Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

After the exam papers were handed out, Hifumi was the first to pick up a pen.

She glanced at the first question, her brow furrowing slightly, but quickly smoothing out.

She wrote a few lines of equations on the draft paper and then began to answer the questions on the test paper.

Her speed isn't fast, but it's very consistent, which shows that Hifumi is a student with a solid foundation.

Xiaochun stared at the exam paper for ten seconds, then let out a wail and collapsed onto the table.

"What...what is all this...I can't even understand the questions..."

She looked miserable and secretly glanced at Hifumi next to her, as if she wanted to ask for advice, but Hifumi was completely absorbed in solving the problem and did not notice her gaze at all.

Bai Zhouzi put down the gun parts in his hand, picked up the exam paper, and glanced at it.

Her expression remained unchanged. She simply put down the exam paper, picked up the cotton swabs and lubricant again, and continued to wipe the pistol that was already half-disassembled.

The meaning is clear: I won't, and I won't do it.

Finally, there's Urawa Hanako.

She picked up the exam paper, quickly scanned all the questions, and then a slightly disdainful smile appeared on her lips.

She didn't even pick up a pen; she just traced a few lines on the table with her finger, as if she were doing mental arithmetic, or perhaps she was looking down on the difficulty of the questions.

Thirty seconds later, she picked up her pen and wrote a few lines in the blank space of each question.

Question 1: p=-5, q=6.

Question 2: Too lazy to write

Question 3: Too lazy to write

Question 4: Too lazy to write

……

After answering the last question, Hanako threw down her pen, slumped back into her chair, closed her eyes, as if she had just finished some boring chore.

The only sounds in the classroom were the scratching of pens on paper and Xiaochun's desperate sighs.

Lin Yi sat behind the podium, his gaze shifting between the four students.

This tutoring center was more interesting than he had imagined.

The hour passed quickly.

"Time's up, hand in your papers."

Lin Yi got up and walked to each student's desk to collect the test papers.

When Hifumi handed in her paper, she was still somewhat unsatisfied. She got stuck on the last few questions, and her scratch paper was filled with attempts at calculations.

Xiaochun's test paper was almost blank, except for the first question where she wrote "p=1, q=2" randomly, which was obviously a guess.

Bai Zhouzi's test paper was spotless, with not a single word written on it except for her name and class.

And Hanako's exam paper...

2 points.

Because for the first question, I only wrote the answer, but not the process.

But without a doubt, this guy is a master at playing dumb.

"Urawa-kun," Lin Yi looked up at Hanako, "you've studied this material on your own?"

Hanako opened her eyes and glanced at him lazily.

"I've flipped through a few books when I was bored. Trinity's library has a pretty comprehensive collection, but the classification is a bit messy."

"You can reach this level just by flipping through a few books?" Lin Yi asked.

Hanako shrugged and didn't answer, but her expression clearly said: What else?

Lin Yi nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

He tidied up the exam papers and put them back in the folder.

"That concludes today's test. I will provide the results to the college for future guidance." He paused, then looked at the four students. "Also, starting from the next class, I expect to see everyone dressed neatly. This is a classroom, not a changing room."

That last sentence was clearly directed at Hanako.

Hanako pursed her lips and didn't reply.

"get out of class is over."

Lin Yi announced.

Hifumi breathed a sigh of relief and began packing her things.

Xiaochun was still in a daze, seemingly not yet recovered from the blow of the exam.

Shirasu Azusa has already assembled the firearm and is wiping the gun body with a soft cloth.

Hanako was the first to stand up, pick up her schoolbag, and leave.

"Urawa-kun," Lin Yi called out to her.

Hanako stopped and looked back at him, her face full of impatience, as if asking, "What is it now?"

“You have great talent,” Lin Yi said. “If you’re bored with your current courses, you can apply for more advanced electives. It would be a shame to waste your talent.”

Hanako stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled.

That smile held no warmth, only mockery.

"Teacher, do you think Trinity cares about 'talent'?" she asked, her voice soft but each word clear. "What they care about is family background, connections, and whether you can become a suitable pawn in their power network in the future. Grades are just decorations, topics of conversation to show off at tea parties."

She turned around, her back to Lin Yi.

"I'd rather stay at the tutoring center; at least it's quiet here."

After saying that, she opened the door and went out.

The classroom became quiet.

Hifumi and Koharu looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Lin Yi looked in the direction Hanako had left, lost in thought.

This girl saw through the true nature of Trinity, so she chose to exile herself.

But her method of exile was not depravity, but rather a mockery of the entire system through this almost provocative "genius" attitude.

interesting.

"teacher."

Bai Zhouzi suddenly spoke up.

Lin Yi looked at her.

The blue-haired girl had finished cleaning the gun and was carefully putting it into a specially made holster.

She raised her head, her clear eyes looking at Lin Yi.

“My exam paper is blank,” she said. “Will this affect your assessment?”

"Yes," Lin Yi answered frankly. "A blank test paper means zero points, which means that your performance in this test is 'unassessable'."

Bai Zhouzi nodded, seemingly having expected this answer.

“But I noticed that there were a few physics questions on the test paper you sent me,” she continued calmly. “I know how to do those questions. I can do them now if you need them.”

