First Interstellar Guide Chapter 16: Opening Ceremony

Chapter 16: Opening Ceremony

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The atmosphere of this meal could be considered harmonious. After all, Yu Ran had been playing the role of a “naive little guide visiting the capital star for the first time”, and Lu Zexuan had probed him for half a day without finding any loopholes.

The two of them finished dinner peacefully on the surface, and then Lu Zexuan escorted Yu Ran back to the guide academy.

The car soon arrived at the entrance of the guide academy, and Lu Zexuan looked at Yu Ran and whispered, “I’ll head back now. School starts the day after tomorrow. If you need any help at school, feel free to tell me anytime.”

Yu Ran nodded, “Okay, General, goodbye.”

Entering the school, they happened to meet Principal Xie Shiyi coming out of the office building. Principal Xie still had a gentle expression on his face as he looked at Yu Ran and asked, “Have you been adjusting well these few days at school alone?”

Yu Ran replied, “It’s been fine.”

Principal Xie glanced thoughtfully towards the school gate, “Did you… go out just now?”

Yu Ran didn’t conceal it, “Yes, General Lu invited me to dinner.”

Principal Xie chuckled, “Lu Zexuan came to see you? I heard that your guide essence compatibility with him is as high as 98%.”

Yu Ran blushed a little and scratched his head embarrassedly, “I didn’t expect that. I’m still young and not ready for a relationship yet. Let’s just get to know each other first. We can talk about it after graduation.”

Principal Xie agreed, “Mn, focus on your studies at the Sanctuary for now. Tomorrow, the students will come to register, and your roommates will move in too. If you encounter any difficulties, you can talk to your class teacher or come directly to my office.”

Yu Ran expressed his gratitude, “Thank you for your concern.”

Xie Shiyi turned and left, and the silver-throated long-tailed mountain finch on his shoulder fluttered its wings friendly towards Yu Ran twice.

It seemed that compared to Lu Zexuan, this sharp and stubborn sentinel, Principal Xie didn’t harbor as much suspicion towards him.

Yu Ran calmly left and returned to the dormitory to rest.

The next day, new students indeed arrived at the school one after another. Parents were not allowed into the campus, so the students dragged their suitcases to find their dormitories by themselves. Fortunately, the directions were clear, and the dormitory area was easy to find.

Apart from Yu Ran, the guides for this group were mostly around 13 years old. Yu Ran’s three roommates were also underage guides of 13 years old.

After the three little boys arrived at the dormitory, they all looked at Yu Ran. This “older student” had a spirit body of a white fox, with fluffy and beautiful fur, especially the snowy white big tail, which looked very touchable. However, they didn’t know much about Yu Ran and felt awkward talking to him.

Yu Ran took the initiative to greet them, “We’re roommates from now on. Let’s get to know each other. My name is Yu Ran, and I’m 18 years old this year.”

The boy with black short hair reached out to shake hands with him, grinning, “I’m Qin Tian. Hehe, you’re 5 years older than me. Can I call you Brother Ran?” 

His spirit body was a lively and active brown teddy bear, constantly circling around Yu Ran’s fox, seeming eager to play with the fox. After observing it for a moment, the fox jumped off Yu Ran’s shoulder and took the little teddy bear to wander around the room.

A blond-haired, blue-eyed boy followed suit and extended his hand, “Hello, I’m Kamiya.” 

He was very cute but smiled shyly and blushed easily. His spirit body was a beautiful goldfish, swimming around his owner. The last one, named Qi Xiaoluo, seemed a bit introverted, with a spirit body of a small white rabbit. 

Healing-type guides typically had cute and fluffy spirit bodies. Yu Ran took the initiative to call them to the living room, opened the snack package Mrs. Joseph had given him, and said, “I have some snacks here. Come and have some before dinner at six o’clock.”

The three immediately followed Yu Ran and happily started sharing the snacks. The 13-year-old roommates were quite easy to please. After finishing Yu Ran’s snacks, their relationship became noticeably more friendly.

Yu Ran had arrived at the school a few days earlier and was very familiar with the guide academy. He took them around the campus to familiarize them with the surroundings. Before long, these three already regarded Yu Ran as their big brother, calling him “Brother Ran” affectionately.

Yu Ran strolled around the campus with his three little followers.

When they reached near the isolation wall, Qin Tian curiously looked up and said, “This wall is so high, much taller than the walls in other places.”

Yu Ran glanced at the nearby surveillance cameras and said, “This is the isolation wall, and next to it is the sentinel academy. Because younger guides and sentinels may have difficulty controlling their abilities, it’s easy for problems to arise if they attend classes together. So, the isolation wall is built particularly high to prevent some mischievous students from climbing over and causing trouble.”

Qin Tian suddenly realized, “Oh, so you mean the students from our guide academy can’t even get to the sentinel academy?”

Kamiya asked quietly, “Are they not allowed through the main gate either?”

Yu Ran explained, “The main gate of the guide academy is on the east side, and the sentinel academy is on the west side, quite far apart. And both academies have access control systems; students without a student card can’t get in.” He turned to Kamiya and asked, “Do you really want to go over there?”

