Meanwhile, Rene and Jacob returned to the Fontaine Research Institute and checked the time.
Phew, still slacking-off time. Not yet work time... wait, no, I mean not yet overtime.
Rene's heart skipped a beat. Damn it, my mindset is already being corrupted.
"No, no, this won't do," Jacob thought frantically. "With my aptitude, if I don't put in more effort, I'll be left in the dust by everyone else."
Jacob had already completely given up. It wasn't that his talent was bad, but under Rene's brilliant light, he felt practically invisible.
And now, within the dazzling star that was the Academy, he was even more transparent. Jacob even suspected he couldn't compete with the kitchen chefs.
Once, when he went to the kitchen to get food for Rene, he saw a chef flipping a wok with one hand while reading an advanced mathematics textbook with the other.
Words could hardly describe Jacob's feelings at that moment. After chatting with the chef, he learned that the man had originally been a researcher. He'd felt too incompetent to stay in his post but didn't want to leave the Academy, so he'd applied for a chef's position instead.
And it wasn't just him. The other chefs, even the janitors cleaning the toilets, were all former researchers who had been weeded out.
No one had forced them out, but their pride was too thin. They couldn't bear to draw the same salary while doing nothing all day, completely unable to understand the research projects their colleagues were working on.
The chef was cramming advanced math while cooking precisely because he hoped to one day return to his research post with his head held high.
Holy crap! Jacob exclaimed internally.
He couldn't bring himself to tell the chef the cruel truth: he'd probably be a chef for the rest of his life.
-
Rene and Jacob returned to Group Two's rest area—no, work area. They had already requested leave from their supervisor for the morning.
Besides, no one at the Academy actually worked during office hours anyway, so they took their leave with a perfectly clear conscience.
Plus, we can get ten times our pay for overtime later. Sweet!
The moment Rene realized what he was thinking, his mood soured.
Dammit, am I really being assimilated?
But as the saying goes, "The more you slack off, the more you... work..."
For some reason, Alva's catchphrase popped into his head as a form of self-comfort, and Rene wanted to slap himself.
Rene, oh Rene, how could you have fallen so low?
Just then, Alva spotted them and rushed over with a beaming smile.
"You're finally back! What were you up to this morning?"
Since there was nothing to hide about their visit to Neuvillette, Rene explained their morning's whereabouts.
After listening to Rene's account, Alva slapped his hands together.
"You went to see Neuvillette? That counts as fieldwork!"
Alva patted Rene's hand and declared with utmost seriousness, "Don't worry, leave it to me. Fieldwork gets you triple pay!"
What, triple pay?!
Rene's heart leaped with joy, but then he realized he had no use for that much money.
Wait a minute... He'd heard several groups were out collecting samples every day. Could it be for that triple pay?
And if they did fieldwork after hours, they could get... thirty times their pay...
Rene was speechless. He thought he finally understood why everyone at the Academy was always complaining about the budget being too small.
But more than that, Rene was curious: why wasn't everyone at the Academy out doing fieldwork?
Don't think he was overthinking it. After just two days here, he knew these people were absolutely capable of such a thing!
"Because it's too tiring," Alva explained immediately when Rene voiced his confusion.
"You can always earn more money, but you can't wear yourself out!"
Rene and Jacob: "..."
"Anyway, forget about that for now," Alva said, changing the subject. "You're just in time. Come see something amazing."
"Today's the day of Noah's Ark's test flight!"
As Alva spoke, he pulled Rene outside. Jacob, seeing this, hurried after them.
The three soon arrived at a wide, open field within the Academy. Many people had already gathered there, all seemingly waiting in anticipation.
This was the first time in two days that Rene had seen the people here so focused on something, and his curiosity intensified.
While they waited, Rene couldn't help but ask Alva, "Monsieur Alva, what exactly is this 'Noah's Ark' you mentioned?"
"It's the first airship built by our Fontaine Research Institute, designed to conquer the stars and seas."
Hearing Alva's explanation, Rene and Jacob—who had been eavesdropping—were utterly stunned.
What the hell? Conquer the stars and seas?
If they understood correctly, did that mean this ship could break through Teyvat's world barrier?!
That can't be right! Isn't this technological leap a bit too ridiculous?!
Seriously, shouldn't we first build weapons to defeat all the other nations, then create weapons capable of bombarding Celestia, and only then move on to breaking the world barrier?
Are you guys cheating or something?
Clearly, their tech tree progression is completely broken. Although Rene had no idea how these geniuses had managed to build it, shouldn't technological advancement follow a logical, step-by-step path?
How can you be this ridiculous?!
"It's almost time. Look!"
Alva's reminder snapped Rene and Jacob back to their senses. They quickly turned their gaze toward the spectacle, and the moment Noah's Ark appeared, it delivered a massive shock.
At some point, a huge rift had torn open in the sky. An airship, far larger than anything Rene and Jacob could have imagined, emerged from the spatial tear, its massive, technologically advanced hull fully revealed to the crowd.
Forget whether it could traverse the stars—its appearance alone was a total victory!
Rene and Jacob's hearts pounded with excitement. Judging by its grand entrance, Noah's Ark's core systems seemed to be functioning perfectly.
Conservatively, the ship could carry tens of thousands of people. Even in the worst-case scenario, it could still evacuate a significant portion of the population.
If they could mass-produce it, once the fleet reached a certain size, they could calmly handle the catastrophic flood prophesied to submerge all of Fontaine.
Rene had originally believed the Primordial Sea Suppression Ray was Fontaine's primary defense against the Prophecy. However, during his time at the Fontaine Research Institute, he discovered they had far more countermeasures than just that one.
