Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Cockroaches were a mysterious species—at least to interstellar humans.

Even the strongest S+-ranked human warrior couldn't survive a month without food or water. Some long-lived races in the universe, like the Treekin, could enter dormancy to endure extreme conditions—such as retreating into hollow trees during their decline phase to extend life by another two centuries. Yet, even such resilient beings couldn’t survive seven days after decapitation.

Luo Lin asked doubtfully, "Is that a Zerg?"

Aside from the Zerg, no other known race possessed such terrifying survival capabilities. Eve shook her head. "No, it's an extinct species."

Strangely, although the Zerg in this universe shared many traits with ordinary insects from Eve’s original world, there were no cockroach-like variants among them. Had giant mutated cockroaches existed, the universe might already have fallen under their control.

Hearing that cockroaches were extinct, the others subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Zao Jian Chun Sha began swinging back and forth while hanging upside down again, shouting, "Ugh, I'm so dizzy! I feel like my head is filling with blood. Isn't this intentional harm to a fellow student? Let me down already!"

"Even if it were intentional, you were the ones who crossed the line first. Besides, your face isn't even flushed."

"That's because we didn't know how potent the potion would be—it was an honest mistake! And no reinforcements have been sent yet," Zao Jian Chun Sha threatened, performing a kip-up and gripping the Mist Cloud Vine wrapped around her ankles. "This is one of your Spiritual States, right? I'm warning you—if you don't let me go, I won't hold back!"

"..."

No one paid her any attention. Eve remained focused on the Zerg venom in her hands, Lorca stared intently at Eve, and Luo Lin sighed, pulling out a light purple potion from her waist and popping the cap open.

Two emerald vines, slender like tiny hands, pried open Zao Jian Chun Sha’s cheeks while she was distracted. Luo Lin swiftly poured the entire contents into her mouth.

A full dose of concentrated sleeping potion ensured Zao Jian Chun Sha would remain unconscious until the next morning.

The second round prohibited direct attacks between students, but numerous non-confrontational methods still allowed for disruption. As a member of the Medici family, Luo Lin understood this all too well.

Finally, silence returned.

"She’s so noisy," Eve said, setting down the wide-bellied bottle and turning to remark, "Faking a personality that doesn’t suit you is one thing, but when overdone, it just becomes irritating."

"That’s also..." Lorca seemed to catch her implication.

Eve nodded slightly, confirming his guess, then shook her head and pointed upward—indicating their conversation was being broadcast through the competition’s surveillance system, so he shouldn’t speak his thoughts aloud.

Lorca tactfully changed the subject. "So, how do you plan to make this so-called cockroach poison? If it’s merely a toxin capable of killing Zerg, such potions already exist. But given Zergs’ high resistance to toxins, it usually takes massive quantities of ingredients to kill just one. For a competition, that’s hardly cost-effective."

This was precisely why they hadn’t initially chosen to brew poison directly, opting instead for the indirect method of creating a lure potion.

It was also a major reason Alchemy couldn’t be widely popularized and remained confined to the upper classes. The scarcity of Alchemists made their services extremely expensive, and rare materials further increased the cost barrier for Alchemy Potions.

Back on Black Star, Eve had once earned a living selling Alchemy Potions. Even top-tier teams, far from lacking funds, carried at most four or five potions during dangerous missions.

"Don’t limit your thinking so much," Eve snorted. "Broaden your horizons and apply knowledge flexibly."

Lorca recalled again observing her combat class, where the girl had seamlessly integrated martial arts into the instructor’s teachings. Not only had she concealed the limitations imposed by Alchemy, but she’d also secured a hard-won victory and earned the teacher’s praise.

She was always adept at leveraging every bit of knowledge and resource available to solve problems.

The young master of the Oliver Family had never held a job and couldn’t fully grasp the adaptability forged through dealing with incompetent superiors and difficult clients. He simply smiled gently and followed Eve’s lead. "My apologies for my dullness. Could Chief Lu elaborate further?"

His overly accommodating attitude was almost sickeningly sweet. Fortunately, most students were asleep. Luo Lin’s mouth twitched uncontrollably again, and this time she chose to calmly walk away under some other pretense.

"Because killing a single Zerg requires a large dose of toxin—that’s exactly why I asked you to retrieve this."

