Volume Three: The Academy Goes Completely Berserk - Chapter 217: A Sense of Incongruity

South of the Central United Academy --

The southern part of the Central United Academy is a lush jungle, with giant trees reaching hundreds of meters in height occupying a large area. Many research stations related to ecology are located here, and some forestry schools are also located here.

However, all the institutions are located only on the edge of the jungle. The leadership of the Central United Academy has issued an order that, in order to protect the natural ecology, no organization is allowed to build facilities in the heart of the jungle.

--Whatever, it's just a pretext.

Deep in the jungle, underground --

Beneath the vast sea of trees lies Hidden World formed by countless intertwined, enormous tree roots. The area hundreds of meters below the surface has been completely hollowed out. In this expansive underground space, powerful lights arranged in a special order illuminate the darkness, and numerous thick, long roots extend from the cave ceiling and walls, some as thick as a dozen people could hug.

Several roots blended perfectly with the underground buildings, countless enormous roots entwined around a large structure in the center of the hollow. At first glance, this structure resembled a dock warehouse, but it was much larger. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that it was actually a collection of countless containers, shelves, and metal cages. Narrow passageways connected the different containers and shelves, through which many people in white coats went in and out. Most of them were elderly, with white hair, but their eyes shone with wisdom; they were clearly devoted old scholars engrossed in their research.

Over the course of more than a thousand years since its establishment, countless rare and precious treasures have flowed into the Central United Academy ILI), each with extremely high research value, including many mysterious and dangerous items. A considerable number of these items are not known to the public, and some experiments on them have crossed the line of human morality. Therefore, the Central United Academy has specially built several secret locations to contain and study these items.

This station, located underground in the heart of the forest, is numbered six and commonly known as District Six.

"Doctor Liao, some new items have arrived. Please go and receive them."

"Where's the Doctor Phoenix in charge of dmail? They need to speak with him!"

"The structure of this corpse is worth studying. Go find Doctor Black Jack..."

"It's a transfer order for special personnel. Send Ayi over there!"

"What's the status of the reports from 682 and 914? If they're not handed in within an hour, he'll have to spend the night in 087!"

"Hey assistant over there! I already told you not to wear stockings in the flammable goods section!"

Although it was a research facility, various noises were constant, but no one cared because the special items that could not be exposed to noise had been rigorously soundproofed.

In the very center of District Six, beneath a hollow underground cavity...

"034's dagger, everything is normal, next..."

"Capsule 876, everything is normal, next..."

"Coffee machine 294, everything is working properly, next..."

This was a maze-like place, like a mental hospital ward with deliberately intricate corridors. The researchers entered one room after another in an orderly fashion, then came out of one room and entered the next, methodically checking the condition of the stored items.

This is Sector Six, the storage area for classified items.

The most special items among special items, the most confidential items among confidential items, and the most dangerous items among dangerous items are all stored here.

"Finally, it's number 000..."

Seven or eight researchers walked into the innermost room, accompanied by more than twenty security personnel. This was the last and most crucial item in the daily routine check.

People filed in, their lanterns illuminating the darkness, while the emerald green light bathed the white artificial light.

Everyone shivered the moment they entered.

A box about one foot square was placed in the center of the room.

The box was made of a transparent material and looked very sturdy. Inside was a ball of luminous green light. Upon closer inspection, there was a small, fleshy lump inside the light.

"Honestly... no matter how many times I've been here, I always get a jolt of excitement the moment I step through the door, Brights."

"Yes, Clef, although this thing has been feigning death for hundreds of millions of years."

"Fake death? Are you sure? He looks so full of life."

"What do you know, you jack-of -Junkman? Have you ever seen a living creature that hasn't needed to eat for hundreds of millions of years? Even otherworldly spirits need to regularly consume pure elements! Although various tests show that it is indeed in a state of suspended animation, but—"

Thump...

The dull thumping of heartbeats struck everyone's chests like a heavy hammer.

Brights paused for a moment, then continued, "But it's still 'beating,' like the heartbeat of a living thing, even though all the scans show there's nothing in this thing that could be called a heart. And the beating frequency is very slow, maybe once an hour at most."

"Strange thing."

"It's a strange thing, but it's very significant."

"Just because it's a relic of the feathered serpent?"

"They are said to be the earliest beings on the Spirit Star."

"What earliest life form? You actually believe that? How could multicellular organisms possibly appear before single-celled organisms? That legend is complete nonsense."

"I'd rather complain about this than that—shouldn't this thing be renamed? 'Serpent's Egg,' supposedly it was indeed egg-shaped hundreds of years ago, but now it's completely shriveled into a lump of flesh!"

Hahaha... These two researchers showed absolutely no tension. After confirming the status of the Serpent's Egg, they locked the door and left.

