In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar!

Chapter 94 The Spaceship Arrives (17/20, Requesting First Subscription)

As night fell, warm lights shone from Elhesen's home in the residential area near the Papal Palace. Elhesen had just finished reviewing documents at the Palace of Wisdom and returned home with "Albiruni: A Preliminary Exploration of the Symbolic System of Flora" obtained from Nasita.

In the living room, the suitcase was already open, and Elhesen was methodically putting the essentials inside:

He carefully wrapped several sets of lightweight clothing suitable for desert expeditions, water bladders, sand-proof goggles, notebooks and portable stationery for recording, several rolls of blank rubbing paper, a few element fragments for emergencies, and the precious document he had just borrowed, all in waterproof oilcloth and stuffed into a lining.

As I was tidying up, I heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, followed by slightly unsteady footsteps.

Kavi pushed open the door and came in, his cheeks flushed, and he carried the smoky atmosphere unique to taverns.

As he took off his shoes, he mumbled a complaint: "Today, those guys from the school of thought insist on celebrating the spaceship project's milestone—wait, what?"

His gaze fell on the open suitcase, and he instantly sobered up considerably.

"Are you going out?" he blinked and asked, puzzled.

Without looking up, Elhesen continued packing his luggage, his tone flat: "Hmm. Farusan discovered a well-preserved temple of Flora in the desert and invited me to assist with the investigation."

He paused, then added, "Wang Yan is there too."

"The Temple of the Flower Goddess?! Wang Yan is there too?!" Kavi's eyes lit up instantly, the lingering effects of the alcohol completely gone. He strode up to Elheisen, his voice urgent, "I want to go too!"

After Wang Yan left Sumeru City, Kavi had been busy with the school's internal spaceship project. Now that there has been a breakthrough and the project has been officially launched, he can finally have some time to rest.

Now that I hear about the ruins of the Flower Goddess, how can I hold back?

Elhesen finally raised his head and looked at him calmly: "That was Farusan and Wang Yan's topic; they didn't invite you."

"What does it matter!" Kavi said without hesitation. "I can work for free! I don't want a single penny of authorship rights!"

""

He was well aware of the rarity of the Flora's relics, especially the well-preserved temple, and the research value of its architectural structure and decorative art was an irresistible temptation for any scholar of the School of Wise Theories.

Moreover, Wang Yan is his friend, so it was only natural for him to help with the investigation and provide professional advice in the past.

Given Kavi's current reputation in the field of architecture, being listed as an author on one or two papers is really not that important; the real attraction is his personal participation in firsthand investigations.

Looking at Kavi's eager and serious expression, a barely perceptible smile flashed across Elhesen's eyes, but his face remained indifferent.

He did it on purpose, of course.

Otherwise, he could have just said he was going to the desert for research, without mentioning anything about Farusan and Wang Yan.

"Whatever you want. Since you've decided to go, hurry up and pack your bags. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, Kavi's face immediately lit up with a smile: "Great! I'll go prepare right away!"

He immediately turned around and rushed back to his room, starting to rummage through drawers and cabinets, muttering to himself, "Experiment clothes, drawing tools..."

Surveying instruments, camera—the temperature difference between day and night in the desert is huge, so I need to bring a thick coat—oh right, I also need to bring some rainforest specialty snacks for Wang Yan and Senior Farusan—”

Hearing the noise coming from the next room, Elhesen shook his head, but a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Nasida's conversation with him was subtle, but Elhesen understood what she meant.

The Grass God values ​​Wang Yan's existence highly and, in a sense, hopes to win him over.

Compared to the pursuit of mutual benefits, the bonds between friends are sometimes more precious.

Although Kavi is a bit simple-minded and silly, he is sincere and more suitable for the role of a friend.

..

The next morning, outside the city of Sumeru.

A spaceship nearly thirty meters long and twelve meters wide was parked on the ground.

Dozens of men dressed in shorts were carrying goods upstairs, while a manager was assigning tasks.

"So you're going to take a spaceship there," Kavi said, feigning surprise.

"Is this a collaboration between your school and outsiders?" Elhesen asked.

Kavi nodded: "Yes, after the spaceship project was halted due to funding issues, the school sought external partners. Dolly agreed to provide funding, and after the spaceship was successfully built, she also had the first right to use it."

"Then—we're boarding this wealthy merchant's ship." Elhesen nodded and continued walking towards the spaceship.

Kavi chimed in, "Definitely, this is the only completed spaceship so far."

It's not just one ship; the Academy has experimented with it many times before, and there are actually quite a few finished products, but this one is the latest model.

The two approached the spaceship.

