Predator and Predator (6K)

The next morning, the entire Third Academy was placed under martial law.

He Wei Ni Ya drew back the curtains in her room and saw more than ten fully armed school workers standing downstairs, while at the distant dock, more school workers from two other colleges were coming to support them by boat.

"Looks like you don't have to go to class today." Bai Wei's voice rang in He Wei Ni Ya's mind. "The holiday has been extended, which is something every student dreams of, right? Why do you seem a little unhappy?"

"... Mr. Visas, do you still have the mood for jokes at a time like this?"

"Why not?" Bai Wei said with a smile. "Isn't this exactly what you wanted at the beginning? To create chaos and prevent the nobles from living as peacefully as before. Look, now whether it's nobles or commoners, no one is at ease. Isn't the effect even better than you imagined?"

He Wei Ni Ya couldn't deny this.

This Grand Ceremony will definitely be the most special one in the Holy Sound History - it will open with the death of Golden Sound, thus making the Holy Sound Noble, who have been at peace for thousands of years, feel extremely uneasy. This is indeed what He Wei Ni Ya wanted to see.

However, the one who caused all of this was not her, but a being who was more hidden than her, did more than her, and was far more dangerous.

He Wei Ni Ya said softly, "Did you already know about the existence of the other score?"

"More or less."

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"There's no need," Bai Wei said. "Since you can't deal with him anyway, you might as well focus all your attention on the people you can handle."

"...But he got so close to me several times," He Wei Ni Ya said. "Aren't you afraid that he might suddenly attack me and I wouldn't be able to defend myself at all?"

Are you blaming me?

"Of course not," He Wei Ni Ya said calmly. "I am not qualified. I am merely your tool, your servant. It is your freedom to do as you please."

"Looks like you're blaming me." Bai Wei laughed. "Just tell me what's wrong, I won't get angry. But you should know, I won't let you get killed."

Bai Wei paused for a moment, then continued.

"But there's a reason I'm not telling you the truth. He has pieces of my body on him, which gives him a very keen sense of perception. The more you know, the more unnatural you act, the more likely you are to reveal something to him, understand?"

... Extremely keen perception?

After thinking for a moment, He Wei Ni Ya asked, "So that's why he hasn't made a move against me yet?"

Although He Wei Ni Ya had previously been careful to keep her distance from the fake Daniel, believing that this would deter him from harming her, she immediately realized that distance was not the issue when He Wei Ni Ya learned that he had killed Olenna without anyone noticing.

"Yes," Bai Wei said with a smile, "While you are wary of him, he is also wary of you."

He Wei Ni Ya shook her head. "I don't have that kind of power. He's probably afraid of you, right? That means he can sense your presence?"

"No, not at all," Bai Wei said. "If I could be detected so easily, how could I have hidden for so long? He can't sense things that precisely; he just instinctively feels the danger. This sense makes him hesitant to attack you rashly, but you happen to be the only Golden Seventh Sound ... before Olenna, so he doesn't want to give up."

With Bai Wei having put his words to this point, He Wei Ni Ya naturally understood what he meant.

In other words, the fake Daniel had always been wary and probing of her, wary of her danger, but because she was the only Golden Seventh Sound, he had to continue to test her despite the danger, trying to find her weakness?

Therefore, when he discovered that Olenna had successfully advanced and that he was no longer the only Golden Seventh Sound, he immediately changed his target, killing Olenna and taking the note that same day.

Judging from the timeline, it seems that the real Daniel was killed by him shortly after arriving at the Third Academy.

Such decisiveness... If it weren't for Bai Wei's presence, the fake Daniel would probably have already taken action against her.

... already?

He Wei Ni Ya suddenly remembered the powerful sense of crisis she had sensed by the lake on the eve of the Seven Sound Festival, and how she had been driven away by Bai Wei.

In other words, the fake Daniel had already set his sights on He Wei Ni Ya at that time.

Thinking of this, He Wei Ni Ya couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.

Judging from the strength displayed by that fake Daniel, even if He Wei Ni Ya had survived Daphne's ambush that night, she would have inevitably died at the hands of the fake Daniel, without Bai Wei's presence.

So the initial desire to reach the end on one's own was nothing but an unattainable delusion.

Seeing that He Wei Ni Ya hadn't spoken for a long time, Bai Wei said with a smile, "What, are you still complaining about me?"

"Of course...no." He Wei Ni Ya took a deep breath, clearing her mind of those extraneous thoughts, and said, "I just didn't expect there to be another score, and that he had already collected two Golden Sound ...no, to be precise, at least two Golden Sound."

