"Uh huh." I replied with a wide smile while continuing to munch on my prize with great relish.


    … …


    Munch. Munch. Munch.


    … …


    Munch. Munch. Swallow.


    "HAHA! Well done! Truly worthy of being my little brother!! That''s exactly what I expect you to do in life! Go after whatever you want, full speed, full power, full strength, no apologies!! Well done! Well done!! HAHAHA!!" Bruce Pang roared withughter.


    By his side, Jete Wen, who had NEVER heard her husband praise any student in the thirty years he had been the Principal of National Mecha Pilot Academy, almost puked blood when she heard him shout "Well done!" not once, not twice, but three bloody times! AND for stealing a roast pork from him!!


    "I need to sit down." She muttered and promptly sat down at her seat.


    Discovering that she wasn''t feeling any better after sitting down, Jete Wen frowned deeply.


    "I need a drink." She muttered again and poured herself a cup of tea.


    Discovering that tea wasn''t doing anything, she finally shed all pretenses and took out a sk out of nowhere and took a generous swig from it.


    "Ahhhh. That''s much better." She sighed.


    I blinked innocently and pretended that I couldn''t smell the alcohol.


    Bruce Pang was still nodding at me approvingly with a wide smile stered on his face. And then it finally struck him that he hadn''t asked me for my name.


    "What''s your name, little brother?" He asked casually and caused Jete Wen to choke and almost spit out her precious drink.


    "He hadn''t even asked him for his name!!" She thought incredulously.


    "My name is Justin!" I replied enthusiastically.


    "Which n or family are you from?" Bruce Pang continued asking. Jete Wen simply sighed deeply.


    Men.


    "I am from the White Ti… ah Whitefrost n." I replied.


    Even winning her bet did nothing to improve Jete Wen''s mood.


    "Good. Whatever the Whitefrosts are these days, they are definitely still one thing. Loyal to the Federation. I picked well." Bruce Pang smiled with relief while Jete Wen snorted and rolled her eyes.


    "Picked well. Right. More like gambled well!! What if he''s from the Long Family? Or the Liu Family? You''d be shooting yourself in the foot." Jete Wen grumbled. She was still getting over the fact that her husband finally added a member to his inner circle based on a… Chopstick fight over roast pork.


    The alcohol was helping, of course. But she''ll need more than just a generous swig topletely get over it.


    Now, if she could beat up- ah not beat up, that''d be domestic violence. Spar. Yes, spar with that irritating husband of hers, she was sure she''d be able to get over it much more easily.


    She nced at Bruce Pang, who promptly pretended that he didn''t understand her look.


    "I''m not in the habit of thinking about whatifs. He''s from the Whitefrost n and my little brother. It''s perfect." Bruce Pang replied with a smile. "Come. Let us finish dinner first and then talk about what brings you here."<novelnext></novelnext>


    What else could I do? It was amand from the Principal. I resumed eating.


    Very soon, all of the pork, vegetables and rice were gone and all three of us sat back with satisfied sighs.


    Yes, ALL three of us, without exception, sat back with VERY satisfied sighs.


    "So tell us, little brother. Why did little She bring you here?" Bruce Pang finally asked the most crucial question which, unbelievably, had been dyed for so long.


    "Ah, Grand Elder She wanted to exin to me why the Elders were over reacting so badly when I scored 95 in my RPL test." I replied casually.


    BAM!


    "You scored 95 in your RPL Test??? And you WAITED until now to tell us that???" Jete Wen mmed her precious sh on the table and shot up to her feet in shock!


    "Uh yes, that''s exactly the reaction I was wondering about." I nodded cheekily.


    "Hahahaha! I knew it! I could feel it in my bones! That you truly are worthy to be my little brother!" Bruce Pang shouted proudly.


    "Come! Come follow me! We''ve waited long enough for a 95-RPL freak like you to appear!" Jete Wen grabbed my arm and literally dragged me out along with her.


    Bruce Pang simply stood up and followed us from behind, his stupid and proud smile still stered on his face.


    Jete led (read: dragged) me out of their little hut and all the way into the huge and luxurious lift in which I had arrived earlier.


    She ced her palm on a touchpad and keyed in a series ofplex numbers and figures into it.


    Immediately, the lift moved and brought us swiftly to our destination.


    If I had to point at the most underrated aspect of the supremely impressive National Mecha Pilot Academy estate, it had to be their lift system.


    Those lifts literally go EVERYWHERE, at unbelievable speeds and the crazy thing is, you''ll hardly ever realize it is moving. It''s like an anywhere door that you can step through to anywhere in the academy.


    If you''re the Principal or Vice Principal, of course.


    For most of us, it was just a mini "teleportation" device to bring us to the key areas of the academy.


    That time, the lift opened up to a huge, huge room that had twelve absolutely magnificent mechas lined up facing each other neatly in two rows of six.


    Behind each of them were an additional two smaller but still majestic looking and magnificent mechas.


    Yes, they were the Twelve Mecha Guardians and Twenty Four Mecha Disciples of the National Mecha Pilot Academy.


    I don''t think I have anything to say about them that hadn''t already been said by the media.


    The media coverage on each and every one of them had been exhaustively extensive, and totally worth the time and effort if you hadn''t already watched or read them.


    When we stepped out, somehow our mood turned serious and somber.


    "What are we doing here?" I whispered to my big bro.


    "Choosing a mecha for you." He whispered back.