IMAO Chapter 17

Ji Rong silently despised Arlo in his mind, but outwardly he reassured Jiang Yuan, “I think you’ve misunderstood. He’s probably just shy, not afraid of you specifically. He acts the same way when talking to me.”

“Really?” Jiang Yuan paused, surprised.

Ji Rong nodded and demonstrated. He turned to look at Arlo sitting in the back row. When Arlo met Ji Rong’s gaze, his reaction was identical to when he looked at Jiang Yuan – his expression instantly froze.

The sight of Ji Rong’s face reminded Arlo of their previous conversation.

Noticing Arlo avoiding Ji Rong’s gaze in the same manner, Jiang Yuan had a moment of realization. It wasn’t because of his abrupt request that day that Arlo misunderstood him; this was simply Arlo’s personality. He had been considering explaining himself again, given they’d be classmates for four years, but now it seemed unnecessary.

Though he and Arlo weren’t close, only having interacted when he asked for Arlo’s help that day, Jiang Yuan smiled and said softly, “He really does seem quite shy.”

“Yeah!” Ji Rong looked at Jiang Yuan with utmost sincerity. Seeing Jiang Yuan believe his fib, Ji Rong felt an inexplicable sense of happiness.

After class, they went to the cafeteria for lunch, followed by their first physics lecture in the afternoon.

Physics wasn’t the most crucial subject for Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong, but it was vital for Ji Yang’s major, so they weren’t in the same class this time.

The physics content they studied was all foundational material. Due to Alphonse’s presence, for Jiang Yuan, it was far too simple, making attending class a waste of time.

After finishing the first lecture with the freshmen, Li Wei flashed an almost perfect smile and said, “That’s all for today. I never take attendance in my classes, so you’re free to come or not. However, I won’t go easy on you during exams.”

Li Wei smiled, knowing that despite her words, these students would still attend every class. Firstly, because physics was challenging, and secondly, because she was… beautiful.

Hearing Li Wei’s statement, Jiang Yuan was pleased and decided he wouldn’t attend any more physics lectures after this!

After dinner, Jiang Yuan and his group headed straight to Lab 14. Liu Zheng, having received Jiang Yuan’s message, arrived a few minutes early to wait for them and escorted them into the institute.

“Follow me. There are many other laboratories here that are off-limits,” Liu Zheng explained with a smile.

They entered Liu Zheng’s simulation area, which was surprisingly large. The ceiling could open directly, allowing mechas to fly out.

A retired Federation mecha stood in the center of the area, surrounded by several seniors in white coats, like Liu Zheng, testing data.

Ji Yang’s roommate, Ma Lin, excitedly exclaimed, “Wow, it’s the seventh-generation Thunder Fighter! This is my first time seeing one in person! It’s the Federation service mecha from thirty years ago. We relied on these when we fought against Rick!”

“Can we touch it?” the group, seeing a mecha for the first time, eagerly asked Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng: “Of course you can.”

Seeing the excitement of his juniors, Liu Zheng smiled. He remembered feeling the same way when he first arrived at the school, wanting to hug every different mecha model he saw.

Jiang Yuan was no different, reaching out to touch the hulking machine before him. In his original memories, although Jiang Yuan had seen mechas because of Jiang Tianze, he had never actually piloted one…

Noticing the juniors’ excitement upon seeing the mecha, Liu Zheng glanced at Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong. Suddenly, he smacked his forehead, realizing he’d forgotten to ask if they’d had their first hands-on mecha class yet in his rush to have Jiang Yuan help with testing.

The Star Wars game featured numerous mechas, allowing even ordinary people to connect via the network for a holographic gaming experience with various mechas. However, games were just games, with some assisted operations. Real mecha classes lacked these aids, making the operations quite different.

“Did you have your first mecha class today?” Liu Zheng asked Jiang Yuan with mixed feelings.

Jiang Yuan shook his head. “No.”

Liu Zheng’s face fell immediately. No hands-on experience… “I was too hasty. Let’s forget about it for today. Come back after you’ve had your practical class.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it quickly once you’ve had the practical class!”

