Galactic Vendetta

As the last student left the laboratory, David Wood, who had been sitting silently in the corner, suddenly sprang to his feet with the agility of a wild beast awakening from slumber. In just one hour, the once chaotic lab was transformed into a place of order. Every instrument and piece of equipment gleamed, polished to a shine that highlighted the unique luster of various metals. The windows were crystal clear, and even the floor was spotless. This laboratory was located within Zorre Mecha University, the most prestigious institution on Zorre Star. Although the lab was connected to the study of mechas, there were few fully assembled mechas here. The primary focus of this lab was research into optical circuits and quantum brains. David was not a student at Zorre Mecha University. He was merely a lowly janitor, tasked with cleaning and organizing the lab every morning and evening. Occasionally, he also assisted the professors with physical labor, such as moving heavy machinery. This was the top university in the Zorre Star System, and only the wealthy and powerful could gain admission. Although David had been working in this lab for two years, almost no one noticed his existence. It seemed as if the transformation of the chaotic lab into a clean and orderly space by the next morning was simply taken for granted. ... David Wood was already well-acquainted with this job. He could close his eyes and still know where every tool should be placed. No matter what equipment he handled, he could instantly find its proper location. In the two years he had worked here, he had never made a single mistake. Even the most intricate optical circuit components were as familiar to him as the back of his hand. An hour and ten minutes later, David had completed all the cleaning and organizing in the vast laboratory. He raised his hand and glanced at his old wristwatch. Today, he finished seven seconds earlier than yesterday, a result he was quite pleased with. After two years of optimizing his routine, even shaving off a single second was an achievement. Finishing a full seven seconds early today was something to be proud of. Fifty minutes remained before the lab's door would automatically close. David’s cleaning privileges in the lab were strictly limited to two hours, controlled by the university's main computer with no room for error. Once the lab was sealed, its defense system would activate, so sensitive that even a fly would trigger the alarm, summoning fully armed guards to capture it within a minute. Of course, the lab could be sealed early. After checking his watch, David didn't hesitate. He input his clearance code and closed the lab's thick steel door. Then, like a gust of wind, he slipped into the adjacent Mecha Modification Laboratory. Inside the Mecha Modification Lab, surrounded by towering mechas, a strong, simple-looking young man was sweating profusely. His clumsy hands fumbled with a cleaning device, and a smudge of black grease on his face made him look particularly disheveled. "David!" The young man let out a long sigh of relief as he saw David, his face lighting up with joy. "Take a break; I'll handle this," David said, walking up to the young man and taking over the cleaning device. "Thanks, David," the young man nodded repeatedly, grinning as he watched David's agile movements. He admired how David cleaned and organized with a rhythm that resembled a dance. It seemed like David’s hands had a magical touch; every tool found its proper place with ease. The basic cleaning was finished quickly, and David began organizing the tools: armor plates, sensors, drive shafts, engines... The young man's eyes filled with admiration and awe as he watched the heavy and complex tools and machinery return to their rightful places in David’s hands, as smoothly as water flowing. What the young man didn’t notice was that David wasn't just cleaning. Whenever a mecha part passed through his hands, his eyes were filled with a fervent focus, as if these mecha components were alive. "This is the control stick of the Starlight Mecha, weighing 730 grams..." "This is the auxiliary engine of the Warrior-11 Mecha, weighing 5,600 grams..." "Hmm, what engine is this?" David looked at a small auxiliary engine in his hand. It was unlike any engine he had ever seen before. The engine was tiny, flat, and less than one-fifth the size of an adult’s fist. It was very light, weighing less than 300 grams. If it hadn’t been placed in the engine section, David wouldn’t have believed it was an auxiliary engine. In his memory, humanity had yet to develop such a miniature auxiliary engine for mechas. After all, for mechas that could weigh tens of tons, the power provided by such a small auxiliary engine would be extremely limited. Suppressing his urge to study it further, David placed the engine back in its place and quietly memorized its serial number. There wasn’t enough time to examine it closely—only ten minutes remained before the Mecha Lab would close. Five minutes later, David Wood wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced at his wristwatch, letting out a sigh. Today, he finished eleven seconds later than yesterday, indicating that he had not yet achieved the perfect state of detachment from external influences. Clearly, the appearance of the miniature engine had disrupted his smooth workflow, causing the delay. "Thanks, David! I’ll definitely owe you in my next life, hehe," said the burly young man with a smirk. “I’ve told you for two years, how about something more practical?” David replied coolly. “Well... next month, after I get paid, I’ll treat you to a big meal,” the young man said, his face reddening with embarrassment. “Alright, but I hope it’s not just another nutritional supplement,” David said with a hint of skepticism. “It won’t be, it won’t be...” The young man chuckled awkwardly, putting his arm around