Restricted Section

Yuka pushed open the door to her dorm room, stirring Ayoi, who rolled over in bed.

Ayoi: "Yuka, did you see what they're saying on the forum?"

Yuka closed the door and replied, "Not yet."

Ayoi puffed her cheeks. "The forum is all abuzz about what happened today."

Yuka climbed onto her bed and opened the forum to take a look.

The school's internal forum required real names, so everyone was cautious with their words. Sensitive topics were often replaced with phonetically similar words.

Yuka didn't see anyone mentioning anything about insectoids. Most people seemed to believe the official story. Even those few who expressed doubts were quickly persuaded or had their posts deleted by moderators.

Those in the know either had been taken away or, like Yuka, chose to remain silent.

Yuka understood why the Alliance's news department would use a story like space pirates planting bombs to pacify the public. If the suspected insectoid creature were revealed, it would throw the entire Alliance into chaos.

Insectoids' prolific breeding and destructive capabilities were too formidable. If they truly returned, the Alliance couldn't afford internal discord. The royal family, the Alliance Army, and the Science Academies had to present a united front to minimize the damage from the insectoids.

Considering the current situation, Yuka felt the outlook was grim.

Ayoi, lying on her bed, whispered to Yuka across the room, "That thing, it was an insectoid, wasn't it?"

Yuka looked up and answered, "Not sure, but I didn't find any insectoids like it in the atlas."

Ayoi let out an "Oh," rolled back onto her bed, and turned off the light.

Yuka covered herself with the blanket, pondering if Kenji knew about this creature before. 'Why has he proposed the reform to merge mecha soldiers and infantry soldiers? Did that have anything to do with this insectoid incident?'

The butler reminded her, "A lady shouldn't stay up late."

Yuka banished it from her mind, covered her head with the blanket, stopped her wild thoughts, and quickly fell asleep.

Wednesday morning brought the 'Emergency Self-Rescue' class. According to the senior students, it was an easy course, but just how easy depended on the teacher.

Today's class was still in the central teaching building. Yuka and Ayoi arrived just in time, taking their usual seats in the back row, waiting for the lesson to begin.

Fifteen minutes after the class bell had rung, Professor Marlon strolled in leisurely. Of medium height and wearing a warm smile, he greeted the class while heading to the lectern: "Hello everyone. You can call me Professor Marlon, or just Marlon."

"In my class, no textbooks or notes are needed. You don't even have to attend. Just submit a term paper at the end," Marlon said cheerfully.

Yuka thought with admiration, 'What a fantastic teacher! Can I have a dozen more like him, please?'

Marlon added, "Oh, and about the term paper—no restrictions. No word count, no format. Write however you like, and it's an automatic full score."

Yuka: ?

'Full score?' Yuka reconsidered her initial enthusiasm. 'Never mind,' she thought, 'I take it back. This teacher's not for me.'

The rest of the class began to whisper excitedly, but Yuka, unable to sync with their joy, sank into a complex regret.

Once the classroom settled down again, Marlon scanned the room and asked, "Any questions about the course?"

Yuka raised her hand: "I have one."

Marlon, intrigued: "Yes, what's your question?"

"Professor Marlon," Yuka began, "under what circumstances would we lose points?"

Marlon thought for a moment and replied, "If you punch me, you might lose points."

Yuka nodded: "Thank you, Professor. I understand."

She touched her chin, contemplating the feasibility of punching Marlon.

Marlon, feeling a chill down his spine and driven by a strong survival instinct, quickly added, "Haha, just kidding! Let's keep it light and fun, everyone will get full marks, no deductions from anyone."

Yuka, disappointed, lowered her fist.

"For our first class, I'll still share something useful," Marlon cleared his throat. "Of course, you're free to leave now, I won't mind."

"Our course, 'Emergency Self-Rescue,' teaches that the best way to handle danger is to call the hotlines and seek help from the Alliance Army."

The class chuckled.

Marlon continued, smiling, "Apart from that, remember, in case of danger, prioritize safety and run as fast as you can. Oh, and I have a zip file here with photos of fugitives who've become space pirates. I'll share it with you all."

Yuka received the zip file and, while the butler played a match-3 game on the opticomputer, instructed, "Please upload this into the system and remind me if we encounter anyone from it."

