By now, the Insect-man’s corpse was no longer as intact as it had been yesterday.

A fine, bloody incision had been cut into its spindle-shaped torso from top to bottom.

The pale green blood around the incision had long since coagulated, revealing the complex structure of its internal organs.

"According to research conducted by our biology teachers early this morning, the internal structure of this Insect-man isn’t what we thought. It’s not like that of a moth or other insect; in fact, its organs are remarkably similar to a human’s."

"It even has a strong heart and lungs. This unique cardiopulmonary structure seems capable of filtering out the omnipresent white mist. However, since we aren’t specialists, we were worried about damaging the organs, so we haven’t performed a detailed analysis of their structure yet."

As Dean Wu spoke, he used a tool to pull apart the Insect-man’s epidermis, revealing all kinds of strangely shaped, pale green organs inside.

He looked at the doctors standing nearby and smiled. "If we want to discover what makes this Insect-man special, we’re going to need your help."

Dean Wu didn’t need to prompt them further. The moment the surgeons from the Mao Bear Country saw the disemboweled, humanoid creature on the table, their initial shock gave way to expressions of keen interest.

"Also... we’ve conducted some preliminary research on this mysterious liquid."

Dean Wu picked up the vial of pungent liquid, now only a third full, and swirled it gently. "Our biology teachers used a light microscope to conduct a preliminary study, looking at both the dead black worms and the composition of this liquid."

"We found that this pungent liquid is 70% Water, 20% fragments from the black worms, and 10% an unknown substance. It’s possible this last part is a ground-up mixture of some kind of mystical herbs, minerals, or even Crystal Stones."

"What we can say for sure is that the bulk of this pungent liquid is made from fragments of the black worms."

"I theorize that if we can find a way to crush the black worms and grind them up with the other materials, we can create a potion that enhances our Spiritual Power."

"However... we don’t know the exact method of preparation yet. That still needs to be determined. Or perhaps the secret to the formula is recorded on these Beast Hide Scrolls."

"Dean Wu," Han Ning raised his hand to ask, "if we just crush the black worms and mix them with plain water, would that have a similar effect?"

"Unlikely. We suspect the black worms contain a certain amount of toxins. There must be a way to neutralize them before the mixture can be safely consumed. The secret must lie within that other 10% of material."

The person who answered Han Ning was a female biology teacher named Zhao Tingyu.

She shook her head and continued, "Our lab conditions are too primitive for more in-depth research. All we can do is make simple observations and use logic to speculate on possibilities. There are too many uncertainties."

"So... what should we do now?" Han Ning asked, turning to Dean Wu.

"Two options." Dean Wu held up two fingers. "First, we continue to study what the Insect-man left behind. We try to decipher their language in hopes of making more discoveries."

"Second, once the storm passes, we’ll send out a few scouting parties to explore the surrounding area. We need to see if we can gather more information, like... ruins, significant landmarks, or even everyday items left behind by some other civilization..."

A faint look of worry filled Dean Wu’s face.

"The second option is extremely dangerous, but we have no choice. We killed an Insect-man. If it has others of its kind, and they discover its death and track us here... then it won’t be just one Insect-man we’re facing. It could be an invasion of hundreds or thousands of creatures from this Exotic Realm."

His serious gaze swept over everyone present.

"If that happens, we won’t be far from death."

As he said this, a heavy gloom fell over everyone in the room.

The dense white fog outside seemed to mirror the gloom in their hearts, refusing to dissipate.

Dean Wu took a deep breath and spoke in the calmest, most reassuring voice he could manage. "Given the situation, we have to act fast. Whether the Insect-man’s clan has discovered us or not, we must prepare for a fight. We need to increase everyone’s strength as much as possible, and the logistics team needs to ramp up firearm production."

"Right now, within the academy, we have one person whose Silver Lotus Wood has successfully evolved, zero with a Fourth Mutation, 37 with a third mutation, and 162 with a second mutation... The explorers must be exceptionally strong. It’s not just about having a powerful Silver Lotus Wood; they must also be experts in survival."

"To ensure the academy’s security, we can’t send too many people out. I plan to select about 20 people, forming four squads of five, one for each cardinal direction—east, west, north, and south. This will make it easier for them to support one another. If anyone wishes to join, you can volunteer."

’So this is why Dean Wu called everyone here today.’

Han Ning felt conflicted.

’My plan was to wait, to give everyone more time to develop. I wanted to wait until we could arm everyone with firearms and until a second person’s Silver Lotus Wood had successfully evolved before even considering exploration.’

’But... life is unpredictable. In an environment with so many uncertainties, hoping for a period of peaceful development is just a fantasy.’

"The deadline to sign up is when the storm ends. There’s no reward for this. You’ll be doing it for... everyone’s survival."

...

After the early morning meeting concluded, no one left right away. Instead, they gathered around the desk to examine the Beast Hide Scrolls, which were covered in strange writing.

"Lady Lenna, you’re a linguist. Is there any way you can decipher the contents of these scrolls in a short amount of time?"

Dean Wu asked, his eyes fixed on the crooked, scrawled characters on the scroll. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Dean Wu, you make it sound too easy. A completely unknown script can’t be deciphered just like that. Let me have a look..."

Lena stared intently at the text on the Beast Hide Scroll for a long while before continuing,

"The easiest way to start is by looking for pictures. Then numbers, writing direction, punctuation... After that, I’ll analyze the structure of the characters to see if they’re pictographic..."

As she studied them, Lena’s brow slowly furrowed. "I can tell this is a relatively simple script, but without any points of reference, the deciphering process will still be incredibly slow. At the very least... I need more images from this civilization."

She pointed to a map on one of the scrolls, which was marked with various strange symbols.

"I should be able to figure out the general meaning of the symbols on this map relatively quickly. But to decipher the rest of the script, I’ll need other images."

Dean Wu nodded. "I understand. We’ll leave the deciphering work to you, then, Lady Lenna. If you need anything, just ask."

"I want to ask you, Dean Wu, and everyone else... to please save my child." Lena unwrapped the layers of blankets from the bundle in her arms, revealing an infant inside. Its eyes were shut tight, its breathing faint. It looked as if it could pass away at any moment.