Eve shook the container in her hand. The deep gray substance inside, resembling both smoke and liquid, sloshed ominously. The stark contrast between its sinister appearance and her casual handling unsettled anyone watching.

She deliberately explained the principle in detail—not just for Lorca, but also for certain parties monitoring the interstellar broadcast. "Cockroach poison is indeed just a toxin, but due to cockroaches’ unique habit, this poison becomes exceptionally effective. They consume the corpses of their dead kin, so once one dies from poisoning, it can trigger the collapse of an entire nest."

In the distance, an Advanced Zerg covered in tentacles continued draining the life force of nearby low- and mid-level Zerg by inserting its appendages into them. It wasn’t hard to imagine who would be next once these Zerg were drained dry.

Thankfully, the earlier semi-finished lure potion had attracted a small swarm, buying them valuable time.

The scene was too fitting for Lorca not to make the connection. "You want to use the same method against these Zerg."

"Yes," Eve nodded frankly, mentally reviewing the materials she had. "Advanced Zerg venom provides the toxin; the lure potion serves as bait. Though there’s no existing formula, combining the two shouldn’t be too difficult for me."

The store’s inventory wasn’t comprehensive, but ever since seeing the low-risk zone updated in real-time to high-risk, Eve knew this problem could be easily solved.

She calmly listed a series of required material names. Five minutes later, checking the store on her wrist device, the new materials had already refreshed on the page.

A faint smile flickered in Eve’s eyes.

"What a cunning child. I thought she’d behave better after starting school," remarked a green-haired woman wearing a half-mask in a VIP room of the organizing committee’s building, her tone intrigued. "But if she can truly provide a new approach to dealing with the Zerg—not just minor convenience—any prestigious institution in this empire would likely open its doors to her."

"What she said holds truth—application is sometimes more important than possession."

While the human government saw only the surface aspects of this girl, as a fellow Alchemist, Long Quan was struck by Eve’s methodology. "Though she performs skillfully, that’s just a Three-Star technique, right? Zerg venom is a dangerous material even Senior Alchemists hesitate to handle. Yet she didn’t attempt to alter its properties—merely by integrating it with bait, she created something more valuable than many Four- or Five-Star Alchemy Potions... Truly astonishing."

Moreover, she deliberately made the basic brewing process appear ostentatious and complicated, even leaving Lorca struggling to keep up—all to ensure certain veteran observers watching remotely felt they were getting their money’s worth.

On screen, the mysterious girl perfectly embodied the popular image of an Alchemist. Her fingers moved like magic across materials and apparatus, fluid and precise, Cipher script flowing smoothly. As she poured in the Zerg venom, Eve promptly sealed the container and inscribed the pre-planned Cipher array on its exterior, gradually locking the toxin into the dark liquid glowing with purple light.

The potion was then carefully divided into pre-prepared vials.

"All done." Eve beamed with pride. She held up a vial and asked her assistant, "Want to test its effect?"

Though her expression was hidden behind the mask, Lorca could sense a familiar self-satisfaction radiating from her. Ludwig used to run back excitedly just like this whenever praised by a teacher as a child. Though Ludwig hadn’t shown such childish emotions openly in years, Lorca still recognized the same endearing innocence emanating from Eve.

He reached out, hesitating mid-air. He really wanted to pat her head, but remembering the profound image she was trying to maintain, Lorca ultimately restrained himself and simply took the potion instead.

"Although this potion shares components with the lure potion, that’s only to attract other Zerg to consume the poisoned corpse. The liquid alone probably won’t draw their attention," Eve explained. "So, you’ll need to inject it into a Zerg first for it to work."

"Understood."

This task might be difficult for others—attacking a living Zerg is harder than simply killing one—but it posed no challenge for Lorca. His Spiritual State granted natural stealth advantages and extremely high resistance to Zerg venom.

The black mecha leapt into the air. Even from a distance, Eve could see a precisely controlled ion blast punch a hole through another mid-to-high-level Zerg. Having evolved one stage later than its kin, it shifted from strong competitor to delicious meal for the quasi-Advanced Zerg.

As the bright beam pierced through, Eve clearly sensed the target freeze. Meanwhile, Lorca skillfully piloted his mecha at low altitude, circling to evade attacks from flying Zerg before gliding away.

