Free Web NovelChapter 224: Chapter 185: Traces from the Abyss (2)
In the picture, a pale, delicate-looking young woman with heavy dark circles under her eyes was lying on a bed, her hair unbound. She stared with a pair of vacant eyes, looking extremely weak.
Han Ning felt the girl looked a little familiar, but he couldn’t recall her name.
There were just over three hundred surviving teachers and students in the academy. After spending so much time together, with his increasingly powerful Spiritual Power, he could basically remember everyone’s face.
The number of teachers was small, so he knew all their names and faces. He just hadn’t bothered to learn the specific names of the students.
"Her name is Zhao Yingying. She’s a master’s student in the bioengineering program. Her advisor unfortunately died during the transit, and then Dean Wu assigned her to me."
Teacher Zheng briefly explained the identity of the girl on the screen.
"What’s wrong with her?" Han Ning studied the picture for a moment. Based on his experience, he could only tell that Zhao Yingying was someone who often stayed up late. He didn’t notice anything else unusual.
Teacher Zheng sighed softly. "To be honest... I don’t know what’s wrong with her either. For the past week, we’ve been working on different things. These last few days, I and the other teachers have been busy improving the insect-based food supply, while her job was to classify the items left behind by the Burning Fire Race. I remember she was perfectly fine three days ago, but this morning, her roommate suddenly came to me and said something was wrong with her..."
"After learning about Yingying’s general condition, I immediately contacted Dr. Sumarokov, but they haven’t found anything abnormal yet either. Still, anyone can see that her condition is rapidly deteriorating," Teacher Zheng said as they walked toward Zhao Yingying’s dorm.
"Mm, I understand. So you suspect Zhao Yingying’s illness is related to a Soul Beast?" Han Ning asked with a serious nod.
"The doctor said it might be the work of a Soul Beast. Afterward, I tried using the Tree Demon’s Purification Soul Techniques to dispel her ailment, but it had no effect at all," Teacher Zheng explained. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"Not even the Tree Demon’s Purification could work?" Han Ning frowned and looked closely at Zhao Yingying on the screen again.
However, he wasn’t a doctor, and he couldn’t spot anything unusual just from the photo.
’In any case, I’ll have to see Zhao Yingying in person to be sure.’ He quickened his pace. ’A life is on the line. The sooner this is resolved, the better.’
...
Zhao Yingying’s dorm was on the 4th floor of Building B. The residents on this floor were mostly female students from the academy.
When Han Ning and Teacher Zheng arrived, a dozen or so people were already gathered in the room. All the teachers from the bioengineering program were there, along with Dr. Sumarokov and his team. He also saw Lena and Nia.
Teacher Fang, with whom Han Ning was relatively familiar, was leaning against the windowsill, his brow tightly furrowed as he looked at Zhao Yingying on the bed.
At that moment, Nia was crouched by Zhao Yingying’s steel-frame bed, her face serious as she observed the latter’s expression.
A cyan dragonfly was perched on Zhao Yingying’s pale arm, its body occasionally glowing with a cyan-jade luster.
Zhao Yingying’s Silver Lotus Wood stood blankly to the side, looking completely at a loss.
Han Ning didn’t disturb Nia right away. His gaze inadvertently swept over a few of the female students watching from behind her, and his brow twitched involuntarily.
The delicate-looking girl standing near her left had terrifyingly dark circles under her eyes. They were as black as a panda’s and completely ruined her delicate features.
Even with her glasses partially hiding them, one could still see the dark circles that seemed to take up half her face.
’Those... those dark circles are way too exaggerated,’ Han Ning thought.
It wasn’t just him. The moment Teacher Zheng saw the girl, a look of surprise crossed his face. He then frowned and asked in a low voice:
"Mingli, what happened to your face?"
The girl named Mingli had a frightened expression. She walked over to Teacher Zheng’s side and said in a tearful voice, "Teacher Zheng, I don’t know either." freewebnσvel.cѳm
As Mingli drew closer, Han Ning immediately sensed a familiar aura emanating from her.
The moment he sensed this aura, his expression suddenly turned grave.
"It’s the aura of Darkness..."
"Darkness? Dark Attribute Energy?" Teacher Zheng heard his whisper.
