EROS [Zerg]

Brandt ignored the group of lazy, noisy female insects behind him and turned to look at the trainees who were engaged in actual combat on the training field. Those who wanted to learn would learn, and he would not waste his energy on these useless people who did not want to learn.

Gally realized he had stirred up a hornet's nest and began to avoid the questions and ridicule from the female insects in the Comet Class, but these students had no intention of letting the matter pass.

It's ridiculous. They're the ones getting scolded, how could they let this female insect in front of them just turn the page?

Several insects surrounded Gali, and a conflict seemed imminent, while the other insects present watched coldly.

Just as the fist was about to smash into Gali's face, a pair of claws suddenly intervened, separating the two.

"Eros, what business is it of yours to meddle in our affairs?!"

The female insect, clenching her fist, looked at Eros, who had penetrated her, with displeasure.

Eros clenched his fist, which was about to strike Gali's face, and pointed with a smile to the female insect looking down at them.

"The female insects in the star class are all looking this way. Let's not let them make a fool of us. You can go to the fighting arena to fight after class."

"You think they'll listen to what you say?" Gali sneered, straightening his sleeves. He found Eros, this female insect, ridiculously naive.

Eros didn't speak, but simply stood between the two insects with his body and gently nudged the female insect in the lead with his claws.

The female insect's expression changed, and she gave Gali behind Eros a disdainful look. She then changed her tone and said, "If any insect wants to lose face, let it do it. We're not going to stand in for it."

After saying that, he turned around and led the insects behind him to stand in line obediently to the side.

Eros sighed softly, and then a claw gripped his left shoulder.

Gally grabbed Eros's thin shoulder and asked in confusion, "That's strange, how come they all left as soon as you mentioned it?"

Eros's bones ached from being gripped so tightly, and he used his claws to pry Gali's claws off: "Hiss—, let go first."

Gally hadn't expected Eros to be so fragile, and released his grip.

After being released, Eros immediately turned around, took three steps back to keep a certain distance from Galilee, and said, "You, a single insect, can take down an entire class. They're not stupid; they're just trying to save face. I'll give them a way out, and they'll naturally accept it."

"You actually want to meddle in this business." Gali was prepared to take a punch and beat the other person to the ground, but he didn't expect that Eros would break his leg in the end.

Eros immediately put on an innocent expression and blinked: "Don't blame me for ruining your plans. Or you should thank me, at least I didn't hit you in the face with that punch. Of course, it's okay if you don't thank me, that would make me hate you even more."

Eros's behavior made Gally inexplicably unhappy; the female insect in front of him seemed to be testing the limits of the surrounding insects little by little.

As expected, even the lowest-level insects have some annoying qualities that are hard to explain.

Eros, feeling relieved that he had defused a fight, walked back to Alai and sat down next to him: "Now we should be able to have a quiet class."

Alai nodded: "I didn't expect you to be such a good worm. None of us worms were willing to get involved just now, and some were even waiting to see a good show. Aren't you afraid of getting accidentally hurt if you go up there?"

Eros looked at Instructor Brandt's less-than-pleasant expression. In his memory, sub-females were insects that even males were willing to patiently coax and appease. Yet Instructor Brandt had to endure a group of females who were always ready to fight. It was truly exhausting.

"If a fight breaks out, this class will most likely be canceled."

After he finished speaking, he turned his gaze to the mechs on the training field below.

Before coming to class, Eros specifically checked on the new website. These were the most common V-1 model training machines, the cheapest. But even at the cheapest price, buying such a mech would cost tens of thousands of star coins, even through the internal campus price.

Thinking about the meager savings of less than ten thousand yuan in his Star Card account, Eros felt an indescribable envy.

But even insects must have ideals.

Eros has set himself a goal: to buy a mech before graduation so he can sign up and pilot it to a barren planet to participate in land reclamation.

If he could learn how to repair mechs and other machines, having a skill on a barren planet would make life much easier... at least better than on a prosperous main planet or a resource-rich planet.

Thinking of this, Eros suddenly felt annoyed:

Commander Ener gave him such a precious opportunity to go to school, but just now he was thinking about how to make a living on a desolate planet. Eros is such a spineless female insect.

No, I can't be so unambitious.

