Chapter 94: Back to Earth
Chapter 94: Back to Earth
Xiao Lin still had plenty of questions, such as how the carriage was driven, what materials it was made of, and how the wormholes were positioned. Song Junlang gave a simple explanation to some of them, but he did not know much about the other answers. He simply said that knowledge relating to spaces and realms were extremely profound, and only graduates would slowly learn about it.
The concept of time did not exist in the spatial tunnel. It was not until the golden Timesand gradually dimmed in the air and the carriage reverted to darkness that Xiao Lin understood it to be the end of that short journey. He had been silently calculating the time in his heart, and the entire journey really did take about 10 or so minutes.
The door of the carriage opened from the outside and a dazzling light shone right in. Xiao Lin looked around after getting off and found that the layout was similar to that of Dawn Academy. There was also a cone-shaped crystal in the center, but it was relatively small and was lilac in color.
After getting out of the carriage, Xiao Lin noticed that there was an arched gate directly in front. The door frame was still filled with crystal dust, and the light blue teleportation circle in the center—which bore resemblance to an actual wormhole—shrunk rapidly until it disappeared completely.
There were already people waiting outside the carriage for some time. A man in white casual clothes enthusiastically shook hands with Song Junlang after the latter got off. “It’s been a while, Department Head Song! You haven’t been back on Earth for many years now.”
Department Head Song was filled with emotion. He looked around and murmured. “It’s probably beem three or four years since I last came, but your base hasn’t changed at all.”
The man curled his lips. “While I do want to redecorate, you’re well aware that the focus of Dawn Academy has always been the New World. The resources given to the Earth Division are very limited.”
On noticing the surrounding rock walls and the spiraling stone stairs, Xiao Lin asked in surprise, “Are we in a cave?”
“Actually, a whole mountain was hollowed out. It wouldn’t be easy to place all this teleportation equipment if that hadn’t been done.” Department Head Song pointed to the man next to him and said, “This is Mao Tianying, the person in charge of Dawn Academy’s Earth Division. Old Mao, this kid is Xiao Lin.”
“I know. The Americans sent me a message. Tsk tsk, a freshman going to the New World. How enviable.” Mao Tianying’s eyes were full of yearning and envy. He shook his head and cast aside his complicated emotions. Xiao Lin smiled and said, “I heard that you mastered Ancient Normese. That isn’t easy.”
Xiao Lin said modestly, “It’s only level one. I’m curious, actually. If people who can speak Ancient Normese can be simulated in the monthly exam, why isn’t there anyone else at Dawn Academy who can master it?”
Mao Tianying patted Xiao Lin on the shoulder. “Well, it’s like using Google Translate to translate various languages. You can’t claim to have mastered the language by yourself. While it’s true that the academy does have some materials in Ancient Normese, the fact that there is such information doesn’t mean that someone will learn it. The difficulty of Ancient Normese is more than just one level above Standard Normese. The Thunder Kingdom had also been wiped out for hundreds of years now, so who would waste their time on that? If anyone is idle enough to learn it, they’ll often be shocked by its difficulty and would give up without even reaching the threshold to learn.”
Song Junlang added, “The central computer is not omnipotent. Let’s put it this way: the computer had not been invented yet when Judge Academy destroyed the Thunder Kingdom... The scene in your exam is an inferred simulation by the computer, based on the limited information provided by the academy. It can be as true to life as possible within the range of existing data, but even the computer is unable to simulate any more beyond that range.”
Mao Tianying smiled and said, “Well, enough about this. Judge Academy is urging us to hurry. If it’s convenient for you, I’ll arrange a chartered flight to America in the afternoon for you.”
“Don’t you need a visa or something like that?”
“I’ll handle it for you.”
“Uh, don’t I need to go there myself?” Xiao Lin was a little surprised.
Song Junlang laughed. “We have our ways. A passport copied through magic is no different from a real one.”
“It’s forged...” Xiao Lin suddenly became excited and asked, “Can this spell copy money then?”
Mao Tianying went blank for a moment. “Theoretically, it’s possible, but no one would do such a stupid thing. The copying technique still requires a lot of spell materials and can be used only in an emergency. Using it to copy money is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, especially when we don’t lack finances.”
Department Head Song somewhat guessed what Xiao Lin was trying to imply. “Are you short of money? Although the focus of the colonial academies is in the New World, there are still some asset reserves on Earth. Special circumstances call for special measures. Let this kid have some, Old Mao.”
“That won’t be a problem, but I’ve spoken with Hank. He wants you to fly directly to America and head to Judge Academy. I don’t think you’d have any chance to stay around and have fun in the States.” Mao Tianying hesitated. He thought that Xiao Lin wanted to enjoy himself in America for a few days.
Xiao Lin shook his head. “No, I just want to pop in at home. Can you give me a few days?”
Mao Tianying was put in a hard place. “I’m the person in charge of the Earth Division, but to be honest, this title is of little value. This...”
Department Head Song thought for a while. “How many days do you want?”
“A week?”
Department Head Song rolled his eyes and said, “Don’t take a mile when you’re given an inch! Is twenty-four hours enough?”
“Three days!”
“You’re getting excessive. Two days!”
Xiao Lin hesitated for a moment and asked. “Where are we now?”
“Earth.”
“Umm, I’m asking which province and city.”
Mao Tianying replied, “The city intersection between City A and City B, but this place isn’t on any map.”
Xiao Lin thought about it. It was not that far from his home in Dongchuan City and was also a reasonable distance from Xiling City, where Gu Xiaoyue’s sister lived. In a pinch, two days was enough, so he nodded in agreement.
“If you want to go back, there’s a couple of things we have to warn you first.” Mao Tianying still felt that it was a tricky situation.
“I told him,” Song Junlang remarked curtly.
“Are you sure?” Mao Tianying was suspicious.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m not sure. Don’t forget that someone high-up is watching over me!”
Mao Tianying was speechless. He waved his hand helplessly and said to Xiao Lin, “In fact, there are only two main points. The academy’s affairs are not allowed to be disclosed to outsiders, and you can’t simply use the abilities that you’ve mastered at the academy. Even if you do, the rule is that you cannot exceed the level that Earth can withstand. We have a strict monitoring system for this, and that’s actually the main task of our division here.”
“Can’t exceed the level that Earth can withstand?” Xiao Lin expressed some confusion over it.
Song Junlang added, “You’re still a freshman. With your strength, you can just ignore this rule. The first point is the one you should bear in mind.”
Xiao Lin did not intend to disclose it to anyone else, but he still asked out of curiosity, “What will happen if I tell them?”
Song Junlang and Mao Tianying exchanged a serious glance. “There are two possibilities if someone reveals the school to a non-student: that non-student would either be killed or invited to join the academy. That’s the common agreement reached by all colonist academies in the world, and it’s not something to fool around with.”