Chapter 258: Instance Complete

Chapter 258: Instance Complete

The Hungry Academy followed the host system away without receiving the expected compensation.

Ji Xinghai remained alone in the settlement space, surrounded by piles of golden treasure chests. He was unaware that everything had been publicly broadcasted, and his hometown learned about Ji Xinghai's successful completion almost immediately.

Then came the immense joy of Blue Star Civilization gaining a 521-year period of peaceful development.

Although they knew through occasional updates on the Gourmet Sub-Book that Ji Xinghai had been alive, no one knew the specifics.

Months had passed, but millions still tuned into the black screen of the live stream every day, even if there was nothing to see, just leaving it open to glance at occasionally during work or study.

And today, it lit up!

"521 years—do you know what 521 means in JiuZhou? It sounds like 'I love you.' I don't know if Brother Hai did this on purpose... No, I don't care; he's confessing! Yay, yay, yay, Brother Hai is confessing to me!"

Rational comments were few; most people were too excited to form coherent sentences, only able to scream incoherently.

From a point to a line, from a line to a surface, within seconds, the number of viewers in the live stream surged from millions to hundreds of millions, and the number continued to grow. Nearly half of the world's survivors joined in, with messages in various languages flooding the screen.

Only a few, after their initial excitement, noticed the Planet Heart.

It was a special reward given only to the best students, seemingly capable of continuously producing special minerals, which could lay the material foundation for their civilization's rise.

A Planet Heart that produces special minerals, plus a full 521 years of peaceful development—they could already see the dawn of hope.

"But what does it mean that those seven advanced civilizations sent invitations? Are they trying to poach him?"

In the international meeting room, representatives from various countries turned their gaze to the Federation representative, as such talent-siphoning operations were all too familiar.

"...” The Federation representative felt aggrieved. What were they looking at? Who could resist the chance to poach another country’s genius?

"This matter can wait until Mr. Ji returns. My country and I respect Mr. Ji's wishes," said the JiuZhou representative, who wasn't too worried and, in fact, looked forward to the changes these invitations might bring.

Knowing their weakness, sending exchange students to strong countries was a way to strengthen themselves.

"Actually, studying in advanced civilizations is also a path. Five hundred and twenty-one years may seem long, but compared to the development time of a civilization, it's short. Once we open the interstellar gates and remain weak, we could be swallowed by stronger powers. Many of us have experience with this."

The representatives' gazes once again converged on the Federation representative.

"What are you all looking at? Is there a report written on my face?" The Federation representative was genuinely upset.

"There are still seventy treasure chests. These are compensation and rewards for Student Ji's heroic performance. Will they be sent to JiuZhou?"

Today wasn’t the right time to spoil the mood, so one representative changed the topic.

The seventy treasure chests in the live stream had always been prominent, and everyone was curious about what they contained. They must be valuable, as golden treasure chests only held precious prizes.

But everyone knew these were personal rewards for the student, not collective ones. Since the academy gave them, they would likely be sent directly to the student's home country, making JiuZhou envious once again.

The JiuZhou representative smiled in response: Yes, that's exactly how proud they were.

In the live stream, Ji Xinghai thought for a moment and then sat down.

After months of darkness, the screen lit up again. Everyone who had opened the live stream paused whatever they were doing to watch the handsome young man inside.

He casually picked up a treasure chest and opened it.

"Congratulations to Student Ji Xinghai for obtaining Rainbow Spring Energy Stones. Placing these energy stones will create seven special springs with unique effects. Consumable, but when used with the Planet Heart, they can self-repair and never run dry. Please choose a location."

"...” Ji Xinghai's geography was decent, but if asked where the best place for the Rainbow Spring was, he couldn't say, "Within JiuZhou, please select the most suitable location for the Rainbow Spring."

"Beep, deployed at XX Waterfall."

The people in the area of the waterfall erupted in joy. Even without the special effects, a seven-colored waterfall would attract tourists worldwide. They could already envision the economic boost from developing plans around the rainbow waterfall.

"X City Government, did you see that? Brother Hai has brought prosperity!"

"No problem."

Within two minutes, the city's official website posted plans for development around the rainbow waterfall, inviting residents to monitor progress.

After opening one treasure chest, Ji Xinghai grabbed another, feeling like he was unwrapping New Year's red envelopes. The contents didn't matter; they were all good things. The thrill was in the opening.

"Congratulations to Student Ji Xinghai for obtaining a military-grade space debris processor, capable of automatically intercepting and cleaning small asteroids, space debris, and useless star chains. It can operate for twenty years. Deployed at the designated location."

Seeing the size of the gift, Ji Xinghai's expression was subtle, remembering that his designated location was the office of JiuZhou's top leader.

So, was the office okay?

The super-large office, just destroyed by the super-large space debris processor, activated its backup large office. The top leader responded: "Pretty good, more is welcome."

Next came various other treasure chests. After opening many, he concluded that the seventy golden chests came from seven different but wealthy academies.

Some academies sent natural resources, like the Rainbow Spring stones; others sent high-tech gadgets suitable for Blue Star, like the space debris processor; some sent numerous documents, detailing the uses of special minerals...

In the end, Ji Xinghai had only one thought.

The Hungry Academy really lacked resources, so the rewards were diverse and incomplete. He didn't think the Hungry Academy gave a little bit of everything for Blue Star's comprehensive development; it simply couldn't provide complete sets and had to cobble together what it could.

Though this was actually beneficial for Blue Star.

"Congratulations to the outstanding graduate Ji Xinghai of the Hungry Academy for successfully passing the final test. As per tradition, you can take one piece of equipment card from the academy. Do you have any other wishes?"

