Chapter 273: Seeing Zhang Pianpian Again

“Number 686, Zhang Yu.”

As his number was called, Zhang Yu stood up and walked towards the interview room.

Although all his scores met the admission requirements of Myriad Laws University, and he had already signed the admission agreement beforehand, the interview process was still unavoidable.

As Zhang Yu entered the interview room, he smiled casually at the three examiners and said, “Hello, I’m Zhang Yu from Songyang Senior Immortal Dao Middle School in Songyang City, Layer One.”

The chief examiner looked at him and asked, “Why do you want to apply to Myriad Laws University?”

Zhang Yu replied calmly, “Because Myriad Laws University is one of the best universities. I want to break through to the Golden Core stage, then the Nascent Soul stage, and eventually enter a sect. Naturally, I have to choose the best university.”

The three interviewers smiled slightly, and one of them asked, “How do you arrange your study and rest time?”

Zhang Yu answered calmly, “I don’t rest.”

Another examiner asked, “How much of the university curriculum have you completed so far?”

Zhang Yu replied, “As you can see, I am already a Foundation Establishment cultivator. All general courses for the Qi Refining stage have been completed. I’ve also self-studied the Civil Engineering department’s Excavation Palm, Crane Claw, Sports Car Leg, and Elevator Vertical Lift, mastering all of them to Level 10.”

As the examiners looked at the information in his resume, their gazes towards Zhang Yu became increasingly satisfied.

The chief examiner spoke, “Student Zhang Yu, to my knowledge, you haven’t been sterilized. What’s your opinion on university sterilization? Do you think it’s necessary for university students to be sterilized?”

Zhang Yu calmly stated, “Sterilization is an escape for the weak. For me, mere bodily hormones can be suppressed by sheer willpower. These things are not obstacles on my path to immortality; rather, they are production tools that can be transformed into aids for my cultivation. My resume includes transaction proof of me selling seeds on Layer One. Such high-frequency and high-quality transaction data, I believe, is sufficient to prove the steadfastness of my Dao Heart.”

The three interviewers exchanged glances, and admiration collectively appeared in their eyes.

Finally, they all stood up and extended their hands towards Zhang Yu, saying, “Student Zhang Yu, welcome to Myriad Laws University.”

As soon as Zhang Yu walked out of the interview room, he saw Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan, who had already finished their interviews.

Yu Xinghan said, “Let’s go, Zhang Yu. Time to register. We still need to choose dorms next.”

Just then, a female voice called out.

“Zhang Yu, long time no see.”

Zhang Yu and the other two turned their heads simultaneously and saw Zhang Pianpian slowly approaching.

After two years, Zhang Pianpian still possessed her elegant charm, and the heroic spirit emanating from her was even more pronounced than before. Her appearance hadn't changed much, except for her eyes, which had turned amber, clearly a type of eye-based magical artifact. The mark above her head, 'Myriad Laws University Talisman Department, Foundation Establishment Stage, Rank 49,' along with the halo behind her head, attracted numerous gazes from those around her, making her the center of attention in an instant.

Zhang Yu was about to blurt out “Sis,” but then he quickly caught himself and finally called out, “Senior Sister, you’re here.”

Zhang Pianpian smiled slightly and said, “You’ve grown taller. Let’s go. I’ll take you to register first, and then treat you to a meal.”

Under Zhang Pianpian’s guidance, Zhang Yu and the other two proceeded to register, sign up, pay tuition fees...

Although they had brought enough for tuition, during the payment process, Zhang Yu and the other two, encouraged by Zhang Pianpian, proactively applied for student loans, taking on their first loan since arriving at Layer Two. The tuition fee for the first year was 0.5 spirit coins. Interest payments would begin in the second year, requiring 0.005 spirit coins per month, until the full 0.5 spirit coins were repaid in one go upon university graduation.

