The outskirts of Binhai City.
The night was deep, the breeze was cool, and newly grown sand-fixing grass stretched in clumps in all directions into the unseen darkness.
The sand-fixing grass had become an invasive species, growing wildly all over the First Continent and appearing in considerable amounts on the Second Continent. If left unchecked, it was estimated that both continents would turn into grasslands within a few years.
Jiang Ye, carrying his suitcase, waited silently.
He had changed into a black formal suit and arrived at this location according to the coordinates received on his phone, waiting for the school's spaceship to pick him up.
He had been waiting for half an hour, and hadn't even seen a shadow of the spaceship.
The swaying grass and wasteland around him gave Jiang Ye the illusion of being in Outer Mongolia. Perhaps a few kilometers forward, he might see yurts, flocks of sheep, wild horses, and prairie wolves.
A whistling sound suddenly struck, like a cannonball!
Jiang Ye instinctively wanted to duck, but a strong gust of wind hit him. A shining sphere descended from high above, did not hit the ground, but suddenly stopped, hovering quietly a hundred meters away.
The sphere was about three stories high, its surface incredibly smooth, made of a transparent material similar to glass. Inside, the lights were bright, revealing furniture such as sofas, tables, chairs, and beds. The decoration was minimalist, almost like a small spherical mansion, but it could fly.
Jiang Ye was surprised. He had expected an outrageously large spaceship, but instead, a tiny one arrived?
Dragging his suitcase, he walked past clumps of sand-fixing grass.
A small door opened on the surface of the sphere, a square one meter in diameter.
Jiang Ye was bewildered, recalling the story of Yan Zi's mission to Chu. With such a small door, was he perhaps being sent to a dog country?
He first threw his suitcase inside, then crawled in through the door.
A soft mechanical voice immediately sounded, "Cadet Jiang Ye, welcome aboard. Your student ID is 1930078. Please be sure to remember it."
"1930078, I've got it. Thank you," Jiang Ye couldn't locate the source of the voice, so he said loudly, "Let's go!"
"We apologize, but besides you, there is another passenger on this planet who has not yet arrived. Please rest and wait patiently."
Jiang Ye froze.
"Doesn't Colony University only admit Generals? I'm the only General on this planet. Did you make a mistake?" Jiang Ye looked up at the ceiling. He still couldn't find where the voice was coming from, which felt rather awkward.
"The other passenger is not a student, but one of the instructors for this study session. His name is Lu Bao Bian, and he will be teaching courses on: The Evolution of Human Social Thought in the Interstellar Era, Morality, Ethics, and Philosophical Issues."
Jiang Ye suddenly understood. He remembered that Lu Bao Bian was among the first batch of refugees who arrived, and he himself had reviewed his application.
He recalled him being quite an old man, highly educated, a university professor, and extremely wealthy. Generally, elderly refugees were not accepted, as they couldn't serve as labor. However, many wealthy elderly refugees were approved by Jiang Ye or Isabelle, as "elderly people" and "wealthy elderly people" were entirely different categories.
Since Teacher Lu hadn't arrived yet, Jiang Ye explored the small spaceship.
It had three floors in total, with similar specifications on each floor: bedrooms, bathrooms, and lounges. Most of the volume was not living space but the spaceship's equipment, though it was still spacious enough.
The only thing that bothered Jiang Ye was the absence of a food printer.
He hadn't brought any rations in his suitcase. What would he eat on such a long journey?
"Hello," Jiang Ye called out tentatively, "How do I eat here?"
"This spaceship is not equipped with food processing facilities. You may bring your own food," the spaceship replied coldly and impassively.
Jiang Ye's face turned green. "Damn it, why didn't you tell me to bring food earlier? What if I starve to death on this long journey?"
"This spaceship is only transporting you from the surface to the main spaceship. The entire journey takes only 2 hours. After entering the main spaceship, you will be able to eat plenty of food," the spaceship said.
"Where is the main spaceship?"
This time, the spaceship did not answer, but projected an image on the wall.
A white page showed a large black circle, labeled "Your Planet."
Above the large circle, a small dot was marked, labeled "Main Spaceship."
Jiang Ye understood. The main spaceship was floating outside the planet's gravity, and might be directly overhead right now. It was likely that the main spaceship was super large, and it would be inefficient to bring the entire vessel down to pick up people, so a small spaceship was being sent down to save costs.
It was like an aircraft carrier going to a small island to pick up two people; it would be foolish for the entire aircraft carrier to land, so a small motorboat would be sent ashore.
In the darkness outside the window, a small point of light was swaying.
Jiang Ye hurried to the door, "Teacher Lu?"
"It's me!" Lu Bao Bian, illuminated by his phone light, appeared. He wore a black fedora, a dark blue overcoat, round glasses with gold rims, and his silver hair was meticulously combed. Although old, he was energetic. "Hello! Mr. Jiang!"
"Let me help you with your luggage!" Jiang Ye quickly grabbed the handle of the suitcase and lifted it from the doorway.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Lu Bao Bian easily climbed in through the small door. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."
The small door closed, and the spaceship ascended, accelerating upwards and getting faster, feeling much like riding an elevator. The lights of Binhai City in the distance rapidly shrank, gradually turning into tiny star-like points on the dark ground.
Lu Bao Bian seemed very familiar with the layout of the small spaceship. He lightly touched a water dispenser, took out two glass cups, and filled them with warm water.
"Here, have some water," Lu Bao Bian said, walking over to the sofa and sitting down.
"Thank you!" Jiang Ye took the cups with both hands, bowing respectfully.
He hadn't expected such an influential figure to be on his territory. Someone who could lecture Generals from various planets must at least be a prominent figure in the education sector.
Jiang Ye had always assumed that those coming to his planet were ordinary people, but it turned out there were hidden talents.
"You are quite young. In the past few years, as I've lectured to Generals, I've seen more and more young people. It truly fulfills the old saying, 'The waves behind the Yangtze River push the waves before, and new people replace the old.' " Lu Bao Bian smiled kindly, like a teacher chatting with a top student.
"I just heard the spaceship's voice say that you are teaching... the evolution of human social thought in the interstellar era, morality, ethics, and philosophical issues," Jiang Ye asked, "Is there anything I can preview?"
Previewing was impossible. Jiang Ye had never had the habit of previewing his lessons since childhood, except for the chapters on reproduction in his middle school biology textbook, which he had memorized thoroughly as soon as the book was issued.
But now, in front of the teacher, he had to act like a good student and make a good impression, hoping for leniency and extra credit during the final assessment.
"There's no need for previewing. This course I teach has no textbook," Lu Bao Bian smiled with satisfaction. "However, on the way, you can take the time to ponder."
"What specific aspects should I ponder?" Jiang Ye feigned an expression of "I love studying so much."