Chapter 225

Chapter 225: At Both Ends of the Scale 06

Kui Xin opened the car window to look at the grand gate of the university and the bustling scene, feeling a strong sense of discomfort.

There were too many people; bodies were crammed together everywhere, a sea of parents dropping off their children and small cars, making her scalp tingle.

Fortunately, parents could enter the campus with their cars, as the school had designated several areas as temporary parking lots. There were even traffic policemen at the intersection outside the school, along with student volunteers directing vehicles into the campus.

Kui Xin’s senior brother was named Liu Boyi, a fourth-year student busy preparing for the graduate entrance exam.

He chatted with Kui Xin in the car, giving her plenty of advice.

“I’ll take you to check in first,” Liu Boyi said. “See the small tents in the campus? There’ll be banners indicating which college they belong to; our major is part of the Information Engineering College.”

He turned to the middle-aged man in the driver’s seat who looked kind and said, “Dad, why don’t you unload the luggage downstairs at my dormitory? I’ll take Kui Xin to check in.”

“Alright,” the man nodded.

The volunteer services provided by older students during the school’s orientation were indeed comprehensive. As soon as the small car parked in the lot, a senior wearing a red volunteer vest came over to guide them, telling her which direction to go to reach the check-in point.

Kui Xin pulled her luggage and thanked him repeatedly, politely declining the senior’s offer to help carry her suitcase, and followed Liu Boyi.

The words “Information Engineering College” stood out prominently on the tent, with several students responsible for registration sitting behind small tables. Nearby, there were people handing out free bottled water to the arriving students and their parents.

“Name?” a senior girl pushed up her glasses.

“Kui Xin.”

“I remember you; you’re from Class Three— that surname is quite rare. Fill out this form, then scan the code to register your information. Don’t forget to scan and join the class group, and make sure to make a note in the group.” The senior girl guided Kui Xin to fill in the information and then said, “Let me check your dorm… um…”

Her gaze toward Kui Xin suddenly shifted to one of sympathy. “Your dorm number is 6026…”

“What’s wrong with that dorm?” Kui Xin instinctively asked.

“There’s an odd number of girls in your class this year, so your dorm has six people, and your name falls as the seventh in alphabetical order,” the senior girl explained. “You’ll be separated and need to share a dorm with new students from other departments.”

Kui Xin paused for a moment and said nonchalantly, “It’s fine; getting to know friends from other departments is great too.”

For ordinary freshmen, not being able to attend classes with their classmates and getting familiar with the environment was indeed quite uncomfortable, especially since the class schedules of students from other departments differed from theirs. The senior girl seemed to be worried that Kui Xin, alone in a dorm with other students, might feel isolated.

Liu Boyi happened to be acquainted with a few students volunteering nearby. They chatted for a bit, and when they saw Kui Xin had finished registering, he said, “I’ll take her over; you guys can welcome the new students here. Let’s go!”

As they spoke, a female student rushed over, panting, saying, “Xiang Liang hurt his back helping a new student move their luggage and is currently lying on the stairs in pain. We need two strong guys to help him back to his dorm!”

“Such a young age, and he hurt his back,” a male student muttered as he stepped out.

“It’s not easy to earn some credits; this orientation gives two practice credits,” another male student followed, exasperated.

Liu Boyi grumbled, “That kid Xiang Liang is so careless… Never mind, let me take you to your dorm first before checking on him.”

As he stepped forward, he noticed Kui Xin hadn’t followed and seemed frozen in place.

“What’s wrong? Is your luggage too heavy? You’ve been carrying it the whole time; let me help you for a bit,” Liu Boyi said, coming back to pat her on the head.

“I’m fine; my leg went numb when I was registering,” Kui Xin said, smiling to cover it up. “I can carry it myself; it’s not heavy. Your friend Xiang Liang, you mentioned earlier, right? Why don’t you go check on him? There are volunteers along the way; I can find my way to the dorm by myself.”

“It’s fine; isn’t someone already going?” Liu Boyi said.

“Okay…” Kui Xin absentmindedly pulled along her luggage and followed him.

She heard that familiar name and thought she had misheard at first, so she had just taken the opportunity to confirm with Liu Boyi that she hadn’t made a mistake.

Xiang Liang, this name felt too distant to her… The first player she encountered in the Second World was Xiang Liang. When she killed two robbers in the rainy alley, he witnessed the entire scene, and he also knew she was a security officer from the Investigation Bureau. After Kui Xin died and respawned, she should have been listed as dead in the Investigation Bureau’s records… Could this Xiang Liang be the same player Xiang Liang?

“Senior, what major is your friend in?” Kui Xin feigned curiosity.

“Mechanical Engineering; we’re not from the same college,” Liu Boyi replied. “It’s tough; I heard they have to go to factories during their internships… But we’re not much better off; our courses are complicated, and many fail every year.”

The Mechanical Engineering major; Kui Xin vaguely recalled that Xiang Liang had enrolled in Black Sea Academy, and his major was also in mechanical engineering… These two points seemed to align.

She felt a premonition in her heart, and the moment she saw Xiang Liang, the premonition transformed into certainty.

