The campus cafeteria’s fluorescent lights flickered as I glared at Wei. "You’re paying your half. No free rides."


    Wei clutched his wallet dramatically. "Heartless capitalist! I’m practically your NPC sidekick!"


    Our banter died when two suits materialized at the gates. The lead agent—Wang, Dad’s corporate attack dog—handed me a biometric case. "Your father’s latest… obsession."


    Inside lay a prototype smartwatch glowing with quantum-blue filaments. Wei squinted. "Looks like Stark Industries meets AliExpress."


    "Lab sample," I tapped the five-zero insignia. "Not hitting shelves until 2050."


    <hr>


    Next Morning – Military Training


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    The drill sergeant’s clipboard hovered like a guillotine. "Shen Lin? Gender: male?" His eyes raked over my androgynous frame.


    "Confirmed." My smile could frost hell.


    Wei chimed in: "He’s 100% dude! Once peeped on—"


    My chokehold lifted him like a ragdoll. The squad gasped—130 pounds suspended midair by noodle arms. The sergeant’s jaw unhinged. "Put. Him. Down."


    "Gladly." I dropped Wei into a trash bin. "Anyone else need verification?"


    <hr>


    Noon – Campus Field


    The delivery truck dwarfed the soccer goals, its cargo container branded with Dad’s dragon sigil. Wei whistled. "You order a Titanfall mech?"


    The driver handed me a quantum-lock manual thicker than Kant’s Critique. "Requires paired chronowatch for activation."


    Fumbling the prototype, I nearly short-circuited campus security. Dad’s hologram erupted from my phone, grinning like a Bond villain. "Stuck again, hatchling?"


    "Just open the damn box!"


    "Patience. Guess what’s inside!" His smirk suggested thermonuclear warheads.


    Wei peered at the container’s reinforced seams. "Please be a Gundam. Please be a Gundam…"