Chapter 167

Chapter 167 Chapter 167 Other first-years might not know, having never been, but as the principal’s disciple, Elvis was well-informed. After playing games with him for days, Su Bei felt justified fishing for intel. Elvis knew plenty, “This resource Different Space formed long ago. Its map is a medieval city.” His “medieval” wasn’t quaint but Mus Country’s Middle Ages—high-rise castles, ruins, and broken walls. Intriguing—a map they’d never seen. They’d rarely visited Different Spaces with human traces, only resource ones had such maps. Mus Country’s Middle Ages, huh? Su Bei opened his phone, cramming related knowledge. The day after Meng Huai’s briefing, Class 1’s homeroom teacher announced it in class. They’d have three days in the resource Different Space. At the end, the gate would open for six hours, and all had to return. Those exiting via the gate kept their gains. Early eliminations surrendered everything. Missing the gate but rescued after it closed meant surrendering half. Another announcement: they could form teams of three to five for exploration. All would be dropped at different points, but pre-registered teams would start together. In such a large Different Space with Nightmare Beasts, team exploration was safest. Naturally, Su Bei’s group was all exchange students. Time flew, and the resource Different Space day arrived. This grade-wide event was a big deal, like a field trip, with students eagerly gathering early. Without a grand teleporter like Lei Ze’en, Alpha Ability Academy’s Different Space entrance was on-campus. This made access easy but risked mischievous students sneaking in or enemies targeting the known location. The entrance was a three-meter-high, two-meter-wide gate, adorned with flowering vines, allowing multiple entries at once. The principal, a stereotypical kindly old man with white whiskers, looked like a wizard from a magical world. He gave a brief, encouraging speech, not delaying, and announced the event’s start, calling Su Bei’s group to enter first. Talk about drawing aggro. The five exchanged helpless glances, approached the floral gate, and, per instructions, held hands in a line to pass through. The dizziness of spatial travel made Su Bei frown and close his eyes briefly before observing their surroundings. They stood on a medieval-style street, surrounded by tall, rustic gray spires, many scarred by beast claws, some sliced or smashed. Without these marks, the place might’ve had artistic charm. This was visual only, not olfactory. Ai Baozhu, recovering, lightly covered her nose, grimacing, “Ugh, what’s that smell?” “If I recall, over a century ago, Mus Country’s people relieved themselves on the streets...” Si Zhaohua, history-savvy, said grimly, his face pale. Silence fell. After a moment, Lan Subing said awkwardly, “That stench is pretty enduring, huh...” More silence. Jiang Tianming, ever reliable, steered back to task, pulling out the map, “Before others enter, let’s find the clock tower.” Su Bei had considered this while scanning the area, expecting the clock tower’s height to be visible from afar. But the tall residences blocked the view completely. “Split up or stick together?” Ai Baozhu asked. “Split,” Jiang Tianming decided after a thought. In a large Different Space, splitting was faster. “Si Zhaohua, you, Subing, and Baozhu. You can fly, escaping with them if enemies appear. Su Bei and I’ll pair up. This space has only first-years, and we’re somewhat intimidating. For scouting, most won’t provoke us.” One had drawn with Elvis, the other defeated him. Together, they’d make Alpha Ability Academy students think twice. A reasonable split, no objections. Si Zhaohua added, “Let’s walk together a bit, then split at a good rendezvous point.” Agreed, they moved forward. They reached a house darker than others, pushing open its broken wooden door. A two-story building, it’d be decent if not for Nightmare Beast damage. Su Bei, with Mental Energy extended, paused before sitting, glancing upstairs with a grin, “Who’s checking upstairs for a bed?” “This place, and you’re pickier than me?” Si Zhaohua teased, heading up with Jiang Tianming. Soon, fighting sounds echoed, stopping before Ai Baozhu and Lan Subing could join. The two returned, Jiang Tianming’s face dark, “You better not have tricked us up there knowing there was a Nightmare Beast.” “Trick? That’s not a scholar’s way,” Su Bei said shamelessly. Ai Baozhu snorted a laugh, “So it’s safe now? Let’s scout.” It was 8 a.m. Agreeing to meet back by noon, they headed out, splitting per plan. Su Bei