“Hello, freshman registration!”
Needless to say, Carter, as a local, was quite good in terms of intelligence and familiarity with the routes. He led Wu Ming through the crowd with practiced ease and arrived in front of the last window.
“Steven Sterling!”
Wu Ming reported his name.
“Hmm, let me check…”
The woman behind the counter flipped through the register: “Ah, yes, from Yinchao City, a recommended student from St. George High School! A little genius!”
She looked Wu Ming up and down, her eyes showing some surprise, as recommended students were usually even more outstanding than those who entered through exams.
“One year’s tuition and miscellaneous fees amount to 500 gold yuan. Would you like to apply for a dormitory, or do you prefer to rent a place outside the school?”
“Dormitory building, any single rooms available?”
Wu Ming frowned slightly.
“No!”
“Then I’ll rent a place outside!”
The university’s level of freedom was obviously much higher than elementary and middle school, which made Wu Ming quite satisfied.
After paying the fees, he received his timetable and a list of required textbooks—these books still needed to be purchased separately.
“Thank you very much, Senior Carter!”
Wu Ming was quite satisfied with spending money to save time, and Carter, who received payment, was even more satisfied. Holding Wu Ming’s luggage, Carter’s eyes sparkled: “Junior, you still need to find a place to live outside. How about I recommend one to you?”
“I prefer quiet, no sharing a room!”
Wu Ming stated his requirement.
“No problem, Mrs. Lena’s apartment building will definitely meet your needs, and she can also provide cleaning and meal services for you!”
Carter snapped his fingers, looking very enthusiastic. Wu Ming could easily guess that he would get a commission from this.
“Let’s go take a look first!”
He didn’t really care about that and immediately said.
“Great, let’s go right away!”
Encountering such a straightforward guy, Carter was almost incredulous: “Aren’t you afraid I might be some bad guy?”
Someone who could fight through the crowd shouldn’t be this naive.
“Hehe…”
Wu Ming gave a light laugh, knowing without even thinking that the person in front of him indeed had no ill intentions. Even if he did, the one who should be worried definitely wouldn’t be himself.
“Let’s go!”
Though somewhat puzzled, Carter still led Wu Ming out of campus and to an apartment building next to the school.
“Mrs. Lena, I’ve brought you a tenant!”
Carter’s loud voice could be heard from afar.
“Please come in!”
The door opened, and a woman who looked no older than thirty greeted them. She was young and attractive.
“This house was left to me by my late husband. It’s quite spacious and has great sound insulation. I’m planning to rent out one floor, which includes a separate bedroom, living room, bathroom…”
Mrs. Lena was wearing a black dress that looked somewhat worn, clearly indicating not-so-good financial conditions.
After inspecting the apartment inside and out, Wu Ming was quite satisfied.
“Monthly rent is 10 gold yuan. If you sign a one-year contract directly, it can be 5 gold yuan cheaper. Additional services will cost extra!”
Mrs. Lena quoted the price. When mentioning the word “services,” she blushed slightly, seemingly a woman easily prone to shyness.
Wu Ming cast a suspicious glance at Carter beside him. The guy chuckled awkwardly but said nothing more.
“Okay! Just show me the property deed of this apartment, and I’ll sign a one-year contract!”
A little precaution was necessary.
“Of course, I can show you the original legal documents right now!”
Mrs. Lena became visibly happy, swaying her hips as she left.
“Hey!”
Wu Ming leaned closer to Carter: “I suspect this lady’s ‘services’ go beyond just cleaning, right?”
“Hehe… This is called mutual benefit!”
Carter replied with a knowing look, making Wu Ming roll his eyes in response, clearly unimpressed.
…
After finalizing the housing, Wu Ming went to a bookstore and bought all the required university textbooks according to the list. With that, his university life officially began.
The environment here was even more relaxed compared to high school, giving him more time to cultivate and study the Lord of Mysteries space.
Because the courses and classrooms were not fixed, even the classmates barely recognized each other.
Wu Ming noticed that his classmates seemed to have their own little ventures, and a few of them were clearly middle-aged, whose purposes for attending were either to polish their credentials or expand their social networks.
His classmates also remembered him as someone who was always in a hurry and hardly participated in any group activities.
After obtaining the Lord of Mysteries space, Wu Ming felt that his future plans should be adjusted.
Even his plan to graduate from university and enter high society was no longer that important. Regularly skipping classes became routine. If it weren’t for his excellent academic performance and never missing an exam, he probably would have received warnings long ago.
“He’s a lazy guy who’s really good at exploiting the rules, maybe also busy with some business!”
This was how his classmates described him.
