Chapter 1 The Cafeteria

The cafeteria at Tianjing was quite good, especially the mech and starship departments. Ma Long was splurging today, heading straight to the second floor where various à la carte dishes were served. Occasionally, they even had some better, specialized ingredients, like those from the moon, Mars, and even Titan.

Of course, these all originated from the Earth lineage, mainly with differences in raw materials. Titan-produced beef was unique, and the price of Titan beef was also top-notch, truly deserving the name "Tai Niu" (too awesome), with delicious meat, plenty of juice, and rich in rare energy. This was due to the unique element impregnation of Titan, which was a great supplement for warriors. Ma Long was obviously very happy, with each person getting a steak, and everyone enjoying it immensely.

"Did you guys hear? Principal Long is seriously dissatisfied with the performance of the previous mech department, so this year's team will have selections, and she has already designated a few captains. One of them is your class monitor, One-Jie. I'm optimistic about her. Hong Tu and Zhao Zhihan are completely useless, what were they even fighting?" After a small beer, Ma Long's mood soared, "Musashi, you must be in it, right?"

Musashi nodded and silently ordered another steak. Ma Long's mouth twitched slightly. He had overlooked the appetite of these beasts. He had just been showing off and saying they could eat their fill.

He had been careless.

"I'll add one too." Zuo Xiaotang was also impolite. Opportunities to fleece Ma the Great were rare.

"Damn, where's the humanity? One more at most, no more, or I'll lose my marriage savings." Seeing the situation was not right, Ma Long didn't care about saving face, "How many members has One-Jie selected?"

"Currently, there's me. I don't know about the others yet."

"Seriously, our third brother is the most promising in our dorm. Maybe we'll all have to rely on you in the future." Ma Long said without reservation. The Musashi family was from an ancient martial arts family. It was obvious that his family was very strict with him. He didn't show any signs of being a playboy, and he was the most serious in training. With such good resources, high talent, and more effort than others, who else could succeed if he didn't?

Musashi was a little embarrassed when Sheng Man arrived, "Sorry, something came up, I'm late. Is there anything happy today to eat so well?"

Before everyone could speak, Ma Long quickly said, "It's the first day of school, gotta cheer up the brothers, honey, come here."

Ma Long had already prepared everything for Sheng Man. Sheng Man smiled slightly and sat next to Ma Long. Now in her third year, Sheng Man had fully blossomed into a woman, with every glance and smile full of charm. Although they had been dating for a year, their relationship was really good. As soon as Sheng Man arrived, Ma Long stopped paying attention to them.

Fortunately, Li Hao and the others were used to it, but for some reason, the beef on their plates suddenly didn't taste as good.

At this moment, two more people walked over with trays, looking for a place to sit. The cafeteria, which had been full of loud discussions, instantly lowered its volume by several decibels and began to whisper.

It was Zhou Naiyi and Ye Tong. The news of Ye Tong's arrival at Tianjing Mech Academy had spread instantly, and her popularity was outrageously high. She was also a highly anticipated newcomer this year. In fact, everyone thought that with her strength and fighting style, she would go to NUP. Frankly, NUP could offer better treatment, but she chose Tianjing instead.

Zhou Naiyi saw Li Hao, "Xiaotong, I'll say a few words to Li Hao, it'll only take a moment."

"Naiyi-jie, since we ran into them, let's eat together." Ye Tong said.

Zhou Naiyi didn't mind. The two walked over, and Ye Tong went directly to Zuo Xiaotang, smiling slightly, "Senior, can I have a seat?"

Zuo Xiaotang was instantly stunned and jumped up, "No problem, you sit."

Ye Tong sat next to Li Hao with her tray, while Zhou Naiyi sat across from Li Hao. Everyone wondered what these two were up to. Sheng Man greeted them generously. She was in the journalism department and was very familiar with Zhou Naiyi and very interested in Ye Tong.

"Li Hao, Principal Long has reformed the mechanism for this year's Mech Martial Competition. I will be one of the selected teams. Do you want to participate?" Zhou Naiyi asked.

