"...The First University Assistant Corps held a secret meeting yesterday (Sunday afternoon, March 14th) with all members present, without inviting any external observers. It is known that the deans of the four academies and the School Works Committee were all present, and reliable sources reveal that the corps discussed many surprising and unsettling topics in the meeting..."

"...Later, Gongsun Xiaolin, spokesperson for the First University Assistant Corps, confirmed to the media that the rumor regarding the collaboration between the Edge Academy and the corps in developing a ’secret weapon’ is completely baseless and absurd. We cannot verify this, but during subsequent communications between reporters and Edge Academy, the spokesperson for Edge Academy stated that as the new academy’s construction progresses, Edge Academy will have power commensurate with the academies under First University. Edge Academy will always be the strongest defender of First University’s security and unity, contributing to the legacy and development of the Alliance’s magical skills..."

"...Such statements by Edge Academy are tantamount to publicly acknowledging some of the rumors circulating both inside and outside the school. On the other hand, relevant institutions have refused to confirm this, exacerbating the unease among many wizards within the Alliance due to such vague and opaque unilateral policies..."

"...An insider close to the Assistant Corps told reporters that the corps has indeed reached a cooperation agreement with Edge Academy on some magical experiment projects, but the specific terms of the agreement have been stuffed into the deepest drawer by the high-level wizards of the school..."

"...In an interview with this paper, the newly appointed leader of the Assistant Corps, Zhang Yu, emphasized that the cooperative magical projects between the relevant departments of First University and Edge Academy fully comply with the requirements of the ’First University Campus Management Regulations’ and the ’Wizard’s Codex.’ They also observe all the provisions of the ’Forbidden Curse Non-proliferation Treaty’ by the Mage Alliance and uphold the broadest and most general experimental ethics of the wizard world... Furthermore, in the related projects, the Assistant Corps merely acts as the ’helpers’ of the relevant high-level wizards... He refused to disclose more specific experimental content... But at the end of the interview, Assistant Zhang Yu reminded reporters that, as usual, all wizards participating in similar projects would sign a very strict Silence Contract, ’that’s our obligation,’ he said."

"...Providing ’helpers’ to high-level wizards is an outdated and backward mode of collaboration, a justified means of exploiting apprentices by Mage Tower masters during the long, dark ages, and has been heavily criticized by the wizard world in modern times..."

"...Regarding the Assistant Corps’ registered wizards serving as ’helpers,’ renowned historian Mr. Yuan Wenhai stated, ’When I read history, I’d rather imagine myself as a commoner than serve as a helper in a mentor’s Magic Tower.’ ’You can treat what happened in history as stories, but you cannot let those storylines be reborn in reality.’ Noted education critic Lloyd Phineas has already protested to First University, stating that ’Every assistant is a valuable talent for the Alliance, not cheap labor for First University.’ ’Any exploitative behavior is intolerable in modern society.’... For the disputes sparked by this meeting, First University and related agencies have yet to provide a clear explanation..."

"...As an academy not yet fully established, Edge Academy is daringly breaching interest circles originally belonging to the four academies, such as providing cheaper security and patrol services for Beta Town, promoting the ’Sage Faith’ beyond the North District, organizing private hunting competitions, and reaching a series of cooperation agreements with First University’s Research Institute, Assistant Corps, and others..."

"...Clearly, Edge Academy will emerge as the biggest winner amidst all this controversy. First University has enough foundation and resources to allow a newly established academy to grow rapidly... ’But you can’t just pick the good grapes out of the bunch,’ an anonymous staff member of First University subtly commented to a Post reporter. ’Eat all the good grapes, and soon every one you encounter will get worse and worse, which isn’t fair to others.’... All these public opinion confrontations around attitudes of ’unease,’ ’secrecy,’ and ’fairness’ starkly contrast with the current tranquility and peace within the First University campus—like the calm at the center of a typhoon, the weather is always so sunny..."

Zheng Qing turned to the last page, still wanting to read, but found no more interesting news. The entire page was filled with advertisements for new gargoyles from the Martin Tuo Alchemy Company, from customer experiences to various ’beautiful photos’ of the gargoyles, to after-sales service detailed to the point of fussiness, shaking his head repeatedly.

Of course, as a commercial newspaper, Zheng Qing could completely understand the "Beta Town Post’s" approach.

He folded the newspaper in his hand and tossed it towards the Fat Wizard in the front row: "Are there any more serious news? Like about the World Cup Hunting Competition preparations, or the Trident Sword’s hunt for Black Wizards... I’m tired of Beta Town’s style; even the most normal news get a strange yin-yang taste once they’re processed by its editorial team..."

"Why are you concerned about the World Cup?"

The Fat Wizard squinted suspiciously at Zheng Qing, scratching his chin with the feathery tail of his quill, exclaiming repeatedly: "Doctor? Doctor! What was today’s code again? I think Mr. Zha has been replaced!"

Zheng Qing sneered.

Doctor Xiao, head-down on his paperwork beside, replied without looking up: "Each to his own fate."

"Whose own fate!"

Xin Fat Man’s expression changed instantly, pointing at Zheng Qing, indignantly saying: "He wasn’t concerned about the World Cup to begin with, was I wrong? Has the world become intolerant of people speaking the truth?!"

"The doctor means to say, your code word is ’each to his own fate.’"

Zheng Qing rolled his eyes, signed a calm-down gesture to the excited Fat Wizard, and sighed: "Actually, I should have asked ’suit my favor’ first, and then you respond ’each to his own fate’... If you can’t even remember the order, what’s the point of this code exchange with me? Didn’t you dislike this security measure?"

The Fat Wizard blinked, and the anger on his face dissipated instantly.

"No wonder I felt a slight discord in that word just now."

He nodded thoughtfully, measuring a very narrow distance with two chubby fingers, without a hint of embarrassment on his face: "As for liking or not liking, such things can’t be generalized... At the very least, I’m not the kind of person who only picks the ’good grapes’ out of the bunch."

Upon hearing the last sentence, Zheng Qing couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.