TYMIMA Chapter 8

Just then, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open, and all the freshmen instantly fell silent.

 

However, the person who came in wasn’t Erdiff, but a lean, wiry little old man. His skin was dark, his back hunched, and his head completely shaved, the round dome gleaming under the incandescent lights.

 

He walked with very light steps, wearing old-fashioned cloth shoes from the last century and a loose, baggy golden velvet kung fu suit with frog buttons.

 

He held a black thermos with a chipped mouth, his elbow hooked around a laptop bag. Seeing everyone reflexively quiet down, he revealed a friendly, amiable smile, the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes deep and clear.

 

If his identity hadn’t been made clear, no one would have guessed that this person was the dean of the Attribute Research and History College, He Jing’en.

 

Seeing it wasn’t Erdiff, the entire classroom breathed a sigh of relief.

 

He Jing’en placed his water bottle on the podium and said with a smile: “My name is He Jing’en, dean of the Attribute College. Dean Erdiff has urgent business, so I’ll be teaching ‘Introduction to Ability Attributes’ this period.”

 

Despite his thin, dry appearance, his voice was loud and powerful, clearly reaching every student’s ears.

 

“What? Dean Erdiff isn’t coming?”

 

“Our Practical Combat Department doesn’t have ‘Introduction to Ability Attributes’ in our curriculum.”

 

“Isn’t it better to have the dean teach?”

 

“What do you know? This dean is usually in a state of sick leave and doesn’t manage affairs. It’s said he was isolated because he was dissatisfied with the gap in those decades of historical records. Now the Attribute College is basically run by Dean Erdiff.”

 

“He doesn’t look sick at all…”

 

“Who knows?”

 

Lance withdrew his gaze from Zhan Pingchuan, that slight displeasure merely flashing by. Although they had engaged in something like kissing last night, even with their tongues intertwining, Zhan Pingchuan wasn’t his Alpha. He had only used Zhan Pingchuan to treat his pheromone chaos.

 

Nothing more.

 

Lance pushed up his glasses and turned to stare with interest at the new dean.

 

Logically, the moment the Death Oath Curse broke, the Federation government’s high-level officials should have known Erdiff was dead. They must have already sent people to contact the school for investigation.

 

With the Federation government’s pressure, Star University’s leaders should have been on edge, hurrying about. Yet this He Jing’en could still happily substitute for the class, showing no signs of anxiety.

 

Either his mentality was extremely stable, never revealing his emotions, or… he was very happy to hear the news of Erdiff’s death.

 

If it was the second possibility, that would be very interesting.

 

As Lance was speculating, his school uniform jacket was suddenly tugged from behind. The already loose collar slipped from his shoulder, and laughter came from behind: “Aren’t you relieved that Dean Erdiff has business to attend to?”

 

Lance’s eyes turned cold as he glanced back.

 

The Alpha behind him wore a malicious smile, playing with a paper cutter in his hand, swaying his head and smugly winking at Lance.

 

Among the five hundred freshmen this year, Lance was indifferent to almost everyone. But coincidentally, he remembered this face from last night—the one who had kicked over the mascot, leaving Deng Zhi’s mother’s corpse with disheveled hair lying in a muddy puddle.

 

Lance shifted his gaze back, casually rubbing his fingers.

 

Unfortunately, with so many witnesses, he couldn’t kill him. But this life shouldn’t be allowed to last beyond today.

 

He needed to find a way to take his life without implicating himself.

 

In the first row, Zhan Pingchuan felt somewhat disappointed.

 

His arrogant and unrestrained demeanor was an act for Erdiff. With Erdiff absent, the performance was wasted, and there was a chatty little Omega constantly trying to flirt with him.

 

He hadn’t studied day and night to get into Star University just to date.

 

“Don’t like drinking.” Zhan Pingchuan replied blandly, not even bothering to examine Tang Li carefully. With his drooping eyelids as he tried to wake up, he looked somewhat fierce.

 

Tang Li secretly stuck out his tongue, realizing that Zhan Pingchuan had a terrible case of morning grumpiness. Whoever was his roommate must really be suffering.

 

He was about to say something else when He Jing’en on the podium good-naturedly tapped the blackboard.

 

“Now our class will officially begin. Please be a bit quieter. If you need the PPT for this class, you can download it from the school’s teaching system.”