Everyone at the table was stunned, and Li Hao was also stunned. "Me? Forget it, our dorm has Musashi, that's enough."

"What if Principal Long specifically asked you to participate?" Zhou Naiyi stared intently at Li Hao, trying to observe something from his expression.

The old principal brought him from the journalism department to the mech department, and Principal Long gave him such an opportunity. With Long Dan Ni's character, it was obviously not because of anyone's influence, but that there was something special about Li Hao.

"Can I refuse?" Li Hao was stunned. What was going on? Could it be...?

For some reason, Zhou Naiyi felt that Li Hao was avoiding something. Starting from wanting to help him train yesterday, thinking carefully, his words revealed a kind of disinterest... perfunctoriness.

Yes, it was perfunctory, which made Zhou Naiyi a little uncomfortable.

"No, this is the principal's direct order. You must participate. As for whether you can stay, it depends on your performance." Zhou Naiyi said decisively.

Li Hao shrugged helplessly. "Class Monitor, I can participate, but you know my situation. I often work overtime at night, so the time I can participate in training may not be stable."

Ye Tong, who was next to him, didn't know why, but her eyes narrowed slightly, and she tapped the plate, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

Ye Tong smiled. "Senior, I'm looking forward to being your teammate. With great power comes great responsibility. Sometimes being proactive is better."

Ye Tong's words were obviously meaningful, but who was this... Li Hao?

"Li Hao, you're hiding it well. You usually seem uninterested in anything. When did you get to know God Ye Tong?" Sheng Man asked curiously. The personalities of the 4396 were all very distinctive. Musashi was a martial arts fanatic, only interested in training and becoming stronger. She had even introduced her best friend to Musashi, but the other party didn't even go. He was really inflexible. As for Zuo Xiaotang, he was a senior otaku, but he was very talented in shooting. As for Li Hao, he was the least noticeable one, but it was hard to ignore him, perhaps because of that inexplicable confidence and nonchalance.

Ye Tong looked at Li Hao. "Senior, it seems they don't know your true identity. After all these years, you still have the same personality."

Zhou Naiyi and the others put down their chopsticks and looked at Li Hao and Ye Tong.

"This, Shimei (junior sister), is there some misunderstanding..." Zuo Xiaotang couldn't help but say. He knew Li Hao's situation. He grew up in an orphanage. In the middle, he seemed to have participated in some training, and after returning, he attended Tianjing's preparatory class, and later was admitted to Tianjing Mech Academy. The others also knew this.

"Do you know about the Solar System Apocalypse Youth Class?" Ye Tong said.

"Who doesn't know about that? That youth class is almost a myth. It was the only time the four major federations joined forces to do something, and all the graduates were top experts. Later, it seemed that there was a major accident and it was never held again. Tsk tsk, a golden brand." Ma Long said, many of the strongmen in this year's Mech Martial Competition came from that youth class.

"Li Hao, should I say it later, or will you say it yourself?" Ye Tong said with a smile that was not a smile.

Li Hao was stunned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "I thought it was something. Yes, I participated in that youth class, but something happened later, and it was disbanded. That was a few years ago."

Clang...

Ma Long's spoon dropped into the plate, and everyone at the table stared at Li Hao in stunned silence, especially Zhou Naiyi. She also wanted to enter that class back then. Ordinary people may not be very clear, but the high-level officials of the major federations attached great importance to it. She participated in the test, but was eliminated in the first round.

"Are you saying that you know the Moon War God Maxis? You know the Heavenly King Fan Lewei, you... and the Martian Wolf King Basta were classmates in the youth class?"

(I remember when I first went to college in 2000, the six brothers in the dormitory all claimed to be from poor families, each one more miserable than the last, but we found that one of the brothers' closets were full of Nike and Adidas, how could we tolerate this? Under the "sincere exchange" of the other five of us, he finally admitted that he was a Shanghai landlord, a rich second generation, and we all fell into the same pit and couldn't escape, so we had a very comfortable college life afterwards. Third update, partners, please give me a collection and a monthly ticket, thank you!)