"So… if we're truly going to do something, why bring along students?"
"It's social practice."
Andrea said, "There's still quite a bit of maintenance work to be done locally. When the time comes, they can give us a hand, help out a bit around the outskirts; it counts as gaining experience. The teaching and research office has rated this venture as an extracurricular practice level—so long as we pay attention to safety and follow the teachers' instructions, no accidents should occur."
"Practice?"
Huai Shi couldn't help but laugh.
The internships at Ivory Tower seemed to be a little too hardcore.
Andrea shrugged indifferently. "In Ivory Tower, this is called an internship. A little further down, it's called the field trip level; you only need a few teaching assistants for that, and full-time teachers don't even need to get involved. Don't worry, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Ivory Tower hasn't declined to the point where it needs a rookie teacher to save the day. At most, this is just an inspection to allow you to accumulate more experience."
Perhaps.
Huai Shi sighed.
Anyway, he had no expectations for Luo Su's integrity.
As someone with a wealth of experience in vehicle explosions, even if someone told him that an Element of Destruction had sneaked into the train, he wouldn't react—let alone if someone were to attack them.
His only hope for the train was that it could bring him all the way to the destination intact—even not wholly intact would do.
Just before departing the compartment, Huai Shi couldn't curb his curiosity and finally asked, "Speaking of which… what was the level for Group Star last time at the teaching and research office?"
"The part I was involved in?"
"Yes," Huai Shi nodded.
"Doctoral dissertation defense. A small affair."
Andrea calmly put on her eye mask, not mentioning whether she was the one defending her dissertation or one of the reviewers. Lying on the bed, she fell into a deep sleep.
She confidently entrusted the safety of the entire train carriage to Huai Shi.
This, in turn, gave Huai Shi a headache.
In the time that followed, Huai Shi first went to greet Raymond at the front of the train, then made his way back, patrolling the carriage.
Most of the students were also leaning against their seats, fast asleep. Those who were awake were silently reading or playing cards without making a sound.
Lin Nineteen, however, didn't mingle with his new friends. Instead, he lay next to Yuan Yuan in a corner, sleeping soundly in his sleeping bag, snot bubbles even forming at his nose.
As someone with both paranoid delusions and persecution delusions, he knew the safest place on the train.
Hearing someone approach, Yuan Yuan, who had been resting with her eyes closed, looked up. Huai Shi waved, signaling them to continue resting. After confirming they kept the Dream Cage nearby, he left.
The latter half of the night was very quiet.
Nothing happened.
When passing Fire City, he got off the train to get some fresh air on the platform.
The slightly hot air bore an enduring sulfur smell, very much fitting the traditional narrative of Hell. In the Borderlands of the Middle-East Region, periodic eruptions from the Abyss deposited flames that covered the land. Cities were constructed on molten lava and mountain peaks using steel frameworks, creating an ongoing stuffy heat.
As one of the largest Borders closest to Hell, the place indeed had a rather eerie atmosphere.
Inside the station, the platform was empty.
Only a well-dressed, middle-aged man approached to strike up a conversation. "Excuse me, friend, could I borrow a light?"
Huai Shi pulled a lighter from his pocket and handed it over.
The middle-aged man seemed very grateful. After using it, he promptly returned it.
After a casual chat, Huai Shi saw Raymond finish negotiating with the station authorities. He then politely took his leave and returned to the train.
The middle-aged man with slightly graying hair stood in place, silently smoking.
However, on the face turned away from Huai Shi, an eyebrow raised slightly.
Sensing the beacon he'd left on the lighter disappear, he chuckled softly to himself, surprised that the people from Ivory Tower were so cautious.
Or were they wary of him from the start?
He did seem approachable enough…
Once he descended the platform stairs, a young man approached. "Mr. Quin, I double-checked while unloading. It's definitely an Ivory Tower train; no mistake."
Quin nodded. After thinking for a moment, he instructed, "Pass a message to the Doctor and the Colonel for me. I want to go and test the waters directly."
The young man hesitated, looking puzzled.
"What's the matter?" Quin inquired.
"Well, about that… The Doctor also asked me to relay a message to you."
The young man paused for a moment before saying seriously, "No harm in trying."
Quin was momentarily stunned but then burst into laughter.
Since leaving Fire City, Huai Shi had felt a sense of unease.
After returning to the carriage, he sat in the central compartment, meditating. He tapped the spine of the Sword of Virtue sporadically with his hand, feeling something unsettling.
He began to reminisce.
When he recalled the middle-aged man he'd encountered on the platform, he couldn't help but frown.