Chapter 13: 13

Xiao Lin finally felt less worried learning that Gu Xiaoyue did not disclose the details of the battle to the instructor. Qin Chuan was well aware of how high Gu Xiaoyue’s intelligence was and filled in the blanks on his own. He figured Xiao Lin relied on the girl’s formidable lethality to achieve his Grade S.

Qin Chuan was very upset. Before the freshman assembly, he took the initiative to look for Gu Xiaoyue and, in a show of good faith, offered her the class monitor position. Despite explaining the benefits of being the class monitor in great detail, Gu Xiaoyue still showed a lack of interest. The monitor’s appointment needed to be confirmed to the appointee through the Smart Computer, so if the girl refused, the appointment would not take effect.

Qin Chuan was all but certain of the reasons why the dean and the student union’s president attended the meeting all of a sudden. They must have come for that promising girl. As an instructor, he did not have much authority, though his appointing of a monitor was his most valuable right. He was also very confident of his means to win Gu Xiaoyue over.

“If that’s all, I’ll head back to the dormitory.” Xiao Lin thought Qin Chuan was a little strange. His face seemed annoyed for a while and he hesitated without knowing what he was thinking.

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Qin Chuan finally sighed. He had no other choice after Gu Xiaoyue rejected her appointment. He tried his best to speak as solemnly as possible, “Before classes officially start, each class requires a monitor. Within these three months, you’ll be the monitor for the time being.”

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Gu Xiaoyue had earlier mentioned that to him, but Xiao Lin still had difficulty understanding it. From the moment he first came into the academy, he could clearly see that Qin Chuan had a rather unkind attitude toward him. It was certainly due to the absolutely horrendous quality of his basic attributes. He thus asked, “Why me? Can I refuse?”

Frankly speaking, Xiao Lin had no intention of being the monitor. He never had anything to do with such things, even when he was in real schools. Furthermore, he felt that undertaking the responsibility would be strenuous and unrewarding, one that was not of any benefit to him and would only tire him out. He might even find himself offending people. In short, there were no advantages.

Qin Chuan inexplicably got irritated. In the same way, he did not want to appoint the boy before him as class monitor, but if the two freshmen who received Grade S refused, then he—the instructor of Freshmen Class Seven—might become the laughingstock of the entire academy. There was no choice for him other than to patiently explain, “According to school regulations, those who scored well in the admission test would be given priority to become class monitors.”

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Xiao Lin understood that he and Gu Xiaoyue were probably the only ones in Freshmen Class Seven who received Grade S. Although the instructors had the right to appoint, individuals could only be considered under the premise that they achieved the same score. Since Gu Xiaoyue refused, Xiao Lin was their last choice.

“You’ll only be the acting monitor for three months. After that, the position will be re-elected based on the comprehensive examination.” Qin Chuan originally had other, more attractive reasons. For example, Dawn Academy was unlike any ordinary university, since the class monitors had very enticing privileges. However, he felt no need to say more, because he hoped that Xiao Lin—who had only gotten lucky—would last a maximum of three months as acting class monitor.

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Xiao Lin misunderstood the situation as well. He felt that he was unable to reject the position, but since it was only for a three-month term, he believed that the position would go to Gu Xiaoyue after three months. In the end, he finally nodded and agreed.

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[You were nominated by your instructor to be acting monitor for a term of three-months. Do you agree?]

At about the same time, a question from the Smart Computer appeared in Xiao Lin’s mind. He chose to agree.

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Qin Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. He then left in a hurry without even explaining the duties of the acting monitor, perhaps because he was worried that Xiao Lin would come to regret the decision.

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With Qin Chuan causing a brief delay, Xiao Lin no longer saw any other students upon entering the dormitory. The first floor was a very spacious hall with sofas and chairs. Inside the hall were several students clad in blue uniforms coming and going.

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A girl with short hair saw Xiao Lin and asked, “Are you a freshman?”

“Yes.”

“Why were you so late,” the girl murmured, then turned around and said, “Come with me and register yourself. The dormitory building will be locked at 7 in the evening. Entering and exiting is forbidden after that time. Don’t be late again.”

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The girl picked up a computer on the coffee table and motioned for Xiao Lin to place his palm on the touch screen of the keyboard. She explained, “The computer will automatically scan your fingerprints and generate your universal card.”

“Universal card?”

“This universal card is integral to your daily life here and academic studies here. You’ll need to use it frequently, be it for food, clothing, or equipment and medication. At the same time, the universal card is also your student ID. Gentle reminder: a freshman’s first-time application for their universal card is free-of-charge, but if you lose it, you’ll have to pay for a replacement,” the girl explained methodically.

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After ten or so seconds, a light blue card was automatically generated from the side of the computer. The girl flipped the card and read through it, after which her eyes lit up all of a sudden. “What? You’re the monitor!”

“Ahem, acting monitor.” Xiao Lin took the card. It was as thin as a piece of paper and possessed an unusually soft texture. If desired, it could be rolled up, and it felt peculiarly warm to the touch. He could not resist muttering, “Isn’t this card a little thin? What if I rip it?”

