Chapter 194

Chapter 194

The sky was densely dotted with stars, beneath which the cold blue glaciers lay so silent it was as if no life had existed there for thousands of years.

Scattered haphazardly across the snow were the broken bodies of human-faced fish monsters, with yellowish and reddish fluids flowing everywhere like paint smeared carelessly on a canvas. After the adrenaline rush faded, the students of First Empire Academy began to feel their legs turning to jelly, yet they dared not sit down to rest—the ground was littered with dead human-faced fish.

Compared to their daytime form of human-faced fish bodies, it was unclear what kind of growth hormones these creatures had consumed, but their originally small fleshy claws had elongated into slender limbs. Paired with their pale, expressionless human faces, aside from their swollen, scaly necks and short fish tails, these human-faced fish monsters looked no different from overly tall and thin humans.

Slaughtering such humanoid creatures, even knowing they were monsters, left everyone with complex emotions.

Amid the chaos, four unfortunate classmates had been teleported away instantly.

Eve shook the blood off her blade before sheathing it. Perhaps because this match required activity in watery environments where lightsabers don't work underwater, the committee had equipped the students with physical blades.

As the thrill of battle gradually subsided, Eve moved her limbs and realized, to her surprise, that she didn’t feel cold. A warm, comforting heat radiated from her core, spreading to her limbs.

Could exercise really be this effective?

The polar night was colder than a hospital morgue. Relying solely on a few layers of thermal clothing and their physical fitness, it seemed impossible to tough it out.

Suspicious, she pressed a hand to her abdomen.

“How did they go from fish during the day to fish-people at night?” Not far away, Jessica leaned on Liz’s shoulder, looking half-dead as she gasped, “This is terrifying. This year’s Five-School League is truly terrifying.”

“During the day, President Anthony said these fish only wanted to run into the base and weren’t very aggressive. Who said they weren’t aggressive? These fish are extremely aggressive!”

“Who could have guessed they had two forms?”

“And even more unbelievable is why they’re so fixated on rushing into the base!”

“Who says no one guessed?” someone suddenly said in an eerie voice. “Didn’t someone already anticipate this?”

“……”

Ludwig had been leaning on his sword to catch his breath when, all of a sudden, eyes from all directions turned toward him. Each gaze was full of accusation, leaving him utterly baffled: “Why are you all looking at me?”

He secretly glanced at his reflection in the clear, silver reflection of his sword—everything seemed normal, no dirt on his face... So what were these people staring at?

Tachibana Maki lazily called out, “Alright, break it up everyone,” urging the other students to return to the base to rest. Everyone dragged their rubbery legs back, but after taking two steps, Eve was abruptly halted by a strange feeling rising from the depths of her heart.

She felt as though she had overlooked something. Her gaze instinctively swept the area, and she noticed Lorca crouching halfway down, seemingly observing something.

“What are you looking at?”

Hearing her voice, Lorca looked up and saw Eve trudging toward him through the snow. He paused, then turned slightly to show her what he had discovered: “These monsters have a very strange molting phenomenon.”

“Hmm?”

The human-faced fish monster Lorca was examining was relatively well-preserved, with a long, deep slash across its throat—clean and precise. But neither of them focused on the skill behind the cut. Instead, their attention was drawn to a faint red line running from the monster’s neck down to its abdomen, its edges slightly raised like a clear answer line on a test sheet.

“It appeared after death,” Lorca said.

The red line wasn’t very noticeable, but it wasn’t hard to spot upon closer inspection. He was certain that such a bizarre red line hadn’t been there while the monster was alive.

Eve was more direct. After confirming it was safe and non-toxic, she inserted her short knife along the red line and smoothly sliced downward. With a slight tilt of the blade, a thin, pale membrane peeled away as easily as fruit skin.

She shook her hand, holding up a garment as thin as a cicada’s wing, while the skinless human-faced fish monster silently dissolved into a puddle of clear water, merging with the snow on the ground.

Lorca watched the transformation with slight astonishment: “What... what is this?”

“I’m not sure of the principle, but it seems these human-faced fish monsters with limbs have a membrane that can be peeled off from their bodies.”

Eve slipped a hand into the sleeve of the membrane garment, then withdrew it after a moment. The fish meat that could make one resistant to cold, the thin yet tough fish-skin clothing—clues collided in her mind, in a flash of insight, sparking a startling new idea.

“Treasures all over,” she said, folding the garment and tossing it to Lorca with a smile. “I think I know what we should do next.”

In the distance, the lights in the base had just been relit, and the doors and windows were shut tight. Before anyone could put down their weapons, Cecil suddenly asked, “Is someone missing?”

“Two people,” Anthony said, raising two fingers from where he leaned back in his chair. “Eve and Lorca haven’t returned. They probably found another clue outside.”

So diligent. Good thing they’re on the same team.

He had learned to appreciate Eve’s presence, letting go of unnecessary competitiveness and openly enjoying the fruits of her labor. As competitors from the same school, her success was his success, Anthony thought, basking in the warmth of the heater.

