The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Jiang Hui headed straight to the residential area from the Academic Affairs Office. It was already around four or five in the afternoon, and in just over an hour it would be dark, so she needed to get her dormitory arranged quickly.

She indeed hit the peak time for crowds, with many people gathered to handle their paperwork for the living arrangements.

Fortunately, Jiang Hui had already read the brochure. There were four types of dormitories available. The first was a collective dormitory, typically housing seven people. It was quite affordable, basically equating to free accommodation thanks to school subsidies. Some outgoing and sociable individuals tended to prefer this kind of dormitory, which was the most similar to her previous dorm experience on Blue Star.

Next were the smaller options: four-person and double dormitories. These were quieter and generally more popular among students. With fewer people, the environment was less complicated, making it easier to maintain stable relationships.

Finally, there was the most spacious and expensive option: the single dormitory. As the name suggested, it was for one person only and offered a space comparable to that of a four-person dormitory. However, living alone could be a bit lonely, and these dormitories were located far from the teaching area, requiring the longest walks each day.

Jiang Hui considered going with the popular four-person dormitory, but given her peculiar sleeping habits and the risks of her mental state—often staying up all night—she decided it was better to live alone. It actually seemed quite reasonable in terms of price, as nearly all expenses were subsidized by the Empire, making them surprisingly affordable.

She reported to the staff in the residential area for a single dormitory. The good news was that there was still one available; the bad news was that it was located almost the farthest from the teaching area and quite close to the boys’ dormitory.

“I’m sorry, student, but this is the only room left. Because of different schedules, students in military-related majors and those in regular majors have separate dormitories. This year, many female students opted for single dormitories, so if you come any later, you’ll have to choose a four-person or a standard seven-person room…” The staff member looked troubled, likely because she had been asked this multiple times before. Jiang Hui hadn’t even asked yet when she launched into her explanation.

Jiang Hui was about to say something, but noticing a female classmate approaching, she quickly changed her mind: “Okay, I’ll take this single room. Please help me with the paperwork, thank you.”

The staff member seemed startled, momentarily taken aback before nodding and quickly processing Jiang Hui’s paperwork online. She handed Jiang Hui a strangely shaped metal object that resembled a key and informed her that the system had arranged for a robot to deliver living supplies to her dormitory. These supplies were included in the dormitory fees and basic living essentials were distributed quarterly.

After all that, Jiang Hui found herself empty-handed, only remembering the room number as she headed to the dormitory area.

So that classmate, Clarens, really had her best interests at heart, but she hadn’t taken it to heart herself. Now, she was left with the farthest dormitory.

However, it was only the first day of school. With the single and double dormitories already booked, and very few four-person rooms left, wouldn’t that mean later arrivals would have no choice but to stay in standard rooms? Jiang Hui thought this could be seen as a small reward for those students who actively came to start the semester.

Anyway, it was still a single dormitory. As for it being far from the teaching area, she could just wake up earlier in the future; all single dormitories were relatively far, but hers was particularly distant.

With that in mind, Jiang Hui stepped into the last rays of sunlight as she made her way to her dormitory building.

By the time she arrived at Building N, it was completely dark. It was past six, and Jiang Hui regretted not stopping to eat when she passed the cafeteria earlier.

As she walked by earlier, she had seen other students coming from the dormitory area looking fresh, some chatting and laughing as they entered the cafeteria. This made her reluctant to go in. Then she remembered she hadn’t set up her own dorm yet, so she hurriedly headed there.

“Never mind, I’ll see if I can grab some instant food downstairs later and make do with that. Tomorrow is another day. It’s the first day at school, and there are still many things to organize. If I don’t get everything in order, I won’t feel at ease.”

It was understandable why single dormitories were booked up so quickly. Standing in front of her dorm, she noticed that single rooms were indeed quieter compared to other types. Each building had about ten floors, and it felt like no more than three single rooms per floor, totaling around thirty rooms.

With so many female students across the various departments in the intermediate college, and military and regular majors being separated, it was normal for there not to be enough rooms.

Jiang Hui quickly found her door number on the sixth floor, opened the door, and stepped into the dormitory where she would be staying for at least a year.

The dorm was quite spacious, around twenty square meters, with a bedroom, a small living area, and a bathroom. The bedroom was simple with just a bed. The so-called living area felt more like a study space, equipped with a couple of simple stools, a bookshelf, and a large desk that resembled a workbench.

Jiang Hui felt indifferent; it was a school after all, and given the limited conditions, this was quite decent, especially since she had paid several times more for the single dormitory.

After doing a rough check of the room and ensuring everything was in order, she began unpacking the supplies stacked at the entrance and placing them where they belonged. She also had to arrange items she brought from home that were stored in her spatial pocket.

After an hour or two of adjustments, she finally managed to set up her dorm. While it didn’t seem like she had brought much, it turned out to be quite a hassle to organize everything.

This was the first time Jiang Hui had to do so many things manually since coming to the star system. She had thought that almost everything here was covered by machines, but it turned out there were still tasks she needed to do herself. The school probably wanted to encourage students to improve their manual skills and self-reliance.

Exhausted, Jiang Hui didn’t feel like eating and set an alarm to go straight to sleep. As usual, she woke up in her mental space, read some books, fiddled with her mecha models, and waited for twenty-four hours to pass. However, since she had already slept, waking up in the physical space meant she could only browse her brain interface and read.

Previously, she would intentionally adjust her sleeping schedule because she felt uneasy sleeping in her mental space, fearing it might negatively affect her body. But after experimenting over the past few days, Jiang Hui discovered that sleeping in that space didn’t impact her physical reality at all. It felt just like her actual sleep, and she even felt more refreshed.

Now, Jiang Hui mostly slept whenever she wanted, waking up either in her mental space or in reality to find something to study. This was why she insisted on living in a single dormitory.