The provisional government having declared all riots quelled, Ketong Academy began its operations. Due to staff shortages, the school was forced to rely on all faculty and students to build their new home themselves.

Given Ketong Academy's critical importance to Ketong Star, the interim government provided substantial aid, prioritizing the allocation of raw materials and equipment needed for reconstruction.

The Academy boasted an Architecture Department, and the surviving faculty and students, numbering over two hundred, formed an Engineering Command Post, led by instructors acting as engineers directing their students. They handled all design and construction themselves.

Students from other disciplines contributed to the reconstruction effort according to their learning. Mechanical Engineering students translated the engineers' concepts into physical reality. Management students were responsible for coordinating the work across all departments. Aerospace Engineering students operated the large construction machinery...

The Archaeology Department, whose specialties often touched upon construction, was also drafted to assist at the Command Post. As for the disciplines that were of no immediate use, such as Performance Arts, Linguistics, and History, their members were relegated to manual labor.

Thus, the very first day of work for this construction crew, composed entirely of students who had never before been involved in large-scale engineering projects, descended into near chaos. Everyone was flustered, with errors cropping up everywhere and coordination failing repeatedly. Almost no progress was made on the first day. Nearly two thousand students failed to lay the foundation for even a single structure, illustrating the profound inefficiency.

"Can anyone actually live in a house built by them? To let a group of absolute amateurs build housing—it's utterly irresponsible."

That evening, in Temporary Dormitory No. 1, Zhong Yun sat slumped in a chair, unceremoniously gnawing on a high-energy 'sausage,' venting his frustration to Pi Geng beside him.

Pi Geng, engrossed in an e-book, smiled faintly at the complaint but offered no reply, knowing that Zhong Yun was simply bored and needed someone to talk to.

Ketong Star had suffered devastating damage; not only were vast numbers of buildings destroyed, but all manner of communication infrastructure was also thoroughly wrecked. The entire planetary network connection was severed. Phones were unusable, satellite signals were dead, and the virtual network was out of the question.

For those whose lives were thoroughly interwoven with the virtual network, this absence was excruciating. It felt akin to the time Zhong Yun experienced a sudden, days-long power outage back on Earth—utterly oppressive.

They could only pass the time with their personal portable computers. Now, even if they possessed a dedicated optical computer, it was useless because the planet’s main energy transmission lines were down. They were relying on small, localized energy sources, barely sufficient to cover the basic needs of a few thousand people.

In the words of some: "I feel like I've reverted to a primitive society."

Zhong Yun didn't wish to appear too isolated, so he frequently sought out Pi Geng to chat and alleviate his boredom.

"Right, how did you get separated from Old Second and the others? You escaped together, didn't you?" Pi Geng suddenly asked.

"I left on my own," Zhong Yun mumbled indistinctly while taking a drink of water.

"Left on your own?" Pi Geng looked at him, puzzled.

Zhong Yun wiped the water from his mouth. "Because I felt safer alone."

"I see." Pi Geng sensed the insincerity but didn't press the matter. He sighed. "I hope they're alright."

Too many people had died in that riot. During the corpse clearing a few days prior, all the students had been shocked by the gruesome scene of bodies strewn everywhere, especially when they recognized acquaintances they had studied or socialized with just days before, leading to immense sorrow.

A pervasive atmosphere of grief currently hung over the entire temporary settlement. Some individuals had suffered severe psychological trauma. Fortunately, students from the Psychology Department were on hand to offer counseling, but there had already been several reported suicides, further darkening the mood.

"They will be fine," Zhong Yun stated with certainty.

"Let's hope so," Pi Geng replied.

The scene fell into a heavy silence. After about five minutes, Pi Geng looked up at Zhong Yun, hesitating before speaking. "I heard..."

"What is it?" Zhong Yun didn't look up, busy filing his toenails with a small emery board—his automatic nail groomer was missing, forcing him to do the work manually.

"I heard that when you escaped the school, you killed a lot of rioters," Pi Geng continued, then added, making a gesture like firing a weapon, "with a machine gun."

Zhong Yun’s hand paused. He glanced up at Pi Geng.

"I just heard people talking," Pi Geng said, shrugging.

"Do you believe it?" Zhong Yun asked, turning the small file—which he had illicitly manufactured that day—over in his hand.

He knew about the rumors; many survivors who witnessed him firing had spread the story.

"If I believed it, I wouldn't be asking you," Pi Geng replied, resting his chin in his hand, a glint of interest in his eyes.

"If you didn't believe it, you wouldn't be asking either."

"Alright, I'm skeptical, but not entirely dismissive," Pi Geng shrugged.

"I didn't realize you were so gossipy. I thought only Old Second and Old Fourth were like that," Zhong Yun shot him a look.

"So, is it true or not?" Pi Geng asked quietly.

"Rumor, absolutely a rumor," Zhong Yun denied. "Think about it, where would an ordinary university student get a machine gun? Do you think the school security office is just for show?"

