Chapter 98: New Washington
Chapter 98: New Washington
It was a rarity that Xiao Lin could enjoy the first-class treatment of a chartered flight. The exhaustion from a busy two days quickly made him fall asleep. It was not until Song Junlang woke him up that he realized they had reached America.
“You had a real deep sleep.” Song Junlang crossed his legs and was reading the newspaper.
“I’m a little tired. Are we arriving soon?”
Hank spread out his hand and said helplessly. “I’m afraid it’ll be a while. We were originally scheduled to land in New York, but the darn weather somehow decided it was time for some hail... We’ll be transferred to Pennsylvania.”
“Here in America, there are quite a number of teleportation points to their academy,” Department Head Song explained.
“New York? Hail?” Xiao Lin was taken aback.
“Yup. The storm’s pretty big too. The point is we can’t land. But not to worry.”
“Oh, nothing.” Xiao Lin touched the rolled-up painting in his hand, the one that was given to him by Gu Chengyun. He thought for a while and shook his head with a smile, muttering, “How is that possible? I must be thinking too much. What a coincidence.”
The teleportation point was located in the Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania. He remembered Hank saying that it was a national scenic spot, but its underground had been converted by Judge Academy’s people into a station that led there. The teleportation passage was similar to Dawn Academy’s and also carried the passengers in a closed space, similar to a carriage. After about 10 minutes in the wormhole, they walked out of the carriage again, and a brand-new academy appeared in front of Xiao Lin.
“Welcome to Judge Academy. Although I really want to bring the two of you around, it’s unfortunate that we don’t have much time. We have to go to the colony immediately.”
Xiao Lin expressed no objections to it. He had gotten enough sleep on the plane and his mind was eager when he thought of going to the New World soon.
“Where is the super potion?” Song Junlang asked suddenly.
“What’s that?” Xiao Lin asked.
Song Junlang said unhappily, “Don’t forget what I told you. If a person below Black Iron rank enters the New World, their body will deteriorate rapidly because of the difficulty in adapting to the New World’s environment. This super potion is the latest thing out of R&D that has been developed in Britain. It’s a brand-new potion that can temporarily stop this deterioration.”
“The super potions are all at the colony. Please trust us. Judge Academy will not harm your school’s students.” Hank’s face was full of smiles.
“I sure hope so.”
They did not stay any longer and quickly set foot on another carriage. It was almost the same as the one they took back to Earth. The door was closed and the inside became completely dark. Song Junlang explained to Xiao Lin that no lighting facilities were installed because it was in the wormhole, and anything remotely similar to a power supply would simply fail to work.
The wormhole to the colony took a much longer time. In the dark, Hank continued to speak in his subpar Chinese and explained to them, “Time is tight. The academy wants Xiao Lin to join our team directly after arriving. You don’t need to participate in the assignment immediately during the first two days and you can familiarize yourself with everything first. It’ll be good for you to first adjust to your routine and habits.”
“What about my remuneration? The four hundred New Dollars a day? When will it be paid?” That was Xiao Lin’s primary concern.
“It’ll be paid in one lump sum after the assignment is over.”
“Can it be paid daily?”
“Well, I don’t have the final say. In fact, I’m only responsible for bringing you back to New Washington. The rest will be handled by Professor Brown’s team.”
“New Washington?”
Song Junlang explained, “That’s the name of America’s main city in the New World, which also happens to be the Judge Academy’s first academy. It was transformed and expanded on the foundation of Thunder Kingdom’s old capital.”
Xiao Lin became curious. “What’s the name of Dawn Academy’s main city in the New World? Is it New Beijing?”
“We’re not as silly as Judge Academy. Moreover, Beijing had yet to be called Beijing when our main city was first built. Ours is called Dawn. Tsk, tsk. You’re a student of Dawn Academy, yet you don’t even know this,” Song Jun Lang criticized unceremoniously.
The Timesand began to permeate and the dark carriage was flooded with a soft golden light. Hank smiled and said, “This is probably Xiao Lin’s first time in the New World.”
“Yes.”
“Then do enjoy the sights at New Washington City. Our main city is bigger than Dawn City and the facilities are more complete! If Professor Brown agrees to pay you daily, you can buy whatever you want in New Washington!” Hank’s tone was full of pride.
Xiao Lin touched his nose and glanced subconsciously at Department Head Song. To his surprise, Department Head Song simply snorted coldly and explained rather reluctantly, “This is true. In terms of its size and construction, Dawn City does fall behind New Washington City. Although it was among the first colonial academies, Dawn City had suffered severe damage in the war with the orcs, while New Washington did not engage in any further wars after its capital was attacked by the Thunder Kingdom in forty-eight N.C.”
Xiao Lin knew very little about the history of the two academies, but it was not the first time he heard about the war with the orcs. The last time it was mentioned, Department Head Song said that Dawn Academy had earlier suspended the monthly examinations for a long time, resulting in heavy losses for the academy in that war. It was likely referring to the same war.
The journey to Planet Norma was particularly lengthy, perhaps due to the excitement and anticipation. About half an hour later, the Timesand within the carriage finally disappeared.
“We’re here!” Hank called.
The surroundings went completely dark again and the car door was opened from the outside. Bright sunshine poured in and Xiao Lin—who was a little too excited—rushed over to Hank. Song Junlang thought of something and hurriedly stopped him, but it was too little too late. The eager Xiao Lin had already rushed out of the carriage, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, he suddenly felt as though a jack was bearing down on his entire body, making it feel extremely heavy.
Xiao Lin could not even stand up under the sudden pressure. He wanted to reach out and support himself using the carriage, but he soon discovered that his leaden-like arms were incredibly difficult to lift. Eventually, all he could do was squat on the ground.
Song Junlang immediately leaped out of the carriage and helped Xiao Lin. He was half-amused and half-concerned, saying, “Why are you so anxious for? Planet Norma’s gravity is almost twice as that of Earth. Are you okay?”
Xiao Lin, who could barely stand up with Song Junlang’s support, panted slightly and stared at him, saying, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner!”
“Sorry, sorry, it was our mistake!” Hank was also a little flustered and said quickly, “We forgot that people below Black Iron rank cannot bear the gravity here. After all, there has been no precedent for Black Iron-rank students to come to the New World.”
Song Junlang roared. “Quit all your nonsense! Get the super potion quickly!”
“The super potion can only prevent the deterioration of his body. I’m afraid it can’t eliminate the influence of gravity!” said a middle-aged Caucasian next to Hank. She wore a pair of spectacles and her Chinese was much worse than Hank’s.