After the last student left the laboratory, Liu Fei, who had been dozing off in the corner, suddenly stood up. His movements were unusually agile and vigorous, like a beast awakening from slumber. In just one hour, the messy laboratory had transformed into a neat and orderly space. All the instruments and equipment gleamed brightly, emitting various metallic hues. The windows were clear, and even the floor was spotless.

This laboratory was located in the most prestigious institution in the Zuo'er Star Territory: Zuo'er Mech University.

However, despite its association with mechs, this luxurious laboratory did not house many fully-formed mechs. Instead, its primary focus was on the study of light path optics.

Liu Fei was not a student of Zuo'er Mech University; he was merely a lowly janitor. His task was to clean and tidy up the laboratory every morning and evening. Occasionally, he would assist the professors in doing some manual labor, such as moving heavy machinery and equipment.

This was the highest institution in the Zuo'er Star Territory, and the students admitted to this school were either wealthy or from prestigious families. Although Liu Fei had worked in this laboratory for two years, hardly anyone noticed his existence as a janitor. It seemed that the transformation of the messy laboratory into a clean and orderly one the next day was taken for granted by everyone.

...

For Liu Fei, this job had become second nature. He could even tell with his eyes closed where each tool should be placed. Any instrument in his hands would be returned to its proper place without hesitation. In two years, he had never made a mistake. Even the most intricate components of the light path were like the back of his hand to him.

An hour and ten minutes later, Liu Fei had completed all the tidying and cleaning in the spacious laboratory. He glanced at his ancient wristwatch. Today, he was seven seconds ahead of schedule compared to yesterday, a result he was quite satisfied with. Through two years of optimization, even completing the work one second ahead of schedule was commendable. To be seven seconds ahead today was an achievement that made him proud.

Fifty minutes later, the laboratory door would automatically close. Liu Fei's cleaning authority was limited to two hours, strictly controlled by the school's mainframe computer without any margin for error. Once the laboratory was closed, the defense system would activate. Even a fly would trigger the alarm, and within a minute, fully armed guards would arrive to apprehend the intruder.

Of course, the closing time of the laboratory could be adjusted.

After checking his watch, Liu Fei didn't hesitate. He entered his authorization password and closed the thick steel gate of the laboratory, then swiftly slipped into the adjacent mech modification laboratory.

In the mech modification laboratory, amidst towering mechs, a sturdy young man with a simple and honest face was sweating profusely, clumsily handling a cleaning device, his face smeared with black oil, looking particularly disheveled.

"Fei Ge." The guy breathed a sigh of relief and smiled with joy upon seeing Liu Fei.

"Alright, take a break. I'll take over." Liu Fei walked up to the young man and took the cleaning device from him.

"Thank you, Fei Ge," the young man replied gratefully.

The young man nodded repeatedly, watching Liu Fei's agile movements with a silly grin. He enjoyed watching Liu Fei tidy up, as it seemed like a rhythmic dance to him. Liu Fei's hands seemed to possess magical powers, effortlessly finding the appropriate place for any tool.

Basic cleaning was quickly completed, and then Liu Fei started organizing some tools.

Armor plates, sensors, drive shafts, engines... Watching those bulky and intricate tools and machinery effortlessly return to their rightful places in Liu Fei's hands, the young man's eyes were filled with admiration and envy.

Unbeknownst to the young man, Liu Fei wasn't just tidying up. Every time a component of a mech slid through his hands, his eyes were filled with a fanatical focus, giving the impression that those mech parts possessed life...

"This is the handle of the Starlight Mech, weighing 730 grams..."

"This is the auxiliary engine of the Warrior-11 Mech, weighing 5600 grams..."

"Huh, what engine is this?"

Liu Fei looked at a miniature auxiliary engine in his hand, a type he had never seen before. The engine was extremely small, flat in shape, less than one-fifth the size of an adult fist, and incredibly light, weighing less than 300 grams. If it wasn't placed in the engine compartment, Liu Fei wouldn't believe it was a miniature auxiliary engine. In his memory, humans had not yet developed such tiny mech auxiliary engines. After all, compared to mechs weighing tens of tons, this kind of miniature auxiliary engine provided very limited power.

Suppressing the urge to study it carefully, Liu Fei placed the engine back and made a mental note of its serial number.

Time was running short for him to study further; there were only ten minutes left before the mech lab would close.

Five minutes later, Liu Fei wiped the sweat from his forehead, glanced at his wristwatch, and sighed inwardly. He was eleven seconds late compared to yesterday. It seemed that he couldn't achieve the serene state of being unaffected by external factors just yet. Obviously, his smooth movements had been interrupted by the appearance of the miniature engine, causing a delay.

"Thank you, Fei Ge. In the next life, I'll definitely marry you," the sturdy young man said with a fawning smile.

"We've been through this for two years. Can you be more practical?" Liu Fei responded indifferently.

"Then... then... next month when I get paid, I'll treat you to a big meal." The young man blushed with embarrassment.

"Alright, I hope it's not just another nutrient solution," Liu Fei said with seemingly no expectations in his tone.

"No, no..."

The young man chuckled awkwardly, then put his arm around Liu Fei's shoulder. The two of them walked out of the lab, chatting and laughing amid the impending closure announcement.

It was already dusk at this time, and the whole school had become quiet, giving off an empty feeling. The two of them traversed half of the campus and entered a lush forest.

