Chapter 71: Preparing to Scale the Wall

However, this time Qi Xinzhu didn’t remain silent; instead, she asked Lu Luo cheerfully, "So you’re really interested in the Dawn Church, huh? Then why don’t you join the Church? If you do..." Qi Xinzhu hadn’t finished her sentence when Lu Luo cut her off. "I have no fate with the Church... I will never join the Church in my life, don’t even think about it!" The words "irreconcilable enemies" were ultimately left unsaid, mainly because there were too many people in the library, and the Church’s influence was great; Lu Luo didn’t want to court death at this time. And what’s with this woman? She has no tact. Why would she think I was interested in the Church? "Sorry, I didn’t expect such a strong reaction from you. I was too presumptuous." The always nonchalant Qi Xinzhu finally showed some displeasure. It seemed that Lu Luo’s refusal to join the Church, and his defiant stance against it, had struck her hard. Lu Luo saw Qi Xinzhu looking down and felt that perhaps his handling of the situation had indeed been somewhat problematic. "Well, regardless, I still want to thank you for today. You’ve been a big help; without you, I might not have figured out many things so quickly." "Don’t mention it." "Then, I’m off to study. The monthly exam is coming up, and I need to hit the books. So, until we meet again, if ever!" Meeting a nun is said to guarantee a loss in gambling, and a Believer of Light is almost the same. Lu Luo still wanted to advance to become the king of Landlords, so even though Qi Xinzhu was beautiful, Lu Luo remained a connoisseur of beauty, albeit a cautious one. But her identity as a Believer of Light from the Church was enough to make him keep his distance. Qi Xinzhu silently packed up the books on the table and fell into a long silence. Until we meet again, if ever... I guess not, right? The Holy Light power within this woman is purer than that within Han Shiyu, or rather, more sacred. But every time she talks to you, the Holy Light power always unnaturally surges toward you, which is not normal. Lu Luo glanced at the prompt, saying nothing. His mind was still pondering the bride, the Church, and the Fruit of Life. This bride thing... why do I feel like I’ve been tricked by Ludie! Lu Luo shook his head, trying to cast all the thoughts from his mind. He walked to the area with learning materials and began a new round of knowledge acquisition using the Observer. After quietly observing Lu Luo in the library for a while, Qi Xinzhu returned to Han Shiyu’s dormitory. As soon as she entered, Han Shiyu, wearing only a nightgown, cut to the chase and asked, "Did you fail?" Qi Xinzhu’s expression turned somewhat helpless. "Yeah, I failed. He seemed really interested in the Dawn Church. He asked many questions about the Church’s Four Horsemen, so I directly invited him to join the Church, and then he flatly rejected me." Han Shiyu looked at her with an expression that seemed to ask, "How could you be even more clueless than me?" and sighed with frustration. "The Four Horsemen symbolize light and shadow. Many people know of the bright side of the Church, but most are unaware of the darkness within. He’s from the Fourth Ring, and the darkness he’s encountered is far more than anything we’ve experienced. If he’s searching for this information, it can only mean he’s already encountered the dark side of the Church, hence his refusal." Qi Xinzhu’s brow furrowed deeply. "Senior Sister, does the Church’s dark side truly exist?" "Darkness exists everywhere, even within the Church." In the following days, Lu Luo and his two friends essentially returned to their normal student lives. Due to the conflict that had erupted at Dormitory 6 previously, no one dared to provoke Lu Luo anymore. Only occupants of a few other dormitories were not entirely aware of the situation at Dormitory 6. This was mainly because the story of Quan Pu, the King of Drinks, battling Cheng Xiong, the King of Fists, had become too deeply ingrained in people’s minds. As a result, many were still mere onlookers when it came to the state of Dormitory 6. In class, Lu Luo’s performance was especially astounding. Although he didn’t love studying, he had no choice—he had cheats! "Lu Luo, explain the Theory of Extended Exotic Species Evolution." "Alright, Professor Gu. The Theory of Extended Exotic Species Evolution is based on the Exotic Species Evolution Theory defined by the great biologist Xu Lei 230 years ago. After nearly