The butler opened the zip file, stuffing the files into the pocket of its overalls, cheerily responding, "Sure thing, Master."

Marlon then waved goodbye to everyone, saying, "That's all for today's lesson, I'll be off now."

He hummed a tune as he left the classroom, leaving the students exchanging puzzled looks.

Ayoi, looking bewildered, turned to Yuka: "What do we do now, Yuka?"

"I want to check out the theater from yesterday," Yuka replied. "How about you?"

Ayoi: "I'll come along."

As the classroom emptied, Yuka stood up, approached Alex in the front row, and tapped his shoulder. "Wanna go to the theater?"

Alex, lifting his opticomputer, quietly asked Yuka, "Are you trying to find out… what that thing was?"

Yuka nodded and asked back, "Do you know?"

"I don't." Alex shook his head. "But if you want to find out, Ayoi and you can come with me to the library."

The three of them headed out, with Yuka in the middle.

She turned to Alex, asking, "Will the library have records of something not in the Atlas?"

Alex explained, "I mentioned my friend Toru before. He told me that on the first Wednesday of every three months, the library opens the 'Restricted Section' for three hours in the morning. His logistics specialization classmates often go there for research, so he knows about it."

"The 'Restricted Section' has out-of-print materials. Although some are fabricated, they might still offer us some clues," Alex said.

Despite her reluctance to see Toru again, Yuka, eager to understand the mysterious creature, entered the library.

UUA's library had five floors without an elevator. The first four were open to everyone, with a vast selection of books available both in print and digital formats.

Toru was in the first-floor lounge and immediately stood up upon seeing them, rushing over and saying urgently, "Hurry, we have less than two hours before the 'Restricted Section' closes!"

Without further explanation, he led them straight to the fifth floor, explaining while climbing the stairs: "The 'Restricted Section' is on the fifth floor. You must leave your opticomputer with the librarian, no electronic devices allowed inside, and no books can be taken out. You can read as much as you can while inside, so we must hurry!"

Three steps at a time, Toru rushed ahead, and the library's sole librarian took his opticomputer, instructing, "There's a security check at the entrance. Remove any electronic devices."

At the door, a robot scanned Toru, emotionlessly declaring, "Cleared."

The door opened, and Toru dashed in, calling back to the others, "Come on in!"

Alex couldn't help but remark, "He wasn't like this before... We used to be online friends, met on a knowledge forum. He was always quiet, introverted, even a bit socially anxious. Something must have happened to change him so much."

Yuka: …

Pretending not to know her significant role in this change, she handed her opticomputer to the librarian, passed the check, and entered.

The library's 'Restricted Section' wasn't as grim as imagined. It was warmly lit, with brown wooden shelves holding various paper books, categorized with labels.

Ayoi and Alex soon followed, and Yuka suggested, "Let's split up and search. I still lean towards it being an insectoid. I'll check the shelves labeled with 'insect.' When time's up, we'll meet and share findings."

Alex and Ayoi agreed: "Okay."

Yuka quickly navigated the shelves, scanning labels, and soon paused at one marked 'insectoid history.'

Most books here were coverless. She sifted through many until she found a white notebook labeled 'insectoid history.' As she reached for it, another hand also touched the cover.

Yuka turned, a bit startled.

The girl with a ponytail also paused, then smiled, "You go ahead."

Yuka recognized her from a history class, softly thanking her, "Thank you."

The girl smiled again and moved away.

Opening the notebook, Yuka's relaxed expression grew serious.

Handwritten, the author detailed the internal structure of insectoids, with a focus on the growth process of the 'Queen'—the life source of insectoids.

"The Queen is the origin of insectoid life. It must first exist, parasitizing a human host, absorbing enough nutrients before asexually reproducing other insect types."

The accompanying illustrations, also hand-drawn, showed the Queen's life stages, from egg to adult.

Yuka frowned as she examined the illustration of the insectoid Queen's larval stage, particularly its dark forelegs, coupled with the description of its parasitism in humans. After flipping through the slim notebook, her expression suddenly went blank upon reading the final few lines:

Stardate 209, the Alliance Science Academy.

Recorder: Konda Nori.