Chapter 4

The principal's office was filled with smoke.

Lin Nan stood with a smile on his face like a laughing Buddha, but his eyes glinted coldly as he chuckled, "Not bad, let the boys see this. It'll save us from having to prepare a show for the opening ceremony."

Every year at the opening ceremony, the school administration would carefully prepare a "show" to give the new, unruly boys a taste of what to expect, to intimidate the freshmen. There were no well-behaved children here, only troublemakers with a history of misconduct. If they went wild, it wouldn't be surprising if they tore the school apart.

Principal Xu Boyan asked, "Has the security system been inspected?"

Lin Nan replied, "It was inspected three days ago, just to give the boys a surprise."

The principal cautioned, "Be careful, don't cause any fatalities. These adorable little ones are our esteemed clients; don't scare them away. We rely on their sponsorship fees for next year."

Lin Nan hurriedly responded, "Understood, I've instructed the security center to set it to Level 3 alert."

Xu Boyan looked satisfied, "That's fine. Killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, alas, the chicken is a bit lacking, but it will have to do. He's a brave young man, after all."

On the screen, a rusted agricultural mecha stood at the school gate, its short, old body carrying two thick water tanks, looking somewhat comical.

In the security center, over a thousand screens monitored every corner of the campus around the clock. The main control AI continuously aggregated data. To suppress the dangerous elements within the school, Xu Boyan had spent a fortune to build the top-notch security center in the entire federation. The staff were all seasoned professionals, either retired military veterans or experienced security personnel.

The atmosphere in the security center was relaxed. They thought the agricultural mecha was just a farce. After several rounds of drawing lots, Fermi became the last unlucky one. The defense task was transferred to his position, and his voice was weak.

"Latest instructions, Level 3 alert, no fatalities."

"Target armor is zero, no fatalities, so should we reduce the weapon output to 30%, or 10%? If he dies, it will be a big trouble."

Fermi muttered, "Anti-air radar is ready."

Laughter erupted behind him, "Fermi, are you sure you need anti-air radar to deal with an agricultural mecha?"

"Can this thing even fly?"

Fermi snapped, "Shut up! Or do you want to take over?"

The laughter grew louder. Everyone in the security center was an elite, and they all preferred to deal with formidable targets. Dealing with an agricultural mecha was not a glorious task, and Fermi was certain that he would be stuck with the title of "Agricultural Mecha Killer" for a while.

After setting the automatic attack mode, Fermi didn't bother to look again. He stood up and asked, "Who wants coffee?"

"Me!" "Me too!" "A cold one!"

Hands shot up. Most of them were passing the time, some browsing news, others flirting. The new semester hadn't started yet, and they hadn't fully shaken off the laziness of the holiday, generally in a lethargic state.

As for the spectacle, what was there to see in dealing with an agricultural mecha?

Fermi was making coffee for everyone, listening to a few colleagues chatting nearby.

"I heard some tough characters are coming this year, we might be busy."

"What do you mean, aren't there always tough characters every year?"

"They say there are a few juvenile delinquents."

"Juvenile delinquents? What did they do? Can juvenile delinquents even come here?"

"Apparently, they committed robbery and theft. You know our principal, money talks."

"Are they crazy? If they have money to come to our school, why would they rob and steal?"

"Maybe it's a hobby. Isn't it a bit sick? But it doesn't matter to them, they have money."

"Damn, money is good! Look at the students' equipment, and think about our military, it's really pitiful!"

Fermi listened to their conversation, feeling a sense of kinship. Before coming to the security center, he thought it was a great job, with good pay and easy work—dealing with a bunch of students, how hard could it be? But after he started, he realized how wrong he was.

Each semester, he wasn't dealing with students but a group of heavily armed, luxury mechas. Limited edition mechas were everywhere, and custom mechas were as common as dogs.

There were mechas with shields that the school's expensive laser cannons couldn't penetrate, invisible mechas that the school's twenty types of radar couldn't detect, and heavy mechas with firepower that could suppress them.

Even the so-called strongest school security center in the federation had been bombed twice.

Fermi had served on the front lines for five years, but he swore on his honor that the front lines were not as dangerous as here. He couldn't understand why students would come to school just to bomb the security center.

If it weren't for the good pay... sigh, it was really tiring.

Fermi, carrying a tray of coffee, was filled with emotion as he walked back.

At the school gate, the crowd around him climbed into their mechas and flying cars, rising into the sky to occupy advantageous positions. No one wanted to miss the show. A huge semicircle of flying vehicles surrounded the school gate.

People love to watch a spectacle.

Inside the Iron Farmer cockpit, Long Cheng wore a brain control device, his expression calm.

Avoiding artillery fire was a bit unconventional as an exam subject, but Long Cheng was not surprised, though a bit unexpected.

Long Cheng had encountered similar subjects in the training camp. He thought it might be a specialty of the camp or a focus on frontal assault training.