Eros now wants to change his ambition. He wants to become an excellent military mechanic and try to stay in the First Star System. If he can't stay, he will return to the Fourth Star System. As long as he has a skill, he can always find a job.

"You all step forward."

Seeing that the female insects had all behaved themselves, Brandt suppressed his dissatisfaction and began to lecture the students behind him.

He always prefers to teach according to students' aptitudes; he won't force students who aren't suited for it.

As senior students, Galley and Alai had already mastered all the knowledge required for the course, and neither of them aspired to become military mechanics, so Brandt no longer demanded that of them.

As for the other female insects in the Comet class, they cannot operate them at all without learning the basics.

However, Brandt had begun to get tired of repeating the same basic knowledge over and over again. He had given the female insects in the Comet class the exact same basic lesson no less than twenty times, and it was as if he hadn't taught it at all; no insect would listen attentively.

So, for the first time ever, he set the classroom location for this lesson at the mecha training ground. At the same time, Brandt began to doubt his love for his work. He swore to the Insect God that if the female insects behaved as usual during this lesson, he would go to the principal after class to apply to end his course in the Comet Class.

Instructor Brandt was in a bad mood today, and his words were much harsher than usual. Allais worried that this would give Eros a bad impression of the instructor.

"Instructor Brandt is a very responsible instructor. He has been teaching us since the Comet Class was established. Teaching Comet Class students is a very difficult task, so many instructors have applied to leave, but he has persisted. He is truly a very dedicated and responsible teacher."

"Moreover, Instructor Brandt is a sub-female, and sub-females are usually very good-tempered and gentle. Today, he was just in a bad mood, so his tone was a bit harsh."

Eros nodded, letting Alai know he understood. His desire to become a military mechanic wouldn't be deterred by his teacher's personality; after all, he was learning for himself.

Moreover, he didn't think Brandt's personality was bad. They were all sub-females, but compared to the sub-females who idly whipped him in the underground auction, Brandt's angry appearance was like that of an insect god's messenger.

Alai didn't know what Eros was thinking, otherwise he would have thought Eros had masochistic tendencies.

Eros found a spot near the front, where he could clearly see the two combat mechs on the training field.

"Can you understand it?" Brandt immediately noticed the positive Eros.

"I don't really understand." Eros shook his head. "I've never been to school before, and this is the first time I've ever seen a mecha."

"Never been to school even once?" Brandt asked with some doubt. "Then you're illiterate?"

"...I can read, but I've never been to school." Eros couldn't remember when he learned to read; he probably could before he lost his memory.

Brandt gave Eros a look that was hard to describe: "You have no basic knowledge at all. Today, you just stood by and watched them operate the equipment."

After repeating the basics to the students behind him, Brandt didn't leave Eros out of the way. He patiently explained it to Eros again in detail: "You'll be watching from the side for a while. If you think you can do it, then try it out. If not, just watch more."

Eros nodded obediently and silently reviewed the knowledge that Instructor Brandt had taught him in his mind.

Just like when he read books before, it was as if he had learned these things before. Eros memorized all the basics that Brandt explained almost as soon as he finished speaking.

Eros was puzzled, but he couldn't figure out why. However, learning things quickly was always a good thing.

With that in mind, Eros stopped worrying about it.

He wanted to work hard to find a job on the main planet and settle down there, so that he could let Kam live on the main planet and enjoy its high-quality resources, which would also be a way of repaying Commander En'er for saving his life.

Once he has the financial means, he can inquire about his origins, find his family from before he lost his memory, and reunite with his family.

The two mechs on the training field finally came to a stop. The female insect, who was sitting in the mech's cockpit, popped out of the cockpit and waved her claws at Brandt, indicating that their duel was over and the mechs were ready for them to learn and repair.

Brandt led the trainees down from the viewing platform and down to the two mechs.

Eros looked up at the two mechs. The mechs were covered with dense scratches, the paint on the exterior had turned black and faded, and all the visible parts had more or less wear and tear.

Eros remembered that Alai had told him that the female insects here were willing to lend their mechs to Instructor Brandt for teaching purposes.

When Eros was browsing mech prices, he also learned that the repair costs were quite high, because most of the military mechanics who could repair mechs were serving in the military and rarely took on private jobs.