Lin Yi stared at her for a long time.

"Why choose not to do it?" he asked.

Bai Zhouzi was silent for a few seconds. "Because it's unnecessary," she finally replied. "I'm just a student in the cram school; my grades don't matter. Besides..."

She paused, her gaze drifting towards the window.

"I don't like exams."

The reason was childish, but when she said it, it carried a strange heaviness.

Lin Yi did not press the matter further.

“I will prepare some practical content for next week’s instructional session,” he said. “Since you are interested in physics, we can start there.”

Bai Zhouzi's eyes lit up for a moment, though they quickly returned to calm, but that fleeting glint did not escape Lin Yi's notice.

"Thank you, teacher." She bowed slightly, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the classroom.

Now only Hifumi and Koharu remain in the classroom.

"Um... teacher." Hifumi, clutching her doll, stood up somewhat awkwardly. "I'll be going now too. Thank you for your guidance today."

Her eyes darted around as she spoke, clearly still harboring resentment about her previous experience in the black market.

Lin Yi nodded.

As if granted a pardon, Hifumi hurriedly pulled the still-dazed Koharu away from the classroom.

The door closed, and the tutoring center fell silent again.

Lin Yi gathered the four exam papers together and neatly tucked them into a folder.

He picked up the folder, got up, turned off the lights, and locked the door. The motion-sensor lights in the corridor turned on one by one as he walked, and then silently went out behind him.

By the time I returned to the fourth floor of the old library, night had fallen.

Trinity College's infrastructure is indeed excessively complete. Even though it is located in the relatively remote old building area, each dormitory building is equipped with complete living facilities.

Lin Yi took a standard meal from the automated meal service area on the ground floor and put it in a simple insulated bag.

It's neither good nor bad in taste; it's just a source of energy.

He carried the bag up to the fourth floor and pushed open the door to room 403.

The indoor lights turned on automatically, and then he saw two figures sitting on the not-so-spacious sofa in the living room.

Black suit and Gorkunda.

They somehow acquired a set of white porcelain teaware, and steam carrying a strange herbal aroma was rising from the spout of the teapot.

The "head" formed by the black-clad figure of mist turned slightly toward the door, while Gorkonda held his framed photo. The black and white figure in the photo remained quiet, and the thin black mist swirling around his neck seemed more settled than usual, as if he were truly enjoying this eerie tea break.

The two men were relaxed and even leisurely, as if this was not Lin Yi's residence, but their base.

Lin Yi didn't stop walking; he turned around and closed the door.

He walked straight to the coffee table, placed the food bag on it, pulled over a chair, sat down, and began unpacking.

The subtle sound of plastic rubbing together was particularly clear in the quiet room.

The black mist surrounding the black-clad figure rippled, and a voice tinged with curiosity and inquiry rang out: "In your current life form, do you still need to rely on this inefficient way of ingesting organic matter to maintain your functions?"

Lin Yi tore open the seal of the nutritious porridge, glanced at the man in black, and continued what he was doing: "Humans aren't gods."

He scooped up a spoonful of porridge, put it in his mouth, and swallowed before continuing, "The need for energy still exists, but the form and efficiency are different from ordinary people. Eating is a habit, and also a kind of ritual—a reminder to myself of certain bottom lines that I should not forget."

The black mist around Gorkunda's neck churned gently, emitting a sound that resembled a sigh.

"Habit...a sense of ritual..."

His voice remained ethereal, carrying a distant echo: "A very luxurious concept. For us, these belong to the realm of 'humanity,' and have long been stripped away."

He slightly raised the hand holding the photo frame: "You see, we have even abandoned the interface for 'feeding'. The gifts of the abyss have reshaped the foundation of our existence. From the genetic level, we are already something else."

Lin Yi chewed his food without replying.

He was not interested in how members of the Secret Society maintained their existence; that was simply another path leading to distortion.

He finished eating, crumpled the empty packaging bag into a ball, and precisely threw it into the trash can in the corner.

“Beatelice,” Lin Yi began, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable weight, “and Givotos—these students, the operating logic of this world. Tell me what you know.”

The man in black stared at Lin Yi for a few seconds. He didn't answer immediately, but instead picked up the white porcelain teacup in front of him.

A wisp of steam seeped into the tea near the rim of his head, then dissipated with a little moisture, as if some kind of gas exchange was taking place.

"Before exchanging information, may I ask a few questions about the 'Abyss' itself?"

The man in black put down his teacup: "We are immersed in it, transformed by it, and think we have glimpsed a small part of it, but compared to you... we are more like fish stranded on the shore, only knowing the saltiness of the seawater, but unaware of the scenery in the depths of the ocean. You walk in the abyss, yet you do not sink. We are very curious about the essence of this mastery."

Lin Yi leaned back in his chair and placed his hands on his lap.

He understood that this was part of the deal: the Black Order would provide them with core intelligence about the world, and he would share his knowledge of a higher level of the Abyss—a resource of immeasurable value to these madmen obsessed with studying the nature of the Abyss.

