Out of tune (7)
Weston seemed to be in a bad mood, and Shu Ningmiao wisely refrained from asking him now if he could make the heart stone she wanted.
After Shu Ningmiao set her sights on Weston, she deliberately investigated his background.
Weston was born in Yingjian District and his family was not wealthy; this is something that can be easily found with a simple search on the terminal.
Pinneco has five districts—though there are only five districts, their combined area is about the size of a small country.
If the five districts are divided according to their economic level, Lingtian District would undoubtedly be first, while Yingjian District would be last, bordering the slums.
Even in a bustling city like Pines that never sleeps, there are still chaotic and filthy places like slums.
This filthy little place is more like Pinheis's garbage dump. Sewage washes garbage onto the ground, and there are rotting corpses, hardened excrement, and rats with only half their bodies lying everywhere. It's almost impossible to find a place to put your feet.
Many undocumented people live in the slums because they have lost their identity due to crime or bankruptcy. There is no law, no guards, and no guarantee of safety.
The Penelope policing officers were stationed at the border between the outskirts and the slums, solely to prevent people from the slums from freely entering and leaving.
Ironically, this dilapidated garbage dump and slum with streets filled with the stench of fish had a hopeful name—New Land.
In Old Pinhic, this name is also "Land of Light".
Shu Ningmiao had no idea how long this ironic slum had existed in Pinneco; she had never been to such a place before.
Because it borders "garbage dumps" like Sungei, housing prices in Yingjian District are relatively low compared to the other four districts. It is sometimes jokingly referred to as the "lower district" because only people who really can't maintain a decent life would move there.
Weston grew up in the underworld, and his life must have been more than just "poor." To have achieved this much is to say that he has conquered the mediocrity that most people would expect.
Thinking about it this way, Shu Ningmiao became even more curious about why he was dismissed and removed from his post. Could it be that he blew up the research center?
It's also possible that he was ostracized by his colleagues because he spoke too harshly.
She suppressed a laugh, her shoulders trembling slightly as a feather brush flicked her forehead.
“Focus.” Weston narrowed his eyes and lowered the hand that was using Pandora. “Miss Shu Ningmiao.”
"I've already finished correcting it." Shu Ningmiao pulled off the quill pen and pushed the homework paper to his side.
Weston glanced at her, then flipped through the notebooks one by one from the top, revealing neat red marks on each page; none of them were scribbled.
Everything naturally becomes more and more skillful with practice. Shu Ningmiao does not allow herself to repeat practice or waste time without making progress. When Weston first asked her to help with the work, it would take her several hours, but now it only takes about half an hour.
She plans to use the rest of her time to review the theoretical courses at String Light Academy, even if they are boring, she will still get first place.
Weston said the term of voluntary labor was two months, which would end the day after tomorrow. Shu Ningmiao considered herself a good assistant, at least she had reduced his workload a lot during these two months.
Looking forward to his response, Shu Ningmiao stared at him with bright eyes.
He unfolded the newspaper, and the movement of his pupils revealed that he had no intention of responding to her.
This path seems to be blocked. However, the market for Pandora derivatives like "Heartstone" is not wide, and the fact that it can only be detected through contact greatly limits its applicability. There are not many people researching it, and there have been no significant results in recent years. Apart from Weston, who invented it, it is unlikely that anyone can improve it.
Well, I guess I'll just have to think of another way.
Shu Ningmiao picked up her terminal, still showing her usual bright smile, and said goodbye to her teacher.
As usual, Weston ignored her.
He probably felt that all social interactions between people were meaningless communication.
Shu Ningmiao stepped out of his office, carefully closing the door behind her without making a sound. The top floor consisted entirely of teachers' offices, and she moved quietly to avoid disturbing others.
In the game's ending CG, she dies on the top floor of the Zhunti Pagoda. Thinking of this, she doesn't go downstairs immediately, but plans to look around to see where it resembles the original crime scene of her death.
Shu Ningmiao took out her terminal again and examined the CG of the death ending.
Judging from the CG image, the place where she died was a very narrow room with a lot of dust and clutter, so it was definitely not a teacher's office, but a room that had been vacant for a long time.
Based on this logic, Shu Ningmiao first ruled out all the teachers' offices on this floor, leaving only four doors.
Behind one of the doors were several broken mops and brooms, probably left there by the cleaning staff. The room layout was different, and Shu Ningmiao only glanced at it before leaving.
Behind the other two doors are public restrooms. There is a restroom in the teacher's office, but almost no one uses it. It is very clean and there is no similar place.
Shu Ningmiao quickly walked to the last door and then to Weston's office, which was sandwiched between Weston's office and another teacher's office.
She stepped forward, gently placing her hand on the embossed doorknob, feeling a thin layer of dust on her fingertips.
The door handle, after being turned, made a creaking sound, like the rust in the keyhole rubbing against each other in distress, stuck in a certain position and could no longer be turned.
It won't open, but there's no keyhole on the outside. Is it locked from the inside?
Shu Ningmiao lowered her eyes, tightened her wrist slightly, and tried to forcefully break the lock cylinder, when she suddenly felt someone pat her shoulder from behind.
She was completely focused on the door lock when the forceful slap almost made her hit the door. Startled, she turned around instantly and put her hands behind her back.
The person standing behind him was Yelü Qi. He seemed unaware that she would be so unprepared, and a faint look of surprise crossed his face.
