Chapter 223: Chapter 160 The Old Immortals
Ai Lin bowed to the two princesses, then trotted over to Long Yi. Compared to chatting leisurely with them, Ai Lin preferred the training sessions with Long Yi. The intense aroma surrounding her was giving her a headache.
Watching Ai Lin walk away, the princesses shared a small smile then turned to Pella. "We’ll be taking our leave now. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Please, President Pella, remove our names as well."
Acknowledging this, the princesses gracefully departed, surrounded by guards.
The party was left in a state of disbelief. The mood for light-hearted banter evaporated.
Pella was seething with rage, but her face revealed none of this.
"Alright, now that the annoying men and respected princesses have left, it’s our turn to shine. Let’s enjoy ourselves!"
In response to Pella’s call, the girls managed to coax smiles onto their faces. Before long, the gloom from before was completely erased.
The day’s events had marked Ai Lin’s definitive break from her past. After leaving the Butterfly Society, she felt much more relaxed. There was still some confusion, but for the first time, Long Yi saw confidence in the young girl’s eyes.
Long Yi was taken aback. He hadn’t realized that this girl, Pella, had such a profound influence on Ai Lin. Ai Lin’s renewed confidence seemed to stem from her decisive break with Pella.
But who could truly explain the intricacies of a person’s life? Maybe a small thing could have a huge influence. Who can understand this unless they’ve experienced it?
Back at the Imperial Magic Research Institute, Instructor Ding Ge and his three colleagues sat in a row, making notes. In front of them, Little Zi, with a book in one hand, was writing something on a small blackboard.
Were they in class?
Long Yi was dumbfounded.
Seeing Long Yi, Little Zi immediately dropped her book and ran towards him, her face split into a grin. On the other hand, Instructor Ding Ge gave Long Yi a furious look. It seemed like someone was not appreciating his untimely arrival.
"Couldn’t you have come later, you fool? Instructor Zi was just getting to the good part!" Ding Ge had tidied up his wild hair, he was no longer in shabby clothes and his face was clean shaven. Surprisingly, there were no traces of effeminacy now.
"Did I interrupt something?" The ever-honest Long Yi sensed his timing could be off. He was appearing to be, as per Ding Ge, hindering the development of magic in the White Dragon Empire.
"No, Brother Long, we were just discussing a spell, and I casually pointed out the factual evidence that what they had been studying for three years was wrong." Little Zi said, with a merry smile.
"Oh, I thought I was being a nuisance! If that’s the case..." Long Yi glanced around at the researchers glaring at him, revealing a genuine smile, "Well then, as Ai Lin is free now, we should get going now."
Just as he finished speaking, the researchers who had been glaring at him just a moment ago, simultaneously put on a façade of pleasantness.
"Oh, isn’t this Long Yi? We were very engrossed in our work and didn’t notice you. Are you thirsty, hungry, cold, hot? You came straight from the dance ball, didn’t you? Did you even have time to change clothes? Must be famished. Please go, take a rest, have something to eat and sleep."
All four researchers, the oldest among them were Long Yi’s grandfather’s age and even the youngest, Instructor Ding Ge, was old enough to be his uncle. They spared no effort to excessively flatter Long Yi to a point that didn’t even appear genuine, and all without any concern for the goosebumps it was causing Long Yi.
"Stop! Or should I have Little Zi continue talking while I have a walk around?" Long Yi felt that if the emperor saw his generously cultivated researchers acting like this, he would definitely behead Long Yi first before doing the same to them.
It was too disgusting.
"Having a walk? No problem! Absolutely no problem. Here, take this! It provides unrestricted access to any area within the institute, it’s yours now. Now off you go!"
Instructor Ding Ge directly shoved his lanyard with a pass into Long Yi’s hand. His intentions were glaringly clear.
"Um, Brother Long, actually I want to listen as well," Ai Lin said, looking at Long Yi. Although she had only heard a bit, it was interesting. So, she was curious to know what Little Zi was telling these researchers.
"Haha, you’re very welcome! We welcome all talented individuals to join us!" Instructor Ding Ge was extremely excited as he was well aware of Ai Lin’s talent in magic. It was Ai Lin’s unique insight into a magic formula that had once led to a significant breakthrough at the institute. Of course, to protect Ai Lin, they simply credited it as their own work. But everyone knew that the original formula was hers!
In comparison, Long Yi was somewhat pitied.