"I can tell you directly that he has three Golden Sound," Bai Wei said. "Besides the Seventh Sound that you both share, he also has two notes that you don't currently possess."

He Wei Ni Ya was quite surprised, but she didn't know whether her surprise stemmed more from the fact that the other party already possessed three Golden Sound, or from the fact that Bai Wei actually knew that the other party had three Golden Sound.

"Although getting rid of him would immediately grant you two new sounds," Bai Wei said slowly, "I still don't recommend you do it. Do you remember what I told you before?"

He Wei Ni Ya nodded slightly. "You said he's dangerous. But if we don't go to him, won't he come looking for us?"

"That's not necessarily true," Bai Wei said with a smile. "When there is enough food in a forest, it can accommodate two apex predators."

He Wei Ni Ya raised an eyebrow. "You mean, he'll go hunt down other Sounds instead of coming to us?"

"That's very likely," Bai Wei said. "After all, before, the only unique one was the golden Seventh Sound, which is why he had to get close to you. But now that he also has the Seventh Sound, he doesn't need to keep watching you anymore, at least not for the time being. He probably won't make a move on you before you both focus on the same note again. And that's my advice to you. He's far more valuable alive than dead right now. After all, his presence can help you attract some attention, can't it?"

He Wei Ni Ya knew that Bai Wei was right, but she still felt a strong sense of unease, yet she couldn't pinpoint the reason.

Just then, there was a knock on her door.

When He Wei Ni Ya arrived at the lobby on the first floor of the dormitory, she saw several familiar faces.

The Three Academies' dean Gu Qi, her Mentor, Lai Ang Na, her pharmacology teacher, Adele, and Finnis.

Everyone looked like they hadn't slept all night, with Finnis showing the most severe symptoms. The way he looked at He Wei Ni Ya had lost its usual elegance and kindness, and his blue pupils were bloodshot.

However, considering what he went through last night, everyone could understand.

"Please have a seat, Miss He Wei Ni Ya," Gu Qi said with a smile, gesturing for He Wei Ni Ya to sit in the chair opposite them. "We need to talk for a bit."

"Yes, yes, Dean." He Wei Ni Ya nodded nervously, then sat down carefully.

The moment she sat down, Adele tapped He Wei Ni Ya on the back of the head with her staff.

Caught off guard, He Wei Ni Ya felt a surge of Magic Power wash over her from head to toe, making her even more nervous. She stammered, "Dean, this is..."

Everyone looked at Adele, Adele nodded. "No problem, it's her."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Gu Qi smiled and comforted He Wei Ni Ya, "Don't be nervous, it's just a normal test. Miss He Wei Ni Ya, you should know what happened last night."

He Wei Ni Ya nodded.

"So, do you know about the existence of a spectrum?"

He Wei Ni Ya hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"Very good." Gu Qi smiled and stroked his beard. "Since you know all this, we can speak frankly. It has been confirmed that a very dangerous person has appeared in the academy, and he possesses a musical score. Since you know what a musical score is, you should understand why we did what we just did."

"... Do you think I'm the one who fits that mold?"

"It's just some necessary precautions; everyone needs to do this test," Gu Qi said with a smile. "Now we can confirm that you're not that person. But we still have a few questions for you to answer."

He Wei Ni Ya nodded obediently. "Okay."

"First of all, why weren't you at the opening ceremony last night?" Gu Qi asked. "That's a very important ceremony, isn't it?"

"I... I can't come."

"Why can't you come?"

He Wei Ni Ya glanced timidly at Lai Ang Na beside Gu Qi.

Lai Ang Na's face immediately fell. "Why are you looking at me like that? Did I tell you not to go?"

"Of course not... it's just the homework you assigned me, which I haven't finished yet," He Wei Ni Ya said with a bitter expression. "And it's not just yours, there's also Professor Ariana's paper. She asked me to hand it in to her before I go to the Second Academy, so I had to write it overnight."

"I see." Gu Qi nodded. "So you wrote it alone in your room?"

He Wei Ni Ya shook her head. "No, I wrote it here. There were a few other students besides me... oh, and Professor Adele too."

Everyone immediately looked at Adele behind He Wei Ni Ya.

Adele nodded expressionlessly. "I was the teacher on night duty yesterday. I did see He Wei Ni Ya writing something in the lobby last night, but I don't know if it was a paper."

"...What else could it be but a thesis!" He Wei Ni Ya muttered under her breath.

With Adele's endorsement, the others completely believed He Wei Ni Ya.

