Chapter 2053: Conception of a Teleportation Hub

"Of course it's true!"

Xia Duo reached out and tapped Jieyi on the forehead, silently activating the intangible power of 【Water Control】 to instantly dissolve the tears on Jieyi's face.

Then, he deliberately put on a stern face and said to Jieyi, "However, don't even think about slacking off before the Moon Festival. Not a single one of the required test papers can be missing. If you can't satisfy me by then, you'll be in for a rough time!"

"Don't worry, Teacher. This time when I go back, besides eating and sleeping, I will utilize all my time. I absolutely will not let you down, Teacher!"

"We'll see how you perform!"

After saying this, Xia Duo teleported Jieyi, along with his unfinished test papers, to Laidun's side. Watching the two of them stare at each other in shock, Xia Duo smiled with a touch of mischief.

……

Next, Xia Duo stopped paying attention to Laidun and the others. He returned to the Tower of Time to retrieve a pre-stocked Daiwei String Portal, then went to the Territory's Code Plaza.

Currently, there was only one portal in the Code Plaza connecting to the Azure Manor in Seventon. The tall portal, shimmering with blue light, stood in a corner of the plaza and was very eye-catching.

Now, another portal connecting to the Floating City was to be added here. While installing the portal, Xia Duo couldn't help but think that although the Code Plaza only had one or two portals now, it might not necessarily stay that way in the future.

For example, connecting to Evereska, or other friendly cities, or even some hub cities.

A small number wouldn't matter, but if the number grew, wouldn't this Code Plaza turn into a Teleportation Plaza? Moreover, with so many portals crowded together, it would certainly require exceptionally strict protection measures.

The Code Plaza was somewhat unsuitable.

Thinking this way, Xia Duo had already begun planning for a future teleportation hub in advance; one was needed on the ground, and if conditions allowed, one should also be on the Floating City.

Furthermore, he had discovered that although portals were safer and more convenient (for users) than teleportation arrays, teleportation arrays held the advantage in terms of construction costs and spatial utilization.

At the very least, a teleportation array could achieve one-to-many or many-to-one, whereas a portal could only be one-to-one. Although the target could be changed, it certainly wasn't as convenient as a teleportation array if changes were frequent.

"Future teleportation hubs should be based primarily on teleportation arrays! Portals can only serve as a supplement!"

Xia Duo did not want his territory to be called something like "City of Ten Thousand Portals" or "City of Ten Thousand Mirrors," as that would be quite degrading. He preferred his territory and city to be known as a "Land of Etiquette" or "Source of Arcane Magic."

Or perhaps "City of Mysteries," "City of Art," or "Hometown of Gourmet Food" would also be fine.

……

The installation and debugging of the portal were not complicated. This type of Daiwei String Portal had been put into use before, and Xia Duo quickly completed all the preparatory work.

Now, looking at the portal body, which resembled crystal, he felt not the slightest ripple in his heart. Without any ceremony, he simply activated the portal.

The portal body, composed of Daiwei Strings and encapsulation crystals, immediately emitted a strong magic aura that was long-lasting. At the same time, power from the Floating City Mythallar crossed space through the portal and appeared on the ground.

This brought the other half of the portal under control as well.

Xia Duo set the access permissions and returned to the Tower of Time to install another portal, also leading to the Floating City. The only difference was that the portal at the Tower of Time was prepared specifically for the Mages of the Tower of Time, while the one at the Code Plaza was primarily for the use of the territory's residents.

The work direction for both sides would differ; the Mages of the Tower of Time would first carry out infrastructure construction in the Research Zone, while the residents would head to the Planting Area for agricultural construction.

……

Tower of Time, Public Level.

No. 1 Spire, Teaching Zone.

The voices of the two tower spirits rang out almost simultaneously, with their classic, emotionless tone—

"Notice: The Supervisor of the Material Department of the Tower of Time, the Supervisor of the Personnel Department, the heads of independent laboratories, members of the Progress Society's Five-Member Committee, and all Level 1 Researchers, please attend a meeting in Conference Room 054 on the Public Level of the Tower of Time within ten minutes of receiving this notice."

When the notice was issued, Xia Duo was already sitting in Conference Room 054. Niya was sitting next to him, and the two were whispering to each other. Before long, people began to arrive.

The first to arrive was Saixili. As the Supervisor of the Material Department, or rather, the Financial Supervisor, she was very sensitive to anything involving money or resources. Sure enough, as soon as the notice was issued, she had rushed over in a hurry.

"Niya!"

Upon entering the conference room, Saixili noticed that Niya was also present. She immediately realized that today's meeting was different from usual and that there would likely be a major move.

Just as Saixili sat down, the corners of Xia Duo's mouth lifted slightly, and he cast a meaningful glance at her. This girl had never made any progress; she was still the same low-level Mage as before. Whispering to Niya right in front of him—did she really think he, a Great Arcanist, had reached his position by luck?

He listened openly for a few sentences, but when the topic turned to private matters, he finally couldn't help but cough lightly.

With such an obvious hint, Saixili instantly understood that her entire conversation with Niya had been overheard by Xia Duo. She couldn't help but lower her head, trying to make Xia Duo forget she existed.

However, Xia Duo couldn't be bothered with her. By now, seven or eight people had arrived one after another, including Depake, who was working hard to become an Advanced Arcanist. At this moment, he seized the gap before the meeting to ask Xia Duo about the questions he had accumulated recently.

For such an ambitious Depake, Xia Duo was, of course, generous with his answers. However, as more and more people arrived and more greetings were exchanged, Depake sensibly stopped asking questions.

……

Soon, in less than ten minutes, everyone notified had arrived. Xia Duo did not have a long-winded speech and went straight to the point:

"From now on, besides normal teaching and production tasks, all other activities in the Tower of Time will be temporarily suspended. You will head to the Floating City to select and build your new laboratories."

"Floating City? New laboratories?"

Except for Aiboke, who had previously participated in the construction of the Floating City, almost everyone was filled with confusion. Not long ago, the Tower of Time had just added a No. 1 Spire; could it be that there was another Mage Tower now?

Floating City? Did it refer to a floating Mage Tower?

News from Siluwende had not yet spread so quickly to the interior of the Tower of Time. Xia Duo could understand everyone's confusion, so he waved his hand to create an image of the Floating City, and thoughtfully placed a Tower of Time next to it for comparison.

"This is the Floating City, or rather, a mobile fortress that is larger and more powerful than the Tower of Time. Naturally, it also contains various types of basic facilities similar to those in the Tower of Time."

"What Xia Duo means is that as long as you participate in the construction of the Floating City's infrastructure, you will be able to obtain laboratories and residences within the Floating City in advance. As for the difference between the laboratories in the Floating City and those in the Tower of Time, I will only say one thing—"

Having said this, Niya paused deliberately before stating the option that made every Mage present feel their hearts race—

There are no restrictions whatsoever on energy usage for all laboratories in the Floating City!