After dropping off the new students of Ochre Soil Academy, the Set Sail took off immediately for the other two academies without stopping.
The remaining uninjured new students were not at a loss either. After landing, every admitted student's communicator automatically connected to the
campus
network, simultaneously receiving the student handbook and instructions on enrollment, dormitories, and so on. They began moving on their own.
Wen Jing looked at Dean Bai nearby, hesitating slightly.
Yet in the mere two seconds her gaze lingered, Dean Bai noticed and immediately turned her head.
Seeing that it was her, Dean Bai raised her eyebrows with a questioning look.
Powerful awakeners are actually this sensitive? She noticed even a gaze without any malice so quickly. Surprised, Wen Jing quickly walked over.
Dean Bai asked with a smile, "Did you need something?"
"Dean, here's the thing." Wen Jing said, a little embarrassed, "I don't know any channels, so I wanted to ask you where would be a good place to sell that stone I brought back from the Ancient Wilderness."
Her hesitation and embarrassment were not because she felt ashamed to sell such a "little thing," but because Dean Bai had already given her aether medium, and she wondered whether it would be inappropriate to trouble her again.
Still, Dean Bai really was an excellent person to ask. As the dean of Ochre Soil Academy, the channels she knew would certainly be more reliable and trustworthy than anything Wen Jing could find herself.
Hearing Wen Jing's question, Dean Bai smiled in understanding, then waved her hand. "I see. Then just sell it to the academy. Come on, I happen to be heading to the research institute. I'll take you along."
"Thank you, Dean." Wen Jing immediately nodded and followed her with peace of mind.
Someone with her status and strength would never covet such a small thing.
*
Dean Bai took Wen Jing aboard an on-campus maglev vehicle, and they arrived in front of a large, freestanding building. This was only one of the academy's research institutes.
With the dean leading the way, they passed every identity check without obstruction.
Soon, they arrived at a large materials analysis room.
The spacious analysis room was filled with large display cases containing all sorts of Ancient Wilderness materials that looked extraordinary at a glance. Wen Jing could not help looking around curiously until Dean Bai brought her before a refined-looking male researcher.
Of course, even this researcher was no ordinary person, but an awakener whose strength Wen Jing could not gauge.
That was inevitable, because even with instruments and equipment shielding them, the energy radiation from many Ancient Wilderness materials was more than an unawakened body could withstand.
With her hands behind her back, Dean Bai called out familiarly, "Old Xie, I've brought a student here to sell some materials."
Old Xie seemed quite familiar with Dean Bai. After giving her a sidelong glance, he gestured to Wen Jing. "Put your material on this platform."
Wen Jing nodded and did as instructed, placing the sealed pebble on it.
Originally, she had not minded, but after seeing so many rare treasures here, she did feel a little embarrassed.
Especially since Dean Bai was still grinning as she haggled with Old Xie. "I brought this student here, so you'd better give her a good price!"
Old Xie made no comment. Although he could tell at a glance that the stone was not worth much, he still examined it thoroughly through a high-powered magnifier.
As he examined it... his movements stopped, and his expression grew serious.
"Interesting."
"Hmm?" Now it was Dean Bai's turn to be surprised. She had not expected much from the stone's value and had brought Wen Jing over intending to supplement the payment herself depending on the situation. Did it actually have some special value?
Visibly invigorated, Old Xie took the stone to a larger platform in the center, enclosed behind a transparent medium. Then he placed both hands on the exterior control console and fed energy into it.
The next moment, supple threads of energy formed inside, converging on the pebble-or, more precisely, on the trace of black substance remaining on it.
Beside him, Wen Jing found her horizons broadened as she watched those threads work like the most dexterous hands, peeling away and analyzing the black substance bit by bit.
Dean Bai was more direct, leaning right beside Old Xie. "Well? What is it?"
Only after more than twenty minutes did Old Xie finally stop working and speak to them.
"Preliminary analysis suggests this substance came from an Ancient Wilderness life-form we've tentatively named a 'Shadow Creature.' It seems to be its digestive fluid. As for exactly what type of Shadow Creature, that will require further analysis."
Hearing this, Wen Jing's imagination ran wild, and she could not help picturing what that monster might look like.
Dean Bai had already gotten straight to the point. "Wow! Doesn't that mean it's worth a lot? How much are you offering?"
Old Xie said, "There's only a few micrograms, far too little. If you're taking credits, I can give you two..."
He was only halfway through when Dean Bai interrupted him. "Who wants credits? Points!"
"You'll have to ask this student what she wants. It's not your property." Old Xie turned to Wen Jing.
What are points?
The question had just surfaced in Wen Jing's mind when she saw Dean Bai beside her repeatedly signaling with her eyes.
