The class schedule was sent to their phones at midnight.
Jiang Ye's eyebrows shot up. The courses for this training class were far more numerous and diverse than the last one.
Philosophy: Philosophy of Science and Technology, Philosophy of the Interstellar Era
Economics: Population, Resources, and Environmental Economics, Star Citizen Economics, Industrial Economics
Law: General Laws of the Galactic Empire, Introduction to Civil Law
Sociology: Folklore, Sociology of Immigrant Planets
History: History of the Galactic Empire, History of Rebellions, History of Flourishing Eras
Military: Mobilization Studies, Joint Campaign Studies, Military Organization and Structure Studies
Besides these miscellaneous subjects, there was also a "night run drill" every evening, lasting an hour. Jiang Ye had no idea how they were supposed to run.
"The schedule is so packed," Cen Yemeng said, covering her mouth in surprise.
"Indeed," Jiang Ye replied, a hint of worry in his voice. "I hope the teacher can highlight the key points before the exam. I feel like with this stack of textbooks, I wouldn't be able to memorize it all in a month."
"Why are they making us do physical training too?" Cen Yemeng asked, her brow furrowed with concern. "I don't think I can run that much."
"No way, I think your stamina is pretty good," Jiang Ye said.
Cen Yemeng blushed, shot him a glare, and lay down to sleep.
The next day, at six-thirty in the morning.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng entered the teaching building and froze.
The corridor was filled with the sound of reading, a cacophony of voices, like high school students cramming before the college entrance exam.
Through the glass walls, they could see that more than half the students were already seated in each classroom, men and women of all ages, each holding a thick textbook and reading furiously. They were spitting as they read, and some, caught up in the fervor, had flushed faces, at risk of suffocation.
Jiang Ye was bewildered. He pulled out his phone to check the time.
The schedule indicated that classes were to begin at seven-forty, giving them another hour and ten minutes. Why were all the classmates already here?
"Didn't you say yesterday... that everyone wasn't studying?" Cen Yemeng nudged her husband.
"This isn't how it was supposed to go. I didn't expect this atmosphere," Jiang Ye said, sweat beading on his forehead.
The couple found their classroom.
Only two seats were left in the very back row.
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng quickly sat down and frantically pulled out their textbooks. But they didn't know what to memorize; the entire textbook was filled with knowledge points.
Jiang Ye glanced sideways at the textbooks of other students and was shocked to find them filled with notes and highlighted lines. He couldn't help himself and waved to a beautiful Latina classmate next to him.
"Hello," the beauty said, putting down her book.
"Excuse me... why are your textbooks all marked up? Is there some online class? Or are these second-hand books?" Jiang Ye showed his pristine textbook.
"Is this your first year?" the beauty asked, raising an eyebrow, her expression surprised.
"Yes," Jiang Ye replied, taken aback.
"All of us here have been held back for several years," the beauty sighed. "This is my third year repeating the course; I haven't passed yet." She then raised her hand and patted a large Black man in front of her.
"This is Tony, the mayor of Ironing Planet. He's been repeating for six years," the beauty introduced. "I think there are classmates in the class who have been repeating for ten years."
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng were both dumbfounded.
The graduation rate was incredibly low!
"Are you genuinely unable to pass, or are you staying here to socialize with your classmates?" Jiang Ye whispered.
"Socialize, my foot! We genuinely can't pass. Every year I'm called back to school, and every time I come, I lose a bunch of hair," the Latina beauty said with a mournful face. "Let me put it this way: look at the detail page of your textbook. There should be a volume number indicated."
Jiang Ye quickly flipped open his textbook and soon found a line of small print.
[Sociology of Immigrant Planets (Volume 1/4)]
Jiang Ye's face turned ashen. This textbook was already massive, a full 612 pages. And it was only the first volume!
"What you have in your hand is the thinnest one, meant for beginners. The next three volumes delve deeper, and each one is thicker. The second volume is eight hundred pages, and the fourth is twelve hundred pages. We're having a month-long training class, and they'll give us textbooks once a week," the Latina beauty explained. "What you see in the textbook and what you don't see are all testable points. You not only have to memorize them but also understand them, be able to adapt them, and apply them in practice."
Jiang Ye was numb.
"Is it like this for all the other subjects?" Cen Yemeng's voice trembled.
"Yes," the Latina beauty nodded. "The probability of passing in the first year is very low. You should prepare for a prolonged battle."
"What happens if you repeatedly fail the exam?" Jiang Ye asked.
"If you repeatedly fail, you can't expand your territory. All the classmates in this room already have two planets. To get a third planet, you must pass this exam."
"Are there any other penalties?"
"The other penalty is having to take the exam every year, and your exam results will be recorded in your resume and publicized, causing ridicule," the Latina beauty sighed. "As a senior student, I'll give you a piece of advice: truly listen carefully in class, memorize desperately after class, don't be lazy. Passing is not easy."
"What time do you all come for early morning study?" Cen Yemeng asked.
"I came at five-thirty this morning, and half the class was already here," the Latina beauty said.
Jiang Ye thanked her and immediately began to recite his book. Cen Yemeng also started reciting anxiously.
Unknowingly, an hour passed.
The teacher arrived at the classroom on time. He was a kindly old man. The old man scanned the room with a smile and immediately began to scold them:
"This is truly bizarre! Even a pig is dressed when it comes to class? Pigs are smarter than you! You're all repeating endlessly, have I been feeding my lectures to dogs? Arthur Yarvis, is this the tenth year I'm seeing you? Will I see you in the next decade? Misei Shoko, you scored 58 in your first year, and I thought you had some potential. I didn't expect to see you six years later! Bill Nicola, the 'Ten-Point King,' right? You've been taking the exam for eight years, and every year you score around ten points. Do you have a brain disorder? Liu Chang, you're an immortal flower from Langyuan. The questions you got right last year, you don't remember a year later. You study for a year and forget it all. Your son passed the exam after repeating for three years, and you're still here repeating!"
"With your pathetic state, you still want three planets? Giving you one is too much! The Galactic Empire chose you lot to be planetary leaders, and I mourn for the fate of humanity! I really want to slice open your brains and study them to see how miraculous the phenomenon of atavism is. Your brain structures probably can't even compare to a Peking Man! Are your brains as smooth as mirrors, with not a single wrinkle, maintaining eternal youth like your faces? When you get a brain CT scan, the doctor has to use a magnifying glass to find a sesame-seed-sized piece of brain tissue in the clear water filling your skull, right? You do have some merits, though. Surviving to this age is a miracle of life!"
"A few days ago, my friend, the president of the Association for the Intellectually Disabled, had dinner with me. He said he was short on new members, so I told him I'd help. I said I'd be starting a class soon, and he could come and grab as many as he wanted from my class. He quickly shook his head and said our association only accepts patients with a chance of recovery."
Jiang Ye and Cen Yemeng listened, dumbfounded. The other students in the class lowered their heads, looking more ashamed than ever, or at least pretending to be. The old man lectured for more than ten minutes, his lung capacity extraordinary. Finally, the old man tapped the blackboard.
"Alright, class begins. Lift your noble pig heads, and strive to score 60 points this year. Next year, I'll scold you even more harshly."