Chapter 1276: Herald of Destruction, Gehros

At the University of Brightchester, a black car was driving slowly on the avenue in the middle of the campus.

Qin Zhibo sat in the passenger seat, lowered the window, and looked around silently.

Although the University of Brightchester is also one of the top universities with a good reputation, when you visit it in person, it still feels different from what you imagined.

This is completely different from the young, energetic and intelligent atmosphere of traditional universities.

Deserted and weird are the key words here.

Except for a few teaching buildings in the center of the campus that are illuminated by bright lights, the surrounding areas are filled with sparse and old office buildings.

These office buildings look old and lack repair, and are mostly made of red bricks and gray walls.

The only main road on campus that can be used by external vehicles has street lights emitting a yellowish light installed on both sides.

Just looking a little deeper into both sides of the street gives people an eerie feeling of silence.

It's obviously not completely dark yet, so it's hard to see anyone on this campus.

Qin Zhibo narrowed his eyes and observed for a while, then turned to the driver next to him and asked.

"Has this place always been like this? It looks like it's abandoned..."

Obviously, a world-class university should not feel like this.

The professional driver named "John Cage" answered while looking at the "dismal yellow road" stretching directly in front of the car.

"This is my first time here, so I don't know much about it..."

"But I heard when I was in London that the students who graduated from the University of Brightchester were somewhat...weird."

The driver's tone was not very relaxed and chatty, but slightly nervous.

"Is it weird?" Qin Zhibo asked him, "In what way is it weird?"

The driver held the steering wheel with both hands and kept looking at the straight street in front of him, groaning in his throat.

"Um……"

"I should say he's a weirdo."

“I heard from a friend who once shared a house in London with two students from the University of Brightchester.”

"That house is in the Bromley district of London. Although it is a bit far from Inner London, the advantage is that the rent is very cheap."

"Less than 100 meters from the house, there is a cemetery."

"My friend once saw his two roommates walking to the cemetery in the middle of the night wearing strange clothes, seemingly performing some kind of ceremony."

"At the beginning, the ceremony was just the two of them, but gradually, more and more people participated in the ceremony, and finally it turned into a huge team of dozens of people."

"Sometimes, they would wear black robes and step on other people's graves, dancing with their teeth and claws."

"Sometimes, they would hold white candles in their hands and collectively sing hymns that no one had ever heard..."

"One day, my friend couldn't stand the behavior of these people, so he chose to knock on those two people's rooms during the day and ask them what they were doing..."

"What do you think they said?"

The driver paused for a moment and turned to look at Qin Zhibo.

"What do you say?" Qin Zhibo asked.

The driver had a horrified expression on his face, "They actually said they were conducting an experiment..."

"The experiment involves recalling the dead from the graveyard."

"After hearing this, my friend thought this was ridiculous. He wanted to call the police, but due to the large number of people on the other side, and they were all students, the most the police could do was give him a simple punishment."

"But once I offend them, life will definitely be difficult in the future. In the end, I have no choice but to move out."

"well……"

The driver sighed and continued to concentrate on driving.

Qin Zhibo, who was sitting in the passenger seat, looked slightly startled. He was also a little shocked by this story.

If this story is true, then the research topics at this university are too hardcore.

This kind of university is very suitable for Koizumi Hongzi...

At this moment, the driver suddenly stepped on the brakes.

It turned out that a person came out of the dark alley next to the main road without any warning.

The man has a slightly younger face and looks like he is a student here. He has a loose canvas bag on his shoulder and a stack of heavy books in his other hand.

You obviously have a bag, but you still hold the book in your hand?

The driver lowered his window and asked in an authentic London accent: "How can I get to the Institute of Astronomy?"

This is the destination agreed between Qin Zhibo and the chauffeur, and it is a round trip.

The student stopped, slowly turned his head, thought for two seconds and then said coldly.

"Keep driving forward. When you drive about 1 kilometer, you will see a low slope, and the research institute is there."

"Thanks."

The driver thanked him and quickly raised the window, fearing that some kind of uncleanness outside the car would fly into the car.

Before Qin Zhibo closed the car window completely, he saw something twisting and making irregular bulges in the canvas bag tightly held under the student's arm.

It seems like an animal...

But Qin Zhibo had no way of knowing what kind of animals were inside, because the driver had already stepped on the accelerator, started the car and accelerated away.

…

Soon, the car reached what the student said was a short slope.

The short slope is located next to a river. According to the mark on the navigator, this place is called Severn River.

There is a white observatory on a low slope, connected to a green-grey six-sided fortress-shaped building.

"arrive……"

The driver confirmed the sign at the bottom of the low slope, which indeed said [Institute of Astronomy, University of Brychester].

Qin Zhibo also glanced at the sign, and then looked at the fortress building.

Due to the lack of lighting, most of the building was shrouded in darkness, with only a window on the second floor lit.

Lucky, it seems that there are still people inside.

"I'll go inside and take a look. You wait here. I'll be back soon."

Qin Zhibo explained to the driver and pushed the door and got out of the car.

He looked at the only lighted window, and didn't expect to meet someone from the institute who just happened to know about the "Great Halley's Comet".

But at least he could get the contact number of the relevant researcher, and then he just had to make a phone call to consult.

As for why the other party told a stranger about the research progress of the "Great Halley's Comet", Qin Zhibo had already thought of an excuse...

Qin Zhibo walked up the low slope along the stone steps.

On the gray walls outside the building, there were many chilling graffiti.

Among them, the more obvious ones are patterns such as skulls, cemeteries, faceless people, and zombie dogs.

But in a corner on the left side of the wall, there are some patterns with completely different styles.

Driven by curiosity, Qin Zhibo took a few more steps and walked to the front of the pattern.

