A group of eight or nine students arrived before the entry and exit gates, each with a trace of nervousness on their faces, unsure if they could successfully slip out of the city.
It was actually quite difficult for the managent personnel to distinguish who was a student and who wasn't. Because the surviving population now was predominantly composed of young adults, and the academy's enrollnt didn't consider age, students ranged from teenagers to people in their twenties and thirties.
However, because Zhou Qinfeng had given prior notice, providing the approximate ti when students might try to leave the city, the managent personnel were asking a few extra questions to those exiting during this period.
"What are you going out of the city for?"
Faced with the managent personnel's inquiry, one student pretended to be calm and pulled out the prepared response.
"We're planning to go to Ming City."
The students had done their howork in advance, knowing what reason would allow them to exit the city smoothly.
Ming City was a city adjacent to Pinglu, also a mountain city, but its infrastructure in all aspects was much poorer, and its urban area was smaller.
However, quite a few people who had relocated to Pinglu, feeling Pinglu was too crowded, wanted to go live in Ming City. This was officially permitted and was also an exit reason that was almost never blocked.
The managent personnel glanced at the group, rembered their superior's instructions, narrowed their eyes, and inquired carefully, "Are you really going to Ming City?"
"Of course it's true."
At that mont, Teacher Chen walked out of the booth and headed towards the gates.
A sharp-eyed student among the group spotted her and imdiately exclaid in a low voice, "Teacher Chen!"
The other students turned to look upon hearing this, and they were all startled to see Teacher Chen. Their expressions imdiately deflated, knowing that once an academy teacher appeared, they definitely wouldn't be able to leave.
Teacher Chen walked up to them, frowning as she said, "You lot, don't you know the academy has a rule that students are not allowed to leave the city privately?"
"......"
"Hurry back to the academy. Don't forget that violating the rules could lead to expulsion!"
"We know..."
The students walked back dejectedly. One of them asked unwillingly, "Teacher Chen, how did you know we were planning to go out today?"
Teacher Chen said expressionlessly, "I didn't know. I was just passing by on business and happened to see you all."
"Ah? So unlucky. If we'd known earlier, we would have just..."
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing!"
After the students walked away, Guan Tong also erged from the booth.
Teacher Chen said to him, "Teacher Guan, we can head back now too."
Guan Tong suddenly ntioned, "I rember the Dean said before that there were over a dozen students in the Mind Network planning to leave the city. There were only seven or eight just now; the numbers don't seem to match."
"There should be so who backed out, right?" Teacher Chen guessed. "Probably a few students thought about how they'd be punished for violating the rules if caught, so they got cold feet at the last mont."
Guan Tong nodded.
However, the very next mont, both of them heard the urgent voice of Dean Zhou Qinfeng in the connected Mind Network.
(Teacher Chen, Teacher Guan, are you there? Can you hear ?)
Guan Tong and Teacher Chen exchanged a glance, both undoubtedly having heard it.
(We hear you,) Teacher Chen spoke in the Mind Network. (Dean, we just intercepted and persuaded a few students trying to leave the city. What's happened?)
(You intercepted the ones trying to leave through the main gate! Counselor Fang Qian just reported that she heard in the Mind Network the students you intercepted saying they should have gone out the sa way as the others, using the mountain paths! A few students didn't use the gates; they slipped out of the city via mountain trails!)
Zhou Qinfeng's words greatly surprised Teacher Chen, and she looked at Guan Tong.
She thought to herself that Guan Tong's suspicion was correct after all. The mismatched numbers weren't because so were scared, but because they didn't take this route.
Pinglu, being a mountain city built against the mountains, indeed had places where one could descend via mountain paths. However, those paths were relatively steep and dangerous. Aside from a few locals familiar with the terrain, others wouldn't risk taking them.
Everyone had overlooked one thing: mountain paths that were steep and dangerous for ordinary people in the past were nothing for Ascendants whose physical fitness far surpassed normal people now. Not exactly like walking on flat ground, but the probability of slipping and falling to death was extrely low.
Teacher Chen said urgently, (Dean, what should we do? Is there still ti to intercept them now?)
(It's too late. Those brats are already down! We'll probably have to go out of the city to find them and bring them back!)
Guan Tong spoke up then: (Here's an idea, Dean. I'll go out of the city to find them and bring them back. Have Teacher Chen et with Counselor Fang Qian to find out exactly how many went out via the mountain paths, then tell
through the Mind Network.)
Teacher Chen said in surprise, "Teacher Guan, you're going out alone? Won't that be dangerous?"
"It won't be," Guan Tong said.
(Good, then let's do as Teacher Guan says. Teacher Chen, you co back to the academy first.)
(Understood, Dean.)
"Then I'll head back now. I'll contact you later through the Mind Network. Teacher Guan, be careful going out of the city alone."
"Don't worry."
After Teacher Chen left, Guan Tong exited the city through the gates.
He wasn't as angry as the Dean about the students sneaking out, just sowhat worried.
After all, as an "old wilderness veteran," he knew very well that the outside world wasn't as suitable for exploration as the students imagined.
......
"Haha, those unlucky guys who took the main road got blocked by Teacher Chen!"
The five students who had descended via the mountain path were imrsed in the excitent of successfully running out of the city.
They received the news from the Mind Network that the students who tried to leave the city through the main gates had all been intercepted and sent back to the academy by a teacher. This confird to them that choosing to co down via the mountain path was the right decision.
When the dozen or so people had t earlier to discuss which route to take out of the city, there was a disagreent. So thought taking the main road was safe, while the mountain paths were dangerous. But others felt the mountain paths were only dangerous for ordinary people, not for them as Ascendants, and the chance of getting caught was much smaller.
