Chapter 550: Chapter 167: Professor Ai Arrives, New Characters Appear

At the sound of two calls, the leopard print cat slowly advanced, its feline eyes fixed on Su Xiaocai, wary of any attack.

Su Xiaocai knew that with cats, when they don’t trust you, it’s crucial not to approach. Cats that grew up in the wild are full of wild instincts. Forcing an interaction can cause a stress reaction, making it even harder to approach next time.

Unlike her own cat, Huahua, who is quite intelligent and won’t rip up the long-term meal ticket.

With a bit of bonding, you can pet it at will.

The leopard cat took small strides to the front of the house, unwilling to come closer, and scraped the ground, meowing twice in a clipped voice.

Huahua meowed back impatiently.

The leopard cat, like a reluctant little bride, finally reached the bowl’s edge.

While eating the food in the bowl, it didn’t relax and kept a close watch on Su Xiaocai, checking if she had any intention to sneak attack.

Under the porch, Su Xiaocai and Xiao Wanzi were on one side, while the two cats were on the other, both very quiet.

Su Xiaocai didn’t let Xiao Wanzi feed too much, just a few bites, to let the leopard cat get used to the food.

This big cat isn’t picky and eats everything except for the Insect Man, which is too exotic and dangerous for animals.

After finishing its portion, the leopard cat sniffed at Huahua’s bowl but immediately lost its appetite. It rubbed against Huahua, whose paw held down its big head, indicating it must finish eating first before playing with it.

Seeing they got along well, Su Xiaocai stopped observing and was fairly satisfied with Huahua’s little bride.

She instructed Xiao Wanzi to keep a close eye and not let Huahua get whisked away by the leopard cat.

Xiao Wanzi glanced at Huahua lying lazily like a flat cat after eating, with the likelihood of being taken away dropping to zero. Transitioning from luxury to simplicity is difficult, plus Huahua has high intelligence and strong combat skills; it won’t get lost outside unless someone intentionally captures it.

Under normal circumstances, it can’t return to the wild; it’s already completely domesticated.

Two days later, the entire city was cleaned once over; the remaining Insect Men and ruined buildings were all cleared away.

The workload was enormous, tiring the operators so much that they went straight to sleep once they lie down and ate at scheduled times, with no leisure activities.

On this day, a team of scholars arrived in a small warship.

Many famous scholars came, each bringing two assistants, making the group more sizable than expected.

Admiral Bai felt amazed when he went to welcome them.

He asked Colonel Yuan and the secretary, "Did we just win a battle at the front? Don’t these scholars usually prefer hiding in quiet places?"

"It’s Ai Shengping and a few professors... They’re reluctant to leave Su Xiaocai."

"Then they went back and exchanged ideas and discussions with some friends..." Academics are hard to hide; the friends of these scholars are usually also scholars, and those with a bit of capability and network would break their heads trying to come along here.

It’s nothing else but just because Su Xiaocai is here, which makes it worth the risk for them to take this trip.

Like in the circle of Mecha Masters, many participants came specifically for Admiral Bai, eager to explore the stars and seas with him, battling the Insect Men.

In the academic circle, Ai Shengping is a top figure, though ordinary people might not know him well.

But for university students in the Mecha Department, Architecture Department, and Mechanical Engineering, if they want to pursue graduate studies, they all want to apply to become his students.

Here’s the thing, factors like research funding, professorial rank, and research project progress can limit the number of graduate students.

But Ai Shengping has no such limitation; just by mentioning it, he can have another graduate student under him.

Admiral Bai remarked, "Su Xiaocai’s influence in the academic circle has grown so vast?"

"Bigger than you imagined," Colonel Yuan informed Admiral Bai. "In this Insect Man expert-level exam Su Xiaocai took part in, her achievement of all other exam takers being utterly defeated is remarkable. These academic talents aren’t as fast as her in solving problems, nor have they matched her accuracy. You can only imagine how remarkable she is."

Admiral Bai pondered silently, so when she took the university entrance exam, and didn’t achieve a perfect score, was it merely to keep a low profile?

It’s not terrifying when a study deity scores full marks, but when they can control their scores; when they choose not to control, no one can surpass it.

Su Xiaocai: It’s not about wanting to keep a low profile. It’s knowing that for some questions, to get points, you need to fill in what she believes to be incorrect opinions, so she chose not to answer.

The expert-level exams have a limit on the number of slots available each period; passing them doesn’t automatically guarantee a place.

Therefore, it’s not something extraordinary either.

After welcoming the scholars, Admiral Bai turned to train the operators; he planned to organize a battle the next day.

Group confrontation.

For those without a squad, soldiers with Mechanical Limbs will lead them.

Colonel Yuan was assigned to host the professors and mentioned arranging them in a high-security level underground lab.

Ai Shengping immediately waved his hand, asking, "What about Professor Su? Where is she? I trust her security rating more; who can be safer than at her side?"

```