“So you already know each other.” A tall, robust man walked over and smiled at her warmly. “Hello, you must be Su Xi. I’m Lv Weiguo, a soldier, and I’ll be the captain of this study abroad team.”
As he spoke, the other two men and one woman also approached, each introducing themselves.
“Hello, I’m Gu Mingjie!” The man on the right, dressed in a crisp suit, spoke first. “I’m the CEO of the ‘Aoya’ Group’s Eastern Region, and I’ll also be your classmate.” He pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, his expression carrying the pride of a successful professional, exuding an elite aura.
Beside him was a blond, blue-eyed young man who waved as well. “Ni hao! Wo jiao Jamie, ni chi le ma?” His Xia-guo language was clearly not very fluent.
“Hello, I’m Su Xi. Yes, I’ve eaten,” she quickly replied, her gaze involuntarily shifting to the last woman who approached.
“Oh, another young lady.” The woman was noticeably older than everyone present, slightly plump, and waved cheerfully at her. “Hello, I’m Wang Cui, I cook for a living!”
Su Xi froze for a moment, suddenly remembering something, and exclaimed, “Aunt Wang!” Wasn’t this the cafeteria auntie from C University?
“Eh?” The woman reflexively responded, then also paused in surprise. “Huh? How do you know me?”
“It’s me, Su Xi. I just graduated from C University.”
Aunt Wang stared blankly for a while before seeming to recall. “Oh… you, you’re that… girl who eats a lot. The one who always gets six bowls of fish soup per meal and often asks us for extra food.”
“Um…”
“Aunt Wang, Mibao was for feeding the cats,” Niuniu couldn’t help but whisper in her defense.
Su Xi had always had a knack for attracting small animals. During her university years, she had rescued four or five kittens. As an orphan without money to buy cat food, she had to scavenge leftovers from the cafeteria to feed them. Over time, she became familiar with the cafeteria staff, and Aunt Wang was one of them.
“Oh, right, right, the Cat Hero. I remember now,” Aunt Wang nodded, clearly happy to see a familiar face.
Su Xi hadn’t expected that among the six of them, not only were five from Xia-guo, but half were actually acquaintances. It almost felt like the selection process had been rigged.
“The ship picking us up is about to arrive,” Lv Weiguo, the team leader, reminded them.
The group stopped chatting, and sure enough, within moments, a loud roar echoed from above, like the sound of heavy machinery operating. Looking up, they saw a ship breaking through the clouds, descending directly toward the center of the field.
The ship was much smaller than the warships that had invaded Blue Star but was far more refined and faster. In less than half a minute, it had landed steadily in front of them. The hatch opened, and a person dressed in blue-and-white attire with a star emblem on their chest stepped out. The emblem was familiar to everyone—it was the symbol of the Galactic Union.
“Mr. Raynor, you’ve arrived,” a staff member from the joint government led the group forward and introduced, “This is the envoy from the Star Alliance. He will take you to the nearest Starport. Thank you for your assistance, Envoy.”
“Yes.” The envoy nodded in response, his gaze noticeably friendlier as he looked at the students who were going abroad. He quickly took two steps forward, approaching with a bright smile, and said, “You must be the students enrolling at Star River Academy. Hello! My name is Raynor, from the Kangwu Sector. It’s my honor to escort you to the Starport. Since it’s getting late, let’s set off now.” As he spoke, he stepped aside and gestured for them to board the spacecraft.
Without hesitation, the group bid farewell to the United Government staff and boarded the spacecraft. It was their first time on a spaceship, and they couldn’t help but feel a sense of novelty. Unlike the cold, hard black exterior, the interior was warm-toned and incredibly spacious. Aside from some incomprehensible technology, it wasn’t much different from a private jet.
After a few words of greeting, Raynor started the spacecraft. Surprisingly, they didn’t feel the slightest bit of turbulence inside, nor even the oppressive sensation of liftoff. Only through the window could they see a blue planet growing smaller and smaller in the distance.