Hey hey! You bastards, what’s with that disapproving look? I may not be good at researching magic, but I sure know how to punch. See if you dare say anything, I’ll pummel your faces!
Despite grumbling in his heart, Long Yi just laughed it off and wandered off using the pass.
The Imperial Research Institute is divided into several areas, including the Magic Research Institute; the Mechanical Research Institute; and the New Energy Research Institute. Each institute houses various sub-institutes and myriad small research facilities. The pass on Long Yi’s chest is a high-level pass, second only to the top-level pass, and allows access to the vast majority of the areas.
He strolled aimlessly, experiencing this costliest region of the whole White Dragon Empire.
Any technology research in any world is a money-burning pit. Once successful, it can benefit generations. If it fails, the money just has to keep burning endlessly. How much money is burnt depend on the Emperor’s determination. In this regard, the White Dragon Empire has always done quite well. Generations of Emperors have attached increasing importance to new technology research, and the capital invested has also become larger and larger.
So, for these Emperors, Long Yi had inherent liking.
"Eh? You? You are? Who again? Who was it? Ah yes! Bajie! You’re Long Yi from Team Bajie, right?" An old man’s voice sounded from one side, and Long Yi turned his head to see a somewhat familiar face under the dim streetlight.
"Dean Ma Deburg?" Long Yi recognized the old man, who turned out to be the Dean of the Crystal Core Branch of the New Energy Research Institute, Ma Deburg.
"Hahaha! It really is you! I saw your massive figure from a distance and I thought it was you, and lo and behold it is!" Dean Ma Deburg said cheerfully.
"Haha, Dean, you still remember me!" Long Yi looked at the sprightly old man across from him, but felt something was off. Simply put, the old man’s eyes seemed unusually bright.
"You’re looking at my eyes, yes?" Dean Ma Deburg said, his voice full of amusement.
"Yes, your eyes... seems somewhat unique." Long Yi carefully chose his words.
"Haha, don’t beat around the bush, lad. This is my new invention!" As Dean Ma Deburg said this, he blinked, and the strange light in his eyes disappeared.
"What is it?" Long Yi asked curiously.
"These are night-vision glasses! Made using the discovery you made!" Dean Ma Deburg exclaimed excitedly.
"My discovery?"
"Absolutely! You discovered the misconception about Crystal Core research, right? After I got home, I did everything I could to get my hands on a new Crystal Core that’s been used for less than an hour. We studied it carefully and found out the Crystal Core doesn’t die after an hour, but goes dormant. If conditions are right, it can still be reactivated. Since then, we’ve been trying to figure out how to reactivate the Crystal Core!" Dean Ma Deburg was still very excited. It was obvious that he might not have many people to share this with.
"And then?"
"We did it! We reactivated the Crystal Core! We even figured out how to keep it active! Based on the different properties of the Crystal Cores, we’ve researched a whole bunch of new toys!"
Dean Ma Deburg pointed at his eyes, and Long Yi finally noticed that an extremely small Crystal Core had been implanted in the corner of his eye. When necessary, it would extend a thin film to cover the eyeball, enhancing the person’s vision.
"This old man used to have really bad night vision, but with this thing, I can walk with assurance again!"
"With this, we might be able to create a batch of Dragon Rider helmets with magnifying functions." Long Yi said.
"Magnifying? What is that?" Dean Ma Deburg asked, puzzled.
Only then did Long Yi remember that in this world, optical technology was in its infancy.
Wait, why aren’t I making telescopes to sell? How could I be so foolish? It would be a guaranteed moneymaker! Sell them to the military, one for every commander, and a gold version for the generals with their own autograph on it!
Damn! This is a golden opportunity to make a fortune!
"Cough cough, this is just an idea of mine, I haven’t thought it through yet. I’ll let you know when I figure it all out," Long Yi said without hesitation.
"Good! You must let me know! Ah! Youth is truly wonderful. You guys always have so many ideas, unlike us old geezers! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t know how long we’d be struggling!" Dean Ma Deburg suddenly became sentimental.
"Dean, you’re being too kind. I was just blind guessing," Long Yi modestly said.
"Ah! I just remembered, the archaeology team just sent over a batch of ancient relics. Are you interested in coming over to take a look?" Dean Ma Deburg suddenly asked.
"Ancient relics?"
"Yes! Ancient relics!" (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on qidian.com. Your support is my motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
