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Character ListQiao Zhiya: Half-elf, half-dwarf MC.
Chu Rong: Marshal ML.
Chu Yan: ML’s younger brother. Is the same age as MC, currently attending intermediate college.
Xiang Kun: Chu Yan’s mortal enemy. Xiang Hui’s younger brother.
Qiao Zhiya watched the White-Haired Monster leave. He became dazed for a moment, then took out his communicator and dialed Chu Yan’s number.
Today was the weekend, so it’s natural for Chu Yan to immediately answered a call from Qiao Zhiya. The blond-haired youth asked him to meet him at the mall, to which Chu Yan immediately agreed. He rushed from school and met him there.
Qiao Zhiya wasn’t the type to dilly-dally. After some greetings, he asked Chu Yan what he wanted to ask.
“Theoretically speaking, as long as you graduate from a junior college, you can apply to all the intermediate colleges.” Chu Yan frowned and analyzed together with him, fingering the straw on his cup. He was a bit distressed when he heard the full detail from Qiao Zhiya. As expected from his emotionally-constipated brother, but still

Chu Yan continued, “But it’s a bit different for the Federal Military Academy. Your admission not only hinges on your grades during junior college, but also on your personal qualifications and whether you have superior or special strengths. All in all, the criteria is very strict, and furthermore, the school has started for two months already. You could technically apply now, as a transfer student. But
 I heard that the method of enrollment is way harder than if you enroll during the start of the school period.”
Qiao Zhiya frowned. While he expected the admission would be difficult, he didn’t know that there was a difference between normal enrollment and mid-semester transfer.
“Besides, the recommended directions written in your grade book are medicine and art. Our college has medicine as a field of study, but it only accepts students with spiritual power C-grade and above. And, didn’t your spiritual power
” Chu Yan trailed off. He put down his hands on the table. Thinking hard about Qiao Zhiya’s current situation, the young master sighed deeply before muttering to himself, “That Erge of mine
 how could he treat his future boyfriend like this, so ruthless
”
With how powerful the Chu family was, it should be a child’s play to send Qiao Zhiya to enter the Federal Military Academy. Didn’t he do that to Chu Yan already? Why couldn’t he also do that for Qiao?
“It’s not your Erge’s fault. If I can’t even handle the hurdle of enrolling myself, then what right do I have to talk about independence?” Qiao Zhiya could understand Chu Rong’s thoughts and worries. He was just a little frustrated about his own uselessness in this matter.
It would be great if magic power could be simulated as spiritual power
 he had tried that before, and it didn’t work

“Actually, what I want to learn is mecha manufacturing.” Qiao Zhiya spoke fast, as if he was embarrassed in admitting that. Scratching his face, he continued his explanation, “I didn’t think about studying medicine in the first place anyway. And I really don’t have the passion needed to pursue art.”
Hearing this, Chu Yan raised his eyes and stared at him blankly for a while. Then, he remembered one key detail he forgot. He sat up with a strange, excited cry, and became more vibrant, “My God, Qiao, you sure have high ambition! As expected of my Erge’s bo—cough cough, no, I mean, mecha manufacturing is a good field of study to pursue. My Erge is a mecha pilot in the first place, and if you will be his personal mecha master then that’s a match made in he— no, no, I mean, yeah, I will support your choice. I think you’ll be a fantastic mecha master in the future!”
Qiao Zhiya, who thought he would be dissuaded, did not expect to receive his unconditional encouragement and support. His eyes lit up, his face flushed, and he looked at him with pure joy radiating from his green eyes. “I heard that the mecha manufacturing course of your school is directly linked to the military-owned advanced college specialized in this field, and the teachers there are all top talents from the military department, is that true?”
“Of course both are true! The teachers in our school are specifically curated from the best of the best! Sometimes old generals and lieutenant generals will come to teach in person in order to recruit new talents. You can learn a lot just by watching them demonstrating their expertise.” Chu Yan was even more excited when he said this.
But just as he dreamed of a beautiful future where Qiao Zhiya was his classmate, he remembered a very important yet unpleasant detail.
“Uhm.. well, how do I put this
 for this field of study, there’s a minimum spiritual power requirement. The admission is only open for C-grade spiritual power and above.”
