The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

As expected, Stark’s words stirred up waves of discontent, like a bucket of cold water that instantly extinguished everyone’s excitement and enthusiasm.

What’s going on? This Captain Stark… they came to this school to learn individual combat skills, which naturally includes operating mechas. The school invited these military officers to teach them exactly this, right?

Yet, when they eagerly attended class, Stark casually told them that he was only responsible for teaching but not for further adjustments.

What’s the difference between this and just giving them a mecha to learn on their own? There would be no one overseeing them! Even though Captain Stark was highly skilled, saying something like that in a teaching context seemed incredibly irresponsible.

Without even needing to look at the expressions on their faces, Stark knew exactly what the students were thinking.

It wasn’t that his words were harsh, but this was the military’s way. He had always been taught this way—strict discipline, no room for negotiation.

Since he was leading this group of students to explore the D-class standard mechas, everything had to be laid out clearly.

After all, what’s the point of being a patient and thorough teacher in this activity? Mechas aren’t toys that children play with. They are weapons that combine human civilization’s light, heat, and energy technologies, developed over generations. A small mistake could indeed take lives and harm society.

This is why the military enforces very strict control over such weapons, and not every school has the right to use mechas for teaching.

The most crucial aspect of piloting a mecha is the control of spiritual energy, which is closely tied to the strength of each pilot’s spiritual power. This effectively excludes those who have not yet successfully undergone their second awakening. These individuals have temporarily been dismissed from the class by Stark and will have to wait until they complete their second awakening to participate.

Allowing those who haven’t fully awakened to connect their spiritual energy with the mecha is still a very dangerous thing to do.

In the centuries before the Fourth Star Era, there were hundreds of incidents where students manipulated mechas and caused harm. Undoubtedly, there were thousands of cases of mechas going out of control, and even instances where mechas were hijacked for uprisings. As a result, the Empire enacted a special law to categorize mecha piloting and established a special laboratory to develop simple driving modes and auxiliary tools to reduce the safety risks for those who had not fully awakened. Over the subsequent star eras, a highly developed system was gradually established.

Considering that the spiritual sources and brain regions of those who haven’t fully awakened are not yet fully developed, the spiritual damage they suffer during this period could lead to irreversible harm. Therefore, students and civilians who are not formal military personnel must obtain the corresponding driving certification in order to operate a mecha beyond the auxiliary cabin.

This mecha auxiliary cabin was developed by the Empire and is the most widely used educational tool. It operates in a semi-automated driving mode and provides significant protection for the spiritual energy of those who have not fully awakened.

If these people cannot successfully operate the mecha using the auxiliary cabin, then there is no need for them to continue.

This is for their own good, because a soldier is someone who controls the mecha by consuming their own life and spiritual energy. The sacrifices they make are beyond what ordinary people can imagine. This is also the reason why the military has been able to stand independently outside the Empire’s governing institutions. Everything they have achieved was earned through their lives, with all their glory hiding the spirits of fallen heroes and the uncorrupted bones and flesh of the dead.

This is the most sincere advice he, as someone who has experienced it, can give to these children full of hope.

Stark’s voice was deep and commanding, and the students in each drone cabin fell silent. Though they still wore expressions of reluctance, their eyes now showed more determination and fighting spirit than before.

“Very well, then we can proceed to the next step.” He took a few steps toward the control panel, stopping about three or four meters away, and then said in a deep voice, “Activate the mecha auxiliary cabin.”

“Mecha auxiliary cabin VBTR-8697269 is activated, registered and engraved by the Tian Gan Star Manufacturing Bureau of the surrounding star system, manufacturer ***…” The mechanical voice echoed from the popup window.

Oh, so this can be voice-controlled.

The students weren’t fools. At the same time, whether on the screen showing Stark or within each mecha cabin, everyone tried to follow his steps and said the same words.

As they spoke, the panels under their feet shook even more intensely, as if they were about to jolt them off balance.

Then, at the same time, a few people felt their feet pushed backward, even their entire bodies were forced forward. Behind them, they could hear the “click-clack” of mechanical sounds and the whir of an inorganic fan, quickly forming a tall, simulation holographic cabin-like structure.

It resembled the simulation holographic cabin that Jiang Hui had once purchased, but the overall parts and structural design were more complex and refined.

No wonder the mecha cabin felt so empty; once this device appeared, it basically occupied the first third of the cabin, leaving little space to spare.

Jiang Hui had paid attention to the distance at which Stark landed, so she avoided the outcome of having her heels brushed by the base of the simulation cabin, but she was still startled by the sudden appearance of this large object.

Once this thing appeared, everyone had a rough idea of what was going on.

This task seemed simple; it wasn’t like the StarNet simulators. The operation method probably wasn’t much different from those types. It wasn’t as difficult as Stark had made it sound, no wonder he said there was no need to demonstrate. Many people regained their confidence, brushing aside the heavy thoughts they had earlier.

Of course, there were also some who looked puzzled, especially those who had already been in contact with mecha-related technology. They were even more confused. Was this the operating method used in the mecha cabins? How was it completely different from what they had seen before?

Time didn’t allow them to think too much, so everyone hurriedly followed Stark’s every move and entered the simulation cabin.

However, after entering the simulation cabin, Stark didn’t immediately demonstrate how to start the cabin. Instead, he adjusted the seat for himself first.

But everyone’s height, weight, and even the lengths of their arms and legs were different, and there was no standard reference, so how were they supposed to adjust?

Everyone could only adjust the buttons based on their own feelings and in some rough order. Then, they heard Stark’s deep voice addressing them, “Close your eyes. Then, spread out your mental power, but don’t do it too quickly… layer by layer, little by little… spread it evenly outward… Feel the mental power interception threshold at the top, where it contacts your mental power evenly and gradually reaches a full state… Then twist out several strands of mental power from the middle and send them straight up…”

He spoke neither too fast nor too slow, even slightly slower than the previous steps. However, the steps connected were too many, and most of the students couldn’t control their mental power with such precision. As a result, they began to fall behind as they listened.