Xyrin Empire
Chapter 353 - Chapter 353 Chapter 353 With a Scheme

Chapter 353: Chapter 353: With a Scheme Chapter 353: Chapter 353: With a Scheme “Having Chen Damuto in this world would dethrone Kamijou Youth from his title as the ‘God of Wooing girls’!”

This was the only comment I received last night after a remote meeting reporting our progress to a scammer woman left on Earth.

Well, I’m used to it by now.

For some inexplicable reason, I decided to help Zuotian Tsuruya, which is something even I can’t fully understand. Perhaps it was the sympathy stirred by the information Bubbles sent, after learning about the “plot,” or maybe it was just an impulsive decision, just like how every homebody suddenly falls for a peculiar character… ahem, anyway, in the end, I just felt like helping that strong girl, and this suggestion was approved by all spirit connection online members. Then, our group of Imperial Leaders, who were merely “bored and decided to come save the world,” efficiently perfected the entire plan, which might as well be called “arbitrary grace.”

Yeah, that’s not a problem to say, considering we have the capital to bestow grace anyhow.

Though due to such a whimsical decision, we’ve been labeled by some prophet as “the most out-of-tune leaders in history.”

If Zuotian Tsuruya and Chichun Shili reconsider seriously after going back, they’d quickly doubt such an almost heaven-sent opportunity and our seemingly out-of-nowhere research institute. Moreover, the Flower Pot Girl, whose computer skills are at level N, might dig up data on the Xyrin Research Institute from the Academy Library. Although Pandora has almost refreshed the entire Academy City Library’s content, perfecting our existence to infuriating precision, honestly, I’m rather suspicious of the potential mess Xu Qianqian, with her highly leapfrogging thought process, might still reveal. Relying solely on Pandora’s unilateral modifications of the computer data, I wonder how long our peaceful days can last, but I have a good habit; I don’t bother thinking about headaches… since hardly any come to fruition…

Since we had no ill intentions to start with, naturally, we’re not afraid of inciting needless suspicions in two little girls, and more importantly: Zuotian Tsuruya has signed the contract…

This is also why that scammer granted me the title of the new “God of Wooing Girls.” Honestly, even I’m starting to feel a bit of guilt, feeling like I’m indeed deceiving innocent young girls…

“No worries, at worst we’ll just count you as having an attempted good deed,” Xu Qianqian reassured me at the breakfast table while competing with Visca for the last spring roll, in her uniquely whimsical way, “plus, with the technology of the Xyrin Empire, creating a Superpower User should be quite simple; you might not even manage to fail if you tried.”

Can you please stop picking fights with a 1.2-meter-tall little loli at the dinner table?

After breakfast, Pandora connected to Academy City’s “Library” to gather necessary information by tapping into this vast (to humans) data repository. On the surface, most of the “Library” data pertains to internal components of Academy City like the entire surveillance network, students’ power profiles, and compositions of the research institutes, among others. But in its deeper layer, the parts requiring high-level access, we still discover a lot pertaining not to this place.

Stuff from the Magic Side.

It’s easy to understand, and I’m quite sure that those high up in the Magic Side keep the secrets from the Science Side, having fun clandestinely researching their rivals’ descriptions and opinions… cough cough…

Now, Pandora’s task is to use her super-fast little brain to collect as much information from this world as possible. I didn’t get my head squeezed by a door to approve our ambitious plans; rather, it’s due to the emergence of the “Fantasy Master” that I realized something: Even if everything in this world doesn’t follow the “plot,” certain significant events will still appear in some form. It might be fun to meddle… cough, cough, I mean, as a benevolent leader of a great Empire, what a grand and noble cause it would be to avert tragedies and save some civilians!

“If Bubbles could come over, it might be a bit easier.”

Watching Pandora, now in a high-speed calculation state, steam visibly rising from her head, Big Sister uttered this with a troubled look.

“Don’t even mention Bubbles, even the knockoff Bubbles have all been summoned to Barrier Star to analyze the Star Ring Fragments,” I thought of a certain Sister Control meticulous researcher comically absorbed in her research and couldn’t help laughing and crying. No wonder Sivis, who is known for being stern and serious, thinks highly of her. “Moreover, that girl Pandora… I firmly believe she really should find some brainwork to do.”

Visca immediately nodded in agreement.

“You’re no exception, young lady!”

“Report, Commander, an unidentified unit is approaching the research facility. Shall we eliminate it?”

Just as Pandora and Visca were about to start squabbling again, the signature militaristic report from Vega, reassigned for security duty, suddenly rang out from outside.

“Eliminate my ass!”

