Translator: AnubisTL
The crowd gradually dispersed, and the dining room returned to its previous tranquility, as if the "duel" with the battleaxe as the stake had been nothing more than a routine interlude.
Jieming lowered his head, carefully weighing the "battleaxe" in his hand.
It felt heavy in his grip, its blade sharp and glinting with a cold light, and its wooden handle polished smooth and comfortable to hold. From any angle, this was a finely crafted, solidly built cold weapon.
In his past life, it might have been considered a craft collectible or a high-quality outdoor tool.
But that was all it was.
He repeatedly touched the blade with his fingertips, sensing the material's state, and even quietly scratched an inconspicuous spot with his nail. Even with his transcendent powers sealed, Jieming could quickly determine, with the skill level of an alchemy master, that there was no energy reaction on this axe, no hidden runes, and no special structure.
It was simply a pure, physically excellent axe.
Yet, the gazes of the few remaining students who hadn't completely left were still filled with undisguised envy and awe.
It was as if he were holding not a piece of iron and wood, but some holy artifact imbued with mysterious power.
Jieming hesitated for a moment, glanced at Amy, who was still buzzing with excitement, and adjusted his tone to a carefully measured level of enthusiasm. "This axe... looks pretty impressive, doesn't it?"
As he'd expected, Amy's eyes immediately lit up. "Of course it is!" she exclaimed, her voice almost reverent. "Its destructive power is way beyond those iron pipes we used to fight over in high school! Wielding this means you have combat power far beyond that of an ordinary person!"
Her tone was earnest, filled with the absolute certainty of someone stating a basic truth.
Beside them, Victor pushed up his glasses and calmly added some data to support her claim. "Based on the physical fitness of an average adult male, wielding an axe in a conflict theoretically increases the chance of winning a one-on-three fight to over ninety percent. It is indeed a very powerful force multiplier."
Jieming: "..."
He almost broke his deadpan expression.
So, the "power" and "uniqueness" of this axe lie in the fact that it "increases combat power"?
Isn't that just stating the obvious?!
Any able-bodied adult with a sharp axe would have a massive advantage against two or three unarmed people!
"What does any of this have to do with your worship?" Jieming asked. "And why were you fighting over iron pipes back in high school? Are you telling me the so-called 'school bully' was actually the strongest student in the school?"
He probed further, trying to confirm if Amy and Victor's understanding of the axe was truly limited to it being "exceptionally sturdy and sharp," "a symbol of strength," and "significantly boosting the wielder's combat effectiveness," without any supernatural properties.
"So... it's really just a well-made axe?" Jieming felt his worldview being challenged once again.
Sighing in resignation, he rubbed his temples and accepted this reality. He picked up the heavy axe and walked toward the afternoon classroom, drawing envious glances from everyone he passed.
The scene was utterly bizarre: a young man in modern university attire, carrying a sharp hand-axe that clearly didn't fit the campus aesthetic, strolling down a high-tech corridor.
The students and faculty he encountered paused for a moment upon seeing the axe. But instead of terror or confusion, their faces filled with a mixture of awe and... admiration?
The most absurd part was the young lecturer teaching the afternoon class.
When he spotted the axe Jieming had placed by the leg of his desk from the podium, his voice faltered for a moment.
He then walked over to Jieming, bent down to examine the axe closely for a while, and patted Jieming on the shoulder with an unusually gratified expression.
"Excellent! This is a fine axe indeed! The lines are smooth, the balance is stable, and the tempering of the edge is top-notch. Cherish it, student—this is the weight of knowledge!"
Jieming: "???!!!"
No, seriously, teacher, what exactly are you so pleased about?!
And what the hell is "the weight of knowledge" supposed to mean?!
Was this axe forged from books?!
He was screaming inwardly, feeling that if this continued, he would sooner or later expose himself by losing control of his facial expressions.
However, this absurd "axe incident" also made him keenly aware of another problem.
Information asymmetry.
