Chapter 18

"Of course," Zhou Kaiyu added. "I just happened to think of the Lie Xiu and asked on a whim. It's fine if you don't know."

Although Qin Su was excited, he didn't let it show. He nodded calmly at Teacher Zhou and replied unhurriedly, "I know."

Qin Su knew Teacher Zhou had another intention in asking him the question, but he didn't mind at all. He even had to thank Teacher Zhou for giving him the opportunity.

Zhou Kaiyu had prepared himself for Qin Su to be unable to answer. Who would have thought that the next second, he would hear Qin Su nod impassively and say, "I know"?

Zhou Kaiyu: "???"

The unexpected answer caught Zhou Kaiyu off guard, and his eyes widened before he could control his expression.

But he quickly recovered. Qin Su probably only meant that, like Zhou Kaiyu, a veteran teacher, he knew the name "Lie Xiu" and nothing else. With that thought, Zhou Kaiyu's expression gradually eased.

Just as Zhou Kaiyu was about to speak again, Qin Su's cool narration reached everyone in the classroom.

Qin Su secretly cleared his throat to make sure his voice was clear, then recounted the description of the Lie Xiu he had read earlier:

"The Lie Xiu spreads outward in an irregular, mycelium-like shape. Its entire body is red, and every strand is covered in tiny tendrils. When the tendrils wrap around and strangle prey, they secrete mucus that dissolves bones and flesh."

"The Lie Xiu is cunning and skilled at hiding. After successfully killing prey and absorbing enough nutrients, each Lie Xiu quickly retreats underground and enters a temporary dormant state. While dormant, every part of its body shrivels and dries up, becoming like the decaying roots of a plant. Under normal circumstances, it remains hidden in the soil and draws no human attention. Even if professional equipment is used to examine the land, the results will only show 'withered plant roots' in the soil."

As Qin Su spoke in his low, cool voice, the students listened in a daze.

The pictures they had just seen contained no information other than the bugs' names.

They didn't know whether what Qin Su said was correct, so as they listened, they cast questioning glances at Zhou Kaiyu.

Zhou Kaiyu was the teacher, so surely he knew whether Qin Su was right.

But...

Why did Teacher Zhou look no less surprised than they were?

Was what Qin Su said so astonishing?

Damn it, they didn't know enough about the Lie Xiu to make sense of the drama!

Zhou Kaiyu: "...?"

W-was that true?

Qin Su's words were completely unexpected. Having once again lost control of his expression, Zhou Kaiyu didn't notice the students' astonished, uncertain gazes darting between him and Qin Su.

[Uh, wait, is that the reaction a teacher should have?]

[Is Boss 1 the teacher, or is Zhou Kaiyu?]

Qin Su: "..."

He could understand his classmates' reactions, but the bullet comments were right. Why did Teacher Zhou have the exact same expression as the students?

777 was as straightforward as an elementary school student and wouldn't lie to him. There was a ninety-nine percent chance the data he had memorized was correct, so...

There was only one answer.

Like the students, Teacher Zhou didn't know the Lie Xiu's detailed data.

Qin Su: "..."

In trying to make things difficult for him, Teacher Zhou had accidentally stumbled onto a subject he knew. Teacher Zhou had lifted a rock only to drop it on his own foot. He really did have a bit of bad luck.

Although he had guessed why Teacher Zhou was making that face, Qin Su's expression remained unchanged as he continued in an even tone.

"The Lie Xiu feels no pain. During dormancy, its body is scattered as the soil it inhabits is transported. After the transport tears its body apart, each separated, withered tendril will reproduce into a new Lie Xiu when it awakens again, waiting for a chance to begin another round of hunting and absorbing nutrients."

"Therefore, the Lie Xiu reproduces through the dispersal and transport of soil. To be precise, its habitat is anywhere on any planet that has soil."

"Wait, isn't that way of reproducing completely heaven-defying?!" someone exclaimed.

"No wonder people used to disappear in gardens at home, leaving only strange, irregular webs behind! Was it because there were Lie Xiu body parts in the soil their families bought?"

"Good thing my family's poor. We can't afford something as luxurious as soil at all."

"Agreed. My family uses nutrient solution to grow vegetables and plants too. I never thought being too poor would save us from disaster one day."

Except on relatively backward planets with underdeveloped technology, where people still lived on ground covered in ruins and mixed with all kinds of pollutants, citizens on the vast majority of planets lived in the air.

