7: Confidential Research

"Notice: A school-wide assembly will be held at the East District Playground on May 5, 2030, at 8:30 AM! All faculty and students are requested to attend on time! All classes for the day are canceled! — Huaxia Agricultural University School Committee Document No. 2030.002"

That night, all faculty and students received the school's notice... The next day, Zhang Sheng got up very early; looking at himself in the mirror, Zhang Sheng couldn't help but be stunned.

Stunned by his own handsomeness!

Although there was no obvious change in his appearance, his eyes were clearly more spirited and full of energy, and his muscle lines tended toward perfection and coordination, possessing a natural sense of beauty.

Zhang Sheng walked quickly out of the dormitory; he wanted to complete his training plan of throwing, Running, and Push-ups before the assembly began.

On the way to the East District Playground, Zhang Sheng saw a familiar yet strange figure.

Lin Ruyue! At this moment, she was mingling in the Ranks of the School of Foreign Languages.

The moment he saw her, various past events flashed through his mind, and his heart felt as if it were being cut by a knife.

Looking at the man beside her, Zhang Sheng only felt that his spirit had been defiled.

Because the boy Lin Ruyue was holding onto at this moment was not the one who had been with her at the hotel entrance a few days ago.

“The same trick again?”

“Truly disgusting!”

This boy was probably like him, nothing more than her ATM. Zhang Sheng didn't do anything; he wouldn't be so idle as to warn that boy.

It's just reaping what one sows; what others do has nothing to do with me.

They are just strangers, including Lin Ruyue.

Zhang Sheng walked straight to his class's position and headed toward his roommates.

The assembly began, and the leaders on the stage droned on one after another for three hours.

But there were only two core themes: all students must register their Awakened Talent and Rank with the Extraordinary Administration Bureau, and even if they have not Awakened a Talent, they must register as having none; it was strictly forbidden to use Talents to harm others or disrupt social harmony and stability, and any discovery would be dealt with strictly and severely. At the same time, the 'Huaxia Interim Act on Extraordinary Management' was announced.

This act was a preliminary draft by the Huaxia government, to be strictly followed nationwide.

“Liu Quan: Come to my office.”

Just as the school-wide assembly ended, Zhang Sheng received a message from Professor Liu Quan.

Arriving at Professor Liu Quan's office, Zhang Sheng found three other people there. He had interacted with all three before; they were all graduate students under Professor Liu Quan.

He closed the door behind him.

“Hello, Teacher Liu. Hello, seniors!” Zhang Sheng bowed and greeted them softly.

“Sit down quickly, time is of the essence!” Professor Liu Quan said hurriedly. A pile of official documents with red headers was laid out on the desk.

“Xiao Bai, Zhang Yong, Cheng Hao, and Zhang Sheng, everyone is here now.” Professor Liu handed a document to each of them. “You've probably all heard about the mysterious light gates on the internet. Our school is responding to the national call and is about to launch a very important research project.”

“In your hands is the brief information about this research, as well as a non-disclosure agreement. I trust all four of you, both in terms of research ability and character. If you are willing to participate in this research, sign this non-disclosure agreement.”

“Xiao Bai, Zhang Yong, Cheng Hao, if you three participate in this research, you will be able to graduate normally regardless of the results. The same goes for Zhang Sheng; you won't need to participate in the study of other subjects to graduate normally. This is all in the non-disclosure agreement.”

“If you perform excellently in the research, you will directly obtain a spot to continue your studies at Tsinghua and Peking University.”

“Now, I'll give you a few minutes to look through the non-disclosure agreement in your hands.”

With an excited heart and trembling hands, Zhang Sheng nervously flipped through the non-disclosure agreement.

“After the Armed Police forces passed through the mysterious gate, they brought out many mysterious items from within... Participate in the breeding research of the Secret Realm product spirit plant — golden spirit rice...”

Zhang Sheng took a deep breath.

“spirit plant,” what a fresh term. After a brief thought and without any communication, all four of them knew the importance and the value of this research.

Even if Professor Liu didn't require it, even if he had to fight for it, Zhang Sheng would still strive for this opportunity, let alone when it was right in front of him.

The four of them signed their names on the non-disclosure agreement one after another.

As if it were within his expectations, Professor Liu took back the signed non-disclosure agreements and took a sip of tea.

“Like the first humans to walk upright, like the first humans to use fire, like the invention of the steam engine, humanity today will also usher in a new revolution.”

“There is one piece of information you don't know yet: all the probes we launched toward the blue planet have failed. They cannot be detected, and they cannot be approached.”

“Teacher, could it be that our Awakened Talents and the Secret Realms are all related to the blue planet in the sky?” The one who asked was Professor Liu's eldest disciple, Zhang Yong, who had only one year left until graduation and was also the person who had stayed by the professor's side the longest.

“Strictly speaking, everything we are discussing now falls under the non-disclosure agreement. You must understand that.”

“Your guess is likely correct. A large number of Secret Realms have appeared globally; three have been discovered in our Wuzhou alone, and there are estimated to be hundreds worldwide. The products in these Secret Realms subvert our understanding.”

“The large ones cover hundreds of hectares, while the small ones are one hectare. In these Secret Realms, there are mountains and rivers, as if it were another world. There are many peculiar plants and mysterious Ores.”

The four of them were listening to his explanation with rapt attention. Professor Liu paused here,

And said in a deep voice: “And monsters!”

Being the only girl, Xiao Bai's face immediately changed, and she covered her mouth as soon as she heard the word 'monsters'.

Professor Liu turned and smiled: “Xiao Bai, don't be afraid. These monsters are simply no match for assault rifles.”

“Importantly, after we kill these monsters, some mysterious jade plaques are dropped.” At this point, Professor Liu pulled out a white jade plaque from his pocket, about the size of a playing card and less than a centimeter thick.

“Does it feel like a game? No matter how much it subverts your understanding, it is the reality right before your eyes.”

“This thing is one of the important products of the Secret Realm!”

“Important information is recorded in these jade plaques; some are the same, and some are different, but we cannot distinguish them from their appearance.”

“We obtained a very important piece of information from one jade plaque: all the current cataclysms on Earth are caused by the blue planet in the sky, including the Awakening of Talents and the birth of Secret Realms!”

“And the method to use the jade plaque is very simple: just press the jade plaque against your forehead, and the information contained within will enter your mind in a language you can understand.”

...“Come! I'll take you somewhere!”

Under Professor Liu's leadership, the group of five arrived at a laboratory building on campus. Unlike before, there were fully armed Armed Police Officers patrolling and standing guard around the laboratory building.

Arriving at the first-floor lobby, Zhang Sheng found that there were quite a few people, about seventy or eighty, most of whom were in groups similar to theirs.

Zhang Sheng saw two professors he knew: one was an environmental science professor, and the other was also a breeding science professor, with graduate students following them as well.