As the time was about to enter the final ten seconds of the countdown, Asher didn't care about that much anymore, and subconsciously rushed forward, separating Hua Hua and Professor Jorge who were hugging.
Professor Jorge: "?"
Professor Jorge looked at Asher with confusion in his eyes. But out of trust in Asher, Professor Jorge instinctively followed Asher's motion and separated from Hua Hua's hugging motion.
"?", Hua Hua tilted the purplish-red flower bud on her head.
Kloster and Vicky at the side: "!"
The two of them suddenly widened their eyes again, staring intently at Nightmare Flower's movements.
Afraid that Nightmare Flower would launch an attack at Asher at the slightest disagreement.
However...
Asher's mood was indescribably complicated.
At this very moment.
The [Mental Protection] buff hanging on Hua Hua's body that was about to run out, actually got extended again?
Asher: "?"
A question mark floated all over the whole big brain.
Just now, right under his eyelids, what exactly happened?
Asher racked his brain but couldn't understand.
"Uh...", Professor Jorge looked at Asher's expression of wanting to speak but holding back, thought for a moment and still softly spoke, "Hua Hua... is there something wrong with Hua Hua?"
Professor Jorge's voice was very light, and his gaze at Asher also carried a bit of worry.
He specially invited Asher to come together because Asher had contact with Hua Hua before, had strong enough professional ability, and also understood Hua Hua well enough.
In case anything happened...
Professor Jorge's own mood was also quite complicated now.
He wasn't very clear on what kind of answer he wanted to get from Asher's mouth.
"The situation is a bit strange," Asher also didn't hide it.
The [Corruption] debuff hanging on Hua Hua's body, Asher only saw it, but wasn't clear what was going on.
Severity level temporarily unknown.
And what Asher was even more unclear about was how the buff that was originally about to run out suddenly got extended again.
That's right, extended.
[Mental Protection (239:56:12)]
240 hours.
A full ten days' time.
To study what's going on...
"I need to take another look," Asher's expression looked very serious.
There was no joking tone in it.
Seeing this, Professor Jorge took a deep breath.
Looks like the severity of the matter is far more serious than he had anticipated.
Professor Jorge looked long at Asher and eventually still nodded.
"Alright, I trust your judgment, Professor Asher," Letting out a long breath from his chest, Professor Jorge's lips were tightly pressed, his mood indescribably complicated.
But Professor Jorge could distinguish between priorities.
He knew the most important thing he should do now was cooperate.
Looking at Nightmare Flower, Professor Jorge reached out, and Hua Hua once again cooperatively lowered its head, rubbing in his hand.
Kloster and Vicky at the side looked at each other and saw the same shock and disbelief in each other's eyes.
Who could've thought.
"Clearly looks quite scary...", Vicky mumbled softly.
Standing next to Vicky, Kloster heard it clearly and nodded in agreement, "Its strength is also quite powerful... I estimate it shouldn't be too far from advancing to ninth tier."
The two of them spoke in turn, discussing very harmoniously.
Noticing the movements on Kloster and Vicky's side, Asher: "..."
Could these two do something proper?
Asher didn't hold back either.
Directly rolled his eyes at them.
"You two."
Kloster and Vicky, who were discussing heatedly: "???"
"Calling us again?", Vicky uncertainly pointed to his own nose.
Asher chuckled, "Or else what."
"Actually, you two could speak even louder, anyway everyone can hear you," Asher spoke breezily and calmly.
Kloster and Vicky, suddenly realizing something: "..."
The two once again looked at each other.
Secretly, silently, with guilty conscience, turned their heads to look at Professor Jorge on the side.
Professor Jorge gave the two of them a polite smile. Nightmare Flower also very cooperatively tilted its head, looking at the two.
Kloster: "Cough! Cough!"
Vicky: "Cough! Cough!"
Utterly embarrassing.
Say no more say no more.
Only then did Asher snort lightly.
"Find a place," Asher didn't hold back.
This situation with Nightmare Flower was quite strange, Asher still needed to check it.
Kloster had no objection upon hearing this.
If possible, they really didn't want to face head-on such a powerful and potentially advanced beast.
