At 6:30, Chen Chuan changed into a trench coat, picked up the Snow Monarch Blade, and left his dorm. He then boarded a tram at the rail station.
There weren’t many people on the tram at this hour. Company employees usually worked until eleven or twelve, so it was still far too early for the evening rush hour.
He looked out through his Realm Token. A clamor of noise, kaleidoscopic lights, and dazzling advertisents assaulted his senses. Even though he’d been in Central City for quite a few days, he could still only see the surface of things. He was far from touching the secrets hidden in its depths; he needed more ti.
He had recently been chatting with Wubei and had learned that displaying these lights and shadows required an investnt of resources through Boundary Points. The amount invested determined the final effect, and these resources were highly contested.
It was like his first day at Wuyi Academy during the break. As the only person there, and a new student at that, he had been able to enjoy many of the resources all to himself.
However, Wuyi Academy possessed an active Consciousness Body, so there should be enough of these resources for all students to use freely. Furthermore, based on what he’d seen with Hong Fu, he felt the line between reality and illusion was incredibly blurry—perhaps it was a more advanced application of the technology. Even Wubei couldn’t explain it.
At seven o’clock, Chen Chuan got off at the tram stop. The location Teacher Wu had given him was so remote that there was no direct transit, so he still had a half-hour walk ahead of him.
Along the way, he saw almost no residential buildings, not even gang mbers. The roads were shattered and uneven, with sewage pooling in the ditches. Weeds and gravel were everywhere. The only signs of life were the occasional bonfires by the road, around which huddled groups of holess people, with stray dogs sotis seen wandering nearby.
At 7:30, Chen Chuan spotted the small hill he’d seen on the map, along with the two-story wooden house on its summit. Light glowed from within, but no one else was around.
Chen Chuan followed a path nearly swallowed by weeds toward the house. The surrounding area was littered with the remains of what looked like demolished and blasted buildings. As he drew closer, his Second Self began to show clear signs of turning incorporeal.
He glanced down but didn’t break his stride. He continued on, and only after reaching the top of the hill did he get close to the wooden house. Just then, the door opened from within.
Teacher Wu stood inside, smiling. "Chen, please co in. I’ve been waiting for you for a long ti." When the door opened, the light from the cottage behind him was bright, seemingly the only spot of warmth in the desolate, cold night. His smile was just as sincere and warm.
Chen Chuan said, "Sorry to have kept you waiting, Teacher."
"Not at all. You’re right on ti."
Teacher Wu sighed. "Perhaps my skills are lacking. I’m not qualified to teach a student like you." He stepped aside. "Co in."
Chen Chuan nodded and stepped inside. The room’s furnishings were impeccably neat. A long table stood in the center, set with a pot of tea. Five chairs were arranged along its sides.
Teacher Wu closed the door. "Have a seat," he said, walking over to the table. He picked up the teapot and poured Chen a cup of steaming tea. "I apologize for asking you to co so late," he said. "But the sester starts in a few days, and I’d rather not face a crowd. It saves from having too many regrets."
Chen Chuan didn’t sit down. Instead, he walked over to the window and looked out. The house was on slightly higher ground, offering a view of Central City’s vibrant and dazzling nightscape.
Teacher Wu said, "This area used to be beautiful. Years ago, I lived at the foot of this hill, in one of those houses that were torn down. I wonder if you saw the ruins on your way here."
"Then a corporation ca, claiming they were going to develop the area, and they drove everyone out. I rember it was a freezing cold morning, before dawn, when my family and I were forced out by a group of ard security guards. They announced that ownership of the land and all assets upon it had been transferred, and they gave us one hour to leave."
"I was very young at the ti. I asked my father, ’What will happen here?’"
"My father said that, just like everywhere else in the city, they would build many tall, beautiful buildings here. I asked him if we could live in them soday. My father just hugged tightly..."
At this, Teacher Wu sighed. "He left when I was ten. It was only then that I realized he had been the tallest building of them all."
Chen Chuan glanced down at the foot of the hill, which was shrouded in darkness. "But why is there nothing here now?" he asked.
"Because the whole thing just fizzled out. The corporation abandoned the project for so unknown reason. The land has been neglected for years, and we were never able to co back. Ridiculous, isn’t it?"
With a sneer, Teacher Wu gestured to the side. "Look. This was their promotional advertisent."
Chen Chuan turned to look. On the wall was a long, promotional poster. Beneath a blue sky and white clouds stood a ticulously arranged row of towering, magnificent buildings. A rainbow arched across the top, positioned perfectly along the golden ratio.
The image was beautiful, sothing to aspire to, but considering the reality just outside, it felt deeply ironic. In the bottom-right corner of the poster was a familiar logo.
It was a blooming Molan.
He stared for a mont. ’So the corporation that wanted this land back then... was Molan Company?’
"Chen," Teacher Wu said with a smile, "I see your profile picture is still blank. You may be a pragmatist, but don’t underestimate its importance..."
