Night.
Under the kerosene lamp, Reilo rubbed his tired eyes and set down the bloodstained dissecting knife.
He lowered his head and recorded, one by one, the dissection information on the tadpole he had just obtained in the Ice Fire Bird notebook. After adding vivid illustrations and annotations, Reilo let out a sigh of relief and stretched slightly.
"Come to think of it, tadpoles look harmless to humans and animals on a macroscopic level, but under a magnifying glass, their microscopic appearance is actually so terrifying—like some dreadful creature from a nightmare."
Reilo seemed rather moved by the appearance of the tadpole he had just observed in detail through a magnifying glass.
After finishing his notes, Reilo put the notebook into the Space Box. After thinking for a moment, he took a transparent glass bottle from the Space Box. When he unscrewed the cap, the faintly pungent smell of preservative fluid spread through the room.
After these two days, Reilo had begun to grow accustomed to the smell. He merely frowned slightly before picking up the tweezers, placing the tadpole specimen inside the bottle, and sealing it again.
There were many ways to preserve specimens. Glass bottles filled with preservative fluid were the most mature and widespread method.
Under the kerosene lamp, Reilo admired the tadpole specimen in the bottle as though he were admiring the most beautiful jewel in the world. A smug curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.
With a satisfied look, Reilo put the specimen into the Space Box.
For scholars who studied Evolution's Profound Meaning, the number and quality of their specimens almost determined the extent of their knowledge. As an Initiate, Reilo had already begun following his instincts and enriching his specimen collection.
It was already deep into the night. Even the southeastern old district where Reilo's little house stood had fallen completely silent.
"Heh..."
Reilo yawned and stood up.
After sitting motionless for an entire day, his body had grown stiff. When he stood, his rigid bones actually made several cracking sounds. Reilo twisted his neck, producing another series of cracks.
After stretching, Reilo looked around his exquisite little house.
Because the house was simply too small, Reilo had used an old little wooden table to make a simple laboratory bench beside the balcony window. Since he had no Crystal Lamp, he used a kerosene lamp instead.
For Reilo, life could not be called difficult, but as a scholar's experimental environment, it was truly crude.
"Even if I light both kerosene lamps at once, it's still not bright enough. The constantly flickering flames are practically torture when conducting detailed observations through a magnifying glass. If this continues for long, it'll inevitably damage my eyes, and I'll have to wear glasses like my mentor. Come to think of it... I heard from my senior fellow apprentice that Mentor Gubo's scholarly career was also extremely difficult when he was young."
Muttering to himself, Reilo took a rag and repeatedly cleaned the crude laboratory bench. He then dipped it in some alcohol and cleaned the dissecting knife, tray, and other tools.
"I should spend some gold coins and buy a Crystal Lamp one of these days!"
Crystal Lamps used energy crystals as fuel, and their brightness was far beyond anything kerosene lamps could match. They generally cost around one hundred and fifty silver coins, which ordinary families could not afford.
Fortunately, Crystal Lamps consumed very little energy. A single energy crystal could last for several years. They were one of the Practical Technology inventions of the Utoran Academy of Natural Sciences and had been widely promoted throughout the human duchies.
It could be said that even though the Utoran Natural Academy's status among the major natural academies had plummeted after the Church suppressed it over the Heliocentric Theory, it was still the wealthiest of the academies. Many practical inventions had spread from the Utoran Duchy.
Suddenly!
"Ah! Who are you people?"
A terrified shout from outside the window shattered the silent depths of the night.
Reilo instinctively put down the cloth in his hand, opened the window, and looked down.
He saw several blurry Black Shadows surrounding and attacking a figure in the middle of the street. The victim quickly found himself unable to hold out. With a bang, a flying knife thrown by the besieged figure shattered the public Crystal Lamp on the street. The light disappeared, leaving only the clang of metal striking metal in the darkness, along with terrified cries for help.
After several breaths.
The fighting stopped, and the entire street fell silent. But Reilo knew that, just like him, countless eyes nearby were watching from the darkness.
"Hiss!"
Standing on the third-floor balcony, Reilo was secretly shocked.
Those people had actually dared to commit murder openly within the academy—and it had happened right before his eyes. It seemed he would have to be more careful in the future to avoid being dragged into some kind of conflict.
Hic...
A belch came from the neighboring balcony. Reilo looked over and saw that it was his widowed neighbor, Marilyn.
"G-good evening, Sis Marilyn."
Remembering the man's kind warning and the terrifying rumors about the woman before him, Reilo instinctively tensed up, a trace of fear rising in his heart.
Marilyn was still sitting on the balcony in a loose nightgown. She held a cigarette between the fingers of one hand and a bottle of liquor in the other, her eyes already hazy with drunkenness.
With a cold smile at the corners of her lips, Marilyn seemed to have grown accustomed to such scenes. She looked drunkenly toward Reilo.
"This is the most chaotic street in the academy, and also the street farthest from the academy's guardians. But this is already the sixth murder this month, far more than before. It seems some faction has set its sights on this place."
