What is it? Lord Huo Si wants to see me?

The Velociraptor slowly vanished amidst a series of explosions.

Not far away, every student who witnessed this scene was stunned.

"Holy crap, Teacher, what was that? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Ende rubbed his eyes vigorously, staring at the scene in disbelief.

That terrifying Velociraptor had actually died just like that?

"Ow, ow, ow! Teacher, why are you pinching me!"

Ende let out a painful shout, clutching his right leg and howling.

"If it hurts, that's good. Look at you lot, acting like you've never seen the world before."

Erwin pulled his hand back from Ende's leg, downed a cup of wine, and spoke with a look of disdain.

"But, Teacher, was that a new invention from the Academy of Sciences?"

Charles stroked his chin, asking with a thoughtful expression.

"That's right, the Apache Helicopter. It's one of the achievements of the Academy of Sciences' aerospace project."

Erwin nodded in explanation, then took another gulp of wine.

"One of? You mean to say, this is just one of many?"

Charles asked, somewhat astonished.

"Of course, little guy. The Academy of Sciences is far more formidable than you imagine. Don't let the fact that some of those old fogeys have lower ranks than me fool you; their skills are immense!"

Mentioning this, Erwin's tone carried a hint of admiration. Although his own strength was formidable, his personality was restless.

As for those messy research projects, he wouldn't say he was completely ignorant, but he only knew the basics.

At the very least, Erwin couldn't understand how those old men managed to stay cooped up in the laboratory every day, repeatedly studying those strange and bizarre things.

If it were him, he would probably die of boredom in less than three days.

Erwin set down his wine glass and spoke to Charles in a calm tone.

"The Dean once said that science is a power that can change the world. We must vigorously develop science, and science cannot exist without these scientists!"

"Scientists, huh?"

Charles muttered to himself, seemingly enlightened.

Previously, the Academy had taught quite a bit of scientific knowledge, and he had listened to the lectures seriously at the time.

It was just that back then, he had approached it with a trial-and-error mindset and hadn't studied it very diligently.

Now it seemed that this discipline was actually quite extraordinary.

Charles secretly made up his mind that he would start studying properly once he returned.

Three years later, on Xuanshen Island, the Academy welcomed a new graduation season.

At this moment, a lavishly decorated motorcade slowly drove into Mingzhu City. Judging by the scale of the procession, it appeared to be a major chamber of commerce.

"Big Brother, is what Charles said reliable?"

A stout, middle-aged man wiped the sweat from his brow and asked with some uncertainty.

"Rest assured, David. Don't you know your own nephew by now?"

The refined man addressed as Big Brother replied in a flat tone.

"But this is just too incredible! Huosi Academy actually wants to cooperate with a chamber of commerce like ours!"

David still replied with a look of incomprehension.

Merchants were common on the continent, but their status had always been low. While they were generally much better off than commoners, that was the extent of it.

The leaders of large chambers of commerce, as heads of trade, might appear to have high status, but in reality, if they were to truly clash with a noble of even moderate standing, the outcome would certainly be disastrous.

In this world, those with the highest status were always the Saint-level powerhouses; their strength could decide everything.

Next were the royal families, dukes and nobles, and bishops of the church; they were the high-level officials of various governments and held immense power.

Following them were the various officials. Although their status was not as high as some old-money nobles, most of them held a certain degree of standing.

Only then did it reach the so-called wealthy merchants. They had money and channels, transporting goods between various parties, but their work was hard and their status was only slightly higher than that of commoners.

In the eyes of the common folk, these wealthy people were superior, but that was only relative; they couldn't afford to offend even a noble with a modicum of status.

However, just a month ago, Charles Otto, the son of his Big Brother, the guild leader, had returned home and convinced his father to bring all of the Otto Chamber of Commerce's liquid assets.

Moreover, judging by the intentions of his Big Brother and his nephew, Huosi Academy was preparing to cooperate with them, and his Big Brother was planning to relocate their headquarters here.

To be honest, David expressed his lack of understanding—a profound lack of understanding—and he was also somewhat skeptical.

The founder of Huosi Academy was the continent's god-level powerhouse, Lord Huosi, and the Dean, Bernas, was also at the Saint level.

In other places, their identities were considered noble.

But in the eyes of such big shots, merchants like them were simply not worth mentioning. For a power like the Academy to cooperate with a chamber of commerce was something that would make people laugh if word got out.

The major powers on the continent all have their own exclusive academies, and some formidable mentors hold statuses that far surpass many of them.

"Father, Uncle David, you've arrived!"

Just as David was deep in a frantic brainstorm, a familiar voice interrupted the two of them. Charles spoke to them with an excited expression on his face.

"Charles, you're here. Have you been waiting for us the whole time?"

Seeing his son come out to greet him, Saiwode revealed a kind smile.

"No, not at all, Father. We have a complete surveillance system installed in Mingzhu City, so you were detected the moment you arrived."

Charles, wearing his doctoral cap, answered with a proud look.

The surveillance system was a project by Mentor Lansi of the Academy of Sciences, and he was a student of Mentor Lansi; he was about to become Dr. Charles himself.

