Ji You blinked, finding it hard to believe her own eyes – is this—
Really an antique mech?
In the examination room, there’s actually an antique mech?
Ji You’s withered heart suddenly reignited with hope, as she quickly clicked on the page of the antique mech. After carefully reviewing it, she confirmed it was indeed an antique mech! Ji You reached out her hand, ready to choose it.
At the moment of making a choice, Ji You suddenly caught sight of a note in fine print under the description of the antique mech: [Commemorative mech, limited functions, limited energy, might not be able to complete the examination tasks, please choose carefully.]
Uh—
Ji You’s hand halted in mid-air.
What the heck?
Ji You squinted her eyes, skeptical in her heart: Was this antique mech placed here just to make up numbers?
Choose it?
Or not?
Ji You was torn as she stared at the light screen, indecisive.
At this moment—
Teacher Mu Jianling said, "Three minutes left."
With only three minutes to select a mech, Ji You felt a little anxious. She glanced at the others around her; Yue Qiguang, Yue Qiyuan, Chu Jiaojiao, Sheng Qingyan, and the rest had already made their choices and were observing their newly acquired mechs.
Ji You frowned in thought: since entering the Combat Department, she had only come into contact with three types of mechs – one was a special edition Small Mecha, the other was an antique mech, and then there was ’Blade’!
Ji You quickly switched the light screen to ’Blade’, briefly skimmed through the description of Blade, and noticed a small note: [This mech demands high spiritual power and operational skills, please choose carefully.]
Ji You hadn’t handled a real ’Blade’, but in the online competitions, her familiarity with this model was no less than with the antique mech, and she understood very well that the reminder was apt; operating Blade was truly complex.
The virtual Blade alone was enough to give Ji You a headache. In reality, the difficulty of piloting Blade could only increase, not decrease.
So—
Should she choose the antique mech?
Or Blade?
Ji You thought for a moment, then firmly clenched her teeth, deciding on her choice!
At this moment—
Mu Jianling’s indifferent voice echoed in the students’ ears: "Time to choose has ended."
"Ah?"
"I haven’t finished choosing."
"Teacher, could you give me a few more minutes?"
"Teacher..."
There were evidently not a few students afflicted with choice paralysis like Ji You, some were even more undecided than Ji You when Mu Jianling’s countdown ended, without having made their final selection.
Mu Jianling paid no heed to the students’ wails and pleas, and said coldly: "Activate the system’s automatic selection."
"10, 9, 8, 7..."
"Ding-dong—"
The system in the examination room completed the selection within ten seconds.
Suddenly—
The entire examination room was filled with wails—
"Mama Mia~ As a speed type warrior, I’m actually supposed to pilot Heavy Armor Breaking Army?"
"Mama Mia~ For someone who can’t even distinguish directions, I’m actually assigned a reconnaissance mech?"
"Help!"
...
Mu Jianling’s eyes were cold as she loudly decreed, "Silence."
In an instant, the students quieted down like chickens.
Mu Jianling looked at the students without a trace of sympathy, instead, a mocking smile appeared as she said, "As a Mechanical Warrior, if you can’t even make up your mind about your own mecha, what use are you?"
The students: "..."
The reprimand was so reasonable that nobody dared to make a sound.
Mu Jianling continued to scold, "If I hear one more complaint, I’ll directly disqualify you from the examination."
The students: "..."
Mu Jianling said, "Now, a half-hour countdown to familiarize yourselves with your mechas begins—"
As her voice fell, a dazzling light screen lit up above the examination room, displaying the exact time. As time ticked away second by second, no one dared to waste any more, all hurriedly logging into the cockpits to start familiarizing themselves with their mechas.
The space in the examination room was vast and boundless, it could accommodate several starships all at once. Each student selected a space to familiarize themselves with their mecha. In the blink of an eye, this space was divided into individual small areas, separated by transparent light screen fences, allowing the students to practice without interfering with each other, yet it didn’t prevent them from observing and communicating with each other...
To Ji You’s left was Chu Jiaojiao, and to her right, Shen Changqing.
Chu Jiaojiao’s mecha was the offensive and defensive Heavy Armor ’Po Jun’, massive and majestic, paired with its black color, it looked extremely cool and very much in line with Chu Jiaojiao’s usual style.
Noticing Ji You’s gaze, Chu Jiaojiao, who was about to enter the cockpit, turned her head and smiled at Ji You, asking curiously, "Ji You, what kind of mecha did you choose?"
Ji You pursed her lips, her tone calm, "Nothing much."
Chu Jiaojiao grew more curious, "Could it be Blade? I’ve never touched a real Blade, I’m very curious, after the examination, Ji You must let me have a feel of the Blade’s Mechanical Shell."
Ji You’s face showed a slight discomfort, "It’s not."
Chu Jiaojiao tilted her head, "Not?"
The countdown above was pressing like a death sentence, how could Ji You dare to delay? At this moment, she couldn’t care less about losing face, and she directly took out the Space Button given by the examination room’s assistant robot to retrieve her mecha.
In a blink of an eye—
A small and quaint mech appeared before Chu Jiaojiao’s eyes.
Chu Jiaojiao: "..."
Chu Jiaojiao stared, "You’re using an antique mech?"
Ji You: "Mhm~"
Chu Jiaojiao dug her ear, a bit incredulous, "Ji You, do you have a lot of points? Could you lend me 100,000? Don’t worry, I definitely won’t delete you as a friend after borrowing the money."
Ji You: "..."
Ji You darkened her face, "No! I’m not lending it!"
Chu Jiaojiao’s tone was filled with endless sympathy, "You shouldn’t be so reckless, even if you have a lot of points." She paused slightly, seeming to want to persuade Ji You, "Really, rather than wasting points on a re-examination, you might as well help me out. After all, we’re good sisters."
Separated by a light screen, Chu Jiaojiao leaned closer, batting her eyes and staring intently at Ji You,
Ji You’s mouth twitched, "Go away! Who said we’re good sisters."
Chu Jiaojiao scratched her head, "But haven’t you said so many times before?"
Ji You straightened her face, denying, "Never happened."
Over here—
Chu Jiaojiao was bickering with Ji You when suddenly, both noticed Shen Changqing silently holding the Space Button containing his mecha. Ji You and Chu Jiaojiao both turned their heads, asking, "Shen Changqing, what mecha did you choose?"
Shen Changqing looked up at them, his tone very calm, "My mecha is—"
Having said that.
He directly threw his hand up, opening the Space Button and releasing his own mech.
—An antique mech!
As soon as the mech appeared, Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao: "!!!"
Immediately after, the two exclaimed in unison, "Damn! Shen Changqing, you’re seriously poisoned!"