Shadows of the Deep Space

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Su Ming paid no further attention to the three stunned individuals, promptly walking into the bathroom and swiftly washing up.

Minutes later, Su Ming lay on his bed, staring at the underside of the bunk above, pondering over Zhang Tai blocking his way.

To be honest, he wasn't surprised at all that Zhang Tai had come to block him. Sometimes there were simply no intersections between people, no grudges to speak of.

However, when you decide to do something, you must consider the entangled interests. Take Zhang Tai's situation, for instance. Because the original owner of this body pursued Lin Chuyu, successful or not, he was an obstacle to the other person.

From Zhang Tai's perspective, he was a direct harm to his interests. Whether reasonable or not, he would inevitably cause trouble.

Therefore, when you do something, you need to anticipate the consequences and troubles it may bring, and whether you can bear them. Otherwise, it's simply foolishness.

This world is just that pragmatic and cruel. To sum it up in a simple phrase: "Survival of the fittest, only the adaptable survive."

Soon, Su Ming slowly closed his eyes and gradually drifted into sleep.

...

Noon.

Outside Building 1, the students of the Mechanical 3rd Class began arriving one after another.

A spirited young man with thick brows and big eyes, seeing that most had arrived, called out to his classmates.

"Everyone, hurry up and line up. Class is about to start."

"Mink, even though you're the class leader, it's not yet time for class, and Mr. Tang hasn't arrived, so what's the hurry?" a messy-haired, dark-skinned boy with a disdainful look in his eyes retorted.

This boy was Chen Tong, the same classmate who had previously mocked Su Ming in the classroom.

Hearing Chen Tong's words, Mink responded without any niceties.

"Chen Tong, if you don't want to line up, don't disturb the other students."

"Tsk, brown-noser!"

Chen Tong scoffed disdainfully.

At this moment, Su Ming arrived, yawning lazily with slightly wilted spirits.

He had stayed up too late the night before, and he had also gotten up at eight-thirty in the morning to revise in the dormitory, a regimen this body was not quite accustomed to.

Suddenly, Su Ming felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off, so he took a closer look.

He saw that class leader Mink and Chen Tong were facing off against each other, and the surrounding classmates all subconsciously gave them space.

A strange expression appeared on Su Ming's face. What's all this commotion about? Could it be that as the weather gradually heats up, everyone's tempers are flaring too?

Luckily, at that moment, Mr. Tang hurried over.

Seeing him, the students started to line up one after another.

Chen Tong, with another cold snort, walked to the end of the line.

Su Ming found a spot and stood there.

"Mink, is everyone here?" Tang Yan asked.

"All here, Teacher," Mink replied after a quick headcount.

"Alright then, follow me," Tang Yan said, not dragging his feet as he led the students toward the training building.

The training building, located in the northern corner of the school, was one of the most important buildings of the academy. From a distance, one could see a grid-like structure under which many students gathered for training.

Tang Yan led Su Ming and the others into the building and to Training Room No. 3 on the first floor.

The entire room, spanning a massive five hundred square meters, resembled a large broadcasting studio, neatly outfitted with grey simulation pods.

Su Ming looked at the training pods with interest. Resembling chrysalises, each pod had a unique identification number, connected to a series of cables at the base.

At that moment, Tang Yan addressed the many students.

"Everyone, find the simulation pod corresponding to your class number."

Just as all the students were about to move, Chen Tong suddenly spoke up to complain.

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"Ugh! Mr. Tang, why is it the simulation pod again? It's so boring!"

"What do you find interesting then?"

Tang Yan's eyebrows lifted slightly as he looked towards the troublemaker, Chen Tong.

Chen Tong spread his hands and said with disdain,

"Practicing in the simulator all day, what's the use? Can't we get some real things to practice with?"

"What are you talking about? What use is the simulator? When it's city exam time, we will be using the simulator, why do we need the real thing?"

Tang Yan patiently explained.

"But touching the real thing gives us more motivation; we might learn more easily. Don't tell me the school doesn't have any?"

Chen Tong said with a smile to Tang Yan.

At this point, many other students in the room started to make a racket as well.

"Yeah! Mr. Tang, can't you let us touch the real thing for once?"

"Right, we haven't even touched it yet!"

...

Su Ming, having heard this, also looked at Tang Yan full of anticipation. Getting their hands on the real thing would be an unexpected delight indeed.

Seeing his students full of expectation, and given what Chen Tong had said, Tang Yan also felt a bit unable to decline. Moreover, considering the mediocre performance of the students in his class this year, he was somewhat anxious, so he bit the bullet and said,

"Looks like I owe you brats. Everyone, follow me!"

"Oh yeah!"

"Mr. Tang is the best."

...

Blondie and the others cheered loudly.

Tang Yan led everyone away from the training building and walked toward the back.

Behind the training building was a steel structure resembling a rectangular warehouse, covering tens of thousands of square meters.

This area was frequently patrolled by security, and students were not normally allowed near, so Su Ming and the others had never been here before.

As Tang Yan led Su Ming and the others closer, a brawny security captain with a scar on his face approached.

"Mr. Tang, what brings you here? And with so many students, no less?"

"Captain Qian Feng, I'm taking these brats to try out a real Mech, isn't training ground number two vacant today?"

Tang Yan pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out a synthetic cigarette, and handed it to security captain Qian Feng.

Qian Feng accepted Tang Yan's cigarette and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Mr. Tang, you're really generous, letting the whole class train with the real Mechs, which are usually reserved for elite student training."

"It's nothing much."

Tang Yan's expression stiffened slightly.

"Then I won't disturb your class any further."

Qian Feng smiled and stepped aside.

Tang Yan led Su Ming and the others towards the training ground.

Minutes later, accompanied by the crisp, ticking mechanical sounds, the sturdy alloy gate opened.

They all followed Mr. Tang inside.

Soon the spacious and empty training ground came into view for everyone.

Su Ming also looked around with curiosity.

The training ground was over thirty meters high, topped with steel frame structures, and the floor was entirely laid with metallic tiles. Observation platforms and a small rest area encircled the walls, and in the middle of the ground stood five somewhat dated Training Mechas.

"Wow, Mechas!"

Blondie and the others shouted excitedly, as it was their first time seeing real Mechs.

Su Ming took an interested look at the five Training Mechas; they were about eight meters tall, covered with thick gray armor plates, humanoid in form, with a rounded head, cross-shaped display devices, and one of the giant mechanical arms held a rubber model knife.