章節 25: Anna and Old Zhao

The next day, Michael convinced Anna to accompany him to see Old Zhao. He only had to mention a laboratory, and the girl drooled like an adorable bunny.

"It is outfitted with the best tech and instruments as far as I understand," he explained, "but individual financing is tighter. EIS is a school, after all, not a research center."

In order to placate the girl, Michael told her more about the laboratory. Otherwise, she might've broken the sprinting world record on the way.

"And we can come and go as we want?"

"Not really. Otherwise nothing would ever get done. But if you're on good terms with a technician or become an assistant to someone, they will issue you a pass."

Michael nodded to the security guard who he had spoken with the day before. He had explained his intentions and then was allowed inside. Today, he only had to indicate Anna was the girl they had spoken about earlier.

As soon as Anna stepped foot in the hall, she turned into a cartoonish whirlwind, running around like Tasmanian Devil, looking and touching everything that caught her eye.

"Michael! It's an incubator! Oh! Oh! Analytical balances! Sir! Excuse me, sir!" the girl lost all of her shame, "Is this a real homogenizer? Can I hug it, please?"

'Why am I always the adult in the room?' wondered Michael while trying to unstick the excited girl from a contraption any sadistic dentist would dream about.

Finally, after a full minute of holding Anna back, he caught sight of Old Zhao. The man took Michael's advice seriously, because he was dressed in casual pants and a thin pullover, although his lab coat was carelessly thrown on a back of a chair.

"Quiet!" the old man shouted, "What is going on here?"

"Sorry, sir," Anna actually bowed, "forgive me, I got too excited."

"Who are you, students?"

"My name is Anna Novikova. I am in grade 9. Michael invited me to take a look at your place of work. I have to say, it's magnificent. Everything I imagined and more!"

"Your friend?" Zhao recognized Michael from yesterday and looked at Anna with greater interest, "Is he an assistant here?"

"Not really," Anna became nervous, "He is very talented, but biology is not his strong suit."

"Enough! Why were you running around?"

Michael huffed quietly. He had warned Zhao not to mess with Anna, and the Chinese man was doing just that. Michael's thoughts of how to calm his friend down were interrupted by an unexpected sight.

"Because this is the most magical place on Earth! You have an ultracentrifuge I only saw in pictures," she danced from one strange-looking object to another. "And this – is it an electrophoresis apparatus?"

"That's right. Do you know what it is for?"

"To work with proteins… I'm not sure."

"And this, haemocytometer?"

"It's like a microscope, for counting cells?"

"Not bad," Zhao's lips formed a condescending yet warm smile, "for a layperson."

However, Anna didn't take the man's half-insult at face value. Instead, she nodded enthusiastically, "Right? I know what most of these things are for! I wish I could use them…"

Michael coughed to get Zhao's attention and winked.

"Well," the scientist winced, "let's have you do something."

Amidst Anna's happy dance, Michael slipped away unnoticed. It wasn't his place to pressure the two into becoming acquainted. If it worked out, then Anna would be happy. If not, Michael could find her a mentor later.

"Glory, what are today's chances of collision?"

"Collision estimated at 24% with 18% possible error."

"I've been wondering, why is the error so great? I mean, not can you only estimate the chances, but even your estimation is far from perfect?"

"Infofield is limited to holding information about the present, host. It cannot predict future. Otherworldly energy limits infofield's collection of information."

"So, your uncertainty is because that thing is from another world, huh. Do you still not know what it is?"

"Infofield has no other information available."

At this point, Michael's worry stemmed from this last sentence. With each passing day, the object was less likely to crash into Earth, but he still didn't know what the thing was. If it was a weapon, perhaps he could do something to obtain it? Or, it could be a spaceship full of invaders that lost control and was flying in a straight line.

Now that he left Anna in Old Zhao's hands, Michael had nothing to do. Homework wasn't much of a problem, and the game didn't require his attention either. Dimitri had to provide him with some working levels first.

Aware of how much his Greek friend was working on the code, Michael wanted to help him by recruiting another one of their classmates, Alex. But there was no way the two rivals would agree on working on something together.

With too much time suddenly on his hands, Michael went to his room and cultivated until it got dark. With his back straight, he sat on the mattress in the middle of the room. Following a strange breathing pattern, his mind entered a state of semi-consciousness. Even though his eyelids remained closed, he felt his eyes open and saw a ring of warm water flow through the air.

Inhale. Small streams separated from the ring and covered his body, entering it through the skin and facial orifices. Michael's mind was long used to the absence of pain, so he didn't even flinch when absorbing the imaginary liquid.

Exhale. Comfortable warm spread through his veins, enhancing his circulation and mood. The energy made him feel full. Michael could imagine himself cultivating for days at a time. There was no need to eat, and with it – no need to relieve himself. The constant influx of energy allowed him to sit straight without sleeping for hours on end.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Too much – Michael slowly let go of the semi-conscious state and returned to his senses. Expecting a familiar barrier to make, he accepted all the power stored in his body at once.

"Congratulations on reaching cultivation 1-stage 6-star. Host, there are abilities available for purchase in the shop."

Michael jumped up almost his own height, catching the ceiling with his hands and feet. Striking a Spider-man pose for a second, he fell without hurting himself. Now, he was surely at least three times stronger than before he found Splendid Glory.

'Do I finally have enough glory points to buy something?' he checked the shop. Before him was a field of white, so many abilities to buy. Even the latest ones, two abilities he had never seen before, were glowing the inviting color.

"Glory, how many points do I have?" he asked incredulously.

"Current glory points: 476."

"Is there a mistake? I had less than a hundred a few days ago."

"Host is welcome to check notifications."

"All right," Michael agreed. Glory displayed a familiar menu with a long list of messages. Michael scrolled down a bit and smiled at one in particular.

"50 glory points earned for helping Anna find a mentor. Host cares about his friends."

That was not a small number. Considering that helping the girl regain some of her confidence rewarded him with 15 and saving Jerry from expulsion earned him 30, Glory valued mentors very highly.

However, what stunned Michael was not the message about Anna he missed when cultivating. Instead, it was a stream of lines that surrounded it, each rewarding him with one or rarely two points.

Suddenly, another line appeared, its contents same as the others.

"1 glory point earned for educating a stranger. Host is a knowledgeable person. Host, please continue to be a good teacher."

North Academy finally gained an audience.