Deep in the Living

You can reach the Exploration Bureau by using the vortex transmission array within the campus, but this time it's slightly different.

As the vortex formation beneath his feet activated, Luo Di's peripheral vision caught Wu Wen's fingers also turning, albeit at a slightly different frequency.

Buzz!

The teleportation indeed veered off the predetermined route.

A shallow uninhabited zone several districts away from the Exploration Bureau corresponded with an abandoned street, the entire area being just a hundred meters wide.

"Mr. Wu, can you now interfere with space teleportation?"

Wu Wen glared at Luo Di, "Use my title when working, but otherwise just call me as usual."

"What are we doing here?"

"Before heading to the Exploration Bureau, I want to first assess your current state and the relic."

"State?"

"Yes... try cutting me with a knife."

"Huh?"

Wu Wen stepped forward and poked Luo Di's brow with a finger, "You're not stupid~ you should know what this means.

Bring out your strongest stance, and cut me with a knife.

I want to see how you managed to kill Master Jiang. No matter how weak or corporeally destroyed he was, the essence of the pituitary remained intact, and it couldn't possibly have been that weak.

I want to see the level you've reached... after all, I've come up, and further planning is needed for what's ahead."

"Alright."

Luo Di immediately drew out the Black Spine, activated Open Spine, and slashed downwards!

Buzz!

The street behind Wu Wen was split with tens of meters of cracks, and the windows of the houses on both sides were all shattered.

Strangely,

though Wu Wen was struck, only shallow cracks surfaced on the skin.

"Can you be serious? This level of slash can't possibly kill Master Jiang, it can barely damage the surface, I don't believe this is all you can do.

And don't worry about me~ I am confident I can dodge."

Luo Di wasn't actually unserious, rather it was difficult to replicate the situation at that time, "No... the final slash that killed Master Jiang isn't something I clearly remember myself, the whole process seemed to be completed unconsciously.

I remember every detail of the confrontation clearly, but oddly can't recall the very end.

The situation then was peculiar because there was only one chance, and missing it meant death... in an instant, it felt like I entered a very special state, and when I returned to my senses, I had already fallen."

Wu Wen probably understood the implication and could somewhat imagine how dangerous it was at that time.

Suddenly,

the environment became exceedingly silent, as if all matter had slowed its motion.

The newly dislodged windows, the debris, all came to a standstill.

It was as if everything came to a halt, or was steeped in seawater. Everything revolved around Wu Wen, and yet this center became utterly empty.

The girl was no longer before Luo Di's eyes, he even felt bewildered as if he couldn't remember whom he had come here with for a moment.

Just then,

a red fingernail skimmed from the side, with everything around accommodating this finger, allowing it to silently and stealthily approach Luo Di.

It wasn't beheading,

but a far more dangerous stab,

aimed straight for the pituitary.

Luo Di sensed the danger, an absolute mortal danger, but unlike Master Jiang's upfront assault, this danger felt like a lurking venomous snake, ready to strike with fatal precision.

Snap! The tongue clicked.

Instincts triggered.

Whoosh~ a mist-like haze exhaled from his mouth.

Luo Di's strong survival instinct urged his body into action, instantly turning around and delivering a slash.

This slash didn't cause any damage to the environment but severed the incoming crimson fingernail, along with part of the finger.

Drip!

As blood dropped to the ground, the environment was restored, and the disappeared Wu Wen reappeared, as if refreshed in place.

Picking up the severed finger from the ground, Wu Wen smiled and swallowed it directly.

"This is more like it, though still a bit short of killing Master Jiang, it's certainly enough.

I think I understand the real intent of your trip to Jiang Mansion now, no wonder Teacher Guo asked us not to interfere, he probably foresaw the future in advance.

Though not entirely, he saw the change in you.

I was always worried, worried that after you killed Joke, you'd be lost, abandoning the drive to keep moving forward. All along, it was the resolve for vengeance pushing you onward.

Most people, once having exhausted all efforts to achieve their sole pursuit, would slow down, or even let go of everything.

Fortunately, you didn't, and this trip even helped you find your direction... welcome back, Luo Di."

Wu Wen, wearing white shoes, came over and stood on tiptoe to kiss him on the lips, a mere brush without further interaction.

"How strange, there's no scent of that lady... previously when I came to dress you up at Jiang Mansion, that Linglong Lady's gaze at you was almost tangible.

I could sense it, she's never been with a man, merely used as a tool person, trapped down there.

