After thoroughly touring the legendary Gigantic Deep-Space Mothership, more than four hours had passed.
Wang Dong still wasn't satisfied.
He then opened up Stellar Conquest for a quick test run.
Three wins, two losses.
The performance gap was just too great—no matter how skillfully he played, it couldn't make up for the difference.
He then tried joining a massive battle involving a thousand ships.
It was definitely thrilling.
The experience of large-scale warfare was nothing like one-on-one ship duels.
It placed far greater emphasis on formation discipline and the commander's ability to coordinate.
The role of an individual ship was reduced to a minimum.
Time flew by while he was immersed in the simulation, and before he knew it, it was time to log off.
What was a bit of a letdown was that Tu Tu Rabbit never came online the entire time.
After all, she was still a student and couldn't possibly spend all her time in the virtual world.
Wang Dong didn't head home directly after leaving Meizu Internet Café.
Although he grew up in a welfare home, it didn't mean he had no social life.
He had his own social circles.
Aside from the community of interstellar miners, Wang Dong remained in close contact with his former classmates from primary education.
In simple terms, they were schoolmates.
While he couldn't speak for the rest of the Zijing Kingdom, at least in the Blackstone Baron Territory, there was a mandatory twelve-year primary education system.
As for higher-level secondary education and above, unfortunately, it wasn't available within Blackstone Baron Territory.
Today, Wang Dong was heading to a small classmate reunion.
He arrived at the private room ten minutes before the scheduled time, and there were already sixteen or seventeen male and female classmates who had arrived early.
Wang Dong greeted them all with a friendly smile.
Just like Wang Dong, most of his classmates had to stay within the Mining Star Region and find jobs after completing their primary education.
Though it was labeled heavy industry in mining, the actual work in the Mining Star Region wasn't that demanding.
After all, it was the interstellar era. Exploiting physical labor had become inefficient and meaningless in the face of technological advancement.
Even among the civilian population, most people didn't live in poverty or hardship.
If all one wanted was to feed themselves and their families, it wasn't all that difficult.
With relatively low pressure in life and the monotony of life on mining planets, classmate reunions were quite frequent.
"Wang Dong, how's life treating you lately?"
Just as Wang Dong found a seat, a tall, bronze-skinned, handsome guy came over enthusiastically.
This was Wang Dong's good friend Chen Linfeng, who had sat next to him for three years. In addition to that, he would find all sorts of excuses every now and then to bring Wang Dong, who was from a welfare home, over to his own home.
The Chen family had always treated Wang Dong like one of their own.
Even after graduation, when Wang Dong became an interstellar miner, he continued visiting the Chen family often.
Chen Linfeng draped his muscular arm over Wang Dong's shoulder and handed him a can of foam beer while chatting.
"Not bad, getting by. What about you? I heard your factory's setting up a new production line—any chance for a promotion?"
Wang Dong casually accepted the drink and took a big gulp. The refreshing liquid flowed down his throat into his stomach, sending a cool sensation along the way.
He let out a long, contented breath and lazily replied.
Chen Linfeng currently worked at a fairly large smelting plant.
"As if it's that easy. They haven't even started buying the equipment yet, and all the team leader spots are already taken. By the time we hear about it, the window's long closed."
Chen Linfeng snorted with disdain.
Wang Dong gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
Lack of access to information was one of the most common and significant reasons people ended up in different social tiers in human society.
"Honestly, I don't care. If it weren't for the old man pushing me, I wouldn't waste my life away at a smelting plant."
Chen Linfeng said indifferently.
Wang Dong believed him—his friend had never been the type to settle for stability.
"Wang Dong, I'm thinking about trying my luck in Highland Viscount Territory. There's a mid-level academy that offers education in Battleship operations. I want to see if I can get in."
Chen Linfeng suddenly pulled Wang Dong close and whispered into his ear.
Wang Dong raised an eyebrow.
The existence of Spark Warships wasn't exactly a secret. After all these years, those who were supposed to know already knew.
Besides, Spark Warships still needed crew members for all kinds of posts.
Helmsmen, radar operators, engineers, damage control teams, and even service staff all had to be recruited externally.
For people from the civilian class, attending a specialized training institution and getting assigned to a Spark Warship was indeed a solid path forward.
But he had to admit, Chen Linfeng's idea was a bit bold.
The Zijing Kingdom operated under a feudal system, and civilian movement between different noble territories was not easy.
Applying for migration through official channels was difficult, especially for someone like Chen Linfeng who was born and raised in the local civilian class.
"You're not thinking of sneaking across the border, are you? Uncle Chen would probably kill you."
Wang Dong whispered back.
"No way. If I try to sneak across, my whole family would get dragged into it."
Chen Linfeng waved his hand repeatedly.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。