The two-month summer vacation passed in the blink of an eye.
Li Yang had grown attached to her small apartment at school.
The teachers next door treated her very well, especially Teacher Xu from room 501, who was a great cook and would often invite her over for a meal.
At first, Li Yang didn’t go, but later, she couldn’t resist Teacher Xu’s kindness and started going every once in a while, though she felt a bit guilty about it.
Li Yang had been an orphan in both lives, and this was the first time she’d been cared for like this by an elder.
She felt a warmth in her heart.
After receiving the scholarship from the city and province, Li Yang bought Teacher Xu the latest model of an oven, which made her incredibly happy.
As the start of the school year approached, they were about to depart for Zhongdu.
Over these two months, Li Yang had gained a greater understanding of the world.
For example, the safety factor within the province was very high, and there were various modes of transportation between cities.
The travel conditions were similar to her previous life.
But once you crossed provincial borders, things were different.
There were many uncleaned quarantine zones between provinces, and even unknown “star world” entrances.
A wrong move could lead to disaster.
Ordinary people in this world rarely left the province, and only Star Controllers dared to travel between provinces.
Fang Chuyun gave Li Yang a map, and she was quite surprised.
“It’s really Zhongdu,” she said.
“Yes, most regions are named according to the terrain,” Fang Chuyun replied.
The map looked completely different from the one in Li Yang’s previous life; it resembled a “star map.”
Each province was scattered across the vast map like stars, with Zhongdu being the central point.
Donghua Province, located to the east of Zhongdu, got its name because of its location, and most of the other large provinces were also named based on their direction.
For example, there was Westhua Province, Northhua Province, Southhua Province… the “hua” character in these names was a split form of “Hua.”
There were also other provinces like Dong Ten Province and West Ten Province.
In addition to “hua” being split, the character “Xia” was also divided into “—,” “zi,” and “zhi.”
Some more remote large provinces were named after surnames, likely based on the families that founded them.
Traveling from Donghua Province to Zhongdu was about seven to eight hundred kilometers.
If she took a high-speed train like in her past life, it would take about three or four hours, or even faster by plane.
Driving would take about eight or nine hours.
But in this world, it was different.
They would need at least two days to reach Zhongdu.
To cross provinces, they would have to use cars powered by “starshine,” and they also needed the full protection of a city guard team.
They had to be careful of uncleaned quarantine zones and potential mutant creatures.
And that’s not all; they also had to watch out for cultists.
Li Yang asked, “Cultists?”
Yu Hongyuan didn’t know much about them either.
His family was rooted in Donghua Province, and he had never left the province. He was also curious and listened attentively.
Fang Chuyun said, “Yes, they call themselves the ‘Falling Star Sect.’
As you can guess from their name, they advocate for the arrival of the ‘Star World’ and support the evolution of the entire population.”
Because of the existence of the “Star World,” this world had various mutant creatures, and it also gave birth to Star Controllers.
The government aimed to protect the majority.
Once the “Star World” was fully opened, massive numbers of creatures from the Star World would flood out, causing a huge disaster for human society.
But the followers of the Falling Star Sect believed that the Star World was a holy land, and only by accepting its blessings could the human race evolve to a higher level.
Yu Hongyuan couldn’t help but say, “What about ordinary people? Opening the Star World would kill so many!”
Fang Chuyun said, “To them, ordinary people who cannot become Star Controllers should be eliminated.”
Yu Hongyuan’s parents were ordinary people, so hearing this made him angry.
“To hell with being eliminated! Don’t they have parents and family?”
Fang Chuyun shook her head.
“Most members of the Falling Star Sect are former Star Controllers who either have no family or their families were…”
Yu Hongyuan couldn’t understand.
“How could a Star Controller betray?”
In his mind, Star Controllers were sacred and great beings, something he had always looked up to.
So when he heard this, he felt like his worldview had been shattered.
Li Yang wasn’t surprised.
She said, “Star Controllers are still human, and being human means they have both good and evil.”
Fang Chuyun nodded.
“Exactly. Especially with such superhuman power, it’s easier for them to become tyrants.”
Li Yang could relate to this.
Even as a low-level First Grade Star Controller, her abilities were already noticeably different from ordinary people.
If she reached a higher level… above the Third Grade, the difference would be even more significant.
Once there’s a huge difference, they will slowly drift away from the ordinary world.
And if they have no family or connections, they may stop seeing ordinary people as equals.
Fang Chuyun explained briefly to Li Yang and Yu Hongyuan, and when the time came to depart, Principal Sun gathered all the students who were leaving the province and seriously explained the dangers of doing so.
Every year, around this time, many students from various provinces traveled to Zhongdu, not just top students who had been accepted into prestigious universities, but also some who had been admitted to Zhongdu’s top military academies or other provincial military schools.
Of course, some students were enrolled in local military academies, so they didn’t have to travel out of the province, which was much safer.
Huangcheng attached great importance to this year’s escort mission.
Not only were there three top students going to military academies in Zhongdu, but there was also the rare extreme physical body student, Li Yang.
The provincial capital even sent a Third Grade Star Controller to lead the team, which showed just how much they valued Li Yang.
On August 28th, the students from Huangcheng Military School were ready to depart for Zhongdu.
Apart from Li Yang, Yu Hongyuan, and Fang Chuyun, who were the top students, there were another twenty students.
Huangcheng arranged three special vehicles, a ten-person city guard team, and a Third Grade Star Controller from the provincial capital to lead the team.
Almost all the parents came to see their children off, and many students, who were leaving home for the first time, cried with tears and snot.
Li Yang stood alone, feeling a bit out of place.
“Yangyang!” A short, chubby woman with black-framed glasses hurried over.
She smiled and said, “I just baked some cookies this morning, take them with you as snacks on the road!”
It was Teacher Xu.
She had brought a small lunchbox to send off Li Yang.
Li Yang paused for a moment, then took the delicate box. Her nose tingled with a bit of emotion.
“Thank you, Teacher Xu.”
Teacher Xu winked at her and said warmly, “What are you thanking me for? You bought me such an expensive oven, and I haven’t had the chance to cook anything good for you.”
Li Yang whispered, “I’ll make it up to you when I get back during the holiday…”
Teacher Xu laughed loudly, “Alright! When you come back, I’ll cook something delicious for you!”
Li Yang also smiled and softly replied, “Okay.”
When the time came, the vehicle departed on schedule.
The students on the bus pressed their faces to the windows, constantly looking outside.
Getting into a military school in Zhongdu was their dream after ten years of hard work.
But when it came to leaving their hometown, they couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of reluctance.
Crossing provincial borders made it much harder to return.
Not only that, but communication was also difficult.
Signal stations in the wasteland were hard to build and maintain.
They were mostly for Star Controllers, with very few open to ordinary people.
However, the sad atmosphere on the bus didn’t last long.
After all, they were all teenagers.
Once the vehicle left the city and entered the wasteland, they quickly forgot their sorrow and stared eagerly out the windows.
Li Yang, holding the small lunchbox, curiously looked outside.
The provincial border was like a tall wall, protecting the people of Donghua Province.
Once beyond that wall, the air itself seemed to grow polluted.
For a moment, it felt like she had returned to a special quarantine zone.
Li Yang’s mental energy was very high. She squinted her eyes slightly and could see the starshine in the air.
Sure enough, the starshine density in the wasteland was much higher than in the city, but still lower than in the quarantine zones.
The students in the vehicle began chatting.
“This is my first time leaving the province. The wasteland really is barren.”
“Well, that’s why it’s called the wasteland!”
“Will we pass through a quarantine zone?”
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