Just as Serie had guessed, Claudia was leaning her chin on her hand, looking languid.
Her beautiful green eyes stared unblinkingly, tracing the contours of Serie's profile with keen interest, as if studying a new and curious specimen.
From the slight furrow in her brow, to the tightly pursed lips, and then to the jawline subtly tensed from nervousness.
Good heavens, does this Control Bureau only recruit psychopaths?!
Serie felt like she was being leered at!
Is anyone going to do something about this?!
Why is Claudia looking at her? She should be looking at the blackboard, or the teacher!
"Alright, small talk time is over." Arabella's voice was gentle as she pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses. "Today, we will focus on analyzing a recent and typical A-grade humanoid anomaly case—codename: Daughter of Wildfire."
"You should have heard of her; she practically wiped out the second and third squads of the Fire Hydrant Task Force..."
Serie:...
No... why is she involved again?
So she's become a classic case study, huh?
Serie never expected that she would transform into a "classic villain textbook" in the Control Bureau's classroom.
She listened as Teacher Arabella, with her gentle, flowing voice, meticulously dissected the Daughter of Wildfire's modus operandi—how many well-equipped Soldiers, how tragic their deaths, how cunning her sneak attacks...
Finally, she didn't forget to earnestly caution the students:
"Remember, humanoid anomalies are often the most adept at disguise and the most ruthless."
The students listened, barely daring to breathe, their faces turning pale, as if the woman on the projection screen was about to burst out and burn their behinds.
But the good news was that the Control Bureau seemed unaware of the existence of "Witches."
The codename "Daughter of Wildfire" also appeared to have been in use for decades.
Serie's mood was subtly indescribable.
However, this was not necessarily a bad thing.
She felt like an outsider, listening to others interpret her "masterpiece."
This opportunity to "view oneself from the enemy's perspective" was truly rare, an unexpected piece of educational material.
Every post-mortem was a reverse learning experience.
Every glimpse into the Control Bureau's understanding was accumulating experience for the next, more perfect operation.
The subtle and somewhat shameful emotions in Serie's heart were quickly replaced by a focus akin to that of a hunter.
Although some of the content contained significant errors.
For example, Serie attacked from the front, then circled behind amidst the smoke, rather than directly attacking from behind, and Serie herself caused the explosion, rather than igniting the armored vehicle's gasoline.
Yet, this class... was still priceless.
Whether from the perspective of a Control Bureau employee or from the perspective of an anomaly.
However, this immersive learning state did not last too long.
Her appearance, listening with rapt attention and exceptional seriousness, naturally did not escape the venomous snake-like eyes beside her.
"Hey," Claudia's voice was extremely low, carrying a hint of excitement like she had found a flaw in her prey, her warm breath almost brushing Serie's earlobe, "Everyone else is about to wet their pants from fear, but why do you... look so excited?"
She paused, her green eyes glinting with certainty and danger, enunciating her conclusion word by word:
"Indeed... you, just like that woman, are an anomaly, aren't you?"
Serie's ears suddenly picked up Claudia's voice, and she couldn't help but shiver, almost forgetting that a perverted girl who liked to leer was sitting beside her. Although she felt a bit guilty, she still feigned indifference and retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Hmph, trying to argue?" Far from being annoyed, Claudia proudly lifted her delicate chin, like a famous detective who had finally grasped crucial evidence. "I have irrefutable proof!"
She leaned closer, her cedar-scented breath almost touching Serie's cheek, her voice like a venomous snake flicking its tongue:
"That day in the corridor! I didn't even touch you, and you just fell! How do you explain that?" She stared intently at Serie's face, trying to catch a hint of panic. "Either you have a guilty conscience, or..."
"That inexplicable fall is your anomaly!"
Serie: "..."
For a moment, she was speechless.
This Claudia... her mind wasn't very bright, but her intuition was eerily accurate!
She actually managed to guess about seventy to eighty percent correctly.
But the problem was, none of this counted as evidence.
Serie slightly lowered her gaze, and when she looked up again, her face carried a perfectly appropriate hint of helplessness.
She sighed softly, her voice as thin as a wisp of smoke: "Um... Senior Claudia... is there a possibility..."
"I'm just... a little anemic?"
Claudia: "...!?"
The look of absolute certainty on her face, as if "there is only one truth," instantly shattered.
Her gaze instinctively swept over Serie—the slender wrists that looked as if they could snap at a touch, the skin so pale it lacked any trace of color, and that sickly physique, as if she had perpetually lacked sunlight...
Boom!
Claudia felt an invisible bolt of lightning strike her forehead with precision!
All these days, she had racked her brains, feeling foolproof, even laughing out loud in bed at night because of her astonishing wisdom, her "irrefutable proof"... the answer was just because the other person was anemic?!
Right... after all that torment in the lab, this sickly girl only fainted instead of going straight to the ICU. It seems...
She was already considered lucky to be alive?
Claudia choked, almost passing out.
She abruptly turned her head back, forcing out a few icy words through gritted teeth:
"Hmph! Just you wait! I will definitely find real evidence!"
Watching her, clearly furious but still trying to maintain her composure, the tension in Serie's heart completely vanished.
She finally understood: this cold, ruthless 'big sister' only appeared profound and calculating, but in reality, she was just a naive young person. She held no trump cards at all, relying solely on a stubborn resolve that screamed, "I don't believe I can't find it out."
A sly, yet subtly languid and charming smile, quietly crept onto Serie's lips.
She slightly turned, mimicking Claudia's earlier action, and leaned close to the other's ear, whispering softly:
"Alright~ I'll be waiting... for you to investigate me, Sister Claudia."
Claudia's body stiffened almost imperceptibly, then, as if burned, she abruptly turned her head to the other side, leaving only a taut profile and slightly reddened ear tips.
She fell completely silent.
Serie guessed that her sarcastic remarks had probably disgusted her so much that she couldn't formulate an effective retort for a while.
This greatly satisfied Serie. Taking advantage of this time, she opened her panel.
As her relationships with Zoya and Billie, as well as Kuchiha and Goluthos, leveled up.
The rewards finally "arrived."
Something new had appeared in both the "Tasks" and "Items" panels.
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