"Li Feng, any plans after graduation？" Ma Ka asked with a grin. "Don't spend all your time playing Universe War—that stuff won't put food on the table. Don't tell me you're actually thinking of joining the military after graduation？"
Li Feng looked at his buddy who had grown up with him and nodded. "I have that in mind, but haven't decided yet."
"Oh my god！" Ma Ka dramatically covered his forehead. "You actually take the game as reality. The Earth Federation's crappy machines are nothing like the game—they're super exhausting and have no future. Besides, we ordinary humans can't compare to the Iventrians' physique."
Li Feng did not argue; this was indeed the cruel reality. It was now the year 2215, the old human Earth Federation USE and the Evian Free Alliance NUP jointly ruled this world. The plotline was very cliché, predicted by countless sci-fi movies. Although cloning had been banned, genetic engineering had not stopped, driven by humanity's fear of birth, aging, sickness, and death. New humans were born, calling themselves Evians. They looked no different from ordinary people on the outside, but were stronger, had greater disease resistance, and many other improvements. As for the brain, no obvious advantage had emerged—after all, developing the brain was harder than leaping into the universe. But this was enough to create a gap. The highest an ordinary human could run the 100-meter dash was just over 9.7 seconds, already the elite of the elite. But an average Evian could easily hit that number, and the fastest could break 9 seconds. The difference was beginning to show.
But the advantages were still very obvious. Human life became somewhat chaotic. During the fifteen years of the Evians' rapid development, war broke out. The two sides fought fiercely and bloodily for half a century, finally deciding to end this meaningless war of attrition. Both sides referred to it in their histories as a farce, and this war was the Fourth World War in human history. After the war, humanity established the Earth Unified Alliance USE, still governing Earth, while the Evians formed the NUF, mainly concentrated on the Moon. However, in name, the NUF was still subordinate to the USE. Humanity also had research bases on the Moon, and a considerable number of Evians remained on Earth, mainly concentrated in Oceania. After fifty years of integration, although not completely harmonious, they had adapted to this peaceful coexistence—after all, their common origin was unchangeable.
After every war, human technology advances by leaps and bounds. The more intense the war, the more rapid the technological leap. Whether it's humanity's sinful nature or the nature of war itself, over the past five years, humans have entered an unprecedented revolution in space technology. Human interstellar warships can now freely travel within the solar system, and mineral resources from other planets flow continuously into Earth and the Moon.
To adapt to interstellar warfare and exploration, warships powered by antimatter energy have become mainstream. Once on the ground, mobile suits form the main force, after all, no one can adapt to various combat situations better than humans themselves.
Mobile suits originated from the inventions of the Evanthians. Simply put, they are combat machines controlled by humans—human-shaped, that is. Leveraging the powerful physique and reflexes of the Evanthians, they can maneuver mobile suits with great flexibility. It was thanks to the powerful attack capability of mobile suits that the Evanthians, whose population is far smaller than that of humanity, managed to hold off attacks. Now, mobile suits have become the primary combat force of both the USE and the NUP. This type of unit can adapt to the terrain of various planets, making it extremely convenient. It is said that even mobile suits for space stations are about to be successfully developed. Of course, these are the top secrets of the two alliances and major arms manufacturers; ordinary people can only speculate.
By now, mobile suits have been upgraded many times. Even ordinary humans can pilot them, though their performance metrics are somewhat inferior.
"Dude, being a high school student is a dead end. I won't stop you from joining the military, but you should still apply to the military academy. Otherwise, you'll only end up as a logistics soldier—you won't even get to touch one."
Maka looked at his friend helplessly. Although he didn't really enjoy interstellar war games, he had watched a few times, and Li Feng was indeed very good at them. But in his view, mobile suits were just mobile cannon fodder. They looked cool, but in reality, they were tough and offered no benefit—essentially the infantry of ancient warfare, a truly unpromising path.
Li Feng shrugged helplessly. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but exams just really weren't his strong suit. In this day and age, military academies had the highest admission scores, and the Five Great Military Academies were completely out of reach—they were where the elite of the elite gathered.
A simple example: Li Feng graduated high school and joined the army. After passing the physical exam and assessment, he would start as an ordinary soldier. If he worked hard for a few years, he might become a Mecha Warrior, but that would still only be a Private First Class. With good luck and some battle merits, he couldn't reach Captain until he was over forty. But graduates from the Five Great Military Academies entered the army directly as Second Lieutenants. Regardless of their positions, just having that rank would make others green with envy, and the top student each year could directly enter the starship control division—that came with a Major's rank, a position an ordinary Mecha Warrior could never reach even if he fought to the death.
But that was reality. Mecha Warriors were equivalent to the infantry of the past, while piloting a starship, even as ordinary staff, made you a high-ranking officer.
Li Feng was pretty open-minded about this. Everyone had their own strengths. Compared to piloting a starship, he preferred being a real man's Mecha Warrior.
But... military academies were the eternal pain in his heart. He considered himself not stupid, it was just that the exam questions were too insane, and he simply couldn't muster any interest in those theoretical things.
“Haha, no rush. There's still half a year. Whether I make it or not, I've got to try my luck. What about you? Any plans?”
“Heh, I don't have your ambition to make great achievements. I want to be a reporter, preferably in gossip and entertainment news, specializing in snapping candid shots of beautiful women. Don't worry, when I make it big, I'll definitely send you a free set of any star's photos！”
The two of them put their arms around each other's shoulders and laughed lewdly. Young and wild, they did whatever they wanted. Li Feng knew his best friend's personality well—he loved to get to the bottom of things and had a way with words. If he didn't get into this racket, it would be kind of a waste. Though their interests differed, that didn't stop them from being good brothers for over a decade. But Li Feng's goal was the military academy, while Ma Ka's aim was the College of Liberal Arts.
After parting ways, perhaps stirred up by Maka's newfound hope, Li Feng wasn't in a hurry to go home. All around were endless streams of maglev cars—darn cool, but too bad he couldn't afford one.