Lakely had been keeping his distance a bit, trailing behind the group. He started inching forward when the instructors didn’t stop him, trying to join the children’s line.
But the further they went, the quieter the corridor became, and the more serious the students appeared.
Lakely instinctively slowed down in response to the shift in atmosphere, staying beside Derek at the rear of the group. A few minutes later, he fell slightly behind, letting Derek take the lead.
Derek glanced at him at the start before continuing at his usual pace.
[Step back a little more, Lakely. Your perspective is so close that I’m still scared. It’s safer to let the others go first.]
[If he goes further back, he’s going to be at the other end of the corridor.]
Although the corridor was dim, there were still lights here.
Lakely could faintly make out the hall ahead. Strangely enough, the hall itself wasn’t lit.
The silence was too intense for him to ask Derek about it. Before he had much time to wonder, the instructors at the very front stopped.
One turned slightly, signaling the children to halt, while the other pressed a panel on the wall to verify their identity.
The edge of the floor ahead lit up and gave way seconds later, revealing a wide passage leading underground.
The group went down the stairs. The staircase quickly retracted as the last person stepped off.
Lakely instinctively looked up. The spot they had descended from now looked no different than any other part of the floor.
Derek whispered, “For safety, these passages are one-way only.”
“Do all exhibits work this way?”
“No, just this one. It’s special.”
Lakely nodded along before focusing ahead. A person in a white uniform approached them and spoke quietly with one of the instructors.
The children waited quietly in place.
Lakely let his attention wander, taking in the view ahead. Although he hadn’t clearly seen the ground-level exhibits earlier, he thought this place looked identical to the one upstairs.
If he hadn’t just come down here, he might have wondered if he was even underground.
One instructor finished the conversation and began handing out small items to each child. Lakely vaguely sensed the formality of the situation.
He just wanted a free tour guide, ah.
There weren’t many children in the class. The instructor quickly finished distributing the items and came over to Lakely and Derek.
The instructor smiled. “Why not participate since you’re here?”
He handed four small cubes to Derek.
Derek murmured a quiet thanks, “Please pay us no mind and continue the lesson as usual.”
The instructor nodded before returning to his spot.
Derek pressed one of the cubes to Lakely’s hand. It quickly adhered and formed a snug layer over his hand and wrist.
Lakely’s eyes lit up. “Can I put on the other one myself?”
Derek obliged, handing a second one over before putting on his own.
The instructors had already moved on. Lakely and Derek quickened their pace to catch up.
They walked halfway down a corridor and stopped before a large door. As the instructors verified their identity again, Lakely glanced up to read the sign. Cultivation Room.
Before he could speculate on what was inside, the door slid opened.
Contrary to Lakely’s imagination, there were rows of transparent tanks on both sides. It was quite dark, with only a few small lights on the tanks themselves.
They looked like glass tanks for keeping fish. Lakely’s curiosity was piqued.
Inside the tanks were piles of white pebbles. He wondered if these were tanks that hadn’t been used yet.
While Lakely was still puzzled, an instructor began opening the side of one tank and taking out the ‘pebbles’ inside. He handed them out to the children, who thoughtfully passed them to the people standing further away first.
[These kids are really considerate, ah.]
Lakely felt the same way. The children hadn’t forgotten him and Derek, even passing pebbles to them. A smile subconscious graced his lips as he took the pebble Derek handed him.
His smile froze the instant he registered the strange sensation coming from his hand.
[What’s wrong with Lakely? His face contorted all of a sudden.]
[Does he need to go to the washroom? Quick, raise your hand and tell the instructors.]
Lakely grew paler and paler. The gloves they had just put on were so thin they barely affected his sense of touch. He could feel every bit of the sensations transmitted through his hand in excruciating detail.
While he had been praising the utility of these gloves moments ago, he now wished they were much thicker.
This was no ‘pebble’. It was the slimy, living egg of some creature.