"Teacher." Shu Ningmiao greeted the teacher by looking down at the tips of her shoes. Her hands, which had been clasped behind her back, slowly moved to take out a tissue from her pocket and wipe her fingertips, returning to her usual nonchalant demeanor.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you going back to your dorm?" Yelüqi glanced at the terminal: "School's been over for hours."
"I'll help Mr. Weston grade the homework." Shu Ningmiao instantly shifted the blame to Weston, since it was originally his anyway: "I'll be leaving right away."
"Wait." Yelü Qi beckoned to her, his expression turning surprised as if he had heard something strange: "You were just in his office?"
"Hmm..." Shu Ningmiao's eyes widened as she stared at him blankly.
"Then why did he ask me to give this to you tomorrow?" Yelü Qi scratched his forehead, completely baffled as to what his former classmate and now colleague was thinking. "Did you leave this with him?"
He handed her the paper bag in his hand; it was a white paper bag with a ribbon handle, and it didn't look like Weston's style.
Shu Ningmiao couldn't remember losing anything in his office, so she could only accept it blankly.
Seeing that Yelü Qi was about to leave, Shu Ningmiao thought for a moment and called out to him, "Teacher, what is this room for? It seems to be locked from the inside."
Yelü Qi turned around and looked in the direction she was pointing, and said, "This is... the former principal's office, right?"
Hearing that it was locked from the inside, he strode over to her, tried to turn the lock, and sure enough, it wouldn't open: "It's been abandoned for many years. I heard that this room was no longer used after the first principal died. It's probably just that the lock broke from being unused for so long."
He patted her on the shoulder: "I'll talk to logistics, you don't need to worry about it."
Shu Ningmiao nodded, deciding to try to break into the door again when no one was around.
She carried the paper bag that Yelüqi had given her, only remembering to open it when she got back to her dormitory.
Why did Weston have to give her something, instead of giving it to her in person, and instead have a colleague deliver it to her?
Shu Ningmiao felt that she might have been driven to paranoia by Su Ni, but she still went next door to borrow a pair of glasses and put them on, just in case something dangerous peeked out from inside.
She carefully opened the paper bag, revealing a yellow velvet box inside, tied with a white ribbon and even a bow—it was quite cute.
It was just like an ordinary gift.
Could it have been sent to the wrong person?
Shu Ningmiao opened the gift box, inside was a pair of pearl earrings, made of a similar material to the pearl necklace she often wore. Both the workmanship and design were exquisite, and they would fetch a high price at an auction house.
She picked up one of the earrings and held it up to the light above her head. She discovered that the pearls were made with a hollowed-out design, and there was another layer inside. She could vaguely see a small ball moving inside, but no matter how she shook it, the ball inside didn't move.
Shu Ningmiao was taken aback. She hung the earring on the shelf on the table, took a few steps back, and cast a 'Light' ability into the air in the palm of her other hand.
With her enhanced vision, she could clearly see the small ball in the openwork of the earring vibrating out of thin air, and she could hear an almost inaudible buzzing sound in the air.
She maintained the release of her supernatural power, slowly retreating until she was almost out the door, when she saw the small ball in the earring gradually stop vibrating, revealing a detection range of about two meters.
These earrings are actually "heart stones"! They're the kind of "heart stones" that she mentioned, the kind that don't require the user to touch them.
With these earrings, she can sense whether anyone is using superpowers within two meters. They are designed to be discreet, with a small ball inside the earring that senses vibrations. No one but her will notice. When worn close to the body, they will not trigger any reaction when she uses her own superpowers.
Weston's abilities exceeded her expectations.
Even though she tried to ask Weston for such a 'heart stone,' she knew very well that it wasn't something that could be made in a short time.
Just a few hours ago, she was telling herself not to rush things and thinking about what other benefits could tempt Weston.
Unexpectedly, he actually made exactly what she wanted!
Moreover, he did it during the two weeks he spent cleaning up the mess the research center had made of the system. He even took several days off to go to the medical center. Shu Ningmiao was really curious about how he managed his time.
She immediately took off her current earrings, put on these heart-shaped earrings, rolled around on her blanket, and then sat up to close the velvet gift box she had just opened.
When she picked up the lid, something slowly fell out. Shu Ningmiao picked it up from the table and found it was a yellow petal. Because the color was exactly the same as the box, it was not conspicuous when stuck to the box.
Shu Ningmiao didn't pay any attention, casually put the petals into the box and closed it, then silently walked around her dormitory room.
The terminal on the desktop vibrated briefly. Shu Ningmiao picked it up and found it was a message from Shi Yu.
"Are you coming tomorrow night at eight o'clock?"
Shu Ningmiao only remembered that tomorrow was a day off after reading his message.
During his preparatory studies, the prominent students in Cornunos would always host one banquet after another on their days off.
Unlike the parties where Chris and her entourage act up, attending a dinner party is simply a gathering of social elites and dignitaries dressed in glamorous attire, with waiters serving up plate after plate of delicacies between cushioned seats.
But no one actually eats anything; they usually just hold a wine glass and keep moving between masks.
Sometimes she would be confused as to why she came to such a place, but it was a necessary form of social interaction, just as fish need to live in water.
Those who don't live in water often die in the pot; it's much more comfortable to live in water.
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