Simulation Realm Opens

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 spared Dai Mubai a single glance 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 and explain.

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

Her eyes fixed on him with an icy glare. That gaze was devoid of any warmth, carrying instead a hint of intense killing intent.

Seeing this, Dai Mubai's feet were instantly rooted to the spot, the words of explanation 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.

Nighttime.

Omphalos Academy, Dean's office.

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

[Mission complete, rewards have been issued.]

The sudden notification caused Ye Qiong to open his eyes. He hurriedly tapped open the system and found a card in his inventory.

"A special card? The last one was a Herb Garden 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 has been 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: Simulation Realm.]

[Function Description: Students may enter the Realm for training. The Realm will automatically generate corresponding instances based on the user, covering various modes such as combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving. Each instance contains a boss; defeating it 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 Bai E goes in, will the instance respawn a Romantic Knight?"

At this thought, an image immediately surfaced in his mind.

In a field of golden wheat, 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 did he suddenly think of such a bizarre thing?

How terrifying.

It must be Aha's doing!

That wretched Aha.

The next morning.

In the plaza of Omphalos Academy, everyone gathered and stood in two rows.

Ye Qiong wore a white robe, standing 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, with pale blue ripples flowing across its surface.

Bai E followed his gaze and frowned as well:

"We certainly didn't see this yesterday."

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

Ye Qiong smiled slightly and took a step forward:

"This is the Simulation Realm."

The group exchanged bewildered glances.

The Simulation Realm—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 kind of sorcery is this? It can generate dungeons based on us? And we get cultivation rewards after clearing them?"

Ye Qiong nodded:

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

Bai Chenxiang gasped:

"That's just absurd... This thing wasn't in our academy yesterday, and it just popped up overnight?"

Nakesha 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.

Keleradra stood at the very edge, her blue eyes sweeping over the door, her tone uncharacteristically tinged with interest:

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

Xia Die stood among the crowd, but her gaze rested quietly on Ye Qiong.

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

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

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

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

She didn't know anything at all, of course.

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

Seeing this, Wan Di 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 at a time. The entrance to this dungeon only allows one person to enter."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the group.

Bai E and Wan Di 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 Bai E and the others go first."

Wang Sheng pouted and retreated, looking disgruntled.

Bai E and Wan Di walked into the door one after the other.

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

Nakesha 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 fascinating."

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

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

"I'm going in too!"

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

The others followed suit, leaving only Nakesha 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."

Nakesha sighed, then lowered his head to continue recording.

A moment later, Nakesha 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 stir in his heart.

Because at this moment, he suddenly felt that something inside this 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'll go in and see for myself."

With that said, he walked over to the door.

As soon as his hand touched the door, a flash of white light swept across his vision in the next second.

Genshin, activate!

Wait, that's wrong.

Simulation Realm, activate!

When Ye Qiong opened his eyes, he found himself standing in 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-gold metal door.

Seeing this scene, Ye Qiong was instantly stunned:

"Is this... the Astral Express?"