The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

When Jiang Hui arrived at the cafeteria, the sky was just starting to brighten, with the night sky having only recently faded. This was probably the time people were just beginning to wake up.

The cafeteria was open, but there wasn’t a single person in sight. The machines on the first floor seemed to still be offline.

Jiang Hui froze for a moment, realizing she had made a basic mistake. She vaguely remembered reading in the freshman handbook that the cafeteria’s meal service robots on the first floor only start operating at 7:00 AM and shut down at 10:00 PM, with about ten hours set aside for maintenance.

She had come too early. It was just after 6:00 AM, and the robots hadn’t even started up yet. What was she supposed to eat? Air? Or…

Jiang Hui’s gaze landed on the 24-hour instant food vending machine outside the cafeteria.

She almost cursed out loud. No way, she got up this early just to eat instant food!

“What are you doing?” a voice behind her asked in a deep tone.

Once again—

Jiang Hui turned around and came face to face with the “Dan” uncle she had met yesterday, along with a small group of people behind him.

“J-just getting breakfast,” Jiang Hui replied.

“Then go upstairs. Why are you standing there, blocking the way? Get moving,” he said, giving her a sideways glance before taking a few steps forward. Then he turned back, giving her another look.

Jiang Hui hesitated, glancing at the few officers trailing behind. Seeing they weren’t moving, she didn’t dare to either. But once given the signal, she quickly followed along, taking a few hurried steps to catch up.

She kept a cautious distance from Stark, walking close to the wall, seeming a bit timid and hesitant to speak.

However, Stark had already seen through her nature. He knew she was just observing and not as timid as she appeared on the surface. He figured it was better to be direct with her. “You’re up a bit early, aren’t you?” he remarked.

Before Jiang Hui could respond, he continued, “I checked your file. You live in a single dorm far from the teaching area. There will be plenty of training later, so don’t push yourself too hard.”

‘That’s because of you!’ Jiang Huai thought to herself.

She didn’t want to risk being late and kicked out of the Combat Soldier program. Her dorm was so far from the teaching area that if something went wrong, there’d be no time to fix it. It was better to wake up early and get breakfast—after all, Jiang Hui barely slept in reality anyway.

But she didn’t dare say that to Stark. Instead, she explained that she had gone to bed early last night and was well-rested, so she woke up early today.

Stark seemed to genuinely assess her, his sharp, eagle-like gaze intensely scrutinizing her, making Jiang Hui feel uneasy.

Finally, Stark appeared to believe her and even nodded. “During military training, it’s important to rest well. This is a good opportunity for you to focus on improving yourself. Set aside any distractions for this month, train hard, rest well, and work on getting your fitness up to the standard of the Combat Soldier program.”

Oh dear, with Stark being this serious, Jiang Hui found herself at a loss for words. She had really just made up an excuse off the top of her head.

From the way Stark was talking, it seemed like he genuinely intended to train her thoroughly. Well, he had mentioned it to her earlier, and Jiang Hui had agreed at the time.

Now, there was a subtle, almost intangible connection between them, though it wasn’t anything close to real closeness. Still, Stark had at least some grounds to be involved.

Even though Jiang Hui wasn’t too keen on dealing with the complicated network of relationships left behind by her body’s original owner, she knew she couldn’t avoid it forever. Eventually, she would have to face the world and interact with others.

As for Stark, Jiang Hui still hadn’t found a way to confirm his relationship with the Jiang family. The timing, the name, and certain characteristics seemed to match up, but for now, she could only wait for time to reveal the truth.

For the time being, she hadn’t found anything in her original self’s past that someone might seek to exploit.

Considering Stark’s high-ranking position in the military and his apparent regard for her original self, Jiang Hui figured it would be best to go along with his plans for now.

She might as well think of him as another “Uncle Tang.”

With Stark’s arrangement, Jiang Hui could only nod and agree.

Stark seemed pleased with her compliance and suddenly said to her, “You’ve arrived. On the third floor, there’s a manual dining window. The food may not taste great, but it’s far more nutritious than the instant meals on the first floor.”

Jiang Hui followed his direction and found herself at the entrance to the third floor. Inside, she could hear voices, indicating that quite a few people were already eating.

She watched as Stark and the small group of unfamiliar officers headed up to the fourth floor.

It turns out that the instructors also eat at the school’s cafeteria, probably in the staff section. She had thought they would have a separate dining hall.

The military’s style really is all about efficiency—no unnecessary formalities or complications.

Watching the group of neatly uniformed officers walk upstairs in unison made the narrow, dimly lit cafeteria hallway seem to brighten. Jiang Hui suddenly felt a strange sense of disillusionment, as though the boundary between her fantasy and reality had been blurred.

From a distance, she overheard people talking about her.

“Is that your student, Captain?”

“A new recruit?”

“Up this early? Pretty impressive for her first day of training—seems like she’s got potential.”

“Captain, you always take your teaching so seriously. Someone who didn’t know might think you were training your own kid. I’m not that detailed. Those young punks, on their first day of training, act like they own the place. If I don’t put them in their place, they’ll be trying to walk all over me by tomorrow.”

“But this one seems pretty well-behaved. I like kids who know when to fall in line. If one day you’re not satisfied with her, send her over to me. I’ll make sure to teach her well.”

“What are you talking about? She’s clearly a good prospect, and you’re trying to take her from the captain.”

…

‘I can hear you, you know?!’ Jiang Hui thought, feeling a bit embarrassed as she walked into the stairwell. ‘Can’t they lower their voices a little? It’s so awkward to hear them talking about me like this…’

So, she quickened her pace to leave this place of gossip, hoping to avoid running into any more familiar faces.

It was Jiang Hui’s first time coming to the third floor to find food. She had always gotten her meals from the fast food window on the first floor, where everything was automated. You just picked a meal on the screen, and it was fast and convenient.

She had heard that the second and third floors had human-operated food stations. The second floor was known for its expensive meal options, usually chosen by wealthier students.

As for the third floor, it served nutritional meals that were more expensive than the fast food options on the first floor, and the taste wasn’t great. However, it was popular among upperclassmen because of its high nutritional value.

Jiang Hui had never been to the second or third floors before, and she hadn’t expected her first time to happen like this.