Kamiya scratched his head, “I’m just curious. I heard those sentinels have really strong strength, and some can even fly.”

Qin Tian added, “Those who can fly are S-level sentinels, with evolved bird-like spirit bodies. Ordinary sentinels may just be a bit stronger and faster. But I still think being a guide is better. Being able to enter someone else’s mental world sounds really cool…”

Qi Xiaoluo asked softly, “What are your mental landscapes like? Mine is just a small patch of grass.”

Qin Tian said, “Mine is not big either, just a courtyard.”

On this topic, Kamiya immediately looked unhappy, “I heard that S-level guides with fish-type spirit bodies have an ocean as their mental landscape. But me, I only have a fish tank.”

Yu Ran was speechless. It seemed that the mental energy of C-level guides was indeed very limited. Yu Ran comforted them, “It’s okay, don’t be discouraged. S-level guides are very rare, but C-level guides also have their own roles.”

The three were reassured by his words and regained their enthusiasm. “Brother Ran is right! At least we’re evolved, much stronger than ordinary people!” 

“Yes, I can remember the lesson text after reading it twice!”

Yu Ran happily finished touring the campus with his “little followers” and then led them to the restaurant for a meal.

Principal Xie, watching from afar, sent a message to Mrs. Joseph, “Don’t worry, Yu Ran and his roommates are getting along quite well.”

Mrs. Joseph breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. I was worried he might be orphaned and alone, facing exclusion from his roommates.”

“It won’t happen. The roommates arranged for him all have guide spirit bodies with no aggressive tendencies,” Principal Xie paused, “By the way, has the schedule for tomorrow’s opening ceremony from the professor’s side been confirmed?”

Mrs. Joseph replied, “It’s confirmed. I’ll come with him then.”

According to tradition, the Sanctuary held an opening ceremony every year, but the scale could vary greatly. In the past, the opening ceremony simply involved speeches from the presidents of the guide and sentinel academies and student representatives. This year’s opening ceremony was particularly grand. When the guest list was released on the official website, all the students were shocked.

On the sentinel academy’s side, they had invited a heavyweight guest – a legendary figure among sentinels, Major General Lu Zexuan, the youngest general in federal history to graduate from the Sanctuary in just three months.

On the guide academy’s side, they had also invited a heavyweight guest – Professor Morvi, the president of the Central Academy of Sciences.

On one hand was the youngest sentinel general in the military, and on the other hand was the esteemed president of the Central Academy of Sciences. This opening ceremony was considered a draw between the guide and sentinel academies.

On the evening of January 7th, the capital star experienced its first snowfall in 500 years. Fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky, dyeing the entire world white. The accumulated snow on the roads easily covered ankles. The architecture of the guide academy had a Gothic pointed roof structure. Now, with the rooftops covered in snow, the entire school looked like a sacred magical castle.

Next door, the sentinel academy’s architectural style resembled a mechanical steel city, which looked spectacular even under the blanket of snow. As the young guides and sentinels got up early in the morning, preparing to attend the opening ceremony, the sentinel academy was filled with discussions.

“I heard General Lu is coming! He’s my idol. Can I ask him for an autograph?”

“Forget it, he’ll definitely be sitting in the VIP section and won’t let students get close.”

“I heard he graduated from the Sanctuary in just three months. That’s amazing!”

“And he’s so handsome. His spirit body is the King of the Sky, a white eagle. I really want to see him!”

Compared to Lu Zexuan’s popularity among sentinels, most of the students in the guide academy had never heard of Professor Morvi.

Curious, Qin Tian asked, “Brother Ran, what does Professor Morvi do?”

A complex expression flashed in Yu Ran’s eyes as he explained, “He is the founder of the federal life sciences field and the scientist who developed the limb regeneration treatment chamber.”

Kamiya asked curiously, “Limb regeneration… so if my leg is cut off and I lie in that chamber, can it grow back?”

Yu Ran nodded, “Yes, and it’ll be exactly the same as your original leg.”

Qin Tian excitedly raised his thumb, “That’s amazing! So, Professor Morvi is a very famous guide scientist?”

Kamiya suddenly realized, “No wonder I haven’t heard much about them, these scientists are all so secretive.”

Yu Ran didn’t say anything further and led his three little followers to the auditorium for the opening ceremony.

The guide academy’s auditorium was large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people, with three tiers: upper, middle, and lower. Students were seated according to their different classes. Since Yu Ran was a C-level mental energy, he was placed in Class 107, seated in the back row of the third tier. After finding their seats with their roommates, Yu Ran spoke up, “I want to go to the restroom. Do you guys want to come?”

The three immediately followed, “I’ll go too, otherwise, it’ll be inconvenient to move around when the ceremony starts.”

Yu Ran went to the restroom with the three of them. As they passed by the windows, he glanced at the air conditioning ducts outside with the corner of his eye, then calmly withdrew his gaze.

In a large auditorium with thousands of people, he needed to find the right opportunity to leave without being noticed by anyone, then sneak into the adjacent sentinel academy, avoiding all surveillance and the sentinels’ sight, and go to the library’s top floor to retrieve what he wanted… It was almost an impossible task.