"Deep Sea Star, 4.5 billion years old, with a radius of 6,378.2 kilometers. Seventy-one percent of its surface was covered by water, while the rest was land. It was an ocean-blue planet. It rotated once every twenty-four hours and revolved around its star—Profound Sun Star—once a year. Its satellite was Moon God Star, which orbited Deep Sea Star every 32 days..."
After Lin Na finished playing the short introduction to Deep Sea Star, her gaze swept across the children below. She noticed a pair of eyes fixed firmly on her and followed that gaze.
The boy had short, messy black hair and black pupils. He was somewhat thin compared to others his age. There was a hint of confusion in his eyes, but his gaze was clearly not on the holographic projection behind her. It was on her, making her frown slightly.
Lin Na had always been confident in her disguise. A quiet, introverted planetary studies teacher was the least challenging role in her career as an infiltrator. She curled her lips. If this woman's boyfriend had not been the courier transporting the Federal Government's goods, she would never have needed to disguise herself as a woman who never let her breasts breathe. Fortunately, she had already obtained the item, and the mission was complete. Once she finished this class, she could leave this low-level civilization planet without exposing a single flaw.
Yet the boy's gaze bothered her. Did he notice something?
With that thought, she lowered her head to the teaching guidance screen before her. Her finger tapped the seat number displayed on the desk, and the boy's information quickly appeared in full.
Name: Gu Ding
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Gene Level: First Order
Special Ability: Not awakened
Cell Comprehensive Index: 10
Spiritual Power: 9.8
Combat Talent: B+
Comprehension: A
Special Event: At the freshman opening ceremony, he publicly expressed his wish to "become the man with the highest bounty in the entire Universe Sea."
Assessment: Strengths: Possessed extraordinary comprehension and combat talent.
Weaknesses: Too strong-willed and difficult to discipline.
Lin Na was somewhat surprised after reading the boy's profile. "He has no detection-type special ability, so he shouldn't have been able to see through my disguise. An adult with First Order genes generally only has a Cell Comprehensive Index of 1. Reaching the First Order Gene Body limit of 10 through training isn't unusual. But spiritual power this high isn't something that can easily be improved through cultivation... He even publicly stated at a Federal military training base that he wanted to become an Interstellar Pirate. Interesting..."
The corners of her lips rose as the urge to tease him surfaced. "Student Gu Ding, please tell us the current proportion of indigenous residents on Deep Sea Star."
Gu Ding was briefly stunned, then calmly stood up. "The current indigenous population of Deep Sea Star accounts for 18.1%, approximately 340 million people."
Lin Na secretly glanced at the answer on the screen, then asked a second question. "Second question: besides the indigenous residents, how many immigrant races are there on Deep Sea Star?"
"There are 117 recorded immigrant races, with a total population of approximately 1.53 billion." Gu Ding answered without the slightest hesitation.
Lin Na looked down at the data and found no mistakes. She narrowed her eyes slightly, fell silent for a moment, then continued, "Please briefly describe the incident in which Deep Sea Star's population sharply declined."
This topic had actually occurred before the New Era. It was also a dark chapter of history, one that educational materials avoided mentioning and described only vaguely. Lin Na had clearly raised it deliberately to make things difficult for Gu Ding.
Gu Ding raised an eyebrow and continued answering. "In Federal Year 7,842,359, or the year 2112 by Deep Sea Star's calendar, a meteorite carrying an extremely contagious unknown virus crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on Deep Sea Star. The virus began spreading rapidly, causing massive numbers of living creatures to die. Their corpses were controlled by the virus and actively attacked creatures that remained alive. In eight years, the population plummeted from seven billion to three hundred million, while the survival rate of other species was less than one in a thousand. To preserve this planet's civilization, the Federal Government dispatched troops. It took seven months to completely eliminate the virus, rebuild Deep Sea Star, and incorporate it into the Federation. Only then did Deep Sea Star officially become a member planet of the Federal Government. It was also formally renamed Deep Sea Star from its original name, Earth..."
The embarrassment on Lin Na's face vanished in an instant. Her gaze shifted slightly and landed on the blond boy to Gu Ding's left, who was slumped over his desk as though he were about to fall asleep. She lowered her head slightly and glanced at the name displayed on the teaching guidance screen. "Student Gu Ding, you may sit down. Student Reed, please answer..."
The day's lessons soon ended. Just as Gu Ding was about to get up and leave, Reed stopped him and lowered his voice. "Hey, don't you think Teacher Ellie was a little different today?"
"She was different. Why?" Gu Ding had clearly noticed something unusual as well.
"I'd guess the woman who taught us just now was an impostor." Reed raised an eyebrow.
"An impostor?!" Gu Ding froze. He had only instinctively sensed that Teacher Ellie had changed somehow, but Reed's deductions were usually well-founded.
"That woman exposed plenty of flaws. First, when she tapped the teaching screen, she initially used her left hand, which meant she was left-handed. Later, she seemed to realize that and switched to her right hand. Teacher Ellie is right-handed. Everyone knows that."
"Second, the final question she asked you concerned a dark chapter of planetary history. The Federal Government prohibited that kind of history from being recorded in educational documents, much less discussed publicly by teachers. Given Teacher Ellie's rigid personality, she would never touch such material."
"Those were the two biggest flaws. As for the details, she was full of holes. She didn't know our names, and she didn't know the answers to the two questions she asked you, which was why she had to look down at the seat names and teaching guide. During the half-hour lesson, she spoke for less than seven minutes in total. The real Teacher Ellie spent around eighteen minutes explaining the teaching materials every time. Do you need me to continue?"
"I'm leaving first." Gu Ding had been busy packing his things the entire time and had not listened to Reed's reasoning at all.
"Don't you want to know where the real Teacher Ellie went? Who that woman was? Why she disguised herself as Teacher Ellie?" Reed seemed to want to continue his deductions.
"Teacher Ellie was probably already taken out. Where her body is is something the Federal Army needs to care about. As for that woman's identity, that's also something the Federal Army needs to worry about. I'm going to work at Auntie Rose's place. See you, chatterbox!" Gu Ding cut off Reed's endless rambling.
"Bastard, I wasn't done! The chance that Teacher Ellie was taken out is only ninety-one percent. There's still a nine percent survival rate! There's over a sixty percent chance that woman is..." Reed cursed and continued showing off his powerful, terrifying deductive abilities as if talking to himself.
After escaping the school, Gu Ding rode his hover motorcycle toward the west side of the city.
The western district was a backward, noisy area. Garbage piled up everywhere, giving off a nauseating stench, while the countless alarms that sounded every day could make one's ears go numb. This was the source of evil and paradise for criminals.
This area also had another name—the Red Light District. In the past, red-light districts referred to pleasure quarters, but this Red Light District was different. The red lights represented alarms, and the Red Light District meant a place where alarms never stopped sounding.
Because all sorts of people gathered here, it had also become a temporary stopover for many Interstellar Pirates. Although Deep Sea Star was a newly developed planet, the number of Interstellar Pirates passing through it increased by the day. Gu Ding had grown up in this district. Ever since he could remember, this place had seemed to be a paradise for Interstellar Pirates.
Seeing the Rose Tavern sign not far ahead, Gu Ding slowed his steps. His gaze casually swept over an intersection on his left, where he spotted a somewhat familiar figure.
"Huh, why would she come to the Red Light District?" A trace of confusion rose in Gu Ding's heart, but the figure vanished in a flash. After hesitating for a moment, he still could not suppress his curiosity and quietly followed her.