Chapter 12: I Will Find You (2/2)

”Damn you Old Fart! I swear I will find you and you will pay for this!”

Wang Tong’s rage exploded in a devastated shriek without noticing that many passersby were staring. After gaining some control of himself, Wang Tong regretted that he hadn’t brought anything back from Norton for some quick cash.

Wang Tong knew that it didn’t matter what had happened to him, the Earth still moved; therefore he had to face reality and find a place to stay as soon as possible. As he wandered around the streets, while hoping to find cheap accommodations, he stumbled upon a burger place. Wang Tong's tummy reacted with an angry growl.

Wang Tong was not a sophisticated person; therefore he didn’t like the delicacies provided by the Confederation on the spaceship. Instead, he favored hamburgers down here on Earth in a ghetto district. He rushed into the shop without any hesitation.

One hour later, everyone in the burger restaurant, customers and workers included, were staring marvelously at Wang Tong. He had since eaten thirty full-size burgers, a feat that could not even be repeated by a pig.

Wang Tong could not care less about the insulting looks he had attracted, he rubbed his belly and burped then said complacently, ”Not too bad, I am almost full now.”

Everyone was stunned by what Wang Tong had just said. The waitress who had kept a particularly keen eye on Wang Tong wondered if this boy had just been released from a detention center, and if so, the Confederation must have used starvation as a means of torturing inmates.

The waitress was correct, in a way. Wang Tong had been starved by the Confederation not in a detention center but on a luxurious spaceship. The food on the ship looked fancy but lacked quantity. Since Wang Tong had received these expensive foods for free, he’d felt ashamed to ask for more. Not only because he felt like it would be taking advantage of the tax payer’s money, but especially because he was aware that if he had eaten as much as he could, the whole ship would have starved to death on the first day of their journey.

However, here in this burger shop, he had bought these hamburgers with his own money; therefore he was comfortable eating as many burgers as he wanted. Wang Tong agreed that burgers were the best kind of food because it has both meat patties and vegetables; it was “delicious” in its simplest form.

”It will be three hundred credits in total.” Although the waitress's face shivered in disbelief at Wang Tong's appetite, she maintained a passable smile.

”Three hundred?” Wang Tong furrowed his eyebrows, ”Gosh, in one day I’ve already spent one percent of my life savings.” Wang Tong really wished that his math was worse so that he would be less aware of his financial situation.

The waitress started to get nervous after she saw Wang Tong's deeply furrowed face. She hoped that this newly released juvenile criminal would not harm her. Judging from the amount he just ate, she believed that his punch would be deadly.

Wang Tong suddenly flattened his furrow and drew his teeth in an amicable smile. ”Can you give me a discount, please?”

The waitress’s mind fumbled after its misjudgment. ”Ehm...Sorry, you ordered the specials, they don’t have discounts.”

”Greedy b*stards.” Wang Tong mumbled as he reluctantly swiped his credit card while feeling sorry for his three hundred credits.

As soon as Wang Tong stepped out of the burger shop, bright sunlight made him quickly forget about the guilt of his splurging. He looked around at the familiar scenes of his hometown and cherished the fact that he was finally back.

Wang Tong found a public information terminal and searched for rooms for rent. As he scrolled down the list of available houses, his sunshine like mood quickly turned gloomy as he realized that the housing prices had doubled since he left. With the current price, it was almost impossible for him to find a place that would last long.

He quickly found a potential solution - school residence. He was planning to go to school anyways, it just seemed that his plan had to start earlier than he thought, but the question then was that of which school should he attend?

The best academy on Earth was no doubt the Capth Academy. This S-class Academy was the pride of the entire human race. But after Wang Tong considered his funding and his chance of being accepted, he immediately gave up his hope of entering that school.

Old Fart always told Wang Tong, ”Man should not be too greedy.” Right then Wang Tong absolutely agreed with that.

He figured that he did not need to attend the S-Class schools; an A-class school would be more than enough. There were many A-class academies in Shangjin, and one was particularly ”famous,” the Academy of Ayrlarng, because General Li Feng had graduated from there. However, it was solely because of its connection with General Li Feng, Ayrlarng was able to sustain its A-class status.

The status of the Ayrlarng Academy had been in a downward spiral after the incident stirred up by the General Rilangalos Dower, while that of the Capth Academy had risen. Capth Academy was originally founded by General Li Feng to train soldiers in new and innovative military tactics and technologies. Over the centuries, many generals and elite scientists had graduated from Capth, and Capth itself had become a shining example of higher education on Earth.

To someone like Wang Tong who only wanted to get a degree and graduate, Ayrlarng Academy was more than enough. It also had another advantage that no other academy did: It was very close to where Wang Tong had lived.

Wang Tong still kept a glimmer of hope that Old Fart would one day return to his old house, perhaps after he lost all of his money in a drinking game since it had happened before; Wang Tong figured that it was likely to happen again. Therefore Wang Tong decided to stay close to Old Fart's house and wait him out.

Wang Tong had successfully entered Ayrlarng despite the fact that he had been late for registration by two weeks. The slack administration was a sign that the academy still indulged itself in its glorious past, despite the fact that over the last few hundred years, most reputable people had graduated from Capth and none had graduated from Ayrlang.

Despite its lazy administration and backward technology, Wang Tong was thrilled with this school. The quality of the school did not matter to Wang Tong anymore since he had already learned the Tactics of the Blade, but what was paramount was that the academy offered a place for him to receive a large amount of fundamental information and a positive environment to improve himself.

Mr. Wannabe still yelled and cursed at Wang Tong from time to time, but Wang Tong did not want to talk back, partly because he felt sorry for Mr. Wannabe’s dementia. However, he still wondered if Mr. Wannabe was really as bad-ass as he said he was, perhaps he would find out the answer after he learned more at the academy.

Wang Tong liked to think about his future life in Ayrlang Academy. This marked a new start in his life and the beginning of his colorful youth. Wang Tong laughed from the bottom of his heart and felt like the sunshine on his face was exceedingly vibrant and pleasant.

”Hey boy, watch where you’re stepping,” a good samaritan on the street said to Wang Tong. This passerby had never seen anyone so happy after they stepped in a pile of dog poop.

”Ahh... pick up your pet's s*hit people! My shoes! This is my only pair! Ahh...”

On Wang Tong's way to his first day of school, he ushered in this new episode of his life with a saddening wail.