“Okay.” Lin Yi had no intention of keeping anything from others. This knowledge itself did not have direct power; the real danger lay in the process of understanding and accessing it.

As Lin Yi explained, the man in black hissed with almost excited excitement.

For the first time, the figure in the Gorkunda photo frame showed a clear movement – ​​the shoulders of that silhouette shrugged slightly, as if suppressing some intense emotion.

“Now,” Lin Yi interrupted the other party’s thoughts, “it’s your turn.”

The black-clad figure quickly calmed down, and the mist returned to a relatively stable state.

"Of course, this is a fair trade."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts: "First, there is the most superficial and fundamental anomaly in Kivotos—'students,' and their aura."

“We’ve conducted numerous experiments,” the voice in black restored the researcher’s composure. “One of the most decisive examples is the aura transplant. We completely removed the aura from a Trinity student. Then, we implanted this aura into the core processing unit of a general-purpose service robot.”

Lin Yi's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

"The results are shocking," the man in black continued. "The girl's body, which lost its halo, did not lose its vital signs the moment the halo was removed; it continued to breathe and its heartbeat. However, its consciousness completely returned to zero, like a delicate empty shell, only exhibiting the most basic vegetative responses to external stimuli. Meanwhile, the robot implanted with the halo... began to 'grow'."

"The metal shell softened, and the internal circuitry was slowly replaced by some kind of biomass, its form transforming into a human-like silhouette. About seventy-two hours later, a brand-new 'individual' appeared. She had a face similar to the original owner of the halo, but was more immature, about ten years old in size, and her behavior patterns, language abilities, and memories were all wiped clean, like a newborn. We continued to observe, and in the following months, this new individual's body slowly grew, and her mind began to learn and develop at an astonishing speed, but her personality was no longer related to the original owner, and she became a completely new 'student'."

Gorkunda added at the opportune moment, his voice carrying a poetic aria: "The body is like clothing, the halo is the soul. Clothing can be replaced, but the soul is fundamental. The essence of Kivotos's 'student' is not that wounded, bleeding body, but the seemingly illusory halo above his head. The body is merely the 'carrier' or 'form of expression' chosen by the halo at this stage."

Lin Yi silently processed this information.

This explains why Kivotos are all young women—because the essence of "student" is the halo, and the body may just be a different stage of form that appears as the halo matures.

This also explains why serious injuries are common here, but deaths are extremely rare—as long as the aura remains, a different body might allow for a "reboot."

“Then, the ‘Halo Shattering Bomb’…” Lin Yi recalled the prohibited weapon that both Hinata and Caesar Corporation had mentioned.

"It was one of our early experiments with the Secret Society." The man in black readily admitted, his tone even carrying a hint of researcher's pride. "We wanted to know what would happen if the 'body' of the halo was destroyed. The result was... a complete 'blank.' Individuals who lost the halo immediately lost all vitality, showing no signs of recovery. It was a 'nothingness' more thorough than death, where even the traces of their existence rapidly blurred."

"To avoid completely destroying this precious observation field, we have implemented the strictest control over the manufacturing data and samples of the Halo Crusher. After all, no researcher would be so idle as to wash their own petri dishes and kill precious experimental samples. In our eyes, Kiwatos is an invaluable testing ground."

“Except for Beatrice.” Gorkonda’s voice turned colder, and the figure in the photo frame also exuded a sense of disgust. “That paranoid… Dragon Fruit. She somehow obtained some early data and mass-produced that weapon without permission. In her eyes, the Halo Shattering Bomb was merely a tool to achieve her goals, a shortcut to creating fear and chaos. If she hadn’t also come into contact with the ‘color’ residue and been one of the very few observable samples, her wanton destruction of the experimental field alone would have been enough for the Master to dismantle her into parts.”

Lin Yi nodded, then asked the next crucial question: "What about the students' 'graduation'? Following this logic, what happens after the halo matures?"

The mist surrounding the black-clad figure seemed to freeze for a moment.

“That is an area we have not yet fully explored, and it is one of Kiwatos’s greatest secrets.”

He slowly said, "We implanted a highly secretive multi-dimensional tracker into Lei Di, an outstanding student who was about to graduate. This tracker can simultaneously track her coordinates, aura status, and basic life information."

“Leidi left Givotos following the normal procedure, crossing the ‘authentication barrier’ at the academy’s boundary. The instant she stepped out of the barrier…” the voice in black deepened, “all signals, including the tracker’s own presence imprint, vanished completely within the same unit of time. Our backup receiving unit, which was quantum entangled with the tracker, also simultaneously lost all correlation.”

Lin Yi slowly began to speak, revealing his speculation: "Therefore, Giwatos might be a massive 'breeding ground' or 'farm.' The halos are the 'fruits' cultivated; when the fruit matures to a certain degree, it is harvested. And the harvesters..."

“It’s very likely to be ‘color’,” the man in black continued, his mist swirling. “Only that kind of being could erase all traces so cleanly and efficiently. We call this model the ‘orchard hypothesis’: Kivotos is the orchard, the students are the fruit trees, the halo is the fruit, and color is the farmer and the final consumer.”

This hypothesis perfectly explains many of Kiwatos's illogical actions. (End of Chapter)