Along the way, Mao Tianying nagged and complained about how difficult the Earth Division’s work was. He told Xiao Lin and the others never to return to Earth if they had a choice in the future.
“Don’t look at me and think that all this is very relaxing. In fact, there’s plenty of things I have to do, whether it’s enrollment or surveillance. I also have to deal with other academies on Earth, as well as the government. I must be very careful when dealing with all that, but it just so happens that I don’t have any authority for many of those things. As long as something a little more serious happens, I’ll have to report it back and wait for orders from above.”
Xiao Lin had a sudden thought and asked, “I remember you mentioning surveillance last time. How do you monitor the students’ movements in various cities?”
Mao Tianying turned around while driving and uttered a sneaky chuckle. “This is a violation of the rules. Ordinary students aren’t qualified to ask about this.”
His expression was not very stern and he had a good relationship with Song Junlang, so Xiao Lin did not feel too pressured and chuckled in response. “I’m just asking. You don’t need to take it seriously.”
Mao Tianying thought about it for a moment and replied, “It’s actually very simple. The spatial law of Earth’s plane doesn’t have any spells or sword skills. If you use any power that exceeds the rules in this world, it’s like dropping a stone into this calm space. We have special equipment to monitor any ripples caused by that fluctuation and we can then quickly locate the source.”
“Have there been any students who violated the rules before? Well, I mean in the past few years.”
Mao Tianying glanced at him, then at Gu Xiaoyue, and hesitated before continuing, “Yes! Of course! Now that the students have abilities that surpass ordinary people, there will always be people who want to show off and after coming back. In fact, most of the unexplained mysteries were caused by our people. Of course, that includes other academies too. It’s a real headache for us, but in recent years, every academy has increased the penalties for violations, which lessened these kinds of things.”
After a moment, Mao Tianying smiled and said, “Don’t make things hard for me. If I find that you violated the rules, I won’t spare you and will certainly report it as it is.”
“What’s the bottom line for a violation?” Xiao Lin wanted to make things clear. “For example, I suddenly encountered someone blocking me, robbing me, and even causing danger to my body. In that case, I can’t just sit and wait to die. I’d definitely have to act on it.”
Mao Tianying groaned. “Special circumstances call for special analysis. We only report to inform the top brass about it, and the final processing result will be carried out by the student union.”
Xiao Lin nodded. It was only then that he felt a little relieved. If it was just the student union who would make the final judgement, then he would certainly know what was going on.
The two chatted casually, and Mao Tianying considered talking to Gu Xiaoyue, as he had obviously heard of that name before. However, Gu Xiaoyue had no interest in the person in charge of the Earth Division. She did not reply much except for some mechanical, patronizing, one-syllable replies.
They arrived at the nearest airport a few hours later. According to the regulations, other students would only be sent to the nearest bus station at most. After that, it was each person for themselves. Xiao Lin knew that he and Gu Xiaoyue were going back by plane, so he pleaded with Mao Tianying, who was more than happy to help with that little favor.
“Remember! The vacation is only for ten days. If you don’t return to the academy after that, you will be held accountable. Don’t think that you won’t ever have to come back. The academy is far more powerful than you think. No matter how you hide on Earth, there’s always a way to find you, even if it means going to the ends of the Earth.” Mao Tianying did not forget to warn them before leaving.
Of course, neither Xiao Lin nor Gu Xiaoyue were worried about it. Xiao Lin wanted to accompany Gu Xiaoyue back at once, but he knew that he had to go home first as the thoughts of his parents had been lingering in his mind for a very long time. After bidding farewell to Gu Xiaoyue, Xiao Lin found an inconspicuous corner and took out the cell phone he received from Mao Tianying to dial Song Junlang’s number.
He had to acknowledge that Mao Tianying received a big sum of money on that occasion. He remembered that the cell phone he received the last time around was an old Nokia, but it had upgraded right up to Apple.
Xiao Lin remembered Song Junlang’s phone number on Earth and dialed it after some time, though he was slightly speechless to hear Song Junlang’s yawning voice. Even if Earth’s cell phones did not have magic imaging functions, he could guess that Song Junlang had just woken up at that moment. It could even be Xiao Lin who woke him up with that call.
In any case, it was already midday, so Xiao Lin asked helplessly, “Did I call at a wrong time?”
“DUH! I’ve been busy all night and you woke me up before I could have a good rest!” Song Junlang was noticeably irritated after his sleep was disturbed.
“You were up all night? Why do I feel like you’re busier right now than when you’re in the academy?”
“Well, I plan to go to Hawaii tomorrow.”
“Huh? Hawaii?” Xiao Lin’s eyelids twitched. “Didn’t you say you wanted to meet Gu Xiaoyue’s sister?”
“That’s not much of a hurry for the time being. You have a ten-day holiday anyway. I found something interesting in Hawaii this time around and I plan to check it out.”
“Why did I suddenly get the chills after hearing you saying that it’s interesting?”
“Do you want to go together and have a look? I can book a plane ticket for you.” Song Junlang invited him cordially.
“No, I’ll go home first.”
“Well then, enjoy your holiday.”
Xiao Lin was puzzled after hanging up the call. He initially wanted to pry some secrets about Gu Xiaoyue and her sister’s life from Song Junlang, but the guy seemed to have found something more worthy of attention and decided to set aside that matter for the time being.
Finally, it was time to embark on the journey home. It had been half a year since he last returned, and Xiao Lin could not even call home during that time, so it was natural that he would be worried. He bought a few large packages of various health supplements on the way home. Before leaving the academy, Xiao Lin exchanged his points for the one million RMB maximum limit. He was not too worried about losing that little bit of redemption points, considering the total amount he had at his disposal.
Although the town was small and not as prosperous as a big city, walking on its streets brought up memories of Xiao Lin’s familiar childhood life. He even met several acquaintances in the course of his walk.
“Isn’t this Lin Lin? Why are you suddenly home today!”
“Aunt Zhang! Yeah, it’s been a long time since I’ve been home. I asked my boss for a long vacation this week to come back and pay a visit.”
“Your mother said that you’re doing well outside.”
“So far so good.”
“Any girlfriends?”
“It’s still early. I’m in no rush.”
“You shouldn’t be too relaxed over it. My daughter just graduated this year. Should I introduce you both to each other?”
…
Xiao Lin used to grow up playing around in the neighborhood when he was a child. Everyone’s warm greetings made Xiao Lin feel overwhelmed, especially after many people tried to offer their daughters to him. Xiao Lin had no choice but to run away whenever that happened, and most people could not even catch up even though he was carrying lots of heavy bags.
