The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Compared to the aimless floating of the first day, by the third day, Jiang Hui could calmly open her eyes in bed, tousle her hair, and check the time on her holographic computer.

Last night, she finally had a full night’s sleep in the real world. She had spent the previous evening assembling a fun miniature model in her mental space but struggled to get it right. During this process, Jiang Hui realized she lacked a lot of basic knowledge, forcing her to stop and spend over ten hours on introductory materials about mechs.

Although it was just a basic guidebook that every mech engineer had to read, akin to a kindergarten phonics book, having some foundation made a world of difference compared to having none at all.

After studying this introductory material, she found that assembling the miniature mech models, while not as smooth as chocolate, was now manageable and she felt more confident.

Jiang Hui secretly considered whether she should buy a few more foundational books to study. Once she fully grasped how to assemble the miniature mechs, she could buy tools and materials to create larger models to sell later on—she consoled herself with this idea.

Today was the last day for new students to report for the semester. If they didn’t make it today, they would essentially lose the chance to study on campus for the year and would have to wait until next year.

However, most people were still enthusiastic about starting school. Many had already settled in yesterday, and today only a few new students were trickling in.

On the way, most people had already put on their new campus uniforms. If you didn’t pay attention to the wear and tear of the clothing, it would be hard to distinguish who were the newcomers and who were the returning students.

Today, Jiang Hui didn’t act as the class liaison since there was nothing for her to do. After breakfast, she initially wanted to join the crowd and stroll around campus.

She particularly wanted to visit the school library, hoping to find a few books to take back to her mental space.

To be honest, she didn’t realize how much she loved reading and studying—though it was somewhat forced.

Since arriving at the interstellar world, she gained an extra twenty-four hours in her life, and she had to embrace reading as a fulfilling activity, as it was almost her only way to reasonably pass the time in her well-equipped yet disconnected mental space.

However, as the saying goes, plans can’t keep up with changes.

On her way to the library, she received the first announcement from the class instructor via the holographic communication system, stating that after lunch, she was to report to Class 89983-2 of the Combat Department at 1 PM. Latecomers would face consequences.

Looking at the time, it was already past nine. If she went to the library and returned for lunch, she could still make it, but since it was the start of the semester and she needed to report to her new class, she figured she should at least prepare herself.

Of course, she didn’t mean meticulously dressing up or putting on makeup—after all, she was in the Combat Department now. Plus, at her age, she was essentially a high school student back on Blue Star, where the school strictly prohibited any kind of makeup; hair had to be cut short to even enter the classroom. While this school didn’t enforce such rules, Jiang Hui understood what was expected.

In any case, she decided to visit the library another time; the books in her mental space were sufficient for now. Jiang Hui planned to return to her dorm to get ready, then head to class to report in time.

After all, since they used the phrase “consequences are your own,” Jiang Hui couldn’t take it lightly.

So, she turned back halfway to the library, grabbed some instant food from a vending machine downstairs in the cafeteria, and headed straight back to her dorm.

…No wonder it’s the farthest single dorm from the teaching area.

Jiang Hui finally understood why the staff kept emphasizing how far her dorm was from the teaching area—it really was far.

The teaching area was located in the first third of the campus, while her dorm was almost at the edge of the back half. It would take her about an hour to walk there for class, which was exhausting.

This design seemed unreasonable to her; she couldn’t understand the school’s intention behind it. She thought there must be some hidden reasons she wasn’t aware of.

Fortunately, Jiang Hui was quite punctual and usually left well in advance for any appointments. So when she arrived at the classroom, it was still a little before noon.

However, perhaps due to others having closer dorms, when Jiang Hui hurriedly pushed open the classroom door, she found it already filled with many students. Though she wasn’t the last to arrive, she was still among the later ones.

Jiang Hui sighed in relief, quickly found a convenient seat, and resolved to leave earlier each day from now on—otherwise, she might end up being late for class.

That classmate, Clarens, probably arrived among the later group as well, sitting not far from her at the front. He glanced at her as she walked in but didn’t greet her, merely observing.

Jiang Hui assumed that was his way of saying hello, so she politely returned his gaze. They both quickly looked away, as if they had never met.

Indeed, the interstellar world was a melting pot of races. Since arriving, Jiang Hui had seen many people with different skin tones, hair colors, and eye colors, living together in this diverse environment.

Naturally, her classmates came from all sorts of backgrounds—blonde-haired and blue-eyed, brown-haired with brown eyes, tall with deep features but black-haired individuals of Germanic descent, as well as those with darker skin tones. There were even quite a few mixed-race students. In contrast, there were only two or three of Jiang Hui’s own background in the class, all appearing relatively quiet, at least on the surface.

At the start of the school year, it was all the same everywhere. Although the culture in the stars differed from that of Blue Planet, the social dynamics were similar. Everyone was unfamiliar with each other, and attempts at interaction felt somewhat stiff, yet they were all gradually getting to know one another. Some students seemed particularly awkward and withdrawn, sitting in their spots while waiting for the class instructor to arrive.

Jiang Hui was actually one of the latter; she was a passive person in social situations. Despite having crossed over and not being young anymore, having spent over a decade in school, she instinctively felt a bit shy before entering the classroom.

However, once she settled into her seat among the bustling crowd, her nervousness began to fade, leaving her somewhat amused—was she regressing? Gradually, she found herself influenced by the youthful and vibrant atmosphere of her classmates, feeling her awareness merge into their world.