If it could be resolved peacefully, that would be best.
If it could even turn around and help them... that would be even better.
Thinking of this, Kloster looked at Nightmare Flower again.
Kloster shook his head in his heart. The most important thing for a person is to learn to be content and find joy. Some things are fine as long as they're good enough.
Overthinking not only makes things difficult for beasts, but also for yourself.
"Behind us is a break room, usually no one comes here," Kloster walked at the front leading the way.
No need to rearrange another place.
Though Nightmare Flower showed quite good emotional control and stability when facing Asher and Professor Jorge, and looked like it wouldn't go berserk easily.
But just in case, no accidents could be allowed to happen.
This place had few people around, making it the most suitable location.
Asher had no objection to this.
Professor Jorge had even less objection.
Vicky? Vicky could only vaguely realize something, more than that? Really nothing more.
———
Imperial Spire.
"Ha! Dear Veyl, have you heard the latest news?"
Doctor Veyl, who had buried himself in the lab working hard for over ten days, had just come out when several people greeted him.
Doctor Veyl: "?"
'What news? The news of those idiots from last time kicking the bucket?'
Doctor Veyl pondered left and right, couldn't think of anything that could make these people in front of him this excited.
"Oh!", A girl with thick curly hair, dark skin, and fiery red lips smiled helplessly and glanced at Doctor Veyl.
"Dear Doctor Veyl, your ability is unparalleled even in the Imperial Spire."
"But when it comes to receiving some news, you're still a bit behind."
"You have to know, many times, whether we know news early or late is very important to us."
Doctor Veyl smiled slightly at this, a gentle and polite smile appearing on his face.
"Yes, Rita, you're very right."
Then Doctor Veyl changed the topic, "But I still have you, don't I? My dear friend."
"Rita."
Obviously just a common name, but when said from Doctor Veyl's mouth.
At this moment, Rita was especially grateful that her skin tone was especially deep, so even if she blushed it wasn't that easy to notice.
"Doctor Veyl, you really are...", Rita hummed twice and didn't continue.
She skipped the topic.
"Who told you to say I'm your best friend," Rita brushed her hair, her face once again showing a passionate smile.
She blinked at Doctor Veyl, "An interesting piece of news."
"Reportedly, Soren has developed a method to evolve Honey Bugs."
Doctor Veyl's pupils suddenly trembled.
This subtle change did not manage to escape the eyes of Rita, who had been staring at him all along.
Rita was not surprised by this either.
Instead, she smiled even more flamboyantly.
"Right, right! Dr. Veyl, you also think this news is really ridiculous, right?", Seeing that Dr. Veyl seemed very interested in this topic, Rita quickly continued speaking.
Dr. Veyl hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Seeing this, Rita became even more interested.
Dr. Veyl himself might not know. But within the Spire, most people's evaluation of Dr. Veyl was, polite, but doesn't necessarily pay attention to you.
Most people didn't have much opinion about this. They would just say one sentence, "A common quirk of geniuses."
A common quirk of geniuses. Nothing more normal.
Faced with a rare topic that could attract Dr. Veyl's interest, Rita was also very excited.
Grasp this opportunity and win over Dr. Veyl. When she got back, she could brag about it for a whole year.
Dr. Veyl saw at a glance what Rita was thinking.
Dr. Veyl had a blank expression. Not because he wasn't angry. He had already gotten angry about this long ago. It was useless.
Every time this happened, Dr. Veyl would feel a little nostalgic for his hometown. At least everyone was civilized, reserved, and subtle.
But it was just a little bit of nostalgia. Most of the time, he didn't feel it at all.
Seeing the increasingly distant expression on Dr. Veyl's face, Rita knew that if she delayed any longer, Dr. Veyl would definitely turn around and leave, so she quickly continued speaking.
"This is the latest news from the wedge in Soren."
"Honeybug can actually evolve?", It only takes one sentence to explain this.
What shocked the inside of the Imperial Spire the most was, Honeybug
That's Honeybug. The trash of trash. A thing not even worth mentioning. Not even considered a beast.
Thinking of this, Rita added another sentence, "It seems like the evolution process is actually pretty simple?"
