Chapter 81: The Favor of Saving My Hair, Impossible to Express Thanks! (Revised)

【Side quest: Professor's "concern" completed.】

【Congratulations on receiving the reward: EXP +50%, special title "Slippery Hand".】

【Level increased to Lv. 17!】

Seeing the experience credited, Ying Duo's hollow eyes seemed to brighten a bit, and Yang Yixie immediately equipped that special title.

The effect of the title is also simple, just some agility boost.

Professor Luo De'an fell silent for a moment, then helplessly waved his hand, lifting the confinement on Ying Duo.

Ying Duo crawled out of the pit himself; the first thing he did was touch his intact precious hair, then he looked toward the research assistant who had arrived in time.

"Looks like."

Professor Luo De'an rubbed his aching temples, his tone full of weariness and a sense of relief.

"We can deal with your hair later, but Ying Duo classmate, the repair costs for that wall and the other damages you caused during the chase still need to be properly discussed."

Ying Duo: "......"

The heart that had just relaxed tightened again.

His paralyzed face showed no expression, but his eyes flickered noticeably, as if quickly calculating how huge an astronomical figure that would be.

He fell silent for a few seconds, then spoke in a tone trying to appear relaxed but actually extremely stiff.

"No problem, just deduct the compensation directly from my parents' inheritance."

Bai Mu Yun had said that when the Dome gave him a false identity, it left him a considerable inheritance under those fabricated parents.

And the bank staff wouldn't let him withdraw too much at once, instead directly paying the required fees to the Academy.

Thinking about it, he seemed to have found the true use for that money.

But when Ying Duo said that, Professor Luo De'an was visibly stunned, and the motion of preparing to say something also froze.

His gaze toward Ying Duo instantly became much more complex; the slight helplessness that had just arisen was entirely replaced by complicated emotions.

Professor Luo De'an opened his mouth as if to ask something, but in the end swallowed the words back.

Obviously, now is not a good time to delve into this issue.

And after Ying Duo proposed the solution, it was as if he had shed a heavy burden, immediately tossing the compensation issue to the back of his mind.

He turned and lunged at the assistant researcher still panting nearby, grabbed the person's hand, and shook it vigorously.

"Benefactor! The grace of saving my hair! I cannot thank you enough!"

If this assistant also had a game system, they would surely hear a series of dense notification tones right now:

【Ying Duo's favorability toward you +5】, 【Ying Duo's favorability toward you +5】......

In an instant it could reach "Friendly", or even a higher level.

The assistant NPC before him was made somewhat flustered by his sudden enthusiasm, only able to laugh awkwardly.

"No, no, it's nothing, Ying Duo classmate, this is what I should do......"

Ying Duo paid no attention to that, merely silently checking the NPC's personal information.

【Name: Lin Xin (Lv. 37)】

【Title: None】

【Age: 23】

【Race: Human】

【Faction: Dome】

【Favorability: 10】

【Mutation Value: 15】

【Current Status: Overly stayed up late, fatigued】

【Preference: Fungi,...... (to be unlocked)】

"Oh dear."

"Still one of our own."

Ying Duo then carefully examined the appearance of this NPC before him; the person looked to be in their early twenties, with hair of a rather unusual silver-gray color.

The tips of the hair faintly had a translucent texture resembling mycelium, the skin was somewhat pale, and there were a few faint freckles on either side of the nose bridge.

If they like fungi...

Yang Yixie opened the game backpack, pulled out a purple mushroom he had picked up somewhere, noticed its quality, and stored it in the backpack.

"A gift."

Ying Duo handed over the mushroom that looked suspicious at a glance to Lin Xin; Lin Xin saw the purple mushroom, was momentarily dazed, but still reached out and took it.

"Tha, thank... thank you?"

Professor Luo De'an watched this scene, shook his head helplessly, feeling his temples begin to throb faintly again.

He wasn't worried that Lin Xin would stuff the mushroom into his own mouth, after all he specialized in researching aberrant plants, but even he couldn't see clearly where Ying Duo had plucked this mushroom from.

Combined with the explosives that had previously appeared out of nowhere in Ying Duo's hand...

Aberrant Arts of Space Law?

That's not the key; more importantly, just how many hazardous materials does Ying Duo have on him?

Professor Luo De'an sighed, stepped forward to interrupt this slightly farcical scene of gratitude.

"Alright, Ying Duo classmate, the matter isn't completely over yet; although your hair has been tentatively deemed 'harmless', we still need to investigate what exactly happened to your hair to make it turn out like this......"

But before that, he first needed to make sure his own child was alright.

Professor Luo De'an turned around, preparing to first return to the infirmary to check on Luo Jinyou's condition, while also gesturing for Ying Duo to follow, walking and rubbing his forehead as he sighed softly.

"I'm getting old, really getting old; back when I was young I never caused such a ruckus in the Academy......"

However, after just a few steps, Professor Luo De'an discovered something was off.

Ying Duo's walking speed is unusually slow, his steps heavy, as if sandbags were tied to his legs.

Right, he just managed to catch Ying Duo, and one major factor was that the other's speed suddenly slowed down.

The professor stopped, turning toward the assistant standing nearby, clutching a stack of documents.

"Lin Xin, first neutralize the slowing toxin on Ying Duo's body, okay."

However, upon hearing the professor's order, Lin Xin wore a completely bewildered expression.

Lin Xin blinked their light-colored eyes, looked confusedly at Professor Luo De'an, then glanced at the sluggish Ying Duo, and hurriedly waved a hand to explain.

"Professor, could you be mistaken? I—I just happened to run here with a report; I never used Aberrant Arts on Ying Duo, Professor!"

"What?"

Professor Luo De'an heard that, his brows instantly knitting together; he turned his gaze back to Ying Duo, carefully sensing the lingering energy fluctuations on his body.

Not Lin Xin? Then who could it be?

Within this Academy, who else could silently poison someone amid the chaos just now?

But the purpose seems merely to slow his speed, not cause serious harm, which means the assailant's intent wasn't malicious.

Professor Luo De'an looked at the innocent-looking Ying Duo and the equally bewildered Lin Xin, and said in a deep voice.

"Not you? Then where did this poison come from?"

Could it be that this kid incurred everyone's wrath, and some teacher at the Academy used a curse-type Aberrant Arts on him?