The giant dragon landed smoothly on the spacious platform. Wong, accompanied by the two witches, dismounted carefully. He patted the dragon's massive head.
"Go on, go play with Hulk."
At the ntion of Hulk, the dragon shivered. It nudged Wong pleadingly, clearly hoping to stay. The other dragons let out soft whimpers, like small, sorrowful puppies. Few dragons in the world were as humble—or aggrieved—as those at Kamar-Taj.
Wong rubbed the dragon's snout. "Alright, you can stay, but don't run off." The dragons nodded eagerly, as if understanding every word.
Wong turned to the witches. "Follow , I'll give you a tour of the Academy."
Both won followed respectfully, their steps asured. Though Wong never intended to assert authority, anyone witnessing the grandeur and order of the Academy would find it difficult to disagree.
After showing them the Academy and assigning their offices and residences, Wong led the witches toward the conference room.
"Next, I'll introduce you to your colleagues," he explained. "Most students trained here eventually join Kamar-Taj. By joining the Academy, you're essentially joining Kamar-Taj—at least in part. There are so things you should know.
"Kamar-Taj's duty is to resist invasions from other dinsions. That's well-known. But currently, we have three allies. One is the Avengers, who handle supernatural disputes on Earth. Another is the n in Black, who manage extraterrestrial matters. The third is Asgard. They've been absent from Earth for centuries, but after a challenge we recently won, we ford an alliance. Loki, Asgard's second prince, is currently on Earth. You saw him earlier in the forest, wearing a green cloak. His divine powers are sealed, but respect is required when you encounter him."
The witches listened intently. Interacting with such beings was far beyond normal magical threats. Dinsional entities and minor summoned minions were common, but Norse gods? That was another level entirely.
"We've arrived at the conference room," Wong announced. "Don't be nervous. These are all senior teachers, and they're good people."
He stopped at the wooden door, calling out, "Recruit students quickly!"
On the door hung a portrait of Pythagoras, a forr Sorcerer Supre of Kamar-Taj, painted and hung by Wang himself. With Malrick's assistance, Wang had borrowed a wisp of soul from each past Sorcerer Supre, giving the portraits a faint awareness.
Pythagoras stirred. "Incorrect."
"What's incorrect?" Wong asked.
"The password is wrong."
"How is that possible? Did soone change it? I'm in charge here!" Wong protested.
"Malrick said so… fine, you may enter. Rember the new password: 'All-nighter tonight,'" Pythagoras instructed, opening the door.
A bad feeling settled over Wong. The door swung open, revealing five figures slouched around the round table in ergonomic chairs, VR helts covering their faces, completely absorbed in a virtual world.
Seeing their relaxed, almost corpse-like posture, Wong struggled to maintain his composure. He tapped the table, calling to them.
"Gentlen… Gentlen!"
No one responded. Wong's voice rose to a near roar. Still, no one removed their helts. Forcing a deep breath, he smiled weakly at the witches.
"You see? Easy to get along with."
Jennifer chuckled. "They must have stayed up all night preparing for the school opening, which is why they sleep so soundly."
"Sleeping?" Wong sneered. "They're not sleeping—they're just dead."
Just as he rolled up his sleeves to intervene, the five abruptly removed their helts, wailing in agony as if their limbs had been severed in the ga.
Tony clutched his hair, dark circles under his eyes. "Holy crab! This 'Three-Body Problem' is impossible to beat!"
He slamd the table, glaring at Mordo. "The Trisolarans aren't the final boss? Did Malrick really adapt this from the novel? Was it written this way originally?"
Mordo shook his head. "Why did using the Dark Forest Law to contain the Trisolarans, combined with our infiltration via Mystic Portals, reduce the Solar System to a painting? Is the ga bugged?"
Betty interjected, shaking her head. "No, a stronger enemy arrived. They used a dinsionality reduction strike on the Solar System."
"What's that?" Hamir asked.
Tony rubbed his forehead. "Betty ans an advanced civilization wielded a weapon capable of altering physical laws, reducing our three-dinsional Solar System to two dinsions." He frowned. "After learning the Dark Forest Law, I suspected the ga's scope was vast, but not this imnse."
Wang, observing in disbelief, snapped, "Stop! Did you stay up all night playing gas while I worked three days straight recruiting teachers? Seven of you just played gas, and the password was changed to 'All-nighter tonight'? This Academy is dood."
"Calm down, Wang," Tony said, spreading his hands. "We were preparing for recruitnt. Since the process uses gas, we needed to evaluate the difficulty and reliability firsthand. The first ga was 'The Three-Body Problem.' Three days in, we've only uncovered a corner of it. I suspect Malrick doesn't intend to recruit anyone else—perhaps only Odin, the Ancient One, or another Superman."
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