Chapter 301 University Town Civility Code (Twenty-one)
Although the other party asked "Which path should I choose", Tang Xinjue felt that he heard another sentence:
——Which path did I choose?
Is the person standing before her at this moment a lingering afterimage, or a person standing on the timeline of the past, questioning the future?
Tang Xin Jue thought for a moment and said, "This is a difficult question to answer. Emotionally, I certainly hope my answer will be helpful to you, but in reality, only you can give the answer."
Said something, but it seemed like nothing was said.
Tang Xinjue knew that the stick figure in front of him - or Mr. Bu - despised the choice of "living in disgrace".
However, in the unchangeable fact, he has chosen the latter and became Mr. Bu, a well-known person in the university town.
A belated reply probably doesn't make any sense.
"But it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be lonely." She then changed the subject, hinting, "No matter which path you take, there isn't necessarily only one choice."
If Mr. Bu, who is in charge of prop research and development, is one of the creators of the university town who was unwilling to leave completely and remained; then what about the "Wang Jiji Group" that has never appeared but is in charge of the technology of the university town?
Twelve creators, only one left?
Of course, she had no interest in studying the history of the university town in detail, she just wanted to send people away as soon as possible.
The stickman thought for a moment, "Yeah... you're right. This is my own business after all. What's the point of asking now..."
He lowered his head and put on his black hat. The shadow from the brim stretched the stick figure's face very long. However, just before he took a step away, Tang Xinjue called out to him:
"Since you asked me, I also have something to ask Bu... Classmate, do you have any extra student ID cards like this? I'd like to borrow one for now."
She asked naturally, holding the three stick-drawn student ID cards on the table.
As the stickman left, the mental connection gradually returned to normal.
Zhang You and Wanqing noticed this and immediately spoke up. Guo Guo followed suit, and they realized they were divided into three groups.
"The photo printer is right here!"
Guo Guo said hurriedly: "I just tried it, this machine needs to be displayed immediately. Only when all four of us are here can we get all the photos."
"Don't worry." Tang Xinjue's voice always had a calming power. "The key to the archives room should be in this room of mine. Wait a moment, I'll come find you."
Then, the mental connection became quiet for a moment, and the voices of Zhang You and Wan Qing also disappeared.
Guo Guo waited in front of the machine, not even breathing to avoid missing his roommate's voice. Fortunately, two minutes later, movement finally appeared again - not from his mind, but from the real world:
"Guoguo, help push it."
A crack appeared in the wall, and Tang Xinjue's head appeared from behind, blinking at her.
Guo Guo looked at the cracked wall and was stunned: "Didn't you say there was a key?"
Tang Xin Jue gestured downwards: "This is the key."
In her hand, the toilet plunger was firmly attached to the wall like a door handle, creating a "door" on the wall!
...Indeed, that makes sense.
[Photo target detected. Please ensure you are in a correct posture, have all your facial features intact, and are not wearing any unusual clothing...]
[Taking a photo... Ding! The photo is being generated...]
[Photos generated, please take them... Ding! Additional requests detected, processing in progress—]
After finally taking the photo, the small two-inch photo of the four of them still didn't pop up. A moment later, with a mechanical beep, a line of text appeared on the machine's blue screen:
[The new student registration database has been detected and the photo is being transferred to the database... The transfer was successful.]
【Congratulations, you have completed the enrollment registration! 】
Did you register successfully?
The four people thought they would have to return to the registration office with the photos, but they didn't expect to do it right in the projection room.
After a whole day of running around, tension and anxiety, they have become accustomed to running, thinking and fighting all the time, so after completing the main task, they were stunned for a few seconds.
Guo Guo looked around and asked, "Have we passed the level?"
Zhang You: “Not yet.”
Although the main storyline has been completed, the copy is still ongoing.
Open the exam interface in the app and the prompt has been updated:
[Exam progress: Main mission 1/1; Side mission 1/1]
Congratulations, you have completed freshman registration. From now on, you are officially members of the University Town. The strength of the University Town is your strength, and the direction you choose is the future of the University Town...
[ No need for . After all, no one knows the path you've taken better than you. So, why not go back to the dorm and take a look? There might be a surprise there.]
[Ding! Automatically accepted side quest: Return to the Dormitory 0/1]
[Note: There is no time limit for this task, and students can move freely in the university town.]
Several people noticed that the word used in the APP has changed from "candidates" to "students".
What exactly does the main task of this graduation exam represent?
Although there was no direct explanation, the moment they completed the registration, the four members of 606 could feel that something was different.
…It was a feeling of power that was fuller, clearer, and more powerful than ever before.
When they looked out again, their eyes seemed to have been cleansed of dust that had been covered for a long time by clear water. Everything became extremely clear and stable, and there was no longer that strange and weird feeling.
To be precise, the cold, dangerous and oppressive atmosphere that surrounded them every minute and every second since they entered the game disappeared.
Guo Guo unconsciously stretched out her hand. Although she only opened it for a moment in the air, she had an illusion at that moment: as if everything in the world was under her control.
