Starting Cultivation in Wasteland-Chapter 564 - 434: Rallying Under a Banner

A few days later, the military really did send people to the academy because the students' winter job selection was approaching.

Winter selection is different from summer; the military selects only the best of the best and requires a series of trials.

In addition, there are also the model military squads, so many military personnel came, and grass-green uniforms could be seen everywhere in the academy.

Qu Jianlei had no interest in this; except for occasionally going to the library, he spent most of his time between two points.

At night, he would go to the deserted wasteland to test the defense array.

The initial test results were not good, and only after using up a third of the materials over several days did he make some progress.

Though called wasteland, it was actually within the academy, so Qu Jianlei was very cautious about any noise.

However, as the defense grew stronger, the noise became increasingly noticeable, often attracting people to check.

Fortunately, Xiang Xue was very interested in his experiment and would come over to watch every day.

Qu Jianlei needed her to buy materials, and since the defense array itself was obtained from the Earth Scholar organization, he didn't hide it from her.

Anyway, he wouldn't go out of his way to explain; how much she could understand was up to her.

Xiang Xue was an official course instructor at the academy, not much, but she had a certificate as a professor's assistant.

If someone heard the noise and came over, she would show her proof to indicate that they were conducting tests.

At the academy, it's normal for teachers to conduct experiments. Although not done in the laboratory, which was a bit unexpected, it wasn't without precedent.

Some even wanted to observe, but were shooed away by Xiang Xue—sorry, it's a subject of research filing.

After conducting experiments for four consecutive days, even the school guard team found it unsurprising. On the fifth day, two soldiers were unexpectedly attracted by the commotion.

One of the soldiers was a Modified Warrior, the other a B-level Wood Attribute.

Xiang Xue routinely went forward to explain and refused observation.

The Wood Attribute soldier was originally going to leave, but after sensing it, couldn't help but murmur, "Is this... a defense array?"

Seeing that he wouldn't leave and had figured something out, Xiang Xue faced him with a stern expression, "Could you please respect our research?"

However, the Wood Attribute officer eyed her fiercely, "Where did you get your information from?"

"It's not your place to ask!" Xiang Xue snorted coldly, "We're only researching defense arrays, nothing else."

The Wood Attribute officer spoke in a deep voice, "Such arrays can only be researched by the military and military industrial departments. You..."

"Don't try to scare me," Xiang Xue waved her hand, impatiently saying, "Many people research this stuff."

"You're wrong!" The Wood Attribute officer didn't back down, "Now could you please tell me who else is researching it?"

Xiang Xue indeed knew there were others researching it, but she wasn't sure if it was appropriate to say.

So she rolled her eyes, "For example, our Green Water Academy's old dean."

She didn't actually know if the old dean researched this, but as a Supreme, having a little hobby isn't too much, is it?

"Green Water Academy?" The Wood Attribute officer was clearly a bit surprised, "Are you aid teachers?"

Xiang Xue didn't answer him, just took out her identity token and showed it.

"Strange," the officer muttered softly, "Aid teachers still have time to conduct experiments."

Then he asked again, "What's the old dean of Green Water called?"

"Just the old dean," Xiang Xue answered indifferently, "You can't call him by name...understand?"

"As expected, a Supreme," the officer nodded, then spoke again, "The Supreme can certainly do it, but you..."

"I already told you not to scare people," Xiang Xue interrupted him again, "Not only the old dean of Green Water Academy is researching it."

"This..." The Wood Attribute officer really had nothing more to say.

Ordinary people are not allowed to research arrays arbitrarily, that regulation exists, but there's also a lot of discontent from other government entities.

Everyone agrees that military priority isn't an issue, but trying to monopolize it isn't appropriate—many arrays can be used for civilian purposes.

Moreover, although the military's research institutions are full of talent, when it comes to the number of talents, there are certainly more in society.

This discontent accumulated more and more, and eventually, the military had to resort to authorizing civilians to resolve the disputes.

Later, some research institutions even started conducting private research without military permission.

The most sensational event was when a research institution achieved results and somehow got it published in the military's top-secret internal journal.

The journal's editor didn't think about it much, and it wasn't until the military sent people to investigate the details that they discovered the institution had never been authorized!

That was quite awkward; the military thought, if worst comes to worst, they'd just annex that research institution.

However, the troublesome part was that the research achievement was a bit too minor and didn't qualify for annexation.

And the research institution was a bit too large, making the absorption cost relatively high.

Moreover, since this institution belonged to the government, the military had no choice but to issue a retroactive authorization.

After this incident, the trend of researching arrays in society couldn't be stopped. The regulation became virtually ineffective.

However, the regulation hasn't been abolished because it still has considerable binding power on non-governmental levels.

