Chapter 32: Caught By The Vice Headmaster For Skipping Class
Naturally, Cillin was happy that he could go straight to the training division to train, but it had also brought him a problem – a schedule clash. This was because the training division’s class time was not entirely similar to the military class time. In addition, even if he were to take a direct shuttle from the school zone to the training zone, it would still take him more than half an hour of flight time.
Cillin did not have special privilege like Knight, so he had no choice but to selectively skip a few classes. He should be able to pass the final exam as long as he didn’t skip too many classes. If it wasn’t for the fact that attendance was tied to credits, there were many classes that Cillin didn’t need to attend. He only needed to look at the materials once to learn them, so even if he went, he would just be sleeping in class. It was only when he encountered more advanced or interesting materials would he pluck himself up and listen for a moment. There weren’t many advanced materials for first grades after all; if he could accumulate enough credits sooner, he would be able to apply for high grade courses then.
At the training division’s shooting range.
The students were doing target practice; 100 shots at high speed moving targets.
The result of the practice were as followed: Knight had the highest hit rate at one hundred percent. The next was Pride, also scoring a hundred percent but used two more seconds than Knight. The third was Cillin, with a ninety nine percent hitting rate.
At first Cillin’s results had surprised everyone, but they got used to it later on. A few target practices passed, and Cillin constantly sat at third place by missing one or two shots.
“What a black horse. He may not compare to Knight and Pride, but he’s not far away from some of the high grade students already.” The person calculating the scores said.
“It is a little regretful. That Cillin kid had missed yet another shot. If he didn’t miss that, he might have been able to compete with Pride for second place.” Another person also said.
Huo Neil frowned and did not say anything. He always came over and observed the two little ancestors Knight and Pride when they had their classes to prevent landing into a situation where it would be awkward for him to explain it to certain people in the army. But after every shooting class, Huo Neil kept feeling that something was off with that Cillin kid, even though he couldn’t quite get his fingers on it.
After the target practice had ended, Cillin withdrew his gun and turned around, getting ready to leave. Coincidentally, Pride was also heading towards the exit, and after he saw Cillin, he lifted his chin and said, “Yo, Forever Third (T/N: Literally it would mean, ‘the third for ten thousand years’. Basically he’s saying that Cillin is always at third place).”
“No one is competing with you to see who can lift their chins higher. Now get lost, you snotty brat who can choke himself while eating fish.” Knight said derisively while walking over from behind Pride.
It was obvious that Knight’s words had struck Pride in a sore spot. That one incident where he choked on a fish had turned him into a laughing stock.
After glaring indignantly at the duo, Pride humphed once before lifting his chin and left.
Knight twitched his mouth at Pride’s back and said, “No need to bother with that snotty brat, c’mon, let’s go get a drink. The food at the training division ain’t bad; do you know that back in military school, they barred us from drinking and starved us so bad...”
In truth, Cillin didn’t mind placing at third place at all. He could absolutely hit all the targets in half of Knight’s time, but by doing so, he would without a doubt bring a whole lot of suspicion and trouble upon himself. Cillin did not plan to stand out too much; as long as he could enjoy the benefits of being part of the top three, it would be fine. The rest should play out just right.
There were many types of courses in the training zone. Other than shooting, there was also military theory, military geography, cooperative tactics, driving techniques of battleships, airplanes, tanks and so on. Cillin had learned quite a bit during middle school himself, but those days didn’t last long.
Today, Cillin had skipped his class at the school zone and took the passenger car that goes directly from the school zone to the training zone. The transport didn’t fly for long before it came to a sudden stop. Apparently a conflict between two students had caused a small problem in the passenger car’s energy system.
Cillin checked the time. The passenger car’s energy system should take about half an hour to repair, but he was still in time for class. Let’s take a nap.
Vaguely, Cillin heard a conversation from not far away.
“Today is my lucky day! Thank you elder Mo, thank you for your efforts elder Mo!”
Cillin even felt someone looking at his direction, so he opened his eyes and turned around to look. It was at this moment, he knew he fucked up.
“It really is you, kid. How dare you play truant!”
It was none other than Mo Heng.
“Good day... Headmaster Mo!” Cillin stretched the corners of his mouth. No matter how he looked at it, Mo Heng’s smile was giving him the creeps.
Mo Heng no longer bothered with the driver or the people around him, squinting his eyes while walking over with steady steps. He said unhurriedly, “You should be attending an engineering course now, shouldn’t you? The machine manufacturing class?”
Okay, you’ve actually paid attention me for a long time now, haven’t you sir? How am I going to refute you if you can even tell what classes I’m attending?
He looked at Cillin’s backpack, “Going to the training division?”
“Yeah...”
“Rejected. Follow me, I have something to talk with you.” After taking two steps and turning around, seeing that Cillin hadn’t moved his white eyebrows lifted upwards, “Faster! What are you dawdling about for; you’re wasting the other passengers’ time!”
Cillin forced himself to follow Mo Heng and got out of the passenger car.
“Headmaster Mo...” He still had shooting class at at the training division today. It was to be included in the usual results.
Mo Heng lifted a hand and stopped him. He dialed his communicator right in front of Cillin, which was connected almost instantly by the other party as Huo Neil’s hologram appeared above the device.
“Little Nail, I’m taking Cillin.”
“Yessir! He’s all yours sir!” It was a very powerful, very clean, very decisive answer without even a speck of hesitation in it.
Cillin: “...”
After cutting off the communicator, Mo Heng sat in his private car and beckoned proudly with his finger, “Be a good boy, will you? Come and take a trip with this old man.”
Mo Heng had taken this path only because he had some unexpected business today, but he didn’t expect to run into a passenger car with a malfunctioning energy system, so he lent a hand and shrank the repair time from half an hour to just five minutes. It was also thanks to this coincidence that Mo Heng caught Cillin playing truant.
Cillin sat in Mo Heng’s private car and arrived at the research division’s mechanical engineering lab. With Mo Heng leading the way, Cillin met almost no resistance when he walked inside.
Mo Heng threw a set of overalls at him, “Change into these and follow me.”
Cillin didn’t know what Mo Heng is planning, but he still did as he said. He followed Mo Heng into a workshop. The interior of the room was scattered with parts.
“You have half an hour to assemble a complete machinery. If the machinery does not pass QA (T/N: Quality Assurance) then it will also count as a fail, and if you fail, then you’ll be staying here for the day and score zero marks for that machine manufacturing class of yours as well!” once said and done, Mo Heng closed the door and locked it.
Facing towards the tightly shut steel door, Cillin scratched his head, let out a sigh and looked around the workshop.
Cillin needed only a glance to be able to differentiate which parts could be joined with one another, but if he was to assemble them into a complete machinery, he would always be missing a few parts.
Cillin did not begin his work right away. Instead he swiftly categorized the parts and memorized the positions of each part after they would be assembled into a machine. As he continued to categorize the parts, the many mechanical blueprints in Cillin’s head gradually became whole.
Mo Heng had given him thirty minutes, but because there were too many parts in this workshop, he took twenty minutes just to sort out the parts alone.
Ten minutes left... it should be enough time, I think.
Out of the seven heaps of parts, there were only two that could be assembled into a full machinery. Cillin chose the slightly easier heap and began assembling.
While sitting at his office and looking at the display, Mo Heng let out a pleasant smile.
Mo Heng had tested other students in the research division with the parts in that workshop as well. But they either could not assemble a full machinery, or discover only a full assembly. But Cillin was able to find both assemblies in such a short time. The time limit given to other test students was ten hours, and there were no lack of specially recruited students among them either! That was why Mo Heng had told Cillin that he had the right to be specially recruited.