This was a shortcut that Liu Fei occasionally found. Inside the dense forest was a wall; beyond it lay the slum where Liu Fei lived.

With this shortcut, Liu Fei could save thirty-three minutes.

Familiar with the route, the two of them climbed a tree one after another, descended onto the wall from the branches, then slid down onto a branch outside the wall and reached the slum.

After sliding down from the tree, the sturdy young man waved goodbye to Liu Fei, his face filled with excitement as he dashed into the densely populated slum area, looking extremely thrilled.

Watching the young man's excited figure disappear into the complex alleys of the slum, a warm smile appeared on Liu Fei's otherwise indifferent face.

The sturdy young man was his only friend in the slum, named Li Meng. Li Meng was about the same age as him, having lost his parents at a young age and grown up in the slums.

Li Meng's interests were quite different from Liu Fei's. He loved ancient martial arts and dreamed of earning enough money to practice them. There was a prestigious martial arts school in the slums called the "Zhenyuan Universe Martial School." It was said that during the chaotic era of the Great Migration, the Zhenyuan Universe Martial School had experienced glory but gradually declined due to various reasons.

Although the Zhenyuan Universe Martial School had declined and moved to the slums, with greatly reduced fees, for an orphan like Li Meng, the tuition fees were still astronomical.

According to Li Meng's plan, it would take at least two more years for him to earn enough money for three years of tuition and living expenses. After all, if he entered the martial arts school, he would have to give up his cleaning job at Zuo'er University, and what he needed was not just tuition, but also three years of living expenses.

Li Meng's daily life was simple. After finishing his work at school, he would rush to the Zhenyuan Universe Martial School, standing by the small martial arts field, trying to secretly learn some legendary martial arts secrets.

Li Meng's favorite topics were the legendary martial arts such as the Great Transfer of Heaven and Earth and the Nine Yang Divine Art. He had mentioned these virtual kung fu from ancient martial arts novels to Liu Fei many times, saying that if he mastered these divine skills, he would travel the world, acting chivalrously and punishing evil. 

Facing Li Meng's enthusiasm, Liu Fei could only smile bitterly. He wanted to tell Li Meng that those divine skills were just fantasies imagined by humans, bored as they were in ancient Earth. However, Li Meng was deeply indoctrinated and firmly believed in those divine skills. Liu Fei's attempts at persuasion only resulted in arguments, so he had to give up.

After watching Li Meng's excited figure disappear into the maze-like alleys of the slums, Liu Fei quickened his pace and headed towards his own residence.

Like Li Meng, Liu Fei also had his own dream.

Liu Fei's dream was to enter Zuo'er Mech University, and his greatest interest was in mechs.

Cleaning up in the light path and light brain lab was the most painful thing for Liu Fei. Apart from light path and light brain, Liu Fei was interested in almost all mech-related courses. However, he was assigned to the light path and light brain lab...

Li Meng would be able to enter his coveted martial arts school in two years, but Liu Fei would have to wait much longer. The tuition fees for Zuo'er Mech University were astronomical for Liu Fei, and as a lowly resident of the slums, it was almost impossible for him to afford them. 

Of course, Liu Fei wasn't worried because, according to the regulations of Zuo'er Mech University, as long as he worked at the university for three years, he would qualify for admission. This was a rule personally promulgated by the second president of Zuo'er Mech University to reward poor children who made contributions to the school.

Out of humanitarianism and to give lower-class children a chance to enter the highest institution in the Zuo'er star system, or perhaps to earn some good reputation for the school, Zuo'er Mech offered a job opportunity to young people from the slums every year, providing them with a chance to enter the school.

In fact, many children from the slums entered Zuo'er Mech University through this route. However, the proportion was very, very small because, even though Zuo'er Mech University reduced a large part of the tuition fees, it was still difficult for children from the slums to afford the school's huge expenses. Most of the children from the slums took the three years of work as a means of making a living.

According to the statistics provided by the school, in the past twenty years, only five children from the slums entered the school to study, and only one of them managed to complete the four-year university education. The other four dropped out for various reasons...

The students who could enter the highest institution in the Zuo'er star system were all from prominent families, enjoying a sense of superiority in both material and spiritual aspects. It could be imagined how painful it was for a child from the slums to live among these elite for four years.

Liu Fei didn't care about the students' discrimination; he cared about entering the university and getting more knowledge about mechs.

There was only one year left for Liu Fei to qualify for admission to the university. However, Liu Fei's savings were less than half of the tuition fees. Nevertheless, Liu Fei wasn't worried because, two months ago, he had found a way to make money.

After a short run, Liu Fei returned to his residence, which was more like a mech.

It was an abandoned ancient mech, a standard twelve meters tall and weighing seventy tons, appearing particularly bulky. It had ceased production half a century ago. There were many houses made by transforming such mechs in the slums, becoming a unique sight of the slums.

More than a hundred years ago, the Zuo'er star system suffered a large-scale alien attack, and the area of Zuo'er Mech University was one of the main battlefields on the ground. It was said that the battle between humans and extraterrestrial aliens lasted for fifteen years, with casualties reaching two billion, making it the largest and most tragic war since humans entered space. It was also in that war that the original political system of humanity completely collapsed, ushering in the era of terrifying cosmic warlords and the era of mechs...