Chapter 1048: Chapter 17: Three Roses
Professor Chris broke her promise, halfway.
Scientist Sterling did not receive the treatment he deserved—a Giant Tree Academy invitation.
Preparing the invitation takes time, and Professor Chris is not planning to temporarily keep him in the safety zone and deal with all sorts of potential troubles.
For example, someone watching them could abduct Sterling.
Sterling casually expressed that he didn’t mind. In his eyes, there was only science and truth.
The canopy layer is strictly guarded; even without a letter, it’s hard for other grade professors to enter. Professor Chris left him on the higher-grade layer, handing him an abandoned office being used as a storage room.
Hearing this incident, Professor Hagrid and the lower-grade professors rejected his arrival, even in the trunk layer. Even the old professor expressed opposition—
Sterling’s theories were too dangerous, like the difference between fundamentalism and extreme fundamentalism.
“Doesn’t Mr. Luli have a Spirit-Calling Gun? Why still bring that guy here…”
“Unless you want him to die outside,” Professor Chris said.
This time out, she could spot seven or eight pairs of eyes watching Lu Li. And the outcome of Sterling, who interacted with Lu Li and lived in a desolate safety zone, was easy to foresee.
The professors could only remind Lu Li not to delve too deep with Sterling’s research.
In the following days, Lu Li continued to refine the theory of human nature, while Sterling, with support, temporarily focused on restoring the Spirit-Calling Gun.
The list of materials required to make the Spirit-Calling Gun also fell into Lu Li’s hands.
Molds, materials, tools… At the end of these ordinary items was the key to the Spirit-Calling Gun: human souls.
“Does it have to be human souls?” Lu Li calmly looked at Sterling, whose hair was a bird’s nest-like mess.
“Yes, and it needs to be a pure soul.”
Meaning a soul without consciousness or instinct, a soulless vessel.
Ghosts, vengeful spirits, evil spirits.
The first flower, the second flower, the third flower.
Lu Li seemed to understand what each rose represented.
Professor Chris described the Spirit-Calling Gun as: a refined artwork inside and out, intricate and beautiful like alchemy. Despite limited in perspective, the wisdom it contained was worth remembering.
Alchemy at its core is transformation. In this regard, the Spirit-Calling Gun embodies it thoroughly.
Lu Li had no chance to see the production process. Professor Chris shooed him out of Sterling’s temporary lab, lightly laughing, saying this way, the lower-grade professors wouldn’t endlessly nag her.
The production would take a few more days to complete. Before that, the first week of the new term officially ended.
It was time to reselect departments.
Lu Li still chose the Mysticism Department, but what usually happened at the end of the first week—the mild department reselection—changed drastically, with a massive switch in departments. The Mysticism Department, typically over 60%, now became 80%.
Countless freshmen came for its fame, and their target was obviously not the Mysticology or Professor Hagrid.
Amidst it, Lu Li’s student life started to stabilize. His daytime major courses extended by half, and after class, he went to the library; after dinner, he continued to refine the theory of human nature.
The completion of the human nature theory would earn the credits he needed to advance to the mid-grade or even move to the high-grade level.
That day wouldn’t be too far off.
On the second Tuesday of enrollment, Sterling’s temporary lab announced: the Spirit-Calling Gun was completed.
Lu Li took the newly named Sequence 2 Spirit-Calling Gun, Professor Chris’s badge, the unfinished human nature theory, and a cloak to the lower layers.
Under the indifferent gaze of the Gatekeeper, Lu Li left the canopy layer heading to Sterling’s temporary lab in the trunk layer.
Students rushed through the dim corridor, and Lu Li, cloaked, blended amongst them, as if unnoticed…
A figure blocked Lu Li, prostrating at his feet, fervently chanting: “O Lord, I am your devout believer. May your glory shine upon me forever!”
After a brief pause, Lu Li bypassed the figure and reached Sterling’s temporary lab.
“What’s wrong?”
Professor Chris, waiting there, inquired.
“Encountered a believer worshipping me,” Lu Li replied.
“That’s normal, dear. The upper grade and lower academy both have your church, with quite a few followers,” said those dark-gold, narrow eyes watching Lu Li.
“The academy doesn’t stop it?” Lu Li asked.
“This is Midnight City; faith is normal,” Professor Chris explained the foundation of Midnight City: “Unbelievers are ostracized, so many unbelievers choose you… After all, you give them nothing, right?”
No gifts of power, nor twisted consciousness.
Recalling the ardent believers encountered on the way, Lu Li remained noncommittal.
After a moment, Sterling appeared with the new Spirit-Calling Gun.
Except for the mold-crafted gun body, each Spirit-Calling Gun was slightly different. Moreover, because this gun was made by Sterling rather than the Exorcist Association, its gun body was slimmer and more delicate than Lu Li’s, with some differences in the position of the unbloomed, curled rose.
However, subsequent tests showed no change in its power.
“Make more bullets… Don’t forget to make some for Lu Li’s gun too.”
Professor Chris put away the Spirit-Calling Gun: “Next, I’ll temporarily assign students with the task of blooming the rose. Sterling, you can make more Spirit-Calling Guns as backups.”
The capabilities of the Spirit-Calling Gun’s rose were relatively random. One Spirit-Calling Gun was too few to use as a sample.
Considering the difficulty of blooming all three roses of the Spirit-Calling Gun, they wouldn’t see results soon.
Sterling impatiently inquired about the progress of Lu Li’s human nature theory, receiving the notes he brought.
Rustle—
Sterling flipped open the notes, murmuring dreamily into them.
“I’ll be disappearing for a while; if needed, have your little merchant contact me, or go see Claire,” Professor Chris softly said to Lu Li, “Women maintaining an air of mystery have allure, don’t they, dear?”
As deputy director of the Giant Tree Academy, she certainly couldn’t be around Lu Li all the time.
After bidding farewell, Professor Chris left the office as Sterling, oblivious, cradled the notes, mumbling as he approached his desk.
“So it’s like this… to promote plant growth? It can complete my research…”
Without needing Lu Li to ask, Sterling spontaneously muttered his thoughts, “Do you know? All objects emit pollution, all objects. Aberrations, humans, trees, stones, sand… We are affected by the pollution of anomalies simply because their pollution is stronger…”
“Radiation,” Lu Li said.
Sterling didn’t hear Lu Li’s term; he was already absorbed in his own mad and chaotic murmurs.
Ensuring Sterling wouldn’t shift his focus soon, Lu Li quietly left Sterling’s temporary lab, returning to the canopy layer.
After the customary classes and books, Lu Li fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, the dorm room door was knocked.
“Professor Hagrid.”
Lu Li stepped aside.
“I’m not coming in, just here to notify you…” Professor Hagrid said with a complicated expression from the corridor.
“Sterling is dead.”