Simulated Reality Begins

Xiao Wu glanced back at Tang San, then at Dai Mubai. Her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing and followed Ning Rongrong away.

Zhu Zhuqing, meanwhile, had not looked at Dai Mubai even once from start to finish.

Seeing Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong leave, she also turned and headed toward the dormitories.

Dai Mubai opened his mouth, wanting to call out to her to explain.

But he had barely taken half a step when Zhu Zhuqing suddenly stopped and whipped her head around.

Her eyes fixed on him, cold and devoid of the slightest warmth, carrying a trace of intense killing intent.

Seeing that gaze, Dai Mubai's feet were instantly rooted to the spot, and the words he wanted to say were choked back in his throat.

Zhu Zhuqing did not linger any longer and turned to leave.

Ma Hongjun stood beside Dai Mubai with his head bowed, looking like a wilted chicken.

The two of them stood there in silence, not saying a word.

And from this moment on, an invisible rift had formed within Shrek Academy.

Night.

Amphoreus Academy, Dean's office.

Ye Qiong leaned back in his chair, eyes closed to rest.

[Mission complete, rewards have been issued.]

The sudden notification made Ye Qiong open his eyes. He quickly tapped open the system and found a card in his inventory.

A special card? Last time it was a medicinal field card, what is it this time?

Thinking this, he reached out and tapped it.

A burst of light exploded, and the system's prompt sounded once more:

[Level 2 Academy Upgrade Card activated.]

The next second, a long string of information popped up on the interface before Ye Qiong:

[Academy funds doubled, current balance: 6,000,000 Gold Soul Coins.]

Ye Qiong raised an eyebrow:

"That much?"

He continued reading, but his gaze suddenly froze:

[New Facility: Simulated Reality.]

[Function Description: Students can enter the Simulated Reality for training. The reality will automatically generate corresponding dungeons based on the user, covering various modes such as combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving. Dungeons feature boss encounters; defeating them grants rewards such as Soul Power increases.]

Ye Qiong stared at the information for a full dozen seconds.

Only then did it sink in.

Holy crap, isn't this just a youth-plus version of the Simulated Universe?

The corners of Ye Qiong's mouth gradually curled up: "Interesting."

He closed the panel, stood up from his chair, and walked to the window to look out at the campus in the night:

"If Phainon goes in, will the dungeon respawn a Romantic Knight?"

As he thought of this, an image suddenly surfaced in his mind.

In a golden wheat field, a pink figure slowly turned around, revealing a bizarre face beneath pink hair:

"This must be a Romantic Knight unlike any other, you think so too, right?"

Stop, stop, stop!

Ye Qiong shook his head violently.

Why on earth would I think of such a bizarre thing?

That's terrifying.

It must be Aha's doing!

Damn you, Aha.

The next morning.

In the plaza of Amphoreus Academy, everyone gathered in two rows.

Ye Qiong, dressed in a white robe, stood on the steps with his hands behind his back.

Wang Sheng was the first to notice the change in the plaza, pointing at a door that had appeared out of thin air beside the teaching building:

"Teacher! What is that thing? It wasn't there yesterday!"

The door was entirely translucent, its surface rippling with pale blue waves.

Phainon followed his gaze and frowned as well:

"I certainly didn't see this yesterday."

"Teacher, what did you do while we were sleeping last night?"

Ye Qiong smiled slightly and took a step forward:

"This is the Simulated Reality."

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

Simulated Reality—what on earth was that?

Ye Qiong briefly explained its functions.

But before he had even finished speaking, Wang Sheng's eyes had already widened:

"What the hell? It can generate a copy based on us? And we get cultivation rewards after clearing it?"

Ye Qiong nodded:

"That's right, provided you can actually win."

Bai Chenxiang gasped:

"That's just absurd... Our academy didn't have this yesterday; did it just pop up overnight?"

Anaxa adjusted his eyepatch, a glimmer of excitement flashing in his single eye:

Is this a spatial construct, or some kind of formation? I really want to study how it works.

Cerydra stood at the very edge, her blue eyes sweeping over the door, her tone carrying a rare hint of interest:

"If its functions are truly as you say, then this is a rather practical place for training troops."

Castorice stood among the crowd, but her gaze fell quietly upon Ye Qiong.

She watched him standing on the steps, the morning light falling upon his shoulders.

The composed smile on his lips made her heart skip a beat.

She instinctively lowered her head and raised a hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Polyxena noticed her sister's small gesture and pursed her lips, suppressing a giggle.

She didn't know anything, of course.

Just as everyone was marveling at the sight, Phainon stepped forward: "Teacher, I want to go in and try."

Seeing this, Mydei immediately followed suit: "I'm going too."

"Me too! Me too!"

The others realized what was happening and began raising their hands.

Ye Qiong pressed his hand downward:

"Don't rush, one by one. The entrance to this dungeon only allows one person at a time."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group.

Phainon and Mydei exchanged a look and stepped forward simultaneously.

Wang Sheng was about to rush ahead, but Jiang Zhu grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"Wait a moment, let Phainon and the others go first."

Wang Sheng pouted and retreated dejectedly.

Phainon and Mydei walked into the door one after the other.

Wang Sheng craned his neck to look: "They went in? I can't see a thing."

Anaxa had already crowded up to the door, carefully touching the ripples on its surface with one hand:

"Constant temperature, soft texture, no obvious energy fluctuations... This is too interesting."

He immediately pulled a notebook from his robes and began scribbling away, head bowed.

Wang Sheng could no longer contain himself and finally dashed out:

"I'm going in too!"

With that, he charged toward the door without another word.

The others followed suit, leaving only Anaxa behind to continue his research.

He circled the door three times, his notebook already filled with half a page of dense notes:

"Energy circulation pattern, self-consistent structure..."

Without looking up, he asked Ye Qiong:

"Teacher, do you have the blueprints for this door?"

Ye Qiong shook his head:

"No."

Anaxa sighed, then lowered his head to continue recording.

A moment later, Anaxa finally decided to go in, so he closed his notebook and walked inside.

Only Ye Qiong remained in the plaza.

He stared at the door, a sudden impulse stirring in his heart.

Because at that moment, he suddenly felt as if something inside the door was beckoning to him.

"What could it be?"

Ye Qiong lowered his head in thought for a few seconds, then shook his head.

"Forget it, I might as well go in and see for myself."

With that said, he walked over to the door.

The moment his hand touched the surface, a flash of white light swept before his eyes.

Genshin, activate!

Wait, that's wrong.

Simulated Reality, activate!

When Ye Qiong opened his eyes, he found himself standing inside a train carriage.

Outside the window lay an endless sea of stars.

Around him were soft leather seats and classical chandeliers.

At the end of the carriage stood a black-and-gold metal door.

Seeing this, Ye Qiong was instantly stunned:

"Is this... the Astral Express?"