Chapter 637: You Guys Aren't Thinking of Freeloading Off Me, Are You?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 637: You Guys Aren't Thinking of Freeloading Off Me, Are You?
My arrival caused a sensation throughout Ninglan New City.
Perhaps some didn't know the exact reason why, and perhaps others simply knew that I could resolve Ninglan New City's predicament, but only a select few understood the true significance of my presence.
However, the one most delighted by this news was naturally the City Lord of Ninglan New City, Ninglan Qiuyue.
The moment my figure appeared in Ninglan New City, the news landed on the office desk of Ninglan Township Castle at lightning speed.
Meanwhile, I led my group to their lodgings. Since there were several Teaching Assistants among them, they were all provided with free accommodations in the same area.
"How is it? Settling in alright?"
I walked over to Yi Rui. At that moment, she was at her doorway, giving instructions to several other young female Teaching Assistants.
"Of course. I’ve never felt better. I can practically hear the casting materials in my storage cards throbbing with excitement!" Yi Rui expressed her fondness for the place without the slightest reservation.
Was it really the casting materials throbbing? It was more likely their own hearts and their uncontrollable hands.
For people like them, who usually disliked wandering around but refused to leave once they experienced the benefits of a place, this city truly offered a unique experience.
"Then I think you’d better keep a close eye on your storage cards," I replied with a smile. "Do you all have a plan for what you want to do here?"
"What we want to do... To be honest, we didn't plan ahead. But the moment we arrived, I knew exactly what we needed to do."
"Getting straight to business? Don't you want to take a vacation and relax? Maybe explore the local customs of a city that has stood upon these ruins for a thousand years?"
"That... well, true. But I still feel like we should finish what we want to do most before we start sight-seeing. Otherwise, we won't be able to enjoy ourselves fully. Xiao Han, you’re familiar with this place, right? Do you have any recommendations? I mean, places convenient for us to conduct experiments."
"If you just want to try a few things out, you could look for the Beyonder Research Association in the city," I said after a moment's thought. "The chairman's name is Wumali. Just mention my name when you get there. I think he’ll accommodate any requests that aren't too outrageous."
"But if you’re looking for something more... stimulating, you can head outside the city. Of course, provided you don't start a massive wildfire. There’s a huge amount of vegetation in many areas out there. If you absolutely must experiment... you can go to the sanctuary nearest to Ninglan New City. I’ll be stationed there for a while, and I can arrange a site for you."
"I see... I feel like we’re constantly imposing on you. But thank you in advance. We’ll likely stay in the city for a while to acclimate; that’s what most of us are thinking."
"It’s fine. Ninglan New City is a very free place. As long as you don't do anything too excessive or incite public outrage, you’ll basically be fine. Oh! You might want to check out some of the temporary market stalls in the city. There are quite a few Transcendent materials there."
"We will. Then I won't bother you any longer, Xiao Han~ Also... that person behind you has been watching you for a long time. Does she have business with you?" Yi Rui didn't chat for long, eventually gesturing toward someone behind me.
After all, she only wanted to get a general sense of things; for more detailed information, she could just ask the waitstaff here.
Moreover, just because they didn't like going out didn't mean they couldn't take care of themselves. They had their own ideas and didn't need someone else micromanaging them.
Rather than hearing a detailed description from someone else, they preferred to experience it firsthand.
"Oh, her. Yes, she is looking for me." I turned slightly to glance at the girl behind me, who responded with her most natural smile.
"Then we won't keep you. It looks like you’re about to go do something big?"
"Yeah. There might be some city-wide martial law situations later. It’s nothing serious, really. Just carry on as usual."
After a brief explanation to them, I turned and walked toward the girl.
Her name was Lan Ke, the secretary who followed Ninglan Qiuyue. One didn't need to be a genius to know why she was here.
At this moment, the hotel had already been cordoned off by the City Guard. They felt compelled to make such a grand gesture to demonstrate how much Ninglan New City valued this matter.
"Teacher Xiao Han..."
"I know." I raised my hand to signal her, saving them the trouble of polite formalities.
"Understood." Seeing my cooperation, Lan Ke said no more, clearly relieved.
Before coming here, she had looked into several things—for instance, how others had previously tried to invite this person only to be driven away.