and Jiang Tianming went left, pondering what challenges lay ahead. Jiang Tianming was a danger magnet—Su Bei just hoped trouble wouldn’t pile up, or he’d regret not rejecting this pairing. The city’s planning was solid, with straight streets dividing it into districts. In ten minutes, they spotted a lavish white standalone castle. Undoubtedly, a wealthy family once lived here. Per Su Bei’s research, this Different Space once housed Ability Users who clustered together, as the church branded them witches for eradication. Witches were fictional, a smear against women, but Ability Users were real superhumans. Regular folk’s purges did little harm, but it led Ability Users to live together for safety. Ability users were often rich, paid to exorcise (kill Nightmare Beasts). So, this opulent house was likely an Ability User’s. “Shall we check inside?” Su Bei asked. Their goal was the clock tower, but side profits were nice. Who knew what treasures an Ability User’s house held? “I’m game,” Jiang Tianming agreed. Su Bei stepped back, letting him open the door. But Jiang Tianming wasn’t naive, learning from past mistakes. Sensing Su Bei’s move was off, he asked suspiciously, “No danger behind this door, right?” Caught, Su Bei gave an awkward laugh, “Might be a Nightmare Beast.” Jiang Tianming: “...” Before he could speak, Su Bei dutifully opened the door. He’d just wanted to save effort, not that he couldn’t handle the beast. A head-sized Rat Nightmare Beast lunged out, pitch-black. Smaller, it might’ve been quirky, but this size was scream-worthy. Su Bei wasn’t fazed, slicing its throat with a Gear. A low-level Nightmare Beast, it was easy now. As a new Ability User with Gear control, he couldn’t have pierced its hide. Confirming no other beasts, Su Bei retracted his Mental Energy. Small-range extensions consumed little, recovering as he walked. Advanced Mental Energy’s recovery speed was a major perk. The house looked like an old place pre-renovation—broken furniture, shattered dishes, signs of past danger. Inside, they exchanged glances, unsure what to do. Jiang Tianming scratched his head, “Split up and search?” Neither had been to a resource Different Space. How to explore? They couldn’t sense ore veins. If Wu Mingbai were here, his [Earth Element] could detect underground anomalies, but they couldn’t. Just rummage blindly? “Let’s search. Find what we find,” Jiang Tianming broke the silence, resigned. Su Bei nodded, and they split—one from the top down, one from the bottom up. Su Bei took the bottom, strategically. No stairs to climb, and lower levels were likely picked clean, so less effort, as finds were unlikely. Upper levels might hold undiscovered treasures, and Jiang Tianming, the comic protagonist with a knack for finding loot, was perfect for it. After Jiang Tianming went up, Su Bei scanned the lower two floors with Mental Energy, finding no ability fluctuations. Expected—after so many years, any fluctuations would’ve been found by resident Nightmare Beasts or past explorers. Even if the space regenerated resources, it’d likely be underground ores, right? Suddenly, a thought struck Su Bei, and he stared at the ground. Could there be treasure underground? Uncertain, but possible. Compared to surface resources, depleted by countless searches, the underground was more likely. When Jiang Tianming returned empty-handed, Su Bei shared his theory. Jiang Tianming pondered, “Makes sense, but how do we find underground treasures?” He sighed, “If only Wu Mingbai were here.” “No, you can do it,” Su Bei said, having devised a plan. His Advanced Mental Energy couldn’t penetrate solids, so he couldn’t probe below. But Jiang Tianming’s [Object Control] could. Curious, Jiang Tianming asked, “How?” “With [Object Control], manipulate a grain of sand to explore downward,” Su Bei said, unbothered by the challenge he’d posed. Undoubtedly tough. Even with [Object Control], controlling a single grain required high skill and precision. Navigating it underground to find minerals was no small feat. But Jiang Tianming wasn’t daunted. He crouched, touched the ground, and closed his eyes. Su Bei knew he was using his ability and didn’t disturb him, resting nearby. He wasn’t tired, having done little, but that didn’t stop him from taking a break. Fifteen minutes later, Jiang Tianming opened his eyes excitedly, “I found something!” Su Bei, resting with eyes closed, opened his, “What?” Sensing objects indirectly, Jiang Tianming couldn’t be sure, “Feels like metal. Maybe Rubber Energy Alloy.” Rubber Energy Alloy was a remarkable