Lu Yuan was taken aback.
Laurina?
Why would she come looking for him at this time?
Lu Yuan did not open the door immediately; instead, he peered through the crack in the door.
The corridor was dim, with only the distant magic lamps casting a faint glow.
Laurina stood at the door alone, with no one else behind her.
Only then did Lu Yuan open the door.
Laurina stood outside.
Her face was pale and her eyes were filled with terror, a sharp contrast to the image of the focused genius organizing equipment during the day.
She wore the deep blue robes of the Alchemy Department, the silver runes on her cuffs shimmering faintly in the dim corridor.
Her chestnut hair was somewhat disheveled, strands falling from the back of her head to cling to her cheeks.
Her light brown eyes were full of fear, yet she remained vigilant, her gaze quickly sweeping over the room behind Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan stepped aside and lowered his voice, "Quickly, come in."
Laurina walked into the room quickly, her steps light, though it was clear she was trying hard to control her nervousness.
Lu Yuan closed the door and locked it.
With a click, the lock engaged.
The room held only a small lamp, its light dim and casting flickering shadows.
Laurina stood by the door, her hands clasped together, trembling slightly.
She looked around the room first, confirming no one else was there before she relaxed slightly.
"I... I didn't know where to go." Her voice was very low but her articulation was clear; she had not entirely lost her composure despite her fear.
She paused for a moment and looked at Lu Yuan, a flicker of hope in her eyes, "The fact that that letter reached my hands proves you are an outside Nightwatcher; at least at this time, you can be trusted."
Lu Yuan pointed to a chair, "Sit down first and speak slowly."
He walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and looked outside.
The corridor was empty; no one was there.
An occasional patrolling Nightwatcher passed in the distance, but none looked this way.
Lu Yuan let go of the curtain and returned to sit on the edge of the bed, his gaze falling on Laurina, "What happened?"
Laurina sat in the chair, hands on her knees, and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
"Tonight I was in the third-floor laboratory organizing files." she began, her voice still trembling slightly, "Around... after eight o'clock, I heard movement outside."
"Hurry footsteps, and shouting."
Lu Yuan did not interrupt, simply listening quietly.
"I looked out through the window." Laurina continued, a flash of fear in her eyes, "I saw several Nightwatchers chasing two students."
"Those two students ran very fast, heading from the base of the tower toward the dormitory area."
She paused, biting her lip, "The Nightwatchers pursued them for a long time, but they were only giving chase."
Lu Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.
He thought of the two "students" he had encountered on the eighth floor earlier; they had burst out from the corridor corner covered in blood, their bodies filled with insects.
The Nightwatchers' Grand Captain had said: "This is part of the plan."
So that was it.
"And then?" Lu Yuan asked.
Laurina's face turned even paler, "I saw things falling off those students."
"Black things. At first, I thought they were scraps of clothing."
"But looking closely... those were insects."
Her voice began to shake, "Dense swarms of black insects, falling off the students."
A brief silence fell over the room.
Only the occasional sound of wind came from outside the window.
Laurina looked up at Lu Yuan, "I felt something was wrong."
She paused, her gaze turning complex, "And those insects... I recognize them."
Lu Yuan's gaze became sharp, "You recognize them?"
It should be noted that even the grey-white text only gave prompts that it was something that fed on knowledge.
Lu Yuan himself was not clear on more specific information.
Laurina took a deep breath, struggling to calm herself down.
"Some time ago, my mentor gave me an alchemy project." she said slowly, "Manifesting knowledge into physical form. I was interested at the time and participated in it."
"But the alchemy failed back then."
"However, we discovered a byproduct of that failed alchemy—those insects. We called them knowledge-derived insects."
"These insects can feed on knowledge and simultaneously spit out new knowledge."
Her voice carried memories, "But the speed of the regurgitation and the consumption were far apart, completely out of proportion. The knowledge the insects ate far exceeded what they spat out."
"So the experiment was quickly shut down... at least I thought it was shut down."
She gave a bitter smile, her voice starting to tremble, "I thought it was just a failed experiment..."
"I didn't expect to see them again tonight."
"And... the number of insects on those students far exceeded the scale of the experiment."
"This means my mentor has been continuing the research, and..."
She did not go on, her face becoming even paler.
She thought of the insects falling from the students, of their stiff movements and hollow eyes.
Lu Yuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Has your mentor been acting unusual lately?"
Laurina nodded, biting her lip, "Lately, my mentor has been constantly inviting me to do a new experiment."
"Saying there was a special research project that needed my help."
"But I was indeed busy with other trials at the time, so I never participated."
