Chapter 2850 - 1071: Special Configuration
It seems giving away the key was just a casual gesture from Professor Montreya.
After standing by Lin Zhong Lake for a few minutes, he leisurely led the students to continue to his office. Just to make up for the few minutes wasted earlier, he chose to take a shortcut.
For most of the students, classes were over for the day, and there were many couples cuddling on the lawn by the lake and the trails in the woods. Zheng Qing followed the professor without any distraction, watching him startle pairs of lovers, feeling inexplicably that the professor intentionally spent those few extra minutes by the lake.
Soon, the trees ahead began to thin, and the sunlight returned.
"The weather is nice."
The professor glanced at the setting sun and gently remarked.
Zheng Qing wasn’t very good at responding to such pleasantries, so he remained silent until they entered the office building. At this time, the building was bustling with activity, with students coming and going, professors who hadn’t left work yet, busy assistant instructors, and more. Being both an assistant instructor and a student, Zheng Qing encountered quite a few acquaintances along the way and exchanged many greetings.
Professor Montreya’s office was located at the end of the fourth-floor corridor; once there, few people were around. Unlike Professor Yao, Professor Montreya’s door did not have The Door God but had a Door Ring Beast similar to his laboratory.
Upon entering, the light suddenly dimmed.
Zheng Qing stood at the door for quite a while to adjust before looking around, surprised to find the room unexpectedly minimalist. Like an adherent of "minimalism," aside from a desk and two chairs, there were no other items.
No bookshelves, no plants, no coffee table - naturally, Zheng Qing did not expect there to be fruit plates, tea, or snacks - and there were not many items on the professor’s desk either, only a pen holder, an ink stand, and a hardcover book that seemed to have been frequently turned over.
When placing the homework on the desk, Zheng Qing quickly glanced at the book, the name and illustration on the cover were already somewhat blurred, vaguely seeing words like ’blood,’ ’spirit,’ ’Ashmol.’
Squeak.
The slightly jarring sound of the drawer being pulled open startled the boy, he quickly withdrew his gaze and stood upright.
"Look at this document, and if you think there’s no problem, just sign it," Professor Montreya took a stack of papers from the drawer, placed them on the desk, and lightly said: "—originally, all seven of you were supposed to sign, but now... of course, if you don’t sign, it’s also okay. This is up to you."
He shook his head and didn’t continue speaking.
Zheng Qing almost immediately reacted; the ’seven people’ he mentioned likely included the other six qualifiers. As expected, the professor didn’t just find him to hand in homework.
Upon picking up the document, Zheng Qing felt relieved since it was a standard Silence Contract provided by Danghag, the high-binding version, constraining content identical to what was signed during the resonance test, concerning confidentiality details of the "Giant God Soldier" project, with signatories including the two deans of Edge Academy and three vice principals of the school.
No one can imitate the signature of a Legendary Wizard.
Just as he was about to sign, Professor Montreya stopped him.
"Don’t you have anything to ask?" The professor seemed somewhat puzzled.
Zheng Qing hesitated for a moment.
"Well, not exactly nothing."
He tugged on the feather of the feather pen in his hand, glanced at the densely packed small print on the parchment, and immediately abandoned careful study: "But it’s not a big issue... I remember signing a series of Silence Contracts before participating in the ’Giant God Soldier’ project, why do I need to sign again today? Also, wouldn’t it be enough for Captain Zhang Yu or Assistant Hilda to notify me? I mean, they used to notify me before."
"Because it’s different."
Professor Montreya looked again at the blue snake hanging from the boy’s ear, slightly slowed down his speech: "The previous round you participated in was the test for the ’Edge Type 1’ Giant God Soldier, while this round is the ’Special Configuration’ Giant God Soldier. With higher secrecy levels. The assistant instructors are no longer within the authorized range."
"How is it special?" The boy immediately became interested.
"More powerful... also takes a greater toll on wizards."
The professor summarized ambiguously but concisely and then turned the conversation: "Originally, the designated operator for this model was the only Big Wizard among the qualifiers. Therefore, before you sign, I must remind you, the danger level of this project is higher than before. Remember the encounters of the other qualifiers? If you decide to participate in the new model experiment, there might not be the same luck as the last time."
Among other qualifiers participating the last round, all experienced varied degrees of lifespan degradation and fate loss, including a Big Wizard.
And the risk is expected to be higher this time.
This explanation was not difficult to understand, but what Zheng Qing was interested in wasn’t this, rather Professor Montreya’s attitude. Because he seemed to be the second professor advising him to drop out of the Giant God Soldier project.
The previous one was Old Yao.
But unlike Old Yao’s straightforward advice, Professor Montreya subtly hinted at letting him retreat.
The boy seriously stared at the parchment before him, his mind racing.
"But right now, I am the only qualifier."
After a while, he then glanced up at the office’s owner, earnestly: "—I am a student at First University, a member of Jiuyou Academy, and simultaneously a member of Edge Academy. Edge Academy is the best example of practicing Jiuyou’s ’Justice’ philosophy. I wouldn’t dare claim to have made sacrifices like other edge members for this new academy, but within my capable range, I still want to make some contributions... Besides, I have ample confidence in the school. With the experience of the last incident, I believe they can develop a more complete plan for this new experiment."
Professor Montreya’s eye slightly twitched, seemingly completely unexpected that the boy would exhibit such naivete and enthusiasm. Similarly, the blue Little Dragon hanging from Zheng Qing’s ear also swung lightly, showing a great shock impression.
"Not that there are no other qualifiers." He explained very reluctantly: "The seven of you were screened as the safest qualifiers, there are other possible choices..."
"Can they control the ’Special Configuration’?"
"The risk will be higher... if willing to pay certain costs."
Zheng Qing did not further question the costs, believing they would certainly be ’classified.’
"So, if I am willing to take on this task, then those wizards won’t need to bear greater risks, right?" He earnestly nodded and signed his name on the blank spot at the bottom of the parchment.