“Fortunately, Star Ao Empire graduates have a lot of freedom in choosing their training camps. Since my Mind Core System compatibility has reached 12%, I can go to the military or security department’s training camps. Who knows what changes my body will undergo in the future? I need to pick a suitable camp and get far away from Nanluo City...”

After a moment, Charles Lynn made up his mind, got up with his luggage, and left the dormitory.

Leaving Nanluo Academy, he boarded a shuttle bus, destination—Nanluo City South Train Station.

Watching the academy grow smaller in the distance, Charles Lynn tugged at his collar and suddenly felt a burning sensation on his forehead. When he looked up, it seemed as if his forehead was glowing.

It’s over?!

Charles Lynn wailed inwardly. There was no way to hide it now; everyone on the bus must have seen his abnormality. By the next stop, there would probably be people from the military or security department waiting for him.

However, not a single person on the bus looked his way; they all ignored his strange behavior.

Stunned, Charles Lynn realized something: the changes on his chest and forehead could only be seen by himself—others couldn’t see them at all.

“What exactly is that stone sphere?”

While pondering, Charles Lynn took a hat out of his suitcase, put it on, and pulled the brim down to cover his forehead.

Even after arriving at Nanluo City South Train Station, he still hadn’t found any information about the stone sphere on the Alliance Academy’s virtual platform.

He didn’t dare ask the academy’s teachers or professors either, afraid of exposing himself. That kind of self-sabotage would be too foolish.

Once inside the maglev train station, the abnormalities on his chest and forehead disappeared. Charles Lynn breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then ran into trouble at the ticket check.

“Open your eyes,” the ticket inspector said sternly, staring at Charles Lynn.

“Sir, my eyes are already open,” Charles Lynn replied.

“Open them a bit wider. Didn’t get enough sleep?”

Damn it, I was born with squinty eyes—are you looking down on me?

Charles Lynn grumbled inwardly. He didn’t dare argue, worried about drawing attention, so he tried his best to open his eyes wider—from a single slit to about two slits.

The ticket inspector’s heart skipped a beat. This young man’s eyes were deep and clear, like a bottomless pool, making it hard to look directly at him.

Immediately, the inspector said nothing more, feigning a glance downward in fear, and waved Charles Lynn through.

Click, click...

The maglev train started up, roaring away along the Mind Core-powered rails.

“Finally leaving Nanluo City...”

Sitting in his seat, Charles Lynn let out a sigh of relief. At that moment, his communicator rang—Henry Lewis had sent a message.

Chapter 05: The Empire’s Golden Age

Henry Lewis: “Charlie, an hour ago, what message were you trying to send me? Why didn’t it ever come through?”

Charles Lynn was speechless. The communicators in this world were just like WeChat on Earth—the other person could see when you were typing.

He hadn’t expected Henry Lewis to notice him composing a message an hour ago and to have waited the whole time.

“It’s nothing.” Thinking of his friend waiting for an hour, Charles Lynn found it funny, and his anxious mood eased a lot.

“No. You must have something going on.” Henry Lewis immediately replied, “Did you borrow money from me and not pay it back, and now you want to renege but your conscience won’t let you?”

“No. In our four years as classmates, I was the creditor most of the time.”

“Then what were you doing just now, typing for so long? But never sending anything?”

Faced with Henry Lewis’s persistent questioning, Charles Lynn decided to go big and sent over a photo.

It was from last night, when Henry Lewis, after drinking too much, stripped down to just his shorts and danced enthusiastically with a minotaur statue—caught on camera by a classmate.

“Keep it safe, you’re welcome!”

“Who?! Who did this?!”

On the other end, Henry Lewis flew into a rage, storming through the class group chat, and completely forgot to ask Charles Lynn what he’d been trying to send.

Turning to look out the window, watching Nanluo City gradually disappear from view, Charles Lynn finally relaxed. He should be safe now.

Ding!

A notification popped up on his communicator: in half an hour, the Alliance Academy virtual platform would be closed to him.

This marked the end of his four years at Nanluo Academy.

“Just half an hour left, and I’ll have officially graduated?”

Suddenly remembering something, Charles Lynn put on his sensory goggles, logged into the Alliance Academy virtual platform, and opened a meeting room.

“Ding... Codename Lynn has entered the meeting room.”

“Ding... David Armstrong (Title: Professor at Nanluo Academy, Honorary Advisor to the Greater Star Ao County Training Camp) has entered the meeting room.”

Lynn: “Professor Armstrong, regarding your paper ‘The Hypothesis of Thirty-Six Overlapping Mind Core Codes in Reality,’ I’ve already worked out a solution.”

David Armstrong: “!?”

Sitting in his train seat, Charles Lynn was slightly dazed. In his four years on the Alliance Academy virtual platform, the only person he’d kept in frequent contact with under the codename “Lynn” was Professor David Armstrong.

Because Charles Lynn had a strong interest in Mind Core codes, and also possessed outstanding talent.

As for David Armstrong, he was an authority on Mind Core codes in the Star Ao Empire.

Over these four years, Charles Lynn had learned a lot from Professor David Armstrong.