Zhang Pianpian said, “Don’t be afraid. Since you’ve come to Layer Two, how can you progress without fully unleashing your immortal dao potential? Instead of paying the 0.5 spirit coin tuition now, it’s better to invest it in your own studies.”

Looking at Zhang Pianpian’s name on the recommendation form, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but say, “Sis... Senior Sister, does this count as your performance bonus?”

Zhang Pianpian replied, “You’d have to do it anyway, so why not let me help you? Let’s go, time to choose dorms.”

As Zhang Yu had moved through Myriad Laws University City earlier, he had noticed a distinct characteristic of the place. The entire university city was concentrated within a three-dimensional structure, over 3 kilometers long and wide, and no more than 10 kilometers high. Thus, the internal space utilization of the entire university city was extremely high. Or rather... the space was extremely cramped. And seeing their upcoming dormitory confirmed this idea even more for Zhang Yu.

“Lower-tier dorms: 20 people per room, each room 20 square meters, with 2 shared toilets and 6 shared showers per floor...”

Zhang Yu was speechless. “What the hell... Even a chicken coop would be more spacious than this.”

Yu Xinghan said from the side, “Upper-tier luxury suite: 15 square meters, 1 living room, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom.”

Zhang Yu frowned. “They have the nerve to call a 15-square-meter space a luxury suite? And the rent is a whopping 1 spirit coin a month?” Including the 5 spirit coins Bai Zhenzhen had given him, Zhang Yu currently had only 9.94 spirit coins in total, enough for just nine months of rent.

Hearing Zhang Yu’s words, the middle-aged woman handling dormitory affairs snorted coldly, squinting at him. “You’re from below, aren’t you? Every inch of land on Layer Two is precious. Can it compare to your rural areas down there? If you want to rent, hurry up. There are plenty of people waiting.”

Yu Xinghan suggested, “How about we share a room?”

Le Mulan also nodded from the side. “If three of us split it...”

Zhang Pianpian said, “Let’s split it among four.” She smiled slightly. “If the four of us split the rent, we can save a lot of money. But we don’t need something as expensive as the upper-tier luxury suite... Let’s just rent a 5-square-meter mid-tier dorm.” Zhang Pianpian pointed to the price and said, “It’s 0.2 spirit coins a month. If the four of us split it, that’s 0.05 spirit coins per person per month.”

Zhang Pianpian thought to herself, ‘Compared to my current classmates, Zhang Yu and his friends are more trustworthy. Living together would be less trouble.’

Zhang Yu looked at his sister and thought, ‘My sister has already climbed to 49th place in the Talisman Department, and yet her financial situation is still this tight?’

Fu Ji said, “Every inch of land on Layer Two is precious. No matter how capable you are, you still need to learn to save on rent. Instead of spending more money on a better place, it’s better to invest more in your studies.”

Zhang Yu sighed softly at her words, looking at the conditions of the mid-tier dorm. “Four people in 5 square meters? Can we even fit?”

Zhang Pianpian explained, “Although it’s only 5 square meters, it’s 4 meters high, so it can be split into two levels. The main thing is that the dorm has an extra supply of spiritual energy, which makes it convenient for meditation and breathing exercises. Other than that, it’s just for storing things, maybe taking a shower, charging devices. How much larger do you need? It’s enough for the four of us. And although the room isn’t big, people can contract their bodies and actively adapt.”

Seeing that Yu Xinghan and Le Mulan both agreed, Zhang Yu also nodded, and the four of them jointly rented a standard mid-tier dorm.

Myriad Laws University City, 125th Floor, Dormitory Area.

The entire 125th floor was only 4 meters high, and rows of mid-tier dorm rooms lined the corridors like coffins. Zhang Yu looked at the arrows and walking routes floating in the air, projected by his eye-based magical artifact for navigation.

A moment later, as Zhang Yu opened the door, a tiny 5-square-meter dorm appeared before them.

