Chapter 117: Only Monsters in the Twilight After a total of 13 days of driving from the sun, Levi finally arrived at the college located in the heart of the East District. As soon as he stepped off the station, he could feel the completely different atmosphere of the city, the sun and the bamboo orchid. There are LED screens playing videos everywhere, the ground is clean and tidy, broadcasts can be seen in almost every area, and electronic information technology is widely used. Ticket checking and identity registration when getting off the bus can almost all be automated. Compared to the relatively cyberpunk phenomenon of high technology and low life in Taiyang and Zhulan, the entire city of the academy seems to have applied technology to every aspect of life. Even the surveillance cameras that Levi had seen in the other two cities before but were rare have become quite common in the college. There were no elderly people walking on the street. Almost all of them were wearing different uniforms of the college's various districts, which made them look particularly young, individual and energetic. Before coming here, Levi learned from some public data that nearly 90% of the city's residents are young students from the east and west districts, and only about 10% are faculty and staff and their families. The local population who have always lived here accounts for less than 3% of the total population. So even compared with the central government, the college is more avant-garde, advanced and free. Many well-known bands, dance troupes and singers in the East District come from the college and are formed by students. Most of the content played on the LED screens everywhere are the recent performances of these groups, the latest reports released by the college news department, the recent policies of the student union, commendations for outstanding students, etc. At the same time, there are mechanical female voices on the radio throughout the city, occasionally broadcasting some notices and messages to groups or individuals.
In short, compared with other cities, the appearance of the college is like the comparison between a first-tier city and a rural town. Those young people who arrived at the college on the same train as Levi and got off the train to sign up for special admissions were all a little at a loss when they first arrived in such a dazzling and unreal world. Until a young man wearing a white uniform with an armband with the word "Management" on his sleeve approached them with his men. "Those who want to apply for special enrollment, follow me. Don't run around! If you mistakenly enter a restricted area, you will be forcibly taken to the Discipline Department!" His voice was cold, but there was no contempt or discrimination in his tone. When facing these new young people, he showed more of a businesslike indifference and indifference. The freshmen, who were dressed simply and seemed very nervous and cautious in the face of all the unknown and advanced things around them, followed him obediently, walked out of the station under his leadership, and stepped onto a tram that was waiting nearby. Levi also followed the team. After getting off the car, he looked at the city with interest. Compared with Sun and Bamboo Orchid, this is obviously the most advanced and representative dungeon in the world. In order to better manage the people and exploit the lower classes, resource-based cities will deliberately restrict the introduction of certain technologies and equipment. But Levi didn't act too exaggerated. If he appeared too relaxed among a group of timid peers around him, it would undoubtedly make him conspicuous. Even though he killed Zhulan, Levi was not so arrogant as to think that he was invincible. The college is the cradle for cultivating scientists, and the people who control the rules here are even more powerful than the central government. For example, Zhulan’s director of the Plant Bureau is a second-level biologist and can only be considered a student with slightly better grades in the academy. When they were in the sun, Levi heard Feng Zi say that she was at the third level before her body had problems in a failed experiment! To reach this level at the age of around 20, he can certainly be called a genius among geniuses. In the academy, although geniuses like Fengzi are rare, they do exist. As for the outstanding students in the second stage, they are numerous. In other resource-based dungeons, first-level scientists who are already upper-class people can be seen everywhere. Just like the student from the Student Union Management Department who went to the station to pick them up, when he was pouring water just now, he let the water in the kettle flow into the cup by itself, which is obviously not something that ordinary people can do. So Levi knew that he had to restrain himself first. He had to do some small things to raise his level. When the points were added up and reached at least the invincible level of the second level, he could then really think of ways to do something big.