That utterly rigid military nerve of Scorpion almost drove me crazy. Can’t this big sister consider problems in a more civilian manner? And over there, that permanent one meter two, hacking into people’s firewalls, don’t you start flaring up all at once!

After making Pandora stay in the room to continue hacking into the Academy Library and ordering someone to hide certain things that aren’t meant to be public–if you consider having a Tyrant III Wave Energy Cannon in the main hall as something that should exist in the research facility–we and Qianqian went downstairs.

To my surprise, sitting in the guest room waiting for us were two young girls still in their school uniforms. The one wearing a fresh flower hair accessory, whom I already knew, was Chichun Shili. Allow me to call her again: Flower Pot Girl. Seeing us, she immediately stood up joyfully. She raised her hand to greet us loudly but suddenly remembered something and put her hand down, then bowed to us formally–oh, she was here for official business today, wearing a Disciplinary Committee armband on her arm.

Next to Chichun Shili, a girl with brown twin ponytails also stood up. Her figure seemed even more petite than the former’s, and she appeared to be dressed in the uniform of the legendary noble girls’ school, Changpan Platform, also sporting a Disciplinary Committee armband. Seeing this girl, I had a sudden epiphany linking her to a character from the “original” story.

Writing Black, reading as change… ahem, a lesbian girl dedicated to filling the world with love, Qianqian, stop pinching me, I didn’t say it out loud!

“So, you must be the director here. I am Bai Jing Heizi from the Disciplinary Committee’s 177th branch.” The girl in front of us greeted us formally, her tone quite plain and even a bit aloof, which puzzled me. According to Bubbles’s information, though known as the worst Sister Control lesbian in history, she should be quite an enthusiastic person, and I don’t recall ever offending her before.

Thinking it over, I could only come up with one explanation: an innate repulsion that power users have towards researchers.

Despite the cooperation with research sounding nice theoretically, to many, even some researchers, power users are nothing but lab rats. And hidden behind the gleaming facade of Academy City, are various projects skirting humanitarian boundaries that are occasionally heard of. Even if these are just rumors, they are enough to breed discontent among many power users towards places like research institutes and the “scientists” inside.

Could this be what Bai Jing Heizi is thinking? This is a secret not even known to Bubbles, that so-called otaku culture enthusiast. Though it’s not a particularly pleasant secret.

“Hello, you can call me Chen Jun. I’m the director here and this is my fiancee, Xu Qianqian.”

“Hello.”

Qianqian smiled warmly, nodding her head to greet her. Her naturally friendly demeanor (or perhaps her obliviousness to connect quickly with any living creature?) greatly eased the somewhat cold atmosphere.

Pandora had registered us with the identity of a young Chinese tycoon who had invested a significant amount in building various research institutes in Academy City and had thereby obtained residency rights. Bai Jing Heizi must have looked up relevant information before coming here, so she showed no surprise at our Chinese names. To be honest, the identity of a young spendthrift who whimsically invests in scientific research as if to gild themself is truly something to weep over.

“That’s the case. There was an explosion in the shopping district area yesterday, and I heard that a victim was brought to your institution for treatment. I’m wondering how she’s doing now, and if possible, I would like to talk to her about the situation at that time.”

“This…” I showed an embarrassed expression. The situation wasn’t bad, but I feared that this discipline committee member, who was even more professional than Chichun Shili, might notice something amiss. After all, the victim’s heart had been stabbed, causing brain death at one stage, and a lot of tissues and blood in her body had been replaced by some unknown energy. This was enough to leave numerous traces on an ordinary person, and as the victim herself, it would be easy for her to notice anomalies in her body–such as no heartbeat or no breathing. I hadn’t even dared to let the girl awaken before the Xyrin Technicians acting as temporary doctors had repaired these special “scars.”

“If it’s difficult, I can understand that. After all, Chichun mentioned that the injuries were very severe, and significant improvement within a day is unlikely. However, we do need to give an account to the victim’s friends and family and prove that the girl’s condition has stabilized.”

“Yes, that makes sense,” I nodded, unable to say otherwise. You can’t make the victim’s family feel like they are in the dark completely, right? It seems they couldn’t come themselves, so they sent someone from the Disciplinary Committee to confirm the victim’s condition. “However, the girl has not regained consciousness yet, and it would be best not to disturb her.”

“Of course.”

Bai Jing Heizi nodded and then signaled for me to lead the way.

