Bixing Lu took measures for the PR crisis hurriedly, trying tocommunicate with the deans and the teachers already resigned one by one. Unfortunately, this time, neither sentiments nor reasons could touch them after the sensational opening ceremony. Even the temptation of money lost its powers. 

The old dean expressed his aspiration clearly and directly in the speech––people looking up into the starry skies above their heads always uphold their principle even if their ultimate goal is pursuing profit. Moreover, dreams and dignity could not be trampled by money.

Even if when the dreams and dignity were dying.

Disregarding his physiological needs for food and water,Bixing Lu was doing all he could all day long but in vain. He could only return to the staff office building alone.

The office was completely empty. The desks and chairs were put in immaculate order since there was no one to take a seat. As the teachers had good manners, they packed up their stuff before leaving. It was so clean that there was no trace that showed that they had ever been here.

Bixing Lu wandered around for a while, feeling it was too silent here. Therefore, he switched on the self-cleaning system in the office so the buzzing noise of cleaning could bring some liveliness into the room. Then he devoured a box of compressed nutrition meal.

The compressed nutrition meal was a cubic piece, with the least pleasing look and the texture of a hawthorn cake. It was an artificial nutrition compressed with all kinds of nutrientsfor human body which was intended for cases of emergency, and saving time as well. It was convenient and cheap, despite its taste was too far from delicious---- even the high-ranking pets were eating natural food   these days after all.

It did not mean that Bixing Lu had not had anything deliciousbefore or unable to afford them. It was only because he was not ravenous and did not want to spend time on food.

He gobbled the dinner with a few bites. As the insulin increased in his blood vessel, he felt a bit drowsy, and a bit lonely at the same time.

Bixing Lu tranced for a while. Then an interface popped upfrom his desk which showed the school’s roster. The staff section was almost completely grey, only the headmaster was left alone. Last year, they recruited more than a hundred students, but now there was only less than thirty left this year. While Bixing had his meal, a half of the thirty became grey as well ---- those would be the students who received the transcript and gave up themselves to fate.

The number of enrolment notices this year was a hundred and five in total. Ninety of them came to register. Most of themwere Beijing-β locals who came for a glance at B4. They left after achieving their goals making up the forty who droppedout in this single day. The number was still droppingcontinually right now: what a satire.

“Every step’s a struggle.” The young headmaster sighed.

Bixing Lu’s lung capacity was quite large, giving him the ability to sigh a full half minute. After a deep breath, he decided to think more optimistically.

Times were progressing and civilization was moving forward. The old “freaks” were constantly fighting for equal rights to be the normal people. However, time would create new generations of freaks again.

Bixing Lu called himself a “genius” even though he knew the term was just another way to say “freak”.

Being a freak like this, how could he live if he takes everything into heart?

Bixing Lu asked the central computer to play an electronic dance music that would pull the whole building’s atmosphere high up into the sky ---- for the sake of the old gentlemen’s heart, the office building used to only play soft and cla.s.sical music in the past.

Today, the entire building belonged to him. Bixing Lu lockedthe front and back door by the central computer so that n.o.body would see him, letting himself completely loosen up. He took off his coat but still felt constricted, so he just took his shoes and socks off altogether as well to liberate his ten imprisoned toes. Tea cups on the table were trembling because of the music. The headmaster stepped on the chair like a bandit, quickly releasing a new job posting and effectively formulating “Plan B”.

It did not matter if no teachers would come ---- as he did not have many students at the present. He could teach all of them himself. According to the dropout rates, it would not be long before there was only a small cla.s.s left in the entire Star SeaAcademy. The first and second graders of the three departments could merge into one cla.s.s -- anyway, judging from the transcriptions last year, it was unnecessary to dividethese “elites” into different grades and majors.

Three small steps had just coalesced into one. Bixing Lu thought that it was quite reasonable. He summed up his periodical failures: tearing his crotch because the strides he took was too big. Successfully convincing himself, Bixing Lu left the problem aside in no time. With the loud music playing in the background, he sang the song out of tune and began to mess around with the chip Lin gave to him. Given the limited amount of equipment, he planned to figure out a bit more about the situation and plan out a budget first, so then he could ask Zhanlu for money.

While thinking of Zhanlu, Bixing’s thoughts jumped a little bit to its owner. Bixing Lu a.n.a.lysed the interface of the biochip while staying distracted : unconsciously thinking about Lin’s glance in the auditorium .

Maybe it was because that the lighting in the auditorium was too dreamlike, or it was because the way the gangsters showed up were too striking. Anyway, Bixing Lu’s mindbecame occupied with the image of Lin since that scene had been recalled.

When he was pouring the coffee, when he sat down to write the research plan, and even when he swayed his hands and legs to the shriek melody of the music, he felt Lin’sgazeseemed to be so fixed at him from the back that Lu felt tooembarra.s.sed to keep his body semi-naked anymore, so he puthis clothes on again cautiously even actually there was no one else around.

