Four Days

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, it's been four days since the college entrance exam ended.

He hasn't gone out to grind monsters these past two days.

Firstly, the lair on the edge of Rongcheng doesn't have the monster cards he needs for dungeons. Secondly, he's already level 17, and it would take him at least half a day to travel to the dungeon area where he needs to level up.

Moreover, without the nest cooldown removal item, going out these past two days has been a waste of his time.

Of course, most importantly, he decided to spend more time with his aunt.

Because he decided to go to school early, he wouldn't be able to stay with his aunt for a long time afterward.

With only two weeks left before university starts, this world university has only given dungeon raiders a two-week break in order to allow them to level up sooner.

Su Mu chose to go to Tsinghua and Peking Universities earlier for two reasons: firstly, the dungeon resources there are richer, and secondly, he had long coveted a particular dungeon in Tsinghua and Peking Universities that could drop the monster cards needed by the White Elephant King.

However, even though he hadn't been grinding monsters these past two days, he hadn't been idle either. He was researching more information about dungeon masters after university while also improving his own dungeon skills.

These past two days, he replenished his Soul Power every morning and then used it all up on the Golden-Winged Great Peng King.

The Golden-Winged Great Peng King's current interface:

[Name: Golden-Winged Great Peng King (Semi-embedded, 4/5)]

[Rank: S]

[Level: 1]

[Blood: 378000/378000]

[Attack: 46200/46200]

[Defense: 16800]

[Agility: 37800]

[Combat Index: 520800]

[Skills: Sky-Rending Claw, Golden Feather Storm, Soaring Through the Nine Heavens, Peng Strikes the Vast Sky, Peng Screeches Across the Nine Heavens]

[Note: One of the three demon kings of Lion Camel Ridge, the Golden-Winged Great Peng. In a semi-embedded state (3/5), currently able to utilize three-fifths of its base attributes.]

Within three days, it went from one-fifth to three-fifths of the way in. In another two days, it will be fully embedded.

Su Mu glanced at it and understood.

Then he picked up his suitcase and walked out of the room.

My aunt is already waiting in the living room.

Seeing Su Mu come out, she looked him up and down, then suddenly asked, "Where's that female classmate? Isn't she walking with you?"

Su Mu paused, "Which female classmate?"

"Who else?" His aunt rolled her eyes at him. "It's that pretty girl from last time, Ye Qingxue. Isn't she also going to Tsinghua and Peking Universities? Why didn't you two go together?"

Su Mu sighed, "Auntie, you've really misunderstood. I don't have any special relationship with her."

Aunt nodded, but her expression was quite meaningful. "Auntie didn't say you two had a special relationship. Auntie just said that it's good for two people to look out for each other when they're traveling together, since the other person is also from the Tsinghua and Peking Universities Academy, and you're going the same way. Why are you getting so agitated here?"

Su Mu was speechless.

My aunt has been talking about Ye Qingxue a lot these past few days. Ever since we met that night, she's brought her up from time to time.

No matter how Su Mu explained, his aunt remained unmoved, simply listening with a smile and continuing to say whatever she wanted to say.

Su Mu could only tell the truth, "Ye Qingxue has something to do and might be late for school."

Auntie said "Oh," and nodded, "Okay then."

Su Mu was not lying.

He did indeed invite Ye Qingxue to come along.

After all, the two of them had been through thick and thin together, from the hellish dungeon of the Land of Buried Bones to the evil spirit attack in the fourth level of the college entrance exam. They fought their way through, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call them teammates.

If we can go to Tsinghua and Peking Universities together, then it's on our way.

When he invited Ye Qingxue, she replied that she would be going to school later. She needed to go to a hideout owned by a foreign club, where she could find what she needed.

Su Mu didn't ask any further questions.

Over the past few days, he has also gained some understanding of the distribution of instance resources in this world.

Within the Great Xia territory, nests are generally public resources, managed uniformly by the state and allocated according to authority and points.

Of course, some special nests are located inside universities, making them easier for ordinary students to enter.

But it's different abroad.

Many special dungeons, especially those that yield important cards, are monopolized by certain capitalist families.

The cards are practically impossible to circulate on the market. The only advantage is... if you have the money, you can farm them in their lair. Of course, the price is very high.

Ye Qingxue's family could certainly afford it.

Moreover, she must have someone specifically planning her path behind the scenes.

Su Mu had only extended the invitation casually, and since the other party had something to do, he naturally wouldn't interfere too much, nor did he ask what the matter was.

He picked up his suitcase, smiled at his aunt, and said, "Then I'm off."

At that moment, Auntie heard that Su Mu was leaving. She stood at the door, clutching a thermos in her hand, her eyes a little red.

