Chapter 53 Chapter 53 “That pig… no…

"Why are you still here?" Chen Ming didn't even raise his head, but just glanced at Jiang Qing behind him.

Her fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, recording the new stream of data.

"Don't worry, I won't do any biopsy research," Chen Ming said. "It's in this state of deep recovery, and its internal energy machinery is active and stable. This is an excellent window to collect basic divine stance data and build an energy model. If we miss it, we don't know when we'll have the next opportunity."

"Besides, the college's funding approval also requires detailed data support." She finally reluctantly turned away from the screen for a moment, her eyes behind the lenses flashing with the enthusiasm of a researcher. "I promise it's absolutely safe and painless. Just let it sleep peacefully, and the instrument will just record it. You can go back and rest first, or take care of your own affairs. I'll let you know as soon as I get the notice, and you can come pick it up then."

Jiang Qing looked at Chen Ming's driving attitude of "I will fight to the death with anyone who dares to touch my experimental materials", and then looked at Zhu Tianba who was sleeping soundly on the stage and even turned over, and sighed helplessly.

She has absolute trust in Chen Ming's character and professional ethics.

"Okay." Jiang Qing compromised, but still couldn't help but remind him, "Teacher Chen, if it wakes up midway or feels uncomfortable..."

"I'll notify you as soon as possible, as quickly as possible!" Chen Ming replied immediately, his tone firm. "Go ahead, go ahead. Don't disturb me while I'm doing my work."

She waved a hand, her attention now fully back on the fascinating data.

Jiang Qing left the laboratory, looking back every few steps.

The door closed quietly behind him, blocking out the low hum of the instruments inside and Chen Ming's occasional excited whispers.

The corridor of the Beast Taming Research Department was very quiet, with only the sound of her footsteps echoing.

Although there is nothing wrong intellectually, the empty feeling in my heart still lingers.

She took out her Lingtong and was about to check the time when a notification from the college's academic affairs system popped up with a ding.

[Hello dear beastmaster, you have received the experimental subsidy from the Beast Taming Research Department, totaling 30,000 Beast Taming Coins. Please check.]

"So fast?" Jiang Qing looked at the notice, a little surprised at Chen Ming's efficiency.

It seems that her passion for researching Zhu Tianba has indeed turned into a powerful driving force.

Jiang Qing put away his spiritual power and looked back in the direction of the Beast Taming Research Department.

Zhu Tianba was sleeping inside, receiving various scans.

Three working days is not a lot of time, but it should be just enough for it to wake up naturally and recover.

Now, she really needed to go back and take care of her own affairs, such as changing clothes, eating computer food, and then organizing the report on this mission.

Jiang Qing turned around and walked towards the dormitory area.

Today is Tuesday. Li Xiu has gone to class and the dormitory building is quiet.

When I opened the dormitory door, a familiar scene came into view.

She looked down at herself. Her training suit was covered in dust from the mine and dried dark stains that might have been congestion or mud, and it was no longer clear.

There were still some scorch marks on the cuffs caused by the energy burns, and a few bristles left by Zhu Tianba rubbing against it.

Jiang Qing walked into the bathroom almost mechanically and turned on the faucet. The sound of running water was particularly clear in the silent room.

The cold water splashed on my face, stimulating my dull senses and taking away some of my fatigue.

Jiang Qing raised his head and looked at himself in the mirror.

Her face was a little pale, with a faint blue shadow under her eyes. A few strands of wet hair stuck to her forehead, and water droplets slid down the corners of her jaw.

After washing up, the feeling of hunger came over me belatedly, and my stomach made a slight protest.

Only then did she remember that she hadn't eaten anything since she came back, and the day's consumption had already drained her body's reserves.

After making a decision in his mind, Jiang Qing opened his locker and decided to eat some compressed biscuits and nutrient solution for the time being.

She tore open the package and chewed the biscuit and nutrient solution in turns with cold water.

The taste of the nutrient solution is as bland as ever, but it can quickly replenish energy.

While eating, Jiang Qing took out his Lingtong, skillfully opened the Beast Tamer Forum interface, and began to browse.

The forum is as lively as ever.

The top post was a brief official announcement from the academy about the "sudden energy anomaly in the mine near Luoxialin has been initially controlled." The wording was rigorous, only mentioning "local mineral vein anomalies caused by unknown energy sources" and "successful control," without going into details.

Jiang Qing slid his finger down, and the discussion in the comment section below was quite heated.

3L: [Front row, I heard the Guards sent out several teams? Any experts out there have any opinions? Could you elaborate on them?]

11L: [Rumor has it that the first-year students were sent on this mission. It seems the Wen family member is also going. I saw the Wen family's medical team at the school gate today.]

18L replied to 11L: [The Wen family? Who? Is the medical team here because someone is injured?]

24L: [Some of you seniors might not understand this, so let me explain. Among the freshmen selected for the Guard, there's one named Wen Zhuxi. He's been in poor health since childhood... As you know, I didn't expect him to go on this mission with us. I don't know if it's due to health issues or if he was injured.]

34L: [(Photo) I was passing by the school gate and took a photo. I was a bit far away, so the picture isn't very clear.]

Jiang Qing clicked on 34L's photo, which was the animal cart she was riding in. The moment the picture was taken was when she got off the cart.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew by, and her hair covered most of her face.