It was a graffiti of blue sea and blue sky.

The graffiti was painted a long time ago, causing many of the color blocks on it to fall off and fade, and it looked very mottled.

But this pattern was still very good, at least better than the completely creepy graffiti next to it.

And at the intersection of the sea and the sky on the light blue sea, a pale face was rising slowly.

At first, Qin Zhibo thought it was the moon.

But if you look closely, there is a huge eye on it, and facial features formed by huge deep pits and mountains.

"It's so abstract..."

Qin Zhibo shook his head slightly, not knowing how to evaluate this graffiti work.

He turned back to the main entrance of the institute and pressed the doorbell next to it.

Beep——

The electric bell above his head made a suppressed sound, calling the people inside.

But after waiting for more than ten seconds, Qin Zhibo did not hear any sound from behind the dark glass.

So, Qin Zhibo pressed the doorbell again.

Beep--

Beep--

If you press the doorbell too many times, it will cause disgust from the people inside.

But just when Qin Zhibo pressed the third time, a harsh sound came from above his head.

Hiss--

This is the sound of the aluminum alloy window that has not been lubricated for many years, sliding through the chute full of sand and dust.

"Who is it!"

The owner of the voice was obviously unhappy.

Qin Zhibo looked up and saw a head sticking out of the only window with a light on.

"Hello, I am..."

Qin Zhibo was about to introduce himself when he was interrupted by the other party.

"I don't care who you are, my research is at a critical stage, don't disturb me!"

After saying that, the other party closed the window.

Uh...

Qin Zhibo hesitated for three seconds and continued to press the doorbell.

Although this is a bit impolite, in order to know the truth of the world as soon as possible, he must do this.

Beep——

The doorbell made an unpleasant sound again.

The upset man upstairs quickly opened the window this time and shouted, "Sir, I've said it all, I don't have time now!"

Qin Zhibo ignored the other party's refusal and quickly told the purpose of his visit.

"I'm here to find a researcher who is still conducting research on the 'Great Halley' Comet' in 1888..."

"I don't need to waste too much of your time, just tell me the contact information of that person and I'll leave!"

Hearing Qin Zhibo's purpose, the man on the second floor was silent.

Then he asked, "I must first know what you are looking for someone who is conducting this research?"

The man's answer was equivalent to admitting that someone is still conducting this research.

Qin Zhibo took out his wallet, revealing the metal badge inside, and without waiting for the other party to see it clearly, he said, "I'm from Miskatonic University. I've seen some of the information from that year in school and I'm also very interested in this research."

"So I came here specifically to learn about the current research progress..."

Because of the moonlight behind him, the man in the second-floor window had a dark face.

However, based on the angle of his head, Qin Zhibo judged that the other party was looking at him.

After a few seconds, he said in a deep voice: "To be honest, I am the one who is conducting this research now..."

"Since you are from the University of Michigan, come up and have a chat."

The man retracted his head, and soon he stuck his head out of the window again and threw a key in front of Qin Zhibo.

Qin Zhibo caught the key and used it to open the locked main door.

Entering the institute, it is more energy-efficient than expected.

The first floor is almost pitch black, and on the left and right sides are offices of different functions, all with their doors closed.

Qin Zhibo went up the stairs facing the door to the second floor and saw that in the dark corridor, only one office was open, and the light inside illuminated a small area.

He walked to the door of the office and saw a man wearing glasses sitting in front of a computer, staring at the screen above.

Next to him, there were a lot of draft papers for verification.

There are also various calculation formulas and obscure data densely stacked on the whiteboard and blackboard behind him.

The man sat in this huge ocean of data, swimming in an orderly manner.

The man heard footsteps at the door and turned his head.

Qin Zhibo looked at the man's face, and then glanced at the top of his head, knowing that the other party was Miles Ingels.

After the two sides stared at each other for a second, Ingels slowly said: "You don't look like a student at your age..."

Qin Zhibo walked into the room and explained: "I am not a student, but I did study at the University of Michigan and have graduated for many years."

"In the school library, I once saw the astronomical discovery of the University of Brychester in 1888-the Great Halley's Comet."

"Although this 'discovery' was considered heretical at the time, I think it is very interesting, so I came here to see if anyone else is doing this research..."

Ingels nodded, then turned his chair and continued to stare at the computer screen.

"You came at the right time. My research will soon yield results..."

"Now I am calculating the orbital impact of 'Gheros' on Pluto, Neptune, and Uranus to find out when it will be able to come to the range where it can be directly observed on Earth."

Qin Zhibo heard a new term, so he quickly asked, "May I ask, what is 'Gheros'?"

Ingels did not turn his head, but just stared at the screen and responded.

"This is the new name of the planet..."

"It used to be called 'Great Halley's Comet', but my father felt that the planet was completely different from Halley's Comet except that it was wandering in the universe..."

"So my father gave it a new name - the pioneer of destruction, Gehros."

Ingels' pen was calculating quickly on the straw paper, and he said: "Although my father is just an amateur astronomer, he is very keen on things in the sky."

"He noticed the planet in the sky and published an article "The Sun is Being Dragged Away" in the Herald."

"But his remarks, like the incident in 1888, were completely regarded as a joke..."

"But I am about to correct all this and prove scientifically that 'Gheros' is real and is about to approach the solar system."

"When humans on Earth can observe it, no one will deny my father..."

Qin Zhibo looked at Ingels's concentration and his brain couldn't help thinking.

It seems that the legend within the zoo organization is true...

And the so-called return of the stars should be that the nine planets are affected by gravity, causing the orbits to shift.

"So when can you calculate the result?" Qin Zhibo asked.

Ingels turned to look at Qin Zhibo, thought for a moment, and answered expressionlessly.

"If you don't bother me here all night, tomorrow morning..."