After the treasure chests disappeared, the quiet settlement space burst into fireworks. Then, the voice of the Hungry Academy appeared.

For the first time, the audience heard the Hungry Academy speak in such a gentle tone, even using the word "please"?

Everyone realized the truth: It must have received far more than it gave, both in compensation and from the top scorer in this exam. This time, the Hungry Academy was truly going to prosper.

The Hungry Academy indeed gained immensely. The exact amount is unknown to the outside world, but their current display already speaks volumes—it must be an asset that would make anyone envious.

Thus, with the Hungry Academy's current enthusiasm, Ji Xinghai could ask for additional things and they would still provide them.

But Ji Xinghai thought for a moment: "I will take this equipment card as per usual. Additionally, my contractor is from our civilization, so I will take him too."

The Hungry Academy had long seen through that inspector. Although his potential was immense, his heart was set on Blue Star. Moreover, keeping him around would also attract the great demon lord Ji Xinghai.

It enjoyed watching the great demon lord wreak havoc, but being one of the 'sides' that got devastated was not enjoyable at all. So it readily accepted: "Fine, what else?"

"I want to take all my commemorative badges and packed luggage, then, go home."

When he said those two words, a radiant smile finally appeared on his face. Such a smile could even infect machines, so the Hungry Academy did not dampen the mood. It simply opened the settlement space, and a flowing galaxy appeared before everyone's eyes.

Stars coalesced under his feet, forming a long, starlit avenue.

"Go ahead. I think your civilization is preparing to welcome their hero."

"Ahh! Ahh—"

Ji Xinghai is coming back.

The online world went wild over it.

Other students had long returned to their homelands. They reappeared in the same way they vanished. Would Ji Xinghai do the same?

At the thought of this possibility, the people of JiuZhou couldn't contain their excitement. They ran out of their houses. Public transportation had not yet fully recovered, and private cars were still a luxury for daily use, but those nearby ran, and those farther away pooled money to hire a car.

Actually, Ji Xinghai's private address had not been exposed; only a few knew about it. And these few knew that the place was now heavily guarded. Not only entry, but even approaching required a thorough background check of three generations for any criminal records.

But the emotionally charged crowd didn't really want to do anything; they just wanted to get closer, stay in the same city, and look at the same scenery.

"Even if I can't reach there today, at least I can see where Hai Ge lives up close. Just one look, just one look, and then I'll come back."

Many received leave applications from subordinates that day, and schools also received many leave requests from students. Yet, they did not say much; if work wasn't too heavy, they too wanted to go and see.

See the person who fought for them in another world.

But the quickest to move were Ji Xinghai's parents. They rushed home almost immediately when the screen lit up—settlement meant the end, and the end meant returning home.

The child is coming back! Home!

"Dad is coming back." A strong head peeked out from Ji Mother's pocket.

"Yes."

Both Ji Father's school and Ji Mother's Black Tower provided the fastest transportation. For the first time, the traffic department opened all green lights along the way.

"Faster, faster!"

Facing the blinding light and howling wind, their breaths began to tremble.

People from other countries also wanted to come but lacked the conditions. So they crossed the internet, comparing dictionaries to translate the difficult JiuZhou characters, then registered JiuZhou network accounts to send their blessings as soon as possible.

The newly upgraded servers experienced their first crash. Programmers clutched their remaining hair: "What about never crashing? Ahh, I want to go too!"

And the official authorities of various countries also congratulated him enthusiastically and announced that Ji Xinghai would receive honorary titles (no need to come in person), as well as villas, ranches, company shares, etc., as material rewards (no need to collect personally, managed by professionals, annual payments). Finally, they expressed that their countries welcomed Ji Xinghai to live or visit long-term.

If he could join their nationality, that would be best, with JiuZhou as the primary residence and their countries as secondary.

Ji Xinghai was unaware of all this happening outside. He walked step by step on the starlit path, and a door emitting light appeared at the end of the starlit road.

His pace slowed down. This fearless person was now somewhat hesitant.

Perhaps because it was too precious, he dared not touch it.

"Go ahead." Beside his hesitant steps, another 'Ji Xinghai' appeared, smiling at him. "What are you afraid of? Afraid to go home?"

The figure disappeared, and a paper airplane flew toward the door following his gaze.

"Who's afraid to go home?" Ji Xinghai hummed softly, and his previously slow pace became brisk again.

Qin Yu appeared behind him but did not disturb the returning wanderer. He stood on the road, watching the figure walk toward the glowing door.

As Ji Xinghai approached the door, he turned back and called out: "Come on, my mom wants to see you."

He knew that seeing a kind, enthusiastic, and upright friend by their child's side would reassure his parents. He had been away for so long, which must have worried them greatly. So he was willing to do anything that would ease their minds.

Two figures appeared on the road. Ji Xinghai was in front, holding the equipment card and a box of commemorative badges. Besides the ones given from previous missions, he had just received a badge from the Academy Battle, making a total of nine. These were gifts for his parents.

Qin Yu followed behind, pulling a suitcase. Inside were items his parents had sent to the academy earlier.

Finally, the two stood before the door.

Ji Xinghai took a deep breath, placed the gifts in his pocket, straightened his attire, and pressed his hands against the door. Behind him, Qin Yu adjusted his hat and smoothed every wrinkle in his clothes.

The door silently opened.

"Bang!" At almost the same moment, the door was violently pushed open, revealing a panting middle-aged couple.

Ji Xinghai looked at them, and they looked at Ji Xinghai. A strong head peeked out.

He wanted to smile, but his eyes welled up with tears.

"Dad, Mom, I'm back."

Tears rolled down the couple's eyes as well.

"Ah."