Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
After Lin Qi rejected the offer of You Sirui and her gang, she coldly said, “Good luck” and left.
The other descendants and factions of the mage families also didn’t step forward knowing they would be snubbed.
In fact, if they had assigned one as a leader and the rest split the work and coordinated their efforts, as long as everyone was smart and cooperative, they could solve the pattern password question within three minutes.
“Cooperation” was also one of the lessons the academy wanted to teach them.
However, this statement suited the intentions of the girl and her gang, so Lin Qi abandoned it and instead said, “Accept the difference between ordinary people and geniuses.”
His intention was to tell them to stop bothering him.
If the person who took the lead in recruiting him today was not You Sirui, Lin Qi might have considered it.
However, as the “de facto leader” of the group, You Sirui was still number two in the ferry-boarding sequence!
It showed that these mage family descendants appeared to be in an cooperative effort, but their hierarchy was so strict that despite the urgency of the situation, they still made it very clear the order of submission so as to determine who would board the ship first.
Lin Qi did not have the hobby of wearing a collar.
After boarding the ship, the mage apprentices on the ferry were no longer as rowdy and excitable as they had been in the hall. It was as if they sensed that from this moment onwards, their every move was being observed by the academy.
Lin Qi closed his eyes to rest like some old abbot, while the curious ones observed the waves on the shore.
Meanwhile, Wang Ruoling was muttering to herself, carefully calculating the distance from coast to coast, as if she really wanted to memorize this ferry route.
Suddenly, a loudspeaker sounded from the cabin—
“Warning! Warning! The ship has entered the restricted zone of the Star World Island. Please turn around immediately if you are not an official ferry. Otherwise, you will be sunk if you continue to approach.”
“Warning! Warning…”
Everyone was initially startled by those harsh warning words. They only heaved a sigh of relief after hearing the entire warning.
With his eyes closed, Lin Qi was in his memory palace trying to figure out the two foundational basics of “Simulation Electricity” and “Digital Electricity”, to review the BCD code again to build the foundation for the road to “artificial computers”. He now opened his eyes and pondered.
“Something’s wrong.” Wang Ruoling lowered her voice.
“Test question?” Lin Qi agreed.
Logically speaking, the warning should have been broadcasted in the captain’s cabin by the Coast Communication Channel or the Emergency Rescue Channel. Only the crew should have heard it.
Why was it connected directly to the loudspeaker in the passenger cabin?
The surrounding ferry staff didn’t appear surprised.
Instantly, all the students on the ship were feeling uneasy. They couldn’t help but discuss with their companions, wondering if this was the question to determine their “order of disembarkation”.
Many mage apprentices who were good at deduction and calculation, who had stumbled earlier solely due to carelessness immediately rubbed their hands in anticipation.
However, the loudspeaker sounded again.
“Apprentices, please take your seats. Half an hour later, we will stop at Star World Island. Do not do anything that will cause any misunderstandings and attract the automatic attack of the island.”
“As for the order of disembarkation, it’s the same as boarding.”
All the apprentices who had been eager for a second chance, could only look helplessly at the cabin Lin Qi was in.
Perhaps this was what the academy wanted to tell them.
If your first step was slow, you would never catch up.
The last half an hour of the ferry ride was not peaceful either. A few fighter planes were patrolling the sky along the way, as well as battleships that came close to the ferry for several minutes.
“It’s as if we’re not going to the academy but a restricted military zone.” Wang Ruoling’s heart was heavy.
To undergo such inspection before they had even arrived at the Star World Island, it seemed that it would be definitely very challenging to leave the academy, as the rumors said.
As Star World Island’s reef appeared on the horizon, the people who were originally seated raised their heads and looked into the distance.
“I will dedicate my life to this temple of magic knowledge!”
“I swear that I will protect this holy land for the rest of my life!”
“If I can’t become a mage, I’ll refuse to leave and die on the island!”
