Chapter 1 The Opening Day
Jiang Ye arrived at Cai Liuxing Third Star Station via the school's spacecraft.
As soon as he disembarked, a cool, incredibly moist air greeted him, as if one could grasp water by reaching out into the sky.
Jiang Ye looked at the scenery surrounding the star station, feeling a sense of bewilderment.
He had initially assumed that since the Planet Leader Training School was located on Cai Liuxing, the planet would be super-developed, with towering buildings, severe light pollution, and skies filled with flying vehicles.
However, at this moment, the area around the star station was a panorama of misty peaks and forests.
Emerald green peaks emerged from the lush, verdant waters, with crane-shaped birds soaring above their summits. The world was incredibly quiet, allowing the sounds of birdsong from within the mountains to be heard. Distant mountain ranges flickered in and out of view amidst the flowing white clouds and mist, resembling an ancient landscape painting.
It felt like an ancient martial arts world or a hidden sect from a fantasy novel.
Even the star station's service personnel were remarkably rustic, dressed in coarse cloth, wearing bamboo hats, and busily inspecting spacecraft.
Jiang Ye waited for half a minute before the dedicated vehicle arranged by the star station arrived. A pure white spherical hovercar stopped before him and opened its door.
Upon entering, Jiang Ye found a glass table in the center of the car. The destination, "Unknown School," was already set on the table.
Jiang Ye tapped to confirm, and the car immediately took off, swiftly exiting the star station, skimming over the verdant water surface, and accelerating towards the majestic green mountains.
For the next hour, the hovercar maneuvered back and forth between the continuous mountain ranges, constantly changing direction. Jiang Ye swayed from side to side inside the car, and as he swayed, he began to feel car-sick and nauseous.
Finally, the school appeared.
The complex of buildings, situated halfway up the mountain, consisted mostly of low-rise structures with white painted exteriors, appearing rather ordinary, with a rustic inn-like feel.
Along the edges were many dark, deep shafts. Jiang Ye's hovercar descended directly into one of these shafts. The orange indicator lights on the shaft walls rapidly ascended, and after descending for a full minute, the car began to decelerate, eventually coming to a stable stop.
This area was likely the underground parking garage. As the car door opened, a person in an orange hazmat suit stood at the entrance, carrying something resembling a pesticide sprayer on their back, holding a spray nozzle.
"Teacher Jiang Ye?"
"Yes."
"Please raise both your arms. The data indicates you are from Jiang Ye Star. Jiang Ye Star has 122 types of cataloged pathogenic bacteria that our planet does not have, so you will need to be disinfected. This process will be very quick; please hold your breath and close your eyes."
Jiang Ye complied obediently, closing his eyes and holding his breath. Immediately, a hissing spray sound was heard, and a viscous liquid poured down from above, covering him from head to toe.
"It should dry in about half a minute. Please have a de-worming pill." the person in the orange hazmat suit said.
Jiang Ye opened his eyes and took a small medicine box handed to him by the person. He opened it to reveal a white pill, about the size of his thumb.
"How do I eat this? Do I need water to swallow it?"
"No, you can just chew and swallow it."
Jiang Ye popped the pill into his mouth. To his surprise, it was sweet, just like a candy.
After he swallowed the pill, the disinfectant on his body had mostly evaporated. The person in the orange hazmat suit turned around, entered a password, and the large door slowly opened.
"Please proceed forward. Someone will guide you to your dormitory, classroom, and dining hall. I wish you a pleasant teaching experience."
"Thank you!"
Jiang Ye walked along the corridor and was soon stunned by the sight before him.
From the outside, it appeared to be just a few small, unremarkable houses on the mountainside.
But underground, it was a towering, circular building, brightly lit, with at least a hundred floors. It was clearly built inside the mountain after excavating it, and Jiang Ye was at the very bottom. Looking up, it was like an ant standing at the base of a giant scallion.
A young Black man in a gray suit was waiting, wearing a staff badge on his chest with the codename "1701" instead of a name.
Upon seeing Jiang Ye, 1701 immediately flashed a bright white smile and greeted him enthusiastically, his lips moving rapidly as he introduced the layout of the school building.
"Where we are standing is the first floor. The next seven floors are all underground parking garages. People don't need to go into the underground parking garages; cars will automatically come up. If you wish to leave the school, you can take a car from here. You will need to complete a simple registration before taking a car," 1701 said.
"What identification or procedure is required for registration?"
"No identification is needed; a face scan and fingerprint scan will suffice," 1701 replied. "The elevator is here; I will take you up. Floors one through twenty are for school staff, such as staff dormitories, equipment rooms, and warehouses. You don't need to come here."
The two of them entered the elevator. Next to the elevator buttons, a small stool was placed, on which sat a blonde Caucasian girl. She was wearing a purple suit, and her face was beautiful, but astonishingly freckled. Her staff badge also lacked a name, bearing only the number "418."
"Which floor?" 418 asked expressionlessly, glancing at Jiang Ye before disinterestedly shifting her gaze to 1701.
"Floor 77," 1701 replied.
418 raised her slender arm and pressed 77 on the densely packed elevator buttons. The elevator doors slowly closed.
"1701, bring me a couple of batteries on your next trip down. I'm working overtime tonight and I'm running out of power," 418 said listlessly, resting her elbow on her leg and propping her chin with her hand, dozing off.
"I have a spare in my pocket; you can use it for now?" 1701 pulled out a silver-white metal block the size of a mahjong tile from his pocket.
"Thanks, I'll pay you back when I get paid next week," 418 said, reaching out to take the silver-white metal block.
What happened next was horrifying. 418 grabbed her blonde hair from the top of her head with her left hand and gently pulled. Her head detached from her neck, revealing dense electronic components and four battery ports. She reached her right hand to her neck, removed a battery, inserted the newly acquired one, and then reattached her head, shaking it.
As Jiang Ye watched in stunned silence, 418's expression instantly became lively, displaying a smile akin to one who has eaten their fill.
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened.
"We've arrived at the faculty dormitory on the 77th floor. Mr. Jiang, please," 418 said in a business-like tone, extending her hand to hold the elevator door.
The 77th floor resembled a hotel, with wool carved carpets, gleaming golden crystal chandeliers, and rooms with door numbers.
"Your room is 7718. You can enter with a face scan," 418 said, leading Jiang Ye forward. "The room is fully equipped with brand-new amenities. If you need anything, you can call the bedroom to contact us, and we will deliver it to your room, including daily necessities, meals, drinks, and massage services. Everything is free."
"Okay," Jiang Ye nodded. "I heard this school only started construction a month ago. That's quite a significant amount of work."
"This was originally a missile launch silo that was decommissioned last year. The school was built on its foundation. Most of the construction work is actually the original military engineering, including the outer shell of this building. This past month was just for renovation," 1701 explained. "That's why it's hidden within the mountain; it's not easily observable directly from outer space."