Chapter 45

After searching for ' Ancient Wilderness Civilization', many related research papers appeared, most of which were authored by the Mystic Radiance Academy.

However, after scanning through them, Wen Jing wasn't surprised, since the Ancient Wilderness were unrecordable and it was normal not to obtain accurate information.

After clicking on a paper title at random, a familiar purchase page appeared.

Upon closer inspection, Wen Jing discovered that even a random paper cost at least 5 Integral.

That's enough for her to buy a cheap course! Goodbye!

Nothing was said that night. The next day, Wen Jing went to the research institute and found Xie Ming.

"You want to learn about Ancient Wilderness civilizations?"

Upon hearing her purpose, Xie Ming was taken aback at first, then realized what she meant. "You encountered traces of civilization during your last exploration?"

Wen Jing nodded.

"You actually went to such a deep place? But it's Ancient Wilderness at night, so anything is possible..." Xie Ming pondered and asked, "What kind of traces of civilization did you encounter? Could you describe them briefly?"

"It's an open stone building with a fire in the center and small figures carved into the ground."

Wen Jing didn't directly mention the altar. Having been praised by Xie Ming for her "knowledgeable" nature because of her knowledge of insects, she realized that many things that were common sense in her previous life might not be common sense in this world.

After listening attentively to her story, Xie Ming pressed further, "The building materials are all stone; were there any metal components?"

"No." Wen Jing shook his head.

"Those are relatively safe traces of civilization. Our academy doesn't have much research data on Ancient Wilderness civilizations..." He suddenly stared at Wen Jing halfway through his sentence: "By the way, you didn't buy those papers from the online library, did you?"

"No," Wen Jing quickly denied.

Xie Ming immediately praised, "It was the right decision not to buy! Those are just things those academic cliques came up with to cheat for Integral. The Ancient Wilderness itself cannot be recorded, and those papers summarized from secondhand information—no, they shouldn't even be called papers!"

The academic community in the field of Ancient Wilderness is basically divided into the theoretical school and the empirical school, Xie Ming clearly belongs to the latter.

"Although they're all just trying to scam funding, they can't even produce accurate data; their papers are full of 'it can be seen from this' and 'it is common knowledge'..."

He said with a dark expression, "I've learned my lesson the hard way before. I bought some academic papers, but there wasn't much of the information actually useful."

"All you need to know is that the only reliable information in it is that the academic community currently classifies traces of civilization into stone-level, bronze-level, iron-level, alloy-level, and molecular material-level. Based on the material of the traces, the further down the list, the deeper the world it belongs to, and the more dangerous it is."

Wen Jing felt increasingly uneasy as he listened: Didn't this correspond perfectly to the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Industrial Age, and Information Age?

She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Mentor, are the traces of civilization involving alloys and molecular materials similar to our civilization?"

Xie Ming looked at Wen Jing with admiration. "I've noticed you have a very sharp mind. After graduation, would you consider following me down the path of scientific research?"

Wen Jing: "Uh... we'll see when the time comes."

Xie Ming didn't press the matter. He seemed to have thought of something and gave a cold laugh, "Do you know why most of the research on traces of Ancient Wilderness civilizations is in Mystic Radiance?"

"Because much of the historical data about ancient civilizations before the Star Calendar was lost after the Federation was established, and the vast majority of what remains is in the hands of the ten largest conglomerates at the time."

"Early on, ordinary scholars have proposed similarities between traces of Ancient Wilderness civilizations and our own civilization in an attempt to unravel the secrets of the Ancient Wilderness. However, those who ultimately made significant progress in this area were all individuals with financial backing on Mystic Radiance Star."

"They became an academic clique that monopolized this part of the research results, while the researchers who initially proposed this idea were excluded by them."

"Hmph... guess where they found their reference materials?"

Wen Jing fell silent.

The Federation has very little content on politics and history in its textbooks, or rather, this kind of knowledge is not something that ordinary students in the School District Planet can access. If she hadn't learned it from Xie Ming now, she really wouldn't have known about this 'ancient history'.

So, did she travel to another world, or to the future many years in the future?

Chapter 45

This trip to Wen Jing yielded a considerable amount of information worth Digestion.

As Xie Ming was leaving the research institute, he proactively reminded him:

"Take some time to complete this month's Trial Tower and collect your Empowerment Stone as soon as possible... Hey! Why are you looking at me with that incredulous expression?"

Wen Jing's expression that seemed to say, 'Why have you changed your personality?' Xie Ming was speechless. Then he patted the Ancient Wilderness insect research project next to him. "I'm counting on you to finish this project."

Don't worry.

Wen Jing understood that it was because of what happened yesterday, and said goodbye with a smile.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped out of the research institute, someone came up to her.

