章節 2: Ideal and Reality
"Li Feng, what are your plans after graduation?" Mark asked with a smile, "Don't just play Space War all day, that won't pay the bills. Do you really want to join the military?"
Li Feng nodded, looking at his childhood friend, "I have thought about it, but I haven't made a final decision."
"Oh my god!" Mark exclaimed, covering his forehead, "You are taking games too seriously. Controlling those outdated Earth Federation machines is nothing like in the game. It's exhausting and has no future. Besides, us ordinary humans can't compare with the physique of the Evintar people."
Li Feng did not argue. This was a harsh reality. It was now the year 2215, and the Earth Federation, composed of the old human race, and the NUP (New Unified People), made up of the Evintar people, co-dominate the world. This storyline was nothing new and had been predicted by countless sci-fi movies. Although cloning had been banned, genetic engineering had not stopped, driven by the human fear of aging and death. Thus, the new human race was born. They called themselves Evintar people, and they did not look much different from ordinary humans, except for their stronger bodies and higher disease resistance. However, there was no apparent advantage in their brains. After all, brain development was more difficult than space travel. Nevertheless, this was enough to create a significant difference. The fastest ordinary human could sprint 100 meters in 9.7 seconds, which was already the elite of the elite. But an average Evintar person could easily run this distance, and the fastest could do it in less than nine seconds, showing a clear advantage.
Despite the significant advantages, human life had become somewhat chaotic. In the fifteen years of rapid development of the Evintar people, war broke out. Both sides fought fiercely for half a century and finally decided to end this meaningless war. It was referred to as a farce in the history of both sides. This war was also the fourth world war in human history. After the war, humans established the Earth United Federation (USE) to manage the Earth, while the Evintar people established NUP, which was mainly concentrated on the moon. However, NUP was still nominally under USE. Humans also had research bases on the moon, while a considerable number of Evintar people were on Earth, mainly concentrated in Oceania. After fifty years of integration, although not entirely harmonious, they had adapted to peaceful coexistence, after all, they shared the same origin.
After each war, human technology made great leaps forward. The more intense the war, the more rapid the leap of technology. It was unclear whether it was the human race's inherent flaws or the essence of war, but in the past five years, humans had entered an unprecedented space technology revolution. Human interstellar warships could freely travel between the solar systems, and mineral resources from other planets were continuously being imported to Earth and the moon.
To adapt to interstellar warfare and exploration, antimatter energy had become the mainstream energy source for interstellar warships, and once landed, mobile suits were the main force. After all, no one could adapt to various combat situations better than humans themselves.
The Mobile Suit originated from the Evintar people's creation, essentially a human-controlled combat machine, in humanoid form, utilizing the Evintar's powerful cognition and reflexes to skillfully maneuver the Mobile Suit. With fewer numbers than the human race, the Evintar relied on the Mobile Suit's strong attack power to withstand attacks. Nowadays, Mobile Suits have become the main force of USE and NUP, an adaptable military unit capable of operating on various planetary terrains, highly convenient. It is rumored that even Mobile Suits stationed in space stations will soon be successfully researched, but this is just top-secret information among the two major alliances and various military contractors, speculation only among the general public.
Until now, the Mobile Suit has been upgraded many times, and even ordinary humans can drive it, albeit with somewhat inferior data.
"Bro, high school students have no future. If you want to join the military, I won't stop you, but you should consider attending a military academy. Otherwise, you'll only be a logistician, unable to touch the real action."
Mark looked at his friend helplessly. Although he didn't really enjoy space war games, he had watched Li Feng play a few times, and he played really well. But in his eyes, the Mobile Suit was just a disposable soldier, it looked cool, but it was actually exhausting and had no benefits, just like the foot soldiers of ancient wars, no future.
Li Feng shrugged helplessly. He did want to join the military, but he wasn't good at taking exams. In this day and age, military academies had the highest requirements for test scores, and the five major military academies were even more elite. For example, if Li Feng graduated from high school and joined the military, he would start as an ordinary soldier and work hard for several years to maybe become a Mobile Suit pilot, but only a sergeant at most. If he was lucky and earned some battle merits, he might be promoted to captain when he was over 40 years old. However, a graduate from one of the five major military academies would start as a second lieutenant in the military, regardless of their position. Just the military rank alone would make people envy, and the top students from each class could directly enter the Interstellar Warship Control Department, with the rank of a major. This was probably a position that an ordinary Mobile Suit pilot could never achieve, no matter how hard they tried.
But this was reality. The Mobile Suit was equivalent to foot soldiers in ancient wars, while even ordinary workers driving interstellar warships held high-ranking military positions.
Li Feng was still very open-minded about this. Everyone had their own strengths. Compared to driving interstellar warships, he preferred to be a manly Mobile Suit pilot.
However…the military academy was his eternal pain. He considered himself to have a high IQ, but the exam questions were just too tricky, and he couldn't generate any interest in the theoretical stuff.
"Haha, don't worry, there's still half a year to go. Regardless of whether I pass or not, I have to take my chances. What about you, any plans?"
"Hehe, I don't have your ambitious aspirations for glory and accomplishments. I want to be a famous journalist, preferably in the entertainment gossip industry, specialize in secretly photographing beautiful women. Don't worry, when I become famous, I'll definitely give you a free set!"
Two young people, their arms around each other, smiled in silver. Li Feng knew his good friend's character, and enjoyed his excellent writing skills. Although their interests were different, it did not prevent them from being good brothers. They had been friends for more than ten years, but Li Feng's goal was to attend a military academy, while Mark's goal was to attend a liberal arts college.
After parting ways, Li Feng was not in a hurry to go home. The surroundings were full of magnetic levitation cars that were cool but unfortunately, he couldn't afford one.
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