Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 177 Just Doing Useless Things
That night's military training party turned into a group wild disco party.

Thousands of people were jumping and shouting, as if they wanted to turn the stadium upside down.

Even Lu Tao, who was quietly observing from the corner, had to admit that this simple stadium structure might be better and more capable of carrying the weight of youth.

If it were what he envisioned, the building would probably collapse.

Those noisy and bustling figures actually made him feel a little envious.

Upon noticing Zhai Dazheng staring at him from the crowd, he immediately became alarmed and retreated 800 meters overnight to hide in the men's restroom to avoid being dragged to dance.

Zhai Da's mesmerizing dance moves stood out among the chaotic crowd, and many people began to imitate him. Gradually, more and more people gathered around him, and the three-stage driving test became more and more complete.

This night also produced countless memorable moments, and various short videos with a vintage feel quickly went viral in different classes.

The scene of dozens of people wildly dancing during the driving test was a classic moment, and it quickly spread beyond the campus overnight, showing a trend of going viral.

Fortunately, Zhai Da was one of the inconspicuous ones; you wouldn't recognize him as the one who started it just by watching the video.

He is not yet considered a crazy "cradle of madness," and still retains the aura of a "genius writer."

The above is Zhai Da's prayer after calming down.
The next morning, Zhai Da's entire family set off to take Yu Xiaoli to Taiping Airport.

At the airport counter, the only large piece of luggage was placed on the baggage carousel. Yu Xiaoli glanced at her boarding pass:
"There's still time, so spend more time with me. Who knows when we'll see each other again?"

The realization of being separated from her son for so long seemed to come a little late; for the past few days, she hadn't really felt that "her son has gone to university."

It felt like I had simply moved to a different city, a different room, and a different school.

Then continue watching Zhai Da grow up.

In Yu Xiaoli's world, this is the first time she has been about to be separated from Zhai Da for so long since the moment he was born.

She also realized for the first time that she had reached the age where her child no longer needed her to look after him.

Is it too late for me to be sentimental now? Yu Xiaoli thought to herself.

Zhai Da: "I can come anytime I want. The work at the wool mill is no longer necessary."

Yu Xiaoli shook her head: "You still don't understand that these are two different things. You have your studies, and I have my work. People can be free, but they can't be lazy."

Outside the check-in area, things didn't really improve, but the three of them kept going in circles.

Yu Xiaoli looked at Lu Wei, took her slender hand in her palm, and gently stroked it with her much rougher hand: "Xiao Wei, I trust you the most, but I also worry about you the most. You should listen to Zhai Da more often, but you can't listen to him too much."

Lu Wei: ?
"Don't worry about your mother anymore. She already met you last time. I'll take care of her when you visit her in the future. If you want to do anything else, just have Zhai Da burn some paper money for you. She'll receive everything."

"Thank you, Teacher Yu."

Yu Xiaoli patted Lu Wei's head; her long hair was so smooth, just like when she was young.
"Remember to call me every now and then. Don't find it annoying if I call you. Be more vigilant when winter comes and put on more clothes. We've never seen a heating system before. If it doesn't work, call someone to fix it immediately."

"Running should be done on the track, it's safer than on the road. Don't just eat meat; Xiaowei, keep an eye on Zhai Da. Oh, and that Teacher Jiang Xiaobai, we should ask him not to take the blame; teachers always know more than their students."

Sentence by sentence, intermittently, Yu Xiaoli wished she could clear away all her worries before leaving.

Zhai Da smiled, and Lu Wei listened intently; neither of them interrupted.

He used to find these things annoying, and he also used to miss them.

Later I realized that the nagging and urging came from the fact that my children lived too far away, and it was a sense of powerlessness born from worry and uncertainty.

Listen to it.

The more you listen, the closer your mother feels to you.

Finally, as the time drew near, Yu Xiaoli was about to go through security.

Yu Xiaoli patted Zhai Da on the shoulder: "We're not worried about anything. You're a grown man now. I used to hear people say that boys grow up overnight, but I didn't believe it. Now I do."

"Mom, you too, eat properly. Don't skimp on food just because there are fewer people. Call me anytime if you need anything. Many of my classmates are in Dongyang. Running errands is no big deal for me."

Yu Xiaoli walked into the security checkpoint, turning back every few steps. Zhai Da and Lu Wei only turned and left when she was completely out of sight.

On the taxi ride home, Zhai Da looked at the still unfamiliar street scene outside the window, feeling somewhat conflicted.

He had, after all, completely lost his mother before, and they had been together ever since he was reborn. His hospital check-up showed everything was normal.

But occasionally, when she's lost in thought, she still has wild ideas. Will Yu Xiaoli, who returns to Dongyang alone, return to her previous fate?
Even though I know this worry is unfounded, it's hard to control my mind.

Feeling his hand being pulled, Zhai Da turned his head to look.

Lu Wei sat on the other side, holding a book in one hand, reading quietly.

But his right hand naturally grasped his left hand.

"What? You're lustful and want to touch my hand?"

He knew, of course, that Lu Wei had sensed his emotions and wanted to comfort him, but that didn't stop him from being cheeky.

Lu Wei's big eyes, which were focused on the book, shifted slightly. After holding back for a long time, she could only whisper, "Hmm, so lecherous."

"This kind of thing requires a report."