Ji Rong, standing nearby, cleared his throat and began, “Actually, I…”

Before he could say “have experience,” Jiang Yuan spoke up.

“I’ve read the operation manual. Xuezhang¹学长 (xué zhǎng) – senior or older male schoolmate, could I give it a try?” Jiang Yuan asked.

Liu Zheng hesitated briefly, then nodded. “Alright.”

With Liu Zheng’s permission, Jiang Yuan smiled. “Thank you, Xuezhang. I’ve read the mecha operation manual provided by the school. It doesn’t look difficult; I think I should be fine.”

Seeing Jiang Yuan’s eagerness, Ji Rong felt conflicted. He really didn’t want to discourage Jiang Yuan.

It was certainly right for Jiang Yuan to read the mecha operation manual in advance, but thinking he could operate a mecha after just one read was impossible. Piloting a mecha for the first time without professional guidance was surely not feasible!

Mastering it in one go? That’s absurd. Even if you could memorize the entire manual, could your body and mind coordinate to execute complete commands simultaneously?

Ji Rong: “…”

Watching Jiang Yuan prepare to board the mecha, Ji Rong shook his head helplessly. Worst case, he’d teach Jiang Yuan himself later. Surely someone as clever as Jiang Yuan would learn quickly.

Entering the mecha cockpit, Jiang Yuan merely glanced at the blue-lit command console before awakening Alphonse. For a super optical computer, controlling a small mecha was child’s play, especially with an instruction manual.

The skylight above the arena opened, and the mecha piloted by Jiang Yuan instantly soared into the sky.

Flying out of Lab 14, the school’s scenery was laid out in full view.

“Jiang Yuan, don’t fly so high! You’re not familiar with the mecha yet!” Liu Zheng’s heart leaped into his throat. Jiang Yuan was a novice! If the mecha came crashing down, it would be disastrous!

Jiang Yuan replied over the comm, “I find this quite simple.”

Liu Zheng: “No, don’t scare me! Come down first, I’m terrified!”

Jiang Yuan chuckled, “Afraid I’ll damage the mecha?”

Liu Zheng nodded, nearly in tears. If it broke again, he could kiss his graduation goodbye!

Jiang Yuan: “Don’t worry, watch me pilot it. Wasn’t this supposed to be a test? How can we test without flying?”

As Jiang Yuan finished speaking, the mecha suddenly accelerated. Those in the lab could share the mecha’s view, clearly seeing where Jiang Yuan was flying.

Thunder 7 rapidly accelerated, flying through the narrow, low-ceilinged corridors of the research institute. The sight was terrifying. Jiang Yuan piloted the mecha at such high speeds that they were afraid it would suddenly crash into a wall!

Liu Zheng was no longer worried about the mecha breaking; now he feared for Jiang Yuan’s safety during the test. His heart pounded like thunder!

“He’s… he’s going to crash!” A more timid boy even covered his eyes.

But it didn’t happen. Jiang Yuan made a slight tilt and passed through the obstacle.

As Jiang Yuan continued to pilot, Liu Zheng went from breaking out in a cold sweat to… complete calm.

He turned to look at his experiment group colleagues, feeling conflicted.

With Jiang Yuan’s piloting skills, he would surely pass on the actual test day. His operational ability and judgment were flawless. Even if their improvements still had some minor issues, finding a skilled mecha test pilot was like walking a fine line… but this was a reasonable fine line!

The experiment group members looked at each other, eyes reddening.

Graduation seemed possible this year!

Liu Zheng thought seriously: Was this a case of compensating for insufficient hardware with superior skill…?

As for Ji Yang and the others, they were excitedly following Jiang Yuan’s perspective, experiencing the thrill of flight, while Ji Rong felt conflicted.

Ji Rong: “…”

Wasn’t Jiang Yuan too much of a cheat code? He had been praised for his talent when he first piloted, but what was going on with this guy? Compared to Jiang Yuan’s first time, his own first mecha piloting attempt seemed like a toddler learning to walk.

This Beta, was he leaving any room for Alphas to survive?!

He had it too tough.

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  学长 (xué zhǎng) – senior or older male schoolmate