Chapter 672: Li Cheng’s Scheme
Li Cheng seemed a little exasperated when he gave his warning. He seemed to be speaking to Xiao Lin honestly, but Xiao Lin absolutely believed that, if he continued to dwell on the issue, the man in front of him would definitely attack. That was not something he could defend against. Just like the man said, ever since the old dean’s illness, XIao Lin had been placed in an awkward position.
After Xiao Lin stopped talking, Li Cheng was finally satisfied, letting out a sigh of relief. If he were not forced to, he would not want to attack Xiao Lin, so he smiled and said, “The two of you are tired. You both should head straight back to the academy later. You’re both still young, and Dawn Academy will be yours in the future, so take the time to properly study and be good students.”
Xiao Lin did not bother with him anymore. The man was someone who was powerful enough that Xiao Lin could not touch. He checked on Gu Xiaoyue briefly, and was relieved to see that she was not harmed in any way outside of the weakening spell.
Li Cheng was quite exasperated when he saw Xiao Lin’s actions. He knew that Xiao Lin probably did not trust him at all at that point, so he wisely maintained his silence.
The weakening effect was still active, and Gu Xiaoyue did not seem to be waking up anytime soon. Xiao Lin and Li Cheng stayed on that boat alone. There was enough food and water on the boat, proving that the man had prepared everything.
After a few hours, the figure of another boat appeared. Xiao Lin was immediately on alert, and it was only when he saw a familiar figure on the boat did he relax a little. The person on the boat was Mao Tianying of the Earth Division. When Xiao Lin’s group disappeared, it shocked quite a bit of people.
“Are you going back with us?” Xiao Lin suddenly asked.
“No need.” Li Cheng still had a faint smile on his face, as if nothing had happened. He said, “My men will be here soon, so you should head up first. Act as if nothing happened today. Trust me. No one will give you any trouble if you do.”
“I know what to speak about and what not to.” Xiao Lin paused before saying coldly, “Even though I can’t do anything in my position right now, let me warn you, you’re playing with fire; all of you are!”
Li Cheng stared at him for a moment, as if he was making sure he understood what it was that Xiao Lin knew, and how much Xiao Lin knew. However, Li Cheng shook his head, repeating, “Everything is for the good of the academy. This has never changed.”
Xiao Lin could only sigh in the end.
Quite a few people were on the ship from the Earth branch. There were members of the student union and even the public relations department, and because this involved j.a.pan, there were also a few j.a.panese employees. Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were safely sent to the boat, and Li Cheng had been asked to return as well, but just as Xiao Lin guessed, when the man revealed his ident.i.ty, no one dared to do anything to him.
The status of the Intelligence Department Head might not be able to do anything to Xiao Lin, who was still a student at that moment, but since students who had yet to graduate were all under the jurisdiction of the student union, to those who had already graduated, Li Cheng’s status was incredibly powerful.
Power was something that could be used both on Earth and on Planet Norma.
Gu Xiaoyue finally recovered during their second day on the boat. After the doctors checked up on her for any residual effects, they still arranged for her to rest in a private room.
Xiao Lin found a chance to visit her and sent everyone else away. Of course, he did not have the right to do that himself, but Mao Tianying seemed to have an understanding of how special he was, and thanks to Mao Tianying’s relationship with Song Junlang, the man happily helped him with that.
Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were both filled with suspicion. Those suspicions were naturally best kept away from others. However, even when everyone else left, they had no way of clearing up their confusion.
Based on what Gu Xiaoyue said, their drinks had definitely been laced with a strong sleeping potion on the plane. Furthermore, they were definitely specially made to avoid a mage’s perception. Gu Xiaoyue did not know much either. After being placed under the weakening spell, it had been hard for her to stay awake. In her state of half-consciousness, Gu Xiaoyue could only remember Li Cheng’s sporadic conversations with others.
“I think I remember he said something to this effect. That you had made a move just like they expected. That way, the conditions of opening a wormhole were all set. They also talked about Earth and Planet Norma… I’m sorry, that’s all I remember,” Gu Xiaoyue said apologetically.
Xiao Lin was now even more sure of his thoughts, even though he did not express it. He consoled Gu Xiaoyue a little, and after that, he did not mention the issue again.
When they returned, with the arrangements of the branch, Xiao Lin and Gu Xiaoyue were very quickly sent to the spatial carriage. Even though Mao Tianying did not say so, his bitter smile caused Xiao Lin to feel that there were some people who did not want him to remain on Earth. During the whole process, no one had questions or checked on them.
At that stage, for someone as smart as Gu Xiaoyue, even if she could not uncover the truth, she could still vaguely guess who was behind everything.
No matter what the situation was on the outside, the academy was always the safest place. When they returned to the academy, their worries seemed to evaporate. There, no outsiders could disturb them, nor would there be any hidden schemes, but that still did not settle Xiao Lin’s heart.
Li Cheng’s actions were too strange, causing Xiao Lin to have a lot of thoughts. He hoped that it was just his imagination, but if it really were true, then it would be terrifying.
Because it was speculation, Xiao Lin did not dare to approach the student union president, and he looked for Song Junlang, the Department Head he trusted the most, instead.
Song Junlang was idly performing his experiments as usual. When he saw Xiao Lin’s arrival, he rubbed his temples, not even raising his head as he said, “Do you know? Nowadays, the person I’m most afraid of seeing is you. That’s because my intuition tells me that you are equal to trouble.”
“I’m afraid that it isn’t my trouble this time, and might not even be yours or someone else’s.” Xiao Lin did not have the mood to joke around with Song Junlang, and went straight to the point.
However, Song Junlang was even more straightforward as he put down the bottles in his hands and calmly looked at Xiao Lin, saying, “Are you trying to say it’s Earth’s problem? Did you come to tell me that someone wants to speed up Earth’s demise?”