Twisted Threshold
Next Phase: Phase 2 - The First Time in Dipfield
In the Old Lecture Building
After passing through heavily guarded checkpoints, Seka and Saiko finally arrived at the Lecture Building 1826.
Unlike its usual hustle and bustle, at this hour, Building 1826 appeared exceptionally quiet before them. The building was empty, with hardly a soul in sight; you couldn't find another person on the entire level. All you can find on the ground is dust and scraps of paper scattered about. And several doors were weakly half-open, their locks long gone. Light streamed in through the Gothic-style windows, illuminating the dust motes floating in the air. The dilapidated scene seemed to silently narrate everything that had happened here.
Many images of past events flashed through Seka's mind. The last time he had come to this lecture hall, was about two years ago, while it was his first year of the Junior Department—At that time, Seka was just a confused freshman who had just enrolled in the Junior Division of the Northern Academy, and this was where his first class was held.
At that time, everything here was full of life—Seka easily got along with his classmates, with no barriers between them; the teachers were serious and responsible in their teaching, and all students were motivated to do their homework diligently. Back then, the Northern Academy seemed very harmonious; conflicts between political groups were not so severe, and students would not exclude each other for various reasons.
However, two years had passed in a flash—now, Seka returned to this familiar lecture hall to use a special piece of equipment that would be helpful for his experiment. Seeing such a scene, his heart was filled with countless fragments of the past, leaving him with a flood of emotions.
Seka's mind snapped to this, and he froze on the spot. His brain and soul were filled up with fragments of the past.
"Hey, Seka!" Saiko, Seka's friend, walking twenty meters ahead of him, called out when he noticed he had transcended Seka for a long way. "I mean, I totally understand where you're coming from. I too feel so nostalgic about how far the Academy has come. How we all used to love it, and how sad to see the changes. But we really have to hurry..... If we don't finish our experiment soon, we'll be late!" Saiko continued.
Seka reluctantly regained his composure, coughed twice, and hurried to Saiko's location. "Can't let go of the past!" Seka lamented.
Seka seemed to be shrouded in a gloomy mood. He was totally overwhelmed with exhaustion. "Our academy is in terrible shape. I'm extremely disappointed!"
Seka and Saiko continued walking, sighing as they went.
Passing through the quiet lobby of Building 1826 and up the once-familiar stairs, they saw a faint light emanating from the crack of the laboratory door. While the doors to most classrooms were dilapidated, the brand-new aluminum alloy door of the laboratory stood out conspicuously among them.
After an automated genetic verification of the two, the laboratory's door slid open silently. Seka and Saiko stepped into the cool, blue light. Inside the lab, the only things immediately noticeable were the two of them and the holographic projector's image floating in the air, which was displaying the glowing base pairs of a DNA double helix. At the far end of the lab, there were more than a dozen computers beeping in the corner.
Upon arriving at the laboratory, perhaps because they felt a sense of belonging, their past sadness and nostalgia quietly and progressively faded away, replaced by anticipation for the various steps of the experiment they were about to do.
Saiko walked to the other end of the lab and sat down in front of a computer. He began to operate it, processing all sorts of data. Meanwhile, Seka, dressed in a lab coat and wearing goggles, was handling the experimental equipment.
