A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 1536 - 1035: Travel?

Duanmu Huai didn’t know what Tanaka Asuka was thinking, but shortly after, he learned that Tanaka Asuka achieved a nationwide top twenty ranking in the mock exams, and it became a big news story in the staff room—after all, though Ryuo Academy is a private high school, its teaching level is quite average, so having a top college entrance exam scorer is newsworthy.

Then, when Duanmu Huai went to the music classroom again, he saw Tanaka Asuka sitting in her seat, showing a victory gesture to Duanmu Huai.

Duanmu Huai just glanced at her and nodded.

After all, this is a secret between them— coaxing someone else’s daughter to deal with her own mother is certainly not appropriate to bring up. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

Tanaka Asuka’s return completely stabilized the somewhat unstable situation in the Wind Band Club. Although it’s not nice to say, Tasuku indeed mentioned that Tanaka Asuka is the most indispensable person in the lower brass section. Although Huang’zen Kumiko’s skills are also quite good, Tanaka Asuka is irreplaceable for now. If she can’t participate in the national competition, then Nakagawa Natsuki would have to substitute.

But Nakagawa Natsuki only started practicing the bass trombone in high school, and her technique and proficiency aren’t great. Replacing Tanaka Asuka would be too stressful for her... Fortunately, Tanaka Asuka is back, and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief.

Everything seems to be progressing smoothly, even Naruse Mio’s magic teaching shows certain results, Frieren’s Human Magic System indeed suits beginners like Naruse Mio, who rely more on intuition rather than thinking. Although the progress isn’t fast, in Duanmu Huai’s view, at least Naruse Mio could escape if encountering Fallen Angels or such.

However, Frieren is clearly not satisfied with this.

"Just training is useless; practical experience is often needed to gain experience."

Reading through the magazine in her hand, Frieren spoke.

"Practical experience, huh..."

Duanmu Huai wasn’t surprised by Frieren’s suggestion; he is also inclined towards practical experience, but the problem is...

"Is there such a place?"

Faced with Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, Liliath and Banriya shook their heads.

This isn’t a fantasy world like Frieren’s, nor is it apocalyptic; the human world on Earth is quite peaceful, without Demon Beasts or mutants.

"There really aren’t any Demon Beasts here?"

"How could there be, Demon Beasts are now rare, although there are devils, it’s not like before. We have to maintain peace with the devil forces."

"So there’s nothing good to fight against?"

Duanmu Huai spread his hands helplessly, feeling like the current world where most regions have their own countries, making it hard to fight. The remaining areas only have minor skirmishes, and even Dissident Demons aren’t common.

"But wasn’t it mentioned that there are monsters here?"

Saying this, Frieren spread open the magazine in her hand, and the crowd gathered around to look. On it was a large headline with the words "Antarctic Monster Mystery"...

"......"

Duanmu Huai silently picked up the magazine and glanced at the cover, recognizing it as one of those street gossip magazines. He remembered seeing similar magazines at the train station when he was a kid, mostly filled with various made-up stories and anecdotes, such as "Bermuda Triangle Mystery," "The Legend of the Savages in Shennongjia," "Tell you the unknown side of XX," and similar stuff.

Mostly concocted nonsense, but people still bought them, given the long train rides where everyone wanted some entertainment to pass the time, right?

Speaking of which, no one even mentions Bermuda anymore, though it used to be a movie theme.

Since he had nothing else to do, Duanmu Huai picked up the magazine and started flipping through it. The story’s content was quite interesting. It said a foreign Antarctic expedition dug up a mysterious ice coffin and brought it back to the research station, only for the monster inside to awaken and kill everyone, leaving only one to escape...hmm?

This plot reminds him of something he’s seen before?

"What’s the matter, Mr. Duanmu?"

Seeing the complicated expression on Duanmu Huai’s face, Mary curiously asked, and Duanmu Huai handed the magazine to her. Mary then picked up the magazine and started reading.

Soon, her expression also turned strange.

"Antarctic, huh..."

"Yes, Antarctic..."

"What’s going on, what’s going on?"

Seeing Duanmu Huai and Mary’s silent demeanor, Naruse Mio and Banriya curiously came over. After reading the article, they found it quite absurd.

"A boring third-rate gossip, isn’t it everywhere?"

"Well, that’s what it seems like..."

Duanmu Huai said as he opened the internet, and sure enough, he found the report online. It looks like these third-rate tabloids in Japan aren’t much different from those in China, all about importing and selling domestically. Of course, the newspapers reporting this news abroad aren’t serious papers either; they focus on gossip news.

