Chapter 546: Grievous News
This time no one answered Xiao Lin, and the crowd left with the old man. Only Yu Mei and the student union president were left along with the other monitors. The monitors were all silent, since the presence of the president meant it was not their turn to speak.
The president exchanged a silent look with Yu Mei before looking at Xiao Lin. When the footsteps outside the door got further, the president patted XIao Lin’s shoulder and sighed, “Head back to the academy.”
“I want to see the dean!” Xiao Lin obstinately said.
“Not possible.” The president rejected calmly but firmly.
“Then tell me that old man was bullsh*tting. He was lying, right?”
“Xiao Lin, calm down, and those words should be kept here. That man you talked to earlier is the national defense commander of Dawn Academy as well as the new dean. Even if you hate him, you still need some basic respect,” Yu Mei reminded him gently.
“New dean?” Xiao Lin’s face was in despair. He had just gone to the Rosa Kingdom, and it seemed like everything had changed when he got back.
“The dean is not dead,” the president said, “But he isn’t in a good state. He is temporarily unable to perform his responsibilities as the dean, so the national defense commander took it up.”
Yu Mei waved toward the other monitors, getting them to wait at the hotel. The next spatial carriage would still take a while to arrive. The other monitors looked at Xiao Lin who was the only one to remain. They could not say anything, so they left.
After everyone left, Yu Mei seemed determined, and lowered her voice while looking at the president with a fiery gaze, “There’s still time left. Take Xiao Lin to the treatment room!”
The president jumped in shock, staring as he said, “Have you gone crazy? You know how complicated things are at the moment. There are some people who are just waiting for us to mess up. With Xiao Lin’s status, it’s impossible for him to meet the dean!”
“The dean looks fondly on Xiao Lin, and the old fart has restricted Xiao Lin from returning before he graduates. If not now, Xiao Lin might never get the chance!”
“Hey, can’t you be more carefree! The dean has taken care of you so well these few years. Are you going to be so heartless?”
“Please, those are two different matters. My powers are only useful within the academy. Who cares about me being the president here? You should calm down. How could they not have anything prepared for us? Believe me, if we show even a shred of intention, we’ll immediately be invited to the investigation department.” The president’s face was full of helplessness.
“It’s no matter if you won’t help me; I’ll go myself. I don’t believe they’ll do anything to me!” Xiao Lin said in disappointment before turning around to leave.
Yu Mei was worried he would cause trouble and wanted to chase after him before being stopped by the president. After two minutes, XIao Lin came back to the room, awkwardly asking, “Where is the dean right now?”
Yu Mei was amused and the president shook his head helplessly before his tone turned stern. “I did not tell the other monitors this, and you shouldn’t spread it around either. The dean has not recovered from the last ambush. The attackers used a very strong dark energy with decaying properties, and even resurrection could not recover it, so his condition is getting worse by the day. The situation isn’t great. The dean could hold it back before, but since a few days ago, he hasn’t been able to get out of bed.”
Pausing, the president continued, “We’ll obviously support you if you want to see the dean, but this is out of our capabilities. Put it this way, the defense commander is in charge of the defense of the entire colony. On top of that, he’s been appointed the dean. No one would dare go against him at this moment. However, we might be powerless, but someone can help you.”
“Who?” Yu Mei felt like the president was lying, but his expression said otherwise.
Xiao Lin could more or less guess, but said it with uncertainty. “Department Head Song.”
“That’s right. Him.”
Yu Mei had a look of realization, but suspiciously said, “I graduated early, but I’ve heard about him these few years. I don’t really like the guy who always uses his backer, but isn’t his backer the dean? I don’t know why the dean likes a useless man like him.” It seemed like Yu Mei’s impression of Song Junlang was very bad.
The president did not deny it, but said, “Song Junlang is not as simple as you think. Of course, that man is a little crazy, I agree with that… However, his backer isn’t as simple as just the dean; the one behind him is a very big figure.”
“How big?”
“Very, very big.”
Yu Mei was speechless.
Xiao Lin was concerned for the dean, but he was surprised as well. He had always been curious about the person behind Song Junlang, and had tried asking him before as well. However, Song Junlang had always feigned ignorance.
It seemed like the president knew more about Song Junlang, but the president did not want to reveal too much. He instead told Xiao Lin that Song Junlang happened to be in Dawn City, and got Xiao Lin to look for him.
“Don’t worry about the trip; I’ll delay it for half a day. The latest spatial carriage for the day is in the evening. No one will cause any trouble if you get there by then. Quickly contact Song Junlang over this time and see the dean again!”
…
After leaving the meeting room, Xiao Lin was at a loss. He was full of grat.i.tude for the dean. The warm old man had always been supporting him, and he could not imagine what would happen if the dean died, no matter if it was to him or to the academy and the colony.
Xiao Lin immediately snapped back. He knew he might not be able to do anything. It was like the defense commander said, he might have potential, but that lay in the past, not the present. Even so, Xiao Lin felt like he had to do something, no matter what.
First of all, he needed to meet the dean. So much had happened in the Rosa Kingdom. Even Xiao Lin, who did not know much about the politics of Planet Norma, could somewhat feel how intense the upcoming storm would be. He needed the dean to clear up his confusion, not anyone else.
Song Junlang was definitely in Dawn City. More accurately, ever since Song Junlang returned from Earth, he had yet to leave Dawn City, and his current location was at the research center.
Dawn City’s research center could be said to be the center of all research in Dawn Academy’s colonial territories, including the research and manufacturing of various weapons, equipment, potions, as well as brand new spells and skills. They were all created there, and it could be said to be a place that influenced the combat ability of Dawn Academy’s army.