Chapter 021: Military Museum
Lieutenant Colonel Knox, Commander Irene, and the 50 students in the military command section waited at the school gate for the large suspension bus.
The large suspension bus, which could hold dozens of people, looked like a turntable, a round body with many seats. Because of its size, it must drive at the bottom of the air suspension lane, and its speed was much slower than a regular suspension vehicle that could load five or six people.
But there were some advantages to being bulky and slow- the ride was very smooth.
The large suspension bus would run very smoothly, and standing in the bus was just like standing on the ground, even running and dancing wouldn't affect the body’s balance.
The 50 people sat in accordance with their student number, Lin Yuan and Caesar's school numbers were next to each other, so they sat together.
Instructor Irene smiled and said: "It'll take two hours to get to the museum, do you want to play some games?” Although they were already soldiers, after all, they were all 18-year-old children, there was no need to make everyone keep serious military discipline.
As soon as Irene said this, Student Baker immediately raised his hand and suggested: "Instructor, there are 50 students, if everyone performed something, we'll be finished in two hours! We can have singing, dancing, anything ah!"
Making everyone do something was indeed very fair, Irene thought about it and said: “Okay, then everyone perform something. Introduce yourself, we can all get familiar with each other!” Then she looked at Lin Yuan, “Lin Yuan, since you're the Squad Leader, you start first."
Since he was called out by the teacher, Lin Yuan had to stand up, he went to the middle of the open space, smiled and said: “I can't sing and dance, how about I show you some somersaults?"
Everyone was surprised a moment, they didn't know how he would perform "Somersaults”. Some people even thought: Somersaults? Isn't that what three-year-old children do for fun, somersaults ah? Squad Leader, what are you thinking?
Irene was very interested: “It doesn't matter, you can show us anything!”
Lin Yu smiled and scratched his head, then he stretched out his hands into the standard position and began flipping.
One, two, three…
Ten….. Thirty….. Fifty….. Eighty…..
Everyone's eyes glazed over as they gaped and looked at the Squad Leader rapidly flipping over and over and over again…..
Is he an acrobat? Doesn't he feel dizzy turning so much?
Everyone felt dizzy just looking…..
After Lin Yuan did 100 consecutive flips, he finally stopped, but everyone's eyes were already @ @. Lin Yuan smiled and bowed to everyone, then he calmly walked back and sat next to Caesar.
The bus was silent for five seconds, then a cheer suddenly sounded: “Awesome! Squad leader, you're too cool!"
Baker shouted excitedly. With student Baker in the lead, deafening cheers suddenly sounded in the bus, almost shaking the roof with applause. Many people looked toward Lin Yuan with admiring eyes.
Lin Yuan smiled at everyone, embarrassed.
When the applause finally stopped, Irene said: "Caesar's up next, we'll move according to seat order."
Caesar walked to the middle of the suspension bus and asked, “Can I put on some music?"
Irene nodded: “Of course you can.”
Caesar opened his mini light tablet and played a song.
Rhythmic heavy metal music sounded, Caesar stretched out his arms and began to dance before everyone's shocked eyes.
Caesar’s dance was very entertaining, his muscles and bones were under his control, his hands and feet moved freely, every part of his body swung precisely. He danced in perfect rhythmic fusion with the music, explosive dancing, causing everyone to stare in shock.
This is an Alpha's momentum!
Caesar’s dance was not only very powerful, you couldn't look away from it, like you were watching a professional level dancer! He actually incorporated a lot of fighting art into the fluid dance, every action was smooth, simple and accurate, like a performance that was planned in advance!
When the music finally stopped, Caesar took a bow and swung out an arm in invitation, like inviting a dance partner, this simple action gave the performance a gentlemanly mood!
The bus exploded in screams and applause!
Caesar smiled and bowed to everyone, then turned back to his seat.
Lin Yuan applauded while watching Caesar and asked: “Do you dance as a hobby ah? You danced really well."
“……Really?”
Because Lin Yuan happily praised him, Caesar couldn't help but also smile.
– Have you finally noticed my good points?
– Since you praised me, I'll also boast you.
Caesar looked back at Lin Yuan and leaned to his ear to whisper: “Your somersaults were pretty cool, your body is so flexible, did you learn acrobatics?”
Lin Yuan smiled and said, “No, I was too naughty when I was a child, I liked to do somersaults on my bed for really long times."
Caesar: “………………”
At that moment, Caesar really wanted to rub Lin Yuan's head.
He thought of a small Lin Yuan excitedly flipping and rolling around on his bed. That must've been….. super cute right? I wonder if his family recorded him or have childhood pictures, I really want to see what he looked like as a kid…
Caesar looked back at Lin Yuan, but Lin Yuan was looking intently at the next performer.
Unfortunately, in accordance with the seat order, the next performer happened to be Karl from the neighboring dormitory.
Karl was singing, his smiling face and demeanor making him fit in with any of the popular celebrities. Moreover, Karl’s voice was very soft, and he was singing a recently popular love song, his gentle voice slipped into the ear, like a lover’s whisper.