However, it doesn’t matter whether she covers her face or not, because behind her is Zhu Tianba, such an iconic spirit beast that anyone who has paid attention to the previous Beast Taming Competition will recognize it.

44L: [Is this girl Jiang Qing? ]

47L: [Of course it is. This iconic spirit beast is unique to each year!]

59: [By the way, Jiang Qing just got out of the car? She didn't go to the medical area, but went straight to where she was holding the spirit beast?]

74L: [I only care about the casualties... Is anyone in trouble?]

88L: [The official announcement says there were no fatalities, but injuries are inevitable. Even gathering missions can go wrong.]

94L: [This is my first time on a mission of this level as a freshman. I'm lucky to have made it back alive. I hope Wen Zhuxi and Zhu Tianba are alright.]

95L: [Prayer]

101L: [Prayer +1]

155L: [Luoxia Town is a very sinister place. It should have been thoroughly explored long ago...]

Jiang Qing quickly scanned the discussions and felt a little more at ease.

The academy and all parties involved were clearly controlling the spread of information, preventing large-scale leaks of the thrilling details of what happened in the mine and the existence of the Thousand Worms, which was beyond conventional knowledge.

She continued to slide her fingers down.

A few popular posts jumped out:

[(Photo) I just got this new spotted leopard cat cub, it's so cute! How do you guys build intimacy with it?]

[Practical Class Team Formation! Next Wednesday afternoon, target the outskirts of 'Shadow Forest'. Need a strong defensive partner. Contracted beast must be at least mid-level spirit rank!]

[Rational Discussion: Does the recent abnormal fluctuation of the "Source Power Tide" in many places indicate that a new secret realm is about to be opened?]

Her gaze lingered on the last post for a few seconds.

"The source force tide is fluctuating abnormally"... This immediately reminded her of the abnormal vibration of the compass jade.

Scrolling down, a post title with a hint of irony caught her attention:

Shocking! Professor Chen Ming's laboratory in the Zoological Research Department is brightly lit late at night. Is he suspected of capturing a rare experimental subject? Pictures reveal the truth! Attached: Blurry photo of a lighted window in the research building late at night.jpg]

The photo was blurry and the angle was tricky. All I could see was the bright light coming through a window on the upper floor of the research building, which was indeed conspicuous in the quiet campus night.

But the poster is obviously making groundless accusations.

The style of the comments section is also very skewed:

[Capture? Is Professor Chen finally going to take action against the arrogant lightning squirrel in the back mountain of the college?]

[Could it be that a new species of slime has been discovered? (dog head)]

[I bet 50 cents that Senior Zhou Qi has blown up some expensive piece of equipment again, and is working overtime all night to clean up the mess!]

[The truth is out! I feel sorry for Senior Zhou Qi for a second.]

[I'm the only one curious about what could possibly have Professor Chen so excited? The last time she went crazy in the middle of the night was when she discovered that the nerve conduction patterns of the Moonlight Jellyfish could optimize psychic shields...]

[My guess is it has something to do with the recent events in Luoxia Town? Didn't they dig something up there?]

If the post hadn't been made last night, Jiang Qing would have liked each of the last few students.

Judging from the content of this post, Teacher Chen Ming has quite a lot of experimental subjects.

She clicked on the communication interface again.

In addition to several notifications automatically sent by the college system, there are also several unread messages.

From Li Xiu:

[Honey, are you back? I heard it's dangerous in Luoxia Town! Are you okay? Where's Zhu Tianba? If you see me, let me know!]

【（Unconnected to the spiritual communication record）】

【（Unconnected to the spiritual communication record）】

[I'm going to class now! Please let me know if you're safe when you see the message!]

Anxiety and concern are evident between the lines.

Jiang Qing's heart warmed, and he immediately replied: "I'm back safely. Tianba and I are both fine. We're a little tired and resting in the dormitory. I'll tell you more later."

There was another message from Hong Ling, which was concise and to the point:

[Wen Zhuxi has been taken over by the Wen family medical team. His condition is stable, don't worry. I'm working on the draft mission report. Please consider the part involving Zhu Tianba first. There's no rush. Get some rest.]

Jiang Qing replied, "Got it. Thank you, Sister Hong Ling."

Jiang Qing didn't stop until he had clicked all the unread red dots on the screen.

When she looked at the time, it was already seven o'clock in the evening. She had been browsing the forum here for four hours!

There was a sound of locking at the door. Jiang Qing looked up and bumped into Li Xiu who was coming back from get out of class.

"Qingqing? Haven't had dinner yet? I packed some for you." Li Xiu shook the two packaging bags in her hand. "Don't be too touched."

"Xiu'er!" Jiang Qing quickly stood up from his chair and greeted her, "I will always support you."

Li Xiu: "I also brought food for Tianba."

"Hey, where's Tianba?" Her eyes swept around the dormitory, and Tutu also jumped off her body, with its little nose twitching, trying to distinguish the smell in the dormitory.

Suddenly, its expression froze.

The rabbit seemed to have recalled some bad memories, and froze in place with an 'angry' expression on his face.

That pig... wouldn't it run into its dormitory again, eat its rabbit food, and threaten it with its eyes?