Chiyu Academy's New Professor

Time had been accelerated.

And what accelerated time was a life called "peace."

Life is always like this. When you're under high pressure, time always feels like it's crawling. Take work or school, for example.

But once everything truly calms down, time slips through your fingers uncontrollably. Think about slacking off or holidays.

In the few days since Blanca left the Research Institute, nothing particularly noteworthy had happened there. Professor Mobius continued her experiments with Xu Ziling as usual. Both Xu Ziling and Elysia could tell that Mobius had been somewhat distracted these past few days.

Perhaps it was the reduced research progress due to the absence of an assistant, or perhaps... something else more important had firmly captured Mobius's thoughts.

Regarding the research into Xu Ziling's photosensitive constitution, five whole days had passed, and Mobius hadn't managed to produce any decent potions. All she had was a half-finished product, which Mobius called "Sunscreen Liquid." It could allow Xu Ziling to resist sunlight for a short while, but its effect lasted... less than nine seconds.

Xu Ziling wouldn't complain about this. After all, he was a night owl. He'd slack off at the company during the day and play games at home at night. He wouldn't mind living entirely in darkness for the rest of his life. The only thing he needed to do was to stay by Mobius's side and diligently fulfill his role as a "love interest."

The System also seemed to have learned its lesson after Xu Ziling's scolding, toning itself down considerably. While the daily tasks were still limited to "*** with any Valkyrie/Flame-Chaser," at least they weren't as outrageous as "maintain an ambiguous pose." Xu Ziling completed them all.

Time had now advanced to five days later, which was also the seventh day since Xu Ziling's transmigration.

[Ding~ Daily Quest: "Prepare Dinner for Any Valkyrie/Flame-Chaser"]

[Quest Reward: Stellaron Shards * 150; Random Quest Reward: "A Cooking Spatula Left Behind by Some Mad King"]

[Ding~ Breakthrough Quest: "Survivor of the Honkai World" Completed]

[Quest Reward: Stellaron Shards * 1600.]

[Random Item Reward * 3: Kloros Pistol, "Secret of Marksmanship: The Times Have Changed," Kloros Magazine * 5]

[Host's Remaining Stellaron Shards: 1600 + 150 * 6 = 2500]

[System Inventory: Realgar Wine, Viper Serum, Blanca's Notebook, etc...]

[Current Unfinished Quests: "Archon Quest: Ascender of the Honkai World," "Weekly Quest: Ambiguous Pose."]

The System's voice pulled Xu Ziling, who was at the dining table, back to reality. He looked at his remaining Stellaron Shards with a sense of helplessness.

At a rate of 160 per draw, he had accumulated nearly twenty draws after completing the first breakthrough quest. However, the System Shop wouldn't open until the Archon Quest was completed. He had the ability to spend but not the ability to spend it, which was quite frustrating.

"Wow... Thanks for the meal~ Also, Little Ziling, your cooking is really good!"

At the dining table, Elysia, having finished her dinner, sincerely thanked Xu Ziling, who was responsible for cooking that night. Mobius, sitting on the other side of the table, listlessly finished her stir-fried shredded potatoes and glanced at the clock. "Little Mouse, what day is it today?"

"Doctor, you've been asking that question for five days now," Xu Ziling said with a helpless shrug. "But you're right today. It's Friday, the day you said last Sunday that you'd go to Chiyu Academy to pick up the talented individual Senior Blanca recommended."

"Excellent." Mobius nodded, then shoved her tableware towards Elysia. "Elysia, you stay home and wash the dishes. I'll go pick up the person with Little Mouse."

"Aww! Professor Mobius, don't just go out to play with Little Ziling!" Elysia immediately grew anxious upon hearing that Mobius wasn't taking her along. She quickly hugged Mobius's arm. "Professor Mobius, can you really bear to leave the cute Miss Elf at home? ... Hehe~ Don't worry, Miss Elf will definitely not embarrass Professor Mobius when she goes out with you. After all, Miss Elf is very good at making friends, you know?~"

"No." Mobius flatly refused Elysia and then pulled her hand out of Elysia's embrace. "Heh, don't you know what kind of person you are? Don't think that just because I've been in a bad mood these past few days and relaxed my guard means I'm not wary of you. This is the assistant Blanca recommended to me before she left, so she's naturally my person. You don't need to trouble yourself with her, understand?"

"Mmm... But..." Elysia blinked her large, watery eyes and said pitifully, "Professor Mobius, can you really bear to leave Miss Elf home alone? I promise I won't cause you any more trouble. Professor Mobius, you should trust me sometimes!"

Seeing Elysia's pitiful expression, Mobius fell into thought.

Ten seconds later...

"Clang!"

Mobius slammed the door of the small building shut and locked it from the outside, successfully trapping the pitiful Elysia, who wanted to go out and play, inside the house.

Xu Ziling, standing beside Mobius, looked around at Changkong, which was already shrouded in night. He then said to Mobius, "Doctor, is it a bit inhumane to treat Elysia like this?"

