97 Special Treatment

White Candle Star, Surface, Trivella, City Council Hall.

The pale blue Icy Crystal Beetle slowly landed in front of the gate. This expensive and rare mount was a symbol of high-ranking mages, attracting many passersby to stop and watch. For the City Council, which was usually deserted, it was like detonating a bomb.

All government officials stopped what they were doing and went downstairs to greet the man who stepped off the Icy Crystal Beetle. His gray Ministry of Education uniform looked particularly striking at that moment.

"Professor Atkesz, what brings you here all of a sudden?!"

Upon seeing Mayor Mengfeier Weilan from afar, he hurriedly approached with a broad smile, "You didn't even tell me! I haven't had a chance to welcome you. Come to my office; I have a batch of fine tea from Narrative-level Civilization here—"

"Let's put the tea-drinking thing on hold for now."

Atkesz his hand, and led by Monfils, went straight to his private office. He dismissed the servants and secretary, set up a soundproof barrier, and after confirming everything was in order, he said:

"Mayor Monfield, to be frank—I'm here on important business, and Minister Barkomon has instructed you to make sure it is done."

Mengfeier's eyelids twitched, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he tentatively asked:

"Could it be related to the problem with the [Adventure Saintess] from before..."

"Vierria's problem is irrelevant now. We don't know anything about Galaxy Eye at the moment. We ask the mayor to cooperate with our Ministry of Education to do a good job of ideological propaganda, encourage young Spellcasters to prepare for battle, and actively organize workshop leaders to conduct tactical training."

Atkesz slightly modified the wording. Barkomon's original words were to select elites from the students to prepare for future wars, but Atkesz felt that doing so would have a huge negative impact. The students were young and had a bright future ahead of them, and their social experience was limited. On the battlefield, their psychological qualities would be far inferior to those of Spellcasters.

Even though he softened his wording, Mayor Monfield's face immediately turned ashen.

"Father of Crystal!" Monfil exclaimed in panic, "Have we been defeated? What are we going to do now?"

"Calm down, Your Excellency Mayor. We are now in the Interstellar Era. Losing a war will not determine the destruction of an entire civilization. If we can't win in a hundred years, we can fight for another hundred years. There is plenty of time in the universe."

Atkesz reassured the other party, gave them a pep talk, and then said:

"Did you report a student named ' Lioz ' before?"

"Yes, you remember, right? That kid was a real genius. There are people who can get a perfect score in five minutes, but they are all superhumans like Zeta-rank. But Lioz is just a mortal with gamma."

When Monferl mentioned this, his expression immediately softened, and his tone became more cheerful:

"It's just a pity that the committee transferred him to White Candle Star Interstellar University. Wouldn't it have been better if he had been transferred to the main campus?"

"That's good. The requirements on our home planet are too strict, and the academic atmosphere there is outdated. Our place is more suitable." Atkesz nodded. "By the way, I remember you guys were going to promote this student before?"

"Absolutely! A peasant from a poor mountain village, through taking exams and answering questions, secured his future and changed his destiny—look at that, isn't that the best propaganda material? If this were the Night Butterfly Federation across the way, it would definitely make many poor people's Sirites (the lowest class in the Night Butterfly hierarchy) envious."

As he spoke, Monfil clapped his hands repeatedly. Under his rule, Trivella was fortunate to have such an outstanding student. Making the best use of him would definitely boost his political achievements.

"We also plan to give Lioz a special scholarship. I've already had my secretary arrange interviews, and we'll also produce and promote a documentary. No matter what happens in the future, he can serve as the best role model now. Our White Rainbow Star will definitely be highly praised by the Supreme Council, and we'll receive more funding next year..."

However, a single sentence from Atkesz shattered Monfil's dream.

"In that case, let's cancel his special treatment."

Atkesz said in a deep voice, "Lioz's situation is very sensitive right now. Don't let outsiders know his identity. Downplay his identity and achievements. The minister has asked us to treat every student fairly and justly."

"However, the emergence of someone like Lioz can make many families pay more attention to education—"

"Mayor Monfield," Atkesz pointed out the window, "Lioz, it concerns 'that'..."

Meng Feier was puzzled, and he looked in the direction the other person was pointing.

He saw a statue of a god.

Mengfeier's head buzzed, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

"So that's how it is..." He picked up a handkerchief to wipe himself, his tone unnatural. "If it concerns the gods, then keeping it a secret is not an overreaction."

"Lioz might be a naturally gifted deity, a sensitive topic in this day and age, so it's best not to talk about it." Atkesz sighed. "The reason he's not allowed to go to our home planet is also because of his identity. This matter is complicated, so you need to downplay it as much as possible and get the media to take action to suppress any mention of Lioz. I will implement relevant controls in the schools—in short, don't let people realize that there's a 'deity' among us."

