The students finally arrived, looking worn out. Two days of trekking through the mountains had beaten the softness out of them. But they really were carefully selected—none of them gave up.
"Look at this, is this really a school?" In front of them stood a seven-story pagoda, nothing like a school at all. Most of the actual facilities were underground.
"Maybe we came to the wrong place. This looks more like a temple."
Even Ming Wu thought it strange, but he didn't doubt the location. At the end of the path, there was a small road that matched perfectly with the map. There was no way they had gone the wrong way. The path in the second half was deliberately set up as guidance for these university students. After all, the Interstellar Academy was here to recruit students, not some shady characters.
"Welcome." The General personally greeted the future specialists in cosmic affairs. "Welcome to the Interstellar Academy." The General was the kind of man who opened new frontiers. Every time a new organization was about to be built, the first person the Number One Leader thought of was him. The overseas intelligence stations before, the Kunlun Secret Base after, and now the Interstellar Academy—all had been established under his command.
His ability was beyond question. Not only did he have strong execution, but he also never clung to power. Each time he was reassigned from an organization he had built from the ground up to start a new one, he never complained.
In his own words: the country needed him where it needed him, and he would go. The organizations he built weren't meant to be his political leverage—they existed because the nation needed them. From intelligence, to space construction, to schools, the fields seemed unrelated, yet he could always set up the framework and get them running. If the organization was a clock, then he was the clockmaker—no matter the brand, he could make it tick.
"General?" The title left the students staring at one another. They had never heard of such a thing. What kind of principal went by the name 'General'?
Liu A'dou caught their expressions and found them entertaining. He thought to himself that this group wasn't bad—they stayed composed. The General instructed everyone to take out their admission letters and start registering.
A total of 136 students entered the pagoda one by one. At the entrance, cameras scanned their facial data.
Beep, beep, beep.
"What's wrong?" Liu A'dou heard the warning tone. That meant someone's face didn't match the owner of the admission letter. An impersonator?
He looked and saw a panicked young woman. Standing in front of her was Ming Wu.
"What's wrong?" the General asked, puzzled.
"Report. The information doesn't match. The admission letter belongs to a man named Ming Wen."
Liu A'dou frowned. "You didn't take back Ming Wen's admission letter?"
The General quickly recalled that Ming Wen was one of the talents Liu A'dou had selected. But Ming Wen had died in the bombing case. He never expected someone to bring that letter here. "That was our oversight. We assumed the letter was destroyed in the explosion."
Now the situation was that someone wanted to take Liu Su away, but Ming Wu refused.
"This must be Ming Wen's younger brother," the General said. To him, letting the younger brother replace the older brother who had died seemed rather careless. He thought Liu A'dou was just being lazy. Still, he sighed. "It's a pity about Ming Wen."
"I'll go take a look." Liu A'dou was curious again, eager to watch the drama.
"Don't be nervous. This is a school, not some shady black shop." Liu A'dou calmed everyone down. "Miss, explain why Ming Wen's admission letter is in your hands?"
"What?" Ming Wu stared at Liu Su in disbelief. How could his brother's letter be with this woman? Thinking back now, maybe Liu Su had approached him because she already recognized him.
Seeing Ming Wu's questioning eyes, Liu Su didn't hide it. "That's right. This really belonged to Ming Wen, and I'm his girlfriend. I know what happened to Ming Wen wasn't an accident. A few days before the incident, I saw him take this letter to meet his mentor. After the accident, I went to his dorm and took the admission letter. I wanted to find the person who killed him."
So it turned out Liu Su's goal was the same as Ming Wu's.
Liu A'dou exchanged a glance with the General, who nodded in understanding. "She's not the intended candidate, but since she's here, let her stay. Continue the registration, everyone keep going."
The teachers felt a huge weight on their shoulders. Such a sloppy, loose admission process was giving them headaches.
But after Liu Su revealed her identity, the air between her and Ming Wu shifted. The past two days, they'd gotten along well. Now that Ming Wu knew she had been his brother's girlfriend, he didn't know how to face her at all.
Honestly, Ming Wu's relationship with his brother Ming Wen had never been good. Since Liu Su was Ming Wen's girlfriend, that made her the friend of an enemy—and therefore, also an enemy. With that thought stuck in his chest, Ming Wu no longer wanted to be close to her.
Liu Su clearly had no idea how bad things were between the brothers. She only knew from Ming Wen that he had a twin brother who looked exactly like him. When she first saw Ming Wu outside the forest, she was shocked, thinking her boyfriend had somehow come back to life. But she soon realized his eyes were different. Ming Wen's gaze had always been gentle, while Ming Wu's eyes were sharp and wild, like a beast.
It was Liu A'dou who had remembered Ming Wen had a brother. Ming Wu came with nothing prepared, so Liu Su, who had made full preparations, naturally stepped forward to help. In her eyes, Ming Wen's younger brother was also her own little brother. She treated him kindly. Their relationship seemed genuinely good.
After Ming Wen's death, Liu Su often dreamed of the two of them walking together through campus, those warm moments replaying again and again.
Liu A'dou looked at Ming Wu's decisive back and Liu Su's hesitant expression. He thought to himself, 'There's got to be more to this story.'
Soon, all the students received their student IDs. Many of them came from top universities. People willing to make such a choice weren't ordinary at all. Geniuses carried their own pride. If this school couldn't meet their expectations, they definitely wouldn't let it slide.
What they were waiting for was a stronger challenge and a broader vision. All of that would be revealed tomorrow. For today, it was enough to let them eat and rest early.
"Any signal?"
"No. There must be strong jamming equipment nearby. We had signal just last night."
"So what is this place really? So mysterious. The people around here today were definitely soldiers. Do you think this is some kind of military academy?"
"I don't think so. I actually came from a military school. And trust me, they're not this complicated." Someone added, "Maybe it's some secret organization."
Ming Wu listened quietly without joining in.
"Could it be a military research unit? Maybe a place for developing secret weapons."
"Secret weapons need historians? Look around—our group has all kinds of people, not just science majors. There are plenty of liberal arts students too."
"Then maybe they want us to be spies? Sent out on undercover missions?" That one had a wild imagination.
"You've been watching too many movies. I think this might be something brand new. A field beyond our common sense. Either way, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."
Yes. Tomorrow everything would be revealed. Ming Wu closed his eyes, telling himself, 'Tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, I'll surpass my brother. Only by never ending this competition can I feel like he's still somewhere in this world.'