"Humane?" Mobius put away her keys and raised an eyebrow at Xu Ziling. "Little Mouse, you can use that word for anyone, but never for Elysia. Your mercy towards her will only result in her devouring you completely in the end, understand? I've probably said similar things many times. Don't let me hear you describe her with that word again, Little Mouse."

"Mm... Alright." Since Mobius had said so, Xu Ziling didn't ask further and instead looked around.

Honestly, this felt like the first time Xu Ziling had left the small building and the Research Institute since his transmigration. For the first time, he was truly seeing this Honkai world.

And what he saw… well, how to put it, it didn't really make an impression.

Changkong City in the Honkai world didn't seem much different from the tier-one cities Xu Ziling knew before his transmigration. Before the Honkai descended, it seemed it hadn't entered a phase of massive technological development yet. There might have been some high-tech elements, but not enough to make Xu Ziling feel like a primitive person like Blazey entering the Grand View Garden.

The school district was still the school district, the buildings were still the buildings. At night, Changkong was ablaze with neon lights, illuminating the entire area. The only difference was that Xu Ziling's residence had changed from a corporate slave apartment building to a three-story standalone house.

However, calling Mobius's temporary residence a "small building" was a bit inaccurate. From the outside, it looked exactly like a three-story villa, and a house in a good school district at that. There were neighbors around, but they weren't close. The price of such an independent villa, even just for rent, would be at least seven figures.

Speaking of which, it was worth marveling at how good it was to follow Serpent. Even though research funds were tight and daily expenses had to be stretched thin, just look at the living environment… tsk, tsk, it wasn't an exaggeration to say it was the dream of countless corporate slaves before transmigration.

"Alright, stop marveling."

Mobius tightened her clothes, then waved her hand in front of Xu Ziling and said, "Little Mouse, see that school district ahead? That's Chiyu Academy. We'll get there if we cross this street… It's very close to our house, don't you think? I remember when I first came out of Mu, it was Blanca who helped me choose a temporary residence in Changkong City… Thinking about it, maybe she already knew who would be suitable to take her place at Chiyu Academy? Heh, if so, she was quite cunning…"

Xu Ziling looked at Mobius, who had changed into a white shirt, a hip-hugging skirt, and black stockings with high heels. He pondered for a moment and then said, "Doctor, do we need to take a taxi?"

"Of course we should… uh…"

Mobius was about to say they definitely needed a car, as her body couldn't handle the strain.

But halfway through her sentence, she suddenly remembered she didn't have a single cent on her right now… The Research Institute's food, accommodation, and transportation all relied on Elysia, who she had now locked in her room…

Thinking of this, Mobius pondered for a moment, extended a finger towards Xu Ziling, and said:

"Ahem… Of course, we'll walk, Little Mouse. I can tell you clearly, the Research Institute isn't some rich patron; money and funds are saved wherever possible…

And most importantly, although Elysia should have given you a general overview of our era's situation these past few days, you've only just woken up and lack specific knowledge of our time. Letting you walk around and gain some experience is for your own good… Understand?"

Xu Ziling glanced at Mobius's practically empty pockets and immediately understood. He nodded at Mobius and said, "So that's how it is… I was overthinking it, Doctor."

"Ahem… Little Mouse, you, you understand my good intentions, that's all that matters."

Mobius gave a tactical cough, then got up and left the small area in front of the building. She walked along the street leading to the front of Chiyu Academy, saying as she walked, "Oh right, Little Mouse, I need to tell you something. We're not going to Chiyu Academy to pick someone up in the literal sense. Since it's someone Blanca recommended… Heh, I need to give her a little show of force to test her depth."

Xu Ziling understood and followed Mobius, saying, "Doctor, if you need my cooperation later, just say the word."

"Clever."

Mobius snapped her fingers and said, "But you don't need to worry too much, Little Mouse. Before today, I had already made arrangements with the Chiyu Academy administration. Tonight, during evening self-study, I will be giving a lecture at their school as a 'Professor of Biology' and teaching two classes. You just need to go on stage with me as my teaching assistant and read the PowerPoint slides."

"Teaching?"

Xu Ziling murmured the word to himself, then inexplicably asked Mobius, "Doctor, are you so sure that the person Senior Blanca recommended will definitely attend the lecture you're giving?"

"That's not something you need to worry about, Little Mouse."

Mobius said, pulling out her phone and opening a file. She continued, "I've made arrangements with their school. The person Blanca recommended is definitely coming to the lecture I'm giving at their school tonight. As for others… heh, I don't care. But it seems quite a few people have signed up, judging by the list. Take a look yourself."

Xu Ziling took the phone handed to him by Mobius and looked at the list of students who had signed up to attend the lecture. His expression immediately became quite interesting—

[Chiyu Academy, Friday, May 18th Evening, Special Lecture by a Biology Professor - Registration List]

[List: Mei, Kevin, Aisidixi, Oshima Sakihito, Klein, Higashishita Keikawawa, Su…]