Cecil’s well-defined brows furrowed, but before he could say more, a figure sprang up from her chair and rushed out the door—it was Chief Lu Qing from the Medical Department.

Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps descending the stairs echoed from outside.

Although Chief Lu had been unusually well-behaved since the third round began, given her astonishing performance in the previous match, Anthony felt her reaction deserved some respect.

He exchanged a glance with Mu Huanzhu, who nodded slightly and followed with two or three students from the Melee Department. Other curious students tagged along as well.

And the one orchestrating all of this was Eve, still outside.

Few of the human-faced fish monsters on the snow had died cleanly. Halfway through her inspection, one that had been chopped in half but wasn’t completely dead suddenly opened its lifeless eyes as Eve bent down, nearly biting off half her nose.

It was promptly finished off with a merciless slash.

“Scared me,” Eve said, kicking the monster’s body away in disgust. “This one’s no good anymore.”

After checking all of them, Eve and Lorca compared notes and found they had only managed to peel about thirty relatively intact membrane garments—enough for only half the team.

“There’s still one in the lab,” Lorca reminded her.

Eve sighed. “What good is one? Better to keep it for observation. Hopefully, that lone survivor hasn’t done something foolish to end its life.”

...Though it was unlikely. Before dinner, Eve had scrounged up a lidded tempered glass container in the storage room to use as a fish tank. For a fish the size of an infant, this makeshift tank would have been a cozy cradle, but for an adult-sized evolved fish monster, it was downright abuse.

Unsurprisingly, by the time Eve, controlling the puppet impersonating “Lu Qing,” hurried over, an accident had already occurred.

The lab door was wide open, the carefully prepared fish tank overturned on the floor. Fortunately, thanks to its sturdy construction, it remained intact. Other reagents and tools were scattered everywhere as if a storm had passed through. The glass test tubes weren’t so lucky—various brightly colored, highly corrosive chemicals had spilled from their broken containers, mixing with the water from the overturned tank. The room was filled with an indescribable smell of rotten eggs, likely the human-faced fish’s final act of defiance.

“Chief Lu, Lu Qing! What happened—who did this?”

Mu Huanzhu, who had followed downstairs, stared in shock at the chaotic lab. “Lu Qing” stood to the side, silently gathering her black cloak.

The puppet only had a human form. Although its senses were shared with its master Eve, it couldn’t produce its own voice. A military-grade miniature transmitter behind the silver mask emitted a muffled sound: “The human-faced fish escaped.”

“So the two forms of human-faced fish aren’t different species but different stages of the same species,” Mu Huanzhu said, her mind reeling from the series of surprises in the match but still grasping the basic logic. “The fish form during the day is easier to deal with and less aggressive. Starting tomorrow, we should try to kill as many of these fish as possible.”

“No, we must save some of the human-faced fish to deal with at night!”

Someone came running from behind. Those downstairs turned at the sound, while those upstairs curiously leaned out to look. They saw Eve holding a tall stack of pale white soft cloth, pressing it down to keep it from blowing away in the wind while waving a piece of the cloth whenever she could. It looked bizarrely comical, but no one laughed.

Genuine confusion filled their expressions, and even Anthony was completely baffled.

Where did Chief Eve find this white cloth? And what was it for?

Without time to explain, Eve shouted from afar, “Get me a tank of cold water!”

Fortunately, Mu Huanzhu had brought several students from the Melee Department with her, so there was no need for a second command. A few strong young men quickly fetched a tank of icy seawater from the nearby ocean—even the tank itself was readily available, the very one the human-faced fish had disdainfully rejected earlier.

Mu Huanzhu looked puzzled: "What are you doing?"

"Showing you something."

Eve placed the membrane garments on the ground and was about to press her finger to the zipper of her insulated suit when a hand suddenly reached out from the side to stop her.

Lorca said, "I’ll demonstrate. Step back first."

He quickly removed his insulated suit, leaving only a high-necked sweater. In the freezing polar environment, his attire alone made the surrounding students' teeth ache just looking at him. Yet, Lorca remained unfazed as he picked up one of the membrane garments and slipped it over his body. It was only then that the students realized the stack of white cloth was actually a pile of pale full-body suits, with an opening at the chest that fitted snugly around the neck.

Then, Lorca did something even more unexpected: clad in only this thin layer, he somersaulted and jumped into the tank of icy water!

Splash! Water sprayed everywhere, startling several Melee Department students into stepping back. Only Eve frowned, leaning against the edge of the tank and tilting her head to ask, "Cold?"

"Not at all," Lorca replied with a laugh. "The covered areas feel toasty warm."

Ludwig couldn’t help but exclaim, "Brother—!"

He immediately tried to rush downstairs but was forcefully restrained by Cecil, who gripped his shoulder. "What’s the hurry? Take a closer look at what’s happening."

The water around Lorca seemed to automatically maintain a small distance from him, as if an invisible barrier created by the suit separated it from the light-colored membrane garment.

Gasps of astonishment rose one after another, hissing and rasping in a continuous chorus. Eve once again felt the illusion of stumbling into a snake pit. Perhaps the students of the First Empire Academy were indeed exceptionally talented, even excelling at producing sound effects.