During the school’s orientation, dorm access for males and females was not strictly monitored. Kui Xin walked up the steps and saw a male student in a volunteer vest being helped down the stairs by two other male students. As she entered the dorm, she just so happened to glimpse that student, and in that instant, from several meters away, they locked eyes, both taken aback.

Xiang Liang found his mind buzzing, his legs going weak, sliding down as a look of utter shock crossed his face.

Kui Xin raised her eyebrows, adjusted her glasses, and looked down at Xiang Liang, who was nearly sitting on the ground, her expression unreadable.

Liu Boyi stepped closer in surprise, helping Xiang Liang up. “Did you hurt yourself that badly? You can’t even stand? Should we take you to the hospital…?”

“No, no, no, it’s fine!” Xiang Liang exclaimed.

Liu Boyi, puzzled, said, “Why are you stuttering? You’re sweating cold.”

Xiang Liang straightened himself, appearing strong, “I’m fine! Just need to rest.” He turned toward Kui Xin, his tone unexpectedly cautious and nervous, “This is…”

“Hello, I’m Kui Xin,” Kui Xin introduced herself calmly.

Xiang Liang seemed to confirm something and his legs buckled again, nearly kneeling down in front of Kui Xin.

“Hello, senior. I’m Xiang Liang, from the nearby Mechanical Engineering department, here to help the freshmen move their things.” He tried to smile, “I’m in my junior year and have known Liu Boyi for several years; we’re great buddies.”

His words held a hint of stiffness, like a mouse facing a cat, or being suppressed by an invisible force, as he obediently introduced himself.

Liu Boyi looked at Xiang Liang, bewildered. “What are you saying? This is my junior sister from the same major, a freshman.”

Xiang Liang quickly responded, “Oh, I thought it was a senior returning early; I must have mistaken you. Hello, junior sister!”

“You should go rest; it looks serious.” Liu Boyi was baffled by Xiang Liang’s strange response, attributing it to his injury, and urged him to go back to his dorm to rest.

Kui Xin glanced at Xiang Liang as he walked away, ignoring Liu Boyi’s eager hand wanting to help carry her luggage. She hefted her luggage and made her way up to the sixth floor, the top floor.

Liu Boyi quickly followed her up to the sixth floor, unable to help but lean on his knees to catch his breath, and then he saw Kui Xin calmly looking for the room number in the hallway, feeling like a useless ornament, only good for navigation.

Feeling ashamed, he stammered, “It’s almost noon; should we eat first before you settle in? I can take you to the cafeteria…”

“No need, senior. You should go back to your dorm; you haven’t packed your things yet,” Kui Xin waved him off. “I can just see the navigation map; there’s campus navigation, right?”

“Yeah, there is.” Liu Boyi, now feeling pointless, said goodbye to Kui Xin, leaving the dormitory building.

Kui Xin was the first to arrive at the entire dorm, which had been open for check-in for two days, with her remaining roommates not yet assembled.

In a six-person dorm, privacy was indeed unmanageable.

She couldn’t stay here; she had to move out. Kui Xin made up her mind.

Before coming to university, she had already inquired about it through various channels. Local students could stay at home, and if residing off-campus, they only needed to write a guarantee letter or discreetly move out without notifying the school authorities.

Kui Xin was prepared. She had contacted several landlords in the university community about apartments online, planning to check out some places to rent off-campus.

As for Yu Qiwen’s suggestion to accept Yuan Lu’s investment in the cat café and stay in the employee dorm there, while that was also a good idea, Kui Xin didn’t want to establish too deep of a connection with them for now. Social obligations were the most troublesome; maintaining a distant yet amiable relationship was sufficient, and there was no need to take it further.

After tidying up the dormitory a bit, Kui Xin’s phone buzzed.

Liu Boyi sent a message: “Xiang Liang asked for your contact information. Can I give it to him?”

Kui Xin quickly replied, “Sure.”

In less than a minute, a friend request popped up on her social media, with the note: Xiang Liang.

Xiang Liang nervously typed, “Hello, junior sister. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I also didn’t expect to see you here,” Kui Xin typed back. “Let’s meet up when you have time and talk.”

“Okay, I’m free anytime,” Xiang Liang replied immediately.

The moment Kui Xin saw Xiang Liang, she noticed the extraordinary ability information emanating from him.

Xiang Liang possessed extraordinary abilities, and it seemed his power was not weak; in many respects, it could be called a divine skill.

“Analysis Reconstruction,” was the name of his ability. The explanation of Analysis Reconstruction was, “Can instantly analyze the structure of mechanical devices and understand their structural principles.”

In the Second World, where technology was highly advanced, Xiang Liang’s ability would certainly find practical applications. He would be a valuable talent even in the Mechanized Dawn, and if his ability could continue to upgrade, he might become a leading researcher in certain fields in the future.

Even in the First World, this ability would be immensely useful. For instance, regarding the technology of the Second World… Xiang Liang could analyze and reconstruct all the sophisticated machines that encompassed human intelligence, memorizing that knowledge to bring back to the First World.

If utilized correctly, it could even catalyze a technological explosion in the First World.

If it were Kui Xin in Eve or the Federation… even knowing Xiang Liang was a player, she wouldn’t want him dead.

Because this ability was just too precious.

Perhaps this ability was Xiang Liang’s lifeline for survival in the Second World.