A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 249: Paradiso And Inferno
Chapter 249: Paradiso And Inferno

The room was filled with laughter and banter. Zephyr, the leader of the Alliance mecha team, cleared his throat, and then he brought the lighthearted mood to a halt. ”Alright, let’s take a break from the jokes.”

Zephyr’s voice carried weight. The moment he spoke, everyone fell silent, even Cirilla straightened up, abandoning her playful antics.

Once the room was calm, Zephyr continued, ”Before we dive into the competition, there are a few things we need to cover, like how we’ll be splitting into teams and some key points to keep in mind.” The group nodded, fully focused, not daring to interrupt.

”As you’re all aware, the mecha tournament spans five rounds, each one hosted by a different nation. Typically, they choose the most hazardous planet within their borders for the competition. We’ll worry about the other rounds later, but let’s start with what we know about the Empire of Eden’s round.” As Zephyr spoke, he activated a 3D projection.

Three planets appeared in the air: a dull gray one, a pitch-black one, and a glaring purple one. Arix and the others shifted their attention to the display, their interest piqued.

”The gray planet, Crakens, was reported to be overrun by insectoids last month. If this is where we compete, it shouldn’t be too hard. We’ve all faced insectoids before,” Zephyr said, swiftly moving on to the next planet.

”The black planet, Paradiso, is one of the Empire of Eden’s greatest failures. For reasons still unknown, it transformed overnight from a bustling tourist spot to a dead world. The Empire sent their best reconnaissance team to investigate, but they never returned.” Zephyr’s tone darkened, and a serious expression took over his face. The real danger is always in the unknown, making Paradiso a truly terrifying prospect.

The group grew tense, realizing this might be where they’d end up fighting.

”And finally, the purple planet, Inferno. Recent intel says this planet is crawling with a mysterious virus that drives people mad, turning them against each other. There’s no cure as of now,” Zephyr finished his breakdown of the potential locations.

He glanced around the room, asking, ”These three planets are the most likely candidates for the Empire of Eden’s round. What do you all think? Which one seems the most probable?”

A heavy silence fell over the room as the students weighed the possibilities. Each planet seemed equally terrifying in its own way.

Just then, Elio, who had slipped back in without anyone noticing, pulled out a piece of paper and started writing something at his desk.

Drexel, curious, leaned over to peek, only to see the bold words ”Last Will and Bucket List” scrawled across the top.

Drexel was at a loss for words.

All he could think was, ”Classic Elio.”

Instead of feeling embarrassed, Elio caught Drexel’s eye and, with a smirk, handed him another sheet of paper along with a pen. ”Here, Drexel, I got one for you too. No need to thank me,” Elio offered with mock generosity.

Drexel stared at the large letters on the paper for a long moment before forcing a tight smile, ”Thanks, but no thanks. I’m good.”

Elio just shrugged, ”Tch, some people just don’t appreciate a thoughtful gesture,” he muttered before turning to the others. ”Anyone else want one?”

The group shook their heads in unison, their faces full of disdain.

Elio sighed dramatically, ”Such a shame. If I didn’t have a royal title waiting for me, I wouldn’t bother with this either. Feels like I’m tempting fate.”

The others stared at him, feeling a mix of irritation and disbelief.

Seriously, Elio? Humblebrag much?

As the conversation started to drift off course, Zephyr cleared his throat and sent a sharp, icy glance in Elio’s direction.

Elio, catching the hint, quietly tucked away his ”bucket list” without a word.

Once order was restored, Zephyr turned back to the group. ”Alright, now that we’ve had some time to think it over, which planet do you all believe is the most likely candidate?”

The students hesitated for a moment, glancing at each other before most of them pointed to the second planet, the black Paradiso. It made sense; historically, each country chose the most challenging planet within their territory for the competition.

But then, Arix, after a moment of consideration, pointed to the purple planet, Inferno, which no one else had chosen.

Zephyr noticed and raised an eyebrow, intrigued. ”Arix, what makes you choose Inferno?”

Arix blinked, a bit surprised to be singled out. It was a gut feeling. But with Zephyr waiting, Arix knew she had to give a reason.

After a brief pause, she finally spoke up. ”Paradiso does seem like the most obvious choice, but it’s so dangerous that the Empire of Eden would have to be crazy to risk the backlash from the entire interstellar community by sending us there.”

The other students listened carefully, some of them slowly starting to reconsider their choices and inch their fingers toward the purple Inferno.

Zephyr nodded in approval. ”You’re spot on. There’s another critical factor— even if the Empire of Eden wanted to hold the competition on Paradiso, the other four major powers wouldn’t agree to send their top mecha teams to a planet where survival is nearly impossible. So, I also believe that Inferno will be the competition planet.”

With that, Zephyr confidently raised his hand and pointed to Inferno, signaling his agreement.

Drexel was the last one to make a choice, and with all eyes on him, he hesitated before pointing to the gray planet, Crakens.

Zephyr, assuming Drexel had some logic behind his decision, asked seriously, ”Do you have a reason for choosing Crakens?”

”Reason? Uh, no, not really,” Drexel replied, looking genuinely confused.

”Then why did you pick it?” Zephyr pressed, his eyes narrowing in frustration.

”Huh? Can’t I? The other two planets already had people picking them, so I felt bad for this lonely planet and chose it,” Drexel answered innocently, blinking as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Zephyr rolled his eyes. ’Great. This is so Drexel. Only he would do something like this!’

Zephyr took a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure. Finally, in a cold, measured tone, he said, ”Drexel is disqualified from choosing. For the next three seconds, everyone finalize your decision. If there are no more issues, we’ll go with the majority vote to decide which planet we’ll prepare for.”

As the countdown hit 3, 2, 1, everyone pointed to Inferno. The last person, who hesitated for a moment, quickly shifted their hand from Paradiso to Inferno.

With a final vote tally of 12:0:0 (excluding Drexel), Inferno was overwhelmingly chosen as the most likely planet for the competition. Inferno was now the focus of their preparation.

With the decision made, Zephyr deleted the other two planets from the screen, then brought up detailed information about Inferno for everyone to study.

Name: Inferno

Ownership: The Empire of Eden, privately owned by Admiral Cuss

Description: Inferno’s atmosphere is contaminated with an unknown virus that induces mental instability, leading to violent behavior. Currently, there is no cure.

Creatures: Since the virus outbreak, all flora and fauna have mutated into corrupted beasts. Danger level: Level-three.

Special Warning: Psychic power can temporarily resist the virus, but if you experience dizziness, leave Inferno immediately, or you’ll be in mortal danger.

Additional Note: Do not tempt fate. Cherish your life and stay away from Inferno.