"Everyone saw it, right?" Lorca avoided Eve’s outstretched hand and instead pushed himself up using the edge of the tank, addressing his classmates beside him. "This is a type of membrane garment that Eve and I just discovered. It has excellent waterproof and thermal insulation properties."

The students nodded, convinced by what they had witnessed. However, Anthony felt a vague sense of unease creeping into his heart. "So, where did you find such a miraculous garment? Was it purchased?"

"Of course not," Lorca replied with a gentle smile. "It was skinned from the human-faced fish monsters. And it only works if it’s taken from their human form at nighttime."

"......"

The world seemed to fall into a deafening silence.

"The flesh of the human-faced fish during the day can retain warmth, and their skin at nighttime can waterproof. Both are essential for diving. The next task will undoubtedly lead us underwater."

Eve’s sharp gaze swept across the varied expressions on the faces of the group.

"But there are only thirty-four membrane garments in total. Considering potential damage, we need to keep at least five as backups. That means our school can only send fewer than half of our people to dive and explore."

In the darkness of the night, the young woman’s voice rang out with unusual authority.

"Who will go?"

From a competitive standpoint, the underwater area was clearly an important task location. Whether for individual ranking or to secure more points for the Academy, this mission was unavoidable, and it required sending skilled personnel.

However, from a psychological perspective, wearing skin stripped from monster corpses was a heavy burden for these privileged young elites.

After scanning the crowd twice, Eve’s gaze finally settled on a certain student president.

Her eyes were filled with an unmistakable message: "Step up now, or it’ll be embarrassing if I have to call you out." Sensing her silent urging, Anthony forced a smile and asked, "I’ll go, of course. But will Eve be going?"

"Of course I’m going," she replied. Only by taking matters into her own hands could she feel assured about this group. Naturally, she kept the latter part to herself. "But Lorca isn’t going."

Suddenly hearing his name, Lorca, who was in the middle of changing clothes, instinctively pricked up his ears. Anthony looked puzzled. "Why isn’t Lorca going?"

"The land portion must still hold other clues. We can’t send everyone underwater."

—Moreover, the Wall-Imprisoned Serpent’s primary effectiveness was on solid ground, making it less advantageous in an underwater environment. Considering both factors, Eve decided to have Lorca stay on the icy island with her puppet double.

Indeed, as student president, Anthony was well aware that while the Academy had many outstanding students, few were particularly clever. If he and Eve were going underwater, Lorca would have to stay on land to coordinate support.

He reluctantly accepted this reasoning. However, sparing Lorca didn’t mean letting others off the hook.

"Lud, Maki, and Qi Ying, you’re coming too," Anthony said with a friendly smile, though his tone left no room for negotiation. "The risks underwater are high. I wouldn’t trust anyone else. After careful thought, I decided it’s best to bring you along."

"What about Chief Lu? Will you be joining us?"

"I’ll pass," the puppet double impersonating “Lu Qing” pulled down her hood and replied modestly. "This isn’t something our Medical Department should be involved in."

"......"

Coming from her, these words carried little credibility.

But Anthony glanced at her frail appearance and considered the possibility that she might genuinely be unwell. In the end, he didn’t want to offend such a talented Alchemist. Instead, he selected a few others, along with some who volunteered to join, such as Grace and Cecil.

It was hard to say whether the former was motivated by courage or mere curiosity, but the latter was likely driven by competitive fervor. Cecil wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to earn a large number of points and climb the rankings.

Surprisingly, Eve also selected two people to bring along—not her Vice Chief Jessica, nor any of the Medicis, but Liz and Song Xingxing.

When their names were called, both wore expressions of surprise. Anthony recalled Eve mentioning them before. "Don’t those two have a combo skill?"

"Yes," Eve replied, pleased that Anthony had remembered her offhand remark. Her expression softened slightly. "The combo skill is called 'Forced Logout.'"

Anthony: "?"

Yet another phrase he couldn’t understand.

"Bring Luo Wenzhou along too," Lorca suddenly whispered to Eve.

"Huh?"

What was the point of bringing that unstable little time bomb? Eve didn’t quite understand, but since his own cousin recommended him, there must be some merit to it. Without overthinking, she added Luo Wenzhou to the list.

Luo Wenzhou seemed completely caught off guard by his recruitment. It was only then that Lorca calmly explained the reason: "Many weapons are unusable underwater. In hand-to-hand combat, almost no one can defeat Wen Zhou when he’s possessed by the Dragon Maiden."

"That’s true," Eve nodded, then added, "But what if his Spiritual State goes out of control again?"

Lorca still wore a calm and elegant smile. "We’ll deal with it if it happens. We made it through safely last time, and this time we even have the competition committee to back us up."

What a touching sentiment. Fortunately, Luo Wenzhou was too far away to hear.

And so, in the vast darkness of the night, twenty-plus contestants from the First Empire Academy fully demonstrated the bonds of camaraderie, kindly dragging each other into the water—both literally and figuratively.