"That makes sense," Pi Geng nodded, then shook his head. "But if that person were you, then it wouldn't be strange at all."

"Hmm?"

"Although you've always kept a low profile, I know you're not like the regular students," Pi Geng looked at him intently. "The first time I saw you, I knew you were extraordinary; there's an air of mystery about you."

"Mystery?" Zhong Yun laughed. "Aren't there plenty of bookworms like me at school?"

"You are not a bookworm," Pi Geng stated firmly. He leaned closer and whispered to Zhong Yun, "I'll tell you a secret."

Zhong Yun smiled and leaned in, hearing the very faint voice in his ear: "I possess the Eye of Insight."

"So, you can't hide anything from me."

"Say what you like; the mouth is yours to use," Zhong Yun replied, gently tapping the table with the file.

Pi Geng having seemingly extracted the answer he wanted, stopped pressing and naturally shifted the topic. "Did you know? The folks in the Engineering Department were full of praise for your performance today."

Zhong Yun looked up at him. "I notice you're unusually talkative today. Did you get dumped?"

Pi Geng’s expression dimmed, and a wave of sorrow washed over his face.

Zhong Yun’s heart skipped a beat; he had only made the comment casually. He suddenly recalled that Pi Geng had been dating a girl recently and had promised to bring her back to the dorm to introduce her soon.

Seeing his friend’s reaction, Zhong Yun knew with certainty that the girl was likely lost.

"I apologize."

"It's nothing..."

Zhong Yun genuinely didn't know how to offer comfort. He stood up, walked into the room, and returned holding a thermos flask. As he twisted the cap off, a rich, invigorating aroma filled the air.

"What is that?" Pi Geng was indeed drawn by the scent, looking up in astonishment. "Where did you get that?"

Zhong Yun grinned sheepishly. "This is my personal reserve. You're in luck."

Whenever he underwent cleansing with World Tree sap, he needed to drink alcohol first, as the ethanol effectively reduced the pain. Therefore, he always kept some on hand. When moving from the dorms to the temporary quarters, this bottle had come along.

He poured a cup for each of them and tapped Pi Geng's cup with his own.

"What does this gesture mean?" Pi Geng asked, confused.

"Where I come from, we clink glasses before drinking to signify closeness," Zhong Yun explained, admitting he wasn't sure of the custom's origin—it was just habit.

"I see." Pi Geng mimicked the action, touching his cup to Zhong Yun's.

"Cheers," Zhong Yun declared, downing his in one gulp.

"Cheers," Pi Geng echoed, imitating him, and drained his cup too.

The bell rang just as dawn was breaking, startling the two men awake, both thoroughly drunk. After washing up, they headed to the large mess hall for breakfast.

Having nearly two thousand people eating together truly evoked the feeling of a military barracks. After eating, everyone headed to their assigned work.

With the experience of the first day, today’s progress was much smoother. Zhong Yun was assigned to the Engineering Division as an assistant. His work was light; he didn't have to toil under the sun or do heavy labor.

His station was in the Design Office, which was teeming with talent—not only engineers and structural experts but also mechanics and even artists. The designs needed to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing, requiring close cooperation from these specialists from various fields.

The Design Office faced a massive workload. Aside from structures that remained relatively intact, other areas needed complete rebuilding. It was estimated that over 1,400 buildings at Ketong Academy had been destroyed; they needed to design even more than that number.

Almost every student in the Architecture Department was tasked with completing five to ten projects, and it was highly probable that more than one would become a physical structure.

Relatively speaking, the design phase wasn't the most difficult part. Turning those designs into reality, however, was immensely challenging. Engineers had to review initial designs, assessing manufacturability, safety parameters, budget considerations...

The sheer volume of this work was staggering, which naturally kept the pace slow.

As an assistant, Zhong Yun spent most of his day organizing documents. He reviewed countless design drafts and evaluations.

Honestly, the routine was tedious, but the thought of the "Raw Stones" kept him grinding through it.

Since he was bored, he decided to find something productive to do. He began participating in the engineers' work. The engineers' meetings were open forums where anyone could speak; previously, Zhong Yun had always remained silent to maintain his low profile.

But now, any notion of keeping a low profile was discarded. After acquiring the 'Mercury' vessel, his self-confidence had soared. He no longer believed anything on this planet posed a threat to him.

At the next routine meeting, Zhong Yun made his debut, at least in the eyes of the engineers. He offered several practical and insightful suggestions.

That evening after the meeting, Zhong Yun's supervisor tentatively handed him a design draft for evaluation, initially intending only to test his competence. He hadn't paid much attention to this assistant before; his assignment of Zhong Yun had simply been to repay a favor.

However, the next day, he was stunned by the capability of this unassuming assistant.

: This is the chapter for today. I stayed up too late recently, and my head is spinning today. I will make up for it tomorrow morning.