When the laboratory was built, Bixing Lu thought, he could start teaching by doing, and even trick Zhanlu to work for him as a subst.i.tute teacher.

With the lab at hand, he could excuse himself for the more frequent meetings with his investor -- after all, he was veryobliged to report the progress of his research. Thinking all ofthese, Headmaster Lu thought that his work had been so well-organized that the revolutionist optimism could rekindle his fighting spirit again.

However, before he could take the initiative to meet Lin, the “investor” who was stuck in Headmaster Lu’s mind came tomeet him in person within a few days.

B4 had Zhanlu repair Spider’s mech, and donated it to Stars Academy as he thought it was useless to keep.

Penny found a few people to transport the giant to the tutor building. According to the rumours, Penny was the mistress of the previous “father” of the Blackhole, but actually she wasnot. The previous “father” was fickle in love and he had somany lovers that he couldn’t even recognize themrespectively. It was hard work that made Penny “the Penny”. She mastered the a.r.s.enal of the previous “father” and then became his confidant.

However, this previous “father” did not have a clear mind. He wanted his confidant to be his sweetheart. How foolish was he? Sure enough, he eventually lost his own heart at the end.

Lin came from another planet. When the previous “father”was blocked by his enemy with a host of mech cars and was left on the edge of life and death, Lin, a new comer here back then who casually got a job of street cleaner, happened to ba.s.s by in the sweeper. He invaded the mech car through the network on the sweeping car and immediately turned the terrifying mech monster into a toy model with spreadingclaws.

The previous “father” acknowledged Lin as his brother, making him rank the fourth ---- B2 and B3 were tombstones already, two “donkeys” that were killed after their job done at the “father’s” mill. 

At that time, Blackhole had not become the most powerful gang on Beijing-β. It was because Lin chose Blackhole that it ascended to power. This “fourth brother” was revealed to be fairly capable, and that made the “father” uneasy. As a result,the previous “father” sharpened his knife of killing again, whereas the confidant rebelled and provided help for Lin. Sothe knife for killing donkeys was used to kill the “father”himself eventually.

The frosty wind was whistling. Penny wrapped a windproof hooded jacket around herself to keep warm. Looking up, she asked B4, “I heard that all the teachers in his school have left, so why are we still giving them supplies?”

Not required to be anyone’s poster man, B4’s look became s.h.a.ggy again these days. Noticing that Penny felt cold, he took her to the leeward place, “Just give him something to play with, for he wants to.”

Penny was a bit suspicious. B4 was indifferent to others, but there was an obsequious toy boy Zhanlu around him. She was not sure whether there were any other toy boys are going to act like Zhanlu, so she tempted, “You’re pretty kind to Mr. Lu.”

“I owe his father a favour.”

“What?” Penny was stunned. It was already five years past since the day she met B4, and she had never seen B4 travel to any other planet. She only knew that he was very close with the runaway freak Bixing Lu ---- no one knew that he wasacquainted with Monoeye Hawk, “Do we have anyconnections with Monoeye Hawk?”

“We don’t ---- Monoeye Hawk doesn’t even know that I’m here.” B4 paused, “Many years ago, he returned a belongingof my old friend to me.”

Zhanlu who had been following them silently for a long timeraised his head, while B4 only smiled and refused to say anything else.

At this moment, there was some voice coming from afar. Penny looked up and found that they had arrived at the back of the school building.

Bixing Lu gathered all the students in a large cla.s.sroom. Those students were just like a group of restless monkeys with all kinds of postures on display. Headmaster Lu sat on the desk gracefully and was conducting the cla.s.s himself. Penny and Lin approached towards the back window and heard the main content of this lesson: interstellar smuggling.

Bixing was speaking with fervour and a.s.surance. His statement was perfect. The restless monkeys did not expect the first day of the new semester to be so exciting, therefore all of them listening to him fascinatedly.

“Smuggling has been a time-honored business in the Eighth Galaxy. Mainly weapons and electronic equipment are traded in the market. Occasionally, there are small sales offood and daily necessities as well.” Bixing Lu said, pointing out the smuggling pa.s.sages on the large map behind him for students,“The main reason why the pa.s.sages are so winding is that smugglers need to hide from the border garrison of the Seventh Galaxy. But n.o.body on our side of the border really cares, as long as you don't s.n.a.t.c.h the channel and goods of the ‘big daddies’.”

The students were completely intrigued. White, the student who hacked into the auditorium system on the first day of school, was very active in cla.s.sroom partic.i.p.ation. He interjected, “Headmaster, how much can be earned in one go?And how much can the price difference of smuggled goodsbe?”

“There is no concept of 'price difference' in interstellar smuggling. Babe, they are not doing wholesale of small goods.” Bixing Lu answered, “They don’t accept the useless Eighth Galaxy currency. They won’t come to the Eighth Galaxy to import products. Generally speaking, they barter. As for the specific details, it’s necessary for the buyer and the seller to discuss in each transaction. Every deal is different, and how much you can earn depends on your personal ability.”

