After exploring together once, the two could be considered acquaintances.
Facing Wen Jing, her former 'captain,' Eve naturally wouldn't put on airs and hide in the crowd.
Moreover, during the entire orientation party, apart from the freshmen, only Eve, who was a year ahead of them, was able to look directly at Wen Jing without her eyes being dazzled.
As they were talking, Eve suddenly said:
"Before I came here, the president asked me to gauge your future attitude and whether you would still participate in the Operations Department's explorations."
Eve wasn't as introverted as Ji Shuang. She was unhappy with the Student Council's betrayal last time, and she showed it outright. Now, she's very decisively betrayed the student council president.
Upon hearing this, Wen Jing recalled the reasons he had given when facing the academy's investigation team last time.
It's likely that Song Zhi was unsure of her thoughts, which is why she sent Eve to test the waters.
She thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about it after the league ends."
She definitely won't be participating in Student Council explorations anytime soon, and she won't be involved in any projects involving ancient ruins for the time being. If a collapse incident happens every time she collaborates with the Student Council, wouldn't that be an admission of guilt?
If she can't 'devour' the core of the civilization's ruins, then there's no need for her to cooperate with the Student Council; exploring on her own would be more efficient.
Eve nodded in understanding.
As a competition showcasing the potential of the new generation of Awakened, achieving good results in the Freshman League not only brings generous rewards, but more importantly, it brings a series of intangible values that fame can bring. It can be said to be the most important thing for Awakened in their freshman year.
Looking at Wen Jing's confident and composed profile, Eve smiled and took a sip of her drink.
Having participated in the previous Freshman League, she was also looking forward to Wen Jing would achieve in the end.
*
The day after the welcome party, Wen Jing's aura of superiority finally faded. Combined with the reduced presence effect of her Basic Invisibility, she no longer passively attracted the attention of her classmates wherever she went.
Wen Jing followed the navigation to the college's medical center, which was not far from the research institute, and met Xie Ming, who was recuperating from his injuries.
Whether it was because the Wilderness Body was an aquatic creature or because his injuries were too severe, Xie Ming was not recuperating in an ordinary hospital bed, but rather in a treatment pod filled with liquid.
When the ward door opened, Xie Ming seemed to receive a message through the device inside the pod. He turned to look at Wen Jing and waved to her through the glass of the ward.
Wen Jing, recalling the pitiful state he had witnessed the other person last time, quickly went over and asked, "Teacher, are you feeling alright?"
Xie Ming seemed to be able to hear her speaking from inside, waving her hand as she spoke, her voice amplified by the machine and coming from the nutrient tank's loudspeaker.
"Gurgle... It's nothing serious now, just... gurgle... After resting for a while... gurgle..."
"That's good. Take good care of yourself." Wen Jing nodded. "You said there was anything you needed me to do?"
She came here after receiving a message from Xie Ming, who asked her to come over because he needed her help with something.
Strangely, Xie Ming didn't tell her about it in the text message, but instead asked her to come to the medical center to tell her in person.
Upon Wen Jing unfold, Xie Ming no longer kept everyone in suspense:
"Gurgle... the one I told you about last time... gurgle... the amateur scientist... gurgle... suddenly went missing..."
"They're involved with... some Gruul... who can't appear... Gruul... in the shadows..."
"I was going to handle it myself... Gulu... but I didn't expect to get injured... Gulu hopes you can go..."
Wen Jing listened attentively to the other party's description of the events, delivered with exceptional vocalizations, and understood the situation.
The task Xie Ming needed her to undertake involved their collaborative insect research project.
She had heard from the other party before that they were waiting for information from a private scientist, but unexpectedly, the scientist with whom she had already reached an agreement suddenly disappeared.
Xie Ming would normally go in person to handle this situation, but he himself was seriously injured during the exploration of the Ancient Wilderness, so he was naturally unable to deal with it.
So he found Wen Jing and asked her to go to the other party's contact address to investigate the situation.
As for why it wasn't mentioned in the communications, it's because the data from civilian scientists is not only sold to official scientists like them, but also to local gangs and even certain antisocial organizations... In short, this group itself has intricate connections with some shady forces.
Therefore, Xie Ming did not mention the relevant information in the text message, and could only tell Wen Jing in person.
After roughly understanding the cause and effect, Wen Jing readily nodded in agreement. "No problem, I'll be there right now."
Whether for the sake of the project or for her relationship with Xie Ming, she would not refuse to help.
This is not a difficult task for the Awakened; the trouble lies in finding a trustworthy and suitable person to do it.
As an ordinary person, even if a grassroots scientist is associated with any organization or force, it is highly unlikely that other Awakened will be involved.
