Chapter 298: First Foray into the Finance and Economics University (Extra for Alliance Hierarch, 6 updates)
(Thanks to book friend 1710**4184 for the reward of 60,000 Qidian Coins, becoming the first Alliance Hierarch of this book)
Leaving the second-floor restaurant, Yang Xiao headed directly down the stairs to the first-floor lobby.
There were four Iron Tower Warriors and two charming ladies in the lobby. Yang Xiao purposely glanced at the two women, who offered him a slight smile in return.
"What exactly is going on here?"
Yang Xiao couldn't figure it out but decided to stop thinking about it for now and set out to find Gong Yu today.
Exiting the building, he headed straight to the monster storage point on the left of the building, greeted the old man watching over the monsters, and walked over to the Flame Horse and the Giant Eagle to remove the golden necklaces.
The Flame Horse and the Giant Eagle immediately neighed excitedly.
Yang Xiao handed the two golden necklaces to the old man and mounted the Flame Horse, heading out.
He unfolded the map in his hands, roughly discerned the direction, and galloped towards Magic City University.
With the Flame Horse, the speed was swift.
In a little over half an hour, the Flame Horse reached the vicinity of Magic City University.
Outside the campus, the city was in ruins.
Riding on the Flame Horse, Yang Xiao had galloped all the way here. Along the road, he only occasionally saw a few pedestrians. The vast city, with over 20 million people before the end times, now had only over 200,000 left. In comparison to the vast Magic City, they had become exceptionally minuscule, just like the ants we usually see on the ground.
Now, more than half of the population of Magic City had gone out to the East Sea to dig for Ice Fish, leaving even fewer people in the city.
Yang Xiao was just entering the gate of Magic City University on the Flame Horse when he was stopped by four youths.
"Who is it? What are you doing?"
The four youths held golden shields and longswords, blocking Yang Xiao's path.
The men gave a wary glance at the Giant Eagle circling above Yang Xiao's head and rebuked:
"Brother, this is the campus area of Ice River Academy, not a place you can enter at will. Is that eagle in the sky yours?"
Yang Xiao nodded.
"Quickly make it come down, do not enter the campus without permission, or don't blame us for being inhospitable."
Yang Xiao had already seen a group of bird-men patrol approaching from afar, so he gestured to the Giant Eagle in mid-air, which then flew back a few dozen meters and circled above the gate outside of the campus.
"Brother, don't get me wrong; I'm here to find someone."
Yang Xiao hadn't reached the point of arrogance to challenge the entire Magic City University alone. He had met Xie Dong, Liu Yiyi, and Gong Yu - all formidable characters - and though he could probably defeat a few people, he couldn't possibly defeat thousands.
"Looking for someone? Who are you looking for?"
"Gong Yu, I'm not sure where he is now? I'm his friend."
"Gong Yu?"
The four men paused.
Gong Yu's matter had already spread throughout the Ice River Academy.
Gong Yu was already a celebrity figure pre-apocalypse, a student with extremely high talent, and after the apocalypse, his Genetic Evolution speed was also very fast, just like his own summarized set of theories - his Innate genes were excellent, which is why his Evolution speed was fast.
Gong Yu, as one of the elite students from Ice River Academy who was sent to the desert for training, also received much attention. Many believed his future was limitless. Nobody expected him to get caught in a love triangle with Liu Yiyi and Xie Dong, becoming its sole victim.
Due to Yang Xiao carelessly igniting the tensions between Gong Yu, Liu Yiyi, and Xie Dong in the desert, their relationships were laid bare.
After Xie Dong and the others returned to Magic City, their desert dispute became the talk of the school.
Many gossiped that Xie Dong stole Gong Yu's girlfriend, or that Liu Yiyi remained emotionally entangled with Gong Yu, which infuriated Xie Dong.
Eventually, Xie Dong found an excuse to force Gong Yu into a duel.
Xie Dong's Genetic Evolution Level was higher than Gong Yu's. After a hard-fought battle lasting over an hour, Xie Dong narrowly won, severing Gong Yu's left hand with a strike.
Xie Dong originally intended to kill Gong Yu, but Liu Yiyi couldn't bear it, imploring Xie Dong to spare him and promising to cut all ties with Gong Yu.
Although Xie Dong reluctantly agreed not to kill Gong Yu, he used his status at Ice River Academy to persuade the school's upper echelon to label Gong Yu as a cripple and halt his access to the school's Evolution resources. He also had his underling, Wang Meng, spread the word that anyone who sympathized with Gong Yu and accepted him into a team to dig for Ice Fish in the East Sea would be considered Xie Dong's enemy.
Given Xie Dong's enhanced status after returning from the desert, even those who sympathized with Gong Yu didn't dare to openly confront him.
Thus, Gong Yu was isolated at school from then on and had to leave the academy to dig for Ice Fish alone in the Divine Sea, seeking resources for Genetic enhancement.
Later, Wang Meng tried to stop Gong Yu from harvesting Ice Fish in the East Sea, resulting in a fierce battle in which three of Wang Meng's teammates were killed, and eventually, Gong Yu was rescued by Zhou Jian and others from Dongli College.
Gong Yu's situation caused a sensation throughout the school. However, people could only discuss it privately. Although they felt sympathy for Gong Yu, out of respect for Xie Dong's face, nobody would show it openly.
The senior members of the Ice River Academy's student council had discussed Gong Yu's case. However, Gong Yu had lost an arm and became disabled, while Xie Dong was a promising seed who might break through to the High-Level Enhanced Gene. Between the two, the natural choice was to safeguard Xie Dong's face.
The fact that Gong Yu was rescued by Zhou Jiandong and others infuriated Xie Dong. These days, he was searching for an opportunity to suggest to a few senior members of the student council that they intervene and demand Dongli College return Gong Yu.
"Gong Yu killed three fellow students and was forcibly rescued by Zhou Jian from Dongli College. Isn't this a slap in the face for Ice River Academy? Such humiliation shouldn't be tolerated!"
Xie Dong sought out Ma Xiaotian, the vice president of the student council.
Ma Xiaotian and Xie Dong came from the same town and usually got along well.
Looking at Xie Dong, Ma Xiaotian sighed and said:
"Xie Dong, can't you let go of your grudge with Gong Yu? You asked me to recommend to the student council that Gong Yu's supply of Genetic Evolution resources be cut off, and I helped you. But you can't expect us to engage in an all-out fight between two schools over your personal vendetta, can you?"
Embarrassed, Xie Dong replied in a low voice:
"Brother Ma, how could I? How dare I harbor such thoughts? It's just that if we don't give an explanation for Yang Xiao killing our three classmates, it's unacceptable. The three students shouldn't just die in vain!"
Suddenly, Ma Xiaotian gave a sly smirk and said:
"Stop it. Let your private feud with Gong Yu end here. I really can't help you any further. Or, you could personally approach Zhou Jian for Gong Yu, but asking the student council to step in is really a bit much, and unnecessary."
...
Wang Meng lost his left eye, but now the school can't catch Gong Yu from Dongli College to exact revenge on his behalf, fueling his resentment.
Now, many people secretly call Wang Meng "Cyclops," a nickname that troubles him. Despite his discomfort, he can't stop others from calling him that behind his back, and even some high-level student council members call him "Cyclops" to his face, leaving him with no choice but to offer an awkward smile.
Wang Meng felt that all this humiliation was caused by Gong Yu, and his hatred for Gong Yu deepened.
Today, Wang Meng was the patrol squad leader, leading a team. When he saw a situation at the school gates from a distance, he hurried over.
(Today I promised 11 updates; 6 have been updated, owing 5 more.)