Now that those who took the mountain path had successfully left the city, the few of them naturally didn't hold back from mocking those who took the main gate in the Mind Network.
"Brother Yun, which way do we go?"
After descending the mountain and leaving the city, the students looked towards a young man in his early twenties who was leading them. This person was nad Shen Yun. He was sowhat of a prominent figure in the academy, with quite a few followers due to his excellent grades and magnanimous personality.
"Head south," Shen Yun said. "I heard the scenery at Cangying Ridge to the south is pretty good, and there are camps stationed there. We can go check it out!"
"Alright, we'll follow Brother Yun's lead."
Heading south out of Pinglu leads to continuous mountain ranges.
So of the foothills had undergone comrcial developnt, but they were all abandoned after the apocalypse era.
According to so online information from before, so people who frequented the wilderness would specifically seek out such places to establish camps.
Because a sturdy, long-term camp definitely couldn't rely solely on cars and tents; it needed so structures. Compared to starting from scratch, occupying so officially abandoned wilderness buildings was undoubtedly more convenient.
This led to many well-developed 5A-level scenic spots across the country becoming "heavy wilderness camping zones," with quite a few being taken over by wilderness frequenters to use as camps.
The authorities adopted a tacitly approving attitude towards this.
On one hand, those in the wilderness were also people of Beixing and needed to survive. On the other hand, they didn't have the energy or manpower to maintain these scenic spots themselves, so letting those who chose the wilderness live there wasn't a big deal.
At the edge of the southern mountain ranges near Pinglu, there was a once-popular scenic spot called "Cangying Ridge." It was the destination for this group of students.
The five students chatted and laughed as they walked, also paying attention to the scenery along the way. However, contrary to their imagination, aside from dusty roads and so overgrown weeds along the way, there wasn't much to see.
When they arrived at the foot of Cangying Ridge, the decorative archway before the mountain steps, having gone almost two years without maintenance, had beco dilapidated.
"Look at this sign, it's already like this. In a few more years, it'll be like a ruin."
"I think it's already a ruin now."
"Man-made things like this decay quickly without people to maintain them. Tsk, I guess in the future, apart from densely populated cities, all other cities will beco ruins."
"Future? After the earthquake rule, they were already all ruins!"
The students were moved by the scene, sighing with emotion.
Shen Yun said with a smile, "Alright, enough lanting the passage of ti. I believe we humans will build an even more glorious world in the future. Co on, let's go up and take a look first!"
"Let's go!"
Since this was a developed scenic area, the mountain path had carved steps, making it very convenient. The students were all Ascendants with ample stamina, so they quickly reached a spot not far from the Cangying Ridge viewing platform.
In front of the viewing platform, there was an area of antique-style buildings, ancient-style pavilions officially built to complent the scenic spot for tourists to take photos.
The group excitedly wanted to go in and look around. As soon as they approached one building, they heard the wooden door creak open.
Then, so people walked out from inside.
These people mostly wore mismatched clothes, their expressions gloomy, silently sizing up the students up and down.
Although the students had roughly guessed there might be a wilderness camp here, eting so abruptly was still sowhat startling. Shen Yun, the leader, took the initiative to speak: "Hello, we ca from Pinglu to take a look."
These people ignored Shen Yun. One of them shouted loudly, and then more people erged from the other pavilions.
A total of forty to fifty people, a massive scale, surprised Shen Yun and his companions. They hadn't expected the camp to have so many people, and the way these people looked at them was clearly not friendly.
"You... what's the matter?" one student said nervously. "We're just here to look around. We an no harm."
Another student mustered his courage and said, "We're students from the academy."
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. As soon as he did, the group clearly felt the expressions of these camp people instantly darken even more, even revealing an undisguised hatred.
"Academy students?" At this mont, a burly man with a full beard walked out from the crowd, staring at them as he said, "Do you know who we are?"
"Aren't you people living in the wilderness?" Shen Yun said. Seeing everyone's unfriendly expressions, he added, puzzled, "We haven't offended you, have we?"
The bearded man sneered coldly. "We 'inferior people' aren't worthy of being offended by you chosen ones like yourselves."
As soon as the words "inferior people" were uttered, the students imdiately understood what was going on.
One of them blurted out, "So you're all ordinary people!"
Previously on the internet, there had always been Ascendants with inflated egos who contemptuously called ordinary people "inferior people." Over ti, so ordinary people also began to use "inferior people" to refer to themselves sarcastically, but this self-mockery definitely carried a certain resentnt.
Shen Yun now knew these people were ordinary people and understood why they harbored hostility, even hatred. After all, compared to ordinary people, Ascendants held a higher status, and the academy students, who were the focus of national official training, held a status even higher than ordinary Ascendants.
Coupled with the fact that academy students received special care during past rules, it was no wonder they attracted jealousy and hatred.
"In that case, we're disturbing you. We'll head down the mountain now." Shen Yun didn't want to get into any conflict with these people and intended to leave as soon as possible.
However, one of his tall and sturdy companions looked defiant.
"Brother Yun, why are we backing down? Just a bunch of ordinary people. What can they do to us even if there are many of them? This Cangying Ridge isn't theirs. Why can't we enjoy the scenery a bit before leaving!"
Shen Yun turned his head to glare at his companion. Before he could speak, the bearded man sneered again. "Good kid. Originally, I was going to let you get lost quickly. But since you look down on us so much, we really have to teach you a lesson. Brothers, get the weapons!"
"Right!"
So people ran into the rooms and ca out holding various weapons. Machetes, wooden clubs, compound crossbows, shotguns, and even pistols and rifles—thermal weapons!
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