Chapter 3 of 10
Chapter 3
9 min read2,187 words
Fengren Guangjia Academy.
The principal's office is located at the highest point on the mountain. Xu Boyan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the entire campus. He wore a black suit, his square face with sharp features, and a short, neat haircut. A cigar smoke swirled between his fingers.
This year marks the third year since he bought the school.
Beside him was the academic affairs director, Lin Nan, who swirled the glass of whisky, the ice cubes clinking against the glass with a crisp sound. He was slightly overweight, with a smile that made him seem kind, earning him the nickname "Smiling Tiger" in the school.
In the distance, various sizes of spaceships and hovercars were landing at the school gate. The entrance was crowded, filled with all kinds of light armor.
A face flashed on the screen in the principal's office.
Lin Nan chuckled, "He Wei, the youngest son of He Yong, the chairman of Changsheng Group, is sixteen years old. He has a fiery temper. In just two years at Hoffman Academy, he was involved in and caused 26 fights, injuring over 44 people, three of whom were seriously injured, including He Wei himself. After recovering, he became even more reckless and was expelled from Hoffman Academy. It's said that Hoffman Academy even refused a donation of five million from He Yong."
Xu Boyan took a puff of his cigar and asked, "How much did He Yong donate to us?"
Lin Nan held up one finger, "Ten million."
Xu Boyan exhaled the smoke, a satisfied look on his face, "Very good."
Another face appeared on the screen, a silver-haired girl with a cold expression. She wore a black leather collar with metal triangular rivets that gleamed, and a tattoo of blue and red could be seen on the back of her neck. Beside her stood a wealthy woman, doting and giving instructions, while the girl looked impatient.
Lin Nan smiled again, "Nie Xiaoru, the beloved daughter of Nie Jihu, the commander of the local police force on San Mountain Star, is fifteen years old. She is rebellious, and her most famous incident was when she single-handedly beat up an entire class, injuring six teachers and even dismantling the school's academic affairs office."
Xu Boyan laughed, "You'd better be careful with your office."
Lin Nan said indifferently, "Better if it's dismantled, then I can build a new one. With the compensation agreement, even the police commander will have to cough up a few pieces of meat!"
Xu Boyan asked, "How much is her sponsorship fee?"
Lin Nan, "Five million."
Xu Boyan remained noncommittal.
Lin Nan chuckled, "There's also a piece of land I checked out, and the location is pretty good."
Xu Boyan nodded, "That's more like it."
He suddenly noticed a blue light armor in the crowd and narrowed his eyes, "Whose blue light armor is that?"
Lin Nan looked admiringly, praising, "Principal, you have a keen eye!"
He adjusted the screen, and a young man with drooping eyebrows and red hair appeared.
"Qu Xiao, sixteen years old, son of the super master Qu Sheng. I did some research; Qu Sheng hasn't returned for seven years, and his whereabouts are unknown. However, Qu Xiao, being from a prestigious family, is quite capable, far surpassing his peers. He grew up with his mother and is quite sensible."
"Why did he come to our school?"
"Apparently, it was a teacher-student romance, and he was expelled from the school."
Xu Boyan clicked his tongue, "I wouldn't have guessed. He looks so honest, more capable than his father. Has he paid the sponsorship fee?"
Lin Nan, "Yes, his record isn't too severe, so he paid the standard student fee of five million."
Xu Boyan nodded, "Very good. We can't make exceptions for the sponsorship fee, even if he's Qu Sheng's son."
Lin Nan laughed, "Right, if we make exceptions, we'll be drinking the north wind in the future."
At that moment, a commotion at the school gate caught their attention.
Long Cheng stood at the registration desk.
He had refused to have Uncle Gen accompany him, as the training camp was dangerous, and he wasn't sure he could protect Uncle Gen's safety.
He encountered some trouble with the registration.
The staff member sized up Long Cheng, who seemed poor from his clothing, and asked, "You said you want to register?"
Long Cheng confirmed it.
The staff member, with high professional standards, knew that pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger wasn't uncommon, and he smiled professionally, "Sure, please fill out the form. We will check your records. If there are no records, you only need to pay a sponsorship fee of five million to enroll. If there are serious misconduct records, the sponsorship fee will be increased accordingly, and a specialist will contact you."
Long Cheng had studied the admission brochure of Fengren Guangjia Academy, memorizing every word. For this dangerous training camp, he had to give it his all. According to the brochure, there were two ways to apply for admission: one was to pay the sponsorship fee, and the other was to pass the entrance examination.
Long Cheng said he wanted to apply for the entrance examination.
He didn't have five million for the sponsorship fee, and his grandmother's savings weren't enough either. Moreover, Long Cheng thought it was unreasonable to pay so much money to enter a dangerous place where one might lose their life.
The staff member was stunned, thinking he had heard wrong, "You, you want to apply for the entrance examination?"
Long Cheng confirmed it.
The staff member panicked. In three years of handling admissions, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation. His first thought was that the other party was joking, but he suddenly remembered that the admission brochure did mention this.
However, the staff members responsible for admissions never took the so-called entrance examination seriously. What kind of school was this? Known as the "madhouse," "death school," and "garbage concentration camp," it gathered the most dangerous, violent, and worthless students from seven nearby planets. No one would come here to study unless they had no other school to go to.
The staff member looked at the serious Long Cheng, unsure of what to do.
The surrounding students and parents noticed the abnormality and looked over curiously.