Clean soil had become precious. Having a patch of fertile land in a refined, luxurious home in the air and using the luxury item that was soil to tend flowers and plants had become one of the symbols of status among the wealthy and powerful.

To flaunt their wealth and "connections," they generally held all kinds of social gatherings in gardens at home, carefully cultivated with fertile soil.

Less well-off families used specially formulated, odorless nutrient water to grow their plants.

[??? The world's turned upside down. Nobody told me that little vegetable patch in my backyard was worth so much]

[If I remember right, we're promoting soilless cultivation now, growing things in all kinds of nutrient solutions, but in the interstellar era they've started worshipping growing things in soil. Even dirt has become a luxury item. I've heard fashion goes in cycles, but I didn't expect growing things to go in cycles too]

[Next time I'm mouthing off at someone, I won't dare tell them to "go play in the mud," because I can't afford to play with it. I really can't (doge)]

[I sat bolt upright on my deathbed. So I, a country dweller with six mu of land, am actually an interstellar tycoon?! That raises a question, my internet connections: has anyone transmigrated into Interstellar Legend? Let's go into business together. I'll provide the dirt, and you sell it to those interstellar suckers with more money than sense. Waiting online, pretty urgent @Boss 1]

[You dare tag my darling while trafficking in land resources? That's seriously criminal. Get yourself thrown in jail first]

[The person above is doing cross... cross-dimensional law enforcement? Can we discuss sentencing Boss 1 to our real world? (wink)]

Qin Su: "..."

Trafficking was out of the question. He would never do it in his life. All he wanted was to be "strong."

Besides, they could stop sentencing him. He currently spent twelve hours on each side, so evenly divided that he wanted oxygen.

The verbal explanation was over. It was time to show the picture, which meant displaying his "optical brain."

Pulling his thoughts back, Qin Su split his attention three ways: listening to his classmates complain all at once, silently scanning the bullet comments, and preparing to carry out his original plan of "showing a bug picture on the surface while actually showing off his optical brain."

Qin Su: "Everyone..."

Zhou Kaiyu, having come back to his senses, suddenly interrupted.

"Where... did you learn all that?!"

Even he, a teacher who had taught the Zerg Research Course for eighty years, didn't know that data, yet Qin Su had explained it so fluently that it sounded completely genuine. In particular, the "traces" left at the scene after the Lie Xiu strangled its prey matched the information they currently had on it perfectly.

In fact, the Federation had named it the "Lie Xiu" solely because every time it hunted, the only thing left at the scene was ground that had split in an irregular pattern spreading outward like mycelium.

They had actually never seen the Lie Xiu itself. At least, there was no image of it in the comprehensive database of all planets under the Federation.

Much less detailed data such as the Lie Xiu's method of reproduction, body color, and habitat.

As for the independent planets and planets under other systems outside the Federation's jurisdiction, they didn't know whether those places had data or photographs of the Lie Xiu, since information wasn't shared between them.

Teacher Zhou's interruption didn't affect his plan. Qin Su's expression remained normal as he replied naturally, "From here."

[Asking because I don't know: where is "here"?]

[What's the rush? He just knows about one bug. This teacher is so lame, and he's supposed to be a teacher. Does he need to look that shocked? So ignorant]

[Checked their profile. Ew~ another fan of the plague god (eye roll). But seriously, I'm curious why the teacher looks like that too]

[More than that, I'm curious about the "here" Boss 1 mentioned. I have a strong feeling an iconic scene is coming (starry eyes)]

The viewers inside and outside the screen shared the same question. Their gazes involuntarily converged on Qin Su as they closely watched his every move.

Qin Su deliberately timed a one-second pause, giving the audience time to "focus their attention on him."

Then, under the puzzled gazes of the "audiences" inside and outside the screen, he smoothly switched the optical brain he had already "spread out" earlier for the sake of being strong to a state visible to everyone—

In the vast classroom, beneath everyone's expectant gazes, the enormous optical brain, divided into panels displaying different content, spread out in an instant before their unsuspecting eyes...

Three...

Once the "optical brain" was open, Qin Su silently counted in his head, intending to wait three seconds until everyone had seen its display clearly, then quit while he was ahead and close it.

The concept of optical brain levels was simply too abstract. High-end ingre... ahem, optical brains often needed the simplest and most direct means of presentation.

The data in each section didn't matter. What mattered was... creating a powerful visual impact, so it would look truly "impressive."

Qin Su, who considered himself to have little artistic talent, could only go for a simple, forceful style.

