"I hope so."
The fat wizard pulled out another strip of jerky, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed slowly. After hesitating for a moment, he added softly, "Also, I heard something... Supposedly, on the day the trials began, the school raided and shut down an Illegal Laboratory Deep within the Silent Forest. They were conducting biological modification experiments inside."
"You mean..."
"I don't know anything!" Fatty Xin immediately denied it. "I only heard that when the Teaching Assistant Group raided the place, some unidentified wizards escaped from that laboratory... Even now, their identities haven't been confirmed."
"On Puji Island?"
"On Puji Island."
It was a terrifying answer, because it meant that the wizards conducting those illegal experiments were most likely hiding at First University—possibly even among the school's professors, researchers, or students.
An uneasy silence immediately fell over the corner.
After a long while.
Zheng Qing tugged at the corner of his mouth, forcing out a smile. "Maybe we're just overthinking it... Isn't school starting these next few days? Those wizards may very well have taken the opportunity to escape Puji Island, or jumped into the sea, or been eaten by the Magical Beasts of the Silent Forest."
"No, we won't be that lucky."
Fatty Xin shoved the entire strip of jerky into his mouth and chewed viciously, his words muffled. "Just like Murphy said... If something has even the slightest chance of going wrong, it will happen."
"Doctor, what do you think?" Zheng Qing turned to Youzui's diviner.
Xiao Xiao cradled the Crystal Ball, carefully studying the mist rising within it. After a long time, he finally murmured, "Undercurrents are surging, and the hidden wheels are turning... The fog of fate obscures more than just our sight."
Zheng Qing couldn't help rolling his eyes.
Sure enough, one couldn't