 

People are like this—the more fierce and intimidating someone is, the more they revere and flatter them; the more gentle and pleasant someone is, the more they tend to neglect and ignore them.

 

As soon as He Jing’en finished speaking, the rustling noise didn’t diminish at all.

 

But he just shook his head and proceeded with his lecture—

 

“Before discussing ability attributes, I’ll first introduce the history of the underground city’s appearance.”

 

“A hundred years ago, the Sahara Desert suddenly experienced violent tremors. Through satellite map observations, a huge iron door with strange characters appeared in the central plateau mountains, but these weren’t the writings of local nomadic tribes.”

 

“So research institutes from around the world assembled a scientific expedition team to explore the Sahara Desert. They entered that iron door.”

 

He Jing’en’s voice paused for a moment, because what followed was the period of historical record discontinuity.

 

Although people from that era hadn’t all died out yet, there was absolutely no relevant historical data left.

 

“In any case, humans believe that underground cities are interfaces between Earth and some other world. In the underground cities, there are various crystal ores, strange beasts, and plant resources that don’t exist on Earth, but at the same time, there are unpredictable dangers.”

 

“Because of the emergence of crystal ores, some humans evolved glands, obtained pheromones, and awakened abilities. Various guild organizations arose in response, reaching a certain balance with the underground cities that appeared around the world.”

 

“To manage and research these ability users and ensure their harmonious coexistence with civilians, the Federation government established the Blue Pivot Ability Inspection Team and the Hong Suo Ability Research Institute.”

 

“Although the things in the underground cities haven’t yet come out through that iron door, I believe that sooner or later, They will emerge…”

 

He Jing’en’s gaze became distant and melancholic, as if looking through the classroom before him to a far-off future.

 

But he quickly came back to himself, giving a simple laugh and unscrewing his water bottle to moisten his lips: “Well, I’ve gone too far afield.”

 

“Lance, did you hear that? When They come out, you F-levels will only be able to cling to the thighs of us higher levels for protection.” The B-level Alpha mischievously opened and closed his paper cutter, wanting to cut the silk ribbon wrapped around Lance’s neck. He still remembered the alluring star magnolia scent released by that gland yesterday.

 

Lance’s long eyelashes trembled slightly. The Moth Rong Weng crawled out from his sleeve, raised its poisonous needle, eager to strike.

 

A mere B-level—being bitten once by the Moth Rong Weng would likely cause more than just fulminant myocarditis. He didn’t want to expose his true identity yet.

 

Lance gently touched the small insect’s head with his finger, and only then did it reluctantly retreat.

 

In the front row, Tang Li shrank back a little and timidly said to Zhan Pingchuan: “Classmate Zhan, do you think things from the underground cities will really come out? I’m afraid…”

 

His eyes were watery as he gazed at Zhan Pingchuan with affection.

 

Zhan Pingchuan had completely lost interest in these things he’d heard since childhood. Without even raising his eyes, showing no regard for beauty, he said: “Classmate, my heart is as cold as Mount Everest.”

 

Tang Li: “……”

 

He Jing’en took a drink of water, and his voice became loud again: “Speaking of ability attributes, I believe everyone already has some understanding. Currently, there are eight major categories of abilities registered with the Federation’s Red Suo Research Institute.”

 

“Among them, the most numerous are animal system abilities, plant system abilities, and enhancement system abilities. The rarer, high-attack abilities include insect system abilities, elemental system abilities, as well as the recovery system abilities and control system abilities that are currently being frantically sought after by major guilds.”

 

“The most special is the spatial system ability.” He Jing’en’s gaze swept around the classroom before he continued unhurriedly, “Perhaps because this ability is extremely destructive, with high-level users potentially able to annihilate an entire timeline, humans seem to have a genetic lock, making it almost impossible to master high-level spatial system abilities.”

 

Zhan Pingchuan raised his eyebrows imperceptibly.

 

Well said.

 

He currently possessed the spatial system first-tier ability [Linear Bending], second-tier ability [Planar Reflection], and third-tier ability [Void Realm], but beyond that, he couldn’t grasp or see clearly.

 

Just as humans define dimensions—one-dimensional is a line, two-dimensional is a plane, three-dimensional is solid—these were all understandable and corresponded one-to-one with his abilities. But starting from the fourth dimension of space-time, the meaning became abstract.

 

The genetic lock He Jing’en mentioned was probably between the third and fourth dimensions, an uncrossable boundary.