“Report, I want to touch your hand.” The taxi driver glanced in the rearview mirror.

Where did this come from? Is it still in China?

Zhai Da shook his head and chuckled, seemingly lost in thought.

As expected, he's a blockhead.

This kind of proactive hand-holding would be enough to fill three episodes in an idol drama, but for Lu Wei, it was just an expression of concern for Zhai Da.

Back at the Shenzhou Mansion, Zhai Da suddenly felt that the place had become unfamiliar.
From now on, it will just be the two of them, Lu Wei and I.

Although they have been "living together" for several months, Yu Xiaoli has always been there. Now it really is just the two of them. It seems like something is different, but it also seems like nothing is.

There was no military training today, so there was no need to go to school. Zhai Da thought for a moment and decided to take out his laptop and continue his arduous CAD work. The modeling of the wristband card dealer had reached its third version, but the results were still not ideal.

It's not that there's a problem with the design, but rather that we're unfamiliar with 3D printing.

But it should be soon.

Back in my room, just as I was about to grab my laptop, I suddenly noticed something extra on my bedside table.

Zhai Da picked it up with a puzzled look.

Adolescent Health Knowledge and Hygiene

The cover features an extremely low-quality cartoon character, with an art style reminiscent of Blue Cat's 3000 Questions.
A note was also posted: "Safety First".

Zhai Da's face darkened. This was Yu Xiaoli's handwriting.
I flipped through it and wow, the illustrations are all cartoonish.

Can you really learn anything from this?
My mom, instead of all this fancy stuff, she should give me something practical.
------

With Yu Xiaoli's departure, life seemed to speed up.

In the morning, I had military training and awkward conversations with a bunch of goofballs. In the afternoon, I went to the Industrial Innovation Center to make wristband card dealing devices.

In the evenings, he writes his new book and touches his little hands.

Life was fulfilling and busy.

As the leading institution among the seven national defense universities, Harbin Institute of Technology's military training included some interesting activities in the latter half, such as simulated biological, chemical, and nuclear protection, practicing three-on-three assaults with dummy guns, and being taken to a suburban shooting range for live-fire target practice on the third-to-last day.

Zhai Da also touched a real gun for the first time, a Type 95 rifle. He trained for a whole morning, shooting at the target for one minute, firing ten bullets each.

Zhai Da possessed "dexterous hands," which he was initially very interested in and even confident about.

He thought he would make a name for himself, but the instructor patted him on the shoulder and said he had the talent of a sniper, urging him to serve as a college soldier for a few years.

The result was only 39 rings out of ten shots, a hit rate of 50%, which was a fairly ordinary score.

He couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried, and in the end he could only attribute it to the gun's trajectory being biased to the left.

On the second-to-last day, we spent the whole day practicing marching at full speed, and my legs were numb by the end of the day.

The final day included a military training drill and parade.

"Now marching towards us is Class 1 of Materials Forming and Control Engineering. They are marching with high spirits and boundless energy."

Amidst the energetic announcements, Zhai Da marched in formation, his steps precise and powerful. As he passed the podium, he turned around with a "snap" and saw Principal Wang Chunguo smiling at him.

The queue continued forward, and Zhai Da saw Lu Wei in the audience. He smiled, raised his eyebrows, and gestured to his little wooden boy. Lu Wei clapped her hands in support.

A few meters away, Yu Jinghui, who was visiting, smiled and said to his subordinate beside him, "Look, Xiao Zhai is greeting me. I knew he was a sentimental person."

The drill was simpler than Zhai Da had imagined, mainly because he did not participate in some of the ancillary events, such as military boxing, battlefield first aid drills, and flag carrying and protection.

Jiang Jingxuan was selected for the female soldiers' formation because of her good looks. Regardless of the appearance of the formation, all of them were tall and long-legged freshmen. When they shouted "one, two, three, four" in unison, many boys on the playground were smitten.

Those with good eyesight are already practicing shooting in the air, looking for their ideal partner.

Shen Zixuan was chosen to perform military boxing because of his strong build, but he was unlucky and was the one who got hit with a stick.

His partner struck him six times before breaking the brittle wooden stick that should have snapped at the slightest touch. Shen Zixuan's face turned red from the blows.

There was also a three-on-three surprise attack performance, which realistically used "colored smoke generators" to simulate a battlefield environment. As a result, one of the three groups got dizzy and when they came out of the thick smoke, the prop guns were all pointed at the principal on the podium and they shouted "Kill!"
Principal Wang Chunguo's smile was forced and unsatisfying; was he planning a rebellion before even having taught a single day?
Compared to others, Zhai Da spent half his time at the "Industrial Innovation Center," and his remaining energy was only enough to keep up with the daily training, but it was still a fun and complete experience.

Standing in the queue, Zhai Da watched as Shen Zixuan was struck six times in a second, laughing and clapping.

Watching a battlefield first aid drill, someone was seen carrying a wounded soldier with their head protected by their groin.

Listening to the announcer's impromptu performance, praising the "top freshmen" in this year's military training for their hard work and dedication, as if they had conducted a detailed interview, was actually just a fabricated story.

Finally, we watched as the Harbin Institute of Technology's national flag guard team, with a training level far exceeding that of the freshmen, raised that bright red flag to the top.

Military training is over.

It's a pretty good start to university life.

　We'll try to resume updates as soon as possible.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)