Bailanyu Starfield.
Xindi Stellar System.
Suobu Luoduo Star City.
This is a massive, spiraling Star City, shaped like a funnel, with everyone living inside the funnel.
The internal structure is terraced, layer upon layer.
The closer one gets to the opening, or the upper levels, the more affluent life becomes.
Conversely, the bottom of the entire Star City is the infamous slum.
Inside the slum, a young man gazed at the starry sky reflected from the opening.
Beside him was another group of boys and girls.
"Phyllis, what are you looking at?"
A girl asked.
"The starry sky!"
"I'm thinking, why, even in this era, are we still confined to this Star City?"
"No matter how much knowledge we learn online, no one wants us."
"Do I have to live here my entire life?"
Phyllis raised his hand, reaching for the starry sky, wanting to grasp everything in his hand.
But it was so distant!
The tragedy of this era is that not everyone can get a job.
No job means no money.
People can only rely on the "Federal Basic Guarantee," receiving unpalatable energy food from robots daily to survive.
They were like this, and so were their parents.
Everyone lived in a daze, from birth to death, without work, only able to indulge in virtual worlds.
"Isn't this good?"
"I've seen those rich people, and I don't think they live as well as us."
"Last time I delivered something to my uncle, I saw an upper-class person commit suicide in the street. It was terrifying!"
Another young man was disdainful of the lives of the upper class.
He could get everything he wanted in the virtual world.
Why bother to strive and work hard?
"You don't understand, the greatest happiness in this era is being able to see the endless starry sky."
"And we, who cannot see it, who are trapped at the bottom of Suobu Luoduo City, are the most sorrowful group of people."
Phyllis's thoughts differed from the others.
He yearned for the starry sky!
He wanted to see other cities in the Federation, and even the world beyond the Federation.
"Phyllis is right, I also want to go to the starry sky, but without money, how can I go?"
The girl asked from the side.
In fact, she was also telling Phyllis to give up such unrealistic ideas.
"Yes, how can we go without money?"
"Phyllis, we're doing a dungeon tonight. An upper-class person is giving us 1 energy coin to carry him."
"Let's not think about these unrealistic things anymore. 1 energy coin can buy a lot of things!"
This was their only way to earn money.
But because they had no money, the games they played were mostly free-to-play.
Most other players were also poor, so even through gaming, they couldn't earn much money.
Perhaps their weekly or monthly income was only a few energy coins.
And in the world of the upper class, that was only enough for a day's food.
Even then, those were just the lowest tier of the upper class; for them, ascending to the starry sky was also a dream.
A single interstellar journey costing hundreds of thousands would require those upper-class individuals earning a few hundred energy coins a month to save up their entire lives.
Phyllis gave a bitter smile.
His dream truly seemed unrealistic.
However, he knew a way out.
Study hard.
As long as he could replace those upper-class people, then he could find a job.
But upper-class people could attend schools and buy paid courses. For a poor boy like him, even though he had studied a lot, he only scored a little over 20 on the last entrance exam for a restaurant waiter.
Phyllis was originally indignant.
Why did a waiter need to be tested on quantum mechanics, spatial geometry, and the construction of creation particles—subjects almost exclusively taught in universities?
But one time his parents told him,
"Without these, it would be even harder for the lower class to reach the upper class."
"At least, others are giving you a chance, a chance to defeat them."
In most cases, the upper class was unwilling to give the lower class this opportunity.
Phyllis no longer complained.
In fact, it wasn't impossible for lower-class people to become upper-class, it was just too difficult.
A small waiter was not enough to allow a family to live in the upper class; it required the efforts of several generations, perhaps a thousand or two thousand years.
How long that was!
"I won't go."
Phyllis said.
The other children didn't want to find someone else to substitute, as they would have to share some of the money.
They tried to persuade Phyllis.
Phyllis remained unmoved.
The other children could only leave to prepare for their dungeon run.
Although it was a simple game, the dungeon's difficulty was quite high, which was fortunate.
If it weren't for the high difficulty, why would anyone pay them to help?
If it were a paid game instead of a free one, the dungeons would be even harder, and they would earn even more money.
It was said that in a popular game across the Federation called "Nine Heavens and Earth," a single beginner dungeon cost as much as 10,000 energy coins.
Of course, if good equipment dropped, it could be sold on the market for hundreds of thousands of energy coins.
