The School Was About to Explode

"Hey! Where did everyone else at your school go? Why is the whole place empty?" Yan Yang demanded sharply.

Doctor Poppy chuckled, his tone casual. "Well... naturally, we carried out the necessary 'personnel optimization' and 'asset transfer'..."

He did not explain further. Was he supposed to say, "I cleaned up all those troublesome companions for you. No need to thank me"?

In this line of work, the useless were discarded, the willing were kept. An iron-fisted approach was the basic rule.

Of course, the special boy before him was held to a different standard—he was a target highly valued by those above, and a key component of the future plan. He deserved special treatment.

Before that, though, it would not hurt to test just how special he really was.

The smile on Doctor Poppy's face grew deeper and more dangerous as he casually tapped a sophisticated device disguised as a watch on his wrist.

"Chat time is over, my dear troublemaker." Poppy gave an elegant, somewhat exaggerated farewell bow. "Thank you for your enthusiastic cooperation. As a reward, let me give you some good news—this school, which bears the technology of a bygone era, has successfully fulfilled its historical mission."

"In ten minutes, the explosives planted in the load-bearing structures and core laboratories will send this place... along with all those little flaws the League must never discover, straight to hell."

He paused, sounding as relaxed as if he were discussing the weather. "Of course, if you and those little burdens you worked so hard to save have not escaped far enough by then... I'm afraid you'll become the most dazzling fireworks at this farewell ceremony."

Before his words had even faded, Poppy vanished from where he stood—perhaps using some advanced short-range teleportation technology.

"Enjoy... your escape." His final voice