Han Ning didn’t answer right away. Instead, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the girl’s arm.
The girl flinched at his sudden movement, but she clearly recognized Han Ning and didn’t resist.
A purplish-red tentacle extended from Han Ning’s fingertip and gently pierced Mingli’s arm.
Immediately after, wisps of black mist began to seep from the surface of her arm and were absorbed by the tentacle.
As the black mist was drawn out, the heavy dark circles on Mingli’s face began to fade at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her entire demeanor, initially listless and vacant-eyed, gradually returned to normal.
Seeing her condition improve, Han Ning finally spoke up. "Miss... are you also a student in the bioengineering program? What kind of work do you normally do?"
The girl looked at Han Ning gratefully and hurriedly replied, "Yes, Zhao Yingying is my senior. Senior Sister Yingying is the leader of our work group. Our usual job is to help her organize experiment materials, lend a hand, and compile data files."
Han Ning was about to ask more, but on the other side, Nia seemed to have finished examining Zhao Yingying’s condition. She heard Han Ning and Mingli’s conversation, immediately turned her head, and waved Han Ning over.
As Han Ning approached, Nia blinked. "Brother Han Ning," she greeted him in the Insect Language.
Han Ning smiled and pointed at Zhao Yingying, whose eyes were tightly closed. "Good afternoon, Nia. Did you find anything?"
"It looks like she’s been parasitized," Nia said, her tone somewhat uncertain.
"Parasitized?" Hearing the unfamiliar term, Han Ning asked in confusion, "What does ’parasitized’ mean?"
Nia explained in a low voice, "Daddy said that parasitism is a technique Abyssal Soul Beasts excel at. The life force of a parasitized person is continuously drained by the parasite until they die."
"Abyssal Soul Beasts only exist in the Abyss, a place filled with the aura of death. It’s almost impossible to encounter a situation like this in our homeland. I... I can’t help her."
As she spoke, Nia lowered her head, a self-reproachful look on her face.
"It’s okay."
Han Ning softly comforted Nia. His eyes flickered as he looked at Zhao Yingying on the bed and released his Spiritual Power.
Not only was there the familiar aura of Darkness, but there was also a faint "scent" of decay coming from her body.
This scent of decay wasn’t a physical odor, but a kind of profound spiritual perception.
Just as before, he extended his palm.
Several tentacles, glowing with a purple halo, shot out from his palm and burrowed into Zhao Yingying’s body.
This Dark Energy, which everyone had been helpless against, was instantly and completely devoured by the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm.
Just like with Mingli, the moment the Dark Energy was dispelled, Zhao Yingying—who had been vacant-eyed, pale, and afflicted with heavy dark circles—regained her senses.
However, her physical condition was much worse than Mingli’s. Although her consciousness was gradually returning, her complexion remained terrifyingly pale, like a corpse just brought into a morgue.
Her eyes quickly regained their focus. Then, she blinked and looked at the people standing before her.
"Teacher Zheng... Teacher Fang... and Teacher Lena... You’re... Han Ning?" Zhao Yingying’s voice trembled, but she could now recognize the people in front of her.
"It’s good that you’re okay." Seeing his student return to normal, Teacher Zheng heaved a sigh of relief.
Although the two young women had recovered, the expression on Han Ning’s face remained unchanged.
Nia’s words echoed in his mind. ’Parasitism... a common tactic of Abyssal Creatures.’
’How could it appear inside the academy?’
’The Purple Star Snakes? Impossible. The ones in the academy are all hatchlings; there’s no way they could have harmed Zhao Yingying.’
’Could it be that the Burning Fire Race had some strange, undiscovered items?’
As he mulled it over, he suddenly had a flash of insight.
’That’s not right. There’s also that large, shriveled Winged Demon egg...’
He recalled the large egg they had collected from the Mist Deep Valley.
The large egg had been almost completely shriveled, with no detectable life aura, making it seem practically dead. After returning to the academy, he had given it to Teacher Fang and his team to study.
He waited quietly for Zhao Yingying to calm down before speaking.
"Zhao Yingying, this ’illness’ of yours is very strange. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell us what you’ve been through recently?"