He cleared his mind, focusing his attention. As soon as he put on the brain control device, he instinctively adjusted his breathing, which became lighter and longer. If one could hear his heartbeat, they would notice it gradually slowing down but becoming deeper and more powerful.

A faint coldness crept over Long Cheng, like forgotten memories resurfacing. His body temperature rapidly dropped.

"Begin!"

The Iron Farmer's thick legs pushed off the ground, dashing forward.

Inside the mecha, Qu Xiao raised his eyebrows, slightly frowning, and muttered to himself, "Go on the ground? That's much farther, and time won't be enough."

The radar showed a straight-line distance of 55 kilometers from the principal's office to the school gate. He could control the time to within a minute if he flew in a straight line, which wasn't difficult; many mechas could do it. But he knew the exam wouldn't be that easy. The key was to break through the security and avoid artillery fire. Whether he could complete it within six minutes depended on the school's security strength.

Going on the ground could avoid a lot of anti-air fire, but the time was far from enough. The main control AI showed that the shortest distance on the ground was over 60 kilometers, and with numerous buildings and winding roads, the mecha couldn't accelerate.

No matter how he calculated, the time wasn't enough.

Qu Xiao shifted his attention from the Iron Farmer to study the layout of the fire points, his expression excited.

The Fengren School's security center was famous, and he was finally getting a chance to see it in action.

The students' families were all wealthy, and the mechas they bought were of excellent performance. Their mecha main control AIs all came to the same conclusion.

Moreover, the Iron Farmer, moving at a brisk pace, seemed as slow as a snail to them.

The public channel of the mechas was filled with complaints.

"I thought it would be a good show, but it's a bust."

"What kind of garbage mecha is this? My grandmother walks faster than it."

"Didn't you hear him say it's an agricultural mecha?"

At that moment, the Iron Farmer, which had been sprinting, suddenly leaped, dodging several beams of light. It landed and rolled nimbly, narrowly avoiding another chain of light beams. Then, its thick right leg extended and plunged into the ground, plowing through the soil for over ten meters, sending a large amount of soil flying like a black curtain.

The Iron Farmer's thick knee joints bent significantly, paused for a moment, and then sprang up, like a black lightning bolt cutting through the flying soil, leaving a deep, ten-meter-long trail behind. A shell exploded just where it had landed, sending soil flying seven to eight meters high.

The public channel, which had been filled with complaints, suddenly became lively.

"Wow, this guy has some skills! Hope he lasts a bit longer!"

"Pretty good with the agricultural mecha!"

"Interesting, I've never seen this before. Maybe we should try it too?"

Qu Xiao's eyes lit up inside the mecha. The agricultural mecha's evasive maneuvers were fluid, and its speed not only wasn't affected but actually increased!

He had some skills, Qu Xiao assessed in his mind.

The parents and students who were about to leave also refocused their attention on the agricultural mecha sprinting across the campus.

Long Cheng was highly focused, the terrain radar of the Iron Farmer set to maximum. Green prompts kept appearing in his field of vision.

"Note: The soil in this area is of high quality, suitable for planting crops like eggplants, cucumbers, and beans..."

"Note: The land in this area has too many weeds. Do you want to start weeding?"

"Note: The land in this area needs to be leveled. Do you want to start leveling?"

...

Boom, an orange fireball exploded three meters away, the bright light illuminating his vision, and light beams zipped past. Long Cheng ignored the almost full screen of green prompts, controlling the Iron Farmer to charge forward in an orderly manner.

Apart from ground advance, Long Cheng had no other choice.

The Iron Farmer's flight mode was for spraying pesticides and nutrients, with a maximum speed of 150 kilometers per hour. In the air, it would be a sitting duck. Even without artillery fire, the 55-kilometer distance would take over 20 minutes to fly.

He also didn't choose the tracked mode because it was too slow and not flexible enough for dodging.

The only choice was the bipedal mode.

In the security center, Fermi was serving coffee to everyone. Having been trained in the military, he was used to being quick and efficient. After delivering the coffee, he sat down with his own cup, feeling content.

As he brought the coffee cup to his mouth, he habitually glanced at the screens in front of him.

The next moment, his movements froze.

On the screen, the agricultural mecha was charging forward, with sporadic artillery fire chasing its tail, but it dodged with a surprising agility that didn't match its size.

The time in the upper right corner of the screen was ticking rapidly, 40, 41, 42...

Fermi was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly came to his senses. His hand trembled, and he forgot to bring the coffee cup to his mouth, spilling the scalding coffee all over himself.

A scream echoed in the security center, causing the other colleagues to look up from their work. They quickly noticed the situation and became excited, enthusiastically commenting.

"Not bad, his movements are quite cunning."

"Too rough, but for an agricultural mecha, this is pretty good."

"Not fast enough, though."

"Yeah, not fast enough."

Fermi didn't pay attention to the others' discussions or the pain from the scalding coffee. He had to make adjustments immediately.