“We’ll need to travel for half an hour to reach the nearest Starport.” The spacecraft clearly had an autopilot function, so after starting it, Raynor walked over to the group. He then took out a box and pushed it toward them, saying, “This contains the identity credentials the Star Alliance has prepared for you in advance, as well as your flight tickets to the planet where Star River Divine Academy is located.”
He opened the box, revealing six crystalline objects inside. It was impossible to tell what material they were made of, but their information flickered on the surface, clearly indicating some kind of advanced technology.
“Thank you,” said Captain Lv Weiguo, taking the box and distributing the crystals to everyone.
“Don’t mention it. It’s part of my duty as a Star Alliance envoy,” Raynor replied with an even brighter smile, his gaze toward the group filled with enthusiasm and even a hint of excitement. He then turned and pulled out a slightly larger box, rubbing his hands together as he said, “Additionally, this is a personal gift from me to all of you.”
He opened it again, revealing six wristbands inside. These were even more intricate than the crystals and looked far from cheap. “These are the latest model Intellect-Brains, each equipped with a ten-square-meter Dimensional Space. They’ll make travel much more convenient, and you can also bind your identities directly to them.”
“This…” Not only Lv Weiguo, but everyone hesitated. They hadn’t expected the envoy to be so generous on their first meeting. “Thank you, Mr. Raynor, but we haven’t done anything to deserve this. It really isn’t necessary.”
“Please don’t misunderstand. I have no ulterior motives,” Raynor quickly explained, waving his hands. “These aren’t particularly valuable items. Intellect-Brains are just the most common communication tools in the Star Alliance, and the ones I bought only have basic functions. Since you’re about to join the Academy of Divinity, this is an essential tool. If you don’t like it, you can always replace it later.”
Only then did Lv Weiguo accept the gift and distribute the wristbands to everyone. Following Raynor’s instructions, they bound the devices to themselves. Sure enough, the identity credential crystals flickered and vanished the next moment, while their identity details and flight information appeared in the Intellect-Brains.
Even more astonishingly, the Intellect-Brains came with a built-in language translation function. No matter what language someone spoke, as long as they were bound to an Intellect-Brain, the words would be translated into the listener’s language. This was why they heard Raynor speaking in their own language.
The one who loved this feature the most was Jamie. He stroked the bracelet, almost moved to tears. “Wah… You have no idea how painful it’s been learning Xia language these past few days. Finally, I can understand human speech too!”
Raynor went on to explain some of the basic functions of the Intellect-Brain and common knowledge about the Star Alliance in great detail, showing remarkable enthusiasm and thoroughness. Soon, half an hour passed, and they arrived at the nearest Starport.
From the moment they approached the Starport, the group was stunned by the scene before them—something that only existed in sci-fi movies. Everywhere, spacecraft of all kinds flowed like rivers—some as massive as fortresses, others as sleek and compact as flying cars. Ahead lay an enormous docking port, enveloped in a translucent membrane, its area even vaster than Blue Star. Yet, according to Raynor, such a massive port was only a small Starport.
“I still have Star Alliance missions to complete and can’t venture too far from the solar system for now, so I can only take you this far,” Raynor said, escorting them all the way to the transfer Starship before reluctantly adding, “I’ve already set the course in your Intellect-Brains. Once you reach Eternal Star, it will guide you to the academy.”
“Thank you,” they each expressed their gratitude.
Raynor gave them a few more instructions before waving them off as they boarded the Starship.
This journey would span several star systems, taking a full day, so each passenger had their own resting quarters. After the initial half-hour of travel, Su Xi had long lost interest in the cosmic scenery. Everyone planned to sleep through the trip, expecting to arrive upon waking. Unexpectedly, just two hours into the journey, the Starship came to a halt.
Boom!
A deafening roar echoed, and the entire Starship shook violently, jolting Su Xi, who had been sound asleep in bed, and sending him crashing to the floor with a painful thud.
What was going on?