"And after evolving, it directly shot up to a mid-tier beast?", As she spoke, Rita's tone also carried a bit of disbelief, with a hint of doubt in her expression.
"I think… it's hard to say. Part of it might be true, but there must definitely be some rumors?", Dr. Veyl didn't express his opinion upon hearing this, and only asked back.
"Rita, then which part do you think is true, and which part is rumor?"
Dr. Veyl's tone sounded extremely calm.
As if he wasn't the least bit shocked or angry because of it.
Rita couldn't hear so many emotions from him at all.
If you asked her… isn't this exactly how Dr. Veyl always acts? What's different about today? Totally can't tell.
"If you ask me," Rita rested her chin in her hand with interest, showing a thoughtful expression. A happy smile appeared on Rita's face.
"If I really have to say, I think the part about Honeybug being able to evolve is probably true."
"As for the fake part…", she paused for a moment, then continued, "That's probably the part about Honeybug being pretty strong after evolving."
"How is that even possible?"
"Talent!"
"Ceiling!"
"These are all innate things. Are they that easy to break through just because you want to?"
By the end of her words, Rita's voice had gradually risen, sounding very emotional.
Dr. Veyl gestured with a hand for her to calm down. Only then did Rita realize that she had gotten a bit too worked up.
Taking two deep breaths, Rita quickly returned to her usual calm appearance.
She showed Dr. Veyl a gentle smile, "Dr. Veyl, don't you think what I said makes sense?"
Dr. Veyl said coldly, "Some things, we both know very well, don't we?"
"Oh, talking with you is really interesting, Dr. Veyl," Rita smiled and stepped forward, leaning closer to Dr. Veyl, throwing a flirtatious glance.
"You're right."
"The fact that we're gathered here at the Imperial Spire means we share the same thoughts and ideals."
"So—"
Just as Rita was about to lean on him, Dr. Veyl took a quick step and dodged to the side.
Rita lost her balance and stumbled two steps forward.
Dr. Veyl's expression didn't change in the slightest.
Rita gave Dr. Veyl a resentful look, "You really are a man who doesn't understand flirtation."
Dr. Veyl still had a blank expression.
Same ideals? Flirtation? Heh! When had he ever said these things, when had he ever acknowledged these things.
After squeezing all the value out of Rita, Dr. Veyl waved his hand and left.
Picking up his food, Dr. Veyl strode back to his laboratory, his dominion.
Sitting in the rest area to the side, while eating, Dr. Veyl's brain was rapidly spinning.
The news about Honeybug evolving getting out… how to put it. Dr. Veyl wasn't as surprised as he had imagined.
He had known for a long time that this would happen sooner or later.
Just based on the nails that the Imperial Spire had driven into various countries over the years. It should be said, the fact that Soren held on for more than a year before the news fully leaked, was already a very rare thing.
But still… When people want to complain about a person or a country, it has absolutely nothing to do with that person's or country's ability.
"Can't even keep a little news under wraps."
"Hmph!"
Dr. Veyl snorted heavily.
Then he let out a cold laugh, "But the Imperial Spire is just like that."
Don't believe Honeybug can evolve? Think Honeybug isn't that strong after evolving?
Dr. Veyl felt like laughing, laughing out loud.
All these years, the Imperial Spire controlled countless top talents, plus the intelligence gathering from every country, and really thought they were the best in the world, invincible in the universe?
Dr. Veyl pushed his tray aside. Left foot pressing the ground, right foot propped up, elbow resting on his leg, chin held up by his hand. It was an especially arrogant sitting posture.
"Looks like…"
"I need to start thinking about finding a new place to go."
———
Asher rubbed his nose.
"What's wrong with you?", Vicky sat at a certain distance from Asher, staring at his every move. Seeing something strange, Vicky couldn't help but ask.
It's not that Vicky didn't want to sit closer to his good buddy.
It's really just… uh.
Vicky glanced at the Nightmare Flower sitting next to Asher, big in size and looking like it could swallow Asher in one bite, and didn't dare to say a word.
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
patreon.com/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining Patreon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through Patreon.
https://discord.gg/bYAfGyp98y