CH 7

Fortunately, his psychic power hadn't completely depleted; there was still some left in the C-grade range. This meant he wouldn't be expelled from Saint Academy due to having too low of a rank, and he wouldn't be left with nowhere to go.

After composing himself, he picked up Tuan Tuan, who was rolling around on the bed, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

The school didn't allow students to raise young animals in the dormitories. In the letter, Lin Yang had told Professor Moor about Jian Ning's situation, and Professor Moor decided to keep Tuan Tuan's existence a secret from the academy. Terry was also more than willing to help keep it confidential and let Tuan Tuan live with them.

At first, Jian Ning felt a bit down because of the weakened psychic power, but he became happy again because of Tuan Tuan's presence. After all, if he were assigned to another class, he would have to live with strangers and go through the trouble of hiding Tuan Tuan. Living with Terry eliminated this worry.

After resting for a night, they had to attend classes early the next morning. Jian Ning fed Tuan Tuan some milk, placed some toys in the room and living area, instructed Tuan Tuan to stay in the dorm and not run around, and promised to come back at noon to check on him. Then, he left with Terry.

The teaching building was adjacent to the large building where they had their psychic power tested yesterday. Jian Ning and Terry were both in Class C3. When they entered the classroom, many students were already seated.

Among the new students, there were twenty with A-grade psychic power, sixty with B-grade psychic power, and one hundred and fifty with C-grade psychic power. They were divided into six classes in total.

Fifty students were in Jian Ning and Terry's class, which was quite a large number, but the classroom was spacious enough, and it didn't feel crowded. The two found empty seats and sat down, waiting for all the students to arrive before the homeroom teacher came in.

The homeroom teacher was a tall woman with a somewhat serious demeanor named Kelly. After having them introduce themselves one by one, she led them to the farm.

A school bus was parked at the entrance of the teaching building. Once everyone got on the bus, it started moving.

"What's the farm for?" Jian Ning curiously asked Terry on the bus.

"Don't you know about the farm?" Terry was surprised and whispered an explanation, "The farm has a lot of land, and every student who enters Saint Academy will be assigned some land to grow vegetables in the future."

Jian Ning suddenly realized and nodded in understanding. The farm was located in the cultivation area, quite far from the teaching and accommodation area. The bus journey took nearly an hour. During the ride, they could occasionally see flying vehicles and hover cars passing above them.

Terry explained, "Those are the senior brothers and sisters. They're all wealthy and have their own flying vehicles to travel between the farm and the dorms anytime. Flying vehicles are expensive. For us poor folks, we can only take the school bus every day."

Jian Ning looked out of the window. After entering the cultivation area, all he could see were vast fields. Some were empty, while others already had vegetables growing. Near every few fields, there was a small house.

The school bus came to a stop, and Kelly led them off the bus, instructing, "This area has fifty small houses. Each of you can choose one and use your wristband to scan the code on the door to claim it. The small house and the adjacent field will be yours from now on, and the status of the field's cultivation will also be displayed on your wristband. After making your selection, write your name on the wooden sign next to the small house to prove it's your land."

"After you've done that, wait here. I'll go get the seeds." With these instructions, Kelly boarded the school bus and headed to the nearby management area of the cultivation zone.

Jian Ning and Terry looked around and chose two adjacent small houses. The houses were indeed tiny, with only a few square meters of space. Inside, there were various brand-new tools such as buckets, iron shovels, and hoes – everything needed for farming.

Jian Ning bound his wristband to the small house and then squatted by the wooden sign, using a pen to write his name. Suddenly, there was a commotion from across the way.

"Move aside, I want this land," said a red-haired boy, pushing another shorter boy standing diagonally opposite him, quite rudely.

The shorter boy had just finished writing his name on the wooden sign when the red-haired boy directly pulled the sign out of the ground and threw it down.

No one around spoke up, and the shorter boy remained silent as well. He picked up the wooden sign and went to find another small house.

Jian Ning frowned, and Terry came over and tugged at him, whispering, "Don't look. That's Allen. His parents are high-ranking military officers, and we ordinary folks can't afford to provoke him."

As Terry finished speaking, Allen, the red-haired boy, glanced over and shouted angrily at them, "What are you looking at?"

Terry quickly pulled Jian Ning's head down, and they continued to write their names.

Kelly soon returned with a bag of seeds. Each person received about ten seeds, and after sprouting them, they used small shovels to plant them in the ground.

The seedlings were particularly delicate and required careful care. They couldn't neglect any weeding, pest control, or watering; a slight mistake could lead to their death. C-grade psychic power could only sprout seedlings, while those with B-grade or higher could generate more mature and robust vegetables.

Next to each small house, there was a water outlet for supplying water. After planting the seedlings, they watered them. Kelly then had them get back on the school bus to return to the teaching area.

