The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“Did you see that just now? It was really impressive, she even got the whole arm up!” One student, trailing behind the group, said excitedly to a companion.

“Yeah, I saw, I saw. You’ve said that three times already. It’s just one arm, right? Look at Raffet next to her. He moved both of his arms, and you weren’t nearly as excited as you are now.”

“That’s different. Raffet’s grades are excellent, so it’s expected that he’d do well. For me, I thought I might not even succeed by the end of the course,” the first student continued, still excited.

“Can you at least think about others when you’re this happy? I was still happy for you, but could you consider how I feel?” His companion was clearly someone who hadn’t succeeded by the end of the class.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. Honestly, it’s all just luck. Didn’t Stark, our instructor, say that most students struggle the first time they try the mechs? He’s usually strict, so when he says that, it’s not just empty encouragement. The next mech class will be next week, and from now on, we’ll have mech practical classes every week. There will be plenty of opportunities. So, don’t worry.”

“Speaking of which, what we’ve done is nothing special. Do you know who else managed to drive the mech?” Even though they were excitedly talking, in fact, they had only managed to activate parts of the mech, which most of the students who successfully entered the auxiliary cabins could do.

However, they were still far from fully controlling the mech. To truly drive the mech, you at least have to get the body to stand up. Unfortunately, in the past three hours of class, very few students managed to achieve that.

“Just a few. Clarens, Tader, and I think there’s another one… oh, the top scorer in our class, the one named Jaidy, the one with the bad temper.”

“Did you leave someone out? On purpose, maybe? You didn’t even count the most impressive one,” another student asked skeptically.

“Do we even need to count her? Didn’t everyone see it?” She was different from everyone else, she succeeded right from the start, and it felt wrong to compare her to the others. It was on a completely different level.

“Do you think she might have previous experience with driving mechs? She doesn’t look like someone without experience,” the student said, a bit doubtful.

“Come on. Not everyone has access to a mech. Even if someone’s family has that kind of background, they wouldn’t just let an incomplete awakener touch something like that. Besides, didn’t you experience it yourself? How hard is it to operate the mech? There’s almost no chance of success if you’re figuring it out on your own… Hmph, just admit it, she’s impressive.”

“Come on, let’s go. Look at you, talking so seriously. We’re falling behind. If we don’t hurry, those guys will take all the good spots in the cafeteria.”

“Eh? Is Jiang still not out? I saw her behind us. I was hoping to catch up and ask her some questions.”

“Maybe the instructor kept her behind for a talk.” The student raised an eyebrow, gave a knowing look, and made a ‘private lesson’ gesture.

“Only you would guess that. If you’re jealous, you can stay behind too. If it were you, I bet not only would you be too scared to ask for extra lessons, but you’d probably be too intimidated to even look at Instructor Stark’s face for too long.”

As the two continued to chat, they grew further away.

As for Jiang Hui, who they were discussing, she was indeed still in the combat hall. Most of the students from Class 2 had already left, and the vast mech combat hall was now left with only Jiang Hui, Stark, and the many empty mechs scattered around.

After staying behind, Jiang Hui spontaneously helped tidy up the place. She then noticed a mech that was clearly not properly shut down, wondering which careless student had left it that way. She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to fix it, when Stark called her over.

He waved his hand, signaling for her to come over.

Jiang Hui obediently called out “Uncle Tang.” Stark was someone who valued seniority and respect for elders, so in class, she always addressed him as “Instructor” or “Teacher” due to their teacher-student relationship. However, outside of class, if she called him that, he would always seriously correct her.

In the starry galaxy, the term “uncle” would have been more fitting, as that’s how he referred to himself. But for Jiang Hui, who had already been an adult for many years as a Blue Star soul, it felt a bit too much, so she simply dropped the word “uncle” and called him “Tang Shu” (TN: Same as uncle but without the formality of “uncle”.) instead. He didn’t mind and accepted it.

Stark nodded in acknowledgment, then got straight to the point, asking her about her feelings regarding today’s lesson—the first time operating a mech, the general sensory experience, and the problems she encountered. His questions were very detailed, making Jiang Hui wonder if he had kept her behind specifically to give her additional guidance.

Jiang Hui had no objection to this. After all, the mech operation class was quite short, and the amount of knowledge learned was limited. If she could learn more, it was definitely a good thing.

Although Jiang Hui had already managed a somewhat successful initial operation during the class, she still had plenty of questions after several attempts. If she didn’t ask Stark, she would have to go back and search for information herself or find the answers through experience.

It was definitely nice to have someone willing to answer her questions.

But as for the answers… they weren’t quite as detailed as she expected.

Stark wasn’t a teacher with a meticulous approach, and this could be heard from his opening remarks at the start of the class. He was more of an empiricist, favoring the development of personal skills through hands-on exploration, ultimately forming one’s own style.

Therefore, when Jiang Hui asked him questions, Stark preferred to guide her thinking or explore the root causes of the problems, rarely giving her direct answers.

By the end of the conversation, Jiang Hui had resolved many of the doubts in her mind, but it seemed like… the more she asked, the more questions she had.

Sigh, never mind, as long as she learned something, she couldn’t ask for too much more.

When it seemed like Jiang Hui had finished asking, Stark finally got to the point of why he had kept her behind: “How did you feel about operating the humanoid mech today?”

How did it feel? Jiang Hui paused. This was a difficult question to answer. She had only just started working with mechs, so how could she speak in detail about her feelings?

If he had asked how she felt about operating a mech today, she could give a few answers, but specifically about the humanoid mech, that was too detailed and vague a question. She wasn’t sure what exactly he was asking for.

Jiang Hui was uncertain about Stark’s purpose in asking this, and she looked at him in confusion. However, she noticed that, oddly enough, he wasn’t looking at her at that moment. Instead, he was gazing at the only mech that hadn’t been properly docked, with an expression that seemed distant.

Jiang Hui opened her mouth, but for some reason, she felt like she shouldn’t say anything at that moment, so she simply closed her mouth and stayed quiet.

She wasn’t sure how much time passed—it felt like a long time, but at the same time, it seemed like just a short while—before she sensed Stark’s gaze move away. His tone now seemed to carry some apology: “It’s getting late. You should head back now.”

Jiang Hui nodded and was about to turn to leave when she heard his voice from behind: “The last batch of your father’s belongings has been approved by the military. It’ll be returned next Wednesday and should arrive at the permanent star system. I’ll deliver it to you then.”