Chapter 42: The Professor’s Apology and Yalin’s Discovery

Wendy Rhine, who had been slumped over her desk, abruptly jolted awake, her forehead beaded with a fine sheen of cold sweat.

Even after all these years, the nightmare of that day still haunted her mind, a persistent coil around her heart.

‘It’s fine,’ she silently reassured herself, ‘this is Elanmia, no longer a place where those scoundrels can run rampant.’

Wendy reminded herself of this, taking a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves.

However, the mere thought of the letter from her family sent a fresh throb of pain through her head.

There was no escaping it; some matters, no matter how daunting, simply had to be confronted.

Wendy massaged her temples, lifting a hand to brush aside the disheveled strands of hair near her ear.

Something felt draped over her; pulling it back, she saw it was the white lab coat she always wore.

‘Strange,’ she thought, ‘I distinctly remember not covering myself with this coat before I fell asleep.’

‘Who could have done it?’

An answer quickly formed in Wendy’s mind, and when she lifted her gaze, her eyes immediately fell upon a familiar figure.

“Good morning, Professor.”

Yalin stood not far away, diligently wiping down beakers.

Noticing Wendy’s gaze, he turned his head, offering his usual smile.

That smile brought an unexpected sense of ease to Wendy, and the long-suppressed gloom within her receded slightly.

She had long resigned herself to a solitary life, never expecting to entangle herself with anyone.

Yet, having someone who cared for her nearby was, after all, rather pleasant.

“Mm, you too.”

Wendy replied coolly, feigning indifference.

Yalin’s movements stilled.

He had merely offered a casual greeting, never expecting a reply.

‘What’s going on with the old hag (TL Note:  (lǎo dēng) is a somewhat derogatory, informal Chinese slang term for an older person, often used teasingly or dismissively)?’

Ordinarily, Wendy was always aloof towards him, and a simple ‘mm’ was cause for celebration.

That was only when she was in a good mood; if she were displeased, she wouldn’t even spare him a glance.

But today, she had actually greeted him, a rare occurrence? Yalin had already braced himself for a scathing lecture from Wendy.

‘So, is she happy or unhappy today?’

‘Ugh, I just can’t figure her out.’

Wendy’s nose twitched.

The scorched smell in the air had completely dissipated, and the laboratory was impeccably clean, as if the mess she had left behind last night had never existed.

She had intended to wake at dawn to clean up, but the experiment had exhausted her so thoroughly that she had inadvertently overslept.

In the end, it was Yalin who had cleaned up the aftermath.

Indeed, he was always like this, quietly handling all the troublesome tasks, never seeking anything in return.

Yet, not long ago, she had taken it all for granted…

A wave of complex emotions washed over Wendy as this thought crossed her mind.

Only after meticulously organizing all the cleaned bottles and jars did Yalin begin to wash his hands.

‘Not bad,’ he mused, ‘the hazardous reagent bottles were properly sorted this time; it seems the old hag is making some progress.’

“Professor, I’ve just boiled some water. Would you like anything to drink? Black tea or coffee?”

“No need,” Wendy replied, “I’m leaving shortly.”

Wendy shook her head, slowly rising from her desk and smoothing her collar.

Even freshly awakened, she remained strikingly beautiful; apart from a slight disarray in her hair, everything else about her was flawlessly perfect.

‘It’s baffling how she manages to maintain such an immaculate appearance even after turning the lab into a disaster zone,’ Yalin thought.

“My apologies, it’s always you who has to clean the lab. You’ve worked hard. Please, get some proper rest.”

Yalin was utterly flummoxed.

‘Wait, what did she just say?’

‘You’ve worked hard? Get some proper rest?’

‘How could such heartwarming words possibly come from that icy mouth?’

‘Don’t randomly care about me like that! It’s terrifying, you hear?’

‘Sure enough, it’s still because of that incident.’

‘The old hag is still too naive; make her feel guilty once, and she’ll genuinely feel guilty for a lifetime.’

‘Forget it, I won’t pull this kind of stunt again next time…’

Wendy had finished tidying her hair and picked up her satchel.

After a moment of contemplation, she drew a black card from her bag and gently placed it on the table.

It was a special crystal card from the academy, redeemable for gold coins at any Elanmia bank.

“This is your salary for the month… I added a little extra this time, as compensation for making you eat those strange things before. My apologies.”

As she spoke the latter half of the sentence, her voice grew noticeably softer.

‘How embarrassing,’ she thought. She had wanted to do something to make it up to Yalin, but she had proven so clumsy that she couldn’t even make a simple sandwich.

In the end, all she could do was give Yalin some extra money.

After all, aside from money, she had nothing else to offer.

How ironic it was; she who had once scoffed at money now found herself becoming the very kind of vulgar person she had once despised.

“If you wish to use any equipment in the lab, there’s no need to apply; feel free to use it as you please.”

“I’ll be going now. Remember to be careful.”

Having said her piece, Wendy swiftly departed the laboratory as if fleeing.

Yalin stared at the gleaming black card on the table, his eyes wide with disbelief.

‘Holy hell, a massive payout!’

‘Professor Wendy, I pledge my undying loyalty to you!’

‘Also, could you please stop pouring out unused hazardous reagents from now on?’

‘I’ll literally bathe in them!’

Yalin carefully put away the crystal card, then took out his necklace.

He was incredibly lucky today; not only had he earned a fortune, but Wendy wasn’t in the lab either.

Such a golden opportunity deserved to be used for a thorough study of this thing.

Yalin removed the ruby from the necklace and placed it into a large mechanical apparatus, then poured in some viscous liquid.

It was a highly precious stabilizer, which he had concocted from materials he had recently “borrowed” from Yufinika.

With this, he could analyze the contents hidden within the crystal without damaging it.

After setting the parameters, the machine began to hum and whir, the intricate network of wires in its conduits quickly filling with magic and emitting a faint blue glow.

Subsequently, a series of symbols began to appear on the stone tablet mounted on the wall.

Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, it was already dusk.

Thick stacks of manuscript paper piled up on the desk, and the mechanical device grew so hot that a wisp of smoke even began to rise from it.

‘It seems today’s usage has reached its limit.’

Yalin switched off the apparatus, retrieved the gem, and reattached it to the necklace.

Through continuous analysis and comparison, Yalin had roughly determined that whatever was stored within the Eye of the Void was definitely directly connected to the Evil God residing within him.

However, it didn’t seem to be Aether, but rather some higher-level power…

“Alright, that’s enough for today. I’ll continue my research slowly next time.”

Yalin rubbed his aching arms.

He had gained a considerable amount today and was quite satisfied.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just then, a sudden knocking sounded at the door.

‘Has Wendy returned?’

But she usually just pushed the door open; she never had a habit of knocking.

Yalin found this extremely odd, as he had never seen anyone else visit this obscure research lab apart from himself and Wendy.

Yalin tucked the necklace into his pocket before opening the door.

Upon seeing the visitor, he paused in surprise. “Professor Fulin?”