Chapter 61
After sending the photo, Yael immediately closed his laptop and was determined not to read the feedback from Caesar... It was too embarrassing.
Dennis, on the other hand, looked regretful.
"Don't be shy. You should take more pictures as souvenirs. Your friends will definitely like them too!"
"Forget it, let's talk about it next time."
Yael coughed softly. He didn't know what it was like for other insects to be in love, but he couldn't stand such stickiness.
Although he was told to express his feelings honestly and to always pay attention to the other person's emotions... he had read all the love guides that females hadn't read in the past few days, but he still couldn't replicate those corny words and behaviors.
Anyway, it's Cecil's first time to fall in love, and it's his first time too, so just let it go. There's still plenty of time to take it slow.
"I think we just visited the tourist spots. I want to go inside the teaching building. The laboratories here should be very high-end, right?"
Yael changed the subject and looked towards the large buildings standing not far away. A hint of interest finally flashed in his eyes.
"So you also like experiments and research, why didn't you say so earlier? By the way, your sire used to be in this school, and you are his cub, so you must have been influenced by him..."
Dennis didn't expect that the female in front of him was also interested in these things, and his eyes lit up immediately.
"Enough of the nonsense, I'll take you to see our school's top experimental equipment!"
But as we walked across the central square and got closer to the laboratory building, we could hear more and more noisy noises, as if some kind of event was being held, with occasional cheers.
Yael was a little confused, but before he could ask Dennis, he turned the corner and saw a vast platform in front of him.
Countless light blue display screens were suspended in the air, with countless complex and profound questions flashing across them. Like a torrent, they surged through the vast knowledge points, making the entire platform look elite and high-end.
There were many students in school uniforms standing on the platform, divided into two distinct factions. At this moment, they were confronting each other in a tense atmosphere, and the expressions of the leading students looked extremely unfriendly.
"What's going on?"
Yael glanced around, a little confused, "Are we going to fight in a group?"
"Let's go, it's those second grade guys again, they're going crazy every day, let's walk away, be careful not to get affected."
Dennis frowned, looked at the Asian female's puzzled expression, and explained it to him.
"Ever since the genius Nostin Quinton appeared in the second grade, those guys have become arrogant. They have nothing to do all day long but challenge Senior Adelaide for the top position."
"Today, he must have seen that the senior was going to attend a project discussion meeting at school, so he took the opportunity to pick a fight with him... The senior is so busy that he doesn't have time to care about these farces."
Adelaide?
Yael thought about the discussion with Adelaide yesterday. The female insect seemed to have said that she would attend a meeting today to report the project progress to the school.
"Are you in fourth grade?"
He glanced at Dennis, who was filled with righteous indignation. "It seems that he admires Adelaide very much."
"No, I'm in the second grade." Dennis scratched his head and chuckled.
"It's not that I admire you, I just think it's cool to be like you, who devotes himself to academic research. That's what a real scholar is like!"
"Rather than those guys on stage who are always looking for trouble and acting like street urchins."
Yael wanted to remind him that his voice was too loud, but before he could open his mouth, he was surrounded by the second-year students who noticed this place, and the female insect in the lead had a ferocious look on her face.
"What did you just say? Dennis, do you want to die?!"
"Hey, you're the only one with the loudest voice? Believe it or not, if I shout, my 10,899 good brothers will rush over and knock you down!"
Being inexplicably stuck in the middle, Yael sighed silently and took the initiative to step forward and insert himself in front of Dennis, "Sorry, he didn't mean it."
The female insect was about to push him away impatiently, but the moment she met those dark eyes, she froze, as if a plate of cold water was poured over her head, and an indescribable shudder swept through her whole body.
Yael raised his eyelids and spoke in a tone that was neither light nor cold.
"It looks like the competition up there is about to start, don't you guys need to get ready?"
The bugs that surrounded them were all following the leading second graders. Whether they were preparing for the game or just cheering them on, the time was almost up. And if it really developed into a gang fight, no one would be able to escape.
"……Walk."
The female insect looked at Yael with some fear, feeling that something was wrong, but couldn't put her finger on it. In the end, she could only take a few steps back.
"etc."
At this moment, a low and cold figure came from above, instantly attracting all attention.
I saw a young female insect standing on the arena suspended in the air, leaning against the beam of light with her hands in her pockets, glancing sideways with a gloomy look, "Since you're here, why don't you stay and take a look."
"He is Nostin Quinton, the sophomore genius who was selected by exception."
Dennis and Yael whispered, looking alert. "He always likes to show off, but why did he suddenly ask us to stay? Do you know him?"
