Overturned Tower

——If you want to ask, what is Delphinium's impression of Sogo Island where they first met.

So, her answer is "sacred solemnity".

When Delphinium followed Russell out of the private airship, she was actually mentally prepared to be surrounded by layers of reporters.

This is no exaggeration. She was even 100% sure that if the incident of "a mysterious private airship from another island suddenly landed at the airport" happened on Happy Island, then at least seven newspapers would use their own methods to catch up before the airship landed. To the airport.

And no matter which newspaper arrived first... when the reporters from Tian'en Daily arrived in the armed helicopter, they would reluctantly give up enough space around them.

Immediately afterwards, as long as you get off the airship, you can see the flash on your face, and then your face will enter the live broadcast room of Tian'en Daily; a bunch of journalists have to watch the live broadcast room of Tian'en Daily to extract key points in order to save time. information, while starting to make up things quickly... Before the live broadcast ends, news feeds from major media will be directly photographed on the faces of the viewers watching the live broadcast.

The cool thing is that the news details for each one are not exactly the same. Highlight a hundred flowers.

However, when they left the airship, Delphinium did not see any reporter appear in front of her.

Accompanied by the melodious and low hymns that sounded in the airport, two white-haired old men with long beards were waiting for them at the door of the airship with solemn faces.

They all wore steel-colored, helmet-like eye patches on their faces.

There are three lenses at about the position of the eyes, two small and one large...the small one is at the eye position, and the big one is between the eyebrows. And these lenses are all glowing...one person's face is glowing with bright yellow light, and the other is glowing with red light.

Because they all emit light, if you look in from the outside, you can't see their eyes through the light.

They wore long-sleeved white robes that covered their hands and feet, and silk white gloves. On their chests, there is a similar but subtly different logo belonging to the SOGO Group - a five-pointed star that is at least the size of a head and shines with the same color as their eye patches. One is bright yellow, the other is red... and as they breathe, the light on their chests continues to flicker.

Delphinium's first reaction was: Is this some kind of RGB cultist?

It also has its own breathing light effect...

Seeing Russell and Delphinium, they bowed their heads at the same time, drew a five-pointed star on their chests along the light path, and then clasped their hands together: "Are these two Mr. Ultramarine and Ms. Delphinium?"

"—Yes, parishioner."

Seeing Delphinium still in a daze, Russell came over from behind Delphinium.

He stretched out his hand to gently touch his eyebrows, and then clicked on the largest lens on their foreheads.

Delphinium suddenly felt hesitant.

It seemed like some kind of ritual, but Russell didn't tell himself what to do on the way...

Just when she was hesitating whether she should follow Russell's example, she saw Russell reaching out and gently supporting her shoulders. So Delphinium immediately understood that this meant not to move.

Seeing Russell's return gift, the two old men nodded cheerfully.

The "golden" old man introduced himself to Russell: "I'm offended, fellow believer. I can feel your sincere spiritual energy... May God bless you."

"To introduce myself, you can call me 'prefrontal cortex'. This is 'insula'."

"Two doctors came to see me. What's the matter?"

Russell asked softly.

"It's nothing, kid. Don't be nervous...the elves entrusted us to take a look. When the wanderer returns home, we should take more care of him."

When Dr. "Naodao" heard this, he made a gentle and kind voice - only then did Delphinium realize that this old man with a shaved head and a flat figure was actually an old woman.

"Prefrontal Cortex" nodded: "I heard that you haven't come back for a long time... Sogo Island has not been peaceful recently."

"What happened?"

Russell asked with some vigilance.

The prefrontal cortex was about to explain, but the insula stopped him.

"It's not a big deal."

The old woman said gently: "A bunch of little kids are ignorant and just messing around. Don't worry too much about them.

"We've got the car ready...please come with us."

When Delphinium heard this, she looked back at Russell with some doubts.

If she remembers correctly...

The reason why she and Russell came to Sogo Island was because Russell wanted to take her back to his hometown to see it, right?

Why does it sound like this is really a task given by the elf director?

——This doesn’t seem right, does it? Isn't the chairman Russell himself?

So why do the "elves" know they are coming here?

Russell shook his head slightly, indicating that this was not the place to talk.

But seeing that Russell wasn't nervous, Delphinium breathed a sigh of relief.

Russell was still a little overwhelmed when he saw Delphinium, so he took the initiative to reach out and hold her hand. After holding Russell's hand firmly, Delphinium relaxed a little...

After all, it was also the first time I left my hometown. And he went to a place he had never been before, so it makes sense that the delphinium would blow up its feathers.

Looking at their little actions, the two old men just laughed kindly and cheerfully.

"The relationship is so good."

Dr. Naodao said cheerfully: "My grandson is almost your age...but no matter how hard you urge him to find a wife, start a family, he won't budge. He would rather take care of other people's children in a missionary school than to A child of my own.”

Russell interjected: "If he is so caring, he should have been commended by the district bishop, right?"