In some real-time combat games involving interstellar warships, it was said that a single warship skin could cost hundreds of thousands of energy coins to gamble for, and it couldn't even be sold. This was unimaginable in their eyes.
They even doubted if such games truly existed.
Evening.
The young men shared in their group chat how thrilling their raid had been.
It took eight tries to clear, almost making the boss curse.
However, someone also said in the group: "The boss said that the Federation has some reform movements recently. They said they are going to establish an academy in our Stellar System, called Bai Feng Academy."
"Anyone can sign up, regardless of age, status, or money. The best teachers will be arranged inside, teaching the Federation's best technologies."
"You only need to pass layers of exams to advance all the way."
"After graduation, jobs will be arranged."
Phyllis was also in the group.
He was actually studying, watching a teacher in the virtual world constantly create various things as examples.
These were all recordings.
Originally, they cost money, but someone would always copy them and upload them to the internet.
It was said that the Machine God could prevent these actions, but for some reason, the Machine God didn't, seemingly just not wanting to bother with such minor matters.
Phyllis saw this message.
"Bai Feng!"
He paused his studies and then searched for related topics.
Fortunately, the networks for them, the lower class, and the upper class were not separated. As expected, there was already a lot of information about Bai Feng Academy online.
They had even set up an official website.
"No money required, with the best teachers, you only need to prove your talent and your effort to enter this academy."
"The academy does not limit the number of students it enrolls. Bai Feng Academy is already under construction, with a total area of 3.9 billion square kilometers, capable of accommodating 40 trillion students."
Phyllis found it hard to imagine the scale of this.
After all, the population of Suobu Luoduo Star City where he lived was only 70 billion.
"What a grand undertaking, but it feels like... it will still take... to complete..."
Just as Phyllis was feeling disappointed, he saw the start date.
August 1, 242749 AD.
Wasn't that just one year away?
"To complete such a massive project in just one year, how is that possible?"
His knowledge made him feel it was incredible.
Others online also expressed doubts.
But after the background of Bai Feng Academy was explained, all doubts vanished.
Bai Feng Academy was built under direct orders from the Federal Government, with an intended investment of 100 quadrillion!
Not only was it vast, but it also contained the most advanced equipment, and even numerous spacecraft and warships for learning purposes.
Phyllis's eyes grew brighter.
"I want to go!"
"I must go!"
Even if he knew he had no advantage when facing those upper-class people.
But he still wanted to go.
He knew this might be his only chance in life to go to the starry sky!
He signed up on the official website.
"Congratulations on your successful registration. You are 19 years old, not yet 30, and thus categorized as a youth."
"You have been assigned to the Youth Class. Please report to Bai Feng Academy on August 1, 242749 AD."
"It has been detected that your family situation is difficult. Difficult student assistance has been activated. All expenses for your journey to Bai Feng Academy will be sponsored by Baida Xin Ke Company."
"The conditions are: during your studies, you must wear the advertising mecha provided by Baida Xin Ke Company, and after graduation, you must work for Baida Xin Ke Company for 50 years."
"If you fail to graduate, you will repay the funds used for sponsorship. The Federation has waived all interest for you."
"Do you accept these agreements? If accepted, Baida Xin Ke Company will fully sponsor your studies, including travel expenses, living expenses, and study fees, totaling 213,811 energy coins."
An astronomical figure!
For Phyllis, this was an astronomical figure.
He hesitated somewhat.
He began to doubt his own abilities.
Bai Feng Academy's graduation standards were very strict; even if one failed an exam for promotion to the next grade, they would be directly advised to withdraw.
If he couldn't complete his studies, he would be burdened with this huge debt.
210,000.
If he became the most ordinary person in the upper class, with a minimum monthly salary of 372 energy coins, it would take him over 47 years without eating or drinking.
But how could one not eat or drink? The basic living expenses in the upper class were at least 200 or more, not including food and drink, only other necessary expenditures.
In reality, it would take about 150 to 200 years to pay off these debts.
This was half a lifetime.
Should he really gamble?
"I'll gamble!"
Phyllis clenched his fists.
He told his parents about this.
His mother said, "Go. We have nothing left to lose."
His father said, "Good for you. You're better than your dad; you can even owe over two hundred thousand."
In fact, people of all age groups could attend Bai Feng Academy.
As long as they weren't older than 90% of their expected lifespan.
For ordinary people, that meant those over 450 years old could not sign up, while 449 was still acceptable.
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