 

He Jing’en continued: “Now you can look at your own Spirit Realm system. It should be blank, but as you study at Star University and gain experience in the underground cities, it will become increasingly rich and full.”

 

The so-called Spirit Realm system was an imaginary space between the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. This space varied for each person, recording in detail the progression of abilities and various physical data.

 

Since the Spirit Realm system existed only in the minds of Awakened ones, it was initially considered a symptom of some form of schizophrenia.

 

“Hehe, my Spirit Realm system isn’t blank at all. My first-tier ability is already in there.”

 

“That’s nothing. I even have physical enhancement points from hunting underground city beasts.”

 

“You’re not talking about killing goblins for 5 excitement points, are you?”

 

“Pfft! Who hasn’t killed goblins? I’ve already been to the underground cities several times with my dad.”

 

……

 

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” He Jing’en slapped his shiny forehead. “My goodness, actually, there’s said to be another type of ability attribute. Its Spirit Realm space is different from all other ability users. This attribute is called divine… well, anyway, it no longer exists. That’s all for this class.”

 

He Jing’en stopped halfway through his sentence, still maintaining that simple and kindly appearance. He smiled and waved to everyone, then walked out of the classroom, completely detached from the outside world.

 

Lance smiled, watching He Jing’en leave.

 

Who said divine system Awakened no longer existed?

 

Lance closed his eyes and entered his own Spirit Realm space.

 

Unlike other ability users who awakened their attributes at sixteen or seventeen, he had been pulled into this place countless times since he was three or four years old, when his earliest memories began.

 

This was an endless darkness, surrounded by cold, ethereal mist. He seemed to stand in the vast, hazy universe, with emptiness at his fingertips. In this indescribable immensity and depth, he experienced fear. It consumed him, as if it were simpler than blinking.

 

No one could truly understand his situation and helplessness. As a child, he could only curl up into a ball, trembling as he hid in a place with no shelter, waiting for the unknown danger that would eventually consume him completely.

 

In kindergarten, he was diagnosed with neurasthenia, PTSD, autism, delusional disorder… Because of this, Chairman Lan completely sheltered him, keeping him away from outsiders.

 

Until one day, he saw It in the depths. It was completely white, with a silvery mane around its neck. It had antlers, similar to those of a sika deer, with a nearly transparent divine halo connecting the center of its antlers. It also had two wings, without flesh or feathers, completely in the form of white bones.

 

Lance knew this wasn’t Its true appearance. It was just using this form to give Lance a clear perception of It.

 

When It opened Its eyes, the endless mental contamination began.

 

Later, even when Lance walked normally on the street, he could sense at any time that he was in the middle of the deep sea, with a hideous giant shark opening its bloody mouth below him, swallowing him.

 

But he had learned to keep his eyes straight ahead and his steps unfaltering.

 

Moreover, Lance had never told It that in that universe-like deep darkness, just behind It, there was another blurry shadow.

 

Lance was awakened by the tugging of the silk ribbon on his neck. He opened his eyes impatiently, feeling the ribbon sliding down.

 

The B-level Alpha said with malicious intent: “What are you pretending for? Everyone knows what your pheromone smells like. Why hide it? What, you think you’re safe because Dean Erdiff isn’t here? Don’t forget, Star University upholds the law of the jungle.”

 

The paper cutter moved forward, attempting to cut the knot of the ribbon, the blade tip almost touching Lance’s small, fair earlobe.

 

In the front row, Tang Li whined plaintively: “Classmate Zhan, are you this fierce to all Omegas?”

 

Lance was completely unconcerned by the Alpha’s teasing. His gaze swept over to the aggrieved Tang Li, and in the blink of an eye, a wicked idea took shape.

 

The mischief in his eyes vanished in an instant as he called out urgently and frantically, his voice carrying a restrained sob: “Zhan Pingchuan!”

 

Zhan Pingchuan immediately lifted his eyelids, all pretense of weariness disappearing. He turned his head, his gaze landing precisely on Lance, as if he had been watching this spot from the beginning.

 

Lance covered his gland with his hand, his lips trembling slightly, his pure eyes behind the silver-rimmed glasses moist: “Yesterday it was him!”

 

B-level Alpha: “?”

 

Almost instantly, Zhan Pingchuan’s black pupils darkened, and his fierce, beast-like S-level pheromones swept through the entire classroom.

 

##

---