However, the theme it reported was more serious than the catchy headline used by the Japanese tabloid. The news mainly described a mass casualty event at a scientific research station in the Antarctic, with only one survivor who claimed in court that a monster killed the station members, leaving only himself alive. And what he killed weren’t humans, but monsters disguised as humans.

Of course, the court didn’t take this seriously, and his lawyer attributed it to mental issues caused by long-term isolation at the Antarctic research station, ultimately leading to the survivor’s acquittal and mental health treatment.

The Japanese tabloid crafted a story from the survivor’s account and published it in a domestic newspaper.

Ordinary people would probably just laugh it off as a joke.

But since Frieren comes from a fantasy world where monsters roam, it didn’t seem strange to her that such peculiar demon beasts might exist.

As for Duanmu Huai and Mary... well, once bitten, twice shy. They hadn’t forgotten the time they traveled all the way to the Antarctic to rescue Shirley.

If it were any other place, it might be hard to say, but the Antarctic truly is eerie. It’s not surprising to suspect that some Cosmic Monsters or The Ancient Dominator might be lurking there.

Moreover, Duanmu Huai is a True God. As a god, his intuition is quite accurate. So when he saw this news, he immediately felt something was off, which is why he paid so much attention.

Duanmu Huai searched further and discovered that this incident was indeed a hot topic abroad for a while. In short, the incident occurred at an American research station. When the rescue team arrived after receiving a distress signal, they found the entire station burnt to ashes, with only one survivor. Initially, they thought it was a fire, but upon further inspection, they found battle marks on the corpses, leading to suspicions that the survivor was the culprit. Gasoline traces on his hands further implicated him.

Thus, he was arrested as a murderer. However, upon regaining consciousness, the survivor repeatedly attempted self-harm, claiming that what he killed weren’t humans but creatures disguised as humans... Of course, the judge didn’t believe such a narrative akin to a third-rate sci-fi horror film. However, after his lawyer defended him by citing mental instability, he was ultimately acquitted.

This incident caused a stir abroad. Several psychology papers used it as a basis to discuss psychological issues among members isolated in research stations. Some papers suggested that the survivor didn’t genuinely perceive the others as monsters; perhaps poor relationships and bullying led him to view them as threats, rationalizing his actions from a psychological perspective...

After reviewing several newspapers, magazines, and academic papers, confirming the incident, Duanmu Huai made a decision.

"When the holidays start, we’ll take a trip to the Antarctic."

Following this, Duanmu Huai made his decision.

"Eh? Is that necessary?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s decision, Liliath and Naruse Mio were somewhat surprised. To them, it seemed like just a tabloid story. Was it really necessary for Duanmu Huai to feel compelled to visit the Antarctic after reading it?

"Mary and I have had similar experiences; the Antarctic... to be honest, is quite mysterious. For safety’s sake, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look."

Duanmu Huai shook his head.

"Besides, there’s no need to take it too seriously. If nothing else, think of it as an international trip. Antarctic scientific research tourism is quite popular."

"I’ve heard of international tours, but Antarctic tours... this is the first time I’ve heard of it..."

Naruse Mio had a somewhat complex expression. Previously, she’d heard of classmates taking trips to places like Paris and Hawaii during breaks, which were understandable. But a trip to the Antarctic... honestly, it seemed like a completely different dimension.

Liliath watched the scene with curiosity, her gaze revealing a hint of complexity. Later, Kiba Hiroto and Tower City Kitten confessed to Liliath. Regardless, their actions nearly caused unimaginable consequences for Liliath and the Devil World. Of course, as their master, Liliath didn’t coddle them; she gave each a few smacks on the buttocks and settled the matter.

What left the deepest impression on Liliath was their description of Duanmu Huai. According to them, even when a Fallen Angel official arrogantly declared war against Angels and Demons, Duanmu Huai didn’t react. But when they mentioned destroying this city, he suddenly erupted in rage, and then killed them both on the spot.

From this perspective, the Tribunal is indeed human-centric. The wars between Angels, Fallen Angels, and Demons don’t concern them, but anything threatening humans is a different matter.

It’s the same now. Despite being a gossip story from a third-rate tabloid, they actually want to go investigate the Antarctic?

Is it because these things pose a threat to humans?

But thinking carefully, Angels, Fallen Angels, and Demons obviously wouldn’t bother with such human-world occurrences...

With this thought, Liliath blinked.

"Teacher Duanmu."

"Yes?"

"Can our Mystical Science Research Society join you? After all, it’s the Antarctic, and we’ve never been there."

"No problem."

Duanmu Huai glanced at Liliath, then looked away and nodded.