This also surprised He Wei Ni Ya.

Because everything that has happened so far has been exactly what Bai Wei had predicted.

Last night, Bai Wei made He Wei Ni Ya rush back to the dormitory as soon as possible, and then used [Domination] on Adele and several other students who were left in the lobby.

[Domination] has two uses. One is physical, making the other person's body immediately obey your commands; the other is psychological, making the other person subconsciously believe what you say. He Wei Ni Ya used the second method, making Adele and the students believe that she had stayed in the lobby all night and hadn't left, and also making Adele believe that she wasn't the Gold Score. Therefore, even though Adele herself conducted the test, she would unconsciously deny the result.

That's why He Wei Ni Ya was able to pull off the switcheroo and clear herself of all suspicion under these circumstances.

Visas... does he really not have the ability to foresee the future?

He Wei Ni Ya couldn't help but start thinking about this question again.

Now that He Wei Ni Ya's identity was completely confirmed, Gu Qi had nothing left to hide.

"Miss He Wei Ni Ya, now that you know the characteristics of the score, you should be able to understand what the other party wants to do," Gu Qi said. "He's here for the Grand Ceremony. He wants to collect... no, I should say seize. He wants to seize the Seven Golden Sounds to play the Seven Sound Divine Song at the Grand Ceremony. And he has most likely already succeeded... at least three notes."

At least three Golden Sound?

He Wei Ni Ya was somewhat surprised. Why did they also know that the fake Daniel had three Golden Sound?

However, she quickly realized that Gu Qi must have included TuPake in his calculations.

Sure enough, Gu Qi soon said, "These three Golden Sound are Mr. Daniel Ether's First Note, Mr. TuPake Roger's Fifth Note, and Miss Olenna Finnis's Seventh Sound."

He Wei Ni Ya feigned surprise. "TuPake Mr. and Mr. Daniel... something happened to them too."

"Yes." Gu Qi nodded. "He and Miss Olenna both died yesterday."

When Olenna was mentioned, He Wei Ni Ya noticed out of the corner of her eye that Finnis's fist clenched tighter and tighter.

"So you should understand how brutal and...powerful he is," Gu Qi said. "Theoretically speaking, he can now unleash a seven-note Movement Spell on his own, meaning any solo player would have little chance of winning against him. Moreover, he can impersonate the owner of the stolen notes. I regret to inform you, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, that Daniel, who had been in contact with you after you returned to the academy, has been replaced."

Upon hearing Gu Qi's words, He Wei Ni Ya promptly feigned shock, widening her eyes and exclaiming, "This... how could this be!"

He then immediately threw out the suspicions against him.

"Then why didn't he attack me?"

"That's what I wanted to ask too, Miss He Wei Ni Ya. Have you been alone with that Daniel these days?" Gu Qi asked rather seriously. "You'd better tell me the details, including every time you met."

He Wei Ni Ya still looked very frightened. She took several deep breaths before she could calm down and then stammered out the "details" of her meeting with Daniel.

Of course, this "detailed information" was also provided under Bai Wei's guidance.

After listening to He Wei Ni Ya's explanation, Gu Qi nodded slightly and said, "That makes sense."

"... Does that make sense?"

"You are lucky, Miss He Wei Ni Ya. I think the reason he hasn't made a move on you is that he hasn't found an opportunity to be alone with you," Gu Qi said. "You've met three times in total. The best chance was probably the first time, when you had just returned to the academy. However, at that time, he had just attacked the real Daniel and his body hadn't recovered to its best condition."

"The second time, Mr. Finnis and TuPake Mr. found you, but he couldn't do anything about it either."

"The third and final time, he should have decided to make his move, but coincidentally, Miss Olenna completed her advancement and became the golden Seventh Sound. Perhaps he felt that Miss Olenna, who had just completed her advancement, would be easier to deal with, so he changed his target."

He Wei Ni Ya's body immediately trembled, perfectly capturing the terror of someone who had just narrowly escaped death.

"Alright, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, at least you're safe now," Gu Qi comforted her. "In any case, he probably won't target you anymore, since he already has the Golden Seventh Sound. But even so, you still need to be careful. We can't rule out the possibility that he will continue to hunt down other Golden Sound to ensure that he can obtain the Lord's Wish."

Upon hearing this, He Wei Ni Ya asked like a naive child who had lost her mind, "If that's the case... then why can't we suspend the Grand Ceremony first and catch this person?"

Before Gu Qi could speak after He Wei Ni Ya asked that question, Lai Ang Na frowned and said, "What nonsense! How could the Grand Ceremony be canceled? Don't you know this is fooling the Lord?!"