Yelchin hesitated for a moment, then walked to the audience and sat down in a corner.
"I don't know him, but it's nice to see the excitement."
He reached into his down jacket and miraculously pulled out a bag of caramelized sunflower seeds.
"Here, it's a must-have for a lively occasion. Do you want one?"
"……want!"
After Dennis's detailed explanation, Yael finally understood the rules of the fight.
Unlike the violent competitions at the Imperial Military University, the Research Academy is basically a literary competition, similar to the competition mechanism of the strongest brain, and the main content is to draw questions from the light screen and answer them.
The difficulty of the questions varies, the question types are varied, and there is not even any grade limit. Those who do it quickly and well will naturally win, and those who get the answer wrong or solve the problem a little slowly will lose the score.
The two parties confronting each other were the elite students of the second and fourth grades. However, Nostin Quinton did not stand in any camp. He was still leaning against the light column, casually looking at the questions passing by on the light screen.
"So, now that the competition is halfway through, the fourth graders are at a disadvantage, right?"
Yael ate melon seeds absentmindedly and threw the shells into a paper box made from a bag.
Although his position was a bit off, he was very close to the competition venue and could clearly see the contents on the question boards of both sides.
"Yes, apart from anything else, the sophomores who participated in the competition were all promoted to elite classes. Their professional level is at least very good."
Yael slowed down his movements and squinted his eyes to see the answer to the question solved by the bug on the platform.
The order of a whole set of test questions is completely shuffled. The answer will not be given immediately after a question is completed. The score will not be given until the countdown is completed or the entire set is completed.
"The fourth graders will win this one."
Dennis looked at him suspiciously. "The sophomore obviously did very quickly, and I remember his grades were always very good."
Yael said nothing and continued to eat melon seeds.
"The countdown has ended. All candidates please stop writing immediately... The final scores are being calculated..."
"Adler: 92."
Dennis exclaimed, "I remember he just picked a very difficult question that was beyond the standard. He still scored over 90 points. This is amazing!"
“Bernie: 92.5.”
As soon as the results came out, there was an immediate discussion among the students, who obviously did not understand why the obviously outstanding second-year student would lose to the taciturn and mediocre fourth-year student.
Yael ignored Dennis's series of questions and scanned the answer sheet that was presented to him. The wrong questions on it were indeed similar to what he expected.
He calmly grabbed another handful of melon seeds and handed them to Dennis.
"The next game has started. Do you want to eat some sunflower seeds?"
“…Knock!”
"This time, the sophomores are the perennial runner-up. Although they are always suppressed by Nostin, their strength should not be underestimated. The score they just recovered in the last round should be widened again."
Dennis explained, sighing, "Senior Adelaide and the other excellent seniors who worked with him on the project have gone to a meeting. This time the fourth graders might really get anal sex."
Each game lasts 20 minutes, which is quite boring.
Yael had stopped eating sunflower seeds and started sending messages on his laptop, only occasionally glancing at the situation on the stage.
“Who do you think will win this time?”
Yael was playing on his laptop when he was suddenly nudged on the shoulder. He heard Dennis's probing voice and said without even looking up, "Fourth grade, right?"
"Is this true?! I don't believe you will guess it right the second time!"
He shouted loudly, attracting everyone's attention. Before he finished speaking, the light screen on the platform showed the final results -
"What the hell?!"
"Is he really in the fourth grade?!"
"The female next to me guessed it right twice in a row... She's so lucky..."
This result was really unexpected. The students in the audience burst into cheers, and a few even started discussing the extremely beautiful female next to them and her luck that was too good to be from the European Emperor.
Yael had just finally mustered up the courage to read Cesar's feedback, and his ears were still a little hot when he put down his laptop.
Under Dennis's series of critical questions, he coughed a few times and went to look at the test questions on the stage.
"What did you say?"
Dennis took a deep breath and said, "I'll make a bet with you next time, okay?"
"Let's just...bet on these melon seeds. If you win, you get to eat them. If I win, I get to eat them. And you can't just guess. You have to give a specific reason!"
Suddenly deprived of the freedom to eat melon seeds, Yael withdrew his hand reaching for the seeds and pondered for a moment.
"Okay, but you can't restrict me from playing other things during this period."
What they didn't notice was that the students sitting next to them also pricked up their ears quietly.
"There are 10 multiple-choice questions at the beginning. They don't seem too difficult. I'll do them too... For the fifth question, should I choose A or D? For the sixth question, it must be C! And then..."