A shiver suddenly ran down Lakely’s spine. It felt as if whatever was inside the egg had just reached out and scraped against his palm.
He stiffened. It had to just be his imagination. Looking down, he saw something tearing into the smooth surface of the ‘pebble’. The sensations grew more clear as the movements persisted.
Still, he managed to keep his voice down. “Derek–”
Derek quickly glanced over, eventually following Lakely’s pleading gaze to his hand. “It’s fine. They’ve been treated to not pose any threat.”
The two instructors in front had finished distributing the eggs. They closed the tank and then opened the door to an adjacent room.
In the center of the room was a circle of tables, and on the tables were small glass tanks. This room was much brighter than the cultivation chamber. Lakely was relieved, even though the egg seemed to become more active in the light.
[Wait, something’s off about the colour. So Lakely wasn’t holding a rock?]
[It looks like an egg, but I can’t tell from which species. Is this a biology lesson?]
[So Lakely wasn’t holding it in after all…]
One of the instructors stood to the side while the other walked to the nearest table and placed his egg into a tank. The other children spread out to the other tables and copied him.
Lakely practically threw his egg into the tank.
[Lakely looked so relieved the moment he got rid of the egg. He must have been so scared, haha. I don’t mean to laugh, but his eagerness to drop that egg was a little funny.]
The instructor waited until everyone was ready before speaking, “I’m very pleased with how brave everyone was just now.”
[Except for Lakely, lol.]
[It’s probably the egg of some small pet creature judging by the size. Lakely really was overreactive, especially since they’re wearing gloves.]
“Does everyone remember our lesson from yesterday?”
The elementary schoolers eagerly asserted that they did.
The instructor complimented them before asking, “Then can a brave student tell me what the first step should be?”
Many little hands shot into the air.
The instructor called on the child who had raised her hand first.
It was a little girl with four braids. She happily and loudly declared, “We have to pour in water first!”
The instructor nodded. “Once an egg reaches a certain stage of development, it will rapidly hatch after sensing danger from the outside world. Here in the lab, water is the simplest and most effective way to trigger this response.”
[What kind of animal is this? It sounds interesting. Kind of want to keep one myself. I wonder if they’re expensive.]
[It seems quite hardy too. Perfect for the lazier people here. Since Grantz is using these eggs for children’s lessons, they probably aren’t very rare either. Eh, I’ll worry about it after their ship channel opens up. It should be easier to get then.]
The lesson continued. The instructor pressed a button on the tank in front of him, causing water to gradually submerge the egg. When the water level reached slightly above the halfway mark, the egg began to wriggle violently.
Even Lakely, who had retreated behind Derek after getting rid of the egg, couldn’t help but peek over curiously.
In less than a minute, the creature tore through the eggshell and floated to the surface of the water. Lakely could only make out a dark mass.
Before he could get a better look, the tiny creature let out a shrill shriek that echoed throughout the classroom.
Lakely instantly paled again. It was an insect!
The instructor pushed the tank forward. “Do you remember what we learned yesterday? This type of insect typically lives underground and is sensitive to light. Light makes them agitated. Of course, light isn’t the only reason it’s so angry. It’s the aggressiveness characteristic of all insects that drives them to attack all living beings around them except for the king insect after hatching.”
While the instructor was explaining, Lakely leaned close to Derek and whispered, “Was that an insect egg???”
Derek nodded and also kept his voice low, “They need to gradually start learning the habits and vital points of common insects at this age.”
“But that’s a live i-insect and these are elementary school students…”
Lakely stumbled over his words. Even non-elementary schoolers shouldn’t be handling insect eggs, right?
Derek reassured him, “Don’t worry, the instructors are very experienced. These eggs have been treated to reduce their size and offensive capabilities. They won’t live long either.”
Derek looked Lakely in the eyes. “There’s nothing better than hands-on experience to cement the lesson.”
[Crap. I take back what I said before.]
[The part about wanting to keep one as a pet? Can’t say I blame you.]
