There were only a few students left in the classroom when Jing Shaoyu and his companions were about to leave, when suddenly a voice called out to them.
"Jing Shaoyu."
The trio turned around to see Wu Changkong slowly walking toward them, with Shen Yi by his side, who seemed to have returned from somewhere without them noticing.
"Teacher Wu," the three greeted warmly.
Wu Changkong glanced at them with a complex look in his eyes before saying, "I've already heard from Teacher Shen about what happened with Elder Cai. You did well."
His voice was calm and hollow, leaving Jing Shaoyu and the others uncertain whether he was praising or reprimanding them.
"Uhm, Teacher Wu, are you praising us, or are you criticizing us?" Xu Xiaoyan raised her hand, timidly asking.
"Ha!" Shen Yi burst out laughing, patting Wu Changkong on the shoulder. "Brother, as expected of you! Hahaha!"
Wu Changkong's face finally showed some emotion, a trace of helplessness. "I'm neither praising nor scolding you. I just wanted to tell you that you don't need to worry about Elder Cai targeting you."
A hint of relief appeared on their faces, but Wu Changkong's next words made their expressions freeze.
"She will target you, there's no doubt about that," Wu Changkong said.
"..." The three were silent for a moment. After a while, Xu Xiaoyan, somewhat speechless, said, "Teacher Wu, can you not speak like you're out of breath next time?"
"Ha!" Wu Changkong smiled, but his smile had an eerie quality, like a cold grin that made one feel uneasy. "You really don't need to care too much. Elder Cai's targeting of you, with your exceptional talent, is more like a form of urging."
Jing Shaoyu, Gu Yue, and Xu Xiaoyan exchanged looks, but none of them spoke.
"Alright, I don't know what else to say, so that's it." Wu Changkong finally said. "If you have any questions about cultivation, feel free to come to me. My office is... well, it's free of charge."
"Thank you, Teacher Wu. We understand," Jing Shaoyu said with a warm smile.
"Go eat," Wu Changkong waved his hand dismissively.
"Goodbye, Teacher Wu, Teacher Shen," the three said as they waved to the teachers.
Looking at the trio's retreating figures, Shen Yi asked in confusion, "Brother, why didn't you take them to see the other teachers?"
Wu Changkong simply shook his head and didn't speak. His gaze was complex and deep.
After leaving the classroom, Jing Shaoyu and his companions walked toward the cafeteria.
"Ugh~" Xu Xiaoyan sighed in relief, saying, "Listening to Teacher Wu talk is still so awkward!"
"Haha!" Jing Shaoyu laughed, "If Teacher Wu hears you say that, he'll probably be upset."
"Eh-eh-eh!" Xu Xiaoyan stuck out her tongue, making a funny face. "But it's true!"
"What are we doing this afternoon?" Gu Yue asked.
"Getting familiar with the academy," Jing Shaoyu replied with a smile. "We should head to the mission center first. No matter what, we need contribution points."
"Sounds good!" Xu Xiaoyan clapped her hands in agreement. "I want to see what kind of tasks are on the academy platform."
"Alright." Gu Yue nodded, agreeing to the plan.
When they arrived at the cafeteria, they were stopped in their tracks just before entering by a commotion in front of the door.
It was Tang Wulin, holding a sign, surrounded by a crowd of students pointing and whispering among themselves.
But Tang Wulin seemed unfazed by the gossip, exchanging glances with a slender younger student. Soon, the two seemed to have reached an agreement and were preparing to leave.
"Huh? Isn't that Tang Wulin? And the person next to him, isn't that the second-place student we met during the entrance exam? What are they doing?" Xu Xiaoyan asked, confused.
"What else could they be doing? It looks like a mutually beneficial deal," Jing Shaoyu chuckled, his eyes shifting from Tang Wulin and Yuan En Ye Hui. It seemed that fate's inertia was indeed strong—these two had crossed paths again.
Considering this, Le Zhengyu was probably already planning to become a work-study student by now.
However, after scanning the surroundings for any unusual figures, Jing Shaoyu didn't see anyone of particular note. It seemed Tang Wulin hadn't yet caught Feng Wuyu's attention, but that was probably just a matter of time.
"Let's go, we're here to eat." Jing Shaoyu pulled the two girls by the hand and walked into the cafeteria.
Shrek Academy's cafeteria had decent food, both in terms of ingredients and taste, and it was considered one of the academy's highlights.
Although they arrived a little late, they were still able to pick out the dishes they liked. They chose a quieter corner to enjoy their meal.
After lunch, they took a short break before heading out toward the mission center.
The Mission Center, officially known as the Outer Academy Student Contribution Point Trading and Public Task Release Platform, was located in the teaching area of the outer academy. It was a standalone building, less than five hundred meters from the main teaching building, with a circular flower bed separating the two.
When Jing Shaoyu and his companions arrived, the Mission Center was bustling with activity. Some students were holding signs, promoting themselves; others were setting up stalls to sell resources. There were even some shady-looking individuals lurking, clearly up to no good. The place had the feel of a market, far from the formal atmosphere they had expected in an academy.
Aside from the busy students, there were many members of the enforcement team wearing armbands, patrolling the area. Their presence helped maintain order and prevent any illegal activities.
"Wow! So this is the Mission Center? It's so lively!" Xu Xiaoyan exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Indeed," Jing Shaoyu nodded. His gaze shifted to the back of the hall, where he noticed the processing window and a row of machines that resembled ticket dispensers. "Let's go over there and take a look."
The three of them weaved through the crowd and approached the window. Just as Jing Shaoyu was about to speak, a voice from the window called out, "New students, please activate your personal information at the task platforms on either side. You can view, accept, submit, or post tasks there."
Following the voice, they saw the task platforms—those ticket dispenser-like machines. They walked over to three available platforms and followed the on-screen instructions to begin.
The screens were large and square, and when Jing Shaoyu placed his student card in the reader, a beep sounded, and his personal page appeared. It displayed basic information: name, grade, contribution points, and credibility points.
All three had zero contribution points, and each had one hundred credibility points.
Following the prompts, the screen switched to the task page. Jing Shaoyu clicked on the "Available Tasks" section, and a vertical list of tasks appeared. These tasks were sorted by reward, with the ones at the top being basic labor tasks like cleaning Lingbing Plaza and the main teaching building. These tasks were restricted to work-study students.
Jing Shaoyu glanced over the list and noticed that nearly eighty percent of the tasks were related to second occupations, such as rare metal forging (with a reward of one thousand contribution points), perfecting one-character Battle Armor blueprints (also one thousand contribution points), and repairing Battle Armor components (which paid more—twelve hundred contribution points). From the task quantity, it was clear that higher-level second occupations held a dominant advantage.
He searched for designer-related tasks, picked a couple, and selected one to accept. The system prompted him that the task had been successfully taken and that he should head to the manual window to collect the relevant materials.
He informed Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan, then walked toward the designated Window 9 to collect his task.
"Hello, I'm here to collect task number 1450," he said at the window.
The staff member behind the window, a senior student, looked surprised when she saw Jing Shaoyu. "You're a new student, right? Are you sure you want to take task number 1450? If it was an accidental click, I can cancel it for you. It hasn't been reported to the backend yet, so no credibility points will be deducted."
"No need," Jing Shaoyu replied with a smile.
"Alright." The girl gave him a deep look and lightly shook her head. "If you say so, please wait a moment."
After collecting the materials for the
task, Jing Shaoyu walked out of the Mission Center and stood by the roadside to wait for Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan.