Chapter 42

“Your birthday present is ready,” Gu Qingshan changed the topic.

“Oh! I want my present! When are you giving it to me? I want to see it as soon as possible!” Su Xue’er had regretted saying too much earlier, and now she was suddenly excited again when she heard about her birthday present.

“Do you have time tonight?”

“Sure. Students who have been guaranteed admission are here early just to familiarize ourselves with the school compound and greet the teachers earlier, but actually I’m really quite free every day.”

“Okay. I’ll look for you tonight, then.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

After Su Xue’er had said this, she suddenly felt that those last words sounded too forward. Her face blushed, and she quickly disconnected the communication device.

Gu Qingshan laughed soundlessly as he pushed another button on the communication device.

“Impartiality Goddess?”

“I’m here. I have already noticed your conversation. The Seraph has completed its first round of testing, and it is currently undergoing its second round of testing.”

“Can you not eavesdrop on my conversations?”

“Please do not worry. The Impartiality Goddess does not interfere with anybody’s right to fall in love.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m asking you not to eavesdrop on any of my conversations.”

“In accordance with the wishes of citizen Gu Qingshan, Su Xue’er will be on the list of classified contacts, and I will stop all secure surveillance.”

“…what were we talking about earlier? Oh yes. I want the Seraph.”

“The testing is not complete yet. Are you sure you want to give Su Xue’er the Seraph as a present?”

“Yup I’m sure. Don’t worry. I’ve already tested all sorts of scenarios on it.”

He had tested all these in his previous life, that is. But Gu Qingshan didn’t say this part out loud.

“The Seraph is being prepared right now.”

“Su Xue’er will be on the list of the Federation’s highly protected people.”

“The Seraph will be ready to go after three hours.”

“That’s great! Thanks so much.”

Gu Qingshan disconnected the call.

Gu Qingshan didn’t know why, but he realized that, recently, he didn’t need to make any request and he could connect directly to the Impartiality Goddess anytime he wanted to.

He figured that it was probably because he had become someone around the president, and so the Impartiality Goddess had taken note of him as well.

In his previous life, he had left the Federation earlier on and went to Fuxi Empire. So he’d had very little interaction with the Impartiality Goddess and wasn’t very familiar with how the Impartiality Goddess operated.

After taking a shower, he changed into a set of clean clothes and left the room.

Since he had the morning free, it was just nice for him to practice his skills during this time.

Gu Qingshan went to ask the hotel receptionist and was told that there was an archery range at a nearby sports club.

Archery was a sport taken up only by the aristocrats. In this era, such ancient weaponry had become fancy sports for the upper class.

That meant that it would cost him quite a bit.

Gu Qingshan suddenly remembered that he wanted to check how many credit points he had left.

The president was sponsoring his studies, but Gu Qingshan was not a greedy man, and he wasn’t going to take money from the president for everything he wanted to do.

Gu Qingshan picked up his personal optical computer and went to his personal profile page.

“Oh, I still have 19,200 credit points. If I use them wisely, it’ll last me a pretty long time.”

This was money that he had saved since he had started working in high school, and he had intended to use this money to pay off his first year of university fees.

Gu Qingshan scanned the screen of his optical computer when his eyes stopped at one of the fields.

“Personal Meritorious Service Points: 799,873,957,281,439 points.”

Gu Qingshan froze for some time and then used his hand to hit his optical computer gently.

But that row of digits didn’t change at all.

“After using this optical computer for seven or eight years, it’s finally giving me problems now.”

He quietly sighed to himself.

He had used up 2,000 points to get the Impartiality Goddess to help him with making a mecha for Su Xue’er, so he hadn’t been left with much.

So this ridiculous number was probably because there was a problem with his optical computer.

Or could it be a reward from the Goddess for the techniques used?

He wasn’t very sure, so he decided that he would ask the Impartiality Goddess another time.

Gu Qingshan walked out of the hotel and hopped onto a flying bus.