The light in Qiao Zhiya’s eyes went out again, but he was not discouraged. He lowered his head and thought for a while, and asked, “From what I heard
 the courses in the intermediate college are not bound to the field of study, unlike in advanced college. For example, the mecha driving department also has a mecha manufacturing course. In fact, all mecha-related studies do have this course, right? Is there any field of study that has a lax spiritual power requirement?”
So long he managed to attend this college first, everything else could come second.
After being reminded by him, Chu Yan’s thoughts instantly cleared up. He raised his hand and knocked his own forehead, and said happily: “Why didn’t I think of this? Yes, yes, of course, most of the subjects set up in our school are linked to the military department. Almost all the departments for military-related jobs have high requirements for spiritual power, but I think
 hm
  wait a minute, let me see.”
After he finished muttering to himself, he opened the school network client on his communicator and looked at the curicullum. A quarter hour later, Chu Yan made a summary table of all possible low spiritual power requirement fields of studies that have mecha manufacturing course in it. He projected the table into a holographic display for easier viewing.
“Command, logistics, weapons design, information system technology, mechanical design
 probably only these five have low-to-none spiritual power requirement — wait, no, the command major has a piloting course that also requires spiritual power. As for weapons design and information system technology also has a high baseline of entry, although for these majors you need to have a specialized basic knowledge from an affiliated school. Many of the students here are little geniuses who are specially trained for this since birth. You have only been in the Federation for a few months now, so I don’t suggest you try to apply here. How about logistic major then? It should be easy to apply,” Chu Yan suggested as he circled the “Logistic” word on his holographic projection. Chu Yan himself was excited, as he was finally able to help his future sister-in-law.
Qiao Zhiya only stared in full concentration. Instead of looking at the circled word, he instead pointed at the “Mechanical Design” word and asked, “How about this field of study? Does mechanical design have any spiritual power requirement?”
Chu Yan froze and looked at the admission requirements, “Yes, but not very high. D-grade is enough. If you have any special achievement, you can even enter with F-grade spiritual power. This major relies on IQ, not spiritual power; but the thing is, there’s a factual trend of higher the spiritual power, the higher the IQ. Though I think this ‘fact’ is flawed. Xiang Kun has S-grade spiritual power, but he is stupider than a pig.”
The spiritual power requirement was low enough, and this was a major that relied on his personal intelligence. Qiao Zhiya felt that he still had a chance. He then remembered something that Old Man Ren had mentioned to him last time he visited his laboratory. He gradually got an idea in his mind, “To increase my chance of success, can I present to them my patented works?”
“Ah? You, you already have patents??” Chu Yan was shocked. He felt that his Erge failed to tell him this important information. He continued, “But, aren’t you an Exoplanet Native? Since when do you have the time to make anything and patent them? How??”
While Chu Yan was questioning the world and the sheer difference between their intelligence, Qiao Zhiya immediately made a decision to visit Old Man Ren. Thankfully, Chu Yan understood and left not long after. Besides, he still needed to go back to the college’s dormitory.
Qiao Zhiya used to travel alone. He used public transportation to visit Ren Mo’s laboratory. He already told the mecha master about his visit, and Ren Mo was happy to welcome him.
When Qiao Zhiya arrived, he was welcomed by Ren Mo himself. The youth wasted no time to explain the purpose of his visit, and Ren Mo was pleasantly surprised.
Ren Mo looked at the smaller youth in front of him, nodding at appropriate intervals as he heard Qiao Zhiya’s idea. Feeling proud of his “apprentice”, he smiled, “You still remember this, good, good. I told you before, that even if I used your improved joint structure for my own mecha research, the original structure is still yours. I just help you with the procedure for the patent. Chu Rong and I will not steal your money or claim it as our own creation. So, if you want to use this patent for your admission, it’s within your rights to do so. You don’t need to ask for my permission. Just go and apply.”
“I just worry that if I use it without telling you  first, it will cause an inconvenience to your research.” Qiao Zhiya explained his point of view. He became embarrassed, but still spoke, “And
 if it’s not for you, my current understanding of mecha manufacturing will be terrible. It’s thanks to you that I am here right now.”
