Chapter 295: Picking Up a Stone
Chapter 295: Picking Up a Stone
Silly Dog was a freakish composite creature.
Though only upper-third-tier, it wasn’t something a paper-pusher like the Bald Professor could handle.
The gap between Central Province and local regions wasn’t as vast as he’d imagined. People trapped in their delusions often lose proper judgment. Like keyboard warriors who fancy themselves all-knowing experts, yet can’t even carry bricks properly at construction sites.
BOOM!!
True to form, Silly Dog rampaged wildly. Its violent aura smashed tables and chairs below, flinging several slow-reacting bystanders through the air. With no intervention from Zuo Meng, the beast lunged onto the stage – its gaping maw resembling some nightmare from an abstract painting – and snapped at the Bald Professor.
“Good dog! Been waiting for this!”
The Bald Professor had plotted endlessly, fearing his scheme might fail. Who knew the mutt would take the bait so easily? He slammed his palm on the conductor device, pouring every drop of his Extraordinary Power into it. The overloaded black sphere shuddered violently.
“Clear the area!”
Zhou Dongfang leaped off the platform first. Security personnel activated barrier devices, trapping both professor and beast within a glowing energy field.
The glass containment dome reached critical stress.
Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface before shattering explosively. Freed from its prison, the vector weapon fully awakened, morphing into inky liquid that coated the Bald Professor’s right arm.
That’s when the dog struck.
“Die!”
The Bald Professor cackled as the vector weapon erupted into frenzy. Liquid metal transformed into countless steel needles encasing his body. Silly Dog’s jaws clamped down – only to be impaled by this metallic sea urchin’s spines.
“Tch. Just a dumb mutt.”
Victory painted the Bald Professor’s face as he glanced toward Zuo Meng, expecting despair.
He found the young man utterly indifferent.
Having finished his snacks, Zuo Meng was boiling water in an electric kettle for tea. Noticing the stare, he lifted his gaze momentarily.
His expression suggested he was looking at a dead man walking.
‘Dead? Wait! That dog…’ The Bald Professor’s triumph curdled as he realized the impaled beast showed no signs of dying.
Not only alive, but those jaws kept closing relentlessly.
CRUNCH!
The snap of teeth echoed.
The pompous professor became dog food, his torso vanishing into the beast’s maw.
“A high-ranking extraordinary being’s aura?”
Only then did the crowd realize this dog was Transcendent. Those who’d dismissed it as mere experiment material now watched warily, Zhou Dongfang and Dugu Xuan included, all staring at the tea-sipping young man in back.
This person hid his cards too well.
“Might we know our guest’s name?” Zhou Dongfang inquired politely.
As for Professor Ma from Chacha University? Dead men hold no value.
“Bell Tower University’s new principal. Call me Principal Zuo. I came regarding certain matters.”
Zuo Meng finished his tea and was ready to get down to business.
“I don’t know what this is about, but I’ll help if I can.”
Zhou Dongfang maintained his smile as the person behind him stepped forward and whispered in his ear.
“I didn’t realize Principal Zuo was part of the Star Alliance. We’ve been poor hosts.” The city alliance’s resources had quickly traced Zuo Meng’s movements since his arrival in the central region.
Zuo Meng hadn’t hidden his tracks, making him easy to find. What surprised Zhou Dongfang was discovering his long-missing friend Yu Mo during this investigation. More troubling was Yu Mo’s identity having been altered by the Star Alliance. This could either indicate the Alliance’s direct involvement or Principal Zuo’s personal meddling. If the Star Alliance was behind this, the implications grew serious. Among the sixteen alliances, the Star Alliance surpassed the city alliance in influence, with genuine first-tier big shots at its core holding decisive power.
Regardless of the truth, Zhou Dongfang understood this man before him couldn’t be an ally.
His eyes narrowed slightly, coldness flashing beneath his unchanged smile.
“Contact the Star Alliance’s leader. Express our appreciation for their participation in our exhibition.”
“Immediately.”
The assistant grasped his meaning and withdrew quickly.
Zhou Dongfang descended from the platform to meet Zuo Meng.
“What special innovations has Principal Zuo brought? We’re eager to see the Star Alliance’s latest developments.”
“Exhibition?”
Though originally here to borrow books, Zuo Meng changed tactics.
“Of course! Wouldn’t want to disappoint.”
He casually picked up a stone and placed it on the display table.
The Silly Dog returned wagging its tail, having devoured everything at the Bald Professor’s former position – leaving only a tooth-marked crater. Though dog-shaped, this creature remained fundamentally unnatural. To this world’s people, such entities represented mindless calamities. How this mysterious principal controlled it baffled them.
“This is Bell Tower University’s century-long research breakthrough!”
Zuo Meng originally considered claiming fifty years, but remembering the Dugu family’s twenty-year project, he tripled the number.
“A hundred-year project?!”
The crowd stared in disbelief.
‘You literally just picked that up! Think we’re fools?’
“Appearances deceive.”
Zuo Meng remained unflustered, aiming to reshape their limited perception while promoting his Divinity Project. Though these people couldn’t be test subjects, they might assist logistically. His project desperately needed resources.
“This weapon isn’t physical. It’s conceptual – energy given order.”
He tapped the stone’s surface.
Gravity attribute applied!
The ordinary stone suddenly hummed with restrained power, radiating energy matching a spiritual treasure’s signature.
“Impossible!!”
The audience leapt to their feet.