Order Society (Part 1)

Downstairs, Xie Junping had already prepared a vehicle.

Zhi Xing Institute prohibited all outside vehicles from entering. What Xie Junping had prepared was merely an electric sightseeing cart, the standard model Li Xuecheng had ridden at the hospital that morning.

Apparently, these vehicles were standard equipment for the rich second-generation students at the school.

Thinking of Li Xuecheng, Ronan's heart stirred slightly. When he looked Xie Junping over again, his gaze carried a hint of scrutiny.

When the Burning Demon Shadow had wildly distributed "seeds" yesterday morning, there was no reason Xie Junping, who had been in the same position as him, should have been exempt. Ronan still remembered how Xie Junping had nearly broken down at the time. Those intense Negative Emotions were precisely the Burning Demon Shadow's favorite.

Yet now, this guy seemed completely normal. At the very least, no demon shadow had popped out of him to shout about killing Ronan.

Naturally, Xie Junping had no idea what had flashed through Ronan's mind in that instant. He pulled Ronan into the cart, personally took the Driver's seat, and headed toward the campus's North District.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Ronan pondered briefly. The Mental Layer trembled, and Dark Heavy Chains emerged from between his brows. After a slight pause, they extended continuously, drawing close to Xie Junping's body. At the end of the chains, an abstract symbol flickered with red light, almost like a demonic eye—except what it observed and sensed was a deeper, murkier level.

A few seconds later, the red light abruptly brightened, seeming ready to pierce into Xie Junping's body. But the Dark Heavy Chains rang out and forcibly suppressed the disturbance.

There really is something there...

Ronan was no longer particularly surprised. Logically speaking, it would have been strange if there were nothing. Besides, the one inside Xie Junping was clearly far less developed than Li Xuecheng's. It was still half-dormant, concealing itself with Xie Junping's Qi and Blood, its Aura faint and intermittent.

Using Ronan himself as a reference, it was probably at the stage Li Xuecheng had been at on the warship yesterday, before their conflict.

Two days had already passed, yet it was still so underdeveloped. Perhaps it had something to do with the host's personality?

The chains circled Xie Junping a few times before slowly retracting.

Wait a little longer. Just wait...

Ronan did not act rashly. Ever since he had "devoured" another Burning Demon Shadow, his understanding of his own abilities had deepened greatly, and his thoughts on how to use them had become more comprehensive. At present, his abilities could roughly be divided into two aspects:

One was the Dark Heavy Chains, representing the Format Power of "My Heart is a Prison." They were relatively restrained, like a Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle, controlling and suppressing abnormal changes within and without.

The other was the abstract symbol formed from the Burning Demon Shadow, which could simply be called the "Demon Rune." This thing retained a considerable portion of its original functions and was highly aggressive. Like a ferocious beast hunting for food, it possessed keen senses and a greedy appetite, always itching to make something big happen.

At this stage, the chains' suppressive power was overwhelming. In most circumstances, the Demon Rune could only lie low and wait. Only especially intense stimuli—such as other Burning Demon Shadows, malicious killing intent directed at Ronan, or an outbreak of extreme emotions nearby—could activate it, and all of its actions remained controlled by the chains.

From this, Ronan clearly realized that his foundation lay in the Dark Heavy Chains, in the "Format." The Demon Rune was merely an applied tool. A tool needed to be carefully studied for its principles and uses, and Xie Junping... was actually quite a good reference.

Well, calling it a small act of revenge would work too.

As the chains retracted, Ronan's thoughts shifted again. He directed them across his wrist, making silent "contact" with the wristband.

The sealed casing of an electronic device meant nothing to a mental scan, nor did the various components inside. Correspondingly, Ronan discovered that his senses had a limit in "resolution." He could only vaguely perceive the wristband's internal structure.

The sole exception was that long line—exceptionally conspicuous, or rather, far too dazzling!

During purely mental contact, the brilliant light along the long line truly resembled lightning streaking through the night sky. Of Ronan's two ability modules, the Demon Rune showed no reaction at all, while the Dark Heavy Chains... wasn't this a conductive wire?

Ronan let out a muffled groan. Caught off guard, he allowed that electric light to race along the Dark Heavy Chains and strike directly into his mind from between his brows, making his whole body shudder violently.

"What happened?" Xie Junping jumped in fright.

"Nothing."

Ronan rubbed his forehead, his expression strange.

If one had to pick the best place at Zhi Xing Institute, it was undoubtedly the City Wetland deliberately enclosed when the school was founded. As one of the city's green lungs, it was almost entirely covered in vegetation, constantly breathing in and out fresh air. The slightly damp ground seemed capable of letting the gurgling waters of the Forest-Piercing Long River seep into one's Blood Vessels.

Thus, most of Zhi Xing Institute's beauty lay in the wetland, while half the wetland's beauty lay in the quietly flowing Forest-Piercing Long River.

The long river divided the wetland into its south and north banks, separating tranquility from bustle as well. The landmark building on the bustling south bank was the school's Great Auditorium. Crossing the river northward led to a dense wetland forest, where the eye could barely spot any trace of artificial construction.

At this hour, crowds flowed endlessly along the south bank, while the north bank was comparatively quiet. Xie Junping led Ronan into the forest on the north bank. He looked thoroughly familiar with the place, always selecting the smoothest path among the woodland trails as they continued forward. At the same time, he casually explained:

"Compared to the south bank, the north bank actually makes up the vast majority of the wetland. Because the environment is so good, many of the institute's research centers are located here. But every one of them comes at a steep price. Not only do they have to pay exorbitant taxes, but there are strict restrictions on building materials, infrastructure methods, and structural design... As for how strict they are, just look at the Great Auditorium."

Zhi Xing Institute's Great Auditorium was among the finest of all schools in Xia City. Its Eastern ancient architectural style, with upturned eaves and interlocking brackets, was half-hidden amid the forest and was itself part of the wetland gardens.

However, the Great Auditorium's aboveground portion actually had no practical function. Its functional areas were all arranged underground. Only in this way could it accommodate more than a hundred thousand teachers and students attending meetings and ceremonies at once.

"See? Even the Great Auditorium has to lie flat in the wetland. According to the regulations, no building within the wetland may exceed fifteen meters in height—one quarter of Climbing Hill's height."

The "Climbing Hill" Xie Junping referred to stood across the river from the Great Auditorium. It was actually just a small hill sixty or seventy meters high. At the moment, its woods stretched like a sea, with green, yellow, and red leaves interspersed in brilliant colors. An octagonal pavilion stood atop it, offering a broad view that nearly overlooked the entire area. It was the perfect place to relax.

In truth, Ronan quite liked going up there to gaze into the distance and enjoy the breeze. It was precisely because he liked the scenery there so much that he had put up with Xie Junping keeping him in suspense all this way.

Xie Junping continued chattering away. "There aren't many places in the wetland where buildings can be constructed in the first place, and no one can afford to bear the charge of damaging nature. If they want fully functional facilities, they can only find space underground. But the geological structure is also under wetland protection. The south bank is a little better, but on the north side, digging even three meters down is a violation... The price those research centers pay for showing off is suffering like hell."

At this point, he blinked. "Still, there are always exceptions."

Xie Junping pointed ahead, directing Ronan's attention to the corner of a building emerging through dense branches deep in the forest.

At first glance, Ronan's impression was that it "seemed very old." Perhaps it was because the edges of the building were the color of rusted iron, giving it a rough appearance.

Xie Junping smiled. "Don't underestimate it. 'Gear'—the building right in front of us—is an exception among exceptions among the thirty-nine research center and society buildings on the north bank."