So... they had to consider the worst-case scenario.
As Ninglan Qiuyue's secretary and most trusted confidante, she was the first to arrive here with the City Guard.
To ensure that Teacher Xiao Han could be successfully invited, Ninglan Qiuyue was already prepared to come in person—not just as Ninglan Qiuyue, but in her official capacity as the Ninglan City Lord!
Such a large-scale mobilization of the City Guard naturally drew countless onlookers. However, most of the residents here were Academy students, and the City Guard didn't dare actually lay a hand on them. So, in the end, it was mostly just for show.
But even so, it was quite the display of prestige, wasn't it?
Yi Rui and her group were also watching the spectacle from behind. Since they had just arrived, they didn't know much about the local situation.
"Is Sister Xiao Han really that powerful? All this pomp and circumstance just to invite her alone?"
"I heard the City Lord of this place is also a student of our Witch Academy."
"It’s good to have connections... I’m so jealous. Why didn't anyone come to welcome us?"
"You guys are new here, right? I saw you talking to Teaching Assistant Xiao Han just now. I’m so envious."
"You’re envious of just that?"
"We are indeed newcomers. Fellow student, I am an Academy Teaching Assistant. Would it be convenient to tell me what Teaching Assistant Xiao Han has done here?" Yi Rui stepped forward to ask the girl who had spoken.
"Te... Teaching Assistant? You’re actually a Teaching Assistant! I’m so sorry! I didn't know... I should have realized that anyone who could talk to Teaching Assistant Xiao Han like that..."
"It’s fine, really. Don't be like that. Just treat me like a Senior Sister. I’m just curious. Could you tell us?" Yi Rui continued to maintain a humble posture.
"O-okay! I’ll tell you... but if we’re talking about Teaching Assistant Xiao Han’s deeds, we have to go back to last semester, when the Slumber Curse incident broke out..."
While the gossip continued at the hotel, I had already followed the guides onto the main roads of Ninglan New City.
I had to admit, being escorted by a large number of well-trained City Guards with a path cleared ahead of me... was a pretty good feeling. But once was enough.
It was a novel experience, but such a flamboyant display through the streets did cause quite a bit of trouble for the city and drew a massive crowd of onlookers.
"Tell me about the situation in Ninglan New City." I looked up at the sky above the city. Through the gaps between the tall buildings, I could see the anomalies in the distant sky.
A large number of amorphous "monsters," resembling clouds of smoke, were constantly hovering and circling in the sky far away.
Those were dream creatures. Even for me, this was the first time I had seen so many of them. Even back at the Seed Vault, when that dream creature summoned its kin, I hadn't seen this many.
However, based on what I had previously learned from that oversized dream creature, these beings enjoyed coming to reality to "play."
With such a large permanent population, Ninglan New City had naturally attracted a massive swarm of dream creatures.
"As of the most recent monitoring report from three hours ago, the dream regions closing in on Ninglan New City have already covered thirty percent of the city area. The large number of dream creatures has severely interfered with the normal lives of ordinary people in the affected zones..."
I listened to Lan Ke’s briefing as I headed toward Ninglan Township Castle, using my Ley Line Identification Art along the way to gather more detailed data.
Before I even reached the castle, I encountered Ninglan Qiuyue in her formal attire, leading a group of high-ranking officials to meet me.
This was something they felt they had to do.
Originally, they thought it was just a simple Dream Overlap. Ninglan New City had experienced it once before, so why be afraid?
But when the Dream Overlap phenomenon actually began to cover the city, they realized just how terrifying those dream creatures were!
While those dream creatures couldn't compare to the Nightmares of the past, their sheer numbers were overwhelming!
They could only rely on hiring students who had mastered Dream Demon Spells to enter the dreamscape and cast spells to disperse the creatures.
Even within the dream, they could use spells, but those spells were entirely products of the Dream Rules. They couldn't affect reality, but they were effective at driving away dream creatures.
Although the students enjoyed themselves while casting spells to disperse the creatures, they couldn't be there to do it every second of every day.
These dream creatures were like schools of fish in the ocean; when someone came, they created a temporary void, but the collective stayed put, as if playing hide-and-seek with them.