When Guo Guo came back to his senses and turned around, he found that Zheng Wanqing had made the same action as him.
She used the silver arm made of metal.
The next second, Guo Guo's eyes widened: "Wanqing, your hand?!!"
In the sight, Zheng Wanqing's silver arm gradually revealed the flesh color of the skin, and then spread rapidly - within a dozen seconds, it completely turned into a normal body!
Zhang You: "Is this a reward for clearing a level?"
Zheng Wanqing frowned: "No, I...I just had an idea."
The moment she opened her hands, a subconscious thought flashed through her mind like countless times before. But this time, the thought came true at the same moment it was born.
Looking at her right arm, which felt both familiar and unfamiliar, Zheng Wanqing manipulated it to rotate a few times. It moved as smoothly as if it had never been broken. Guo Guo carefully touched her fingers. "It's really normal skin. I can see your blood vessels. It's the same as before!"
Zheng Wanqing had pale skin, and her hands were evenly slender. Like Tang Xin Jue, her veins were prominent. Watching the faint blue veins running along her knuckles into the lines of her palms, Zheng Wanqing clenched her fists. "That's not all. Wait a minute."
After saying that, she closed her eyes as if she was brewing something. When she opened her fist again, a silver light flashed across her arm.
The iron arm filled with power appeared under his arm again!
Can you control the shape of your arms just by thinking?
After Zheng Wanqing confirmed this, the other three immediately gave it a try. Unfortunately, they soon discovered that only Zheng Wanqing could do this. The three of them only managed to sharpen their vision and hearing, increase their physical strength, and increase their speed—other than that, nothing beyond human capabilities occurred.
"It's okay. I almost thought we were going to become God."
Guo Guo patted his chest, feeling both regretful and relieved.
Although "God" is good, if she had to compare and choose, she would rather be an ordinary person and live a normal life in the real world, rather than being an omnipotent creator in an alien dimension.
Having said that, Guo Guo also took the time to tell others about the illusion he saw in the projection room.
They had already shared most of what they had seen and heard in the archives, and by piecing all the information together, they had a complete outline of the university town's background. But compared to the university town's past, they were more concerned about the present and future of 606.
After listening to Guo Guo's story, Tang Xinjue thought for a moment and said, "Let's leave here first and go back to the dormitory to take a look."
If her premonition was correct, the dormitory might be the last scene that would greet them.
With registration complete, the projection room's true door appeared amidst the cracked wall, stubbornly proving a legitimate exit. Tang Xinjue put away the toilet plunger, grasped the door handle, pressed it, and pulled it open. Sunlight and fresh air poured into the lungs of the four people.
Outside the projection room door is the dormitory area?
Skipping the long journey they'd planned, the four of them exchanged glances before heading into the dormitory area. The gray-eyed teacher stood a few steps away, nodding at them.
Although it only had one eyeball and no expression could be seen, for some reason, the four of them seemed to see a hint of a smile in it:
"You don't have to call me teacher. University Town belongs to you now. I told you that although the process will be difficult, when you succeed in the end, what you gain will be beyond your imagination."
"Thank you, but for us, the most important and necessary thing is the freedom to finally return to reality."
Tang Xinjue replied.
Gray Eyeball was slightly stunned: "...Is that so?"
This seemed beyond its understanding and scope of thought. It thought for a moment and said, "No matter what, I wish you success. Go back to your dormitory, there are people waiting for you there."
Returning to the dormitory building, walking through the empty corridor, and standing in front of the familiar dormitory door, although they have been "reborn", the tension still rises to the throats of several people.
Taking a deep breath, Guo Guo bravely pushed open the dormitory door.
There was only one person inside the door?
The small, clean, spacious two-story building, the familiar, spacious dorm space, was devoid of any outsiders. After confirming the exam information was correct, the four of them searched around but couldn't find a single stick figure.
"Is it stuck in a corner again?"
Guo Guo started searching for something in the corners, and when he looked up, he bumped into the edge of the claw machine. "Ouch! Oh, I forgot. Now I can't feel any pain."
She rubbed her head and stood up, but suddenly stopped:
"Huh? Come and take a look! Is there something new in here?"
The three of them rushed over after hearing the noise, and sure enough, they found a strange little doll in the corner of the claw machine case.
If they saw it correctly, the doll with two pigtails and wearing work clothes was looking outside angrily.
Could it be...
The doll was thrown to the exit of the claw machine by the mechanical arm. The moment it fell out, a smell of tar smoke rose up, and a girl with pigtails about seventeen or eighteen years old stood on the ground with her arms folded.
Seeing the girl's sullen face, clearly a bit embarrassed, Zhang You coughed to give her a way out: "This machine doesn't work very well. It always starts randomly."
"Yeah." The pigtailed girl said quietly, "If you guys hadn't come back, I would have stayed in there forever. By then, the university town would have realized that they couldn't produce any more home appliances or cell phones because I was captured by a claw machine!"
“…”
Guo Guo reacted: "You are, that king——"
The girl extended her hand, which was covered with a pair of thick work gloves. "Hello, it's the first time we meet. My name is Wang Jiji."