Thump...

In the now quiet room, the Serpent's Egg throbbed again.

It's slightly faster than the theoretical frequency.

It's as if they're expecting something.

"...(chewing, chewing)"

As usual, we ate dinner at seven o'clock.

However, I felt very uncomfortable during this meal.

No, it's less about feeling uncomfortable and more about feeling unnatural.

There are many things that I find strange.

First, a large number of people are missing.

Tonight's dinner was just me, Haoyue, Xiao Wu, and Givinia; Xiao and the group of little girls were nowhere to be found.

Secondly, the food was incredibly delicious.

Xiao Wu, whose culinary skills are already amazing, really pulled out all the stops this time. Every dish was incredibly delicious and exquisite, far beyond what can be described simply as "a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate." I was truly amazed at how she could create so many dishes with such simple ingredients. I really want to marry her!

"Hey, how does it taste?" Xiao Wu asked, carefully observing my face.

"Marry me!"

"Don't want." --!

Huge! Blow!

"Hey, hey! Don't look so devastated. If you really want to, you can marry me temporarily!"

What? You agreed?

If it were the usual Xiao Wu, she would just give me a cold look and say, "Are you an idiot?" before turning her head away.

Why did it suddenly go soft today?

"... Xiao Wu?"

"What's wrong? I promised you!"

"Are you out of your mind...?"

Do you want to fight?

Xiao Wu her hand on the table, however—

"Gulp--cough! Cough cough cough cough!"

Suddenly, Givinia clutched her chest and coughed violently, her delicate face contorted in pain.

"What's wrong Givinia?" I asked quickly.

"It's nothing... I was just stuck, but it's fine now."

"Oh, it's alright now..."

Did she just glance at Xiao Wu very quickly?

"Ah... uh, sorry Ye, I was just joking when I said 'want to fight'."

On the other hand, Xiao Wu's attitude suddenly changed.

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong with you? You're behaving strangely..."

"Um, I just—"

"There's nothing strange about it."

Haoyue, who had been silent all along, spoke up at this moment.

"Even an ugly caterpillar can transform into a beautiful butterfly, let alone this delinquent girl? Perhaps she's recently decided to turn over a new leaf, leave behind her violent past self, and become a well-behaved and academically excellent student."

"You're talking nonsense..." I couldn't help but retort.

"Uh... ah... well, I really do need to turn over a new leaf."

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!?"

"Actually... after returning from the battle at the fountain square, I realized that what makes the world a better place is not violence, but love, justice, and peace. So I also want to... change myself, that's all."

Xiao Wu, are you serious? If you really want to change your ways, why do you look like you're about to devour the moon?

"Hmm~ You've lived up to my expectations all this time. Congratulations, Xiao Wu! The wayward girl has finally turned back. You're invaluable."

"... Heh, heh heh heh heh, that's right..."

Haoyue smiled slyly, while Xiao Wu seemed very forced.

"Are you guys performing a comedy routine...? Besides that, what about Xiao and those kids?" I asked, finally getting to the point that had been bothering me.

"As for those kids, I recently found another pretty nice empty dormitory building and had them all move there," Xiao Wu said.

"Why?"

"Of course--"

"This is training for an early reintegration into society!"

Xiao Wu was about to speak when Givinia abruptly interrupted her, saying, "Seriously, you're not a member from World's Little Corner, are you...?"

"Ah, yes, that's right. It's not good to always let them treat this as a safe haven. Let's start by training their self-reliance and teaching them to live in a group on their own."

"What about Xiao?"

"After all, it's still not reassuring to have a group of kids, so Xiao will be in charge of guiding them, teaching them things like finance and cooking."

"But why go through the trouble of building another house? So Xiao Wu, you're actually rich?"

"This... was provided by someone, Ling Ye or something... Anyway, don't worry, it's perfectly legitimate!"

"Oh..."

I lowered my head and silently ate my rice.

"There's something strange about everyone today..."

A strange sense of unease lingers.

I don't know why.

I've always felt a sense of distance between myself and these people I've always considered companions.

"..."

In this eerie atmosphere, dinner ended.

"Whew, it's rare to have such a sumptuous meal, I'm so satisfied!"

Although I had some doubts, the delicious food quickly dispelled my worries; the joy of being a foodie is so simple.

"Do you like it?" Xiao Wu asked.

"Of course I like it."

"If you like, you can make it every day."

"Real!?"

"However, consider it my way of giving back; you'll be in charge of washing the dishes from now on."

"Huh? Can't we take turns? Didn't the other two eat too?"

"You've always done the least housework, haven't you?"

"..."

I was speechless and could only silently clean up the dishes and hurry to the kitchen.

Only the three of them were left together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really want to marry Xiao Wu... no, I want to be married by Xiao Wu.