Whether or not the "audience" cared, to make the optical brain's display "impressive and sophisticated, understated yet luxurious and full of substance," he had even carefully adjusted the color of the frame's "skin." The divisions between panels weren't cluttered either, appearing entirely neat and orderly. Perhaps no one was in the mood to examine his optical brain's skin right now, but they might notice it when they looked back later. He had to perfect every detail.

Qin Su sat in the first seat to the left of the center aisle in the front row. The empty space in front of him, between his desk and the lectern, was now filled from above down to desk level by his "optical brain."

The edges of Qin Su's advertising display and the frames dividing its sections were black with a fine matte texture. Some of the panels were filled with densely packed text, some had text interspersed with pictures, and even more contained high-definition animated images of the bugs Teacher Zhou had shown during this class.

What made everyone's pupils quake was that, besides the pictures of bugs the teacher had shown, there were countless more he had temporarily stopped showing them because of their pleas.

Eyes were always easily drawn to "stimulating" things.

They didn't have time to make out the text on the spread-out pages, nor were they in the mood to study it carefully. That was because the high-definition pictures of various bugs, clear enough to see without looking closely, had firmly "seized" their eyes the instant Qin Su's optical brain opened.

Before their brains could react, their eyes had already instinctively begun to "enjoy" this "visual feast."

It was no different from forcefully stuffing a huge amount of horrifying, unacceptable "information" into their brains in an instant, when they were completely unprepared.

"!"

"!!"

"!!!"

For a moment, as the students of Comprehensive Class 6, Class of Year 26, were "dazzled," their brains couldn't take it and exploded with a buzz.

The viewers in front of their screens, watching the comic pages update in real time, felt the same way.

[I xxxxxxxx (throws away phone, eyes roll back, faints) Can I even go on living like this?]

[Curses, my eyes, my eyes!!!]

[So I was the clown all along? You want my knees? Take them, take them all. Please put away this terrifying divine power!]

[I really don't have the energy to keep playing around with the comic artist of Interstellar Legend. I've said "censor it" so many times the words are worn out! (roaring)]

[If you've got the guts, give us an intense-content warning next time (sobbing)]

[Baojuan! Quick! Smash this screen for your emperor!]

[Whose cake, milk tea, ice cream, hot pot, barbecue, fire chicken noodles, grilled cold noodles, steak, lobster, abalone, sea cucumber... did I take? Capitalists are so hateful to treat me like this, barf barf barf barf]

Amid the "chaos," only the "battle-hardened" Zhou Kaiyu absorbed all the information on Qin Su's enormous display with near greed, having already forgotten what he had originally intended to do.

A private database like this was undoubtedly extraordinarily precious. The more he remembered, the more he would be able to teach his students in the future. Perhaps their knowledge of the bugs could give them a better chance of survival when they went to the battlefield.

"Bleurgh—"

One.

As his mental countdown reached the final second, Qin Su heard students vomiting.

Judging by everyone's reactions, the "optical brain" display had been exceptionally effective.

Show that his optical brain was extraordinary in level: √

Casually show that he was "highly knowledgeable": √

Dispel the rumors of "padding his credentials" and "skipping class": √

He, Qin Su, had cleared his name. From now on, everything was clear.

"Sorry."

As Qin Su's last word faded, the huge optical brain display that had given everyone such a powerful visual shock vanished at once.

Only a picture and information about the "Lie Xiu" remained before their eyes.

Phew...

A collective sigh of relief rose from the classroom. Their heads were buzzing, and they still hadn't recovered from the visual shock.

Zhou Kaiyu hadn't managed to remember much before all those skins vanished in an instant, leaving him disappointed and shaken.

According to the optical brain user manual, an optical brain relied on the processing speed of the human brain it was bound to. If its owner's brain was not "developed," even a high-end optical brain would process everything more slowly during a display.

Qin Su had displayed so many panels at once, yet the moment his classmates became physically sick and vomited at their contents, he had still been able to close the other panels quickly, leaving only the "Lie Xiu" page.

All of this was enough to prove that Qin Su not only possessed a vast database the Federation lacked and an unfathomably mysterious background, but also had an extraordinary brain himself.

After the students recovered for a while, their gazes fell on the animated image of the Lie Xiu, brilliant and dangerous, shaped like mycelium.

Everyone inevitably noticed that Qin Su had also pasted a brief introduction to the Lie Xiu onto the picture for them.

"..."

He was so considerate that they hardly knew how to feel.

Compared with the other hideously distorted and ferocious bugs, the Lie Xiu was unexpectedly beautiful.

