Chapter 171 : Yi Cheng's Past
After a night of continuous attacks and turbulence, the ordeal finally came to an end.
Elucia didn't adopt overly aggressive methods, but simply raised the ship's altitude, forcing the Headhunter Bats to abandon the vessel.
After all, at high altitude, the air becomes thin and the temperature drops. While Headhunter Bats are monsters, they still can't escape the basic laws governing carbon-based life forms.
......
"Captain Elucia, I didn't expect your handling to be so decisive. You've really opened my eyes."
"Hmph, of course. After all, I'm a young lady. Naturally I wouldn't panic."
......
Although Elucia's method was effective, it came at a cost.
Flying at high altitude required the magic ship to consume much more energy than usual... Originally the ship's energy would have been sufficient for a round trip, but now after reaching Boundless Research Station, there probably wouldn't be much left.
Moreover, the temperature inside the ship had become somewhat chilly, and the oxygen had grown thin. As a last resort, Elucia had to activate the Wind Crystals and Fire Crystals.
......
"Lonis, are you cold?"
"Eh, no, not cold!"
Being suddenly cared for by Elucia like this left Lonis somewhat flattered.
"If you're not cold, then tidy up the bedding and let Zhou Suling rest for a while."
"Eh?"
"She hasn't experienced such cold weather before and can't quite handle it."
"No, it's, it's fine. Suling doesn't feel cold... not even a little... Achoo!"
......
Though she said this, for safety's sake, Suling was still carried to bed by Lonis... With the accompaniment of bed sheets and stuffed animals, Suling's complexion improved considerably.
However, this left only Lonis as the sole maid on the ship.
Since it was daytime, Elucia was piloting the ship. Besides caring for Suling, Lonis discovered something quite remarkable...
Namely, that although Senior Yi Cheng could crawl on the ground barking like a dog and say strange things, she was actually a very disciplined person.
When eating, her back remained perfectly straight. Her sleeping bag was always folded neatly and orderly. Especially after using the restroom, everything was spotlessly clean, without even a single water droplet left on the sink.
"Senior Yi Cheng..."
"What is it, Lonis?"
"Ah, I'm just curious about what kind of life Senior Yi Cheng normally lives. Do you also live in the student dormitories?"
Although Lonis and Elucia hadn't been assigned dormitory housing... seeing Zhou Suling's living arrangements, she knew the school wasn't strict about personal living requirements.
"No, I don't live in the student dormitories, because I've actually graduated."
"Ah, graduated?"
"Yes, but since I haven't finished paying off my loan points, I still need to continue working and studying at the school until I've paid them all back."
"Ah, ah? Senpai, same as us? About how much longer do you need to pay them off?"
"About 100 more years, I suppose."
"100 years!!!!"
Thud! Lonis nearly fell to her knees.
Yi Cheng nodded slightly, as if discussing something perfectly normal:
"However, helping the school with more missions helps me pay off the loan earlier. For instance, this mission, if it goes smoothly, might offset 1-2 years of points."
"This, this kind of thing..."
If she hadn't seen Senior Yi Cheng eating food with her own eyes, Lonis might have thought she was some kind of advanced robot like Dean Cuibia.
After all, 100 years—an ordinary person might not be able to pay it off even if they lived their entire life!
However, hearing Yi Cheng say this, Elucia chimed in from the side:
"What nonsense. Don't deceive my little maid. Senior Yi Cheng, aren't you an inheritor of Clear Temple? So this kind of thing is predetermined fate, isn't it?"
"Haha, that's not wrong to say."
Yi Cheng smiled slightly, not refuting Elucia.
Lonis then asked:
"Miss, what do you mean by predetermined fate?"
"As an inheritor of Clear Temple, Yi Cheng's fate doesn't really belong to her anymore... Because inheritors possess immensely powerful abilities that could overturn entire battlefields even in modern warfare."
"Uh?"
"Simply put, the more power one has, the more responsibility one bears. Clear Temple's power is crucial to the academy, so Yi Cheng must be bound together with the school."
"I see... Is Senior Yi Cheng's disciplined lifestyle also because of regulations?"
"No, these are just my personal habits."
"Eh?"
"I feel this kind of lifestyle doesn't trouble others, and having everything clean and orderly makes it easier to observe things that go unnoticed."
Senior Yi Cheng nodded... Though she had her eyes covered, Lonis always felt like she was looking at her.
"Things that go unnoticed?"
"Yes, like cockroaches and such."
"What?! Would there be cockroaches on a magic ship?"
"Who knows? After all, even cockroaches have been found in Clear Temple. No one can guarantee they won't be here."
"Yi Cheng, you! Are you suspecting me?"
Hearing Yi Cheng say this, if Elucia weren't piloting the ship, she would have already gone to fight her.
"Of course I'm not suspecting. Currently Elucia is my master—how could I possibly suspect her?"
"Hmph, don't think I won't ravage you. When the time is right, just wait and see how I get my revenge."
And so, the ship continued forward.
Finally, after two days of sailing, the magic ship arrived near its destination... However, the most difficult situation now lay before the girls.
They completely couldn't establish contact.
No matter how many times Elucia called the communication console or how many frequencies she tried, she received no response from the research station.
Moreover, the sky was thick with dark clouds. Even raising the ship's altitude couldn't provide a broad view... The girls' visibility didn't exceed 200 meters. Searching for Boundless Research Station's location under these conditions was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
And at times like this, it was necessary to...
......
"Hmph, Senior Yi Cheng, are you still watching the show?"
Elucia snorted coldly, looking disapprovingly at the orange-haired girl beside her.
But this girl remained completely calm, not even moving her body:
"Yes, I'm already watching the show."
"Ah hah?"
"At horizontal -1341.8 meters, ship bearing 347°, distance 12509 meters, there are two giant ancient beasts fighting each other."
"I asked you to tell me Boundless Research Station's location. Why are you watching beast fights?"
"Because one of those beasts isn't a naturally occurring ordinary type, but a combat type that's been artificially bred. Let me see... mm, designation AXLY-115 type. I can confirm it's a product of Boundless Research Station."
"......"
"Miss Elucia, my suggestion is to lower altitude and cautiously head toward the target bearing. Perhaps there, we should be able to find some additional information."
"Hmph, I understand. Lonis, go tell Zhou Suling to quickly put on her eyepatch... We're lowering altitude to watch monsters duke it out."