Moreover, even if such a force exists, the largest and strongest Awakened power on Red Earth Star is the Academy.
Other Awakened on Red Earth Star are generally at or below Rank E, with Rank D being rare. With Wen Jing's strength and his 'invisibility' ability, even if he encounters a low-rank Awakened with 100% compatibility, he can definitely escape even if he can't defeat them.
Even so, as her mentor, Xie Ming still instructed her, "Go and check... what happened... you... make sure you're safe... ugh..."
"I understand." Wen Jing waved goodbye to him.
*
After leaving the medical center, Wen Jing followed Xie Ming's instructions and went to his office to retrieve a storage device containing contact information for civilian scientists. She then boarded an intercity plane leaving the academy for another city.
Having completed her required courses, and having been busy in the Ancient Wilderness recently, she hadn't registered for any new electives, so she had some free time and set off immediately.
Moreover, the civilian scientist has been missing for two days now, and with each passing day, the probability of finding him decreases even further.
Compared to the maglev trains in the college that cost hundreds of credits to start, intercity flights connecting different cities are public transportation and are therefore cheaper.
A plane ticket cost only 20 credits, and half an hour later, Wen Jing arrived in another city thousands of kilometers away from the academy.
"This is actually the first time I've left the academy since I enrolled."
After getting off the plane, looking at the unfamiliar steel city in front of him, Wen Jing felt as if he had opened a new map.
Compared to the Red Earth Academy, which is filled with fountains and greenery, Xinpu City in front of us looks like a typical modern city in the desert.
The city stands in the middle of a vast desert. Outside the airport, on an extra-wide highway wide enough for dozens of cars to drive side by side, heat waves rise and the air distorts.
The temperature here exceeds 47 degrees Celsius. If ordinary people don't take special precautions, they'll jump when they step on the ground.
Wen Jing was wondering whether to run or take a taxi when he suddenly turned his head and saw a black dot in the distance rapidly enlarging.
"Call out..."
A sports car sped across the road at over 300 kilometers per hour, ignoring the 160 km/h speed limit sign on the track.
To an ordinary person, it would probably only be a dark shadow, but Wen Jing's eyes clearly saw that the sports car had been completely modified, with two turrets prominently displayed between the headlights.
Goodness, Xie Ming was being quite tactful.
Wen Jing initially thought that only the circle of amateur scientists was involved with shady organizations, but now it seems that the entire Xinpu City is quite 'simple and honest'.
She then opened the storage device, entered the password Xie Ming had previously shown her, and obtained a detailed address.
Finding the distance not far and no public transportation in sight, Wen Jing didn't bother looking for any more means of transportation and simply strode off towards her destination.
Anyway, the speed limit on this road is for vehicles, not for pedestrians.
"Thump thump tap tap..."
The driver of the sports car was sitting inside, driving on autopilot, drinking, and happily swaying to the deafening electronic music blasting from inside the car.
"Beep beep beep beep!!"
Suddenly, the music stopped playing, and the safety system sounded an alarm indicating that the sports car had collided with a foreign object.
What happened?
The driver jolted awake from the swaying motion and stared at the system's scan report—
On the roof of the car, two footprints, one in front of the other, were simulated in sequence.
First, a footprint landed on the back of the car, then a second footprint followed by a push from the front.
It looks like someone just stepped on the roof of her car and jumped over it.
But... the driver turned to look at the completely blurred scenery and the steering wheel needle.
Are you kidding me? She's going 360 km/h right now!
*
Twenty minutes later, Wen Jing arrived at a quiet, old, and dilapidated neighborhood according to the address.
The neighborhood seemed quiet, but she could sense that there were quite a few people around.
Of course, this had nothing to do with her; she arrived at the address in front of an apartment building.
Wen Jing reached out and touched the Door Handle, feeling that the door was locked.
She didn't have the key.
But it's not a big problem.
The next moment, she exerted a little force in her hand, and the two alloy bolts that were reinforced were forcibly twisted off.
Chapter 83
If Wen Jing were an ordinary investigator, he would probably have gone through a series of preliminary tasks such as looking for clues and interviewing nearby residents.
But she is an Awakened.
Once you enter the realm of the extraordinary, the rules of the world become very clear.
"Crunch..."
The door was pushed open, but the room was empty.
Wen Jing already knew this before opening the door; she simply wanted to come in to look for any clues.
The apartment wasn't big, and the rooms were messy, but it was unclear whether someone had ransacked the place or if it was always like that.
An induction cooker piled high with pots and pans, a shower room reeking of mildew... Wen Jing saw many facilities here that were similar to those in his previous life in terms of technology.