It happened about half a month after Yun Yi started working at Swift Mechanics. Early one morning, Hernad drove over with a mech. Seeing Yun Yi’s youth, he thought Yun Yi would be easy to persuade and asked him to help modify the mech’s engine, promising a reward of 1,000 credits afterward.


    The Empire had strict regulations regarding privately owned mechs. Without proper authorization, individuals were prohibited from installing any weapon systems, non-civilian detection systems, or making unauthorized modifications to the mech’s engine and transmission systems.


    Given the immense power of mechs and their widespread use, the Empire had implemented these regulations for safety reasons. However, most civilian mechs were used for industrial or agricultural purposes. In places like Chang’an Four Star, privately owned combat mechs were more common.


    Of course, mercenary groups, security companies, and escort fleets of large corporations required heavily armed mechs. After paying a fee and providing real estate within the Empire as collateral, they could obtain authorization from the Empire to use armed mechs.


    As for mechs sold to private collectors, they were stripped of weapons and detection systems, and their engines and transmission systems were locked by the Empire’s relevant departments upon sale to prevent them from reaching maximum output.


    Thus, some mech companies offered a service to secretly unlock engine restrictions for users.


    However, Swift Mechanics, under its principled leadership and with its skilled technicians, had a booming business and never engaged in such illegal activities. So, when Yun Yi firmly rejected Hernad’s repeated pleas, Hernad held a grudge against him.


    At the time, Hernad had been too busy to seek revenge, and over time, he had somewhat forgotten about it. But after the recent incident, Hernad immediately remembered the treatment he had received at Swift Mechanics. As the son of the chairman of the Xiagal Group, he couldn’t use his father’s influence to retaliate against Swift Mechanics, but dealing with Yun Yi was no problem.


    "The Xiagal Group?" Yun Yi thought for a moment but couldn’t recall anything significant. "Must be a small company. Probably not a threat…"


    After returning home from work and having dinner with Zhao Xiyue, Yun Yi opened his computer to study the materials Steve Wilson had sent him earlier. He noticed that the old man was online.


    "Ah, Yun Yi. How’s university life?"


    Yun Yi smiled. "The school is great. Principal Elias is very kind. Today, I learned about the school’s history—many famous people graduated from there."


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Steve Wilson chuckled. "The Imperial College of Economics and Trade is one of the top economic schools in the Southern Universe. Even the current CEO of Weilong Corporation graduated from your school."


    "Really?" Yun Yi thought back to the school history lecture and realized he hadn’t paid much attention at the time.


    After the old man listed a few other notable alumni from the school, Yun Yi suddenly remembered the incident from earlier and asked, "Mr. Steve Wilson, have you heard of the Xiagal Group?"


    "The Xiagal Group?" Steve Wilson thought for a moment. "That group? Yes, I’ve heard of it. It’s a fairly large enterprise, mainly involved in construction, trade, and luxury goods. However, the group has a rather poor reputation, rumored to be connected to a smuggling ring. Why do you ask?"


    Yun Yi smiled but felt a sense of unease. He didn’t let the old man notice anything amiss and said, "Oh, nothing. Just something a classmate mentioned. By the way, I ran into a problem while repairing a mech today. Do you think this solution would work…"


    The next day at school, Yun Yi was on edge. However, the day passed without incident.


    After school, Yun Yi saw the timid girl again. She hurried past with her head down, not giving Yun Yi a chance to greet her.


    Over the next few days, Yun Yi gradually settled into his new life. His classmates were curious about the off-campus student, but Yun Yi deflected their questions by saying he needed to take care of his family. What puzzled Yun Yi was that the incident at the school gate, where he had kicked Hernad, seemed to have gone unnoticed. He figured there hadn’t been many students around at the time, so it hadn’t spread.


    One afternoon, a week after school started, an announcement excited all the freshmen.


    Unlike military academies or comprehensive universities, the Imperial College of Economics and Trade focused solely on economics and trade, making it a highly specialized institution.


    Because of this, the school didn’t conduct the collective military training that other institutions required for freshmen.


    Military training was meant to instill discipline in students, helping them understand the importance of rules and regulations. However, given the school’s specialized focus, it had opted out of such training.


    To maintain school discipline and protect students, the school selected students with higher martial arts skills from each freshman class to join the Disciplinary Committee as members or officers.


    Every year, during this time, the school would test each student’s martial arts skills and select the top performers to join the Disciplinary Committee. This approach not only maintained school discipline but also ensured that those with exceptional martial arts skills were kept in check, preventing them from causing harm to others.


    For ordinary students, those with advanced martial arts skills were objects of admiration. Those with extraordinary talent, far surpassing the average person, were even more idolized. Thus, the annual martial arts test became a grand event for selecting idols.


    As one of Yun Yi’s female classmates put it, to be an idol, one needed not only exceptional martial arts skills but also handsome looks, elegant demeanor, and a prestigious family background. Such individuals were the ones they worshipped. After listening to her lengthy explanation, Yun Yi couldn’t help but feel a chill. Was this about selecting Disciplinary Committee members or a beauty pageant? Or perhaps, choosing a partner?


    Of course, every idol selected according to that girl’s criteria would become a star of the College of Economics and Trade. Among the upperclassmen, most of the so-called campus heartthrobs held positions in the Disciplinary Committee.