He gestured with his finger. "A good profile picture leaves a good impression. It’s an indirect expression of your tastes and personality. You should pick one. It’ll help you make a better impression when you deal with people in the future."
Chen Chuan glanced at him. ’If I didn’t know this teacher had been deceiving from the start, I might actually believe he was a genuinely good ntor and friend.’
’Then again, this might not all be a facade. People are complex, after all. Maybe sothing happened in his past that led him to make a different choice.’
He said, "Thank you for the reminder, Teacher. I will."
Teacher Wu smiled. "Chen, why aren’t you drinking your tea?"
Chen Chuan said, "It’s still a little hot. I’ll let it cool."
"You must not be much of a tea drinker, Chen. If you were, you’d know that tea is ant to be drunk hot."
Chen Chuan replied, "Just a personal preference."
Teacher Wu gave another smile, this one a bit wistful. "The mont you arrived, I couldn’t stop talking. It must be a bad habit from my teaching days—I always loved to lecture and chat with my students. A habit I can’t seem to break, it seems."
Chen Chuan said, "I’ve seen the file you gave , Teacher Wu. You’ve had many students, and their evaluations of you were all very high. It seems you’ve always been a very dedicated teacher. Your students were very fond of you."
"That’s all in the past."
Teacher Wu shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. "What’s the point of teaching all those students so well? Their futures are all the sa. They might die in a gang fight, leaving behind a younger brother or sister to support, and then that sibling just follows the sa old path."
"Or maybe they’ll break their spine in the ring, and then they’ll have to sell off their organs piece by piece just to keep the rest of their body alive, until one day they sell the last one."
"Or, on the brighter side, they beco security guards for so corporation, or rcenaries. They retire old and broken, covered in injuries, only to be told they’re in debt to the company because the implants they used were never their own. Well, at least then they’d still have so residual value left."
He said with a sigh, "It’s hard for any of them to have a real future."
Chen Chuan asked, "So, Teacher Wu, is your Empty Practice technique ant to change all that?"
Teacher Wu had been lost in his lancholic reflections, but at the ntion of this, his entire deanor snapped back. It was as if the emotion had never been there.
He slowly turned to face Chen Chuan. "Yes," he said. "Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to perfect it yet. I need talented students to test it. Many talented students."
"Haven’t the many students you’ve taught been enough, Teacher Wu?"
Teacher Wu said regretfully, "I’ve tried. Most people are ordinary. Talented individuals are rare. I’ve only ever found three, but they all got stuck at the final step. To this day, no one has been able to get past it and complete the technique."
After a mont, Chen Chuan said, "I read the materials you sent , Teacher Wu. The techniques are designed to stimulate the brain and nerves. An ordinary person would probably find that very difficult to do."
"But for soone who isn’t naturally talented—especially a student with an unstable foundation—if they lose control, the technique would likely overwhelm their normal bodily functions. As a teacher, you must be aware of that, right, Teacher Wu?"
"Yes," Teacher Wu said with a nod. "I’m aware."
Chen Chuan looked at him. "Those students... what happened to them?"
A strange light flickered in Teacher Wu’s eyes. He looked past Chen Chuan, toward the back of the room. "Them?" he said wistfully. "Oh, they’re right here. In the cabinet behind you. They’re always here with . They were all my good students, and I would never abandon them. They will follow until they witness my success."
He looked at Chen Chuan. "I can feel it. The final step is not far off. I had originally intended to ask you, Chen. For a commoner student to make it to Central City... your talent is undoubtedly exceptional. Your foundation seems very solid as well. If you just agree, you can be the one to complete it all."
A small smile touched his lips. "But tell , why weren’t you willing?"
Chen Chuan said, "I’m curious. If I don’t agree, how exactly will you make complete this step, Teacher Wu?"
Teacher Wu chuckled. "Chen, you may be unwilling, but your brain isn’t going anywhere. I only need your brain. Using certain equipnt and drugs to maintain its activity, and applying specific stimuli, we can establish a simulation and observe it to find the correct path."
"Equipnt?" Chen Chuan looked him straight in the eye. "So your project has backing, Teacher Wu... from a corporation? Or soone at the academy?"
Teacher Wu’s gaze turned cold. "That doesn’t concern you, Chen. You just need to make your contribution."
Chen Chuan said earnestly, "I feel I was right to refuse you. How can anyone perfect a technique by associating with vermin like you?"
The muscles on Teacher Wu’s face twitched and trembled, his expression twisting into a savage grimace. A series of CRACKS echoed from his bones. The floorboards beneath his feet began to vibrate, and the chandelier overhead swayed, its light flickering erratically.
Chen Chuan ignored the palpable sense of danger rolling off the man. He slowly raised the Snow Monarch Blade, his eyes fixed on him. "Now, I’m going to have to trouble you to give so pointers on my Fighting Skills, Teacher Wu."
As he spoke, he flicked his thumb. The scabbard shot to the side, embedding itself in the wall with a solid THUD. In its place, a flash of cold, snow-bright light filled the room.
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