To people from the outside world, Academy City is a place filled with charm, not only because of its superpowers, but also because of its technology, far more advanced than anything beyond its walls.
For that reason, every previous Daihasei Festival had been packed to the brim. Even roads normally reserved for vehicles would be converted into pedestrian walkways to allow visitors from outside to move freely; otherwise, all kinds of traffic congestion would be inevitable.
And if that was the case in previous years, this year needed no further explanation.
With a world-famous Diva as its signboard, anyone with even a bit of interest would want to visit Academy City.
Even if they couldn't get close to the Diva, just seeing her sweating it out on the athletic field with their own eyes would be enough to satisfy many people.
If there were no entry restrictions, Academy City would probably have been crushed by the sheer number of people.
Therefore, only visitors who had obtained temporary IDs in advance were allowed to enter Academy City.
Some of these visitors were high-ranking officials and corporate elites from around the world. Some were relatives of teachers, scholars, and researchers within Academy City. But the majority were parents of students studying in Academy City.
Only these people were issued temporary IDs beforehand. As long as they passed inspection at the gates and their IDs were verified, they would be allowed entry.
As for everyone else, even with the most valid of reasons, they still couldn't get in.
Precisely because of these restrictions, Academy City avoided being completely overwhelmed. Even so, it was still packed with people, and helicopters could be seen flying back and forth across the sky.
Those helicopters were likely sent by the media for live broadcasts.
Coupled with the athletic competitions about to begin all across Academy City, it was easy to imagine just how lively the Daihasei Festival was.
At this time, parents from outside Academy City were probably cheering on their children and enjoying long-overdue reunions.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any family coming here, so there's no need to entertain anyone."
Of course, even without family to entertain, Fang Li still had to entertain the glutton at home.
"I want that! That one! That one! And that one too!"
Standing in front of a food stall, Index's eyes sparkled as she ordered several snacks without the slightest hesitation. In an instant, both her small hands, and even her modest chest, were stuffed full of food.
"Thank you for your patronage!"
The stall owner was perceptive enough to realize that Index wasn't the one paying. With a businesslike smile, he rubbed his hands together at Fang Li, prompting Fang Li to sigh and take out his wallet.
"Hau!"
At that moment, Index opened her small yet utterly unscientific mouth and stuffed five or six skewers inside at once. After swallowing nearly half the food in a single gulp, she pointed toward another direction, grinning brightly at Fang Li.
"Next, over there! I want to buy that!"
You can still eat more?
Fang Li very much wanted to say that, but ultimately gave up.
After all, this wasn't the first time he had witnessed the gluttonous young girl's interdimensional stomach.
From just now until this moment, Index had already eaten enough food for nearly three full meals, yet her stomach showed no signs of swelling. If anything, she seemed to grow more energetic the more she ate, while Fang Li's wallet rapidly shrank.
If he didn't have a girlfriend who was a world-famous Diva capable of earning huge sums of money as easily as scooping up water, Fang Li probably wouldn't be able to afford raising this glutton.
Thinking that, Fang Li completely forgot that even without Sylvia's income, he himself had access to substantial funds through Scorpius.
Even after deducting operating expenses and bonuses distributed to members, the portion freely available to Fang Li was still considerable, far more than Sylvia earned alone.
It was just that this money was usually transferred into an account by his trusted subordinates in Scorpius. Fang Li himself never bothered to check it, merely carrying the card on him in case of emergencies.
In other words, Fang Li really didn't need to worry about money at all.
That being said, he had no reason to keep letting Index eat endlessly.
"The opening ceremony is about to start. Stop eating." Fang Li grabbed the back collar of Index's clothes as she was about to dash off again and said firmly, "Sylvie will be doing the athletes' oath later. Are you really planning to just eat and drink here without watching?"
"The athletes' oath?" Index immediately looked dissatisfied. "What's that? Some kind of religious ritual?"
"Yeah," Fang Li replied flatly. "Once it begins, anyone who doesn't participate will instantly turn into ice cream. It's an extremely high-difficulty technique. If you're no longer satisfied being the one who eats and instead want to become the one being eaten, then go ahead and ignore it."
"W-What?! Is there such a terrifying technique?!" Index panicked immediately. "What's the composition of the spell? Which system's incantation does it use? What category is it? White Magic? Black Magic? Or Kabbalah? Why isn't this technique recorded in the 103,000 Original Grimoires?"
"Of course it's not recorded. Anyone who believed in that technique eventually died of stupidity. Why would anyone bother writing a grimoire about it?" Fang Li pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. "Anyway, the opening ceremony is about to begin. If you're not coming, then just wander around by yourself."
"Then…" Index stretched out her hand toward Fang Li with an innocent smile. "Give me money to buy food!"
The corner of Fang Li's eye twitched violently.
What should he do?
He suddenly had a strong urge to stuff this girl into an oven.
In the end, Fang Li's wallet was still taken away by Index.
It was only a matter of time before an urban legend about a "Big Stomach King" began circulating in Academy City.
...
After parting with Index, Fang Li headed to the venue of the opening ceremony.
Since more than 1.8 million students were participating in the opening, there were as many as three hundred ceremony locations in total.
The athletes' oath was broadcast live from one of the main stages.
As a result, when Sylvia appeared to deliver the oath, cheers echoed throughout Academy City. Once it ended, the massive crowd began stirring, trying to track down the Diva's location.
However, Sylvia herself had already changed into a disguise and arrived at Fang Li's side.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Wearing a beret, her hair dyed brown, and dressed in sportswear, Sylvia approached Fang Li, who was waiting by a fountain in a plaza.
"It took a little longer than expected."
Though she said that, her expression was clearly excited. Clenching her fists, she urged Fang Li,
"Alright! Before the competitions start, let's walk around a bit. I heard there's a food stall that's really famous, we have to go!"
Without waiting for Fang Li's response, Sylvia grabbed his hand and began running.
"At least slow down…"
Fang Li laughed helplessly as he let Sylvia pull him along.
Completely unaware that certain girls had seized this opportunity and were about to arrive at his side.
(End Of This Chapter)
You can read ahead up to 70 chapters on my patreon https://www.patreon.com/GGS6395