“我沒有四只眼睛看不了兩套題啊啊啊！”
想跟随着臺上的考生一起做題，方便猜測最終輸贏的丹尼斯很快崩潰了，餘光瞥到格外漫不經心的耶爾，一時都快吐血了。
他不會是被耍了吧？說不定亞雌根本就不想嗑瓜子了，單純在這溜他玩呢！
“……這次你押誰贏？”
耶爾有些心虛地關掉購物頁面，低咳了一聲正色道。
“這次應該是二年級的學生贏，這套試題他做得很漂亮，說不定會取得前所未有的高分。”
但還沒等丹尼斯說話，後面觀衆席上突然伸過來一個腦袋，神情逐漸八卦，“真的假的？！”
“你好呀，漂亮學弟！剛才偷聽了一下你們講話，嘿嘿……”
趁現在成績還沒出來，耶爾簡單點評了兩句。
“試題難度不一，二年級的這個學生沒有死磕難題，先挑選了好拿分的做，基本盤在那裏，而且他在做分值最大的拉分題時第一次就用對了公式，整套試題基本無錯誤。”
“四年級的這套題不算特別難，但題型和正規課堂教的不太一樣，需要公式靈活變形，他一開始就偏離了路徑，在拐回去的路上浪費了太多時間，就沒時間做其他的題，分數就落下了一些。”
丹尼斯和旁邊的學生目瞪口呆，但還沒等質疑，平臺上的分數就出來了——
“第一個九十九！”
“好高分！”
“那個亞雌居然又說對了……”
耶爾順利拿到自己的瓜子，又開始嗑起來，沒注意到身後又圍上來一圈學生，甚至有些也掏出了自己的零食，成了一道齊刷刷的風景線。
“你剛才不是在玩光腦嗎？！”
丹尼斯一陣窒息，“難道在偷摸搜答案？”
耶爾将瓜子放在手心，伸到旁邊的座位上，頓時有好幾只手鹦鹉一樣叼走了一些瓜子。
他拍了拍手上的碎屑，聞言笑了笑。
“試題刷新出來的時候看一遍，他們快答完的時候看一遍就好了。”
這言論逆天到就連臺上事不關己的諾斯丁，都忍不住隐晦地看了他一眼。
丹尼斯震撼許久，無言以對，給他捧了滿滿的瓜子呈上去。
“高手！請嗑瓜子！”
耶爾抓了一把，“下一場還猜嗎？”
“猜！”
“我也想加入，可以嗎？”
……
最後耶爾磕到嘴都有點腫了，不僅贏下了分給丹尼斯的瓜子，還把周圍一圈同學的零食都贏了過來，塞滿了羽絨服的兩個口袋。
丹尼斯大為震撼，放下了光腦上的演算板，呆呆地看着平臺上刷新出的分數。
他托同學代購的十包瓜子剛好到了，回過神後吸溜從凳子上滑了下來，恭敬地獻給了耶爾。
“大佬，請受我一拜！”
耶爾清了清嗓子，打開能量液抿了一口，“不吃了，怕上火。”
“是不是已經比完了，感覺基本都上過一輪了。”
他數了數上臺的蟲頭，基本都露過一輪臉了，如果不搞車輪戰的話，這次确實是二年級的略勝一籌。
“沒呢，下一場壓軸，諾斯丁那家夥要上場了，哦，也不一定，他只對挑戰阿德萊德感興趣，這次學長不在……他可能直接不上了吧。”
旁邊一個學生插嘴道，看向神色有些屈辱的四年級。
怎麽好像少了一個蟲？剛剛是不是有誰偷偷去叫幫手了？
耶爾似懂非懂地點了點頭，看了一眼光腦上的時間，将那些贏來的零食收拾好後站了起來。
“那你們繼續看，我想去實驗室那邊逛逛……”
“喂。”
這時，一道有些熟悉而冰冷的聲音突兀響起，将觀衆席上的嘈雜全部壓了下去。
全場的目光頓時被引向一個地方——
耶爾被拉住了羽絨服下擺，有些茫然地擡起頭，和站在平臺邊沿看向這邊的諾斯丁對上了視線。
年輕雌蟲有一雙深灰色的眼睛，像是流轉着暗物質的宇宙，漠然而高傲，仿佛一切都無法被他收入眼底。
“要比一場嗎？”
但此刻，他緊盯着觀衆席上的耶爾，眸底暗含一絲狂熱的光亮，發出了比賽的邀請。
耶爾萬萬沒想到嗑個瓜子居然還能引火上身，“？”
“那個，我趕時間……”
他還沒說完，平臺另一邊引起了一陣更大的騷動，将大部分視線都吸引了過去，耶爾也跟着轉頭一看。
——阿德萊德？！
他低咳一聲，伸手将羽絨服的帽子戴上了，正想趁着諾斯丁沒注意溜走，卻被愣住的丹尼斯絆了一下，沒有成功走掉。
“你們在幹什麽？”
熟悉的聲音轉眼來到身後，正開完會的阿德萊德帶領項目組的蟲走過來，看着眼前亂哄哄的鬧劇，眉心緊皺。
