Equipment Division

Lu Mingfei's heart sank.

The Board of Trustees did not have a very good reputation within Cassel College. Thanks to the Night Watchers Forum personally established by the vice principal, "Night Watchman," the students had always dared to say anything there.

Lu Mingfei had once come across an anonymous post titled The Seven Sins of the Board of Trustees, listing offenses ranging from "interfering with Executive Division missions" and "attempting to cancel the women's swimming competition" to "withholding club funding"...

What a disgraceful record. Truly disgraceful.

But his bloodline issue should have been resolved after the Bronze Project ended. Why was the Board of Trustees still so concerned about him?

He silently followed behind the professor, passing through the glass-domed corridor of the First Cafeteria before arriving at an inconspicuous corner in front of a building resembling a restroom.

Lu Mingfei looked utterly confused, while Goodrian calmly knocked several stone bricks on the wall in sequence. Then, an extremely futuristic-looking panel appeared.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa..."

Lu Mingfei widened his eyes and pointed ahead.

"What kind of way is that to open a door, Professor? Diagon Alley?"

"Just iris verification," Goodrian said dismissively, as if he had long since grown used to it. "Something the Equipment Division came up with."

They entered an incredibly heavy, square elevator and descended for a long time before finally reaching their destination.

The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a massive underground space brimming with futuristic technology. The surrounding walls were covered in flashing indicator lights and intricate pipes.

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. The sight before him reminded him of a secret base from a science fiction movie.

"Welcome to Wattheim."

Professor Goodrian patted his shoulder.

"This is the core area of the Equipment Division. Cassel College's finest technology and equipment are all born here."

Before Lu Mingfei could respond, a strange figure emerged from somewhere unknown and appeared in front of him.

The newcomer wore a heavy, fully sealed biohazard suit, rubber boots, protective goggles, and a respirator, with a portable oxygen tube included as well.

"You must be our S-Rank Lu Mingfei, right?"

She enthusiastically extended her hand.

Huff—wheeze—huff—wheeze—

Amid her heavy breathing, Lu Mingfei shook her hand while trying to see her face through her protective goggles.

"Hello."

"I'm Deputy Director Carl. I came specially to receive you."

She spoke.

Lu Mingfei looked flattered beyond belief.

"So you're the deputy director... Thank you for coming to receive me. You're too kind."

Deputy Director Carl shook her head.

"You're the only S-Rank we've had in so many years. You're an extremely valuable test subject, worthy of being welcomed by me. When we heard you were coming this time, we specifically brought out all the testing equipment that had been useless before..."

Lu Mingfei swallowed, a vague sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

He followed Deputy Director Carl, who was wrapped up as though she had just crawled out of Chernobyl, stumbling through corridors where steampunk aesthetics intertwined with futuristic technology.

Pipes rumbled overhead. Unknown liquids gurgled through transparent reinforced glass tubes, glowing with fluorescent light.

"What's that?"

Lu Mingfei pointed overhead and asked curiously.

"That?" Deputy Director Carl explained unhurriedly. "It's just decoration."

"What?"

Lu Mingfei was a little dumbfounded.

"Decoration, decoration. Including the hall you saw earlier, it's all just decoration. Don't you think this decorating style perfectly fits the Equipment Division's image?"

Deputy Director Carl gave him a thumbs-up.

Fits my ass!

Lu Mingfei screamed inwardly.

Your image was completely off track, okay? Weren't you supposed to be scientific madmen? No... Actually, maybe, perhaps, it really did fit rather well?

The unease in Lu Mingfei's heart deepened once more.

"Um... Deputy Director, will the tests be complicated? About how long will they take?"

Lu Mingfei tried and failed to glean even a hint of meaning from behind her hazy protective goggles.

"Complicated? No, no, no, S-Rank!"

Carl's voice came through her respirator with a strange buzzing resonance, sounding exceptionally excited.

"What we pursue is the perfect balance between efficiency and safety! As for time? That depends on how many surprises your bloodline can bring us, and... how long the equipment can hold out!"

She patted a thick silver pipe beside her.

"Don't worry. This time, we've activated Titanic-class protection! Even if you suddenly transform into a First-Generation Species, it can theoretically hold out for... well, 3.7 seconds!"

Lu Mingfei suppressed the urge to complain. There were simply too many things to complain about, and for a moment, he did not even know where to start...

They eventually arrived at a huge space resembling an indoor stadium, except the floor and part of the walls were covered in thick energy-absorbing material. High-speed cameras, laser grids, and all sorts of unidentifiable sensors filled the surrounding area.

At the center of the venue stood a solitary... thing that looked like an oversized bathroom scale with restraint straps? Beside it stood a cylinder covered in sensing pads, as well as a sealed chamber wrapped in thick transparent material, its internal structure complex.

Beyond the glass wall stood seven or eight similarly armed figures in matching "post-apocalypse survival" outfits. They pointed at him through the glass while holding tablets. One of them was even adjusting a hydraulic device that looked capable of lifting an elephant, producing dull inflation sounds.

"Come on, S-Rank! Warm-up round!"

Deputy Director Carl pointed at the oversized scale.

"Stand on it! Relax! We'll precisely measure your... uh, mass distribution!"

Lu Mingfei braced himself and stepped onto the "scale." The instant his feet were planted, several flexible restraint straps shot out from the edges with a swish, instantly securing him in a slightly comical attention stance.

"Basic mass scan initiated!"

Carl's voice came through the built-in speakers with a peculiar solemnity, as though she had just announced a rocket launch.

Bzz—

The platform beneath his feet emitted a low hum. Countless tiny laser beams swept over Lu Mingfei's body, while a gentle yet intensely noticeable light lit up inside the helmet, accompanied by the faint crackle of electricity.

Lu Mingfei felt like a salted fish being scanned at a supermarket checkout counter.

"This muscle density... wow! Far beyond the A-Rank average! Bone strength... tsk tsk, Agent Lu, were you raised on dragon milk?" a researcher exclaimed in amazement.

Dragon milk my ass! I drank tears from the Flask in the Lands Between!

Still, after returning from the Lands Between, his body had indeed gained some of the Tarnished's traits, though only a portion of them.

He had a suspicion.

Perhaps the two worlds actually used the same body. It was only because their world rules differed that they manifested differently.