Chapter 83: Negotiations

“It’s not about the remuneration.” The president still had not recovered from the shock and was facing a dilemma. “If I remember correctly, you said that you’d have to go to the New World for this.”

“Yes, we need someone who understands Ancient Normese to help us translate something, but this item is very special and can’t be brought to the academy’s self-contained space. We have to go to the new world, but you can rest assured that our colony is absolutely safe.”

“Umm, this isn’t about the safety issue either,” the president smiled bitterly. “Let me just be frank with you. This student still can’t directly enter the New World.”

Hank was initially puzzled, but he gradually understood and exclaimed incredulously, “My God! You mean they haven’t even reached Black Iron rank yet?”

“In fact, this student named Xiao Lin is a freshman who has just completed his first month after his enrolment here. You’re well aware of the consequences of a freshman under Black Iron rank entering the New World.” The president had a strong impression of Xiao Lin because the dean personally showed up during the school opening ceremony. The president certainly had to pay more attention to the new batch’s class monitors.

Hank scratched his fluffy hair while pacing back and forth. He said urgently, “Yes, of course I know that humans have to at least be Black Iron rank if they want to adapt to the New World’s environment. Otherwise, they’d be infected with various viruses and get sick. Their body will suffer a rapid decline, and if they fail to get timely treatment or leave Planet Norma, death is a likely scenario in serious cases!”

The president nodded. “That’s right. Xiao Lin is our student. We can’t neglect his well-being, so we can only apologize…”

Hank was silent. He did not give up and thought for a moment before saying, “I want to contact my academy. I hope that you can provide me with a means of doing so, President.”

“You do realize that trans-spatial communication is very energy-consuming…”

Hank gritted his teeth. “All expenses will be paid for by Judge Academy!”

“I’m more than happy to help our allies!”

Hank left quickly and came back even quicker. In less than 20 minutes, he stood in the office again with a surprised look on his face. There had been a considerable time delay in the trans-spatial communication.

“I’ve already contacted the academy. We’ll buy super potions from the Royal British Academy. I’m sure you’ve heard about the various super potions that the Royal British Academy developed some years ago. For people whose bodies have yet to reach the desired rank, the super potions are capable of providing temporary immunity to all kinds of viruses in the New World,” Hank spoke firmly that time.

The smile on the president’s face gradually faded. He looked at Hank for a while, then nodded and said, “I heard about it when I was a guest at the British academy last year. These potions seem to have been produced for those who are talented in alchemy and other technical fields, but have subpar strength. Such potions would allow these people to travel to the New World as soon as possible… But with all due respect, the materials for these potions are relatively rare and the cost of manufacturing it is very expensive.”

Hank shrugged. “This isn’t a problem. We’re also allies with the Royal British Academy! However, the condition is that we must get in touch with that student in order to make sure that Judge Academy’s investment is worth it!”

…

In the public classroom…

Xiao Lin had been talking with Cheng Ming for almost an hour. Cheng Ming was a talkative person who could hardly stop once he started. Other than the initial couple of sentences, Xiao Lin was basically listening to Cheng Ming reminisce about the duel with the wolf cavalry squadron captain in vivid detail. For example, in order to deal with the immediate attack of the wolf, he had to sacrifice one arm to chop off the front leg of the wolf and destroy the opponent’s mount…

Meanwhile, the conflict outside the classroom had gradually subsided after more students from the student union got involved. After all, the strength gap was prevalent, and those who had any semblance of rationality would leave quietly and softly. A very small number of people who could not accept reality was forcibly taken away by the Disciplinary Department and the rest had no sympathy for them. At most, they would utter a few cries of ‘How unfortunate!’ and ‘Why!’ from the standpoint of bystanders.

Seeing as the crowd had more or less dispersed, Xiao Lin got ready to leave after saying goodbye to Cheng Ming. It was still the weekend morning, and the exam time was not synchronized with the academy’s time. Although seven days had passed in the simulation exercise, only one hour had passed after they returned to the academy.

Just as he was about to get up and walk out of the classroom, he saw the crowds in the corridor being suddenly part. Several people who seemed to be from the student union walked toward that corridor, and to his surprise, the person leading them was the student union president. Other than attending the opening ceremony, the baby-faced president rarely showed up, though he still left a very strong impression on everyone else. In addition, his photos were occasionally published in Dawn Academy Evening News; practically all the freshmen knew who he was.

Xiao Lin subconsciously took two steps back and returned to the classroom. He turned around and faced the oncoming Cheng Ming, who had come over out of curiosity. “This looks like a big deal. Even the student union president is here.”

Cheng Ming sighed. “The troublemakers are just too emotional, but it can’t be helped since they died this time. Anyone in their place would feel the pressure. I hope that the school won’t punish them too severely. It’ll be terrible if they’re sent back to Earth.”

Xiao Lin shook his head. “Being sent back to Earth might be a good thing if you can’t adapt.”

Cheng Ming glanced at him unexpectedly. Xiao Lin gained a true understanding of that academy after going through the exam. Although there were many things that could not be accepted too quickly, anyone who wished to stay there had to force themselves to adapt, albeit slowly.

The student union president went straight to Class Seven’s classroom. He glanced back and forth before yelling, “Xiao Lin! Where’s Xiao Lin?”

“Back in the dormitory maybe?” someone offered.

“There’s no record of his entry and exit at the dormitory entrance!” The student union president continued to ask, “Does anyone know where Xiao Lin is?”

The president’s expression was serious and the surroundings were completely silent. They might not know how powerful the student union president was, but they knew full well that the baby-faced man must have had a strength so formidable that there was no question of him holding the president’s position.

Cheng Ming had a weird expression. He looked at Xiao Lin and asked in a low voice, “What have you done now? The student union president was provoked into coming here!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Xiao Lin had an innocent expression. “Also, what did you mean by ‘now’? What did I do before?”

“You’re the only person in our freshman year who insisted on cultivating both magic and martial arts. I’m sure you know that there are more than a couple of teachers who don’t like you.”

Xiao Lin was speechless, but he knew about it all too well. For example, the lolita who taught them Basic Meditation and the T-rex who taught Basic Swordsmanship were both not fond of him, but he did not think that his actions would go so far as to provoke the student union. Could Department Head Song have done something to implicate him?

Someone soon recognized Xiao Lin standing in front of Class One’s classroom and quickly notified the student union president. Xiao Lin was not even given any time to escape, prompting him to grit his teeth with hatred.

The student union president rushed to Xiao Lin before the latter could slip away and looked carefully at him. A feeling came over the president. He had studied the information of the new batch’s acting class monitors and each had their own merits. The sole exception was shameless Xiao Lin, who had poor foundation and zero talent. The president felt that it was only sheer coincidence that the guy was able to be elected as class monitor. Another possibility was that Gu Xiaoyue eschewed the position.