"Yes, he just received the second commendation this year, and in about two or three years he will receive the third commendation and be promoted to bishop. My grandson, although he just doesn't find a wife and doesn't listen to me. But he The teaching level and attitude are very good..."

The old lady babbled: "Although he always finds me annoying, he is also very filial. He often comes back to see me. That kid is hard-spoken and soft-hearted... and is even occasionally bullied by his students. But he is also considered popular among the students. Welcome, you can accept the paper flower baskets made by the children every year on St. Peter's Day."

"...Is he an elementary school teacher?"

Delphinium whispered.

She was not a talkative person, so she spoke suddenly just to relieve her tension.

Delphinium could clearly feel that her heart was beating uneasily and thumping in her chest - this was such a rare and clear tension that she even found it strange. If there hadn't been a stranger present, she would have definitely grabbed Russell's hand and put it on her chest, letting him feel the intense beating of her heart.

"If you are in a missionary school, you cannot call yourself a primary school teacher."

It was not the two of them who made the explanation, but Russell next to Delphinium.

He said softly: "That should be called a 'priest'."

"Priest?"

"Yes. If you are one level higher, it would be 'Bishop'."

Russell replied.

On Sogo Island... is the relationship between Cyber ​​Church and Sogo Group so close?

Delphinium vaguely realized something.

Those two "doctors" should be, if nothing else, high-level researchers belonging to Sogo Group. But the grandson of the old woman is serving as a "priest" in a church school and a primary school teacher...

In Happy Island, the status of "teacher" - specifically a pre-university "teacher" - is quite low.

Because the best teachers have all been hired as tutors for wealthy people. If they were any better, they would be "bought out" by wealthy people with several times more money, which means they would be asked not to teach other students at the same time. Through this method, the difficulty of admission to Tian'en University can also be reduced as much as possible.

Only teachers who no one wants will teach in primary and secondary schools. Their purpose is to educate those ordinary "salary slaves".

No matter how good and caring the teacher is, it will not make any difference to the student's further education.

——Because the knowledge required to be admitted to Tianen University in Happy Island is not within the scope of teaching in middle schools at all.

The "College Entrance Examination" in Happy Island requires you to first pass the unified examination within high schools to obtain the "application quota", and then go to university to do the questions given by university lecturers - and the difficulty of these questions is equivalent to that of first-tier universities. The level of the final exam in the first semester of sophomore year is about the same level; while the entrance exam questions of first-tier universities are equivalent to the difficulty level of the final exam of second-tier sophomore university.

In this case, the vast majority of ordinary students can only go to second-tier universities. Because the knowledge required for further advancement has been completely monopolized.

In any case, it is impossible to master this depth of knowledge through self-study. Those who can pass the Tian'en University exam through "cram classes" are already considered to be geniuses.

Before entering their freshman year, they already have the amount of knowledge required to complete half of their studies at an ordinary university - they even need to take some medicines produced by Ampoule Biomedical to develop their brains to this extent. And this is after they still need to pass the general college entrance examination to obtain an exam spot. In other words, the knowledge in their classes cannot be left behind.

Of course, strictly speaking, nothing is actually taught in class.

Students go to school at nine o'clock in the morning, and there is still a two-hour nap time at noon. They start class at three o'clock in the afternoon and finish school at three forty-five. Yes, the middle schools and elementary schools in Happy Island only have three classes a day. This is the new teaching time introduced by a human director not long ago... Before he changed it, there was actually only one more class in the afternoon.

In the name of "students needing naps for better physical development," the director simultaneously cut one-fifth of the curriculum content in middle schools across the island. However, everyone knows that this is just to reduce the difficulty of admission to Tianen University.

Because of the time freed up, you can learn more "university knowledge" and do more questions and examination papers.

From this perspective, students at Tianen University only have four years. But they have two to three years of professional course foundation before going to school.

Therefore, it is natural for them to become outstanding talents after graduation and directly enter Tianen Group to become corporate executives... Graduate students from first- and second-tier universities are not as valuable as their undergraduate degrees. When they were sophomores, they were already learning the same content that other people were studying as seniors or even in their first year of graduate school. There are no "basic university courses" at all. Instead, there are advanced professional courses, and the class hours are filled up immediately.

Because of this, the status of the profession of "teacher" in Happy Island can be said to be extremely low. It's not even as good as an online anchor or a street singer, and it's probably at the same level as a restaurant waiter - the same low difficulty of finding a job, and the same mixed working style.

Not to mention so-called "church schools".

That's from the welfare organization of the Cyber ​​Church, and it doesn't even have a salary. Unless they are rich young ladies who have no worries about life, they usually enter a missionary school after retirement...or they are social service workers similar to volunteers. They can use the extra time after completing their work. Go to a missionary school and do good deeds.

This isn't really a job at all.

...But this situation seems to be completely different on Sogo Island.

The children of these high-level researchers are even sent to missionary schools... and they all seem to think there is no problem with this.

Sure enough, it's really completely different...

Delphinium thought to herself, and followed the two of them into the floating car.