I personally don't mind bringing her to Vortex Town; she can stay at my villa or join the Sisterhood.

"She's dead."

Wu Wen paused, seemingly recalling what Madame Linglong had promised her at the Jiang Mansion, "…Oh."

At that moment,

Luo Di proactively took the other person's hand and walked towards the platform as a driverless bus approached.

As the vehicle departed, fibers of flesh and blood retracted on the balcony across the street.

Soon after, a Faceless Man emerged, gazing in the direction the bus had disappeared, contemplating something unknown.

…

[Exploration Bureau-Technology Development Department]

To his surprise, Yu Ze didn't come to personally pick up his fellow townsman. He learned Yu Ze was in a secret room undergoing a special retreat and wouldn't be out for several days.

Luo Di had visited once before and found the Technology Development Department on his own,

and after getting permission from Minister Matthew, the two went to one of the secret rooms where the Minister resided. Upon opening the door, they found two people inside.

One was Minister Matthew's external prosthetic body, a boy-like android.

The other was Professor Noel Castinov, who had just been appointed as a chemistry teacher in Vortex Town and the current President of the Human Body Exhibition.

The two were having a secret discussion about the ancient knowledge behind the stone wall, so engrossed they didn't even notice Luo Di had arrived. Their conversation flowed effortlessly, not at all like they had just met.

"Professor Noel! Why are you here?"

Only when Luo Di proactively asked did the other party come to his senses.

"Oh? Luo Di, you're here! This girl is..."

Professor Noel immediately saw the uniqueness of the girl beside him. Despite her young age, she had already reached the highest rank of a mid-level monster... even making him salivate a bit, seeing her perfect body as ideal material for Human Body Refining.

"Wu Wen, like me, was a student before. She's recently transitioned to an art teacher, so she's your colleague now."

At the mention of a colleague, Professor Noel dismissed his wicked thoughts, explaining the situation:

"When I joined Vortex Town, Teacher Guo recommended me to cooperate with the Exploration Bureau immediately. To my surprise, the moment I arrived, I discovered an old friend in Minister Matthew, who is also a visiting professor at Luo University.

My avatar in the Human World has exchanged knowledge with him several times, so I can disclose my identity now.

If I had known, I wouldn't have lingered with Rose for so long; in hindsight, it would have been better to join Vortex Town directly!

Wait... why do you carry the scent of that old zombie? It's faint but indeed present.

You didn't keep the relic for yourself but gave it to you?"

"Yes."

Minister Matthew also heard the keyword from the side and quickly came forward.

"Luo Di, did your relic absorb Old Master Jiang? Is it saturated?"

"Completely saturated. The Corner prompted me to go to the secret room to decode the relic's information; that's why I rushed over."

"Still needs deciphering? Let me see!"

As Luo Di revealed a crimson relic with complete facial features, Matthew also looked puzzled, having never seen anything like it.

"Aside from Luo Di, everyone else, please step back to the furthest distance temporarily!"

The secret room sealed off.

Minister Matthew's external prosthetic body sat in the center of the secret room, and the metal pipes connected to his back began to extend outward, deeply integrating with the stone walls around the secret room.

It was as if he fused with the secret room, connecting some ancient knowledge base to his brain.

The eyeball spun as if unrestricted by nerves, rotating rapidly.

Various strange ancient texts appeared within the eyeball, as if he were searching for something.

Suddenly,

The eyeball stopped.

A series of strange, unknown characters remained fixed upon it.

"Display your relic and let it hover approximately 37cm in front of my eye."

Luo Di quickly complied, holding the pendant so the human face relic dangled at the correct position, precisely.

Minister Matthew's pupils suddenly emitted a light, projecting the unknown characters onto the relic's surface.

In that instant,

the facial features on the relic began to rearrange chaotically.

The mouth moved to the forehead,

the eyes repositioned to the side of the face and chin,

the nose inverted,

one ear in front, the other behind.

Minister Matthew was momentarily stunned, exclaiming in surprise, "My initial estimate was flawed; this thing is indeed an egg, yet its essence is a [key]... Luo Di, your choices in relic crafting likely triggered some hidden mechanism.

This key might unlock the ancient secrets that have been untouched by any person or monster since our exploration of the Corner began."

"Ancient secrets?"

"Yes... the Corner is inherently mysterious, brimming with endless possibilities.

It has been in the Human World for barely a century, but its history can be traced back tens of millions, hundreds of millions, even longer years."