"As long as there are spirit beasts who don't obey the rules..."
Ansheng's expression lit up with joy, as if he could already see the Wish Power points waving at him.
Although the Wish Power on his wish list was already enough to create two tails on the god statue, it would be a waste not to get more while visiting the Imperial Capital.
If he could create three tails at once, wouldn't he be in a beautiful dream, sleeping until naturally waking up?
"Ah Qing, help me open the cola cap, the fox can't twist it open!"
Ansheng turned around, jumped onto Ah Qing's lap, and pointed at the ice-cold cola on the table.
The breakfast on the table consisted mostly of pastries and heavy-sugar, heavy-oil dishes like sugar pancake and noodle tea, with donkey roll as the signature dessert. Being a carnivore, Ansheng didn't see anything particularly appealing to eat, so he casually took a couple of bites and went straight to the main topic.
"Pfft..."
Zhang Lin, who was eating tofu pudding, was amused by Master Fuli's statement, "the fox can't twist the cap," causing the tofu pudding she just drank to sputter out of her mouth.
Master Fuli couldn't twist open a bottle cap, so the cola manufacturer might as well switch to developing Spiritual Particle Metal.
If Master Fuli can't open the cap, who else can be expected to do it!
"Best friends for life."
On the other side of the table, Momo was full of amazement, looking at the lovestruck Lingren, raising her hand to pat her back.
Seeing that no one touched the fermented mung bean juice, to avoid her sister's embarrassment, Lingren picked up the bowl and finished it in one gulp.
The result was Lingren's face turning bright red, hands clutching her throat, trying to force the mung bean juice down.
...
In the lively atmosphere, breakfast came to an end, and Ah Qing's second uncle was warmly welcomed by everyone.
Forty-something years old, second uncle didn't have the so-called 'Old Deng vibe' in his talk, and even casually used internet memes and niche terms.
He understood everything young people said and wouldn't deliberately steer the topic into his areas of expertise to impose his elderly authority or showcase his experience.
He could even joke about different games and furry terms.
Although he seemed slightly unstable, he was clearly a very fun person to hang out with.
Ah Qing was also obviously a bit surprised, seeing her second uncle mock pig farm games for the first time.
When it comes to games, it has to be Ten Ticks; once you spend money, it's way more enjoyable than not spending any.
"Is there anything strange about that?"
Yu Zhengxi seemed to notice the look of surprise on Ah Qing's face and chuckled softly.
"The average age of the staff in the unit is twenty-seven, all are young people in their early to mid-twenties. Compared to them, I'm practically an old hand at the brink of using a walking stick," he explained to Ah Qing.
"When you're dealing with young people every day, it's hard not to feel young at heart."
Yu Zhengxi also shared something counterintuitive happening in the current Spiritual Particles research field.
In this field, the leading research force is not the old seasoned scholars, but some young people.
Young people have amazing imagination; some even took a detonator and blew ancient Spirit People skeletons sky-high to test their strength.
As for what strength they're testing, never mind, I'll provide an analysis report later.
Should there be any data discrepancies, let heaven punish me by turning me into a super hot guy—six-foot-tall, eight-pack abs, wealthy beyond belief, with wolf ears on my head, making girls swoon as soon as I step out.
"Wow, is that a punishment?"
Tang You commented with a dark line on his face, "If you hadn't said that was a punishment, I would've thought it was a reward!"
Yu Zhengxi, smiling broadly, waved his hand and said, "But his report was superb, and it led to the publication of three internal journal papers."
"Does this make any sense to you?"
Second uncle joked, checked the time on his watch, and asked everyone, "Now that the morning rush is almost over, do you have any sights you want to visit? I can plan the itinerary."
Having arrived at the restaurant at 8:30, it was now 9:18, just past the hellish winter morning rush of the Imperial Capital.
During the early rush, moving a meter per minute meant you were truly blessed by Mazu, especially in winter when everything gets doubly worse.
The tiniest thing could cause hours of traffic jamming.
However, as the morning rush subsided, the Imperial Capital's traffic congestion wasn't as severe, so they could finally head out.
"What sights?"
Ah Qing looked at Momo and the others. After exchanging a glance, as if reaching a consensus, they looked at second uncle and said, "Well... does the Big Fifth count as a tourist spot?"
"Huh?" Yu Zhengxi seemed slightly surprised and asked Ah Qing, "Do you mean the Big Fifth at Xinxing College?"
"Yes!" Ah Qing nodded in response, her face full of innocent compliance like a pecking chick.
Due to various reasons each year, the Imperial Capital campus at Xinxing Agricultural Science College was quite mysterious among its student body.
Graduate students under the professors would just smile without saying anything when asked about the Big Fifth.
Some seniors entering the Big Fifth even seemed to vanish into thin air, going completely off the grid.
Of course.
Ah Qing previously didn't understand, but now vaguely knew that the Big Fifth at Xinxing Science College, or the internship, could involve [Spiritual Particles], requiring signing a confidentiality agreement.
After the first semester of the fourth year ended, the second semester arrangement saw a dramatic shift.
Previously, it was all about class divisions, but during the next semester, besides each subject's specialized courses, the main content involved team-based activities with respective groups.
The professors essentially hinted that the second semester of the fourth year was practically an internal internship arranged by the school.
Course details and arrangements varied greatly in different semesters and campuses, aiming for targeted change; now that they were here, Ah Qing and her group wanted to have a look around the Imperial Capital campus.
The Xiqi campus had already gone on break earlier, but students at the Imperial Capital campus hadn't yet.
"In a sense, the Imperial Capital campus can really be viewed as a tourist spot."
With a peculiar look, Yu Zhengxi said, "But to visit the Imperial Capital campus, you'll need an approval note from the Security Bureau."
With a similar peculiar expression to second uncle, Zhang Lin responded, "With Master Fuli's guarantee here, why would we need any note; I can just show my face and get you in."
It seemed... there was something at the Imperial Capital campus that made them uncomfortable.
"What's with your peculiar expressions; is the Imperial Capital campus a dragon's den or a tiger's lair?"
Having focused on gossip and drinking cola without much talking, Ansheng sensed the gossip vibe and curiously asked Zhang Lin.
"Calling it a dragon's den or tiger's lair might be an exaggeration..."
"But humans, unless they turn into photographs hanging on the wall, they'll never behave," Zhang Lin said after glancing at Yu Zhengxi:
"In the Imperial Capital campus, we see students who are still alive, but with mouths tough as titanium alloy from the Materials College, crawling on all fours like resentful ghosts, chased around by spirit beasts... "
"Of course, spirit beast supervisors can't be absent while patrolling fields and reservoirs, overseeing agri-students' work... "
"Hmm... Once you enter the Imperial Capital campus, the only difference from a black slave is, well, you still get weekends."
"And... if black slaves work well, the plantation owners might reward them with some money and food. If you work efficiently, the spirit beasts will push you to plow two more acres for next year's increased production."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Ah Qing was taken aback, with a big question mark forming above her head.
But as she pondered it over, she scratched her little fox head, expressing puzzlement.
"Uh..." Zhang Lin was momentarily stunned, his expression turning even more peculiar.