After half an hour.

Gu Qingshan squeezed himself out of the extremely packed flying bus, and he staggered a few steps forward before he regained his balance on the street.

“The capital is really different. There are so many people here.”

Gu Qingshan wiped away the sweat on his forehead. Once he turned, he spotted the sports club’s signboard.

Starry Sky Club.

Gu Qingshan walked right in, and several receptionists stepped forward to greet him.

“Good morning, sir, do you have our membership card?” asked one of the female receptionists politely.

“No, I don’t. It’s my first time here,” replied Gu Qingshan honestly.

The receptionist moved aside, and a lady who resembled a manager took over instead.

She looked him up and down, and her attitude became cold.

Gu Qingshan was wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt and a pair of black slacks. He looked clean and well-groomed, but there was some wear and tear at the edges of his clothes, causing him to look rather plain.

In order to cover his storage bag and Night Rain, he even carried an extra-large bow case.

The female manager saw many people come and go every day, so her eyes were very sharp and knew with just one look that Gu Qingshan was just a poor student.

“The free trial area is on the right, basement two.”

The female manager looked away and said this very flippantly as she kept her smile away.

“May I know where the archery range is?” asked Gu Qingshan.

“The archery range?”

The female manager suddenly smiled.

Archery had always been a popular sport among the aristocrats.

A fairly good set of bow and arrows would cost upwards of 10,000 credit points. If you wanted to customize your own bow, then you would need to prepare at least 500,000 credit points.

Most people didn’t have the money to buy a good set of bow and arrows.

Even rental of the club’s set required a minimum rental of three months, and it didn’t come cheap either.

“Sir, do you have your own bow? If you don’t, you can purchase one from us.”

She believed that this sentence would be enough to dispel any dreamy ideas the other party might have.

“Yes, I have my own bow. I just need a place to practice my techniques,” replied Gu Qingshan as he nodded.

The capital was a forest made of concrete and steel. It was so hard to find a place where he could display and practice his skills.

“The archery range is behind the club, and you need to pass through two other clubs before getting there. Why don’t I bring you over?”

“I’ll have to trouble you,” replied Gu Qingshan.

“This way, please.”

She brought Gu Qingshan past the firing range and the swimming pool before reaching an automatic door.

She took two steps backward quietly and smiled as she said, “We have arrived, sir. You may go in.”

“Ah, sure.” Gu Qingshan walked over to the door.

The door remained shut.

Gu Qingshan pushed it a few times, but the door was still locked.

He turned around to look at the female manager.

The female manager looked on coldly as she said, “In order to enter the archery range, I will need to verify your personal details through your optical computer. Only people who have met the minimum requirements are allowed to enter.”

Gu Qingshan replied with some frustration, “My optical computer seems a little problematic, so maybe forget it.”

The female manager smiled soundlessly and replied, “Why don’t we give it a shot? Maybe you might meet the requirement?”

She waved her hand, and several security guards surrounded them in an instant.

Gu Qingshan had made the wrong move this time.

Under normal circumstances, anyone who refused to let himself be verified was either a fugitive or a gangster. Either way, he now looked questionable.

He shook his head and had no choice but to pull out his optical computer and allow the verification process to begin.

DEEE!

“Verification passed.”

“We welcome you, Your Excellency. It is Starry Sky Club’s honor to have you visit us today.”

An electronic voice rang out and sounded both humble and reverent.

These were pre-recorded voices that would choose a different greeting depending on the status of the guest who had come.

The main door of the archery range was unlocked and slid open.

“Your Excellency, this way, please.”

The female manager’s attitude made a 180-degree turn as she now smiled and spoke in a friendly manner.

She was really professional in this aspect.

The security guards were very sharp, too. They quickly bowed together and quietly made themselves scarce.

Two staff members came running over from inside the archery range and bowed deeply toward Gu Qingshan.

“Welcome to the archery range. Please come this way.”