Flying on swords in the sky and brightly lit roads... well, after a while they do look a bit mismatched... what a load of rubbish!
When they found the Academy of Sciences by following the fluorescent arrows on the ground, even the little girl, who thought she had a rich imagination, couldn't help but lift her drooping chin.
The white marble gate, with its antique charm and ethereal atmosphere, is nestled between two tall buildings and forests, backed by towering green mountains and clear waters, and bears the three large characters "Academy of Sciences".
The most terrifying thing is that the mountain is a small, narrow one, with only white jade steps behind the mountain gate and a brightly lit building on the mountaintop that resembles a temple or pavilion.
The two sides are as if they were cut off by a knife, the break is neat and even, the mountain has been turned into the Arabic numeral 1, and the place where the continuous mountain is should have been replaced by high-rise buildings that are half a meter shorter than the mountain top and are dark.
The high-rise buildings stand in dense clusters, resembling a ghost town that no one can sell...
Oh dear, I've definitely wandered onto the wrong set!
Having experienced the deadly Abyss City, Cheng Shuang and her two companions were already familiar with the combination of modern technology and classical style. This time, it was just a suspected cultivation sect mingling in a city of steel and concrete, so what was the big deal?
The diversity and danger of the land of death will never disappoint them!
"Let's go!" Sun Han said softly, and Cheng Shuang immediately grasped his hand. On the other side of the little girl was Du Jun, and next to Du Jun were Li Lei, Han Meimei, Lian Rong, and the old man.
Having developed some understanding, the seven of them once again held hands and strode inside.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I stepped through the mountain gate, I was met by a mature woman with flowing robes and elegant, luxurious attire, and a slight chill crept into my heart.
Is it raining?
No one looked up at the sky.
The woman's appearance was truly too sudden.
Her dress was entirely white, with only silver thread outlining the edges with more intricate patterns resembling phoenix tails. She held a white umbrella that obscured her face, and unless one looked closely, no one would notice when she had descended the white jade steps.
The sight of a person with an umbrella like this in the darkness added an eerie and strange atmosphere.
The umbrella slowly rose, revealing the woman's ordinary yet elegant face. She appeared to be in her thirties, but her calm demeanor made her seem much older than her actual age.
She glanced at the group of people holding hands, her eyes showing no emotion, and smiled politely, "Hello everyone, welcome to Eternal City. I am Bai Sha, the vice dean of the Academy of Sciences. Please follow me!"
"Excuse me, big sister, I have a question I'd like to ask, is that alright?" Cheng Shuang politely smiled back, and seeing that the other person nodded slightly without changing expression, she asked bluntly with a childlike manner, "Excuse me, after we register, can we find our own accommodation?"
"Please rest assured, the Academy of Sciences is not a law enforcement agency, and you are all free citizens. Naturally, there will be no forced supervision or interference with your right to choose your daily lives. The reason our Academy of Sciences advocates that everyone live within the Academy is because the dungeons in the city have become so rampant that they are more dangerous than your city. Currently, apart from high-altitude flights which have a certain degree of safety, dungeons exist in almost every corner. This is the biggest consideration we have made for your personal safety!"
The group exchanged a knowing glance. In truth, Vice Dean Bai never gave a direct answer to whether they could leave the Academy of Sciences on their own after registering.
Such tactful official language is hard to refuse.
After all, the other party was acting entirely in their best interests.
"Vice Dean Bai, what's the reason for the proliferation of dungeons? Will our city one day become like that too?"
Seeing that Bai Sha didn't like being called "big sister" at all, Cheng Shuang promptly switched to the more formal form of address.
Bai Sha glanced at the girl who had so many questions, and continued with a smile, "The research institute is still working hard to investigate the specific reasons. If there are any results, they will be announced throughout the city. As for how your city will develop, I'm sorry I don't know much about it, so it's difficult for me to give a definite answer."
Cheng Shuang thanked her politely. Before Bai Sha turned to lead the way, the little girl exclaimed, "Vice Dean Bai, your umbrella is quite pretty. May I take a look? I'll ask my brother to buy me the same one next time."
"Sorry, no!" Bai Sha, who had already turned to the side to take a step, maintained the same smile on her lips, and her refusal was crisp and clean. "Little friend, too much curiosity will distract you and cause your studies to suffer!"
Half of her face was in shadow. Without even glancing at Cheng Shuang, she turned her head and said softly, "Please follow me. Once we reach the registration desk, staff will guide you to your accommodations."
Then, I started walking straight up.
Cheng Shuang frowned slightly, naturally not hurt by a casual rejection; her attention was drawn to the umbrella that had been opened again.
It was just an ordinary white umbrella, but the silver lines outlining its design looked very familiar to her.
It shares similarities with the elegant white dress.
It looks a bit like... a talisman!
The little girl suddenly looked up and stared intently at the umbrella behind the white veil.
She did want to keep an eye on the clothes, but sometimes eyes betray what she's thinking, and if Bai Sha has a keen intuition, it wouldn't be good if she caught something.
Cheng Shuang considered whether she should pretend to be an ignorant child again, asking all sorts of questions bluntly, but Bai Sha was clearly not the kind of gentle woman who was patient with children.
Her gentle politeness was only superficial.
They are even more perfunctory than some civil servants in administrative agencies.
However, as tourists visiting the city, isn't it a bit of an overestimation of talent for the Academy of Sciences to send a vice president to greet them?
Seemingly understanding Cheng Shuang's thoughts, Bai Sha walked slowly up the steps, her graceful figure light and steady. "The staff member who was welcoming the visitors just led eight university students up the mountain. I saw he was busy and couldn't bear to see you lingering at the mountain gate, so I came to greet you." She didn't stop walking, not worrying at all about whether the elderly and children behind her could keep up. "You came from the same boat, right? If you know each other, I'll have someone arrange for you to stay together. The Academy of Sciences has limited rooms, please understand!"
Well, they haven't even acknowledged that they know each other yet! They've already asked them to forgive them.
That means we'll have to live together even if we don't want to!
Lianrong tentatively said, "We don't know them, we don't know them!"
Then she heard a soft laugh, "If you don't know each other, you can get to know each other. It's fate that we can live together!"
Lianrong's lips twitched, and she shut her mouth. She glanced at the silent girl; usually, this child was the one who could shut people up with her sharp retorts, so why was she so quiet now?
Cheng Shuang wasn't mute; she was thinking.
The little girl saw the umbrella and was reminded of the talisman, which in turn triggered another thing she had overlooked.
Younger players, whose scores are usually boosted by their school teachers, rarely run dungeons alone. Therefore, in magic dungeons, players are afraid that she will drag them down and express various reasons not to team up with her.
Bai Sha showed no surprise at the sight of her and the old man.
Did she already know that there was an old person and a child in the group?
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