"Everyone, I'll head out first."
"Sure, sure. Take care."
"See you tomorrow."
Chen Shu bent his knees and leaped lightly. With a whoosh, he shot into the air, leaving his classmates gazing after him in envy.
Though the Trainee Base was also in Jade Capital, the school was on the far western side, while the base lay beyond the eastern outskirts. Jade Capital was a huge, sprawling city; the straight-line distance was at least several dozen kilometers, and taking the roads made it farther still. Morning and evening rush hours brought traffic jams, so no form of transport made the commute convenient. Most students therefore stayed in the dorms provided by the base. The conditions weren't great, but group members could live together and talk things over at night.
The only convenient way to commute was to do without transport altogether.
Chen Shu skirted halfway around Jade Capital's edge, detouring past Imperial Capital Airport and a military restricted area. Good thing he had the Navigator; otherwise, he probably would never have known that unremarkable stretch of woodland was a Flight-Restricted Zone.
The night breeze was cool, and even the whistling wind sounded pleasant. Highness Cinnabar's sweet voice came through his bone-conduction earphones, lifting his spirits.
Fifteen minutes later.
"You have reached the end of your flight route. Please land immediately. Your destination is two kilometers away; please switch to another mode of transport. Until you turn us off, the Shenxing Map and Highness Cinnabar will continue guiding you."
Chen Shu dove, but instead of landing, he followed Zhang Suannai's example. He subdued the stir of his Spirit Power and, under cover of darkness, slowed down to fly close to the ground.
"Whoosh!"
The suburbs were spacious, with no tall buildings and few cars or pedestrians.
Chen Shu drifted through the