Chapter 20: Professor Luo De'an (Revised)

Bai Mu Yun fell silent; the person being monitored seemed to have found a new toy, and their attention to this new toy now far exceeded their true target in Tianmian City.

How truly fortunate...

Letting that person over there go crazy for a while, Bai Mu Yun didn't respond with a single word.

Finally, after he was no longer immersed in his own world, the mechanical voice drew attention back, got to the point, and raised the question about Ying Duo.

"So according to the plan, how long does the task of letting him approach the 'target' need to be carried out?"

This time, Bai Mu Yun's silence lasted a bit longer.

He lowered his eyelids, thick white lashes casting a small shadow beneath his eyes, and replied in a flat tone:

"It should take some time; the 'target' is well protected by Luo De'an Security and hardly ever leaves the academy area."

"Trying to bring the 'target' back without causing a large-scale disturbance is very difficult."

He emphasized the two words "bring back," clearly already regarding it as something in his pocket.

A slight electrical noise came from the speaker, as if the person over there had let out a low, distorted chuckle twisted by the current.

"No problem, we have plenty of patience." The mechanical voice sounded coldly.

"Just right, let them first 'familiarize' themselves; when the time is ripe, after bringing the target back, there will still be someone to accompany him."

"... and he won't be alone."

The last few words were spoken lightly, yet they treated a living person as an object to be casually played with, inside and out revealing a bone-chilling coldness.

Bai Mu Yun said nothing more, just stood silently in place until the speaker's voice faded and the red light of the corner sensor also went out.

The basement finally returned to true silence, leaving only him and the room full of cold instruments.

He lifted his head and glanced at the dark door through which Ying Duo had left; his golden horizontal pupils finally sank into a deep, bottomless indifference.

——————————————

In the period before reporting to Mitra Academy, Ying Duo almost completely stayed in that safe house in District 3, and above his head floated three translucent system texts—

【AFK State......】

After completing that side quest, Ying Duo could not trigger any other quests, but this side quest gave him a rich harvest.

【Level: Lv. 11 (50.1%)】

It was still 150% experience, but the bulk of the quest reward lay in those parts and materials.

The hotel room had long been unrecognizable, piled with the materials and parts Ying Duo had carried back from the bar basement or picked up along the way when returning from District 7.

Worried that Ying Duo might run into trouble on his way back, the bartender pointed him to a small path; although garbage piled up somewhat and the road gave off a foul stench, the advantage was that hardly anyone passed by.

And in Ying Duo's eyes, it was practically a materials paradise.

Thus, it turned into this scene.

The originally clean and tidy room was piled with "dazzling array" of trash, now literally a small recycling station.

Ying Duo sat in the middle of this pile of "trash," constantly activating the 【Modification】 skill.

Disassembling, assembling, debugging...

Ying Guang Lu lines in midair pulled them around, accompanied by the characteristic screech of metal friction, and one after another 【Simple Explosive Device】 was born in his hands.

【Ding! Modification skill proficiency maxed!】

【Modification Lv. 1 → Lv. 2】

【Triggered skill: Engraving Lv. 0】

【Can engrave rune circuits on materials or parts, to cooperate in manufacturing more complex weapons】

The system's prompt sounds kept ringing.

As the 【Modification】 skill level increased, Ying Duo processed materials faster, and the damage range of the finished items also slightly increased.

Originally all white quality, now there is a small chance to produce green quality.

In this world, instruments and everything else seem to rely on energy drive, and what delivers energy to various places and lets it exert its corresponding function are the runes.

Ying Duo searched for rune-related news on the TV and discovered news of a career path he had once abandoned—Rune Master.

Rune Masters are a group of Special Ability Practitioners who draw runes in midair with energy and infuse energy into them to achieve the corresponding effect.

Put simply, they are mages.

However, the title Rune Master is not exclusive to them, because it requires strong energy control; few Special Ability Practitioners can reach this level, and most Rune Masters still work engraving runes onto some carriers.

This kind of work doesn't demand much—just need to know what a rune looks like, then trace it with energy—but the pressure and technique of the application are still quite particular.