"Did you bring everything?" she asked.

"I brought everything."

"Call your aunt when you get there."

"Good."

"Tell your aunt if you don't have enough money."

"Good."

His aunt opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she just nodded and put the thermos in his hand.

"Drink on the way."

Su Mu took the thermos, smiled at her, and said, "Auntie, I'm leaving."

He turned and went out the door. His aunt stood at the door, watching him walk into the elevator before slowly closing the door.

Su Mu hailed a taxi at the entrance of the residential compound.

"Master, go to the teleportation plaza in the city center."

The driver, a middle-aged man in his forties, glanced at him in the rearview mirror.

"Young man, going to university?"

Su Mu nodded.

The driver chuckled, starting the car as he said, "Not bad. Dungeon Masters can contribute to the country in the future. Especially in recent years, those 'nests' have become increasingly restless. The news just a couple of days ago reported on the traitors within the Nest Cult's during this year's college entrance exams. They're utterly despicable."

Su Mu nodded. He had also seen the news these past two days.

Previously, such news was almost nonexistent and was always covered up. Clearly, this attack may have been a trigger, and it seems that the Great Xia Dungeon Master Association has some kind of plan.

Taxis weave through the city streets.

The street scenes of Rongcheng flashed past the window; the familiar buildings, shops, and roadside trees receded little by little. Su Mu leaned back in his seat, looking out the window, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped in front of a huge square.

Teleportation Array Plaza.

The square was bustling with people, but unlike ordinary commercial squares, most of the people here were dressed in various combat gear and exuded a calm demeanor.

In the center of the plaza, several enormous teleportation arrays were embedded in the ground, with a deep blue runic light slowly flowing through their patterns.

For a small place like Rongcheng, the teleportation array plaza is basically not open to ordinary people.

These are strategic resources, and the operation of each teleportation array requires a large amount of rare materials, resulting in extremely high maintenance costs.

Only dungeon raiders can use it; ordinary people, even if they have money, cannot obtain teleportation permissions.

However, even if it were open to the public, the prices here would still be unaffordable for ordinary people.

Of course, students who have been admitted to the school can enjoy a 10% discount. But even with the discount, the price is still as high as 10,000 yuan. For ordinary families, this is still a considerable expense.

If you're worried about spending 10,000 yuan, you can use regular passenger transportation.

In this world, the only ordinary means of transportation for passengers to reach extremely distant cities is by airplane.

Because of the dungeon nests, the maintenance cost of the wilderness roads is extremely high. The main roads connecting to the city are constantly attacked by monsters, and dungeon raiding teams need to clear them out every so often.

Forget about railways; the tracks would be overturned by underground worms before they could even be laid a hundred miles. So, for long-distance travel across provinces, you either need to use teleportation arrays or take an airplane.

Su Mu got out of the car, picked up his suitcase, and walked towards the entrance of the teleportation array.

There was a row of service counters at the entrance, where several uniformed staff members were busy.

Su Mu walked to one of the service counters and handed over his ID card.

The staff member was a woman in her thirties with a round face and a friendly appearance. She took the ID card, glanced at it, and casually asked, "Going to school? So early, why don't you rest a bit more?"

As she spoke, she swiped her ID card on the card reader. Su Mu's information popped up on the screen. Her gaze fell on the screen, and her smile suddenly froze.

Rongcheng No. 1 High School, Su Mu. Admitted to Tsinghua and Peking Universities.

Her gaze lingered on the words "Tsinghua and Peking Universities" for several seconds before she looked up at Su Mu again. The expression on her round face changed from casual to serious, and then from serious to a respectful politeness. Her back straightened unconsciously, and her tone also changed.

"Su Mu, this way please."

She stood up and personally led Su Mu towards the teleportation array. Several staff members nearby noticed the commotion and turned to look. Some whispered among themselves, while others secretly took out their phones to take pictures.

The price of the teleportation ticket is fixed.

The admission notices from Tsinghua and Peking Universities offer a 10% discount, but even so, the ticket price is still as high as 10,000 yuan. Su Mu paid the money and waited in the waiting area for a while. After everyone had arrived, the thirty people were teleported together.

The teleportation process was slightly more uncomfortable than the teleportation in the College Entrance Examination Secret Realm. His whole body felt compressed and stretched, and his stomach churned. Fortunately, he was a dungeon master, and his body had been strengthened by his Soul Power, so he quickly adapted.

Three or four minutes later, a flash of white light appeared.

Su Mu opened his eyes and found himself standing in a plaza several times larger than the Rongcheng Teleportation Plaza.

The flow of people was constant, and noise came from all directions.

A huge plaque hangs from the dome of the square, bearing two ancient and weighty characters.

Capital.