Sometimes, a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime. No one knows whether Lioz's current situation will attract some ill-intentioned individuals. This requires a period of observation.

On the other hand, once Lioz's mysterious identity and formidable strength are fully exposed, things will definitely become very troublesome.

The lords of the Crystal Tower don't want to give up their research and observation of the gods, nor do they want Lioz to cause any big trouble. So, they might as well try to win Lioz over, keep his emotions in check, and downplay his presence. That would be enough.

"Understood. I'll have someone cancel the interviews and reports about Lioz right away. The media will be mobilized immediately to ensure that no one in Lioz's hometown knows about his exam results." Monfield was quick-witted and immediately came up with a solution.

Atkesz also breathed a sigh of relief:

"That's good. As for Lioz at school, I will also fabricate and conceal things to reduce his prominence."

Unfortunately, he wasn't actually very familiar with White Candle Star Interstellar University. This school wasn't under the Ministry of Education's jurisdiction, but rather directly under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction.

Minister Barkomon believed that as long as Lioz was kept away from the political figures of the Crystal Tower, everything would be fine, since the people coming here were all foreigners, which was just right.

Atkesz could do was use the transfer system to change Lioz's grades to above average.

'However, since they're all foreign students, there's bound to be a language and cultural barrier. With Lioz there, it shouldn't cause any problems.'

Each country sends its elite and aristocratic students, and given their family backgrounds and upbringing, these students should be of great help to Lioz and broaden the boy's horizons.

Li Aoz's return to school went smoothly. He stopped and ate and drank along the way, much like a picnic.

His leisurely demeanor was not without reason. Beforehand, he had studied the media news, and the calm and composed atmosphere reassured Li Aoz.

"The Education Bureau of White Candle Star intends to downplay my identity."

Moreover, when Li Aoz opened his Personal Terminal and searched for news about himself in the interstellar world, he found that articles and videos related to ' Lioz ' + ' Valenkov ' were rapidly declining, while a bunch of unknown internet celebrities with the same name occupied the main content under the name ' Lioz '.

As a streamer, Li Aoz naturally understood what this meant: traffic restriction.

Unlike the network technology on Azure Planet, which is basically invented through archaeology, the virtual network services of Layer Abyss are advanced and complete, making it too easy to control public opinion. Even real historical tragedies can be buried directly in dangerous and deadly deep collapse zones. If you want to use the network to find buried truths, you might as well go directly to the black hole.

"Hmm... In the short term, this is a good thing. It's probably because White Candle Star suppressed the news about me. Is he trying to protect me?"

To verify his hypothesis, Li Aoz took out Information Rune that he hadn't used in a long time, connected to the planetary network, and checked the educational network of his school.

When Li Aoz searched for his academic record, a message immediately popped up saying, "This information is sensitive and will not be disclosed."

"I can't even find my own student record information—interesting, it seems the higher-ups at White Candle Star really value me."

Li Aoz touched the chin of the disguised head and began to ponder:

What benefits do I have?

"Or is it that White Candle Star is really short of talent? Is the situation on the front lines so unfavorable that they have to send people of unknown origin to the battlefield?"

"No matter how you look at it, White Candle Star Interstellar University is a higher education institution for foreign students, especially a university for allies of the Crystal Tower Civilization to demonstrate their strength - my school life should still be relatively safe."

Li Aoz actually had a relatively better impression of the Crystal Tower Civilization. After all, the Crystal Tower was relatively more righteous in this war, and dealing with Monotheistic Religion civilization like the Night Butterfly Federation didn't fit Li Aoz's style of doing things—the mainstream of the universe now is inclusiveness and diversity, and sticking to this kind of thing in the universe is really too backward.

Li Aoz was having fun and sightseeing when he suddenly remembered something and casually sent the news of his successful enrollment to the other members of the Help-Study Association.

First, there's Kadfi, who has a good relationship with him.

"What? Brother Lioz, you've already enrolled?"

"Yes, I have to go to class the day after tomorrow."

"Great! I've already contacted Mitty and the others, and everyone's results are in. Let's go out and celebrate!"

"That's out of the question... I don't like places with too many people."

"Oh dear, there aren't many people. Our Help-Study Association members are all busy with their studies and the start of the new semester, so not many can come."

Li Aoz thought about it and figured it was part of university life, so he agreed, "Okay."

"Great! I'll add you to our new group chat. Someone posted lewd pictures and started political commentary in the last group and got reported."