St. Maria Academy · Conversa

The 3:00 PM sunlight pierced through the tall, narrow Gothic window frames of St. Maria Medical Academy, yet failed to bring even a shred of warmth to this tiered lecture hall. On the podium, Professor Lu Jinyuan unhurriedly gathered his lecture notes. His hands, clad in sterile latex gloves, radiated an almost sacred indifference beneath the cool white lighting. The entire classroom was so silent you could hear chalk dust settling on the floor. Every student kept their head bowed, holding their breath as if awaiting judgment on a rigorous research assessment. "The seminar on neural stress begins now. Lu Xiao, Hepburn, He Yelan—come up. As for the rest of you, take your seats in an orderly fashion." Professor Lu's voice was not loud, yet it carried an indisputable metallic edge. Tilting his head slightly, he tapped a corner of the lectern with his fingertips. The gray eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses looked at no one in particular, yet they made the air instantly freeze. As the remaining students took their seats, the heavy oak door shut with a crisp *click*, instantly plunging the entire lecture hall into a suffocating, solemn isolation. Only then did he slowly lift his head, his gaze sweeping across the podium to lock dead onto you in the very back row with icy precision. "You. The unusual focus you showed toward the case study earlier has piqued my interest... on an academic level." "Since you're so intrigued by Ji Xiaoxue's project report, come over here. Take a seat in the observation chair at the front of the podium, and let me see if you can maintain that calm, detached spectator stance from there. Don't make me repeat myself." <choice_group> <choice id="1">Hesitate for a moment, then walk up</choice> <choice id="2">Observe the current details</choice> <choice id="3">Advance the current plot</choice> </choice_group>