Le Mulan couldn’t help but say, “It’s really small.” It was the first time in her life she had stayed in such a small room.

Zhang Pianpian said, “The doorway is too narrow; only one person can enter or exit at a time. You’ll have to take turns going in to put your luggage away, and then I’ll take you to eat. After dinner, you’ll probably have your first class meeting tonight, right? Oh, and remember to contract your body when you enter the dorm. It’s an essential money-saving skill in the university city.”

As Zhang Yu carried his luggage into the dorm, he tried his best to contract his muscles, bones, and joints, transforming into a slender person about 1.7 meters tall. While this made moving around the room a bit easier, the entire dorm still felt very small to him. Contracting his body also gave him a constant sense of stuffiness, as if he were always bending over or curling up.

Zhang Yu thought, ‘No wonder, walking through here, I’ve noticed that people in the university city aren’t very tall. It seems they’ve grown accustomed to contracting their bodies, which is completely different from how cultivators on Layer One openly display their towering physiques.’

After the three of them unpacked their luggage, Zhang Pianpian led them to a pharmacy on the 128th floor. What was called a meal was actually taking medicine.

Yu Xinghan looked at the pills in his hand and couldn’t help but say, “I think I’ll just rehydrate some of the synthetic food I brought.”

Watching Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu rehydrating their synthetic food, Zhang Pianpian said calmly, “The synthetic food you brought will eventually run out. You should get used to eating Layer Two’s meals sooner rather than later. Although it doesn’t taste good, the medicine contains plenty of various nutrients, and the time spent eating is very short. The only two problems with eating these pills are, first, it’s hard to feel full, and second, cultivators have overly powerful digestive abilities. If you don’t eat solid food for a long time, it can damage your gastrointestinal tract.”

As she spoke, Zhang Pianpian took out a piece of cement. “So, people here usually eat their medicine with a bit of cement.”

Even Zhang Yu, who was accustomed to all sorts of strange things on Kunxu Layer One, was startled to see Zhang Pianpian swallow a small piece of cement.

Zhang Yu: “Eat cement? ...Is there nothing else to eat?”

Zhang Pianpian smiled. “Cement is cheap enough. In Myriad Laws University City, only cement is everywhere. You can just chip off a piece to temporarily fill your stomach. It provides a feeling of fullness and also suppresses digestive fluids in the stomach, preventing damage to the gastrointestinal tract. So, Layer Two’s catering market wasn’t simply squeezed out by pharmaceutical companies, but rather by both pharmaceutical and civil engineering companies working together. Especially after civil engineering companies introduced edible cement, cement with medicine became enough to feel full and get sufficient nutrition, completely collapsing the catering industry.”

Zhang Yu was still somewhat incredulous upon hearing this information. ‘Civil engineering, of all things, could actually rise in the catering industry?’

Zhang Pianpian then reminded them, “Also, remember not to dig for cement under surveillance. You’ll be fined if caught. Oh... you two are both in Civil Engineering, right? Later, when you go to construction sites, food will be provided. You can just eat the cement from the site to fill your stomachs.”

Yu Xinghan couldn’t help but ask, “Then can we grow our own food?”

Zhang Pianpian gave him a sidelong glance and said, “You want to join the Dark Farming world? I don’t object to you joining one or two gangs in the university later, but the Dark Farming world... it’s too dangerous. You might not quite understand, but in this university city, privately growing any plants is a serious violation of school rules and law—a grave offense that could lead to expulsion. Planting is something only the university and corporations are allowed to do.”

After dinner, Zhang Yu said goodbye to Le Mulan and Zhang Pianpian, then joined Yu Xinghan for the first class meeting of the Civil Engineering Foundation Establishment class.

Upon arriving at the teaching area on the 130th floor, as the two stepped into the designated classroom, they felt several gazes sweep over them.

“You two, please display your college entrance exam scores and basic data. We’re doing class rankings to see where you stand in this class.”