another hundred years of research and exploration, the conclusion about the extended evolutionary adaptability and instability in Exotic Species mutations was reached. The main content of this conclusion lies in the extended adaptability and instability of secondary mutations in similar Exotic Species. Even within the same species, under the same conditions and environment, the evolution and secondary mutations of Exotic Species still vary greatly..." Watching Lu Luo stand on the podium and speak so confidently, the students below were filled with admiration. "He doesn’t attend classes for so long, and then comes back and dominates everything, integrating and grasping it all? Is he even human?" "Look at Professor Gu’s eyes; he wishes he could adopt Lu Luo as his son." "The talented ones are working so hard; what’s the point of me trying when my talents don’t measure up!" It wasn’t just the ordinary students; even Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai marveled that Lu Luo wasn’t human. Or rather, comparing oneself to others truly is the death of joy. How the heck is his brain wired? Does he have 240 hours in a day or something? In a corner of the classroom, Qi Xinzhu was also staring at Lu Luo. Over the past few days, she had some interactions with Lu Luo, but they hadn’t turned out as she hoped. Lu Luo wasn’t intentionally avoiding her; rather, he treated her like a regular person, or as if she were thin air. Qi Xinzhu was actually quite indignant about this. She had always excelled since childhood; to say she was the center of attention was an understatement. That’s why she was even more upset. Why did Lu Luo pay her no attention? Still, Qi Xinzhu’s upbringing and personality forced her to suppress these minor annoyances. Perhaps, it’s just like Senior Sister said: the path in pursuit of Dawn is always bumpy and difficult. And so, Lu Luo and his two friends successfully passed Alliance University’s monthly exam. Lu Luo’s grades were perfect, Gu Fangyi’s were excellent, and Zhou Kai just barely passed. After the monthly exam, they began preparing for a new round of skipping classes, as each had their own places to go and plans to make. The three met secretly in a corner of the school cafeteria, discussing their serious future. "Brother Kane, you might have to hold down the fort by yourself for a while." Upon hearing Lu Luo speak like this, Zhou Kai immediately got a bad feeling. Every time Lu Luo spoke to him in that tone, it never seemed to bode well. "Brother Luo, what are you up to? Tell us the plan first, then we can talk about other things." Lu Luo chewed on a sour grain bar from the cafeteria and lowered his voice slightly. "I’m planning to go out! And I’m taking Brother Gu with me." Gu Fangyi and Zhou Kai both stopped what they were doing, clearly understanding the implications of Lu Luo’s words. "What about the visa? It’s not easy to get, right?" Gu Fangyi showed no reluctance about Lu Luo taking him beyond the wall. Instead, he seemed eager to try. Resources outside the wall were far more abundant than those inside: naturally generated Dark Spirit Stones, valuable corpses of Exotic Species, mutated medicinal plants, and, of course, many Corrosive Items. Not to mention, just by stepping outside the wall, one was guaranteed at least four times the concentration of Dark Energy. So, the only real concern was obtaining an out-wall visa. In the strictly regulated Alliance, without an out-wall visa, it was practically impossible to leave, let alone return. "I’ll figure out the visa. The main thing is the studio; Brother Kane, you’ll need to coordinate well with Brother Qi and Fatty Ding. Brother Kane, remember, we might become Hunters in the future, or we might not. For us, if Circular can develop well, then we can truly say that we have a promising future!" Zhou Kai seemed to understand what Lu Luo was saying, yet not quite. He never quite grasped how, despite all being orphans from the welfare institution, Lu Luo knew so much. You haven’t lived that many additional years, have you? Where did all this social experience come from? "I got it, Brother Luo. I’ll manage the studio well." Lu Luo nodded, then turned to Gu Fangyi. "Prepare weapons, bullets, compressed rations, and clean water. I’ll go get the visas." "Now?" "Of course. No one is more short on time than we are." "Alright!" Gu Fangyi’s response was as succinct as ever. Lu Luo and Zhou Kai also stood up; they each had things they needed to do.