Apocalypse Forecast

In the administrative system of the Ivory Tower, apart from the singular Principal, there were three Vice Principals who oversaw various aspects. One Vice Principal was in charge of institutions related to the Abyss and was often absent from the school, while another was responsible for confidential projects and various research, basically never making public appearances. Therefore, the only one who stepped in to manage the school’s affairs and the academic research department when the Principal intermittently went missing was Mr. Isaac, who never spoke of his family background. If not for him, the school’s operations might not have been as streamlined and efficient as they were. What was even more astonishing was that after handling all those complicated tasks, he still found time to teach classes and guide students, demonstrating endless energy. He was like a clock, each minute brimming with efficiency. Not a single second was wasted.

Only after he briefly sorted through the reports in his hands did he finally lift his head to take a sip of water. There were fifteen minutes remaining before class.

From behind their seats, some bold students approached and asked, ”Mr. Isaac, are we discussing botany today? I’ve heard it’s quite complex. Can the homework be a bit less?”

”This lesson isn’t mine to teach; you’ll have to see what the teaching assistant has planned.”

”Which teaching assistant?” The students grew puzzled. ”Isn’t Mr. Samuel on vacation? Could it be Mr. Toyo? It couldn’t possibly be that music teacher who’s just filling in, could it?”

The Vice Principal turned around. Though his face remained expressionless, his demeanor grew serious. ”There are no ’fill-in’ teachers here. Everyone who comes to this place has been recognized by the academic research department as possessing talent and capable of shouldering the responsibility of being an educator. Regardless, you must always respect your teachers.”

A few students were startled and fell silent sheepishly, but one was still brazen enough to ask, ”Isn’t he supposed to be only eighteen? He’s even younger than me.”

”And isn’t Martin only thirteen?” another interjected.

The Vice Principal shook his head. ”One cannot judge the extent of someone’s knowledge by their age. Without true teaching, how can one measure whether a teacher is competent? This course is a compulsory one with the strictest assessments, relating to your very lives. No matter what, the school would not make light of such matters.” The discussion ended there.

Not long after, ten minutes before class was due to start, Huai Shi entered through the door, carrying his lesson plans and a heavy case. Upon seeing the Vice Principal, he approached to greet him.

The Vice Principal remained indifferent, looking up to ask, ”How’s the preparation?”

”After your revisions last time, I went back and made some further adjustments. I moved some key points to the beginning and added a bit more content,” Huai Shi said, handing over his lesson plan. ”Would you like to take another look?”

”No need.”

The Vice Principal shook his head, glancing at the case in Huai Shi’s hand. ”What is that?”

Huai Shi smiled. ”Some plant specimens and a few auxiliary aids. After all, many growth details can’t be fully demonstrated in the abstract classroom simulations.”

The Vice Principal nodded and asked no further questions, simply scrutinizing Huai Shi before him. Although he seemed slightly displeased, he ultimately said nothing. Finally, he pointed towards the lectern.

”Class is about to start, Teacher Huai Shi,” he said. ”That place belongs to you now.”

Huai Shi nodded and, before leaving, asked, ”Mr. Isaac, do you have any advice to share with me?”

”Do your best, but don’t embarrass yourself or neglect your duties.” The solemn, cold man calmly told him, ”I hope you can successfully complete this lesson today. However, I also want you to know that I have absolutely no tolerance for mistakes in the classroom.”

”I understand.”

Huai Shi smiled calmly. ”Then I’ll strive not to give you a reason to get angry.”

With that, he picked up his case, took his textbook and lesson plan, and walked to the lectern.

The moment Huai Shi stepped onto the stage, the low hum of chatter in the vast, bustling classroom instantly ceased. The entire first year, all the new students, were now gathered in the vast tiered classroom. They silently observed the overly young and unfamiliar teacher before them, their eyes filled with scrutiny or anticipation—some expecting him to make a fool of himself, others hoping he would successfully deliver the lesson.

After waving to the students in the nearby Classical Music Classroom, Huai Shi set down his case, placed his textbook and lesson plan on the desk, and smiled at his students.

”Hello everyone. I am Huai Shi, the assistant lecturer for this upcoming botany section. But who I am isn’t important, so you needn’t concern yourselves with that. Let’s just start the class straightforwardly. Have you done the preparatory reading?”

After receiving an affirmative response from most of them, Huai Shi nodded and opened the textbook. ”Mr. Isaac has already covered most characteristics of the Abyss’s ecosystems, so I won’t repeat that. Next, I will select a few typical examples from the plants commonly encountered during Abyssal expansion for a detailed explanation. Please turn your textbooks to page sixty-four—”

He opened the case beside him, casually took out a flowerpot, placed it on the table, tossed in a seed, and sprinkled it with a bit of blood from a watering can. Before the students’ dumbfounded eyes, a luxuriant mimicry vine instantly shot up along the support frame and spontaneously began preying on the mosquitoes fluttering in the air. The lesson in Abyssal botany thus began in a steady and measured fashion.

To the astonishment of many, Huai Shi didn’t attempt any gimmicks. Instead, he followed the curriculum, competently explaining the plants’ ecology, preferences, and symbiotic environments. Although the sequence was a bit disorganized, not strictly following taxonomic groups, there seemed to be no plant mentioned in the textbook that he couldn’t grow then and there. It wasn’t just the students; even the other assistant lecturers present had their eyes opened that day. Backed by the entire vast collection of Yu Dai Shan, Huai Shi was hardly one to be fazed by such a minor occasion. If he were to truly elaborate, he could lecture for a month—and after thoroughly covering everything from beginning to end, he could speak for another two months just on subspecies!