“是諾斯丁一直說想和學長切磋，二年級的學生就自發組織來挑戰四年級了……”
悄悄出去搬救兵的那個雌蟲低聲道。
“無聊，有這時間不如多做些實驗。”
阿德萊德神色漠然，視線略過周圍一圈蟲，沒有給四年級找回面子的意思，帶着項目成員直接轉身往外走，“走。”
諾斯丁卻從始至終都沒有移開過目光，直勾勾地看着耶爾，不依不饒道，“他走了，你和我比。”
耶爾原本不想搭理的，卻架不住無數探照燈似的目光在身上掃來掃去，猶豫一瞬還是出聲拒絕了。
“不好意思，我還有事，而且我本來就不是學院的學生……你找其他蟲吧，先告辭了。”
阿德萊德瞳孔驟縮，走下臺階的步伐一頓，後面的蟲剎車不及，差點撞在他身上。
“首席，怎麽了？”
那個蟲神色茫然地道，卻間面前身形僵硬的蟲一點點轉過了身，臉上的神情像是難以置信，又像是強行壓抑着激動——
他從那雙眼睛裏看到了一線無比眼熟、狂熱至極的光。
而這邊，耶爾無奈地将羽絨服的帽子撥了下來，打算再拒絕一次就直接走掉，眼前的雌蟲應該不會一直糾纏不休。
但還沒等付諸實踐，就被猛地按住了肩膀。
昨天晚上才聽到的聲音在耳邊響起，幾乎像是索命的惡鬼。
“你，想去哪裏？”
阿德萊德不知道什麽時候出現在他身後，目光灼灼地看着他，幾乎咬牙切齒地道，“耶爾？”
“回來了？趁現在幹脆你們都和我比一場。”
諾斯丁仍然在孜孜不倦地發出比賽邀請，看向阿德萊德的動作，似乎也躍躍欲試想要上前按住耶爾的肩膀。
耶爾呆滞片刻，突然又聽到身後響起丹尼斯幽幽的聲音。
“耶爾？原來你不叫西爾啊……”
哦豁，完蛋。
“等等，別扯帽子……瓜子掉了！”
雖然這件事很抓馬，但瓜子是無辜的！
此時，行政樓頂層，校長辦公室內。
“下面發生什麽事了，這麽吵。”
諾曼起身将窗簾拉開，卻見到下面的平臺上團團圍着很多學生，活生生一個聚衆鬥毆現場。
想起身後坐着的巨佬，他一瞬間冷汗都下來了，剛想拉上窗簾假裝無事發生，一道聲音卻從耳邊傳來。
“貴校的學生還真是青春活潑。”
諾曼幹笑了幾聲，只能順着身後蟲的話連連應聲。
“小年輕嘛，特別愛出風頭，找到機會就想和同學比試，也好也好……”
一個蒼老但仍然精神矍铄的蟲從他身後走出，将另一邊窗簾也拉開了，看了眼下方鬧哄哄的場面，語氣淡淡。
“有傲氣很好，但太浮躁可是做不了科研的。”
諾曼看向眼前緊皺着眉的蟲，無奈地嘆了口氣。
“您教訓得是……也是學校管理不嚴了，回去就給他們加作業！”
莫德·肖，現任帝國研究所所長，近百年來生命科學領域當之無愧的領軍者，大半生所做的貢獻足夠載入史冊流傳千年。
雖然脾氣古怪至極，而且相當犟，常常做出驚蟲之舉，固執起來就連皇室都無法動搖其意願，但也是真正德高望重、剛正不阿的學者。
“我這就叫老師管一管，您稍等……”
諾曼退開一步撥通了值班教師的通訊，莫德·肖伸手按住窗棂，微微眯起眼看向下方的學生。
片刻後他似乎注意到什麽，神情微怔，更靠近了一步看向下方，再三确認清楚後，卻板起了臉斂下外洩的情緒。
又想起剛才說過的話，他不自然地低聲道，“做不了科研……也不一定……”
身後跟着參加會面的學生似乎察覺到了不對勁，上前一步低聲道，“老師，怎麽了？”
但随後他也看見了下方蟲群中的中心，愣了一下後神情驚喜。
“那不是……！”
“我倒是不知道，他居然還喜歡吃這些小零食。”
莫德·肖撇了撇嘴，一臉嫌棄地哼了一聲，安靜片刻後又擰眉思索道。
“難道是因為我們所沒有這些小玩意，長期下來心情抑郁，才會那樣子？”
那學生聽到這句話，無聲嘆了口氣，熟練地寬慰老師道。
"Anyway, he's back safely now. When the current situation is over, we can go and recruit him again... I'll buy some snacks now."
