New Clue

Lu Yuan was taken aback.

Laurina?

Why would she come looking for me at this time?

Lu Yuan didn't open the door immediately, but instead peeked out through the crack.

The corridor was dimly lit, with only the faint glow of the magic lamp in the distance.

Laurina stood in the doorway, all alone, with no one else behind her.

Lu Yuan then opened the door.

Laurina stood outside the door.

His face was pale, and his eyes were filled with terror, a stark contrast to the genius he had been during the day, focused on organizing equipment.

She wore Deep Blue Alchemy Department robe with silver runes embroidered on the cuffs, which shimmered faintly in the dimly lit corridor.

Her chestnut hair was a little messy, falling down from the back of her head and sticking to her cheeks.

His light brown eyes were filled with fear, but he remained vigilant, his gaze quickly sweeping across the room behind Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan turned to the side and lowered his voice, "Come in quickly."

Laurina quickly entered the room, her footsteps light, but it was clear she was trying hard to control her nervousness.

Lu Yuan closed the door and locked it.

With a click, the door lock engaged.

There was only one small lamp in the room, casting dim light and flickering shadows.

Laurina stood by the door, her hands clasped together, trembling slightly.

She first looked around the room to make sure no one else was there before she relaxed a little.

"I... I don't know where to go." Her voice was low, but her words were clear, and even though she was afraid, she hadn't completely lost her composure.

She paused, looking at Lu Yuan with a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "The fact that the letter reached me means you're an outsider on the Night Watcher, at least for now, you can be trusted."

Lu Yuan pointed to the chair. "Sit down first, and tell me slowly."

He walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and glanced outside.

The corridor was empty; there was no one there.

Occasionally, Night Watcher would patrol by in the distance, but they didn't look this way.

Lu Yuan lowered the curtains, sat back down on the bed, and looked at Laurina: "What happened?"

Laurina sat in the chair, placed her hands on her knees, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down.

"I was organizing data in the lab on the third floor tonight," she said, her voice still trembling slightly. "Around... eight o'clock, I heard some noise outside."

"Very hurried footsteps and shouts."

Lu Yuan did not interrupt, but listened quietly.

"I looked out the window," Laurina continued, a flicker of fear in her eyes, "And saw several Night Watcher chasing two students."

"Those two students ran very fast, from the base of the tower towards the dormitory area."

She paused, biting her lip. "The Night Watcher chased for a long time, but they only ever chased."

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

He recalled the two "students" he had encountered on the eighth floor earlier. They rushed out from around the corner of the corridor, covered in blood and infested with worms.

The captain of the Night's Watch said, "This is part of the plan."

I see.

"And then?" Lu Yuan asked.

Laurina's face grew even paler. "I saw things falling off those students."

"It was black; at first I thought it was a piece of clothing."

"But look closely... those are insects."

Her voice began to tremble. "Countless black insects fell from the students."

A brief silence fell over the room.

Only the occasional sound of wind coming from outside the window.

Laurina looked up at Lu Yuan: "I feel something's not right."

She paused, her expression becoming complicated. "And those bugs... I recognize them."

Lu Yuan's gaze sharpened. "You know him?"

It's important to understand that even gray and white text is merely a hint; it represents something that feeds on knowledge.

Lu Yuan didn't actually know any more specific information.

Laurina took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Some time ago, my mentor assigned me an alchemy project," she said slowly, "To visualize knowledge. I was quite interested in it and participated in it."

"But the alchemy failed at that time."

"But we discovered the product of this failed alchemy—those worms, which we call the Knowledge-Derived Worm."

"This insect feeds on knowledge and simultaneously regurgitates new knowledge."

Her voice carried a hint of reminiscence. "But the speed at which they feed back and devour each other is far too disproportionate. The knowledge the insects consume far exceeds what they regurgitate."

"So the experiment was quickly shut down... or at least I thought it was shut down."

She gave a bitter smile, her voice beginning to tremble. "I thought it was just a failed experiment..."

I didn't expect to see him tonight.

"Moreover... the number of insects on those students far exceeded the scale observed during the experiment."

"This shows that the supervisor has been continuing his research, and..."

She didn't finish her sentence, her face growing even paler.

She remembered the insects that fell from the students, their stiff movements, and their empty eyes.

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Has your mentor been acting strangely lately?"

Laurina nodded, biting her lip. "My supervisor has been inviting me to do new experiments lately."

"They said they have a special research project that needs my help."

"But I was actually doing other experiments at the time, so I didn't participate."

Her voice trembled. "Now that I see all this, I understand."

"The supervisor has been continuing that experiment, and using students as test subjects."

"Those missing students... were probably taken there by their advisors."

She looked up at Lu Yuan, her eyes filled with fear. "If I had agreed back then..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was clear.

Lu Yuan looked at her, his tone calm. "So you came to find me."

Laurina nodded, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. "I don't know where to go, and I can't trust the Night Watcher either."

Her voice lowered further. "That's why I had no choice but to come to you."

Laurina wasn't sure who else she could turn to.

Perhaps it would be better to go to the principal of the Tower of Erudition.

But Laurina still instinctively went to Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan remained silent for a moment.

He recalled his experience on the eighth floor.

The two "students" rushed out from around the corner of the corridor, covered in blood and infested with worms.

Then the high-ranking Night Watcher arrived.

The middle-aged man said, "This is part of the plan."

He told everyone to "take notes and shut up."

Lu Yuan understood.

The Night Watcher most likely knew of the existence of these Hive students.

They deliberately didn't kill them, letting the students run to the dormitory area.

Create panic.

"The Night Watcher did it on purpose," Lu Yuan said.

Laurina paused for a moment:

"What?"

"Perhaps the Night Watcher isn't sure who's being watched," Lu Yuan said calmly, looking at her.

"This is the only way to get all potential targets to leave voluntarily."

Laurina paused for a moment, then quickly understood, her expression becoming complicated.

"Clear the area?" She bit her lip, her voice uncertain.

"So... the Night Watcher deliberately let those students run into the dormitory area to create panic and force those of us who might be targeted to leave?"

Lu Yuan nodded slightly.

Laurina was silent for a moment, then asked:

"But why not just arrest the murderer?"

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment:

"Researching such things is absolutely forbidden under the Empire's regulations."

"As for the murderer... they probably have other plans."

Upon hearing this, Laurina understood that the murderer Tower of Erudition had a powerful background.

Even the Night Watcher had to make concessions.

She remembered her mentor's kind face and the eager look in his eyes whenever he came to see her.

Turn out to be...

"Did they see me?" Her voice was trembling with unease. "I was behind the third-floor window, but the Night Watcher might have noticed me."

"If they knew I saw it..."

"You should have seen it." Lu Yuan looked at her, his tone calm. "Most of the Night Watcher are on duty tonight are Transcendence."

Do you think they wouldn't have noticed you?

He paused:

"You should be safe here for now."

Laurina looked at Lu Yuan, and the fear in her eyes lessened slightly.

She took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

A brief silence fell over the room.

The only sounds were the occasional gust of wind outside the window and footsteps in the distant corridor.

Laurina still looked nervous, but she seemed a bit better than when she first came in.

Lu Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, appearing rather at ease.

Having figured all this out, Lu Yuan realized that as long as Laurina was here, not only would he be safe, but Laurina would also be safe.

Time passed second by second.

Footsteps could be heard occasionally passing by in the corridor.

Every time Laurina heard footsteps, she would instinctively look towards the door, her body tensing slightly.

But she tried to remain calm and didn't make a sound.

Lu Yuan indicated to her that it was alright.

The footsteps faded into the distance.

No one came in to check.

Laurina breathed a sigh of relief, but remained tense.

Clearly, she was well protected and had never experienced such danger.

Now, when threatened, like a frightened little animal, it instinctively hides in what it considers a safe place.

Lu Yuan knew in his heart that if the Night Watcher demanded that he hand over Laurina, he couldn't protect her.

But since the Night Watcher didn't stop it, it means that it's permissible for the time being.

"Forget it, I'll just hide for as long as I can."

Lu Yuan leaned against the headboard, closing his eyes to rest.

Laurina sat down in a chair, also trying to rest.

Time passed slowly, and the night grew deeper.

The footsteps in the corridor grew fewer and fewer until they disappeared completely.

The Tower of Erudition fell into the stillness of the night.

There was only the occasional sound of wind and the distant chimes of bells.

The moon outside the window moved slowly, and its light shone through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin beam of light on the floor.

Laurina leaned back in her chair with her eyes closed, but she was a light sleeper and would wake up at the slightest noise.

Lu Yuan tried his best to fall asleep, otherwise his rationality might not be restored to the standard the next day.

As dawn approached, Laurina finally succumbed to her sleep.

His head was tilted to one side, his breathing became steady, but his brows were still furrowed, clearly he was having a nightmare.

Lu Yuan woke up naturally and glanced at the Gray-White Text that appeared.

[Sanity: 116/120 (Total)]

I glanced at Laurina again.

He stood up and walked to her side.

"Laurina," he called softly.

Laurina opened her eyes groggily, her gaze somewhat dazed.

"Go to bed," Lu Yuan said.

Laurina paused for a moment, then nodded.

She stood up, staggered to the bedside, and lay down.

Lu Yuan helped her cover herself with the blanket.

Laurina quickly fell asleep again, her breathing steady, but her brow remained furrowed.

Lu Yuan returned to his chair and sat down.

He gave the bed to Laurina and sat in a chair himself.

He looked out the window at the gradually brightening sky.

Footsteps began to echo in the corridor again.

A new day has begun.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes, hoping everything would go as he wished; if not...