Several apprentices immediately raised their hands and swore passionately toward the hazy Star World Island.
In the next second, many other apprentices, who were likewise hot-blooded and energetic 18 year old youths, all stood up and swore to the island together. The descendants of the mage families did the same.
Lin Qi raised his eyebrows and looked at Wang Ruoling, who was beside him. She also noticed this. “It seems a little strange.”
Finally, over a thousand mage apprentices alighted from the ship after it was docked.
However, upon closer inspection, many people were deeply astonished.
The entire “Star World Island” took up quite a large area. It stretched as far as the eye could see, and had a very deep harbor. Many battleships were already docked there.
However, on the island, there were only a few dozen buildings belonging to the “garrison base” erected there. Further into the island, there was only a primeval forest.
There were no mysterious castles, arcane turrets filled with spell runes, or mysterious magical beasts flying in the sky.
“Where’s the academy?”
Countless people were thinking about this mystery.
They also saw other ferries carrying “mage apprentices” coming ashore one after another, stopping to let them disembark.
“Follow me.”
Dozens of staff members on the ship guided them to disembark in an orderly manner. They lined up like in a long snake-like queue, before heading for the base.
The security guards were all stern-faced and on high alert.
In the end, Lin Qi and the others were placed in front of a door marked with a sign “Star World Island”.
At first glance, it looked like an empty stadium. It was enough to hold a small concert or lecture.
However, everyone who entered immediately halted, only hurrying forward when the people behind nudged them forward.
At the center of the field was a standard pit with a radius of 20 meters. It was like a deep tunnel that led to some unknown underground location.
Lin Qi followed the guide all the way to the front. The inside of the deep, dark pit was becoming clearer. But when he was three to four meters away, he could still only see the sides of the pit, but not the bottom!
At the same time, Lin Qi also saw the other nine lines of apprentices outside the cordon. Obviously, those apprentices in front were also the winners of the “pattern passcode question”.
At this moment, the ones standing right at the front of each of the 10 teams were all sizing each other up.
“Sirui, why aren’t you in the lead over there? Don’t tell me you’ve taken a fancy to someone?” A girl, who was standing in the fourth or fifth position in another team, chuckled. Her voice was just loud enough for them to hear.
You Sirui glanced coldly at the blonde girl before turning to Lin Qi and said in a low voice, “You should be able to understand the value of cooperating with us now, right? Facing this pitch-black hole, I can tell you what will happen and the tricks to overcoming it if you cooperate with us.”
However, Lin Qi shook his head. “No need. I’m a person who likes challenges.”
You Sirui had waited until this moment to speak to Lin Qi as she wanted to make use of the visual impact of the deep black pit. But she was still rebuffed. Not expecting this, her face became somewhat flushed.
The loudspeaker on the wall sounded.
“All mage apprentices, please follow the order and jump into the pit one by one for the school enrollment pledge.”
“Students 1-20 from each team will enter first. For each person who passes, an additional three people will be allowed to enter, and so on.”
In an instant, the mage apprentices who had been waiting were in an uproar. Earlier, it was just a matter of having to wait a little longer before boarding. Now, they would only be able to enter if the first 20 students managed to break through.
If those 20 students were a little stupid and did not pass, wouldn’t the remaining people have waited here all day for nothing?
What if those people deliberately waited for the sake of studying it?
However, in the next moment, the LCD screen in the spacious hall lit up. Instantly, a total of 200 names were listed on the screen. All of their names were pure black.
Lin Qi could only shake his head at the sight.
This academy was really cruel. In this way, everyone would know which of the mage apprentices were “stupid” and be a burden.
“Please remember, the moment you enter the cave, it means that your magic path has officially opened. Students 1-20, jump in now.”
Looking at the people around him moving forward one by one, Lin Qi took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the pit without hesitation. Looking down, he saw that it was pitch-black and bottomless.
He did not care if the Central Magic Academy was so creative as to be built underground. He gritted his teeth and jumped down!