David’s shoulders. The two walked out of the lab, chatting and laughing as they left just before the lab's closing alarm sounded. By now, dusk had fallen, and the campus was quiet, giving off an empty feeling. The two traversed half the campus and entered a dense forest. This was a shortcut David had discovered. In the thick forest, there was a wall, and beyond that wall lay the slum where David lived. Using this shortcut, David could save thirty-three minutes of travel time. Familiar with the route, the two climbed a tree, dropped onto the wall, and then slid down a branch on the other side, landing in the slum separated by just a wall. After sliding down from the tree, the burly young man waved at David and excitedly dashed into the densely packed slum, his expression full of enthusiasm. Watching the young man’s disappearing figure, David’s usually indifferent face softened into a warm smile. The burly young man was David’s only friend in the slum. His name was Liam Strong, who, like David, had lost his family at a young age and grew up in the slum. Liam’s interests differed greatly from David’s. Liam was passionate about ancient martial arts and dreamed of earning enough money to train in these arts. In the slum, there was a school called the "Zhenyuan Cosmic Martial Arts Academy," which, though now in decline, had once been prestigious during the chaotic era of cosmic migration. Despite the academy’s fall and relocation to the slum, and its now incredibly low tuition, the fees were still astronomical for an orphan like Liam. According to Liam’s plans, it would take at least two more years for him to earn enough to cover three years of tuition and living expenses. After all, attending the academy would mean giving up his cleaning job at Zorre University, requiring not just tuition but also three years of living expenses. Liam’s daily life was simple. After finishing his work at school, he would rush to the Zhenyuan Cosmic Martial Arts Academy, standing by the small training ground, hoping to learn a bit of the legendary martial arts secrets by observing. Liam was particularly enamored with legendary techniques such as the “Qiankun Great Shift” and the “Nine Suns Divine Skill.” He had often told David about these fictional martial arts from ancient novels, dreaming of wandering the world as a heroic figure once he mastered them. Faced with Liam’s fervor, David could only smile wryly. He wanted to tell Liam that these martial arts were merely fantasies created by a profession called "writers" on ancient Earth. However, Liam was deeply convinced of their reality, and David’s attempts to dissuade him were met with hostility. So David gave up. Watching Liam’s excited figure disappear into the maze of slum streets, David quickened his pace toward his own residence. Like Liam, David also had his dreams. David's dream was to enter Zorre Mecha University, where his primary interest lay in mecha technology. Cleaning in the optical circuits and quantum brain lab was David’s most frustrating task. Apart from optical circuits and quantum brains, he was interested in nearly all mecha-related courses, yet he was assigned to the optical circuits and quantum brain lab... Liam would be able to enter his desired martial arts academy in two years, but for David, the road was much longer. The tuition for Zorre Mecha University was astronomical for him, and it was almost impossible for someone of his low status in the slum to gain admission. However, David wasn’t overly concerned. According to the university’s regulations, if David worked at Zorre Mecha University for three years, he would earn the right to enroll. This rule was personally enacted by the university’s second president to reward the contributions of impoverished students. Out of humanitarianism and to give underprivileged children a chance to enter the highest institution in the Zorre Star System—or perhaps to gain some good publicity—the university provided jobs for young people from the slum each year, offering them a path to admission. In reality, many children from the slum entered Zorre Mecha University this way, though the ratio was extremely small. Even with substantial tuition reductions, the remaining costs were still daunting for slum children, with many using the three years of work merely as a means to survive. According to school statistics, in the past twenty years, only five slum children have entered the school, and one of them was aided by a teacher. Of those five, only one managed to complete the four-year program; the others dropped out for various reasons... Students who made it into Zorre's top university typically came from prominent families, enjoying advantages in both material and spiritual aspects that others could not. It was easy to imagine how torturous it would be for a slum child to live among such privileged students for four years. David didn’t care about the students' prejudice; what mattered to him was gaining admission and accessing more knowledge about mechas. With one year remaining, David would qualify for admission, but his savings covered less than half the tuition. Nevertheless, David was not worried, as he had found a profitable opportunity two months ago. After a brisk run, David returned to his residence, which was less a home and more a mecha. It was a discarded ancient mecha, standing twelve meters tall and weighing seventy tons. It looked bulky and had ceased production half a century ago. In the slum, many houses had been converted from such mechas, creating a unique landscape. Over a hundred years ago, the Zorre Star System faced a large-scale alien invasion. Zorre Mecha University was a key battlefield. The battle between humans and aliens lasted fifteen years, with casualties reaching two billion. This war led to the collapse of the original political system, the rise of space warlords, and the beginning of the mecha age...