Long Cheng, dressed simply, stood out in the crowd. Families applying to Fengren Guangjia Academy were either rich or noble, and the high sponsorship fee almost excluded all ordinary families. The campus atmosphere was恶劣 and unruly, with frequent fights and injuries, and the resulting high medical costs. With advanced medicine, as long as one didn't die on the spot and had money, even severe injuries could be cured.
In the past, Fengren Guangjia Academy had some local students, but many ended up disabled due to injuries and the inability to pay the high medical costs, leading to the school's bad reputation and the absence of local students.
Fengren Guangjia Academy thus fully embraced the sponsorship fee model.
"Entrance examination? Ha, is this guy's head okay?"
"Never heard of an entrance examination at Fengren."
"Trying to get in without money, what else can he do?"
"Interesting."
The whispers flooded into Long Cheng's ears, his hearing very sharp. He was a bit surprised; did they all pay the sponsorship fee? Spending so much money to enter a place where one might lose their life? What a strange group of people.
He had to enroll; otherwise, he would have to leave his grandmother and the farm. He might be able to escape back, but that would only cause trouble for everyone, and he didn't want to cause trouble.
Long Cheng stared at the staff member, his eyes slightly narrowed.
His posture didn't change, but his center of gravity shifted slightly forward. He was considering whether to fight his way in. In the training camp, killing anyone, no matter how many, wouldn't be punished; only the weak would be punished.
The staff member was on the phone, not noticing the abnormality. The school's security chief, who was watching the commotion, suddenly sensed a hint of danger, frowned, and carefully examined Long Cheng, a seemingly ordinary teenager.
He must have been overworked recently; he needed to be more restrained. He coughed lightly and moved his hand away from the laser gun at his waist.
The staff member looked up, smiling again. He had just received a call from the principal's office and felt more confident. The principal's instructions were clear: with so many parents and students watching, the school couldn't go back on its word.
After all, the admission brochure didn't specify the content of the entrance examination.
He forced a smile at Long Cheng, "Yes, we do have an entrance examination. We are a light armor academy, and the school does not provide light armor. You need to bring your own. Do you have your light armor with you?"
To prove he wasn't being difficult, he quickly added, "The admission brochure specifically mentions this."
Long Cheng said he had brought his light armor and pointed to the [Iron Farmer] parked at the light armor berth.
Everyone's eyes followed Long Cheng's finger, and after a brief silence, the crowd burst into laughter.
"Damn, what the hell is that?"
"Wow, what a surprise! This school is the right choice!"
"Poor kid, he's in the wrong place."
The sudden noise made Long Cheng uncomfortable. In the training camp, he had learned to kill silently at night, not to perform in front of a crowd.
The instructor said, "A killer must walk in the shadows, not in the sunlight."
In the eyes of the crowd, Long Cheng's discomfort looked like a naive teenager's awkwardness, and they laughed even harder.
The staff member was also stunned. He had been working in admissions for three years since the new principal took over and had never encountered such a ridiculous situation.
He looked puzzled, "Is that a light armor?"
Long Cheng asked if agricultural light armor wasn't light armor.
Hearing Long Cheng's response, the crowd whistled and jeered. These students were not the type to be well-behaved and immediately started to stir up trouble.
"What's wrong with agricultural light armor? It's still light armor!"
"Exactly! This is a light armor academy, not a combat light armor academy!"
"Wow, I didn't know it was agricultural light armor. I thought it was a modified version by some expert."
"Ha, brother, show us a trick, teach these stupid teachers how to farm!"
Long Cheng glanced around, feeling a bit strange. Were these his competitors in the training camp? They didn't seem very strong, far weaker than the trainees he had escaped from. Well, maybe it was a disguise, he reminded himself, not to let his guard down.
The staff member was at a loss, certain that this was a farce. He heard the instructions from the principal's office and, after a moment, said, "Choosing your light armor is your right, but I need to remind you that you only have one chance for the examination. If you fail, you lose the opportunity to enroll. If you want to enroll again, you'll have to pay double the sponsorship fee."
Long Cheng said, "Okay."
The crowd stopped talking, equally curious about the content of the entrance examination.
The staff member took a deep breath and said solemnly, "The entrance examination is simple. Do you see the building on the distant mountain? That's the principal's office. From the school gate to the principal's office, you can choose any method. As long as you complete it within six minutes, you pass. Note that the campus security system is activated, and all low-altitude flights will be attacked. Be cautious. If you get injured, the school is not responsible for treatment. Additionally, if you damage any buildings along the way, you must pay the original price. We have the entire process recorded, and once you start, it means you agree to these terms. Do you have any questions?"
The crowd was in an uproar, and the students watching were indignant. The campus, with its security system activated, revealed its sinister appearance, with various cannons pointing to the sky, making people feel a chill.
"This is deliberately making things difficult! How can anyone fly through?"
"Damn, are they trying to kill someone and cover it up?"
"Black school! This school is ruthless. I'll have to be careful after school starts."
Long Cheng turned and walked away. Just as everyone thought he was leaving, the [Iron Farmer] walked to the school gate with a loud rumble.
The Iron Farmer's external speakers were old, and the sound was distorted with static.
Long Cheng said he was ready.
The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted in a roar. Some thought he was overestimating himself, some admired his courage, and others found it amusing, thinking it was just a farce.
At the center of the noise, the old Iron Farmer stood silently, like a quiet farmer, unmoving.
The page turns, and the ad begins.
The page turns, and the ad ends.