Meng Hao, on the verge of madness from this damned boring life—
Missed the excessively sweet fizzy happy water!
Missed the garbage fried burgers packed with meat!!
Missed all sorts of Shaanxi delicacies, changing day by day!!!
Even if it was just a piece of green lettuce, or a withered, ugly orange…
Thank God, thank Buddha, thank Allah…
With the start of school imminent.
According to the system's requirements, the mech has finally been hand-built!
In the assembly workshop—
A twelve-meter-tall mech, as high as a four-story building, officially named the initial i-type by the system, officially passed its re-testing and rolled off the assembly line!
Next, it's time to drive the mech away from the base, which the system forbids revealing, and pick an open, windless desert area.
Then, fix the phone's position, turn on the time-lapse photography, get into the mech's cockpit, and show off Meng Hao's exclusive self-created "turtle-boxing" style.
…
Entering the mech's cockpit.
Soft, azure light scattered into every corner of the spacious, non-oppressive control room.
As the mech bay doors opened.
The scorching desert wind swept in.
Countless sand grains and gravel, blown by the strong wind, struck the matte-colored, technologically advanced surface of the mech, making crackling sounds.
Seated in the mech's cockpit, Meng Hao couldn't help but straighten his back, leaning against the ergonomic seat that had reshaped itself to his spine.
He took a deep breath.
He felt no scorching heat or suffocation from the desert wind.
Instead, currents of fresh, gentle air were released from the four corners of the mech's cockpit.
Extremely comfortable and invigorating.
"Uranium core activated… Energy valve activated… 360° panoramic image feedback screen activated… Propulsion motor entering standby… Mech anchoring lines detached…"
Bang bang bang!
As the pipes and lines connecting to the anchoring points snapped.
The over ten-meter-tall mech, like a newly reborn general.
A fiercely aggressive crimson glow lit up in its headlamp eyes.
"Propeller energy load full… Advance!"
Meng Hao's final two words, "Advance!", were roared from his throat.
With an extremely strong G-force push.
The mech charged out of the hangar, carving an endless rift in the sea of sand.
…
Galloping through the desert.
Heaven and earth, all seemed trivial.
Watching the scenery continuously fall behind.
Meng Hao instantly felt that the effort of the past two months had been worth it.
This sense of power.
This exhilaration.
This kingly aura that looked down on the world.
It truly lived up to that saying—
Only mechs are the ultimate romance for men.
…
Somewhere in the desert, about ten kilometers from the base.
Meng Hao fixed his phone to a rock.
Behind him, the mech was half-crouching in the desert, its arms on the ground, with its cockpit open.
He couldn't wait to quickly complete the task assigned by the system and experience the charm of the mech again.
Just then.
The system, which hadn't appeared for some days, projected a bullet-screen interface in front of Meng Hao's retina again.
[Mission Update!]
[Detected that the host Meng Hao's alma mater is adopting an online mode to accept third-year academic assignments.]
[Therefore, the host Meng Hao needs to complete the task of having his academic assignment accepted by the class advisor within the live online class.]
[If the academic assignment acceptance is not passed… it will be considered a mission failure… and the host Meng Hao will be erased!]
Damn it.
What the hell.
Is the system messing with me like this?
The burning fire that had just ignited in Meng Hao's heart was instantly extinguished.
Just as the mission was about to be completed.
This damned system actually changed the mission by altering the method of academic assignment acceptance.
Besides!
Where is this place?
This is the heart of the Taklamakan Desert, over five thousand kilometers from Shilin City, a coastal city.
Here.
Barren, lifeless.
A desert sea of 330,000 square kilometers, a forbidden zone for life.
No network base stations.
No wireless Wi-Fi.
How can he, Meng Hao, participate in an online class?
This son of a bitch system really wants to kill me, Meng Hao, doesn't it?!
Before Meng Hao could protest.
The system's voice sounded again.
[Quantum entanglement communication link initiating… Link successful… Synchronized with the host's computer network signal at home in Shilin City… Latency below 10 milliseconds!]
Quantum entanglement technology?
This technology, which only exists in the conceptualization of Earth's technological civilization, is being used by the system directly as a Wi-Fi router?
And the purpose is to attend online classes?!
Without regard for the shock, Meng Hao found that the phone he had placed on the rock in front of him, intended for video recording, had returned to full signal strength.
In fact, it had automatically exited the video shooting interface and switched to the online class live room.
…
Gao Ping, who was annoyed by the two jesters Zhao Chen and Li Xi, had very little patience left.
He turned his wrist and glanced at the old mechanical watch he had worn for who knows how many years.
Impatiently, he urged.
"Meng Hao, are you in or not?"
"We've been waiting for over two minutes. If you don't log in within three minutes, you'll be deemed to have failed your academic assignment, just like those two talents before. Your regular score will be zero, you'll have to retake the course, and your graduation will be delayed!"
Gao Ping got up again, picked up his mug, poured a cup of hot water, and sat down again. After taking a sip, he saw that Meng Hao was still nowhere to be seen.
Just as he was about to finish his water, put down the mug, mark Meng Hao with an "x" on the student roster, and then call on the next student.
Meng Hao's signal came through.
"I'm here, Class Advisor Gao Ping."
"There was no signal just now."
"It took some time to set up the network."
What a joke?
No signal?
Needed to set up the network himself?
Could it be that Meng Hao, an ordinary, mediocre student who hasn't left much of an impression in his three years of university, is also an unreliable guy who talks nonsense?
Gao Ping, whose vision was obscured by the mug he held, retorted to Meng Hao unceremoniously as he drank.
"The whole world knows that our Great Xia's infrastructure is world-leading."
"Network fiber optic cables are laid all the way into the mountains. How could you, a local from Shilin City, not have a signal at home?"
"Stop making up unreliable excuses to fool people… I don't believe you could have run all the way to China's largest desert, the Taklamakan Desert, during your summer break, can you?!"
Gao Ping, with his composed and unhurried manner, took a full minute to drink half a cup of scalding hot water.
He leisurely closed the lid of his teacup, placed it back on the table where his laptop was, and then absentmindedly shifted his gaze back to the computer screen.
The next second.
Gao Ping's eyes blinked wildly!
His face was filled with shock and disbelief.
"Meng Hao."
"Where are you?"
"Why is all I can see are sand dunes and hills?!"
Meng Hao, who had placed his phone on a weathered stone pillar, shrugged helplessly at the phone's camera.
"Class Advisor Gao Ping, you actually guessed right."
"At this very moment, I am indeed in the heart of the Taklamakan Desert!"