Although he didn't like Karl, he had to admit that his singing was quite pleasant. But, seeing Lin Yuan's earnestly intoxicated expression as he listened to Karl's singing, Caesar couldn't help but feel somewhat annoyed.
Next time, he had to find a chance to sing in front of Lin Yuan. Actually, he couldn't just dance, his singing ability was not inferior to Karl's…..
Caesar silently thought this in his heart.
The performances continued. It turned out that the class had a lot of talented people, some people could mimic animals, some people said tongue twisters, and Bossa even performed an old-school ballet.
After the talent show, the distance between the students seemed to close in, and Squad Leader Lin Yuan even got to clearly record the names of all the class members and memorize their faces.
***
At ten o’clock in the morning, the suspension bus finally arrived at the Military Museum.
The museum was the largest Military Museum in the Empire, it was built in the middle of the endless plains, and was divided into several buildings. The tallest one was thousands of meters high, and you couldn't see the top if you looked up. The huge complex covered more than 10,000 square meters, and a large number of military equipment were on display.
The group of students excitedly ran out from the suspension bus and met the museum staff standing in a row by the door. A young man stepped forward and shook hands with Colonel Knox and Commander Irene, then said to the students: “Students, welcome to the Military Museum! You'll be the first group to visit! Your class will be divided into five groups, and the tour guides will take you to visit different exhibition areas! Please don't make noise in the museum, photography equipment is not allowed either! If there are any questions, you can raise your hands and ask!"
“Okay!” The crowd immediately nodded.
The 50 people automatically divided into five groups according to school number and followed the five tour guides. Knox and Irene were invited to the curator’s office, they have visited the museum countless times, they didn't need to see it again. The museum's tour guides were specifically trained to lead students, they didn't need to worry about them.
Lin Yuan, Caesar, Karl, and Baker were in the fifth group, they followed a female tour guide to the 50th floor of A District.
The tour guide took everyone into the exhibition hall. An ancient spacecraft was displayed in the open hall, it was ten times smaller than today’s space ships, and because of its age, some parts of the spacecraft had begun to fade.
The tour guide smiled and said: “Students, you are now looking at the Pearl No. 01 spacecraft. This spacecraft has a special significance, who knows it?"
The tour guide looked in Lin Yuan's direction, Lin Yuan replied: “This is the first interplanetary passenger ship in the history of mankind. The first batch of people who left earth used this Pearl No. 01."
The tour guide continued to question, “Why is it called the Pearl?”
Lin Yuan replied: “Because pearls have always been used as a lucky stone for wedding anniversaries, it symbolizes health, purity and happiness. When the ship was made by the spacecraft engineers, the hope was that after leaving earth, humanity would still be able to live healthy and happy lives. So it was named the Pearl. Afterwards, all the interstellar passenger space ships followed the tradition."
The female tour guide smiled and nodded, "This answer is very good, your historical knowledge foundation is obviously very solid."
Lin Yuan also smiled back at her.
Student Baker proudly said: “Ms. Tour Guide, he is our Squad Leader!”
The tour guide said: “Oh, no wonder! Your Squad Leader is very powerful ah!"
Everyone immediately nodded and echoed: “Yeah he is!”
Lin Yuan: “…..”
He looked back at Caesar, and found that Caesar was also smiling at him. Lin Yuan scratched his head and turned away from his line of sight.
The woman looked closely at Lin Yuan and her heart couldn't help but doubt - A military command class made a Beta the Squad Leader? And all the Alpha in this group seem to have no objection to this? The Alpha who is standing by him is even looking at him with eyes full of….. Admiration?
The tour guide took the 10 people to each layer.
The first set of covert reconnaissance ships, the first intelligent armor, the first military aircraft carrier, various models of warships….. The museum showcased hundreds of years of the Empire's military history since establishment, causing everyone to be dazzled, it was a feast for the eyes.
Especially the 80th floor, the Intelligent Machine armor area. They looked at the display of machine armors through the huge glass pane, looking left and right in excitement.
Many of the armors had long histories, and some of them had even accompanied master mech pilots in tough situations, they were war heroes. The only regret was that most of the mech in the museum were B-Class. There was only one A-Class, and it was only displayed as an exhibit because it was seriously damaged beyond repair. Lin Yuan looked at the giant, more than 30 meters high A-Class mech and couldn't help but exclaim in his heart: A-Class is really on another level, it's super awe-inspiring!
The group of people walked around A District's 80th floor in excitement, it was already noon.
The tour guide smiled and said: “Okay, we're done with the top floor. I'll give you ten minutes to take care of any personal business. In ten minutes, we'll go back down to the first floor to join everyone for lunch. Then in the afternoon, we'll tour the floors below 50!”
Everyone immediately dispersed, some people went to the self-help sales robots to buy water, some left to find a bathroom.
Lin Yuan stood in place, reluctant to leave the mechs behind the window pane, he couldn't help but think - It'd be awesome if I had one, unfortunately, I can't afford it. But, if I have a successful graduation and good results in three years, then I can be a lieutenant of a small corps, and get a mech of my own…..