"Surveillance system? What is that?"

David asked with some curiosity, as it sounded like some kind of inspection method.

"Don't worry about that for now, just follow me. The restaurant is already prepared. As for the other attendants, just let them follow behind; someone will come to receive them."

Charles didn't explain much, instead grabbing his father's hand and walking forward while he spoke.

"This child, really."

Saiwode shook his head helplessly and had no choice but to follow his son.

Then, suddenly, Saiwode widened his eyes, grabbing his beard in shock.

"This—what is this iron box? Is it some kind of carriage?"

Saiwode looked at the white object before him, glanced at the wheels, and couldn't help but ask.

"This is a car, a type of transportation. It doesn't need livestock or human labor; it only needs some ore added to it to get moving. Its speed is much faster than a carriage pulled by magical beasts!"

Charles said as he opened the car door, pushing his father and uncle and urging them to get in.

"Hmm? The construction of this thing looks quite peculiar!"

After David sat in the car, he couldn't help but look around.

"Prepare yourselves, Uncle, this car is very fast!"

Charles revealed a mischievous grin.

"Fast? How fast could it—hmm? Why did it suddenly speed up!"

As Charles, in the driver's seat, floored the accelerator, the speed of the entire car soared rapidly, soon breaking past one hundred.

As a well-known speed demon at the academy, Charles wouldn't miss any opportunity to race.

"This—this is probably faster than most magical beasts used for travel. How on earth is this done?"

Saiwode was also startled in his heart and couldn't help but ask.

"I won't go into the specific principles; you wouldn't understand even if I told you. You just need to know that this is a research achievement of the Academy of Sciences. This time, the cooperation the Dean mentioned is also related to the Academy of Sciences."

Charles answered while speeding along, not caring whether they might flip the car.

"Academy of Sciences? What kind of existence is it, exactly?"

Saiwode looked in amazement at the various cars whizzing past on the road from time to time, suddenly feeling like a country bumpkin.

As a great merchant who had traveled far and wide, he had seen all kinds of carriages.

Regardless of size, shape, or interior environment, although their features and prices differed, one thing was the same: the power for those carriages came from either livestock or magical beasts.

As for using ore as a power source, no one had ever done that before.

The role of ore on the continent was basically limited to manufacturing weapons and constructing buildings.

It was true that ore contained magic power, but for mages, that bit of magic was completely negligible. Yet, could this magic actually be used to make a car move?

Saiwode was momentarily bewildered.

"We're here. This is Xinrongji. I've already made a reservation in advance. I guarantee the taste is better than anything you've eaten while traveling the world!"

Charles said as he stepped out of the car to open the door for his father.

"Although I don't know how the taste is, the design of the building itself looks quite exquisite!"

Saiwode commented, and even with his discerning eye, he couldn't find any flaws.

"That goes without saying. It was designed by people from the architectural engineering department. They didn't just design many buildings; they even designed the entire subway plan for the city!"

"In this city, earth-element mages are the most sought-after right now because no industry can function without construction. Lord Huosi said that the construction of infrastructure cannot be sloppy."

"Lord Huosi? You've even met Lord Huosi?"

Saiwode's voice rose several decibels instantly; this time, he was truly shocked.

"Father, why are you being so loud! Is there any need to be this surprised?"

Charles rolled his eyes at him, looking as if he thought his father was making a fuss over nothing.

"How can I not be surprised? That is a legendary god-tier powerhouse! Do you know that in the major empires, even the emperors never get to see a god-tier powerhouse!"

Saiwode instantly lost his calm elegance, grabbing his son's shoulders and shaking him hard.

God-level powerhouses—which one of them wasn't a legendary existence? For an ordinary person, catching a glimpse of a Saint-level powerhouse would be enough to brag about for years.

Now, his own son had actually met a legendary God-level powerhouse; how could he not be astonished?

One had to know that in the empire, even the emperor did not have the qualifications to meet a God-level powerhouse.

As for himself, this so-called head of a major chamber of commerce, he had only ever seen a Saint-level powerhouse from afar once in his life.

And now, his son was telling him that he had met a God-level powerhouse?

"Lord Huosi is very kind and approachable. Many of the outstanding students at our Academy have been received by him. Lord Huosi also visits the mentors at the Academy of Sciences from time to time; he says that scientists should be given the respect they deserve."

"Furthermore, Lord Huosi will also be attending the meeting we are participating in today."

Charles spoke in a calm tone.

When he first met Lord Huosi, he had been exceptionally excited as well.

Later on, as the encounters became more frequent, they, the students, simply got used to it.

Upon hearing his son's words, Saiwode's footsteps suddenly stiffened, and he turned his head mechanically to ask:

"Did you just say that Lord Huosi will be meeting us?"

"Yes, didn't I mention it? Lord Huosi is preparing to establish state-run enterprises and needs some high-quality business talent, so I recommended you."

Charles asked, puzzled, and then began to recall—had he really not mentioned it?

"When did you ever tell me that!"

Saiwode couldn't help but roar. Such a huge matter, and he hadn't been told in advance? He hadn't even prepared himself mentally yet.