Apocalypse, then transforming into a magical girl

Xia Zhaozhao stared in disbelief at the childish yet eerie drawings in Sasha's notebook.

"Sasha, what you're drawing...does it mean we'll be eaten by this big-eyed monster if we go in?"

Sasha nodded vigorously.

Xiao Lü frowned as well. Knowing the goodwill of the illusory girl in front of her, she could not ignore her warning.

She turned her head and whispered to Bai Shuyuan beside her what she had seen.

Bai Shuyuan remained expressionless. After a moment of silence, her voice slowly rang out.

"Combined with the feeling of being watched ever since I entered this area, and the image of the monster in that painting..."

"It seems, unfortunately, that our destination, and what we are looking for, is likely inextricably linked to the core of this anomaly within Xinmao University."

"Then...should we still go? Or should we make a tactical retreat first?" Xia Zhaozhao frowned after hearing Bai Shuyuan's analysis.

"We're already here. We can't just back down every time we see a sign of danger. We'll have to face monsters like this sooner or later, and besides, we have what we need there anyway."

Hearing this, Xia Zhaozhao nodded. She tried her best to give a reassuring smile: "Sasha, don't be afraid! We're just going in to get some small things, we'll be out soon to play with you!"

"Besides, the three of us are incredibly talented!" To make her argument more convincing, she puffed out her chest, patting it loudly. "And you know, we're incredibly talented! What you drew is nothing compared to what we did!"

Sasha hesitated for a moment. Her gaze lingered on Xia Zhaozhao's face for a moment, then turned to Xiao Lü, who had a calm expression, and Bai Shuyuan, whom she was supporting, her brows furrowed.

Ultimately, whether she was infected by Xia Zhaozhao's inexplicable confidence or touched by the promise of "playing with you," she nodded very slightly.

Finally, she made up her mind, turned around, took a step, and gestured for the three of them to follow.

This time, as the three followed Sasha's figure through the illusory sunflower field, the surrounding scenery underwent a wondrous change.

The haphazard stitching of different scenes that was present earlier has gradually disappeared, replaced by an eerie sense of realism.

"Huh? I recognize this road!" Xia Zhaozhao said, looking around in surprise as she walked.

"Isn't this the shortcut from the north gate to the experimental building? How come it suddenly... looks so normal?"

"It seems my guess was right," Bai Shuyuan's voice came out. "The cognitive interference field we are currently in is likely composed of the memories of an individual."

"The clearer and more vivid the memory, the more realistic and stable its performance will be in this field. Conversely, those vague areas, or those that do not exist in memory at all, will be filled with random illusions in memory."

Xiao Lü's gaze swept over the increasingly clear scenery around her, and she continued, "So, the biological laboratory building we're heading to now is a place very familiar to the owner of this memory?"

"Does this also mean that the source of this cognitive interference field is closely related to the biological laboratory building, and even to what we are looking for?"

"So, considering the piecemeal scene I saw in the teaching building earlier, I think he didn't actually enter that teaching building. It seems the person experiencing the illusion isn't an undergraduate student here."

"So you filled it with his high school memories? It seems his high school experience wasn't very good," Xia Zhaozhao interjected.

"Of course. No. 3 Middle School is the best middle school in Xinmao, and also... has the highest suicide rate. Also, judging from the era of the school uniform in his memory, I guess that guy might be a doctoral student here."

The closer you get to your destination, the clearer and more realistic the surrounding environment becomes. If you ignore the unseen patter of raindrops on your skin, it's almost indistinguishable from a pre-apocalyptic university campus.

Finally, a rather new-looking experimental building appeared before them, with the words "Xinmao University Biological Science and Technology Experimental Center" written on it.

"That's right, that's right, the biology building looks like this! I remember it!" Xia Zhaozhao pointed at the building, her tone filled with excitement and a hint of barely perceptible nostalgia.

"So, our trip went quite smoothly this time? Since the memories here are so clear, doesn't that mean the things inside are similar to those in reality?"

"So, it seems we can just go straight into the seed bank, grab the long storage container that looks like it holds the Chlorella and its seeds, and run, right?"

"That possibility exists. However, we need to be highly vigilant about the hidden dangers," Bai Shuyuan responded cautiously.

Finally, when the three of them arrived at the entrance of the biological experiment building, Sasha, who had been leading the way, stopped.

She stood at the entrance of the building, her body trembling uncontrollably, her face filled with fear, as if some ferocious beast was imprisoned inside.

She waved to the three of them, then pointed to the building, then to herself, making a "wait" gesture to indicate that she would not go any further.

Then, she forced a smile, as if to encourage them.

"The feeling of being watched that I had before has become more intense and clearer," Bai Shuyuan whispered a reminder.

Little Green nodded, then looked at Sasha behind her: "Thank you, Sasha, we'll be careful. You wait for us here."

Sasha nodded vigorously, then quickly ran away and stood by the bushes not far away.

Xiao Lü pushed open the heavy glass door of the laboratory building, and a blast of air mixed with the smell of disinfectant rushed out. The room was brightly lit, the floor was spotless, and everything looked neat and tidy.

"Where exactly is the place we're looking for?" Xiao Lü asked.

"Based on what I understand about the paper," Bai Shuyuan said, "the main person in charge of that Chlorella gene editing project is Professor Qin Zheng. He is a doctoral supervisor here, and his lab number should be 606, located on the sixth floor."

"Ah? Qin Zheng! He's a celebrity at our school!" Xia Zhaozhao's eyes lit up immediately when she heard the name.

"This guy is amazing! Let me tell you, he's been nominated for that super prestigious international award several times!"

"The Nobel Prize?" Little Green chimed in.

"No, the Ig Nobel Prize," Xia Zhaozhao replied immediately.

Little Green's curiosity was piqued: "What? The Ig Nobel Prize? What kind of stuff has he researched?"

"There are many more!" Xia Zhaozhao immediately perked up and began to describe them vividly.

"Even I, a civil engineering student, have heard of it! He studied 'cockroaches' biting preferences for different flavored potato chip bags,' and the final result was that 'cockroaches showed a strong desire to bite all brands of packaging bags.'"

"Also, one year he did some research on 'the effect of music on the photosynthesis of Chlorella,' comparing the effects of post-rock and crushed core on the growth rate of that thing at the same decibel level."

"His final conclusion was that algae that listened to post-rock grew more than ten percent faster than those that listened to crushed algae!"

"...Does it really work?" Xiao Lü asked, somewhat surprised.

"How is that possible? In the blank control group where no music was played, the growth rate of Chlorella was twice as high as that of the two groups that were playing music."

"...Why would anyone approve research funding for him?"