The tram was running very fast, and about 20 minutes later, they arrived at their destination, the Student Union Administration Office located in the east area of the college. There are special people here who are responsible for verifying their identities, registering and issuing temporary student cards. Then they will undergo a 7-day general education. Only after passing the final assessment can they truly become the lowest-level special recruits of this college. After receiving his student card, Levi raised his head and looked towards an office building not far from the administration department. There, there happened to be an old man with a tall stature and a proud temperament, who was smoking and looking at the entire college. After Zhao Mingda walked out of the principal's office with his stamped employment certificate, he stopped in the clean corridor. He did not report to the library with his certificate immediately. Instead, he found a smoking area, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, puffed on it, and then looked up at the towering clock tower in the center of the college. He was transferred from the Institute of Scientific Management to the central library administrator of the college. Many of his colleagues in the central department thought he was crazy. But only he and Cheng Che understood what he wanted to do, why he would rather lower his rank and salary to come here. Zhao Mingda looked at the young, beautiful and energetic students in the college, and recalled his student days with some emotion. He saw a group of students from a dance troupe who had just finished a performance in the theater and were walking out with laughter. I also saw a group of specially recruited students who had just been brought into the academy and were receiving their student cards, looking very cautious and timid. Finally, his gaze fixed on the bank of the Zhiming River that ran through the entire college, where a young man in a gray special admissions uniform was standing there with his head lowered, blankly. He seemed like some famous person, and a lot of people gathered around him. They were all regular students who had no classes in the afternoon. However, the behavior and actions of those students were obviously very offensive, which made Zhao Mingda, who was still feeling sentimental, frown deeply. He put out the cigarette in his hand, walked down the office building with the newly completed documents, and came to the river. "Don't you have any sense of shame? If I were you, I would just jump into the river and drown myself!" "You really ruin the reputation of the academy. You are willing to do anything to gain some benefits for yourselves." "All your classmates have been sold out, why are you still here? Damn you! You just want to trick them into joining you in raising their profile, and then let them die, right?" "This guy is a complete rotten person. Not to mention cheating, the 38 people in that group probably wanted to make a big fuss about that incident so they could get compensation from the college!" "No. They are not." No matter how others cursed him, the young man did not say anything back, like a wooden man. After hearing these words, he moved his mouth and finally opened his mouth to defend himself. However, he had just opened his mouth, and his voice was so soft that many people could not hear it, but he was immediately subjected to even more intense verbal abuse and attacks! "Go to hell! How dare you say no!" "Are there any warriors? Quick! Are there any warriors playing today? I have an acquaintance in the Discipline Department. If you dare to beat him up, I will use my connections to get you out!" "Find a special recruit to do it! It won't cost much!" Someone was taking photos with a communicator, planning to post them on the academy forum to gather more people. However, an old but powerful voice interrupted everyone here. "What are you all doing here? Making so much noise!" The students surrounding him turned to look at the source of the voice. Zhao Mingda had developed such authority during his long time in the detention center that he intimidated a large number of people. In addition, his attire clearly indicated that he was a senior faculty member, which made the students feel a little indignant, but they slowly began to disperse. When most people had left and only the silent young man with his head down was left by the river, Zhao Mingda put on a cold face and stood with his hands behind his back. He did not look at the specially recruited student, but turned and walked towards the central library. He came over and scolded everyone because he felt that the atmosphere in the academy should not be like this. This is a rational temple for acquiring knowledge and pursuing truth, not a filthy place for attacks and insults. After being rescued, even though he was not even looked at, the special recruit named Zhu Long, who had just been released from the confinement management department, still bowed from a distance to the straight figure as a token of gratitude.
