Chapter 255: Fang Zhiyan: You Won

Fang Zhiyan was teased by Ying Duo's inexplicably somewhat plaintive tone into another low laugh.

"It's not too late to know now," Fang Zhiyan said, his tone gentle and indulgent.

"Then, my student, is there anything you urgently need that you wish to draw in advance from the teacher?"

Ying Duo was unreserved, his golden pupils staring straight at Fang Zhiyan.

"Can I tap the Dome's reserves of materials stored on this side of Tianmian City?"

"In theory, yes," Fang Zhiyan nodded.

"I'll grant you a Temporary Channel with my authority, but........"

His tone suddenly shifted.

"The material reserves on this side of Tianmian City are limited; consolidating them takes time, and the Air Train cannot be reused in the short term, so even if consolidated, they can't be delivered."

"Anyway, you still need to stay at Mitra Academy for a while, so the material issue can be dealt with slowly."

The materials on this side of Tianmian City are indeed limited; once Ying Duo and he return to Dome Headquarters, he could simply reside in the material warehouse.

Ying Duo nodded; Fang Zhiyan's answer did not surprise him.

He then asked, "How much longer until the undercover is finished?"

He had long ago completed the task of raising Luo Jinyou's favor, but the experience granted by tasks has always been scant.

Previously he thought the game might have been story‑driven from the start, given its high freedom and the ability to type whatever he wanted in the dialogue box; perhaps that was the game's selling point.

So what happened?

In this high‑freedom game, a bunch of people have already died.

"Almost there."

Fang Zhiyan gave a vague answer, his dark‑red eyes gazing toward the broken stretch of the Air Train in the distance.

"Once I finish the official business that required a dedicated run, we can prepare to evacuate; after all, we've caused such a commotion tonight, and the Church and Supervision Bureau won't let it go."

He turned his head toward Ying Duo, his tone slightly teasing.

"What? Staying here too long makes you reluctant to leave? Is it the boring courses at Mitra Academy you can't part with, or perhaps a certain classmate?"

He was hinting, since earlier Bai Mu Yun had specifically arranged for the Dome to send someone to examine Ying Duo's brain for this very reason.

Ying Duo shook his head, his luminous green hair swaying slightly with the motion.

"No, killing Aberrant Species here is troublesome, and Level Up is so slow."

A flash of brilliance lit Fang Zhiyan's eyes, "Kill Alien Upgrade".......

Another key piece of information.

Could there be another plundering mechanism behind this?

"Level Up, huh........" Fang Zhiyan repeated thoughtfully, "That's simple; I'll have Bai Mu Yun and Lu Mu go 'capture' some suitable Aberrant Species to bring back for you to handle."

"Of course, in exchange, after you Level Up, let me collect some data and study the specific energy flow of the process, okay?"

"Fine."

Ying Duo agreed cleanly and decisively.

Having a stable source of experience and the chance to further study his own mechanism, these were exactly what he desired.

"But there's no need to rush," Fang Zhiyan added, "Your current level........ hmm, by your own account it should still be sufficient within the Academy."

"First finish the undercover task; when we evacuate, we'll take everything that needs to be taken with us."

"What should we take?" Ying Duo continued to ask.

Bai Mu Yun hadn't mentioned to him any Academy items that the Dome needed.

Fang Zhiyan's gaze deepened slightly, and his voice lowered a bit.

"For example........ your roommate, Luo Jinyou."

Oh, so getting Ying Duo on good terms with him was to backstab at the crucial moment?

After all, the favor was raised from the start with a purpose, so Yang Yixie wasn't surprised.

"Why?"

Fang Zhiyan didn't answer directly; instead, he began slowly in an almost lyrical tone.

"Because he's special; dormant within his body are fragments of Divinity."

Professor Luo De'an employed forbidden methods to barely keep his consciousness from being eroded by Mutation, but inadvertently caused those fragments to fuse more deeply with him; he is crucial to our subsequent research.

"Divinity fragments?"

Ying Duo pressed further, since the Church worships deities and this world already has Aberrant Arts and Mutation, the emergence of a few wild gods wasn't surprising.

"........ That's right."

Fang Zhiyan looked at Ying Duo's expression that seemed to say "Got it, now what?" and suddenly felt a futility akin to playing a lute to a cow when discussing concepts like Divinity and Law Fragment with this doll.

Though he knew the person behind him was probably listening attentively, the feeling of frustration was inevitable.

He helplessly rubbed his forehead, realizing that teaching truly works better in offline one‑on‑one sessions.

"I'll inform Bai Mu Yun later about the materials; just list what you need and give it to him."

Fang Zhiyan returned to the main topic.

Ying Duo nodded, "Then I'll just teleport later to the bar to get it."

"Fine," Fang Zhiyan agreed, then glanced at the sky and reminded him.

"You should return to the Academy; staying away too long will inevitably draw unwanted attention, especially from your roommate."

Ying Duo thought for a moment, then said.

"Luo Jinyou is in the infirmary; he can't come back."

Teacher Li Ya and Professor Luo De'an guard Luo Jinyou so tightly that he can't slip in; Luo Jinyou trying to sneak out is simply impossible.

"Then it's best to go back."

Fang Zhiyan spoke gently, yet left no room for doubt.

"The Fireworks Gala ends here tonight; let others handle the aftermath."

He paused, looking at Ying Duo.

"After returning to the Academy, keep a low profile and attend classes normally. If you need to contact me, come to the bar, or use your interesting 'Team Channel.'"

"That's better left undone."

Ying Duo mercilessly refused, saying he'd probably still need the Team Channel later, and now kicked Fang Zhiyan out.

Before the words finished, a dialogue box popped up in Fang Zhiyan's view.

【You have been kicked out of the team by captain "Ying Duo".】

Ying Duo didn't glance at Fang Zhiyan again; his Ying Guang Lu‑colored hair tips drifted briefly in the transmission aura, and his figure turned completely into Data Stream, vanishing.

"Throw it away after use, really…," Fang Zhiyan laughed, shaking his head, a hint of indulgence mixing into the habitual smile at the corner of his lips, "You don't even spare the teacher any face."

But it didn't matter; he was very tolerant of students who were valuable and talented.

Not to mention that Ying Duo himself is an excellent experimental subject and especially gifted with weapons; what's the harm in indulging him a little?

He was truly looking forward to seeing how far Ying Duo could go.

Fang Zhiyan no longer lingered; the hem of his black trench coat swept across the charred ground, quickly merging into the night and dust that had not yet fully dispersed.