Chen Yutong showed little reaction and began thinking seriously, while the young man sitting beside her blushed unconsciously.
"A girl you like? Why are we talking about that?"
Old White smiled and teased him.
"For no reason. If you're embarrassed, we can talk about something else."
Seemingly unwilling to admit that he was embarrassed, Zhao Xiao fell silent for a while before opening up.
"I... came from Town 13."
"What's that?"
"An autonomous district managed by the Science Committee. Every autonomous district is different. Some are tribal, some are kingdoms, and ours belongs to the former. There are probably one or two thousand households."
Old White nodded.
"That's pretty big."
Most survivor settlements only had one or two hundred households, and some had barely a dozen. It seemed Wandering Swamp was not as desolate as he had imagined.
"Yes." Zhao Xiao seemed to be considering where to begin. After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Every December, the Science Committee holds a thirty-day assessment and recruits apprentices from every autonomous district who are at least twelve years old and meet the requirements."
Old White thought for a moment.
"This apprentice thing... is it like an intern?"
"An intern?" Zhao Xiao froze for a moment, then nodded. "More or less... Usually, each autonomous district can only get one or two selected. Once you become an apprentice, you can enter the academy, leave behind the harsh life in the swamps, and your family and town receive a sum of money as well."
"Then you were one of the best among thousands."
Zhao Xiao looked a little carried away by the praise and awkwardly rubbed his nose with his index finger.
"I guess... But after entering the academy, it wasn't as perfect as I imagined. The living conditions were indeed much better than