Wu Ming was indeed very busy. He had to remotely manage the industries in Yinchao City, direct Mei Hu Di Ya, and communicate with Captain Victor of Victoria Harbor regarding the planning and objectives of the new company. Most importantly, he had to focus on his own progress, which kept him extremely occupied.
“The construction progress of the Lord of Mysteries space is too slow…”
Months later, lying on the bed in the apartment, Wu Ming seemed to be idly staring blankly, but in reality, he was concentrating on inspecting the progress of the Lord of Mysteries space.
“Manager, display the data!”
He called out softly, and the AI manager projected a set of data in front of him:
[The Lord of Mysteries Space]
[Owned Areas: Brain Core Zone, Divine Realm Zone, Unnamed Zone]
[Number of petitioners: 3,226]
[Psychic Energy Reserves: 28,751 units]
…
Over such a long period, he had only managed to capture a few wandering souls and invested them into the Divine Realm to become petitioners. After the previous massive consumption, the reserves of psychic energy had finally begun to slowly recover.
“The initial investment and cultivation of the reincarnators are basically unprofitable, especially when using the Illusory Paradise… Therefore, the key at present is still to collect psychic energy. Petitioners are important, but unfortunately, high-quality souls that meet the criteria are too hard to find. Not everywhere has the good fortune of ghost ships…”
Wu Ming rubbed his chin, wondering if Captain Victor would think he had gone mad if he asked him to specifically search for ghost ships at sea.
“Speaking of sources of psychic energy, petitioners are superior in terms of being covert and safe, but the number they can generate is far less than that from living people…”
Wu Ming pondered for a moment: “Looks like it’s time to extend my reach into the real world!”
He already had a vague plan in mind, ready to be implemented after some time.
“Mr. Steven, dinner is ready!”
At this moment, Mrs. Lena knocked on the door and said in a gentle voice.
“Okay! I’ll be right out!”
Wu Ming replied, got up from the bed, yawned, and went downstairs.
He had entrusted Mrs. Lena with his three meals and daily cleaning. Her cooking skills were clearly worth the price, though there was something odd about her.
From this apartment building and other aspects, it seemed that Mrs. Lena’s deceased husband had left her a considerable inheritance, enough to maintain a comfortable life. Yet, for some unknown reason, she often appeared to be in a difficult situation.
“Mrs. Lena, is there anything lately that you need help with?”
After finishing his steak, Wu Ming drank his borscht and suddenly asked.
“W-what?”
Mrs. Lena was startled, her hands nervously twisting the hem of her skirt: “Mr. Steven, why do you say that?”
Wu Ming pointed at her shoulder, where there was clearly a bruise near her neck.
“Oh, nothing, thank you!”
Mrs. Lena covered it up very unnaturally and quickly took her bread into the room. With his incredible perception, Wu Ming heard faint sobbing sounds.
Wu Ming sighed.
This woman seemed to be in dire need of money but had never tried to skimp on his meal fees, which, in a way, spoke highly of her character.
“Just for the delicious meals, if she asks for help, I’ll help her out!”
“Exactly, maybe I can make her the first test subject for my plan!”
Wu Ming happily made his decision, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He saw Mrs. Lena come out to collect the dishes—she looked as if she had never cried at all.
“Mr. Steven, I’ll go out for a moment!”
At night, Mrs. Lena’s expression suddenly became uneasy. Looking at Wu Ming still in the living room, she stood up to say goodbye.
“There’s no need to be so polite, after all, I’m the tenant!”
Wu Ming smiled slightly, continuing to read the newspaper: “Mrs. Lena, please do whatever you need to do!”
After Mrs. Lena left, Wu Ming thought for a moment and stood up, walking out.
With his skills, a weak woman wouldn’t notice him at all. However, when passing by Binford University, another furtive figure followed him, which made Wu Ming show a strange expression.
“Carter!”
Wu Ming suddenly appeared behind this shadow and patted his shoulder.
The shadow immediately jumped up and bit his right hand hard, barely suppressing a scream.
“You scared me to death!”
Carter lowered his voice, looking at the figure ahead and making a gesture for silence.
“It’s okay, she won’t notice. But I think we should have a serious talk now!”
Wu Ming’s lips curled into a slight smile: “Regarding Mrs. Lena, you obviously also don’t want her to see this, right?”
“Exactly!”
Carter hugged his head, the usually shrewd guy looking somewhat haggard.
“Let’s go, we can talk at the café!”
Wu Ming put his hands in his pockets. Judging from Mrs. Lena’s condition, this wasn’t something that had just started recently, so he had no reason to rush.
“Maybe I can help you!”
“Okay!”
Whether it was seeing hope or simply wanting to confide in someone, Carter agreed immediately.
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