Trading Chickens and Rabbits in a Cage for a Transoceanic Ride and a Geometric Portal
"Illyana, the mock exams on the 'chicken and rabbit problem' and quadratic equations that Teacher Wang assigned this afternoon fall under the basic general knowledge category of nine-year compulsory education!"
On the other end of the phone, Colossus's voice was exceptionally sincere.
"Uncle Biao specifically instructed before he left that if you don't finish these two worksheets, your braised pork and bubble tea for tonight will be canceled, and you absolutely cannot leave this study room."
"Piotr! Are you my own brother or a foreman sent by that Zhou Bapi!"
The sound of a pencil snapping in the background could also be heard.
Why would you put both a chicken and a rabbit in the same cage?
"Why don't we just chop them all into chunks with the Soulsword and weigh them by the pound?"
"What kind of crazy farmer would count ninety-four feet under the cage?!"
"And that water-filling puzzle! Filling the pool with water while simultaneously pulling the plug to drain it—did that pool manager have their brain eaten by a demon from hell?"
"I'll cleave that broken pool in two with one sword and see how it tries to drain!"
Colossus's metal hand patted the desk.
"Mind your emotions, Comrade Illyana!"
"No swords allowed to smash public property! Last time you split the blackboard in two, I had to deduct two hundred yuan from your salary for repairs. You got this question wrong, so you have to copy it three times!"
Christopher and the twelve students from prestigious United States universities, who were surrounding Sing Sing, looked at each other in bewilderment.
The boy studying civil engineering, who was also studying rock science, opened his mouth and muttered something under his breath.
"Director, does your bureau's Space Logistics Department usually rely on counting the number of rabbits in the cage for encrypted communication during dispatching?"
Deadpool had just crawled out, clutched his stomach and laughed heartily.
"Haha! The supreme lord of the Limbo, the Dark Queen, has actually been driven mad by a primary school math olympiad problem from China!"
"No, this recording has to be saved. Posting it on the dark web will make Magneto, that old man Bitden, laugh his head off!"
Sing Sing glared at Deadpool, cleared his throat, and raised his voice into the microphone.
"Cough cough, hey hey hey... Piotr, stop for a second!"
After a brief pause, the Magik cried out urgently, as if grasping at a lifeline:
"Stephen! Where the hell have you been?!"
"Give me a mission right now, whether it's digging potatoes in Siberia or salvaging a submarine in the Pacific Ocean, it doesn't matter! I need to go on a field mission immediately!"
"Don't get excited, Comrade Little Yi. We need to do things one step at a time."
Sing Sing picked at his ear with his little finger.
"I'm currently on Third Avenue in the Detroit United States, Michigan, and I have a very urgent order to close."
"Including Wade and me, there are sixteen people on site. We urgently need the Space Logistics Department to provide an ultra-long-distance point-to-point door-opening and pick-up service."
A serious voice came from Colossus other end of the phone.
"Director Zhou, Uncle Biao's confinement order clearly states..."
"Until Illyana catches up on her failing grades in junior high school mathematics, all non-wartime field operations will be suspended in principle, and Comrade Edith will take over her duties."
"Hey! Old Pi... principles are rigid, but people are flexible!"
"Edith made a trip to Utah earlier. If we make her make several more trips to and from Detroit today, that would be considered overtime and fatigued employment, violating labor laws!"
"Besides, practice makes perfect!"
"What's the point of Ili obsessing over theory in the classroom? Spatial Teleportation itself is the most advanced application of spatial geometry and astrophysics!"
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor came from the phone, and Magik snatched the receiver.
"Yes, yes! You're absolutely right! I call this combining Marxist theory with concrete revolutionary practice!"
"Stephen, if you just give Uncle Biao a heads-up and get those two damn math practice tests waived for me tonight, I'll bring back sixteen people, or even sixteen elephants, for you!"
"Deal made. A gentleman's word is as good as his bond."
Sing Sing snapped his the Snap and glanced at the road sign next to him.
"Listen carefully, write this word problem on your scratch paper. We know that I am currently located at 42°19′N, 83°02′W, at an altitude of 183 meters."
"Assuming the Earth's rotational speed is 465 meters per second, Detroit's time differs from Beijing's by thirteen hours."
"Please solve for the spatial refraction angle and construct a stable wormhole passage with a diameter of three meters. Submit your answer within five minutes!"
"Wait! Teacher Wang just explained the trigonometric function conversions for spherical surfaces yesterday!"
The receiver carried the rustling sound of the Magik gritting his teeth and gripping a pencil.
"Apply the cosine theorem to the Earth's radius of curvature, subtract the gravitational offset coefficient of the transit layer at the Limbo, and multiply 3.14 by the square root of 3..."
The phone call wasn't disconnected; it was filled with the muttering of the Magik reciting trigonometric formulas, interspersed with the beeping of Colossus's scientific calculator.
Jacqueline crossed her arms and nudged Christopher with her shoulder.
"Hey, Blackie, I've heard of that crazy Russian girl codenamed 'Magik' back when I was in the North America black market."
"Rumor has it that she can split the skull of a hellish demon with a single sword strike, so how come here, you have to write out equations and draft plans before even opening a portal?"
Christopher hugged the canvas bag tighter.
"That's quite scientific. Being rigorous is always better than having half of us stuck at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean."
Five seconds have passed.
On the cratered open ground in front of the slaughterhouse, eerie blue sparks flew out of nowhere.
A three-meter-high circular halo, its edges burning with cold blue ghostly flames, spun and expanded before everyone.
The Detroit wind was pushed back three meters by the warm breeze emanating from the aperture.
Behind the aperture is a spacious hall bathed in afternoon sunlight, with light gray, non-slip marble floor tiles.
You can even see two rows of lush green money tree bonsai on the other side of the aperture.
A red banner with white lettering hangs on the wall. "Warmly welcome overseas talents back to their 'hometown'."
A foot wearing a black canvas shoe stepped out of the blue halo first.
The Magik emerged, wearing a blue and white school uniform.
He was carrying a backpack with a rubber duck pattern on his back, and there was half a triangular ruler and a compass tucked into the side pocket of the backpack.
He held the Soulsword, which emanated terrifying magical energy, in his right hand, and a piece of draft paper covered with formulas in his left.
"3.14159, the error is no more than two centimeters!"
The Magik looked at Sing Sing with an arrogant expression.
"This spatial coordinate placement deserves full marks, right? Remember to sign the exemption slip for me!"
"Pfft, haha!"
Deadpool was rolling around in the snow, clutching his stomach and laughing so hard he was rolling on the floor. He pointed at Magik's blue and white school uniform and the little yellow duck backpack.
"My goodness! Everyone come and see! The ruler of Limbo is wearing a school uniform!"
Deadpool jumped up and approached Magik, circling her once, and then cheekily tried to pull at the little yellow duck keychain on her backpack.
"Little sister, did you stay up until 3 a. m. last night reciting the multiplication tables? Come on, recite 'three times seven is twenty-one' for me, okay?"
The veins on the Magik's forehead throbbed; the little bit of good mood he had built up from solving the problem vanished instantly.
Without saying a word, she gripped the hilt of the Soulsword and swung it down towards Deadpool's head!