The girl looked at Xiao Lin from head to toe and no longer had her mechanical expression from earlier. Instead, she smiled brilliantly, her tone suddenly enthusiastic, “You’re wrong, fellow brother. This card is made from a special material from the New World. The texture is much harder than metals on Earth, and an attack lower than Grade A will cause no damage to the card.”

Xiao Lin was rather speechless and surprised, not because of the universal card’s material, but because the girl changed her expression far too quickly. She was rigid and impatient earlier, but then morphed dramatically into enthusiasm and cheer.

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The sight of a startled Xiao Lin prompted the girl to assume that he did not believe her. She tugged Xiao Lin’s clothes spontaneously and made a fuss about going outside the dormitory to show him how hard the universal card was.

“Tingting, what’s going on?” A boy in the same blue student uniform came over. His suspicious eyes looked back and forth between the girl he called Tingting and Xiao Lin.

“He’s the freshman class monitor,” the girl said excitedly.

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The boy raised his eyebrows in surprise and he instantly became kinder. He took the initiative to extend his hand and say, “Hello, my name is Gu Fantian; I’m in my sophomore year. This is my girlfriend, Zhang Tingting.”

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Xiao Lin immediately shook hands with him and had to correct the way he addressed Zhang Tingting. “Hello, Senior Brother, Senior Sister. I’m only acting monitor. The instructor said that it’ll only be a three-month term.”

Gu Fantian chuckled. “We know this rule, of course. The acting monitor is selected based on the admission test scores. After three months, the position will be re-elected according to the comprehensive examination. Even so, the candidate for class monitor usually won’t change unless you aced your admission tests with sheer luck.”

Zhang Tingting rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and smiled. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. I heard that there are more than a dozen talented freshmen this year. Based on this alone, your status as acting monitor will sooner or later become official. The monitors in our sophomore year are all talented students! By the way, I’ll take you to choose your room. Would you like a sunny one or one that’s less sunny?”

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Their extraordinary kindness left Xiao Lin feeling a little hesitant, so he humbled his tone by another notch and said, “Senior Sister, you’re too polite. Any room is fine.”

Gu Fantian waved his hand and smiled, “You don’t need to be so polite to your seniors. Dawn Academy doesn’t concern themselves with these things. Just call us by our name. Today’s the new intake, but the student union doesn’t have enough people on deck, so we came to help at the last minute. On other days, we’re just ordinary students. You’re the monitor, and you stand a chance to enter the New World in the future. Who knows, maybe we’re the ones who’ll need you to protect us when the time comes.”

Xiao Lin understood that their cordial attitude was because of his status as a monitor, or more accurately, as an acting monitor. On the other hand, he was feeling a bit confused. Was a job as strenuous and unrewarding as a monitor really so attractive?

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Xiao Lin did not reveal his confusion and calmly enjoyed the warm service brought on by his status. Gu Fantian sat with him on the lobby sofa and chatted away, even pouring him a cup of tea while enthusiastically explaining to him that the tea was a species found in the New World. Meanwhile, Zhang Tingting volunteered to prepare the necessities which were to be distributed to the new students for Xiao Lin, when in fact, Xiao Lin was supposed to collect all those things by himself…

“Frankly speaking, I envy freshmen like you. I’m surprised that the dean actually broke the school rules and allowed freshmen to enter the New World.” Gu Fantian’s topic of conversation was focused mainly on the New World, and the yearning in his voice was very obvious.

“The New World you’re talking about is what the old man— I mean, the dean, calls Planet Norma, right?”

Gu Fantian smiled slightly. “Yes, but we usually call it the New World.”

“Have you been to Norma, I mean, the New World?”

“I was there during my sophomore internship.”

“What’s it like there?”

“All I can say is that the New World is a dreamlike paradise compared to the cage of boredom we call Earth!”

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Xiao Lin’s heart shuddered and asked suddenly, “Dawn Academy isn’t on Earth, is it? Is the time here out of sync with Earth?”

Gu Fantian looked at him with surprise and admiration. “As expected, you’re a freshman worthy of being monitor; very observant. This is supposed to be revealed when you formally start class tomorrow. You’re absolutely right, Dawn Academy isn’t on Earth, but neither is it in the New World. It’s in an independent space created by pioneers using mystical space artifacts. In order to allow students to adapt to life in the New World as soon as possible, the time flow of Dawn Academy has been adjusted to remain consistent with that of Norma.”

“What is the ratio between time here and Earth?”

Gu Fantian was briefly silent, as if hesitant to answer, but finally whispered, “One to two. A day in the New World is equivalent to two days on Earth.”

Xiao Lin was startled and fell silent at once.

Gu Fantian patted his shoulder emphatically. “I understand how you feel. I experienced all this too. I can only say that the longer you stay here, the less you’ll want to return to the real world. It’s especially the case if you’ve been to the New World. You won’t ever want to be on Earth ever again.”

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