For instance, Qu Jianlei encountered array research on Star No. 2's black market.

Although he bought a fake, he hadn't heard of the array before.

So the Wood Attribute Officer wasn't wrong in what he said, but neither was Xiang Xue's response—I've been researching it, so what?

The teachers at the academy are also people within the system, and isn't it normal for teachers to work on projects?

The Wood Attribute Officer believes that the Supreme old dean has the qualifications to research it, so why can't other teachers at the academy?

It was the Modified Warrior who spoke up, smoothing things over for his superior, "Star No. 2 is relatively stable, but Star No. 4 needs to be strictly controlled."

This made sense too. Star No. 4 was newly established, with various forces busy staking their claims, truly a mix of dragons and snakes.

The Wood Attribute Officer's initial intent was just to give these two a bit of a scare, and if he could intimidate some information out of them, then his late-night trip wouldn't be in vain.

It's not that he had a quality issue, but rather that this was common in the military; when veterans deal with newcomers, they employ all sorts of tricks.

If it were only Qu Jianlei present, his words might indeed scare people, but the outcome... would become unpredictable.

Luckily, Xiang Xue was there. Although she didn't understand arrays, she knew the ropes involved.

The Wood Attribute Officer realized he couldn't intimidate them, so he just smiled lightly, "How far have you researched?"

"Don't pry," Xiang Xue waved her hand, saying blandly, "This is something to be submitted as a project."

"Hey, you really don't take the military seriously," the officer laughed in frustration, "Believe it or not, I really could arrest you both?"

"Don't believe," Xiang Xue answered very straightforwardly, "You can try."

Qu Jianlei finally stopped what he was doing, looked up at the officer, "Even if I wanted to tell you, could you understand it?"

He didn't mind communicating with peers, especially since he had the backing of Green Water Academy like a protective cloak; the other side probably couldn't do anything to him.

The Wood Attribute Officer was once again speechless; he knew his own limitations well.

He didn't know less about arrays, but it was limited to knowing how to use them; conversing with someone who researched them, that was really out of his league.

After some thought, he spoke up, "Interested in joining the military research institute?"

A private individual who tinkers with arrays, the military could certainly profit by recruiting.

"Not interested," Qu Jianlei shook his head.

If it were the military of the Divine Land, he might consider it, but the Imperial military—it's indeed a bit dark.

Xiao Moshan, Youyou, and the Fourth Master among the Star Thieves all originated from the military, yet they were targeted by the military.

If it were just one or two people, it might be an isolated case, but Qu Jianlei, personally encountered three of them.

The Wood Attribute Officer found it increasingly uninteresting and promptly turned away to leave.

After he was far enough, Qu Jianlei spoke again, "Shall we change locations?"

Xiang Xue shook her head, "Not much point. The academy is only so big, if the other party is intent on perception, we can't hide."

The Wood Attribute Officer's perception was very strong; after returning to his room, he dialed the military's confidential hotline.

"Commander, today I encountered a guy researching arrays; it's a Defense Array, and the basic structure is..."

He had a good memory and recorded the situation on site in quite some detail, but there were some materials he couldn't identify.

After listening for a while, the other side let out a pondering hum.

"That's an old defense mechanism, already obsolete, but some believe it still holds potential; which institution is it?"

He really had obtained some legacy! The Wood Attribute Officer completely dispelled his suspicions.

Whether or not to manage array research depends, but if it's cutting-edge array research, that could be problematic.

Researching former mechanisms, that's really attempting to accomplish something academically.

So he instinctively replied, "It's not an institution, just two people."

"Just two people?" the voice on the other end immediately rose in volume, "Recruit into the military, forcibly if necessary."

He knew very well that array research wasn't something an individual could do; it required substantial manpower and resources, must be a team effort.

"It's quite difficult," the Wood Attribute Officer smiled wryly, "The other party is a teacher at Green Water Academy."

"Academia, still Green Water Academy..." the other side clearly hesitated, but eventually stated, "Can't persuade them?"

The Wood Attribute Officer sighed, "I tried, but they expressed no interest."

"Just like that..." the voice muttered and then stated, "Next time, remember to bring a micro-glow camera."

"This...? Isn't it inappropriate?" the Wood Attribute Officer smiled wryly, "They're planning to apply for a project."

"The establishment and funding of relevant projects, the military can provide," the other party stated very succinctly.

"You don't think I'm intending to plagiarize those two kids' results, do you?"

How would I know if you would? The Wood Attribute Officer only knew the other person was a big shot in array research.

He replied honestly, "The other's vigilance is high, and... one of them is B-level."

He believed he could easily take on academia's B-level, but once a battle ensued, there could be no lack of elemental fluctuations.

In the Engineering College, there was more than one A-level; how could they just sit back and watch him act recklessly?