A girl wearing a purple round hat inlaid with large gemstones, pink diamond-shaped glasses hanging on her nose, a black cropped tight-fitting top, and her hands covered in puff sleeves, sat on a chubby spirit and flew down from the spaceship.

"Oh dear, wasn't it said there would only be one passenger? How come there are two? The great Lord Sangmahabai only charged for one ticket," Dolly said loudly, looking at the two scholars approaching.

"So you want me to pay you back?" Kavi said irritably.

He and Dolly had a lot of interactions; they were very familiar with each other, and their relationship often fluctuated between good and bad.

"Hehe, no need then. If Scholar Kavi ever has any good opportunities like the toothpaste factory again, be sure to contact me immediately."

Dolly chuckled, then looked around. "The cargo will take a while, so please come aboard with me."

The two naturally didn't refuse and followed Dolly onto the spaceship.

After boarding the ship, Dolly said she had something to do and left first.

Kavi, on the other hand, kept explaining every aspect of the spaceship to Elhesen, explaining that it was all designed by their school of ingenuity.

Al-Hysen didn't really want to listen, but since they were on the same boat, he had no choice but to listen.

He could only pull out a book at random and start reading.

When someone is talking to you, it's not really polite to look down at a book.

But Kavi was already used to Elhesen's style and continued to talk tirelessly, showing off the technological sophistication of the spaceship.

Dolly didn't reappear until a full half hour later.

"Hehe, you two esteemed scholars, the spaceship is about to take off, please get ready."

As soon as they finished speaking, the two felt a slight tremor beneath their feet. The magic array and mechanisms engraved on the bottom of the spaceship began to operate, and an invisible force lifted the massive spaceship slowly into the air.

Al-Hysen finally put down the book in his hand and his gaze fell on the figure below that was gradually getting smaller.

"How much did this spaceship cost?"

He looked at Kavi.

Kavi glanced at Dolly not far away, then leaned close to Elheisen's ear and whispered, "The school has given Dolly a 20 million Mora allowance, not including any subsequent maintenance."

He paused for a moment, then said in a lower voice, "The actual materials used do not exceed five million Mora; the main cost is the technology patent licensing fees."

Elhesen didn't care about the price demanded by the "Miao Lun" school, which was normal. For this kind of technology, a profit margin of less than 300% was a loss.

He was thinking that even if the materials cost no more than five million Mora and the technology was licensed to him for free by the Cult, it seemed that the people in the desert couldn't afford it.

Only a big-shot businesswoman like Dolly could use a spaceship to deliver goods.

"Forget it, these are not things I should be thinking about. Since the Grass Goddess is letting this project continue, she must have her reasons."

Elhesen shook his head.

Kavi stood to the side, watching him shake his head and ponder, somewhat confused about what the man was thinking.

Unable to figure it out, he stopped thinking about it. He turned his gaze to Dolly and approached her: "Lord Sangmahabai, what are you transporting this time?"

"Of course, it's the most practical stuff in the desert!" Dolly patted the crates beside her. "Food, medicine, cloth, books, iron—"

It's not that Dolly doesn't want to produce more high-value-added products; it's just that the desert people simply can't afford them.

After all, how much money could a desert person have?

Dolly's way of making money is to use these practical goods to exchange for rare desert goods, such as sandworm resin or monster materials, and then transport them back to Sumeru City to sell.

"Is there anything fun to do?"

"Sure, I recently acquired a set of stonemason tools from Blackrock Smelter in Liyue. Would you like to take a look?"

Dolly's eyes lit up, and she flashed a warm smile.

"Okay, okay," Kavi said, also becoming interested.

Al-Hysen watched from the side, shaking his head slightly. He was certain that the bonus Kavi had just received for completing the project would soon disappear.

However, he didn't stop him; he simply took out a book and quietly started reading.

Several days later.

January 8th, sunny, southeast wind.

Wang Yan crawled out of his tent, his handsome face showing signs of fatigue and weariness, but conversely, his eyes were bright.

Outside the camp, in the open space, Dixia and the members of the Blazing Beast Hunters were training.

It was called training, but it was actually a group of more than a dozen people attacking Dishia alone. Even so, Dishia had to hold back her strength and not use her elemental power.

Meanwhile, the people of Aru Village had already started a fire in their kitchen and were preparing breakfast;

When the construction team from Aru Village arrived, the first thing they did after leveling the land was to build a kitchen and an outhouse. It can only be said that eating, drinking, and relieving oneself were indeed the most important things.

Wang Yan was about to ask the logistics team aunt what they were having for dinner when he suddenly saw a spaceship gradually growing larger in the distant sky.

"Didn't they say the spaceship project was canceled?"

Wang Yan's big eyes were filled with great confusion.