Lin Yuan was looking forward to a better future when he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from above him. The surrounding students were gone, the space should be quiet, but it sounded like a chain was being dragged on the ground, the harsh sound made Lin Yuan’s scalp numb.
– Isn’t this the top floor of the museum? Why is there such a strange sound over head?
Lin Yuan walked to the entrance of the elevator, puzzled.
Sure enough, the highest number the elevator could reach was the 80th floor, his current floor.
If the 80th floor is the highest level, why is there still a sound over head? Is there an upstairs?
Lin Yuan turned the corner and found an exit.
Although most of the buildings now used electric lifts, they still retained traditional staircases in case of fires or power outages that could trap people inside.
Lin Yuan pushed the door to go inside, but found that…..the door was locked?
Why is the door locked? Shouldn't it be open in case of emergency?
This made Lin Yuan even more puzzled, he looked through the glass on the door and saw stairs leading down…. And a staircase leading up! The upstairs door was closed tightly, and without hearing the strange burst of sound, most people would think it was the rooftop!
Why is the door of the emergency exit locked?
Lin Yuan scratched his head, puzzled. Just as he turned away, he suddenly heard a crisp "snap” sound above him, like a chain link being shattered! Then, there was a shuffling sound, it was very strange, as if some trapped beast was struggling desperately!
“…” What's going on? What’s on the roof? Are there people working up there?
Lin Yuan listened to the strange sound, his heart rate was inexplicably speeding up. He had a very strange intuition, or was it a subtle irritation…..whatever was upstairs was very familiar!
It was as if some power was attracting him.
The gravitational force was so strong that Lin Yuan’s body unconsciously moved towards the door!
Lin Yuan leaned forward for a closer look and found that the right side of the door had a rectangular magnetic card reader.
All kinds of buildings had these types of card identification areas nowadays. In their dormitory, their identity card could be used as a key, in higher security places, there was fingerprint or pupil scanners.
Lin Yuan took out his military school card and brushed it, but there was no response. After thinking for a while, he took out the platinum crystal card his mother had given him and gently swiped it –
A shocking scene happened!
With the platinum card over the sensor, the door actually opened!
Lin Yuan was surprised, then he excitedly climbed up the stairs. He stood at the second door and once again swiped his crystal card.
The heavy metal door slowly opened, and Lin Yuan walked into the room. A glare of light reflected through a huge floor window, causing Lin Yuan to reflexively cover his eyes, at this time, the door behind him suddenly closed.
The door probably closes automatically?
Lin Yuan looked back at the door curiously, then he turned to look around the room –
In a football field sized space, a giant 50-meter-high mech proudly stood!
The armor's body was fiery red, and the metal looked dazzling under the shining sun! Although the mech was huge, its body was structured very smoothly, every joint was perfectly designed!
Its red body shone in the sunlight, it looked like the armor was bathing in fire!
It was the most beautiful mech Lin Yuan had ever seen! More beautiful than all the armor he'd seen in the network galleries!
The most extreme feature was the crisscrossed electromagnetic chains covering the armor. The moment Lin Yuan had walked through the door, the armor suddenly shook fiercely, and the chains covering its body split and completely broke!
“…..” Lin Yuan froze in astonishment and stared up at it with wide eyes.
“…..” The armor seemed to also be stunned for a moment, then it slightly bowed its head, its red eyes flashing as it looked at the small human it could effortless trample to death with one foot. It was silent for a long time before asking, "Pardon my rudeness, can you help me with a favor?"
Lin Yuan stared and pointed to his nose: “You…you, you're talking to me?”
The armor nodded and softly said, “Yes. Do you want to drive an S-Class mech? Come here, come to me. I’ll teach you how to drive."
He said this and popped open the cockpit in his chest, then he bent down to bring the cockpit to Lin Yuan.
“…”
What the hell is going on?
Not only can the mech speak directly, it can also take the initiative to invite someone to drive it? Is there such a sentient mech?
Although his heart was very puzzled, this was the first time Lin Yuan had seen the S-Class mech, yet he seemed to have a strange attraction to it. He excitedly jumped into Suzaku's cockpit and asked: “You're really S-Class? Are you 50 meters tall? Oh right, what's your name?"
The armor didn't answer him, it just straightened himself up and closed the cockpit door.
The moment the cockpit door closed, Lin Yuan saw the door of the room open and Caesar rush in.
“Lin Yuan -!”
The familiar voice entered his ear, but before Lin Yuan could respond, his body was tightly wrapped by red nerve fibers!
At the same time, Suzaku suddenly started his engine and soared up, directly crashing through the museum’s roof!
Bright red wings burst out from its shoulders, and the fire red armor looked like a phoenix. With shocking speed it quickly flew up to an altitude of 90,000 meters!
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T/N:
The Chinese seem to have an obsession with heavy metal music. Maybe the genre is different over there, cause it's not really something that's danced to over here. Unless head banging and jumping like a lunatic is dancing.