After finishing their meal, the two quickly left the hotel to avoid being cornered by the big shots.
"I never thought Sarkaz could eat so much," Xing Chen said, looking at Theresa's slightly bulging abdomen. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she was pregnant. "Before, in the rental apartment, did you never eat your fill?"
"Actually, I'm fine as long as I'm not hungry when I eat. If I ate like that every day, you wouldn't be able to afford it, would you?" Theresa caressed her stomach and smiled at Xing Chen. "If you want to talk about who can eat a lot, you should see the Carrion Eaters. Their eating can even be considered a form of attack."
It seemed to be true. If she ate like that every day—he could still afford it. The boiled pork slices in the school cafeteria were just over ten yuan with free rice refills. He just didn't know if doing that would get him blacklisted.
Although she ate a lot and looked very full to outsiders, this did not seem to limit Theresa's activities.
Xing Chen was also visiting this city for the first time and wasn't familiar with the area. After eating, he quickly returned to the accommodation arranged by his advisor.
"Senior, here are your keys." The student responsible for reception led Xing Chen to the expert apartment. "Quite a few people came for your conference. What are you discussing?"
"A meteorite," Xing Chen said, as the original Originium seemed to have fallen from the sky (Pre-civilization's orbital air-drop), so saying this should be fine. "Is this entire floor for conference attendees?"
"Including the floors above and below, yes. Besides those from other regions, there are also some from abroad," the student suddenly beckoned, signaling Xing Chen and Theresa to come closer. "I even saw a few who don't look like academics—you're not discussing a real meteorite, are you? Could it contain Vibranium or something?"
"No, you're overthinking it." Xing Chen really couldn't say which was more outrageous, Vibranium or Originium.
"Alright, then I won't bother you anymore. Feel free to settle in; the soundproofing here is much better than in our dorms." The reception student gave a knowing smile and then left.
"What did he mean?" Theresa looked bewildered.
"Nothing, he just told us to be careful."
The rest of the day, Xing Chen and Theresa spent in the dorm.
Theresa was taking on small online jobs while trying to construct a data interface to more efficiently utilize the continuity of civilization.
However, seeing her sometimes looking dazed, sometimes scratching her head, it must have been very difficult.
Should he get her something to relieve stress?
As for Xing Chen, he still had to continue writing his original thesis, but how it turned out no longer mattered for graduation.
The research project on Originium had already been approved. Anything he came up with would be a huge breakthrough in a new field.
His advisor had his own connections, which Xing Chen didn't want to ask about for now; they would surely be passed down to him eventually... Late at night.
"Knock, knock, knock."
"Theresa, are you knocking on the bedside table?"
"No, did you hear something just now?"
Xing Chen took off his headphones and looked at Theresa, who was also wearing headphones and looking confused. Then, the "knock, knock, knock" sound came again.
"Mr. Xing Chen, are you asleep?"
Xing Chen's sleep condition was quite worrying. Every time he entered Terra, the following days would be accompanied by severe insomnia.
Calling it insomnia wasn't entirely accurate, as he was very energetic. For example, right now, he could easily tell that the person knocking had a slight accent problem.
"This person's accent sounds a bit off." Xing Chen saved his file and completely shut down his computer.
"There are many people from out of town here, so different accents are normal." Although Theresa said that, she also followed Xing Chen's lead and shut down her computer.
To prevent any accidents, Theresa took the initiative to open the door.
Even if the person standing outside were to attack with a knife the moment the door opened, she would be able to react in time.
Opening the door, a man in a suit stood outside. As for why someone would be wearing such a formal suit late at night, Theresa suddenly became wary.
Although he looked like someone from this country, the person's demeanor was somewhat different from Xing Chen's compatriots in her stereotypical impression.
Before she could think further, the person suddenly bowed ninety degrees to the two of them.
"Why would someone from an island nation come looking for me in the middle of the night?"
Xing Chen had some impression of this person because his seat at the conference was quite far forward.
"I apologize, Mr. Xing Chen, for disturbing you and your companion so late," the person apologized immediately, so Xing Chen couldn't say much. "Regarding the meteorite you mentioned at the conference, it has also been discovered within my country's borders."
"Wait a minute, you mean your country also discovered Originium?"
"Not discovered, merely obtained by chance, Mr. Xing Chen. After confirming that this stone is the same mineral as the Originium you mentioned, we immediately dispatched me to contact you. The reason for this late visit is also because we needed to obtain a sample."
Xing Chen looked at Theresa, who immediately went to inspect the person's briefcase.
The stranger did not stop Theresa. She opened the suitcase, revealing a gleaming black crystal inside.
"Damn it!" After cursing, Theresa grabbed the stranger with one hand and threw him into the room, while quickly slamming the door shut with the other. Soon, a muffled thud was heard from outside.
"Mr. Xing Chen, Ms. Theresa, what just happened?" Theresa hadn't controlled her strength, and the person flew directly into the wall, hitting his head and forming a large bump.
"That's an activated Originium," Theresa said. She wasn't afraid of explosions, but she still had to show enough respect for Originium.
"I'm sorry, both of you, I don't understand..."
"You don't need to understand. You just need to know that this stone contains immense energy, and the sample you just brought almost blew us up."
Theresa returned to the back of the room. Xing Chen took out a vacuum cleaner and gave the islander his marching orders. "I need to clean now, please leave immediately."
The person did not pester them but left quite readily. Xing Chen held the vacuum cleaner and cleaned up the Originium dust in the corridor.
"Alright, Theresa, you can come out now." He took out an Originium concentration monitoring device produced in Terra, confirmed there were no issues, and then spoke to Theresa.
"Phew, I thought all the Originium here was completely inactive like yours... Why do you look so somber?"
The island nation also had Originium, which was not what Xing Chen wanted to see.
If other major powers also acquired Originium, his own country would lose its unique technology. Of course, judging by the islander's behavior, they only treated it as a special stone and had not yet developed it, which meant his country still had an advantage.
But that wasn't the biggest problem. What Xing Chen was curious about was that their Originium had high activity, clearly not having proliferated from his own Originium.
So where did their Originium come from?