The newcomer was handsome with a warm smile. Upon seeing Wen Jing, he introduced himself, "Wen Jing, Wen Jing, I'm Song Zhi, the president of the Student Council."

After returning to Red Earth Star from his exchange program at the Azure Jade Academy, Song Zhi learned of Wen Jing's whereabouts and immediately came to find him in person.

"I already know about the misdeeds in our personnel department, and the Student Council union has already dismissed them. I've come specifically to apologize to you. I've booked their special Wilderness Beast Feast at Deep Space Vortex, and I hope you'll do Wen Jing the honor of attending."

As the Student Council, Song Zhi's attitude towards Wen Jing was extremely humble and sincere, and no one could find fault with it.

Wen Jing was originally going to say she was busy, but after hearing about the Wilderness Beast Feast, she thought she could make some time.

The two headed together into the Deep Space Vortex.

Even classmates like Yu Yang, who are close to Wen Jing, would subconsciously feel a bit nervous and unsure of what to say when facing Wen Jing.

Throughout the journey, Song Zhi's conversation topics were all relevant and focused on topics that normal Student Council would be interested in, so the atmosphere was never awkward.

The children of chaebols have specialized social training; if they genuinely want to befriend or please someone, they will do it flawlessly.

Song Zhi to become the Student Council president makes him even more outstanding in this regard.

Upon arriving at the Deep Space Vortex, the restaurant had already been booked by Song Zhi, and the restaurant manager and Chef Master Zhang, who were familiar with Wen Jing, were both present.

Song Zhi walked to the seat and pulled out a chair for Wen Jing.

"Please."

Even this location was deliberately chosen. Tan Junhao and his gang had caused her trouble here before, and now Song Zhi personally booked the entire place to apologize, giving her plenty of face.

However, Wen Jing only cared about the rice. After exchanging friendly greetings with the restaurant manager and Master Zhang, she sat down and started eating without any hesitation.

The Wilderness Beast meat this time was different from the one she had made before. It was golden yellow all over, had a sweet taste, and chewed like a chewy jelly.

However, this is only the chewing process; once swallowed, Wen Jing's Basic Rapid Digestion kicks in.

The food melts instantly upon entering the throat, and subtle energy fluctuations spread throughout the body.

On the panel, all three basic attributes except speed have been improved.

Wen Jing estimated that this piece of meat from the unknown golden Wilderness Beast was roughly equivalent to three to four lizards, or ten to fifteen grains of Emerald Crystal Rice Grain.

Seeing Wen Jing engrossed in his meal, Song Zhi wasn't in a hurry to get to today's topic, and also appeared focused on enjoying his food.

Wilderness Beast meat is unlike ordinary food; it contains immense energy. Even for Awakened, it takes a considerable amount of time to consume a portion of Wilderness Beast meat, as they will instinctively stop eating after a while, needing time for their bodies to Digestion the enormous energy it contains.

Song Zhi planned to speak naturally during Wen Jing's break.

But soon, his expression changed, because he noticed that Wen Jing's eating speed had not slowed down at all, nor did he show any intention of pausing or resting.

Wait... is this Digestion ability okay?!

Seeing that Wen Jing was almost finished eating, Song Zhi, disregarding the pace of their conversation, quickly stopped what she was doing and introduced the main purpose of the day.

"Thank you for gracing us with your presence today, Wen. Also, to be honest, I'd like to invite you to rejoin the Student Council's Operations Department..."

"But don't worry, I've prepared a specially signed S-level contract for you. All training benefits and operational allowances are top-tier within our organization. In addition, you can make one special request, and we'll fulfill it as long as it's within our capabilities."

Song Zhi produced a contract that no student at the Red Earth Academy could refuse.

Wen Jing listened as he finished the last bit of Wilderness Beast meat.

She then wiped her mouth and said, "Joining the Operations Department is out of the question. I don't want to be tied down."

Despite being rejected, Song Zhi showed no displeasure at being slighted, only saying regretfully, "I understand. If you change your mind at any time, the terms of this contract will remain unchanged."

"However," Wen Jing added, "If the conditions are right, I can join your Operations Department's exploration missions."

Song Zhi perked up. "Oh? You mean?"

Wen Jing recalled the scene when he met the members of the Operations Department at the registration center, "I'm interested in traces of Ancient Wilderness civilizations. If you have any exploration activities of this type, I can join as an outside helper. Of course, I want a share of the mission Integral and exploration rewards."

After the previous incident, whether from the perspective of its connection to her past life or the potential to gain a large number of Skill Points, she naturally made the traces of the Ancient Wilderness civilization her primary goal for exploration.

Wen Jing hadn't considered this much before, but now that Song Zhi had extended an olive branch, she realized that her own exploration speed couldn't possibly match that of a group.

Given the depth of the world she can currently reach, unless she enters the Ancient Wilderness at night, encountering traces of civilization is entirely a matter of luck.