Although she was a little confused, Wen Jing still trusted Dean Bai more, so she said, "I want points."
Old Xie could only say helplessly, "All right, then I'll give you fif... ahem, seventeen points."
Dean Bai had already glared him into changing his offer once, but she was still dissatisfied. "What did you say? You were offering two million credits earlier. At the exchange rate, you should be giving her twenty points!"
"How can the rate for exchanging points into credits be the same as the rate for exchanging credits into points?"
"Why can't it?"
The two argued for a while. In the end, Old Xie still could not stand against the dean's authority and conceded defeat.
Still a little bewildered, Wen Jing left with twenty newly credited points.
The two stood in the corridor, watching her retreating figure.
Old Xie suddenly said, "You're quite fond of this child."
Dean Bai nodded.
"This child is very lucky."
"Oh?"
Hearing this answer, Old Xie could not help being taken aback. Then he smiled slightly and committed this student to memory as well.
"Someone who can make you call them lucky really is quite extraordinary."
Chapter 11
After selling the material, Wen Jing left the research institute alone, ready to find her dormitory.
She opened the student handbook on her communicator and searched for "dormitory." A huge amount of information immediately popped up.
But rather than dormitory information and rules, it was a mass of... advertisements.
[Lakefront dormitories: an artificial lake right outside your window, with beautiful surroundings]
[Had enough of the noise and restrictions of the free zone? Enjoy your own private space for just 99 credits a month]
[Boutique/luxury apartments, adjacent to the villa district: easily join an elite circle of top students]
Wen Jing's expression grew serious. After spending a dozen or so seconds, she finally found the tiny "close ads" button among the dazzling advertisements.
Only then did useful information appear, allowing her to understand the academy's dormitory arrangements.
Ochre Soil Academy was like an enormous city. Rather than dormitories, its student housing was more like a variety of residential communities.
The dormitories could be broadly divided into three types: free housing available to any student who applied, rentals students paid for themselves, and large villas reserved for the top ten students in each year.
"It's back. It's all back."
Wen Jing felt the familiar atmosphere of her alma mater.
In such a huge place, the total number of awakeners admitted across all four quarters each year did not even exceed ten thousand. Giving every student a villa would have been easy. Dividing housing into three types was all about creating a hierarchy of contempt.
There was nothing to say about it. Naturally, the only dormitory she could choose now was the first type.
The free dormitory district was ten kilometers from the research institute. Wen Jing walked toward a nearby maglev vehicle, planning to browse the general contents of the student handbook during the ride, such as the "points" Dean Bai had specifically helped her secure.
Just then, the vehicle issued a
friendly
reminder: "Welcome to on-campus transportation. You have been detected as having no free-use privileges. Use of this vehicle will be charged at 100 credits per minute."
"..." Wen Jing took a step back and opened navigation to her dormitory on her communicator.
It was only ten kilometers. What need was there to take a vehicle?
Ochre Soil Academy's campus avenues were clean and tidy, lined with rainforest plants that had no business growing in a desert environment. Here and there, a few students could be seen.
Two teenage boys were strolling and chatting.
"You're amazing, Cheng. Fewer than ten people in our class have cleared the first floor of the Trial Tower, right? Hurry up and tell me your secret."
Hearing this, Lu Cheng could not keep the corners of his mouth from curling upward. He mimed shooting a basketball. "Isn't it easy as long as you have hands?"
"Tch, showing off already." His friend Wei He rolled his eyes at him.
Lu Cheng said, "Hey, have you heard? This year's winter-exam freshmen have already enrolled."
"Of course. Didn't you see that huge spaceship earlier?"
"Wasn't I climbing the tower?"
"Tsk, climbing the tower on the very first day of the month... you damned king of the grind." Wei He laughingly cursed him with envy before returning to the topic. "I also saw a whole bunch of medical teams mobilize. A junior I know awakened, and he told me their intake encountered an Empire raid aboard the ship."
The two seemed close, but their conversation made it clear that Lu Cheng took the lead, while Wei He was somewhat dependent on him.
This had to do with their strength. Lu Cheng had E-rank potential, while Wei He only had F-rank.
However, Wei He was socially adept and well-connected. His various information channels were something Lu Cheng needed.
As they talked, Wei He suddenly frowned. "Wait, with this happening to the new students, will this intake still have a 'welcome party'?"
"Of course they will. It's a student council tradition!"
At the mention of this, Lu Cheng immediately grew agitated and gritted his teeth. "If our intake was the only one pranked by the intake before us, and we can't get our own back on the next intake, forget me-even the top few in our class absolutely won't let it go!"
Wei He nodded. Recalling what he had experienced when he first enrolled, he unconsciously clenched his fists as well.