Chapter 306 - 290: The Importance of Self-Deception (Part 2)

Chapter 306: Chapter 290: The Importance of Self-Deception (Part 2)

’I worked my ass off, went toe-to-toe with a creature on the level of an Evil God’s Offspring, and went through hell and back, only to come away without the most important thing...’

’It’s over. My dream of a wonderful university life, the high-octane scenes I imagined of leading my classmates to dominate everything... it’s all over...’

As he was wallowing in disappointment, he heard the old professor, who was busy collecting data nearby, suddenly interject:

"Take it."

Then, Lloyd saw an ancient-looking parchment scroll appear before him. It was tied with a red ribbon, fastened in an exquisite bow.

Seeing this, the researcher’s eyes widened. He raised his voice slightly and said:

"Huh? Is that the ’Admissions Evaluation Form’! Professor Lawrence actually made one for you?"

With that, he turned back to the professor, who was still observing the data, and reminded him in a low voice:

"But... Professor, you aren’t his assigned mentor. Issuing an evaluation form... isn’t that against the rules?"

"Then go report me to the dean."

The old professor replied without looking up.

"Ah... well... never mind... it’s nothing..."

The researcher, rebuffed and speechless, quickly turned back to Lloyd and said:

"Quick, open it and take a look!"

Lloyd hurriedly took the parchment scroll floating in mid-air and unrolled it.

There were only five criteria on it: ’Foundation’, ’Potential’, ’Learning Ability’, ’Adaptability’, and ’Risk Factor’.

After the five criteria were the scores given by the old professor—

—a field of shocking red, as if written in blood...

"So? What kind of evaluation did the professor give you?"

The researcher asked curiously.

Lloyd didn’t answer directly. Instead, he turned to the old professor and asked:

"Did you make a mistake, Professor? We’ve only just met. Your evaluation of me... might not be very objective, right?"

The old professor, still not looking up, sneered and retorted:

"Are you the professor, or am I?"

That left Lloyd speechless.

Seeing this, the researcher offered some well-intentioned comfort:

"It’s okay. Even if your admissions evaluation isn’t good, if you study hard later, your evaluation can improve, and you can get a tuition reduction."

"Well... the professor’s evaluation isn’t bad, exactly, it’s just..."

Lloyd spread his hands, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he said:

"He gave me five ’S+’s..."

"Huh???"

The researcher reacted as before: his pupils contracted, his breath quickened, and he sucked in a sharp breath.

Then he shook his head vigorously and muttered under his breath:

"You’re not human... You’re not human... You’re not human..."

After this strenuous attempt at self-deception, he turned his head to the professor and demanded:

"Professor, isn’t scoring him like this... a bit inappropriate?"

This time, the old professor finally swiped away the light screen in front of him. He nodded as if confirming the validity of certain data, then said:

"There’s nothing inappropriate about it. I’ve checked the data. He did, in fact, rely on his own methods to open a Teleportation Gate to the university using a mere brooch. Furthermore, he breached the spatial barrier we had in the dueling arena...

Yes, this wasn’t a coincidence, an accident, or a lack of maintenance on the barrier. He actually completed the calculations himself!

At first, when he said he used the brooch to calculate the university’s spatial coordinates himself, I was dismissive. I thought he’d just stumbled upon it by chance. But after checking the data, I discovered that he had actually used the brooch to perform precise positioning more than once...

This is indeed hard to believe, but no matter how you try to console yourselves, it is a fact that has been verified by the data."

Lloyd could clearly sense that the old professor’s tone had lost some of its earlier arrogance and coldness, replaced by an unconcealable excitement and joy.

But as if that wasn’t enough, the old professor tapped the light screen beside him again, sharing the pile of data results with the other researchers present.

These people had been engrossed in their own research, paying no mind to Lloyd’s situation. But after being so forcefully interrupted by the professor, they couldn’t help but turn their heads to look.

That one look immediately set off a wave of gasps throughout the sci-fi-style laboratory:

"Is this the usage log for the brooch? Huh? How is that possible? How can you perform precise Spatial Positioning with such a simple brooch? This... this is just reckless! That’s not how you’re supposed to use a brooch at all!"

"How did he dare? What gave him the nerve to do that? Why would he dare walk into a Teleportation Gate opened by a brooch? Does he have a set of spatial calculation equipment more advanced than ours?"

"Impossible, just impossible. I’ve been in the Space System for five years and I still haven’t mastered the method for precise calculation. How did this person do it? It’s like... like building all of Mizkatoke with a small plastic toy shovel!"

"Ugh... my head hurts... I... haha... I get it! I get it! So all this professional equipment is just for show. The brooch is the real divine artifact! AAAAAH! AHAHAHAHA!"

Following this series of gasps, a researcher instantly collapsed to the floor, clutching his head and thrashing about. His skin and limbs began to mutate to varying degrees as he started to slide into the Abyss of Severe Madness.

But his face was twisted in a crazed grin, and he was still laughing boisterously, showing no sign of pain.

And with every laugh, Lloyd could hear a system prompt:

[Ding! Madness Value +10]

And just like that, the professor’s words had driven this researcher directly into madness...

’I have to help him!’

Lloyd said hurriedly, wanting to go over and lend a hand to see if he could pull the man back from the brink.

But the researcher’s figure blurred and faded, vanishing from the spot.

"This..."

Lloyd quickly turned to look at the old professor.

He could sense that the mutating researcher had been ’teleported’ away by the old professor using some kind of method.

He didn’t know where the man had been sent, but it was probably nowhere good...

The old professor, however, remained calm. Without a hint of regret or sadness, he simply smoothed his sleeves and said:

"Here at Mizkatoke, this is a common occurrence. Especially for an advanced discipline like the Space System, it is an unavoidable risk and cost. Everyone who chooses this path must be mentally prepared for it...

You must learn to accept such things and respect their sacrifice."

These words left Lloyd speechless for a moment.

He had a faint feeling that Mizkakotok University probably wasn’t the wonderful place he had imagined.

He had now directly felt the danger of ’Cognition collapse’.

And that ’self-deception’ mindset, which he’d been somewhat scornful of before, was indeed a crucial means of self-preservation!

Lloyd looked at the other researchers again. They were all muttering something in low voices.

"That guy Lloyd was just lucky, yeah! Definitely just lucky!"

"The field of Space has always been mysterious and dangerous. Nothing that happens should surprise me. Right! That’s it!"

"It’s fine. I’ll be able to do this in the future. It’s no big deal. I can do it too!"

"He’s not human... He’s not human..."

They didn’t spare a moment of grief for their colleague. They were all ’lying to themselves’ to prevent themselves from suffering the same fate.

Everyone looked to be in great pain, their mental states flickering as if they could collapse at any moment.

After a few minutes, their conditions gradually stabilized. A second person did not mutate on the spot.