But no matter how beautiful it was, that couldn't conceal the fact that it was deadly.

In the latter half of the animated image, the students saw the Lie Xiu wrap its tendrils around its prey, roll and strangle it, secrete mucus to melt it, and sink underground after drinking its fill of "nutrient solution." Every one of them felt a chill down their spine.

The students whose families had "fertile land" in particular had never imagined that the soil they showed off might conceal a deadly danger.

"..."

Still not having recovered much and feeling dazed, everyone recalled the content they had just glimpsed. Those with weaker Mental Power went numb again, and some even showed signs of vomiting once more.

Compared with the other students who had lower pheromone levels, He Muzhi looked much better. Where his earlier looks at Qin Su had been mostly puzzled, his gaze now burned.

Zhou Kaiyu had wanted to say something, but seeing everyone's varied expressions, he held back the words in his throat and decided to give them a little more time to recover.

With that thought, Zhou Kaiyu looked at the precious display and data of the Lie Xiu's form, which he had already committed firmly to memory.

He definitely hadn't seen it wrong just now. Qin Su's optical brain database contained data on many bugs that had never been officially recorded.

He really... wanted it.

Zhou Kaiyu also believed he wasn't the only one who wanted it. Anyone who had lived through the Zerg war would want to possess it.

But... Zhou Kaiyu also understood very well that he couldn't have that data, which might have been obtained at an enormous cost, just because he wanted it.

Perhaps...

After class ended, he could ask Qin Su what channels he had used and how many star coins or what price he had paid to obtain it.

He hoped...

When the time came, Qin Su wouldn't refuse to answer because of his initial prejudice, Zhou Kaiyu prayed inwardly.

"Ahem..."

Enough time had passed. Zhou Kaiyu coughed softly twice, and the way he looked at Qin Su changed. His initial suspicion had become genuine admiration.

"Thank you." Zhou Kaiyu's voice was sincere. "If it weren't for you, Qin Su, I don't know how many more years it would have taken me to see its complete hunting process and learn so much about it."

So what if he was an experienced, veteran teacher? Today, Qin Su had shown him what it meant that there was always someone better, just as there was always a mountain beyond a mountain.

Despite possessing such an enormous database, Qin Su had still appeared in the classroom even though he had no need to take the Zerg Research Course. Zhou Kaiyu felt quite pleased at the thought.

The students: "...?"

Teacher Zhou meant... even he hadn't known the details of the Lie Xiu, while Qin Su, a student, did!

The bug data Qin Su had was actually more complete than that of a teacher who had taught the Zerg Research Course for decades!

Realizing this, the students looked at Qin Su and drew sharp breaths in shock.

What did that mean?

It meant that Qin Su had not only been watching the teacher's "class material," but had also been looking at uncensored, high-definition images of all kinds of insects they had never encountered before.

The images shown in class were frighteningly unbearable to them, but to Qin Su, they were as easy as could be, not worth mentioning.

As expected of Qin Su. How many more surprises were there that they didn't know about?!

Then again, even if Qin Su generously shared them, they wouldn't be able to appreciate them.

Besides, much of the data wasn't even available to the teacher. It belonged to Qin Su, so how could he possibly give it to them?

After everything that had just happened, the fact that "Qin Su was definitely no ordinary person" sank even deeper into everyone's minds.

"You're welcome." Faced with Teacher Zhou's excitement, Qin Su remained composed. "It was only right."

Sure enough, just as he had guessed earlier, Teacher Zhou hadn't known Lie Xiu's exact data beforehand. Judging from that small detail, could he assume that Teacher Zhou's data on the Zerg was incomplete?

"Do you need to look at anything else?" Although he had achieved his goal, Qin Su still asked Teacher Zhou before closing his optical computer.

Zhou Kaiyu: "...Thank you, no."

As expected of Qin Su. He was truly magnanimous. He had clearly seen through Zhou Kaiyu's earlier attempts to make things difficult for him, yet he hadn't taken those petty schemes to heart at all.

After class, he not only needed to ask Qin Su about the sources of that data, but also owed him an apology.

"Okay."

As Qin Su answered, the optical computer switched to "visible only to self."

To avoid wasting class time, the skins he had opened earlier all appeared the instant he switched the optical computer's visibility.

After spending so long practicing with and arranging his optical computer, he now knew where all the "data" he needed was, even with his eyes closed.

