NOVEL NEXT Chapter 88 - Credits
Although the senior and her friends were very enthusiastic, they were also quite considerate. They gave Mai Dongzi some important information on the way and, after escorting her to the dormitory, stayed for a while before taking their leave.
Mai Dongzi had a hearty meal. Despite having drunk a bottle of nutritional supplement after coming ashore, she still felt a bit hungry.
Before Mai Dongzi started school, Guard Su had prepared a lot of food from mutated beast meat brought from Water Blue Star, enough to last her for two months without any issues.
Moreover, the student cafeteria at Imperial Capital University also offered natural food, but it had to be purchased with credits.
Upon entering the Art Department, Mai Dongzi received a hundred credits as the only initial grant from the school. Subsequent credits would need to be earned on her own.
Don’t think that a hundred credits is a small amount. Here, ten credits can be exchanged for a decent meal of natural food, and credits can also be used at the school’s exchange center to redeem various training resources.
In short, at Imperial Capital University, credits are less useful than points because points cannot be transferred or purchased, yet many things at the school require points.
Points are also used to assess a student’s overall ability at Imperial Capital University.
The seniors were quite envious when they learned that Mai Dongzi had a hundred points, as their starting points were only twenty or thirty.
After all the students return to campus, the school will also award points based on the time each student took to complete the swimming test.
The rewards for the top five are one hundred points each. The fifth to twentieth places receive eighty points each.
From the twentieth to the hundredth place, the reward is fifty points. From the hundredth to the five hundredth place, it’s twenty points, and all others receive ten points.
Those who did not complete the swim or needed rescue from instructors halfway through will not only receive no points but will also be penalized.
Mai Dongzi checked her swimming time: 5:08:55, which was two minutes slower than Booker Qiao’s result from last semester.
This made Mai Dongzi uncertain about whether she could make it into the top five. Not only was it about honor, but it was also about points.
She felt a bit regretful because, although she had worked hard, she hadn’t given her all. If she had known about the points earlier, she would have pushed herself harder and at least saved five minutes.
Thinking of this, Mai Dongzi opened the campus network and found that some of the new students who had started at the same time as her were still drifting on the sea. It had been an hour since she came ashore.
At this moment, Mai Dongzi received an inquiry message from Ren Guang, asking if she had arrived at the school and how long her swim had taken.
After sending her swimming time, Ren Guang replied with a sticker indicating he didn’t want to talk to her for the next eight hours.
After having eaten and fully recovered her energy, Mai Dongzi was about to take a short rest and then start training when she received a message from the commanding department instructor, Fang, who had been waiting in the port lobby.
Instructor Fang, with a serious expression and commanding presence, said in a somewhat awkward but gentle tone, “Student Xi, the campus is very large. I’ve sent two senior students and one senior girl from the Art Department to assist you with your registration process.”
Mai Dongzi had originally planned to go the next day, but since the instructor had said so and someone would guide her, it was naturally better than finding her way alone, so she agreed.
When the two senior students from the Command Department saw Mai Dongzi, their initial looks of appraisal and curiosity quickly turned into amazement and recognition.
“Hello, Junior. I’m Yue Guangxi, a second-year student in the Command Department.”
“Hello, Junior. I’m Durant, also a second-year student.”
Both of these second-year seniors were mid-level practitioners at Level 5. Not only are they outstanding within the Command Department, but they are also among the top second-year students at Imperial Capital University.
“Hello, Junior. I’m Lan Ruonan, also a second-year student,” said the senior girl as she stepped forward to shake Mai Dongzi’s hand, speaking in a poised and confident manner.
Mai Dongzi put on a somewhat naive and innocent look. Even though her presence had altered her aura slightly, her appearance still retained a bit of youthful simplicity, making it easy for her to play the role of a novice.
Previously, among the Art Department seniors, only Wen Xuejie and the gentle-looking Wu Xuejie had spoken to her, while the other two seniors had been somewhat shy and had only greeted Mai Dongzi without saying much else.
However, Mai Dongzi felt quite at ease in front of these six seniors. She could sense that they were genuinely pleased to see her join the Art Department, and their happiness was sincere and free of ulterior motives.
In contrast, the three second-year students from the Command Department had a different demeanor. Yue Guangxi’s gaze carried a hint of arrogance, which was somewhat expected. Durant’s look was a bit convoluted and hard to read, while Lan Ruonan, despite her outwardly enthusiastic and friendly appearance, seemed less than pleased.
Thus, Mai Dongzi put on a façade.
At Imperial Capital University, to help students who are taking additional elective courses get to their classes on time, the school provides campus flying cars.
These flying cars can only hover three meters off the ground and are only slightly faster than running. They come in single-seat, two-seat, and four-seat versions.
While the flying cars are indeed convenient, they are not free. Points are deducted based on the distance traveled by the passengers.
The distance from the Art Department to the Command Department is three kilometers, and taking the flying car takes two minutes, during which Mai Dongzi was charged 0.5 points.
Mai Dongzi estimated that it would take her about three minutes to run the distance. For someone like her who can run continuously for two or three hours, this was not considered strenuous exercise.
The four of them shared the same flying car. Durant and Lan Ruonan initially exchanged some social pleasantries before asking Mai Dongzi about her experience with the survival game on Water Blue Star.
Although Mai Dongzi sensed that they had ulterior motives in bringing up the topic—Durant likely wanted to ask about the energy plants, while Lan Ruonan seemed to be using it as a way to bring up the issue of the fake and real daughters to make her uncomfortable—Mai Dongzi skillfully diverted the conversation. She started talking about her experiences in the desert, leaving the two of them feeling somewhat frustrated.
After all, as students of Imperial Capital University and judging by their demeanor, their backgrounds should be very good. Such people are not dull; they quickly realized Mai Dongzi’s intentions and understood that they wouldn’t be able to extract any information from her. They soon followed along with her topic of conversation.
To outsiders, the atmosphere among the four seemed quite pleasant.
As the four of them got out of the flying car, another four-person flying car arrived at the entrance of the Command Department. Two girls and two boys got out, with the first girl to exit seeming to be the leader based on their behavior.
“Princess Mary, good day!” Lan Ruonan, who was at the front, saluted the girl. Her outward attitude appeared very respectful, but in reality, it was not.
“Princess Mary, good day!” Durant also stepped forward to offer his greeting, his tone imbued with enthusiasm.
Yue Guangxi also stepped forward to greet and pay his respects, but his attitude was rather indifferent. However, Princess Mary’s gaze towards him was somewhat different.