Adrian sat up in bed with a splitting headache.
He dreamed of Zhong Yan again. Standing on the high stage, he spit out the three words "I accept" with his usual expression, shattering all his ridiculous fantasies in the audience.
Adrian sat in the dark and calmed down for a while, then called out his personal terminal to check the time. Several fluorescent numbers floated above his wrist—it was only five o'clock in the morning.
The culprit of his nightmare was strewn across the little platform beside his bed, an open letter—not a virtual letter, real paper. This thing is almost extinct now, maybe you can still see it in museums, but the highest federal institution has always advertised its "ancient and orthodox" status, and this kind of performance art is not the first time.
The well-crafted envelope was roughly ripped open without any comprehension, and the exposed half of the letter paper was printed with imitation ink:
"His Excellency Adrian Yate, Commander-in-Chief of the Na'vi Military Region:
"It's been seven years since I saw you, my dear ninety-first graduate of the highest federal institution, I wish you all the best after you leave your alma mater.
"The stars are ever-changing, but wisdom is eternal. For a century, the highest institution of the Federation has lived up to its name and has been sending the most elite talents to all walks of life in the Federation. Now, the oldest comprehensive institution in the Federation welcomes her hundred First birthday. We sincerely invite you, our best alumni, to come home at the end of December to attend the 100th anniversary of our alma mater and the 98th graduation ceremony.
"The detailed contact process is attached below..."
It is true that Adrian has not been in touch with his alma mater for many years. It is true that the three years in the highest school can almost be counted as the happiest three years in his twenty-seven years of life, but how happy those three years were, the last day Zhong Yan gave his student period was as painful .
He and Zhong Yan were inseparable in school, everyone knew about it, and the final graduation ceremony was also widely spread in the federation. In the first one or two years after entering the Na'vi star area, there were always people trying to inquire about his relationship with Zhong Yan, until everyone who made fun of him and Zhong Yan was beaten into the intensive care unit by him, and everyone understood this. The eldest young master who is always smiling, how much hatred does he have for that friend from the student days.
Later, Adrian was promoted all the way, and until today, no one dared to touch his inverse scales in front of the commander-in-chief of the Na'vi military region, for fear that he would not be able to bear the revenge of this commander who has always been indiscriminate between public and private.
It was almost daylight. Adrian was in a bad mood and didn't want to go back to sleep, so he simply got up.
Presumably, during the few hours of his nightmare, there must have been some to-do items piled up in his personal terminal. Adrian held a glass of refreshing drink, connected the terminal to the big virtual screen in front of his desk, and almost spit out the drink.
"Today's headline: Councilor Zhong Yan officially confirmed to attend the Centennial Celebration of the highest institution!"
"Extended reading: Behind the legendary member Zhong Yan, the youngest among the twelve members of the Supreme Council:..."
Adrian stared at the exaggerated headline, and his eyes fell on the recurring name. He has already passed the age of throwing a fist at someone when he disagrees with him, and he has long been used to the other party's name appearing in the newspapers as frequently as himself, but it is rare. After the name Zhong Yan was associated with his alma mater again, he still couldn't help feeling to anger.
This anger spewed out from the long-suppressed magma in the deepest part of his heart, slowly but firmly submerged his reason.
Adrian put down his teacup and dialed the communication of his deputy, Finn.
Finn was obviously still asleep, and asked inarticulately, "Who is it?"
"I."
"Boss?!" Fein woke up instantly, and asked nervously, "What's wrong? What happened at this point?"
"Yes, there is something. You contact the school now and tell me that I agreed to the invitation for the school celebration. Not only me, but everyone in our Na'vi Military Region who received the invitation letter agreed."
Finn couldn't believe what he heard. Everyone knows that in the Na'vi Military Region, "the highest institution" and "school" are banned words, because these will inevitably be associated with that person. Because of this, this time the highest institution's centennial anniversary, None of their alumni dared to mention it, and they didn't even see it when they received the invitation letter. But now, at five o'clock in the morning, his immediate superior personally called and asked him to contact the school...
"Well..." Finn confirmed cautiously, "Which school should I contact?"
"What do you say?"
The voice from the terminal was very calm, and the more so, the more frightened Fein felt. He has been a colleague for so many years, and he knows this old classmate too well. The calmer Adrian behaves, the more earth-shattering the subsequent outburst.
"Calm down, I just found the news - I don't think it's a good idea to fight with the members of the Supreme Council at the school celebration."
"This is an order, Mr. Deputy." Adrian said coldly, and hung up the communication.