Now, as long as he lends out the mechs as teaching materials, he can get the Empire's best military mechanics to repair them for free. If it were him, he would be willing to do the same.

Brandt carried his toolbox to the mecha, explaining the steps as he prepared to demonstrate the operation to the trainees.

He took off his shoes, which had heels two fists high, and put on a pair of flat white shoes from his toolbox. He then turned around and climbed onto the mecha in a few quick movements.

The mech was tens of meters tall, and it took Instructor Brandt less than ten seconds to dash to the central mech compartment.

The sub-female's slender and agile physique was clearly on full display at this moment. Soon, under Brandt's control, the mecha landed smoothly on the ground.

These two mechs are worn in many places, making them excellent "teaching materials" for trainees to practice on.

Brandt began explaining to the trainees the most basic steps of starting the mech: "If you ever encounter a situation where the mech cannot start automatically, remember there is a hidden hole under the control stick."

Brandt reached his claws into the hidden hole beneath the control lever: "Remember, don't try to pry open the pull ring with your claws, or the slipping alloy steel cover will smash your bones."

After speaking, Brandt looked at the inattentive students in front of him and couldn't help but recall the eager little eyes of those little bugs he used to teach in the Rising Star Class. He sighed repeatedly in his heart: "I'll demonstrate it for you."

After saying that, he took out a metal hook about two fingers thick from the toolbox, inserted it into the hidden hole, hooked the pull ring inside, and pulled hard. With a loud "bang", the entire control panel, along with the steel cover outside, fell down.

The loud noise jolted several students, who were daydreaming, back to reality. When they looked again, the alloy steel hook had been smashed into a bent bar.

Brandt glanced at the bluish-purple faces of the female insects and said coldly, "If these were your arms, they would probably be taken away for amputation by now."

As he spoke, he stepped on the steel bar outside the alloy steel hook, using leverage to lift the control console and pull out two red and blue wires tied together: "This is the backup circuit and system. V-1, ST-X, PA-74, these three common mech models all have this kind of backup circuit and system."

"The backup system of advanced mechs like the PA-74 is separate from the main system and can be automatically installed and removed. Therefore, many female military personnel will specifically remove the backup system to improve the mech's agility. We should pay attention to this situation in the future. If it is a high-end custom-made mech, we need to check the specific parts assembly inside the mech."

……

……

As Eros listened, he took notes. He noticed that Brandt didn't like to waste time in class. Although he exuded an impatient air, the knowledge he shared was all practical and very detailed.

After demonstrating the operation taught in this lesson, Blanc specifically asked a few female insects who had been listening attentively to try it out themselves.

The Zerg's learning ability ranks among the top in the known universe. Although Brandt's view of their operation was not up to par, they were the best of the worst among the worst, and these few were already considered to be doing quite well.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Eros was taking notes when Alai nudged him with his elbow. "The operation isn't difficult. You can definitely learn it faster by practicing than by just watching."

Eros was both expectant and hesitant, but finally, encouraged by Alai, he raised his paw and said expectantly, "Teacher Brandt, I... I want to try."

Brandt glanced at Eros, noticing that it was rare to find a female insect willing to participate in the course, so he nodded in agreement and said, "Okay, let's give it a try."

Eros walked somewhat awkwardly to the mecha, took the tools handed to him by Brandt, and recalled the instructor's demonstration in his mind. He used pliers to remove the screws that secured the tires to the bottom of the mecha's feet one by one, slowly disassembling the parts and placing them on the open ground next to the mecha's feet. Then, he slowly installed the new tires as required.

The mech's enormous tires were far too heavy for Eros; he was so exhausted after just finishing installing them that he collapsed to the ground, breathless.

Brandt walked behind Eros, nodded slightly as he looked at the installed tires, and was about to offer some praise when Eros turned his head. His violet eyes, like inorganic glass spheres, looked at him with expectation, his long, slightly upturned eyelashes seeming to hold the light.

The image and voice of the departed person in Brandt's memory seemed to come alive at this moment:

In a daze, he saw the female insect brush the dust off her claws, reveal a bright smile on her face, and walk up to him with a clear laugh, seeking praise.

"...There's really no other way."