Chapter 69: Ruivosi City

The next day.

Early in the morning, Lin Ke arrived at the station he hadn't visited since enrolling.

Today is the first day of the vacation, and surely many people will flock off-campus.

Lin Ke came this early to catch the first bus, in order to avoid the peak crowd.

Anyway, the driverless shuttle stops at the station not far from the school gate; even if few people board, it leaves on time.

The facts proved Lin Ke's decision was correct.

When the first driverless shuttle departed on schedule, the only passenger was Lin Ke.

Sitting by the window, Lin Ke watched the scenery outside flash by rapidly, and suddenly recalled those countless moments in the past when he rushed to school or work.

Back then he always did the same, sitting by the window and gazing outside.

The scenery flying past beside the road never slowed down for him.

And he never lingered at many moments in his life.

His steps were hurried, his expression hurried, always hurried.

Suddenly snapping back to attention, the driverless shuttle stopped; Ruivosi City had arrived.

To Lin Ke, Ruivosi City was a completely unfamiliar place.

All he knew about this city came from forum messages and some materials.

As for the city layout maps he could find, Lin Ke remembered them clearly.

Even the obscure alleys hidden in the corners of the West District, Lin Ke remembered each one.

But that was only a map; it surely differed from the actual terrain.

Today, and indeed throughout the vacation, Lin Ke's main task was to pass through Ruivosi City to gain a deeper, more comprehensive, further understanding of the wizard world.

The First Passenger Station is the best-equipped station in the West District, and also the station located furthest out geographically.

All trips to and from the Ruivosi Biological and Medical Academy to Ruivosi City stop here.

Exiting the First Passenger Station brings you onto the City Ring Boulevard.

Lin Ke had already prepared his plan; after waiting a moment at the city's public rail transit platform a few dozen meters outside the passenger station, he boarded a rail transit train heading for the Central City District.

This rail transit train's route follows the City Ring Boulevard, goes around the West District, passes through the South City District, East District, and North City District, then proceeds straight to the Central City District.

Lin Ke chose this rail transit train in order to get an overall impression of Ruivosi City from the outskirts.

The identification issued by the academy still works in the city.

No matter where you go, as long as you use public transportation, it's free.

Lin Ke's purpose for this trip is clear: to make a quick tour of all five districts to gain a rough understanding.

The reason he first went to the Central City District is that it is neither a commercial nor an industrial zone, but an administrative district where government agencies are concentrated.

Lin Ke first needed to find a place to obtain a resident identification usable in the city.

Although the academy's identification is usable in the city, it also has some inconveniences.

That is, it would reveal his status as a Newblood of the Storm Sea, making him easy to be overcharged when spending in many places.

Hmm...

It could be a financial gouging, or even a physical one.

Just like in the Harry Potter world, those dark wizards lurking in Knockturn Alley, those Death Eaters who kill and burn everywhere—how many of them are not graduates or dropouts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?

Humans have never ceased slaughtering each other!

Looking out through the glass window of the rail transit train, along the way Lin Ke discovered that Ruivosi City has very few high-rise buildings.

Except for the towering, highly conspicuous spire standing at the very center of the city, other buildings generally do not exceed five stories.

Lin Ke calculated that even a First Grade Wizard Apprentice jumping from that height would not be killed.

Perhaps this design is out of safety considerations?

It could also be due to airspace control, or other levels that Lin Ke currently cannot access.

The distance between each building is also quite wide; front, back, left, and right of each door there is ample space to park transport vehicles.

These larger open spaces can naturally be used to assemble or disperse crowds, and to set up offensive or defensive facilities.

Just like the academy, intelligent law enforcement puppets that combine surveillance and security functions are likewise spread throughout the city.

Especially in the Central City District, the density is extremely high, making it almost impossible to have any surveillance blind spots.

On the surface, Ruivosi City's safety coefficient is certainly not low.

Not long after, the rail transit train arrived at the station.

The towering Ruivosi City Intelligent Management Center Main Tower, the tallest building in Ruivosi City, stands not far from the station, right before Lin Ke's eyes.

The main tower is about 150 meters tall, its overall shape resembling a reduced version of Guangzhou's 'little waist', with a curved steel frame structure and large glass curtain walls, exuding a graceful and elegant demeanor.

It is said that the person who designed and oversaw the construction of this tower is the sole granddaughter of Grand Sage Rui Wo and Grand Sage Suo Si.

Wizards, especially high-ranking ones, find it extremely difficult to propagate their bloodline.

Therefore, that one who is greatly favored by Grand Sage Rui Wo and Grand Sage Suo Si—how could the main tower's overall demeanor not match that of the academy and the city?

They said to build it, and no one dared to oppose.

Lin Ke glanced up, didn't linger, and strode into the main tower's first-floor lobby.

The place to handle identification documents is located on the south side of the lobby, where there are several intelligent devices.

Unmanned and paperless office work has already become extremely common in the wizard world that Lin Ke has encountered so far.

Lin Ke operated the intelligent device, and following the prompts, quickly entered his own identity information.

Moments later, a Ruivosi City resident identification was ejected from a slot of the intelligent device.

The resident identification's appearance is not much different from the academy's identification.

The only difference between them is the affiliation shown after being scanned by the intelligent device.

One display showed Ruiwo Sī Thought City, another showed Ruiwo Sī Thought Academy (abbreviation).

Lin Ke obtained a resident ID card; from then on, as long as he did not actively reveal himself, people who did not know him could not tell whether he was a local apprentice or a Storm Sea Newblood.

Considering that a frontal photo of him was widely circulated on the academy's forum, Lin Ke used makeup techniques to give himself some disguise.

Besides that, Lin Ke also changed his hairstyle and clothing style.

On campus, Lin Ke wore the school uniform in the early and middle periods, and later wore casual clothes and a cloak.

Now, Lin Ke wears formal attire.

He doesn't even wear a cloak.

The cloak is still usable on campus, but once he enters the city, it's not very useful.

Leaving the main tower, Lin Ke casually strolled around the small central city district.

At this early hour, the streets were utterly quiet; aside from a few transport vehicles parked at the curb, there was hardly anyone in sight.

Lin Ke passed by several major administrative agencies—such as the city hall, the city defense bureau, the finance bureau, and the security bureau—familiarized himself with the area, then took the urban rail train to leave the central city district.

Next stop, the northern city district.

(End of chapter)