mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 81 Opening Ceremony
Chapter 81 Opening Ceremony
Every single one is great.
I want them all.
But Song Chen is currently in such a state that even thinking seems difficult.
His consciousness became increasingly blurred in the system space; the text began to distort, and the interface began to rotate.
He needs rest, real and complete rest.
Without buying anything, Song Chen logged out of the system, closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually became steady.
He fell asleep.
There are no dreams, no strange beasts.
There was no glint of swords, only darkness.
Quiet, warm, and boundless darkness.
the next day.
Song Chen was woken up by the sunlight.
He opened his eyes and saw a beam of golden sunlight squeezing in through the crack in the cubicle window, landing right on his face.
Countless tiny psionic particles floated in the sunlight, like miniature stars dancing.
He blinked, and it took him three seconds to remember where he was.
The barracks of Tianhe South Fortress.
He slowly sat up, stretched his neck, and made a series of crackling sounds.
Looking down at himself, he saw that the bloodstains on his combat suit had completely dried, turning into a dark red hard shell.
His hair was stuck to his forehead and smelled strongly of blood.
He needs to take a shower, change his clothes, and then go to Tianhai City to report for duty.
"I'm fighting for Tianhai City, I'm sure the school won't mind if I'm two days late reporting..."
Song Chen stood up, slung the Thunderclap Blade over his back, and pushed open the door to the cubicle.
He nodded to his comrades around him, then turned and walked into the bathroom.
Half an hour later, Song Chen arrived at the square outside, looking refreshed and invigorated, wearing a new combat uniform.
In an instant, all eyes in the square were on him.
These soldiers had served in the fortress for many years and had seen countless heroes come down from the battlefield.
But they had never seen an eighteen-year-old like this before.
An old soldier raised his hand and saluted Song Chen.
It wasn't an order, it wasn't a rule; it came from the heart and was spontaneous.
Then the second soldier raised his hand, the third, and the fourth.
More and more people are joining in.
Soldiers, warriors, officers, and logistics personnel—hundreds of people—saluted in the same direction at the same moment.
Song Chen stood at the entrance of the barracks, looking at the forest of arms in front of him. He was silent for two seconds, then nodded slightly and turned to walk towards the exit of the square.
Song Chen walked out of the square and came to the outer passage of the fortress.
Several armored vehicles and supply trucks were parked on both sides of the passage, and a few soldiers were changing a tire on one of the vehicles.
At the end of the passage was the north gate of the fortress. Outside the north gate was the highway leading to Tianhai City.
Song Chen walked out of the north gate, and the sunlight hit her face.
The outline of Tianhai City in the distance was faintly visible on the horizon, and the silhouettes of the high-rise buildings looked like rows of huge teeth in the morning mist.
He took a deep breath; the stench of blood in the air had been replaced by the fresh morning breeze, carrying the scent of earth and grass.
He strode forward.
Then he saw a silver-white spaceship quietly parked on a small helipad outside the north gate of the fortress.
It is not large, about twenty meters long, and its streamlined fuselage resembles an elegant dolphin.
The fuselage is covered with a layer of psionic coating that gleams with a pale blue luster in the sunlight, and the emblem of Tianhai University is painted on the fuselage.
The spacecraft's hatch was open, and a gangway extended from the hatch to the ground.
Two people were standing next to the gangway.
One was a young woman, wearing the uniform of Tianhai University, white gloves, and holding an electronic board in her hand.
She looked to be in her late twenties, with long hair tied up at the back of her head, delicate features, and a capable demeanor.
When she saw Song Chen walk out of the north gate, her eyes lit up, and she quickly walked up to him.
The young woman walked up to Song Chen and bowed slightly: "Song Chen, classmate?"
"Yes."
"I'm Ms. Zhou from the Student Affairs Department of Tianhai University. And this is...?"
She glanced back at the middle-aged man by the gangway. "Mr. Chen, representative of the Board of Trustees of Tianhai University, we've come here specifically to pick you up."
Song Chen glanced at her, then looked at the spaceship.
"Special trip?"
Teacher Zhou smiled and gestured for you to enter: "The school knows you haven't registered yet, so they arranged this spaceship overnight to pick you up and bring you to the school."
"Normally, new students need to go to the school to register on their own, but this is not a normal situation for you."
Song Chen was secretly pleased; it was quite humane.
He nodded and walked towards the spaceship.
Song Chen stepped onto the gangway, the metal steps making a slight sound under her feet.
……
at the same time.
Tianhai University is holding its entrance ceremony.
Central Stadium.
This stadium is one of the largest single buildings in Tianhai City, with a capacity of 50,000 people.
At this moment, the stands were packed. The new students, dressed in blue school uniforms, sat neatly in the front row, with their parents, relatives, and representatives of the citizens who came to watch the ceremony behind them.
Thousands of freshmen sat in the stands, chattering amongst themselves.
Some people were discussing the upcoming entrance ceremony, some were inquiring about various legends about the school, and some were complaining about how hot the weather was in Tianhai.
However, most of the discussion focused on the same topic.
"Have you heard? It's Song Chen, the top scholar in Nanjiang Province. He fought his way through the beast tide for two days and two nights."
"I not only heard about it, but I also watched the live stream. A person was standing on a mountain of corpses, covered in blood. Just thinking about that scene makes my scalp tingle."
"I watched that video three times, three times, and every time it didn't seem real. Are these really freshmen like us?"
Wei Hong sat in the middle row of the stands, arms crossed, staring blankly at the ceremony stage in front of him.
A freshman leaned over and whispered, "Brother Wei, I heard there's something special going on at today's ceremony, do you know?"
Wei Hong shook his head and remained silent.
The scene from yesterday was still replaying in his mind—that figure standing atop the mountain of corpses.
He woke up at five o'clock this morning and went to the training ground by himself to practice for two hours.
It wasn't because he was diligent, but because he couldn't sleep; when he closed his eyes, all he saw was that silver glint of a blade.
Sun Ming sat next to Wei Hong, holding a tablet and reviewing today's ceremony agenda.
He adjusted his glasses and suddenly frowned: "There's a section in the process that says 'special step,' but the details aren't specified."
"A special segment?" A few people nearby gathered around.
Sun Ming shook his head: "I don't know what it is, but something that the school would keep secret during the ceremony must be something special."
Qingxiao sat in the front row of the stands, next to her roommate.
The round-faced girl was named Lin Xiaotang. She hadn't stopped talking since she sat down, and every now and then she would point to the decorations on the stage and say, "How grand!"
One moment he was pointing at the flags on the stands and saying, "How magnificent!" and the next he was whispering something in Qingxiao's ear.
"Sister Wan, do you think any important people will be coming today?"
Qingxiao did not answer; her gaze was fixed on the large screen in the center of the stage.
The screen displays the motto of Tianhai University, a line of large golden characters: "Protect the nation with martial arts, benefit the world with learning."
She silently repeated those eight words in her mind, then looked away.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Lin Xiaotang changed the subject: "Sister Wan, do you think Song Chen will come today? It seems he hasn't reported for duty yet."
"They should be coming, we've already repelled the beast tide..."