Mental Meditation

"What's wrong, Gu Yuan? Did you forget something at the training center?"

Sun Miaomiao saw Gu Yuan suddenly stop in his tracks and couldn't help asking.

The janitor, who had already been pushing his cleaning cart toward the training center, heard them and stopped as well. He turned around and looked at Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan's heart nearly leaped into his throat.

Human Collector? What the hell kind of title was that? Just hearing it made his scalp crawl!

He wasn't stupid enough to test someone with a title like that hanging over his head.

A person with a title like that could very well be the culprit behind the students disappearing from the school.

A criminal returning to the scene of the crime to admire his handiwork?

"Haha, it's nothing, Miaomiao," Gu Yuan said, scratching his head.

"I'm just forgetful by nature. I was wondering if I'd left anything behind, but now that I think about it, I don't think I did. Let's go."

As he spoke, he discreetly tugged at Sun Miaomiao and started walking. Together, they headed toward the school gates.

He didn't dare look at the janitor again, afraid the man might notice something was off.

Seeing them start moving again, the janitor resumed pushing his cleaning cart and slowly made his way into the training center.

Only after they had left the school grounds and gotten into a taxi did Gu Yuan's taut nerves finally ease a little.

As the car drove steadily toward the Destiny Bureau, he opened his mouth and spoke to Sun Miaomiao beside him.

"Miaomiao, I have a feeling... that janitor wasn't ordinary!"

Sun Miaomiao looked out at the street. Hearing him, she glanced sideways at Gu Yuan.

"How could that be? What could possibly be suspicious about a janitor? Aren't you being a little too nervous?"

To her, he was just an utterly ordinary middle-aged man. He had no energy fluctuations at all, and his spiritual power was nothing special.

Seeing that she didn't believe him, Gu Yuan couldn't be bothered to explain further.

As soon as the car pulled up outside the Destiny Bureau, Gu Yuan opened the door and headed straight for Team Three.

He rushed right into Shen Tingxue's office.

"Cousin, I found something suspicious while following Miaomiao to the training center to investigate!"

Shen Tingxue, who was processing documents, jumped in fright. She looked up and saw Sun Miaomiao just arriving at the doorway.

She furrowed her brows and ignored Gu Yuan, turning instead to Sun Miaomiao.

"Miaomiao, what was suspicious?"

"Captain, I didn't find any useful clues," Sun Miaomiao said with a shrug as she walked into the office.

"But Gu Yuan said he thought one of the janitors we encountered was acting strangely."

Hearing this, Shen Tingxue raised an eyebrow and rolled her eyes dramatically at Gu Yuan.

"Gu Yuan, since when did you get so timid? Just because someone disappeared from your school, you think everyone looks like a bad guy now?"

As far as she was concerned, this was probably Gu Yuan's first time at a crime scene, and he was being a little oversensitive.

"Wait." Shen Tingxue suddenly paused, picking up on a crucial detail. "You said... you didn't find anything?"

Sun Miaomiao nodded, her expression turning serious as well. "That's right. The energy traces at the scene were completely wiped clean. There are only two possibilities."

"Either the missing person had a magical artifact that could block a Warlock's detection and ran away on their own, or a Warlock in the Alchemist Realm intervened and erased every trace, leaving me unable to detect anything."

Alchemist Realm?

Shen Tingxue's expression grew grave.

A Warlock in the Alchemist Realm was already comparable in strength to the director of the Destiny Bureau's Hai City branch.

Yet according to the Destiny Bureau's internal surveillance data, there had been no record of any Warlock in the Alchemist Realm entering Hai City recently.

That meant an unknown Warlock might have slipped into Sea City without anyone noticing.

This was definitely no small matter!

"Then, Cousin, I suggest you look into that janitor," Gu Yuan added.

Shen Tingxue thought back to what Gu Yuan had said earlier. Given how serious the situation was, they couldn't afford to overlook anything suspicious, even if it was only a hunch.

"Mm, got it." She drew a deep breath, her expression serious. "I'll report this to my superiors right away. There's something unusual going on."

After speaking, Shen Tingxue glanced at Gu Yuan.

"Also, from today until school starts, don't go back to your school. Stay home and behave, understand?"

"Got it, got it," Gu Yuan replied quickly, nodding.

As if! He wasn't an idiot.

Go head-to-head with a suspected Alchemist Realm Human Collector? He wasn't ready to die yet.

Shen Tingxue hurried out of the office to make an urgent report.

Only Sun Miaomiao and Gu Yuan remained in the office.

"Want some?" Sun Miaomiao, who had looked so serious just moments ago, instantly changed her tune. She pulled a pile of snacks from her backpack and dumped them onto the office sofa.

"..."

Gu Yuan stared at the sofa piled high with snacks, speechless for a moment.

Then the two of them seemed to forget the conversation completely. They each sprawled out at one end of the sofa, scrolling through short videos and eating snacks.

An hour later, Shen Tingxue returned to the office, looking exhausted.

As soon as she walked in and saw those two carefree idiots, she was instantly exasperated.

"All right, Miaomiao, stop eating! Everyone at the Destiny Bureau is working overtime tonight!"

"You've got to be kidding!" Sun Miaomiao froze with a potato chip halfway to her mouth and let out a wail. "Overtime again?!"

The snacks in her hand instantly lost their appeal.

"Gu Yuan, I'll take you home first." Shen Tingxue rubbed her aching temples, at a loss with her cousin.

Gu Yuan saw the look on her face and tactfully climbed out of the pile of snacks. He followed Shen Tingxue toward the door.

"Wait!"

Sun Miaomiao suddenly called out from the side.

She quickly wiped her hands clean with a tissue, then ran to her desk and started rummaging around.

A moment later, she came over with a slightly worn book and pressed it into Gu Yuan's hands.

"Here. Don't forget to return it when you're done. This book is expensive!" Sun Miaomiao emphasized.

"Don't worry, Miaomiao!" Gu Yuan took the book and flashed her an OK sign. Then he followed Shen Tingxue outside.

They got into the car, and Shen Tingxue started the engine. She casually glanced at the book in Gu Yuan's hands.

Four ancient-looking characters were written on the cover: Mental Meditation Method.

She raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

"You have a talent for this?"

She knew Sun Miaomiao well. Unless she truly believed in someone, Miaomiao wouldn't casually lend them a cultivation method like this.

"Of course!" Gu Yuan immediately puffed out his chest.

"Just you wait, Cousin. Maybe in a few days, I'll be a proud Warlock too."

Shen Tingxue shot him a sideways glance, the corner of her mouth curling upward.

"You? You'd be better suited to being a massage Warlock."

Gu Yuan couldn't be bothered to trade barbs with her. He leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Cousin, did you look into that janitor?"

At the mention of business, Shen Tingxue nodded.

"I did."

Her voice was heavy.

"His records are completely blank."

"He only started working at your school the day before the holiday. His identity information, work history—there's nothing."

"I can't believe your school administrators are so brainless. They hired someone with no records at all, and when something happens, they don't even report it!"