It even made him start to think the Prophecy wasn't such a big deal after all.
"So, Monsieur Rene, Monsieur Jacob, what do you think? Isn't Noah's Ark impressive?"
Alva's voice snapped Rene and Jacob back to reality. They nodded vigorously.
"I never imagined the Fontaine Research Institute was hiding such a massive salvation vessel. It's truly astonishing."
Hearing Rene's awe, Alva immediately retorted, "Salvation vessel? It's obviously a warship!"
"Didn't you see all those cannons? We're about to run a simple firepower test!"
Alva's words left Rene and Jacob stunned again. Are these freaks at the Academy completely insane? They seemed to be treating the Prophecy like a joke, building a warship even in this dire situation!
Rene was about to say something, but just then, the cannons on Noah's Ark roared to life.
In that instant, the world plunged into a brief silence and darkness. Noah's Ark became the world's only sun, its hull erupting in a blindingly brilliant light.
Then, countless missiles trailing flames launched from the Ark, all locked onto a massive metal block suspended tens of thousands of meters away.
Rene couldn't identify the metal's composition; its entire surface reflected a black sheen.
In the blink of an eye, the missiles vanished from sight. The next second, a dense barrage of explosions erupted, sounding like firecrackers set off right next to his ears, drowning out all other sound.
Staring at the blinding inferno in the distance, Rene turned to Alva, who was watching with relish, his disbelief palpable.
You call this a simple firepower test?!
If Alva wasn't lying, Rene couldn't even begin to imagine the ship's true combat potential.
His earlier thought of conquering the Six Nations and overthrowing Celestia had been just a fantasy. But now... now he felt it might actually be possible!
Having briefly transcended to that higher level of power before, Rene had a clear understanding of the firepower Noah's Ark had just unleashed.
This firepower is already approaching Archon-level attacks!
It's terrifying. He had no idea how these people had achieved this.
What was even more terrifying was that this clearly wasn't Noah's Ark's full firepower.
When Noah's Ark operated at full capacity, it truly possessed the power to move mountains and fill seas!
Alva's claim of conquering the stars and oceans wasn't an exaggeration at all!
"So, gentlemen, how did you like the fireworks?"
Alva spoke again. Just before he did, Noah's Ark had ceased its attack and now hung silently in mid-air, making no sound. Rene couldn't fathom what force it used to defy gravity.
Meanwhile, the distant inferno gradually faded, and the smoke slowly dissipated. The massive iron block, the target of the firepower test, revealed its current state—its smooth, metallic surface once again reflecting a dark sheen.
Rene was stunned again. What kind of metal is this? To withstand such immense firepower without being blown to smithereens... it looked like it barely had a scratch
Rene's mouth felt dry. Despite being a Primordial Water Phantasm, he felt parched. If the people at the Academy had truly built this thing in their spare time, their talent was monstrously, terrifyingly brilliant!
And there were at least dozens of these "monsters" in the current Fontaine Research Institute.
For the first time, Rene understood how the so-called geniuses of the Narzissenkreuz Ordo must have felt when they looked at him.
Faced with such rapid technological advancement, his own plans seemed laughable and childish.
Meanwhile, Jacob was completely dumbfounded, his eyes glued to the dazzling Noah's Ark. His mind was reeling.
Wait a minute, I'm not Rene! he thought frantically. I haven't been asleep for centuries! Is this still the Fontaine I know?!
When had the Fontaine authorities built such a behemoth? He hadn't heard a single whisper about it!
"Monsieur Alva."
Rene swallowed hard before speaking again.
"May I ask you something?"
"Of course, Monsieur Rene. Ask away," Alva replied cheerfully.
"How many years did it take the Academy to build this Noah's Ark?"
"How many years?"
Alva stared at Rene for a long moment before sighing.
"I didn't expect you to grasp the art of slacking off so quickly, Monsieur Rene. And you even want to take it to the next level."
Rene: "???"
"Actually, even though we tried to drag out the construction as long as possible—nitpicking every detail and constantly raising the requirements—we barely managed to stretch it to just under two weeks."
Hearing this, Rene and Jacob froze, staring blankly as Alva continued.
"Group Eight, who originally proposed the project, just wanted to build a giant flying ship. But then the other groups caught wind of it!"
"Everyone thought, 'This project could last a long time! We won't have to rack our brains for the next research topic!' So they all jumped in."
"And this is what we ended up with."
Alva gestured toward the Noah's Ark floating in the sky. Rene and Jacob turned their heads mechanically, following his gesture.
"Oh, by the way," Alva added.
"I was in charge of the Ark's spatial traversal device."
At this point, Rene and Jacob were completely numb. In their eyes, this young man in his early twenties seemed practically omnipotent.
Not just him, they thought. Most people at the Academy are freaks!
What did they even eat growing up? Did they start conducting research in the womb? It's like they're using cheat codes!
"Don't look at me like that," Alva said, waving his hands frantically as he felt their stares.
"Actually, I just got lucky. I was working on an automatic fishing machine to achieve seafood freedom when it dredged up a toy-like sword from who-knows-where. That sword had a strange power—it could easily tear through spatial barriers."
"I originally kept it at home as a collector's item, but then I joined this project, and it just happened to come in handy."
Rene and Jacob: "What?!"
Wait a minute... a toy sword with magical powers?
Could he be talking about the Holy Sword?!
"Hey, don't knock it till you try it—it actually works great!"
"I only tried it on a whim, but it turned out I'd solved the Ark's biggest problem."
"For a whole month, the others on the project wouldn't even look at me."
Watching Alva's helpless expression, Rene and Jacob's lips trembled slightly...