Moreover, even three hundred years ago, the cracking of the 【Ninety-Nine Layer Core Code】 was not accomplished by a single person, but by dozens of genius students working together.

  “Student White, Student Avery, it’s fixed. You can take it back to the academy now.”

  Charles Lynn looked up. On the workbench, two virtual sensory helmets had already been assembled. He glanced at the time— from disassembly, inspection, repair, to reassembly, it had taken less than 15 minutes.

  “Charles Lynn, you finished the inspection so quickly? Aren’t you being a bit too careless? Maybe you should check them again.”

  Henry Lewis turned sideways, winking repeatedly at his friend, thinking, Why are you working so fast, can’t you see I’m working hard for my future happiness here?

  “Two virtual sensory helmets inspected in less than 15 minutes… This must be another record for our academy’s maintenance department, right? Impressive. Charles Lynn, you’ve improved again.”

  Ellen Avery picked up a sensory helmet and exclaimed, “With your repair skills, once you pass the training camp’s trial, whether it’s the military, the security department, or the Imperial Knights, they’ll all be fighting to recruit you…”

  “Ellen Avery…” Grace White shot her friend a glare.

  “Sorry!” Ellen Avery covered her reddened lips, apologizing.

  Charles Lynn narrowed his long eyes, his face as friendly as ever, handed over the two virtual sensory helmets, and said, “I also hope to join the maintenance departments of the three major divisions. I hope that day will come…”

  Taking the helmet, Grace White smiled and said, “Well then, goodbye, Charles Lynn.”

  “Goodbye, Student White.” Charles Lynn replied with a smile.

  Grace White looked at Charles Lynn. The first time she saw Charles Lynn in the maintenance club four years ago, he was still a 14-year-old boy, his delicate face tinged with shyness, and those smiling eyes seemed to hide unknown secrets. Now, as graduation and parting approached, it seemed the secrets in this man’s eyes had only deepened.

  Her lips moved slightly, but Grace White ultimately said nothing. She bid farewell to Charles Lynn and Henry Lewis, and left side by side with Ellen Avery.

  “Ellen Avery, safe travels!”

  Henry Lewis waved his hand until the two girls disappeared from sight. Only when the crowd in the maintenance club had dispersed did he lower his hand and sigh dejectedly, “If only I didn’t have bearfolk blood from my ancestors, maybe Ellen Avery would accept me.”

  Charles Lynn tidied up the workbench, glanced up, and said, “Old Xiong, wake up. Ellen Avery is a woman you’ll never have in your whole life…”

  “Charles Lynn, you… I thought you were my best brother, and yet you stab me right in the heart!?” Henry Lewis shouted, clutching his chest, looking utterly heartbroken.

  “I’m just stating a fact. Ellen Avery’s family is a great noble house in the Southern Luo Province, and you’re a beastkin half-blood. Even though it’s been more than ten generations, it’s still a fact. Do you really think that just because the Empire issued equal rights laws for beastkin half-bloods a hundred years ago, and there are legends of princesses falling in love with beastkin, that such things actually happen in real life?”

  Charles Lynn spoke with a smile, but kept rubbing salt in his best friend’s wound.

  “I…”

  Henry Lewis was momentarily speechless, but retorted, “Aren’t you always saying that people need to have dreams? I need to find some motivation for my future efforts.”

  “That’s not a dream, that’s just daydreaming. Instead of indulging in these primal male fantasies, you’d be better off planning to work hard for ten years and buy a big house in South Luo City. That’s a bit more realistic.”

  After tidying up, seeing his friend still looking dejected, Charles Lynn stood up, patted Henry Lewis on the shoulder, and comforted him, “Don’t be so sentimental here. Look at me—my mechanical repair skills are top-notch, and I could easily get into the maintenance departments of the three major divisions. But because of this illness, I’ll only be able to work as a mechanical apprentice in some repair shop. The best I can hope for is to open my own repair shop in ten years.”

  Hearing this, Henry Lewis straightened up and said quickly, “Charles Lynn, don’t lose heart. It’s been over three thousand years since the founding of the Alliance. Sooner or later, your illness will be curable. I heard that in the Holy Federation Kingdom on the Western Continent, the core priests are developing a new medicine. Maybe it’ll be ready in a few years. When that happens, you’ll be set! You’ll be able to enter the Alliance Core Battle Network, and with your repair skills, you’ll soar!”

  “Alright. I’ve had this illness for years, I stopped caring long ago. Let’s go back and pack up. This afternoon, let’s get together with our roommates for a few drinks. Tonight, we’ll all be going our separate ways.” Charles Lynn waved his hand and smiled.

  At the mention of drinking, Henry Lewis’s eyes lit up, and all his worries vanished. With a shout, he headed back to the dormitory first.

  “If this guy knew that I’m actually ‘Ling’, I wonder how he’d react.”

  Watching his friend’s departing figure, Charles Lynn sighed inwardly: “I really am a miserable transmigrator. Other transmigrators live it up, but I’m stuck with this world’s incurable disease, and starting tomorrow I’ll become just another corporate drone in the Star Ao Empire…”

  Thinking back to six years ago, when he transmigrated into this twelve-year-old body, Charles Lynn had been filled with novelty and excitement, thinking that as a transmigrator arriving in a continent full of wondrous races, he would create a legendary life.