Chapter 26: The Addictive Void Terminal

Zen Garden.

Located in the mid-section of the Sumeru Rainforest Region, it borders the Water Sky Jungle, whose natural conditions are complex and ever-changing.

Thanks to this superior geographical advantage.

The Academy's School of Life also regards this place as a practical research site.

Just as Dixiya said.

The School of Life's students—whether they are formal scholars holding the Tuo She Duo title, exchange students like Di Li Ye Xi, or sages of the Habantu tradition—regularly come to Zen Garden to give academic reports and hold discussions.

As an outstanding member of the School of Life, although he has already graduated, Tighnari still regularly comes to Zen Garden to present his new papers and discuss new topics with other researchers.

Speaking of Tighnari.

Actually, wanting to find him had nothing to do with Luo De seeing his paper in a book.

It's simply that Luo De knows his conduct.

He is reliable, and like Sai Nuo, a rare good person.

Luo De has repeatedly run into trouble with farming, so he thought to consult this talented scholar, hailed as the most promising successor to the School of Life's Great Sage, about some difficult problems.

Unlike the openly hostile gazes toward desert dwellers he had encountered at Kawanyi.

The academic atmosphere at Zen Garden is especially rich.

Even when Luo De and Dixiya, dressed as desert dwellers, entered, they did not make any move to drive them away; in fact, a student wearing the School of Life's uniform proactively asked if they were encountering any difficulties.

The School of Life is not merely about farming and animal husbandry.

They also have an important duty: practicing medicine.

Thus the student named A Shisha Bu mistakenly thought Luo De and Dixiya had come seeking help.

"Did you eat poisonous mushrooms by mistake, or were you attacked by a toxic creature?"

"If you are poisoned, the fourth room to the right from here is the medical room for treating toxins."

"If you are injured, the second room to the left from here is the medical room for treating external wounds."

"If you don't know what ailment you have, see that room with the green sign? Senior You Zi Ni Jia and Senior Zha Ka Li Ya are here today; they can examine you."

A Shisha Bu said a lot, listing all possible accidents that could occur in the Water Sky Jungle in one breath.

Luo De and Dixiya exchanged a glance, then smiled and asked, "Excuse me, is Mr. Tighnari here today?"

"Oh, you're here to look for Senior Tighnari."

"He's here."

"However, you'll have to wait a bit; he's currently conducting botanical research with several seniors, which should take a few hours."

A Shisha Bu simply took Luo De and Dixiya as friends of Tighnari, said nothing more, pointed in a direction, and hurried off.

Watching her back.

Then looking around at the other students who were likewise hurrying or discussing while walking.

Luo De suddenly felt as if he had returned to the time when he was still in school.

"They're still just pure students."

Luo De said with a complex expression.

Is the Academy good people?

No.

But are all Academy members bad people?

Not necessarily.

At least the students here at Zen Garden truly shut out outside affairs and devote themselves wholeheartedly to research.

The Academy's evils—its control of knowledge, its injustice toward the desert—are decisions made by the high-ranking officials led by the Great Sage, and have nothing to do with these students.

"Indeed, they are quite pure."

Dixiya heard Luo De's sigh and added, "Just like the scholar we hired this time, we had actually been guarding against him touching those ancient machines, but despite a thousand precautions, we still left a tiny opening, and he seized the opportunity."

Dixiya did not mean to complain about that scholar.

In her subsequent narration,

Luo De also came to roughly understand the modus operandi of most Academy scholars.

How to put it?

If described in three characters, 'book idiot' would be fitting.

They really are book idiots.

This is not a derogatory term.

Dixiya has communicated with Academy scholars relatively often.

The Academy scholars who hired the Blazing Light Beast Hunters basically have no basic wilderness survival skills at all, and moreover they are extremely bold; when faced with the unknown they seem fearless, whether it's a small forest beast or a huge killing machine in ancient ruins, there is nothing they dare not study.

Not only Dixiya, but every mercenary group, when taking on jobs from scholars, repeatedly warns them not to casually touch unknown things, especially those ancient relic machines that appear immobile.

But after all, legs grow on people's own bodies.

Those scholars with vigorous research enthusiasm always find loopholes and then cause unnecessary trouble.

Just like the heavy losses suffered by the Blazing Light Beast Hunters this time.

However, Dixiya knows that the nature of these book‑idiot scholars is just like that, and she can't say anything about it.

Moreover, they have compensated the bereavement and medical expenses according to the contract.

So she can only repeatedly remind herself that, when taking on future jobs from scholars, she must be extra careful.

Dixiya's remarks also gave Luo De a deeper understanding of the Academy's modus operandi.

And another point that caught Luo De's attention.

That is the leaf‑shaped green ear ornaments worn by the coming‑and‑going students.

While they were discussing, this kind of earring would occasionally emit a faint green glow.

Dixiya noticed Luo De's gaze and began to introduce him.

"That thing is a Void Terminal."

"It is a device the Academy uses to transmit knowledge; it is said to be a tool the Academy crafted from the legacy of the Great Merciful Tree King (Your Excellency), and some say it is the cornerstone that allowed Sumeru to truly become a city of wisdom."

After saying that, Dixiya took out a peculiarly shaped box, opened it, and showed Luo De what was inside: "This is my Void Terminal, but you can't use it; it's personally bound, and the Academy's issuance standards for desert folk are also very strict—even if you have a settlement certificate from A Ru Cun, you'd probably still find it hard to obtain."

"No problem."

Luo De nodded, his expression slightly aloof, without regret or disappointment.

In fact.

He already knew all of what Dixiya had said.

However, Luo De's opinion of the Void Terminal differed from Dixiya's.

This thing is useful, indeed useful.

But it's too useful.

In theory, the Void Terminal should function like a search engine: users look up the answers they want on it and then use that as a reference for their own thinking.

But in practice?

The vast majority of Void Terminal users completely abandon personal logic, accepting whatever the Void says as truth without questioning its correctness, and because knowledge is so easily obtained, they gradually lose their desire to seek knowledge.

Why did Dixiya describe the Academy's scholars as book idiots?

That's where the problem lies.

After long-term use of the Void, many of those scholars have forgotten how to think for themselves; when something happens, their first reaction is to query the Void and then mechanically follow the steps it gives to solve the problem.

To put it roughly,

Just like in Luo De's past life, if you can find something on Baidu, why waste brain cells thinking about it?

"It's all the same kind of dependence."

After taking another deep look at the students constantly using the Void Terminal to look up information, Luo De didn't turn back, went with Dixiya to the outside of Ti Nali's research lab, and waited for him to come out.

(End of chapter)