So, Ying Duo began researching engraving runes on materials again; firearms-type weapons basically need him to engrave runes himself.

Fortunately, Bai Mu Yun gave him sufficiently detailed blueprints; he can first learn the function and method of each rune, then proceed to manufacture firearms weapons.

One moment of inattention, and Yang Yixie's little game of playing with engraving runes got a bit addictive.

After he came to his senses, his inventory slots were stacked with quite a few finished products; aside from several explosive devices, there were two 【Standard Energy Pistols】 (green) that he had simply modified, slightly increasing fire rate and stability.

"Good thing I earlier put points into strength on a whim."

Yang Yixie looked at those weapons for which he already had the blueprints but could not yet manufacture due to insufficient 【Modification】 and 【Engraving】 levels, and secretly felt relieved.

In the game settings, a character can equip only a limited number of weapons at once, usually one main and one side; large weapons such as heavy energy cannons or sniper rifles occupy two slots and also impose a heavy burden on carrying capacity.

Directly affecting carrying capacity is the strength attribute; if the load is too high, even a high agility value becomes difficult to move quickly.

As for why he went crazy making so many explosives...... probably because this thing requires the least material, the simplest formula, and gives the highest efficiency for grinding proficiency?

As the saying goes, explosion is art, efficiency is life.

When the in-game time jumped to the morning of the reporting day, the new quest prompt refreshed on schedule.

【Main quest updated: Go to Mitra Theological Academy for reporting.】

【Quest description: The new student registration day has arrived; please go to the academy's Central Plaza to complete registration procedures and receive your student ID and related supplies.】

【Location: Mitra Theological Academy-Central Plaza (map marked)】

【Time: Before 17:00 today】

【Note: Please prepare your enrollment materials in advance, guard against loss.】

Ying Duo immediately stopped the work in his hands, stood up, packed up everything on the ground and took it away, without any reluctance walked out of this safe house that he had messed up into a mess, heading toward the direction of the train station.

————————————————

Inside the office of a tall tower at Mitra Theological Academy.

Professor Su was standing before the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking down.

His posture was straight as a pine; at this moment he seemed to have shed the gentle, false exterior he usually wore as a teacher, and even in his teacher's uniform could not conceal the fierce aura born of his experience in blood and smoke.

The golden morning light draped a soft golden glow over the grand complex of buildings below that blended Gothic and futuristic styles, and the bustling crowds filled the spacious central plaza.

Countless freshmen, dressed in various ways and wearing expressions of anticipation or curiosity, were pouring into the plaza from the steadily arriving small vehicles or pedestrian walkways; unlike Ying Duo, who only needed to wait three days for the final round of assessments, everyone else had long been looking forward to this day of the official start of school.

Time had not dulled their enthusiasm; instead, they grew even more eager, the air filled with vigorous vitality and...... the inevitable clamor.

Just as...... they were back then.

Su Jingchuan's sharp gaze swept over the crowd, clearly searching for something.

"I heard that in this year's final entrance examination, there's quite an interesting little guy?"

A voice tinged with a hint of weariness sounded from behind him.

Su Jingchuan did not turn around; he had already identified the person by their footsteps and breath, merely giving a slight nod, his tone carrying respect.

"Professor Luo De'an, have you heard about it as well?"

Professor Luo De'an walked slowly to the window and stood shoulder to shoulder with Su Jingchuan.

His temples were already flecked with white, his face bearing the gentleness and wisdom typical of a scholar, but deep within his profound eyes lay an indelible fatigue and sorrow.

Professor Luo De'an had once been one of the Church's most outstanding mutation researchers, for years accompanying the Supervision Bureau's squads into dangerous zones; his research saved countless fringe settlements, earning him great prestige in both academia and the public.

It was not until a rare, massive Aberrant Species uprising several years ago destroyed his hometown that he, disheartened, withdrew and took on an honorary professorship at Mitra Academy.

Occasionally he gives a few lectures, doing what he can for those survivors from back then.