"Li Feng, what are your plans after graduation?" Ma Ka asked with a smile. "Don't play that 'Universe War' game all day long. That stuff won't put food on the table. Don't tell me you really want to join the army after graduation?"
Li Feng looked at his childhood best friend and nodded. "I have that intention, but I haven't decided for sure yet."
"Oh my god!" Ma Ka exaggeratedly covered his forehead. "You really take the game as reality. Operating those crappy machines of the Earth Federation is nothing like the game. It's extremely tiring and has no future. Besides, us ordinary humans can't compare with the physique of the Ivants at all."
Li Feng didn't refute. It was indeed a cruel reality. It was now 2215 AD. The Earth Federation of Old Humans (USE) and the Ivant Free Alliance (NUP) jointly dominated the world. The plot was quite old. Countless science fiction movies had predicted it. Although cloning was prohibited, genetic engineering hadn't stopped. It also stemmed from human's fear of birth, aging, illness, and death. New humans were born. They called themselves Ivants. There wasn't much difference in appearance from ordinary people, but their bodies were stronger, and their resistance to diseases and so on had been greatly improved. As for the brain, there wasn't an obvious advantage. After all, developing the brain area was even more difficult than the Great Leap Forward in the universe. But it was enough to create a difference. The highest speed of an ordinary human's 100-meter sprint was only 9.7 seconds. That was already the elite among the elites. But an average Ivant could easily reach this number, and the fastest could run within 9 seconds. The difference began to show.
But the advantages were still very obvious. Human life became a bit chaotic. During the fifteen years of the Ivants' rapid development, war broke out. The two sides fought vigorously for half a century and finally decided to end this meaningless war of attrition. In the history of both sides, it was called a farce. And this war was also the Fourth World War in the history of human development. After the war, humans established the United Earth Alliance (USE), still managing the Earth. And the Ivants established the NUF, mainly concentrated on the Moon. But nominally, the NUF was still subordinate to the USE. Humans also had research and development bases on the Moon, and a considerable number of Ivants were on the Earth, mainly concentrated in Oceania. After fifty years of integration, although it wasn't completely harmonious, they had already adapted to this peaceful coexistence. After all, having the same origin couldn't be changed.
After each war, human science and technology would make great leaps forward. The more intense the war, the more rapid the leap in science and technology. Whether it was due to human's inherent flaws or the nature of war, in the past five years, humans had entered an unprecedented revolution in space science and technology. Human starships could travel freely between the solar system. Mineral deposits from other planets were continuously flowing into the Earth and the Moon.
To adapt to interstellar war and interstellar exploration, anti-matter-powered starships had become the mainstream. And once landed, mobile suits were the mainstream troops. After all, no one could adapt to various battle situations better than humans themselves.
Mobile suits originated from the creation of the Ivants. To put it bluntly, they were battle machines controlled by humans, just in human form. Using the powerful bodies and reactions of the Ivants, they could操纵 mobile suits very flexibly. And the Ivants, who were far fewer in number than humans, were precisely relying on the powerful attack power of mobile suits to withstand the attacks. And now, mobile suits had become the main combat forces of the USE and the NUP. This type of troops could adapt to the landforms of various planets, which was really convenient. It was heard that the mobile suits for space stations were about to be successfully developed. Of course, these were all top secrets of the two alliances and major arms dealers. Ordinary people could only guess.
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Up to now, mobile suits had been upgraded and replaced many times. Even ordinary humans could drive them, but the data in all aspects was a bit worse.
"Buddy, there's no future for high school students. If you want to join the army, I won't stop you. But it's better to apply to a military academy. Otherwise, you can only be a logistics soldier and won't even get to touch them."
Ma Ka looked at his friend helplessly. Although he didn't like the "Universe War" game much, he had watched Li Feng play it a few times. Li Feng did play it really well. But in his opinion, mobile suits were just mobile cannon fodder. They looked cool, but in fact, they were both tiring and unprofitable, equivalent to the infantry in ancient wars. There was really no future.
Li Feng shrugged helplessly. It wasn't that he didn't want to. It was just that exams weren't his strong suit. In this era, the admission scores of military academies were the highest. And the five major military academies were out of the question. That was where the elites among the elites gathered.
To give a simple example, if Li Feng joined the army after graduating from high school, passed the physical examination and assessment, he would start as an ordinary soldier. After working hard for a few years, he might become a mobile suit pilot, but he would only be a corporal. If he was lucky enough to earn some military merits, he could be promoted to captain, but he would be over forty years old. But those who graduated from the five major military academies would enter the army as second lieutenants. Regardless of the position, just the rank alone would make people envy them to death. And the most outstanding students of each class could directly enter the starship control department. That was the rank of major. That was probably a position that an ordinary mobile suit pilot could never reach even if he fought to the death.
But that was the reality. Mobile suits were equivalent to the infantry in the past. And driving a starship, even an ordinary staff member was a senior officer.
Li Feng was quite open-minded about this. Everyone had their own strengths. Compared with driving a starship, he preferred to become a very manly mobile suit pilot.
However... Military academies were always a pain in his heart. He didn't think he had a low IQ, but the exam questions were too abnormal. And he really couldn't get interested in those theoretical things.
"Ha ha, don't worry. There are still six months. Whether it works out or not, I'll always give it a try. What about you? What are your plans?"
"Hehe, I don't have your ambition to make great achievements. I want to be a journalist, preferably a gossip and entertainment news journalist, specializing in secretly taking pictures of beautiful women. Don't worry. When I become famous, I'll definitely give you a set of pictures for free!"
The two hooked their shoulders and laughed together. Young and carefree, they could do whatever they wanted. Li Feng knew his friend's character. He liked to get to the bottom of things, and his writing skills were good. It would be a waste if he didn't get into this circle. Although their hobbies were different, it didn't prevent them from becoming good brothers. It had been more than ten years. But his goal was the military academy, while Ma Ka's goal was the liberal arts college.
After parting, perhaps being stirred up by Ma Ka's words, Li Feng wasn't in a hurry to go home. There were streams of magnetic levitation cars around. They were so cool, but he couldn't afford them.