Her Education Left Something to Be Desired

After joking and horsing around with Chixia along the way, they finally arrived at Jinzhou City.

Jinzhou City lay on Huanglong's northern border. Built in a lake, it was surrounded by water on three sides and backed by mountains on the fourth. Its climate was humid, with four distinct seasons.

It was an important stronghold in Huanglong and a vital outpost against the Tacet Discord tide.

Lu Li gazed at the enormous Jinzhou City. He wouldn't normally describe a city with traditional architecture as "high-tech," but that was exactly what Jinzhou City was.

Just as the group reached the gates of Jinzhou City, Rover suddenly sensed something.

Yangyang looked at her in puzzlement. "Rover?"

Rover looked around but found nothing. She gently shook her head, deciding she was imagining things.

Yet somewhere beyond the group's sight...

A red-and-white figure sat concealed in a large tree.

She murmured to herself, "Ah, there you are."

"My darling..."

"Seed of destiny..."

The group entered Jinzhou City.

"All right! What's the plan?" Chixia snapped her fingers. "How about we take Rover and Lu Li for a good meal first?"

Lu Li said, "Great idea!"

He hadn't eaten since arriving on Solaris, and Lu Li wanted to taste the food of another world.

"Business first," Rover said expressionlessly.

"..."

Bai Zhi said, "I need to return to the Research Institute first. The changes in Yunling Valley, the reactivation of the Tacet Field, the frequent Lamentation incidents-someone needs to report these anomalies promptly."

Bai Zhi looked at Lu Li. Although she wanted nothing more than to drag him back and study him thoroughly, there was too much to report at the moment, leaving her no time to deal with him.

It wouldn't be too late once everything else was taken care of.

Besides, he probably wouldn't get away as long as he stayed with Rover...

Yangyang said, "Then I'll head to the Frontier to make my report and arrange Rover's and Lu Li's appointments while I'm there."

"There's paperwork too? Why all the hassle?"

"As Jinzhou's political center and the location of the Leishu database, the Frontier is, after all, a government office and an important site."

"Meeting the Magistrate isn't particularly difficult, but there are still necessary procedures to follow."

"It will take some time, but the paperwork isn't complicated."

Chixia said, "Then should I take Rover and Lu Li to register at the central beacon first? We can look around afterward."

"I'm in!" Lu Li raised his right hand.

Chixia smiled. "We can't just make them wait around at the Frontier when they've only just arrived in Jinzhou, can we?"

"From what I've seen, the people of this great city of Jinzhou are warm, welcoming, gentle, and considerate. Surely they wouldn't leave an important guest like me waiting around?"

Lu Li buttered Jinzhou up a little.

Yangyang nodded slightly in agreement. "Then once I've arranged the appointments, I'll have to trouble you to bring Rover and Lu Li to the Frontier, Chixia."

"Don't worry, don't worry! Leave it to me!"

Bai Zhi looked at Rover. "I'll notify the Resonance Medical Department at the Research Institute. Given the abnormalities in your body, it would be best to have a comprehensive examination."

Then she turned her gaze to Lu Li. "You too. You need to come as well."

Lu Li gave an awkward laugh. "Actually, I was joking earlier. I'm a Solaris native! There's nothing worth studying about me..."

Bai Zhi folded her arms and ignored him, clearly not believing a word.

After all, she had never heard of anyone on Solaris who could make Echoes obey them.

Rover asked in confusion, "The Research Institute?"

"Jinzhou's ordinary clinics and pharmacies probably won't be able to handle your condition."

"And your body is bound to interest a great many people... as is his." Bai Zhi looked at Lu Li again.

Although she was indeed very interested in Rover's body, this was something that had occurred before in history.

The moment Rover absorbed Crownless's Echo with her body, Bai Zhi became all but certain that even if Rover wasn't the same person described in the Chronicles of the Era, she was bound to have a close connection to them.

"Okay! Enough talking! If we move fast, I'll still have time to show them around."

Chixia's face lit up with excitement. "There are loads of fun things in Jinzhou City: Peaceful Music, Heroic Opera, Excerpt Book, the Fist-Way Tournament... and all kinds of delicious food! If you can imagine it, you can find it in the city!"

Rover nodded. "Let's go, then."

At that moment, another set of options appeared in Lu Li's mind.

[Option 1: Sneak away. Completion reward: 50% less pain when Rover smacks the back of your head.]

[Option 2: Accompany Rover. Completion reward: C-rank talent, 'Never Underestimate a Poor Youth!']

[Option 3: Leave the city, find a white-haired girl, and join her faction. Completion reward: A-rank skill, 'Dugu Nine Swords']

"Uh..."

Lu Li fell into thought as he read the options.

First of all, he could rule out option one immediately. There was no way he was sneaking off. Although halving the pain was very tempting, he still needed to build up his intimacy level!

As for option three... he had no idea where to find this white-haired girl, and the system hadn't offered any hints. This was his first time seeing an A-rank skill, and it was hard to resist choosing it, but with the information he currently had, it was better to play it safe.

In the end, Lu Li chose option two.

[Ding! Option 2 completed.]

[Talent acquired: Never Underestimate a Poor Youth (this talent cannot be upgraded)]

[Never Underestimate a Poor Youth: You gain one Shell Credit per second.]

Shell Credits... those should be this world's currency, right?

This world also had twenty-four hours in a day. At one Shell Credit per second... in twenty-four hours, he could get...

...86,400!

It really lives up to 'Never Underestimate a Poor Youth'! I just wonder how much Shell Credits can buy...

Chixia brought the two of them to a towering spire.

"This is the central beacon."

Lu Li asked, "The central beacon?"

"Hmm... let me think how to explain it..."

Chixia held her head and thought for a moment. "You can think of it as Jinzhou's biggest server, an integration hub. Something like that. I don't really understand it either."

Clearly, Chixia's education left something to be desired.

"Basically, it's a large navigation device, defense system, and regional information center."

"The ones we passed on the way were all small beacons. The beacons share data with each other, so once you activate one, the map information syncs to your terminal!"

"You just need to place your gourd on it."

Rover and Lu Li did as instructed. Once they placed their gourds on it, the beacon tower glowed blue, then indicated that activation had succeeded.

A map system had been added inside.

"Let me see... Jinzhou City... the Tiger's Mouth Mountains... Wuming Bay..."

Lu Li complained, "Why is this map so small?"

Is my planet Solaris really this tiny?

Chixia explained, "Other regions have central beacons too. You need to activate them before you can get their maps."

"Oh, I see... hmm?"

Lu Li suddenly noticed another feature in the gourd.

"Jinya Forum? What's this?"