Before the Zerg fully collapsed, the quasi-Advanced Zerg’s flailing tentacles plunged into its body with a sickening squelch.

"The poison is working," were Lorca’s first words upon landing. Then he asked, "What’s next?"

The commotion woke many lightly sleeping students. Eve had already exchanged for water and portable toiletries from the store. Most were still freshening up, with only a few quicker ones wiping their faces as they gathered around.

Eve named the newly created potion "Amazing Cockroach Poison." The name was so terrible it made Lorca’s eyelid twitch twice, but seeing her confident expression, he ultimately said nothing.

"Imperial University of Science and Technology’s points have risen again since yesterday. The gap between us is now 350 points," Eve said. However, as expected, a contagion-based poison like cockroach poison wouldn’t show immediate results. "We’ll continue deploying the cockroach poison and find a way to reasonably interfere with our opponents."

Tachibana Maki asked suspiciously, "What’s cockroach poison? I’ve never heard of it." It sounded rather sinister.

"If you’re ignorant, read more books," Grace pushed him away, her eyes sparkling with strange excitement as she leaned in eagerly. "How do you plan to interfere with the opponents?"

"Reasonable, we need to sabotage them properly," Eve snapped her fingers, her laughter that gave everyone chills. "Gather around first, I'll speak quietly."

The students of First Empire Academy exchanged uncertain glances but eventually, trusting the Medical Chief who had remained calm and reliable from the start, slowly moved closer. Eve even asked another student whose Spiritual State was related to domain coverage to envelop their conversation in an absolute shadow field, ensuring that their secret discussion wouldn't be eavesdropped by eavesdroppers like the Mist Raven.

On the other side, a group of long-limbed teenagers hung upside down from a tree, heads down and feet up, their faces filled with indignation. Their leader, Zao Jian Chun Sha, had been forcibly fed sleeping pills and was still snoring loudly, a testament to her facial muscles that allowed her to close her eyelids expressionlessly, defying gravity's pull.

After finally hearing Eve's plan, the other students all wore complex expressions.

Luo Wenzhou stammered, "It feels a bit too harsh..."

"Last night when they ambushed you, they didn't think it was harsh," Jessica retorted disapprovingly. "You're just too timid. Compared to the other four schools, we've been very lenient!"

Recalling the experience of their camp being raided last night, the students of First Empire Academy felt surges of anger. That's right, those guys burned down their base, lured in the Zerg, and ruined their sleep. If it weren't for Chief Lu's foresight, someone would have definitely gotten hurt in such a large Zerg swarm.

They had already been very kind!

With this mindset, the students regained their high spirits and dispersed like a receding tide, each taking on their assigned tasks. Before leaving, Eve deliberately flew over the Zerg swarm.

The previously rampant quasi-Advanced Zerg now lay weakly on the ground. Though its genetic grade allowed it to hold on a little longer, its soft, fleshy body was already covered with other mid to low-level Zerg—some gnawing at its flesh, others lying on their backs nearby, seemingly already stiff.

The genetic hierarchy among the Zerg is strict, especially for a High-level Zerg like the Centipede King, renowned for its toxins. Even among other High-level Zerg, its poison is enough to incapacitate many of its kind.

Lorca flew past her in his mech and remarked at just the right moment, "The potion is very effective."

"This is just the beginning," Eve chuckled softly. "Once the toxin fully spreads among the Zerg, we'll save ourselves the trouble of hunting."

With the effort of hunting Zerg saved, it's time to settle accounts with the other four schools.

Imperial Arts and Sciences stirred up trouble behind the scenes, Capital People's University openly picked fights, Blue Star Comprehensive and Imperial University of Science and Technology watched from afar and did nothing to help—they might have even planned a sneak attack initially but fled when they saw the situation turning bad. None of the major schools are innocent. Now that First Empire has free hands, they naturally won't let them off lightly.

Eve indeed doesn't advocate forming deep-seated grudges with these most promising young talents of the empire, but constant backing down won't earn others' respect. From the very beginning, she was prepared to first put these arrogant guys in their place before sitting down to talk things out.

Now, all the students of First Empire Academy are more united than ever. It's safe to say the other four schools had it coming.

She let out two evil chuckles, her face behind the mask devoid of any extra expression, completely calculating.