[That extraordinary optical computer, that terrifyingly vast database that surpasses even the teacher's, that utterly unruffled composure, as though this were just an everyday occurrence!!! So satisfying. How could life possibly be the same no matter who you spend it with? (heart) Su-baby, a big shot who provides maximum "emotional value," never disappoints. Thanks to Baby 1 for broadening our horizons (finger heart) (whispering) (fidgeting) but, um, could you censor them before broadening our horizons next time?]

[Now I finally understand why my Bro Qin could stay so calm when he saw the pictures the teacher showed. Compared with everything in Bro Qin's massive insect database, the few the teacher showed were small fry (learned my lesson, not looking at insects anymore edition)]

[Where did the people who spread rumors earlier go? The ones who said our big shot 1 was taking advantage of no one else being able to see his optical computer screen to cheat by not looking at the teacher's display and pretending to be calm?]

Qin Su: "..."

Censor them? Sorry, he really couldn't do that.

He was just a visitor from another world who had to rely on the camera shots of the protagonist group and the villain even to appear before the viewers.

Watching Qin Su gain more life points yet again with just a small move, 777 happily wrote down:

[Display countless large, high-definition images of insects on the big screen for the students (the secret to a life span surge of at least 15 days: a sharp rise in Native Favorability + a surge in bullet comments.)]

Future hosts would be so lucky to bind with it!

After some thought, 777 remembered the time it had searched for insect photos to show its host, only to be scolded and asked if it was trying to scare him to death. It added a line in small print afterward: (provided they don't scold the system)

Having recovered from the shock Qin Su had given him, Zhou Kaiyu, who would never again suspect Qin Su of being one of those people sent to acquire credentials and slacking off in his class, told the students to sit down.

For the rest of the class, Zhou Kaiyu returned to the "text-based" teaching he had used that morning.

Of course, there were some images mixed in.

Whenever Zhou Kaiyu thought about how "Qin Su is actually attending my class," he would "cheerfully" call on Qin Su to explain insect information he himself didn't know to the students.

Qin Su, who had thought he could settle down and study other data once he was done with Strong: "..."

Heaven wept and earth knew, but who knew how desperately he was praying in his heart, nearly suffocating? Though he appeared calm and collected when "questioned" from time to time, his heart pounded with fear every single time.

Fortunately, he had read about every insect Teacher Zhou called on him to discuss.

In the classrooms, while the other classes were still going "aaah" and "bleurgh," Zhou Kaiyu's cheerful voice, without a hint of reproach, rang out from time to time in Class 6 of the 26th cohort.

"Look at Qin Su, then look at yourselves!"

"..."

That one short sentence drew deeply resentful looks from the students.

Listen to the teacher. How could Qin Su be the same as them? What had they done to deserve being compared to Qin Su?

"Sure enough, there's nothing student Qin Su doesn't know. Everyone, with such an outstanding classmate here, you should make an effort to ask him questions, understood?"

The students: "..."

Although they knew the teacher had their interests at heart and wanted them to learn more things that weren't covered in the course, they still had to dare to ask!

Qin Su: "..."

That might be true, but... there was really no need! He really wasn't omniscient. Fortune truly did take turns: not long after he had "gloated" over the teacher and him "coming together from both directions," he had become the one hoist by his own petard.

Though Zhou Kaiyu's calls stirred up "stormy waves" in Qin Su's heart, he remained calm on the surface and resolved to keep poring over all the data on insects in this world.

To avoid being exposed, he was going all out.

Amid Qin Su's silent prayers, the Zerg Research Course ended at six thirty in the evening without any serious mishaps.

As the class ended, Qin Su's heart, which had been in his throat all this time, was just about to settle. He was checking the minutes displayed on the "life span countdown in the upper-right corner" of the MVP results screen, 16S, a little over fifty days, when he saw Zhou Kaiyu stand at the lectern for a while, then walk toward him with an "I'm throwing caution to the wind" expression.

Although Zhou Kaiyu had long since decided to ask Qin Su how he had obtained the "insects" and how much they had cost, seeing how polite but distant Qin Su was toward him, he still had to steel himself before walking over.

[Why does Teacher Zhou look like "death is coming sooner or later anyway," like he's marching bravely to his execution?]

[That look in his eyes is so determined. What is he going to do to our Baby 1?]

[Who cares what he's going to do? Our Baby 1 will never disappoint us anyway. I'm already looking forward to seeing how the people in the other classes react when they find out what happened in Class 6.]

"...?"

Catching sight of the bullet comments and Zhou Kaiyu, Qin Su suddenly had a bad feeling.

Good night, that's all for today. More at this time tomorrow (perhaps, probably... maybe).