After some fuss, I was warmly invited into the highest-specification conference room within Ninglan Township Castle.
However, because my arrival was sudden, many preparations were rushed. This led to a rather theatrical scene—me, alone, facing City Lord Ninglan Qiuyue and the crowd of officials behind her.
To avoid making the situation look too extreme, they dismissed many officials to listen from the sidelines. On my side, there were still quite a few City Guards, which served to bolster my presence and balance out the awkwardness of the numbers.
"I have to say, you’ve made this a bit too grand. If we had just talked in a reception room, we might have already achieved our mutual goals by now." In the somewhat awkward atmosphere, I was the first to break the silence.
However, my tone was not that of a collaborator; it even carried a hint of disdain.
"Respected Teacher Xiao Han, we are deeply sorry. This reception may seem a bit rushed, but please do not doubt the high level of importance Ninglan New City places on this. We sincerely hope to receive you with the highest honors to demonstrate our serious attitude toward the current predicament we face."
"If that’s the case, then you should address me as Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan. 'Teacher Xiao Han' is what the students at the Witch Academy call me. Since you are representing Ninglan New City, addressing me that way would be more formal, don't you think?" I toyed with a crystal cluster I had formed using Crystallization Art, my attitude very clear. Only one person here was qualified to talk to me. "Of course, City Lord Qiuyue and I have a deep friendship; I don't mind her calling me that, including during this meeting."
Since I held the initiative in the conversation, the rhythm naturally followed my lead. Granting a specific person a privilege was also a way of granting them value.
Ninglan Qiuyue had made it to the level of a formal meeting, yet she couldn't even secure the position of lead negotiator for our first exchange. It was a bit pathetic.
But... considering she was the City Lord but hadn't fully taken over all duties and powers, I suspected it wasn't entirely a matter of her competence. With the interference of those Academy TAs, her situation was indeed difficult...
More importantly, as long as Ninglan New City maintained its sovereignty, the Witch Academy wouldn't interfere in who held power, just as the Academy didn't care who ran society in the outside world. Thus, if Ninglan Qiuyue wanted total control over Ninglan New City, she had to rely on her own methods.
The fact that these people dared to act this way suggested they had been testing the Academy's attitude for a long time.
There were likely shadows of clubs like the Jack-of-all-trades Club behind this. They naturally didn't want another figure to emerge who was on equal footing with them. By diluting the City Lord's power, Ninglan Qiuyue would lose the status to negotiate with them as an absolute peer.
To put it bluntly, it was all about profit. I couldn't be bothered to call them out on it.
"Very... very well, Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan..."
I glanced at the man who spoke. He looked to be over fifty and carried himself with an air of self-importance; one might have mistaken him for the City Lord.
"Let’s get straight to the point. I don't have time for your nonsense. I can resolve the Dream Overlap crisis in Ninglan New City. So... what’s the price? What can you give me?"
"This..." Seeing me refuse to play by the usual rules, the officials were stunned and began whispering among themselves.
"You guys aren't thinking of freeloading off me, are you? Where do you get the nerve to think I’d just help you?"
"Teaching Assistant Yang Yuehan, you misunderstand. As a Teaching Assistant of the Witch Academy, you would surely consider the Academy's promise to help Ninglan New City through its difficulties..."
"There’s no need for these conceptual shell games. I do not represent the entire Witch Academy. My only purpose in coming here is to help the people outside the city rebuild civilization. You’ve come to me because I am the only one who can solve your problem. You say the Academy made a promise... then produce the signed Witch Contract! If you don't have one, don't bring it up! If you’re delusional enough to expect the Academy's protection, go find a formal Mentor. Mentor Elena is in the city; if she agrees, I’ll help."
My words were sharp and aggressive, yet not a single one of them dared to talk back.
A Witch Contract?
What was that?
They weren't even qualified to sign one.
Go find Mentor Elena?
They had tried. She wouldn't give them the time of day!
After just a few exchanges, they realized I was not someone to be trifled with, nor was I like the other Teaching Assistants they had dealt with before.
They had used the wrong approach!
But the arrow was on the string; they had to push forward. Changing their negotiation strategy now would only cause internal chaos and allow me to seize even greater openings and leverage.