He Wei Ni Ya immediately shrank back in fear.

Gu Qi then spoke up at the opportune moment, "Alright, Lai Ang Na, Miss He Wei Ni Ya is just frightened, don't be so aggressive."

He paused, then continued, "But as your Mentor said, the Grand Ceremony cannot be canceled. Miss He Wei Ni Ya, you must understand that no matter what he did, as long as he appears before the Lord at the last moment, no one can stop him from playing for the Lord. That is why he dared to be so fearless. The Lord has never cared about the process; he only cares about the result... Therefore, the process is what we should consider."

As Gu Qi spoke, he handed He Wei Ni Ya a list.

He Wei Ni Ya took the list and glanced at it, finding it full of familiar names.

Besides the three Golden Sound from last night, there are also Ariana and Daphne.

"Dean, what does this mean?"

"These are the people we confirmed to be missing after our investigation," Gu Qi said. "These people are very likely also dead at that guy's hands. Remember what I said before? The score can transform into the stolen musical notes, so he could very well be impersonating these people. So wherever you see these people, be on high alert immediately, because they are most likely that guy... I think you should be quite familiar with the people on the list."

He Wei Ni Ya nodded slightly, then her body trembled uncontrollably again. "Professor Ariana, Daphne, they... they actually..."

Then, tears fell at just the right moment, wetting the list.

"Waaah... Why did that person do this? Why..."

Seeing that He Wei Ni Ya was losing control of her emotions, Gu Qi looked up at Adele behind her.

Adele nodded, then stepped forward and gently patted He Wei Ni Ya's shoulder to comfort her.

"Alright, that's enough for now, Miss He Wei Ni Ya." Gu Qi pinched the bridge of his nose, looking somewhat troubled. "I know these things are hard to accept, but since they've already happened, we have to face them. Don't worry, we'll definitely catch that guy. As for you... you still have to work hard for the Grand Ceremony, don't you?"

He Wei Ni Ya was crying uncontrollably and couldn't even answer.

Gu Qi could only let Adele take He Wei Ni Ya away first, and let He Wei Ni Ya go back to the dormitory to rest.

But before he could take two steps, Finnis caught up with him.

"Miss He Wei Ni Ya, please wait."

He Wei Ni Ya stopped and turned to look at Finnis.

"Although I know it's not appropriate to say this now," Finnis said, his voice unusually low and strained, his usual high spirits gone, "There is one thing I must confirm beforehand, Miss He Wei Ni Ya, are you still willing to stay in the Lawrence Family band?"

He Wei Ni Ya immediately understood what Finnis meant.

With TuPake and Olenna both dead, the band now only has her and Finnis as the two remaining Golden Sound, so they are no longer the favorites to win the championship.

As a result, Finnis would naturally worry that He Wei Ni Ya would also leave the team at this time.

Therefore, he had no choice but to come and stabilize He Wei Ni Ya under such turbulent circumstances, because if He Wei Ni Ya also left, then the Lawrence Family would have no hope at this Grand Ceremony.

"Of course, Mr. Finnis," He Wei Ni Ya said between sobs, "I won't leave so easily now that I've made a promise to you."

Finnis looked surprised.

Clearly, he was prepared for He Wei Ni Ya to raise the price again at the last minute, but he didn't expect He Wei Ni Ya to be so... loyal?

Then Finnis gave He Wei Ni Ya a deep bow, placing his hand on her chest. "Miss He Wei Ni Ya, the Lawrence Family will never forget your kindness. We will do everything in our power to ensure your safety, and we will take you away first thing tomorrow morning."

"Go to the Second Academy?"

"No." Finnis shook his head. "TuPake is gone. There's no point in going to the Second Academy. Go directly to the First Academy, to the feet of the Lord."

After speaking with Finnis, He Wei Ni Ya was escorted back to her room by Adele.

"Thank you, Ms. Adele."

Adele nodded, told him to "get some rest," and then left.

The moment Adele left, He Wei Ni Ya, who had been in tears just a moment before, instantly returned to normal, showing no trace of sorrow.

"The First Academy," He Wei Ni Ya said softly, "We're finally going to get there."

First Academy.

The place closest to the Lord of Holy Sound in the entire Holy Sound is also the final venue for the Grand Ceremony.

We're finally going to get there, and we can get away from that dangerous guy for now.

Only...

He Wei Ni Ya frowned slightly, turned her head, and looked out the window at the Three Academies where she had been staying for a year.

I have this feeling that I've forgotten something.