When he had forcibly broken through the false memory overlay, his methods had been too crude. It was highly likely that he had lost some of the "common sense" or "fundamental cognition" of this world.
This explained why Amy, Victor, and even the lecturer held such an incomprehensible reverence for the axe, while he found it utterly ridiculous.
Things that seemed self-evident to the rest of the world struck him as contradictory and bizarre.
Moreover, after a day of observation, he had grown even more certain of the campus's abnormalities—most notably, the extreme teacher-to-student ratio. The university's student population was pitifully small, yet it seemed fully staffed with lecturers, professors, and all sorts of administrative personnel. It almost gave the impression that there were more faculty members than students.
Then there were the sporadic news bulletins he'd glimpsed on the classroom's light screen, which kept emphasizing that the planet faced a constant external threat and was in a state of war.
Yet the atmosphere of the entire society, from the campus to the streets, was impossibly peaceful. It lacked any of the tension, rationing, or fortifications that should have been present in a wartime environment.
"What a troublesome world," Jieming muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. He began mentally organizing a to-do list. "So, I have quite a lot to do."
"Priority one: establish a connection to my internal space and confirm the flow of time. I can't stop circulating my spiritual power."
"Priority two: frantically absorb 'common knowledge' to fill the gaps in my memory and avoid exposure due to cognitive discrepancies."
"And finally, the long-term goal: uncover the truth about this world."
The first two priorities were the most urgent.
Power and information were the foundation for breaking a deadlock in any crisis.
Just as Jieming was organizing his thoughts, the instructor on the podium introduced a new theoretical model.
Jieming's ears twitched, and he was instantly captivated.
This is... yet another piece of knowledge I don't know! It sounds valuable, and the logic seems self-consistent...
His instinct to pursue knowledge and truth now overwhelmed his desire to complain about the absurdity of his situation.
Jieming quickly immersed himself in the lesson again, rapidly taking notes and grasping these unfamiliar yet authentic truths.
When the bell rang, Jieming carefully stuffed the "battleaxe" into his backpack.
Just then, Amy and Victor arrived at the classroom door.
Seeing Jieming empty-handed and his backpack bulging, their faces simultaneously registered a visible wave of disappointment.
Jieming: "..."
He fought the urge to facepalm.
"It's just an axe! Isn't stuffing it in a backpack the most normal way to handle this?! What the hell are you two disappointed about?!" Jieming felt like he'd done more internal facepalming today than in the last few hundred years combined.
Fortunately, Amy and Victor were only disappointed, not suspicious.
They seemed to think putting the axe away was simply a personal choice—not exactly "flashy," but still within the realm of understanding.
Jieming breathed a secret sigh of relief. At least he wouldn't have to walk around a modern city all day like a complete lunatic, brandishing an axe.
When they reached the school gates, Amy checked her personal terminal. "My aunt's picking me up today. She's taking me to the amusement park in the next district, so I'm off!"
Jieming and Victor nodded, said their goodbyes, and started walking home side-by-side.
As Amy watched them walk away, she turned to leave, but a voice stopped her from behind. "Congratulations on getting into university, Amy."
"Thanks, Auntie," Amy said, startled. She turned to see a tall woman standing behind her, having appeared out of nowhere.
"But even in university, are you just going to hang out with those two? It would be so much better if you could make some new friends..."
"Auntie" smiled, running a hand through her long, silver-gray hair.
Amy blinked. "But Auntie, don't you not have any friends either?"
The woman waved a hand dismissively and turned to walk ahead. "My situation is special, so it's fine. But you're different from me, aren't you...?"
"I get the feeling you really want me to make friends. Why?" Amy followed, her curiosity piqued. "Besides, I actually get along pretty well with a lot of people."
"Oh, you know it yourself. You get along with them, but you aren't friends."
"Auntie" sighed in disappointment. "I actually wanted you to fail. I was looking forward to seeing you fail so you could grow stronger through the pain..."
"Wow... what a nasty personality..."
(End of the Chapter)
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