Twin Towers

"What? You two are going as well?"

In the office, Wu Zhangkong looked at the three people standing in a row before him and spoke with some surprise.

Tang Wulin's decision to go had been within his expectations. After all, some time had passed since the start of the term, and he knew that Tang Wulin was rather short of money. Since he had been willing to get into a fight with someone over that sort of thing, his family probably was not doing very well either.

But the decisions of the other two left him somewhat baffled.

First was Xie Xie. As the young master of the Xie Family, one of Eastsea City's major mecha families, he should not have been short of money. As for cultivation, with Twin Martial Souls, he ought to have had an excellent chance of breaking through to rank ninety.

As for Gu Yuena, she surprised him even more.

He still could not forget the scene when that girl had come to register.

At the time, he had already begun teaching. That girl had arrived late, so he stopped her and decided to test her, partly to give her a warning and let her know that school rules could not be violated at will.

But who could have expected her to knock down the entire class by herself?

Later, when he took a closer look, he realized, good heavens, she actually possessed the legendary Silver Dragon Martial Soul.

Although this Martial Soul did not possess the same ultimate power as the Golden Dragon, it controlled seven elements, and its affinity with every one of them was close to the extreme. It could be said to be among the very top Super Martial Souls.

Furthermore, according to the dean, the force behind her was far from simple. She did not appear to be a local of Eastsea City.

From that perspective, she had even less reason to call that so-called Soul Guidance Communicator number, right?

"Well, Teacher Wu, actually, Wulin wanted to go. I wasn't really comfortable with that, so I thought I'd accompany him." Xie Xie stammered out an explanation, then hurriedly nudged Tang Wulin with his elbow, signaling him to say something.

Seeing this, Tang Wulin hurriedly spoke up as well. "That's right, Teacher Wu. Didn't you say we should be as careful as possible? So I asked him to come with me. Having one more person means one more layer of protection."

"Hmph. Protection means having the means to ensure your safety, not bringing along a burden who cannot even beat you. I think you're the one who wants to go, Xie Xie." Unexpectedly, Wu Zhangkong snorted and exposed their clumsy lie without mercy.

"This... Well... Teacher Wu, I..."

"All right, I don't care what you do. It's your own decision, after all. Remember to tell your parents, understand?" Wu Zhangkong waved his hand, then looked toward Gu Yuena. His perpetually impassive face softened somewhat. "What about you? What excuse are you going to make up?"

Gu Yuena tilted her head. "Huh? I have to make up an excuse too? How troublesome."

She had thought she only needed to come and inform him. Even that already seemed troublesome to her.

"Tsk—Fine, do as you please. Now get out. Don't skip this afternoon's training."

With that, Wu Zhangkong dismissed them.

Soon, it was after school. Xie Xie worked up his courage and pulled Tang Wulin over to find Gu Yuena, suggesting that they make the call together and see what happened.

Gu Yuena thought about it and agreed.

Xie Xie quickly took out his Soul Guidance Communicator, dialed the number Wu Zhangkong had left behind, and turned on the speaker.

There was not even a busy signal from the other side. The call was answered almost the instant it connected.

Then a sweet female voice rang out. Listening closely, however, one could sense a mechanical quality in it. It clearly did not sound much like a real person.

"Hello. Welcome to the Eastsea City First Laboratory of Anti-Entropy Technology. How may we assist you?"

What was this?

Xie Xie raised his head and looked at Tang Wulin for help. Clearly, he had not expected the other side to respond like this.

Tang Wulin shook his head as well. He did not understand it either.

But... Anti-Entropy Technology... That sounded like the name of a company. And its name ended with... Laboratory?

Tang Wulin suddenly thought of what he had experienced several years ago.

The two of them were still dazed, but Gu Yuena was not the type to hold herself back. In particular, for certain indescribable reasons, she had been suppressing quite a bit of anger and was currently in a highly volatile state.

She immediately snatched Xie Xie's Soul Guidance Communicator and shouted, "Why are you asking? Isn't this the communication number you left at the academy?"

"Keyword 'academy' detected." The female voice on the other end detected the keyword and immediately changed its tone. "Hello, outstanding students of Eastsea Academy. Welcome to our laboratory. Please proceed to Building No. 9 on Central Street in Eastsea City before 8 p.m. today. Latecomers will not be received."

With that, the other side ended the Soul Guidance Communicator call.

Listening to the busy signal, Tang Wulin and Xie Xie looked at each other.

What was all that supposed to mean? They were being so mysterious...

"Wulin, should we still go?" Xie Xie asked.

"Let's go. We won't lose anything by taking a look..." Tang Wulin scratched his head, then gritted his teeth and decided to go see for himself.

The two of them then looked toward Gu Yuena.

"What are you looking at? Do you think you dare go while I don't?" Gu Yuena widened her eyes, clearly unwilling to back down.

"Then should we go together after dinner?"

Tang Wulin looked up at the time. Going over after dinner would be just right.

"Sure!"

Gu Yuena nodded as well. "I have no objections."

After dinner, the three of them set out. It was not far from Central Street, and it would not take long to walk there, so they decided to go on foot.

Of course, before setting off, Xie Xie still informed his family. As for Tang Wulin, he did not want his parents to worry, so he did not tell them.

As for Gu Yuena...

Where would she even get parents?

"Building No. 9 on Central Street... Building No. 9..."

As they walked, Xie Xie kept muttering the name. Suddenly, he clapped both hands and exclaimed, "Damn! How could I have forgotten about this?"

"Hm? What did you remember now, Xie Xie?" Tang Wulin asked curiously.

Even Gu Yuena turned her head to see what this fellow was plotting now.

"Ah, no wonder the name sounded so familiar... If I remember correctly, isn't Building No. 9 the building closest to the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City?"

"Huh? What does that have to do with anything?"

Tang Wulin scratched his head. As someone from out of town, he clearly knew nothing about this.

"Well... When Eastsea City was first built, they specifically reserved a section of land in the central district and constructed several buildings there to attract major forces. Quite a few forces eventually settled there. For example, Building No. 1 is the administrative hall. Building No. 8, where the Spirit Pagoda is located, and Building No. 9 were built together, according to the same standards, and are equally tall."

"People in Eastsea City used to call the two buildings the Twin Towers. Later, the wealthy Spirit Pagoda bought Building No. 8. Apparently, they originally wanted to buy Building No. 9 as well, but it never worked out."

"Yet that person told us to go to Building No. 9. Doesn't that mean Building No. 9 has an owner now? Anti-Entropy Technology?"

Xie Xie stroked his chin like a master detective, feeling as though he had uncovered the truth.

"The Twin Towers?" Tang Wulin murmured.

For some reason, he felt that the name seemed... somewhat inauspicious?