White was excellent at computers. In the Eighth Galaxy, he was considered to be born in a relatively rich family. He was also one of the few students who actually had an authenticbasic education diploma. Reportedly, his family was alreadyready to immigrate to the Seventh Galaxy. He came to StarrySea Academy only to kill the time. Being a little naughty and innocent, he could not refrain from questioning again, “Headmaster, did you just say that they don't import things from the Eighth Galaxy? So what can we use to exchange?"

Bixing Lu looked at him deeply. He did not answer, but askedthe cla.s.s, “Does anyone know?”

The next moment, a gloomy girl, the one who made a laser gun herself, who was now sitting the corner replied ---- ,“With people, r.e.t.a.r.d. There are lots of idling fools like you in the Eighth Galaxy who are just suitable to be sold to foreign planets for human experimentation---- or to do the banned unethical jobs.”

White’s expression shattered.

Bixing Lu asked the girl: “What’s your name?”

“Mint.” The girl glanced at him, and nodded when she said her name instinctively. It was not a decent name at all, but she had very sophisticated manners. Her bad temper of pointing guns at others when she’s angry could not be seen even a tinybit.

“Exactly, human trafficking is a very important part of interstellar smuggling, accounting for more than 70% of all transactions ---- Mint gets one extra point for her cla.s.spartic.i.p.ation. The total score in this part is sixty points. I hope everyone can get a full score before the end of this term, as it will be easier for you to pa.s.s your final exam.” Bixing Lu’s topic switched fluently between final exams and human trafficking, smuggling and sweatshops, 

“In addition, there are prohibited items, such as private arms of the Eighth Galaxy, things from interstellar pirates and things banned from transacting in civilized areas…”

White still wanted to know everything. “What is banned?”

“A lot, such as some artificial creatures.” Bixing Lu said,“Have you seen the creatures with a human’s head and a snake tail? They have human brains. So, even though there aresome problems with their intelligence after being forced together, they still have the IQs equivalent to ordinary preschoolers. They might be a bit dumb, but they have humanthinking and feelings. Being grafted on the sparkling snake tails, they become exotic pets that can be very expensive among the rich.”

White asked confusedly, “Headmaster, have you ever seen one?”

“I saw one when I was young," Bixing Lu paused, “Someone sent it to my father as a gift. I sneaked into the bas.e.m.e.nt and found her. A girl ---- they’re mostly girls, because girls’ faces are prettier, but it is said that there are also good-looking boys.”

“Then?”

“Then I shot and killed her,” said Bixing Lu.

The entire cla.s.sroom fell into complete silence.

After a moment, White’s voice lowered an octave, “You ......Why didn’t you release her?”

“Snakmaids and some mermaids can’t even be regarded as having genetic defects. They’re created simply to cater to some people’s twisted taste, and they are unable to survivewithout their high-standard insulation box and nutrient delivery system. A person, if so unfortunate as to have to live like a beast, should at least live as a beast with freedom.”

Bixing Lu’s gentle smile which was on his face all the timedisappeared. His face that usually had a half-joking expression changed to frosty instead. Saying all of these, he refused to go deeper, raising his hand and interrupting the students’ pursuits, “Next question.”

B4 did not disturb them. He had Penny and a few people stay here to hand over the mech , and left with Zhanlu quietly.

After he got on his own car, B4 suddenly said to Zhanlu,“Scan the Bixing Lu’s genes for me again.”

Zhanlu started the scan as soon as B4 finished his command. After a while, the ice-cold mechanical sound told him the result, “Third testing. Gene code incongruent.”

B4 sighed, leaning back on the seatback.

“Sir, it was thirty-three years ago when Commodore Xin Lu’s accident took place and Mrs. Lu went missing. The bone age of Headmaster Lu is only twenty-eight. In the past five years, you have doubted about this for three times and asked me to scan Headmaster Lu’s gene ---- it did not match for all three times.” Zhanlu said, 

“Commodore Xin Lu got on well with Monoeye Hawk during his lifetime. Thirty-three years ago, Monoeye Hawk changed his surname to Lu in memory of Xin Lu. If it is only because of his surname, there is no reason for you to suspect that Headmaster Lu is the person you are looking for. You cannot think that just because Monoeye Hawk returned one piece of Xin Lu’s belongings, he has ‘the other one’ in his hands.”

“But he unlocked my encryption system,” B4 whispered,“except for me, there is only…...”

Zhanlu said, “Headmaster Lu has very impressive tech skills. With a little luck, it is not absolutely impossible for him to open the encryption lock.”

B4 did not argue anymore, merely mumbled as agreement.

Zhanlu went silent for a while, then suddenly asked, “Last time you said that ‘I will give up if I can't find him’, was that just a lie to yourself?”

B4 became ‘deaf’ again. He thought, although the artificial intelligent Zhanlu was truly intelligent, sometimes it was saying too much.