Thus, Huai Shi, a newcomer, managed to deliver the entire four-hour lecture smoothly. Every forty-five minutes were followed by a ten-minute question period, and students’ various strange queries didn’t pose much trouble for him. He spoke concisely about what he knew. As for what he didn’t know, he would simply plant a seed on the spot to experiment—even if immediate conclusions couldn’t be drawn, it could be left as a future research topic for students majoring in ecology.

Throughout the entire process, even the Vice Principal, judging by his own most stringent standards, couldn’t find any faults. For a moment, he didn’t know whether to feel relieved or regretful. So, his expression remained impassive.

Of course, if one were pressed to find a flaw, it wasn’t that there were none. It was Huai Shi’s first time giving such a large lecture, and he clearly lacked experience; his pacing, in particular, was slightly off. He had finished the four-hour lecture in three. While some knowledge points could be reinforced through homework and review, it was still an unavoidable shortcoming. He’ll need to be reminded to pay attention to this in the future, the Vice Principal thought.

And just as he turned the final page of his lesson plan, Huai Shi looked up at the clock. It was exactly eleven o’clock.

He remarked softly, closing his textbook and setting it aside, ”There’s still an hour left... I had originally planned to leave just forty minutes. I suppose I still lack experience with these long lectures, this being my first time.”

Facing the students’ puzzled gazes, he took a couple of sips of water to moisten his throat. Then, a pleasant smile spread across his face as he said, ”To tell you the truth, arranging it this way was due to a bit of... personal motivation on my part.”

Here it comes! I knew it!

At the back of the tiered classroom, Lin Nineteen raised his eyes and clicked his tongue knowingly. Based on my understanding of this teacher of mine, there’s no way he’d just follow the script for something like this. He’s bound to stir things up. Why would he just be a machine, reading from a book?

Meanwhile, in the assistant lecturers’ section, the Vice Principal frowned. However, he didn’t rush to interrupt. His lips twitched slightly, then pressed firmly together again. His gaze merely grew more critical as he stared at the young man on the stage.

He heard the calm voice from the stage.

”Here at the Ivory Tower, the Abyssal Ecology course is so important because we hope it will help all of you in your future Abyssal expeditions—or, at the very least, prevent you from dying in vain in Hell. Since Mr. Isaac has trusted me enough to let me be the main lecturer for this botany section, I won’t hold anything back. I hope what I’m about to share will be helpful to you all in the future.”

He paused and looked up to ask, ”By the way, you took notes during my lecture, didn’t you? I hope you still remember the sequence of my explanations—”

As he spoke, Huai Shi reached into his case and pulled out an induction cooker, placing it on the table.

What in the world?

A deathly silence fell.

The Vice Principal, the assistant lecturers, and indeed all the students in the audience felt a collective line of question marks appear above their heads.

What in the world is he planning to do?

Then came a pot, followed by a portable oven, a set of kitchenware, a set of seasonings, a common set of alchemy tools, and two jugs of clean mineral water.

From the lectern, Huai Shi announced in a resonant voice, ”As everyone knows, Abyss plants are divided into three categories: those that are edible, those that are inedible, and those that become edible after a bit of processing—”

Amidst a sea of expressions that practically screamed confusion, everyone stared wide-eyed as Huai Shi calmly and skillfully heated oil in a pan, then picked up a knife and began chopping on a cutting board.

”—The ones that can be eaten directly have already been covered in your textbook. The inedible ones, which you might secretly feed to your enemies, will be discussed in your Alchemy class. What I’ll primarily focus on now are those that become edible with a little processing when necessary... namely, the types I deliberately saved for the last part of today’s lecture.”

Huai Shi grinned. ”Among the common and easily found plants in the Abyss, there are forty-one types that become safe to eat after processing. The botany course has twelve sessions in total. I’ll do my best to teach you about all of these before the course concludes. The detailed recipes and processing methods will be emailed to you later, so no need to take photos with your phones. Pay attention to where I’m cutting and the methods to remove toxicity—watch closely, and learn well!”

”As your teacher, while I hope nothing bad ever happens to any of you, if one day death truly becomes inevitable, I can at least ensure you won’t starve to death.”

As he spoke, his cleaver came down, slicing off a tumor-like growth that resembled a human face from the vine. After skillfully removing the flesh-like sinew from within, a palm-sized piece of it dropped into the boiling oil, emitting an oddly melodious shriek and sizzle. Illuminated by the flickering flames, Huai Shi’s smile grew almost predatory as, with each stir of his spatula, wisps of fragrant aroma rapidly diffused through the air.

From the front rows, the sound of gulping could be heard. In their shock, the students exchanged glances, then found themselves unable to resist taking deep breaths, hesitation visible in each other’s eyes.

It might look a bit rough, but damn, it smells amazing!

Maybe... just a bite?

And so, driven by a profound understanding of Abyssal plant ecology, survival wisdom from the archaeological team, and the advanced culinary skills of a Hell Kitchen Demon—a triple-fold combination—the Ivory Tower’s very first Abyssal Gourmet Mini-Lecture was officially launched!