No, of course he wasn't there to fight. only…
Adrian sat down and closed the news window.
He once again miscalculated the upper limit of Zhong Yan's ruthlessness. After three years of getting along day and night, Zhong Yan was able to say "I accept" to the artificial intelligence without hesitation in front of the entire school. And now, why could he accept the invitation from his alma mater so frankly? Probably in that person's heart, this past has long been forgotten, so he is so at ease, not afraid of touching the scene.
That being the case, he naturally cannot show weakness.
This is an era without secrets.
The second-generation artificial intelligence "Butterfly" monitors all aspects of human life in an all-round way. Wherever there are signs of civilization, there are floating patrol cameras around the clock, not to mention the virtual community, which is completely covered by the tentacles of Butterfly. In this era, it is safe, convenient and efficient, and also…
boring.
Maybe only one corner is different. The most remote star area, the Na'vi star area with the Navi star as the main star, is the only human autonomous area in today's human civilization. Ten years ago, the Na'vi star region was synonymous with danger, chaos and backwardness, but today, more and more young people call it the last pure land of mankind.
Today's Na'vi star region is closely associated with the name Adrian Yate.
The whole federation knows that seven years ago, the eldest son of the Yate family graduated from the military academy, the highest academic institution in the federation, with an unprecedented high score. In that class, besides Adrian himself, there were more than one military graduates who followed in his footsteps. For a while, the mainstream media criticized Adrian for being harmful.
On the contrary, Zhong Yan, who entered the Supreme Council in a low-key manner and was loyal to "Butterfly", became the darling of public opinion at that time. His handsome appearance, calm demeanor and orphan background have won him a good reputation among the people, and he is also very popular in the House of Representatives. His promotion speed is amazing. In just seven years, he has already been among the 12 members of the Senate. Became one of the twelve most powerful humans in the Federation.
Proportional to his promotion speed, there is also the speed of change in the direction of public opinion—over the years, people on the virtual network have successively leaked various shady stories anonymously. Conspiracy theories of collusion abound.
The matter of "anonymity" itself is quite incredible in this era, and it is by no means ordinary citizens who are capable of doing this, which adds a bit of credibility to these true and false rumors. In any case, the new generation of young people does not believe in artificial intelligence as religiously as their ancestors did. A considerable number of them hope to pay attention to personal privacy and restore human autonomy. In this way, the only Na'vi star region that is not constrained by artificial intelligence seems to be an ideal place. Not to mention, everyone knows that the current Na'vi star district council has existed in name only, and the current uncrowned king of Na'vi is the Na'vi military region The newly appointed young commander-in-chief, a staunch supporter of human autonomy.
Adrian's popularity is rising, and many anti-artificial intelligence people regard him as an idol, and the entanglement and breakup between him and Zhong Yan's student days are well known in the world, which makes the fans of both sides jealous when they meet each other. The year when he ascended to the top position, the virtual community was even more bloody.
It is conceivable that when the two of them accepted the invitation for the centennial celebration of the highest institution, the entire Federation was in a state of excitement. This school celebration event, which was not as popular as "Finding a Wild Interstellar Giant Rabbit in the Glory Star Area", instantly became the hottest topic.
After seven years, Zhong Yan once again stood on the land of Xuefu Planet.
The highest institution is not only a school, but also one of the few man-made planets. Today, this small planet can be said to be full of stars, and people from all walks of life that are rare to see on weekdays gathered together. Before Zhong Yan entered the school gate, a group of "senior sisters" had already gathered around him.
Among those under him, there are very few who are so high that the school specially invites them, even if there are a few outstanding juniors... According to the current trend of public opinion, most of these young juniors disdain to deal with him as a member of parliament.
But no matter what the young people think, it is an indisputable fact that he plays an important role in Capital Star now, and the group of middle-aged people around him who try their best to greet him is proof. Zhong Yan lowered his eyes and dealt with them restlessly. From the perspective of others, he just kept his identity and didn't want to say more. Only he knew... It's been seven years since he ran all the way after the graduation ceremony. In the end, he only saw It has been seven years since I went to the empty dormitory alone.
He originally thought that he had adjusted his emotions and would not be affected by revisiting his old place.
Suddenly there was a commotion not far away, Zhong Yan looked up and saw a few young officers in military uniforms with black background and gold trim walking towards here. Surrounded by them is a tall and straight man with black hair and silver eyes. He is dressed in the highest military uniform of the military region, making him ascetic and stern. The officer spoke and looked cheerful.
There was no sound at the gate of the school, which was still buzzing with people just now—people from the Na'vi Military Region have arrived.