metal, elastic like rubber, resistant to breaking, and highly malleable. Due to its rarity, it didn’t circulate in the mundane world, and there wasn’t enough for regular research. Crucially, it required Mental Energy to stabilize during use, or it’d explode, making it unfit for ordinary people. Its main use was for Ability Users, especially metal or weapon Ability Users. The former could gain new skills by studying it, while the latter could fuse it with their weapons, potentially evolving them. Even non-metal/weapon users could craft weapons with it. High resilience and malleability were ideal for weapon materials. Thus, Rubber Energy Alloy was hot in the Ability User market, fetching high prices. They started digging, their storage rings equipped with shovels—school-provided for resource hunting, though overpowered tools were banned. Some brought treasure detectors, confiscated by teachers. Ability users had great stamina and strength, so digging was easy. Soon, a five-meter-deep pit revealed the alloy. Pale cyan, it was embedded like natural crystals, with a matte finish lacking metallic sheen. Uninformed, no one would guess it was an alloy. Light in weight, its tips and edges were razor-sharp, easily drawing blood—perfect for weapons. They unearthed about five jin (2.5 kg), worth over 500,000 by market value. Marveling at Ability Users’ earnings, they neatly stored it in their storage spaces. With this done, they resumed their original goal—finding the clock tower. Stepping out, they ran into another team of five, all in school uniforms. With over 500 first-years at Alpha Ability Academy, encounters in a city weren’t rare. Su Bei and Jiang Tianming were unfazed, but the team treated them like threats, showing no intent to talk, warily retreating, then sprinting at the street corner. Both were speechless. Jiang Tianming touched his face, “Are we that scary?” “Whatever, it’s good. If everyone’s this cautious, our trip’s easier,” Su Bei quickly accepted, hoping others would follow suit. After wandering, Jiang Tianming stopped. Su Bei, puzzled, looked around, seeing nothing odd, and asked, “Why’d you stop?” Jiang Tianming’s expression turned odd, “Why didn’t we climb a rooftop to look?” Su Bei: “...” His face cracked. Yeah, why not? They’d wandered aimlessly because tall buildings blocked their view of the clock tower. Climbing a high rooftop would’ve solved it. Yet they hadn’t thought of it, wasting so much time. Without their find, Su Bei would’ve spat blood. Twitching his mouth, they leapt onto a rooftop in sync, gazing out. As expected, the city lay clear. They were in the southwest, with the clock tower at the center. Not too far, but a round trip by noon was impossible. “Let’s head back for Subing’s group,” Jiang Tianming decided. “We’ll check for Nightmare Beasts on the way, kill a couple for lunch.” Outside, Meng Huai, watching via a big screen, scoffed, “Finally figured it out. The other group, without Si Zhaohua’s [Angel], would still be wandering blindly.” John shook his head helplessly, “Normal to miss it at first. New places dull our wits too.” A nearby teacher agreed, “Right. Most of our students didn’t think to climb rooftops either, even those with resource point maps.” Maps given to locals were more numerous, from prior events, not all for skill books but other resources. Most started at the clock tower—its prominence made it the easiest landmark. Setting the clock tower as the starting point also sparked initial team clashes. Many would head there, and meetings would likely lead to fights. Alpha Ability Academy didn’t host this just to hand out resources. Beyond strengthening students, it aimed to train them for Different Space team encounters. Fights would hone skills, eliminate some teams, and conserve resources—a win-win. Finding the clock tower, the two navigated back to their rendezvous. Without landmarks, it was easy to get lost, but their good memory helped. But upon arrival, they sensed someone inside—the door was now closed. They’d left it open to fake prior exploration (which was true). A closed door meant someone entered. “Could it be Si Zhaohua’s group?” Jiang Tianming guessed, looking at Su Bei. Su Bei shrugged, “Five people inside.” His Mental Energy couldn’t identify who, but counting was easy. Five meant a team, as teams maxed at five. Sharing this, they exchanged helpless glances, too lazy to argue over who found the house first, and waited at a nearby house’s entrance. It was just an empty rendezvous for rest. Any house would do, as long as Si Zhaohua’s group could spot them.