When there was finally no one around watching, he slowly squatted down by the Zhiming River, took out a bottle of wine from his arms, unscrewed the cap, and poured the wine into the river. "You said before that you wanted to try it but you couldn't come up with the money because you had to support your family. I bought it today. Drink it. This is the only thing I can do to make up for it. It's all my fault." He muttered to himself, watched the wine in the bottle being completely emptied, and then stood up again. After putting away the empty bottle, Zhu Long began to return to the dormitory area for special admissions students along the shade of the trees by the river. He didn't take the tram because he knew he would be kicked out if he got in. He walked a full 20 miles, avoiding all crowded roads and hiding in the shadows of the walls like a cockroach or a rat. He walked for more than two hours, and it was already dark when he finally returned to the dormitory. His four-person dormitory, which was originally half empty, had two new special admissions students move in today. Zhu Long was as dull as a log. Another roommate who had lived with him for more than a year greeted him, but he just nodded silently in response. Levi, who was assigned to this dormitory, recognized this plain-looking, taciturn young man as soon as he entered the door. He was the one who was reported in the newspaper as the leader who gathered 37 special recruits in the college to hold a protest against a decision made by the Student Union to express their dissatisfaction and slander, and was eventually caught by the Disciplinary Department. The news in the newspaper that Levi saw on the train was a little delayed. The incident in the college had been tried five days ago, and the other 37 people were expelled and sold to other dungeons as laborers to compensate for their student loans. Only the young man named Zhu Long was left behind. He was punished with two weeks of confinement and a semester of unpaid labor, and then released. This undoubtedly led him to endless accusations and abuses. The college's news department reported many articles on this incident, most of which were groundless speculations, saying that he was trying to avoid being expelled, and as the organizer he shifted all the blame onto others. He also said that those who gathered to protest wanted to use the incident of special admissions students breaking into a restricted area and beating up regular students to coerce the student union and gain benefits for themselves. In short, the name Zhu Long has become notorious in the academy, and no matter whether he is a regular student or a special student, they all have a bad attitude towards him. After he left the dormitory with his toiletries, the senior who had enthusiastically introduced Levi and another new freshman to the college said with a somewhat lonely look. "They just wanted to seek justice together. They were too naive. After coming to the academy, they thought that this place was different from other cities and some things would be different, but in fact, everything was the same." He seemed to have just sighed, still very careful, and had no intention of saying more about the matter. Then he seriously reminded Levi and the others. "You must be careful not to think that special recruits are also students and part of the college. We are not part of the college. We are just the most numerous consumables in the college! When the college needs us, we are valuable and have the opportunity to have a dialogue. When we are not needed, don't try to talk to others about so-called fairness and reason!" "This doesn't exist in other cities, and it doesn't exist in the academy either!" The new student nodded as if he understood, but Levi's eyes had already fallen on Zhu Long's empty bed. About an hour later, just when the enthusiastic senior was about to call Li Wei and the other person to have dinner, Zhu Long finally came back. He looked like he had washed up, and his mental state was a little different from before. He was holding a bottle of juice and some side dishes in his hands. Such a change made the enthusiastic senior look a little surprised and delighted. He finally let out a long sigh of relief and patted Zhu Long on the back. "That's what I said. There's nothing to get over. We're all like this now. If people want to scold us, then let them scold us." Zhu Long heard his words, nodded and smiled. His smile was not happy, but it was at least a smile. He invited Levi and the other two newcomers to dinner. During the dinner, he still spoke very little, but when the enthusiastic senior student next to him was introducing some things about the college to them, he would add a few words from time to time, looking like he had really come out of the shadow of the past and the abuse of reality. But Levi kept looking at him while eating and felt that things didn't seem to be the case.
After dinner, as the night gradually deepened, the four people in the dormitory went to bed. Levi didn't sleep. He put his arms under his head and looked at the dark night quietly. Time passed slowly, and around midnight, when a dull bell rang from the clock tower in the center of the academy, a figure sat up on the bed where Zhu Long was. He put on his clothes very gently so as not to disturb anyone, and then slowly walked out of the dormitory. Just as he slowly closed the door from the outside, a suppressed and low cry was heard from the bed of the senior who had enthusiastically entertained Levi and the others during the day. Zhu Long walked on the empty college road avoiding all surveillance cameras. He was wearing thin clothes and the evening breeze made him shiver, but he still walked step by step towards the bridge over the Zhiming River. He came to the highest point of the bridge, climbed up the guardrail and grabbed the pillar on the side with one hand, quietly looking at the river water that was dimly visible under the light of the street lamps on both sides, and stood like this for a long time. "I hope there really is a paradise for humans in Twilight." After muttering these words, he loosened his hand and jumped out. However, just as his body began to fall, a strong arm suddenly grabbed his hand! Zhu Long looked up in astonishment and saw the new special student who had just arrived at the college today and was assigned to the same dormitory with him, looking at him with a smile. "There is no paradise in Twilight, but there are monsters with dozens of eyes. Do you still dare to die?" (End of this chapter)