During the ride back, Kelly explained the names and growth characteristics of the seedlings they had just planted. It was a common vegetable called "snow cabbage," easy to care for. During the initial stage, they only needed to water it once a day and fertilize it once a week, avoiding strong sunlight, and it would grow well.

To become a qualified cultivator, they needed to understand the growth habits and care methods of various vegetables in the empire, starting from the simplest and most common ones.

Back at the entrance of the teaching building, Kelly reminded them to take good care of the snow cabbage they had just planted. She also explained how their regular grades would be calculated and the rules for the final exam before dismissing them for lunch.

These regular cultivation scores are recorded, including the success rate of cultivation and the level of care. Fifty percent of the final exam grade is based on these records, and any students who score below the passing mark will be forcibly expelled from the academy. After graduation, whether they are hired by nobles or assigned to various planetary cultivation centers, their performance scores will also be taken into account. The more outstanding the scores, the better opportunities and better treatment they will receive.

Jian Ning was worried about Tuan Tuan, so he asked Terry to bring him some food from the cafeteria and immediately rushed back to the dormitory.

Inside the dorm, Tuan Tuan took out the golden small ball from the bedside cabinet and started chasing after it as it rolled on the floor. Wagging its tail, Tuan Tuan playfully chased and jumped around the flying ball. When they reached the living room, Tuan Tuan pressed down on the ball with its little paws, "pat pat pat," trying to catch it. Feeling the vibration of the ball, Tuan Tuan released it, and the ball grew wings and flew into the air. Excited, Tuan Tuan pounced on it again, playing with the ball.

"What's this thing?" Jian Ning widened his eyes, and without much thought, he picked up a cushion from the sofa and used it to swat the flying ball to the ground. Then he quickly scooped up Tuan Tuan and stepped back, warily watching the ball, expecting it to fly again.

Something about it seemed familiar. Jian Ning looked puzzled at the ball, and Tuan Tuan twisted its round body in his arms, struggling to get free and ran over to the ball on the ground. It picked up the ball, which hadn't flown yet, and bounced over to Jian Ning, its big round eyes full of excitement.

Apparently, there was no danger, so Jian Ning crouched down and took the ball from Tuan Tuan's mouth. Realizing what it was, he was astonished. It was the small ball left behind by Tuan Tuan's father! It could grow wings and fly?!

He held the ball in his hand, thoroughly amazed. The ball fluttered its wings but couldn't take off, so it simply stopped moving. Its golden wings gently brushed against Jian Ning's finger, making it look incredibly cute and obedient.

Jian Ning reached out and touched the ball. Just as he was about to examine it more closely, he heard a noise at the door of the dorm. It was Terry returning. Jian Ning hadn't figured out how to hide the ball yet when Tuan Tuan had already grabbed it and began pawing at it again. The wings retracted, and the ball returned to its quiet and ordinary state.

"Ning, I brought back the food," Terry entered through the door, smiling.

"Thank you," Jian Ning said gratefully and then carried Tuan Tuan and the ball back to his room before coming out again to prepare milk for Tuan Tuan. He and Terry sat at the dining table together to eat.

At the Oster Empire's Group Army Headquarters, after finishing the military video conference, General Zong Ye was informed by his aide.

"Marshal, we have checked all the surveillance videos of the ships, but we couldn't find the young animal," the aide said.

Zong Ye raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Couldn't find it?"

"Yes, the young animal is too young, and we suspect that it was hidden in its guardian's embrace when they boarded the ship," the aide explained.

When male offspring are very young, they often accompany their parents when going out to prevent them from getting lost. The security personnel in charge of inspections are used to this practice because passengers undergo full-body scans on long electronic conveyor belts, ensuring nothing is missed. To improve efficiency, they usually don't insist on a separate scan for the young animals.

This makes it difficult to locate them, especially in crowded places like space stations.

Zong Ye twisted his brows for a moment, then opened the video of the storage room that had been sent to him that day on the light-brain. He watched the footage of the little dog jumping down from the ventilation duct once again. Just before the puppy returned, he noticed a flash on the communication device around its neck. He enlarged the position of the communication device, increased the resolution, and filtered the audio. A melodious voice appeared in the video, saying, "Tuan Tuan, come back."

"Beep," the communication device on his aide's wrist made a sound. He checked the incoming message and hurriedly informed Zong Ye, "Marshal, Feiyu's signal has appeared again. This time it's on the Imperial Star, inside Saint Academy."

"Saint Academy?" Zong Ye pondered, "Isn't the Gaia Military Academy giving a speech there tomorrow afternoon?"

Gaia Military Academy was the empire's top military institution, located opposite to Saint Academy. Both Zong Ye and his younger brother Zong Ming were outstanding graduates of Gaia Military Academy. Tomorrow was the opening day of the academy, and Zong Ye had been invited to give a speech two months ago.

The aide confirmed, "Yes."

Zong Ye decided, "Inform Zong Ming to take my place, and I'll go to Saint Academy tomorrow."

The aide acknowledged and left to contact Zong Ming.