Certainly, there was no need to worry about the condition of the patient. With the help of a super medical machine that considerably exceeded the “Life Support Chamber” standard, even a recently deceased body could be resurrected, let alone a wounded person. As early as last night, the girl had already completed emergency repair of her body and had been moved to the regular treatment program. But now, for some reasons, she was being forcibly kept in a deep sleep state.

Accompanied by two white-robed “researchers” who also acted as “doctors,” Bai Jing Heizi and Chichun Shili visited the injured girl who was covered with a white sheet and supposedly had just undergone her second surgery. After confirming the patient was stable, the accompanying “doctors” cited the need for the patient to rest and ushered the two members of the Disciplinary Committee out.

“That puts my mind at ease.”

Standing in the corridor of the research institute, looking through a large floor-to-ceiling glass window at a small decorative fountain outside directly facing the main entrance, Bai Jing Heizi breathed a sigh of relief and then turned her gaze to a little girl by the fountain. The girl was lying on a massive sign placed on the ground, vigorously writing something with a thick whiteboard marker.

After a moment, the little girl finally finished her task. It seemed strenuous for her to lift the sign, which was much taller than she was, upright. She nodded her head while observing her handiwork.

On the sign was written in bold black font: “Xyrin Philosophy and Culture Form, Botany, and Mandarin Promotion Research Center, also studies medicine,” an odd phrasing.

“…Ah, haha… that’s my sister…”

I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and said with an awkward laugh.

“You have a good sister there…”

Bai Jing Heizu gazed into the distance.

After a silence, the young woman beside her suddenly spoke in a low voice, “Although it’s still a bit strange, I suddenly feel a bit reassured.”

“Oh, our medical techniques here are pretty advanced, injuries like that can heal very quickly…”

“I’m not talking about that,” Bai Jing Heizi turned her head and looked up, “I’m talking about Zuotian Tsuruya’s matter.”

“Hmm?”

“Yesterday afternoon, Tsuruya cheerfully told me something. She said there was a strange research institute that suddenly wanted to collaborate with her on superpower development research, and they could start in two days. At that time, I was very curious, what kind of research institute would choose a middle school student who is already past the prime age for development and currently a LEVEL 0 as their research subject…”

So that was it, the distant and scrutinizing attitude during our first meeting, was that the reason? Somehow, I couldn’t help but think, “This is the precious friendship of youth,” a thought that made me inexplicably emotional.

After slightly adjusting my uncle-feel, I smiled slightly and asked the girl beside me, “Do you think we have an ulterior motive?”

“It’s not just a feeling, there definitely should be ulterior motives,” Bai Jing Heizi said seriously, “As a research institution, why wouldn’t they put their findings, or rather their interests, first? I’ve never heard of any research institute that would invest a huge amount of capital and effort into someone who’s just a LEVEL 0, so when Tsuruya first told me this, I was really worried… I’ve actually sensed something about her mind. For many power users, collaborating with research organizations isn’t such a great thing. Though there’s a handsome reward to be had, feeling like a lab rat is never nice, yet Tsuruya seemed to be looking forward to such an opportunity…”

Because no matter how much effort is exerted, the fact remains unchangeable, and therefore one is willing to attempt any small, even unlikely possibility?

According to Bubbles’ calculations, Zuotian Tsuruya’s chances of going down the wrong path driven by this mindset were nearly a hundred percent, which is to say, if we hadn’t shown up, she would definitely have fallen into the vortex of the Fantasy Master incident. But now it seems that our “ulterior motives” had unwittingly protected that girl.

“So why do you feel relieved now?”

I looked puzzled at Bai Jing Heizi, unaware of having done anything that could have won her favor.

“I’ll just say it straight, I still think you guys have ulterior motives, and my view on that hasn’t changed, but at least now, I feel that I don’t have to worry so much about Tsuruya getting hurt. Although the information about this research institute feels a bit strange, and the range of your research…” she couldn’t help but glance again at the big white sign outside in the yard with the temporarily added text “Also studies medicine” written in whiteboard marker, “the scope of your studies seems quite odd too…”

Not again! This is the second time you’ve touched on this absolutely forbidden topic! I’m sorry to have a crazy girlfriend and an abnormal sister!

But the girl beside me hadn’t finished speaking, “Despite the weirdness, there doesn’t seem to be a scent of conspiracy here, and the injured girl does seem to be taken care of with great attention. A group like this, at least, is not made up of bad people. Also, although it has only been a short interaction, I still feel like you are a…”

Wait! Why do I suddenly have a very bad feeling? Why is cold sweat breaking out all over me?

Please, please, don’t say it!

“You are a good person…”

–Phew, ten thousand words for today…(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.NovelFire.net, more chapters are available, support the author, and support genuine reading!)

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