“No problem, no problem. Just make sure to study hard when you get enrolled. Strive to bring your current knowledge into line with the current technology as soon as possible.” Old Man Ren put down the parts he was holding, wiped his hands clean, and took out a patent certificate from his space button. He gave it to Qiao Zhiya and said, “You can use this for your college admission, this should be enough to count as a special achievement, so your third-degree disability status shouldn’t be a problem. And if you want to sell your patent, you can do it. Don’t worry about me or the Chu family.”
Qiao Zhiya felt touched. He actually thought that Grandpa Ren helping him to apply it in the first place was enough help, he didn’t think the help would extend this far. After receiving the certificate, he said, “I won’t sell it. I know the significance of this patent. I will allow you to use this exclusively for free. After all, without your improvement and application for the current technology’s mecha, this creation will have no meaning.”
“This child
” The smile on Old Man Red’s face deepened, and he could help but pat Qiao Zhiya’s in his shoulder. “Don’t forget to ask me if you find something you don’t understand. You’re still my apprentice, even if it’s just in name only.” Ren Mo was very happy when Chu Rong proposed this obedient and sensible genius to be his apprentice. So, he also needs to exert effort to be an appropriate master to him.
Qiao Zhiya also laughed and nodded, “Okay, I will.”
After receiving the patent, Qiao Zhiya applied for a mid-transfer transfer to the mechanical design department of Federal Military Academy Intermediate College. He attached a copy of his patent, a homemade scaled-down model of his patent — an improved joint structure design for mecha and weapons — and also detailed data of the degree of the movement, the overall strength, and weapon fusion enhancement after the application of his design.
The procedures for reviewing student information for any military-affiliated establishment was very arduous and strict. Not only were their results checked, their background must be spotless too.
While waiting for the answer to his application, Qiao Zhiya got the patent usage money that Grandpa Ren gave him. He also obtained the formal Federal resident status, and a life-long formal identification card with the attached communicator.
Chu Rong promised Qiao Zhiya that he could go to any college as long as he relied on his own strength and qualifications. He would let Qiao Zhiya handle his matters by himself, without obstructing it or secretly helping him. His level of overbearing-ness and overprotectiveness has significantly gone down, and Qiao Zhiya was thankful for it.
Another half of a month passed. Just when his application result was almost due, Chu Rong freed up his time. The Marshal took him to cut his hair and bought a lot of varied hats to help hiding his long ears.
“When you go to college, remember to bring these hats and use them. You also need to bring a space button to cover up the existence of your special storage bracelet. If anyone bullies you, fight back. If you can’t, find Xiao Yan to help you fight.”
Qiao Zhiya nodded in understanding. He looked at the White-Haired Monster’s relaxed expression, and asked in a hesitant tone, “If you’re telling me this
 then, you already know my application status.”
Chu Rong messed up Qiao Zhiya’s bangs. His face was still in his perpetual-frown, but he didn’t have any annoyance in his voice, “Smart.”
Qiao Zhiya tidied up his messy hair, and smiled in pride.
Seeing that he was already busted, Chu Rong told the truth, “There is a hearsay about you, but not about your admission status, but about your file.”
“In your file, you are rescued by the Chu family’s army from being enslaved in an illegal mine. It’s only natural for you to be under Chu family’s protection, and thus, your file is stored in our cloud server. If the military academy wants to enroll you, they must obtain your detailed information. In order to obtain permission to read your files, they need to ask for an authorized personnel, i.e, Me, to grant them access.” Chu Rong explained. But seeing that Qiao Zhiya was still puzzled, he added: “The true reason for your displacement from your hometown was because of black holes. However, this phenomenon has not appeared for a decade. So, in order to avoid unnecessary troubles, I have encrypted your file. If the school admin asks you about this, you have to answer it like this. If an outsider asks you, you just need to mention it, no need to go into details. Do you understand?”
“Understood,” Qiao Zhiya nodded. He felt a bit
 complicated. His original lie actually became the “truth”. However, it has become another secret he couldn’t disclose to anyone else. At least, he was protected better than before now.
He looked at Chu Rong, who was obviously more patient than before, and said sincerely, “Thank you. You’re not a bully, I guess.”
In response, Chu Rong messed up the Bald Chicken’s not-so-bald fluffy blond hair. But Qiao Zhiya didn’t care, and continued to smile.
‘This stupid Bald Chicken
’
Chu Rong continued to rub his head again, this time with a darkened face.
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