St. Freya Academy—
"Sigh, it's been ten days. Why isn't the Class Monitor back yet?"
The group was gathered in Himeko's dorm. Kiana stared at the seat that was usually Fu Hua's, now empty, and couldn't help but sound a little disappointed.
She hadn't seen Fu Hua for ten days and hadn't had the chance to train with her. She felt like her own progress had slowed down.
"Fu Hua sent me a message. She said she and the Book of Cangxuan are going to stay in Shenzhou for a while. She probably won't be back for some time," Theresa said.
"Aww... I really wanted to see Little Cangxuan in person," Kiana said, her cheeks puffed out in a pout.
"Kiana, don't be too disappointed. Little Cangxuan has been asleep for so long, she must want to see what the land of Shenzhou is like now. Let's just let the Class Monitor spend some more time with her over there," Raiden Mei said with a smile.
Although it felt a little unfair to the Class Monitor, Raiden Mei had to admit that with Fu Hua gone, she had been able to spend much more time with Kiana, and it made her very happy.
She even had the thought that it would be better if the Class Monitor came back a little later.
"Alright, Fu Hua can't make it this time, so it'll just be us answering the questions. Everyone, let's get our spirits up," Theresa said, clapping her hands.
A short while later, as noon arrived, the familiar white light flashed before their eyes, and in the next second, they were in the Q&A Space.
"What the hell?! Nest-head! My eyes are about to go blind!"
"Dr. Tesla, please calm down first. I believe our current situation is more dire than the state of your eyes."
The group had just entered the Q&A Space. Before they could even open their eyes, two voices that did not belong to them echoed in their ears.
"You're... from Anti-Entropy!"
Theresa followed the sound of the voices and, not far away, saw two figures who were both familiar and unfamiliar.
"Ms. Theresa?"
Einstein and Tesla had also noticed the St. Freya group. Expressions of surprise and astonishment appeared on both of their faces.
"Holy crap, is Schicksal's power really this advanced now? I was just in my lab a second ago, and now I've been captured and brought to this place?" Tesla said, completely baffled.
"Nest-head, how'd you get caught?"
"The same way you did. However, I believe Ms. Theresa can explain everything to us, can't she?" Einstein said calmly.
"Dr. Tesla, Dr. Einstein, why are you here?"
Theresa's brow furrowed. This unexpected scene had thrown her into a momentary panic.
She never imagined that people from Anti-Entropy would suddenly appear here.
"You're asking us? I want to ask you! I was in the middle of a perfectly good experiment when a white light flashed before my eyes, almost blinding this genius, and then I ended up here," Tesla said with her arms crossed, in no good mood.
"Theresa, it seems they don't know anything about the Q&A Space. This must be their first time here," Himeko whispered to Theresa.
"Principal, it's clear that we are not the only lucky ones," Bronya said, looking at the two high-ranking members of Anti-Entropy, seeming to have already figured something out.
"Tsk... this is a problem." Theresa rubbed her head, a headache coming on. She had originally planned to quietly build up her strength and fly under the radar, but now people from Anti-Entropy had been added to the mix.
Maybe... I should just take care of them here?
The thought flashed through Theresa's mind, but she ultimately abandoned the idea.
It wasn't that she was having a bout of kindness, but she didn't want a fight to break out in the Q&A Space.
The importance of this place was self-evident. If a battle occurred here, the potential consequences were impossible to predict.
Besides, although Tesla and Einstein were researchers, no one could guarantee they didn't have some means of self-preservation.
If a real fight broke out, the outcome would be hard to say.
"Ms. Theresa, you seem to be in a predicament," Einstein said, looking at Theresa with a placid expression. Within those seemingly tranquil eyes lay a wisdom that was hard for ordinary people to fathom.
"Is it because of this space? Your Schicksal shouldn't yet possess the power to instantly snatch Dr. Tesla and me from an Anti-Entropy base, right? If you truly did, the ones standing before us now would not be you students and your teacher."
"Furthermore, when you saw Dr. Tesla and me, you also wore looks of surprise. You clearly did not expect us to appear here."
"That means the one who truly brought Dr. Tesla and me here was the power of this mysterious space, or perhaps some mastermind behind the scenes?"
"If I'm not mistaken, you were all brought here in the same manner, yes? But judging by your lack of panic, this is not your first time."
"Mmm... which means, this place is not dangerous."
"...As expected of Dr. Einstein. That calmness and analytical ability are truly admirable."
Theresa's mouth twitched. She couldn't believe they had barely said a few words, and Einstein had already analyzed her way to the truth.
"Alright, Ms. Theresa, let's end the small talk here. Could you tell us just what this place is?"
"Hey, Nest-head, are you sure it's okay to be so arrogant? What if they all decide to gang up on us? These are Schicksal people, you know," Tesla tugged on Einstein's sleeve and whispered in her ear.
If the situation weren't so serious, she would have pointed at Einstein's head and yelled, "Will you die if you don't show off?"
They were clearly the weaker party here, so how did this Nest-head dare to be so smug?
"Rest assured, Dr. Tesla. If they intended to attack us, they would have done so already. They wouldn't have given me a chance to speak."
"And taking a step back, even if they were to attack us, I have already devised a self-preservation plan. We just need to let them beat you up for a bit, Dr. Tesla. That should be enough for them to vent their anger."
"Hey! Nest-head! Why do I have to take the beating for your posturing? Are you trying to piss me off?!"
Tesla was so angry she almost couldn't stop herself from wrestling with Einstein right then and there.
But considering they were in front of the enemy, she couldn't start an internal squabble. In the end, she swallowed her anger.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot tell you the secrets of this place," Theresa said, shaking her head.
"Is that so? But this place is likely beyond your control, isn't it? Even if you don't tell us, I'm confident that with a little more time, we can figure out the situation here on our own."
"Then, what if I were to knock you out right now?" Theresa's expression darkened as she looked at Einstein and Tesla with hostility.
"You are welcome to try." Einstein's face remained impassive. With her hands in her pockets, she struck a pose that said, 'Come on, I'm waiting,' leaving Theresa in a difficult position.
Although she had grown a lot recently, when compared to a sage like Einstein who had lived for nearly a century, she was still slightly inferior in terms of perspective and composure.