After saying that, Marilyn raised her head and gulped down a mouthful of strong liquor. She carelessly wiped her lips, took another drag from her cigarette, and blew out the smoke.
Marilyn raised her head and looked gloomily at the profound starry sky.
Hoot hoot hoot hoot.
The bright moon hung beneath the boundless starry sky.
A flock of owls with eerie green eyes flapped over. Some landed on the damaged public streetlamp to repair it. Others landed beside the corpse in the road, confirming that the victim was dead before analyzing the murderer's motive. Still others flew in all directions, searching for witnesses and the perpetrator.
One of the owls happened to fly toward Reilo.
"Hoot hoot, I'm a guardian of Gran Academy. I'm investigating this series of vicious murders. Did you witness the attack just now?"
The owl looked much like an ordinary owl, but Reilo knew that it was a Psychic Magic Beast specially raised by the academy.
"Uh, I saw three men in black attack the victim. I only saw it for a few seconds before the streetlamp broke. After that, I couldn't see anything."
To Reilo's astonishment, the owl actually produced a quill pen. It nodded as it seriously recorded Reilo's testimony, its meticulous appearance utterly adorable.
"Good. Thank you for your cooperation. Hoot hoot hoot."
After recording Reilo's statement, the owl did not ask any more questions. It spread its wings and flew away.
A moment later.
Several officers took away the corpse, and the street returned to peace.
"Sis Marilyn, I'm going back to rest."
Suddenly, Marilyn seemed to think of something. She looked at Reilo again and said jokingly, "If you're interested in studying the human body, this place is actually a good source of specimens."
"Ah!"
Reilo jumped in fright and hurriedly said, "N-no, no, I'm not interested!"
Seeing how terrified Reilo looked, the drunken Marilyn giggled. Her loose nightgown inadvertently revealed a hint of allure, but she did not care in the slightest. Reilo, however, felt somewhat embarrassed.
No wonder Reilo had reacted with such terror.
Collecting human specimens and conducting experimental research on the human body had existed for thousands of years. They were the Witchers!
It was precisely through extensive experimentation on the human body that Witchers had developed all kinds of methods for killing without a trace, as well as the terrifying legends about eating children's eyes. They had even created the terrifying Black Death that had nearly driven humanity to extinction!
Later, although the major natural academies had quietly sprung up throughout the duchies amid the power struggle between the Royal Family and the Church, experimental research on the human body remained an absolute taboo among scholars. In recent years, the conflict between Balda Natural Academy and the Church had also arisen because Balda Natural Academy's research into the mysteries of the human body might very well involve human experimentation!
Although nearly every scholar knew that the Evil Witchers must have discovered some extremely powerful force through their research on the human body, and that Balda Natural Academy's rise in recent years might well have come from studying the remnants left behind by certain Evil Witchers, no scholar outside the Balda Duchy dared to face the pressure of a Church investigation.
"Wait."
Suddenly, Marilyn called out to Reilo. With one finger crooked, she smiled drunkenly and said, "Come here."
"Huh?"
Go over?
Looking at this neighborly widow's lazy and uninhibited air after seven-tenths of a drunken haze, and at the snowy whiteness inadvertently revealed by her loose robes, Reilo's mind began to run wild. His mouth went dry, his face flushed all the way to his neck, and he hesitated.
Gulp...
Reilo swallowed. His nervousness came either from the allure of this fiery widow or from his fear of all the rumors surrounding her as a Poisoner.
"Come here, quickly!"
Marilyn looked impatient. Reilo bit his lips tightly, his steps somewhat unsteady, his heart pounding. In a mosquito-like voice from the depths of his throat, he murmured, "I'm going to sleep."
"Bring your face over here."
Riding the excitement of drunkenness, Marilyn spoke in a commanding tone.
With his mind completely blank, Reilo only felt her slender index finger gently brush the tip of his nose. While Reilo stared in bewilderment, Marilyn showed him the fingertip of her index finger.
"The kerosene lamp smoked you into a little cat. Hee hee hee."
It turned out that after lighting the kerosene lamp, Reilo had spent too long bent over his experiments, and the lamp smoke had blackened his nose.
Ashamed of the fleeting wicked thought he had just entertained, Reilo hurriedly wiped his nose. Flustered, he said, "I was in too much of a hurry just now. I'm really sorry, Sis Marilyn. Good night!"
With that, Reilo pulled the curtains shut and ran back into his room.
"Hic."
Marilyn dragged the liquor bottle as she staggered back inside, murmuring, "What a cute little fellow..."
Happy Spring Festival! I wish everyone a happy Spring Festival, good health, the fulfillment of all your wishes, and success in everything! In the new year, may you devote yourselves to building our great motherland with even greater enthusiasm and make your lives even happier. May everyone have a wonderful family of their own~~~ O(∩_∩)O~~~ And while I'm here, please give me some recommendation votes and add this to your collection, teehee~