The style of this floating car is also completely different from that of Happy Island - the floating car of Happy Island pays attention to technology and speed. Its case is like a gem, and its head is as sharp as a shuttle, looking like a terminal or a dial.

And the floating car on Sogo Island...

...How should I put it? It's like a huge floating coffin. Its interior height is at least twice as high as the floating car on Happy Island, and you can even stand up directly from it. The two old men didn't even sit down, they stood directly in the car in front.

The pure white floating car uses special paint to create a "wooden feel" on the car's surface, and its edges are also covered with gold. Before getting on the car, you can see the curved curved decoration inlaid on the front and rear of the car, which looks like golden vines wrapped around the pure white coffin...

Of course, there are no coffins in Happy Island. But there is something on Taoyuan Island... The reason why Delphinium knows what a "coffin" is is because her mother told her these stories.

But there is at least one place where Delphinium can breathe a sigh of relief... that is, it is divided into several sections, which separates Russell from Delphinium and the two old people, and has strong sound insulation capabilities. After entering, the looming hymn outside was completely blocked.

But after sitting down, Delphinium discovered that after entering the floating car and looking from the inside out, it was actually completely transparent!

Instead of being transparent on four sides, it is transparent on six sides.

She could even see the sky and the earth clearly!

"...How is it transparent?!"

When the float vehicle began to lift off, Delphinium subconsciously wrapped her skirt and tightened her legs.

"Wait, it can't be..."

And without waiting for Russell to explain, the delphinium itself reacted...it couldn't be completely transparent.

Because no matter how transparent the floating vehicle is, it will still have an engine, energy storage room and floating device. But the delphinium couldn't see them at all, not even the two old people.

She could only see herself and Russell sitting in the sky - beneath them was a lotus seat made of gold and white.

"This is a real-time reflective screen. The outer shell of the floating vehicle is a huge camera... The scene it collects from the outside will be mapped to the inside, and then AI will complete the picture. In this way, you can achieve 'standing in the sky' 'This is the ultimate human dream."

Russell still held Delphinium's hand tightly and explained softly to Delphinium: "Besides, it can still be like this..."

Before Russell could finish speaking, a gentle young female voice came from inside the "Flying Coffin": "What instructions do you have?"

"Put on simulated wind."

Russell ordered: "Medium intensity."

The next moment, Delphinium's hair flew away.

Her long white hair was flying wildly behind her, and she subconsciously reached out to grab it in front of her, but she could only catch the biting air. It's like she is really flying in the sky.

She immediately opened her eyes wide, feeling the extreme relief accompanied by the feeling of suffocation when facing the strong wind, and the fear of being shaken by the wind and about to fall at any time——

"What's this--"

She subconsciously shouted at the top of her lungs, as if she couldn't transmit the sound to Russell's ears through the hunting wind.

Delphinium clenched her hands tightly and breathed heavily. Her cheeks were slightly red because she could not breathe smoothly and steadily. Her ears stood straight up. She looked down and out the window with excitement and fear. She only felt numbness on the tips of her fingers and felt slightly dizzy.

Her chip immediately alerted her that she was at risk for hyperventilation syndrome.

At this moment, Russell suddenly came over, hugged Delphinium and kissed her, taking a few breaths.

Delphinium was calmed down almost instantly.

She felt that she suddenly learned to breathe again...or maybe she completely forgot to breathe.

When she calmed down completely, the red alarm prompt disappeared.

"Let's change it to breeze."

Russell touched Delphinium's slightly red face and said with a smile.

At this time, only the warm breeze of early summer is left. Delphinium was finally able to breathe steadily.

She opened her eyes wide and realized she was in heaven.

The sky-reaching Tower of Light is not far away from you, and three curved altars are like open hands, separated by 120 degrees, serving beside it.

Countless huge statues of gods fit perfectly into the city:

The weird and sacred Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva stands at the subway entrance with thousands of arms spread out. A shirtless boy with nine eyes, three heads and six arms stands on a tall building on the other side holding six weapons. A one-eyed old man in a white robe hangs upside down. In the bell tower...

The river of light flows in the air out of thin air, like a winding and soft white line. Only when you look carefully can you find the forged belt composed of countless luminous thin lines, linked in different temples.

As the bell tower struck silently at two o'clock in the afternoon, the temples were filled with brilliance.

People on the road raised their heads and praised silently.

The countless huge statues of gods driven by mechanical devices also moved slightly, and the postures of all the statues were different from the previous hour.

Those chaotic sounds were blocked out by the good sound insulation of the float vehicle, and all Delphinium saw was the silent worship.

It is a kind of silent and shocking sacredness.

Although it’s half an hour late, the word count is over 5,000 (chest out)

Because there are too many words, I can't finish it before midnight. The update will have to be moved to after midnight...

Let’s talk about another sad thing. The epidemic here suddenly became serious. We were immediately locked down for more than a month. We never went to the hospital for bone repair, so after waking up today, the lumbar prolapse recurred...

However, I have a lumbar protrusion and still can’t get bone-setting treatment (sad)

So during this period of time, I can only put on a plaster, write for a while, lie down for a while, and rest for a while...