinity] is level nine, just one more level away from maxing it out!"
"As long as the legion commander is awesome, that's all that matters!"
Upgrading skills is always a bottomless pit of experience consumption, so Mechanic Class players were practically celebrating.
Players from the other four classes could only watch with envy and resentment as Mechanic Class players encountered random events and made a fortune.
For a long time, Han Xiao had not personally taught skills to players. Due to the lack of frequent interaction, many players had gradually forgotten his past deeds. However, this unexpected event coincidentally reminded countless players of his mentor status.
His image in the players' minds was instantly solidified—a recognized top-tier mentor in the Mechanic Class!