Maude Shaw's face suddenly turned sour.
"What are you buying?! I won't hire him. He can come and go as he pleases. Does he think this institute is a hotel?!"
Norman had returned from his call and was about to continue preparing for the meeting.
Maud Shaw opened the curtain and turned back, adding uncomfortably as he passed his student a few steps behind.
"…Just buy some snacks and eat them! Let him enjoy them!"
*
"knock off!"
A loud and resounding shout was heard, and the atmosphere of the Second Army suddenly relaxed. They packed up their equipment in a well-trained manner, started up their starships, and left the cleared battlefield.
Office of the First Fleet Commander.
"After not seeing you for so many years, you are still as efficient and decisive as ever, and your tactics are even more brutal than before!"
Before the door opened, a familiar, rough laugh was heard.
The next second, the office door was kicked open and a female soldier as tall as an iron tower rushed in.
"You are the only one who can break your record! I thought it would be another two or three days before I could see my breasts."
Rachel sat down on the small sofa by the door and looked at the female soldier in front of the sand table opposite her. Her face showed a complex expression of nostalgia and anger.
"Only when I fight with you can I feel such a satisfying feeling. I have been so depressed for the past five years!"
"The Third and Fourth Armies have become places where nobles go to get rich, and the First Army is occupied by demons and monsters. They are so slow and stupid every time they go into battle. I can't help myself!"
Xize ignored him and waved his hand. The sand table that was reviewing the battle situation collapsed completely, and a new round of simulation exercises began.
"It's been a while since you came back, and you just fought a great battle. What did His Majesty say?"
Xi Ze paused, but his eyes did not leave the sandbox, and his tone was indifferent.
"He said that he would be conferred the title of Honorary Marshal upon his return, and he would be able to ascend the throne when the current Marshal retires in two years."
Rachel sighed helplessly.
"Although you are the real commander of the First Army, you have been pretending to be the crown prince for five years. If you directly remove the face of the royal family, where will you go...be patient, two years will pass quickly."
Xi Ze suddenly raised his eyes, his gaze extremely cold, "No."
"I can't wait that long."
Rachel looked at him in astonishment, and suddenly realized something, with an expression of disbelief.
"What did you say?"
Behind the sandbox is an unobstructed transparent glass, and behind the female soldier is the vast and boundless universe.
The magnificent rose-colored nebula is slowly rotating, splashing out a breathtaking blood color.
There was a dark shadow under the brim of the military cap, but it could not cover the extremely bright light in his eyes, which was like a sharp and cold light flowing on the blade of a sword that was unsheathed.
"In two or three months at the earliest, and half a year at the latest, I must become a marshal."
He casually took off his gloves and threw them away without even glancing at the sticky battle scene. But almost instantly, the sand table suddenly raised a cloud of virtual blood sand.
Rachel realized that the battle simulated on the sandbox was not the scene of repelling the beast tide just now, but a more tragic and familiar situation, just like...
The female soldier's expression suddenly froze.
Before he could take a closer look, the ever-changing virtual battlefield began to explode in succession!
When the smoke gradually dissipated, the army with the First Army's small flag had won a great victory.
——That was the extremely strange battle five years ago that directly led to the sacrifice of Admiral Monte.
Today, we finally have a comeback.
Rachel shuddered for a moment, and suddenly felt the deep anger and hatred that had been burning in the heart of the military heroine in front of her for those five years.
Like a raging flame, it was determined to burn all the rotten flesh and blood, and to grind all the grinning evil spirits into ashes. It needed to be sprinkled with the blood of the enemies over and over again in order to be extinguished.
Caesar held the sand table with both hands, staring deeply at Rachel who lowered her head, with the corners of his lips slightly raised.
"You'll side with the other side, won't you?"
The sturdy female soldier raised her head and grinned, revealing a pair of sharp fangs, with a bloodthirsty light flashing in her eyes, "Of course."
"It's been a long time since I've felt this way."
The author has something to say:
Yeah Yeah: Kokokokokokokokokokoko… (The caramel melon seeds smell so good V)