Her voice was trembling, "Seeing all this now, I understand."
"The mentor has been continuing that experiment, and using students as test subjects."
"Those missing students... they might have been taken by the mentor."
She looked up at Lu Yuan, her eyes full of terror, "If I had agreed back then..."
She didn't finish, but the meaning was already obvious.
Lu Yuan looked at her, his tone calm, "So you came to find me."
Laurina nodded, a hint of hope in her eyes, "I didn't know where to go. The Nightwatchers... I don't dare trust them."
Her voice dropped lower, "So I could only come to you."
Laurina wasn't sure who else she could turn to.
Perhaps going to the Headmaster of the Polymath Tower would have been better.
But Laurina had subconsciously sought out Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan remained silent for a while.
He recalled his experience on the eighth floor earlier.
The two "students" rushing out from the corner, covered in blood and filled with insects.
Then the high-level Nightwatchers arrived.
That middle-aged man had said: "This is part of the plan."
He told everyone to "record it, and shut your mouths."
Lu Yuan understood.
The Nightwatchers most likely knew about the existence of these hive students.
They deliberately didn't kill them, letting them run to the dormitory area.
To create panic.
"The Nightwatchers did it on purpose." Lu Yuan spoke up.
Laurina was stunned.
"What?"
"Perhaps the Nightwatchers weren't sure who was being targeted." Lu Yuan looked at her, his tone steady, "So they used this method to make all possible targets leave of their own accord."
Laurina was dazed for a moment, then she quickly understood, her gaze turning complex.
"Area clearance?" She bit her lip, her voice laced with uncertainty.
"So... the Nightwatchers intentionally let those students run into the dorms to cause a panic, so that those of us who might be targeted would leave on our own?"
Lu Yuan nodded slightly.
Laurina was silent for a moment, then asked:
"But why not just catch the culprit?"
Lu Yuan went silent for a few seconds.
"Researching such things is absolutely forbidden under Imperial regulations."
"As for the culprit... they should have other arrangements."
Hearing this, Laurina understood as well; the culprit within the Polymath Tower had a powerful background.
Even the Nightwatchers had to make concessions.
She thought of her mentor's kind face, of the urgent look in his eyes every time he came to find her.
So that was it...
"Then I... did they see me?" Her voice was uneasy, "I was behind the third-floor window at the time, but the Nightwatchers might have noticed."
"If they know I saw..."
"They likely saw you." Lu Yuan looked at her, his tone calm, "Most of the Nightwatchers acting tonight are transcendents."
"Do you think they would fail to notice you?"
He paused:
"Hiding here for now should be safe."
Laurina looked at Lu Yuan, the fear in her eyes lessening slightly.
She took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
A brief silence fell over the room.
Only the occasional sound of wind from outside and the distant footsteps in the corridor remained.
Laurina still looked nervous, but she was better than when she had first entered.
Lu Yuan sat on the edge of the bed, appearing quite at ease instead.
Because after thinking these things through, Lu Yuan realized that as long as Laurina was here, not only himself, but Laurina would also be quite safe.
Time passed minute by minute.
Occasional footsteps passed in the corridor.
Every time Laurina heard footsteps, she would subconsciously look toward the door, her body tensing slightly.
But she tried hard to stay calm and made no sound.
Lu Yuan signaled to her that it was alright.
The footsteps faded away.
No one came in to inspect.
Laurina breathed a sigh of relief, though she remained wound tight.
Clearly, she had been well-protected and had not experienced such danger before.
Now that she was threatened, she was like a startled small animal, instinctively hiding in a place she considered safe.
Lu Yuan knew in his heart that if the Nightwatchers wanted him to hand over Laurina, he wouldn't be able to keep her.
But since the Nightwatchers had not intervened, it meant it was permitted for the time being.
"Forget it, I'll hide for as long as I can."
Lu Yuan leaned against the headboard, closing his eyes to rest.
Laurina sat in the chair, also trying to rest.
Time slowly passed, and the night grew deeper.
The footsteps in the corridor became fewer and fewer until they finally disappeared completely.
The Polymath Tower fell into the silence of late night.
There was only the occasional sound of wind and the distant tolling of a bell.
The moon outside the window moved slowly, its light casting a thin, long beam on the floor through the gap in the curtains.
Laurina leaned against the back of the chair with her eyes closed, but she slept lightly, waking at any slight movement.
Lu Yuan, on the other hand, tried his best to fall asleep; otherwise, his Sanity might not reach the recovery standard the next day.
As dawn approached, Laurina could finally hold out no longer and fell asleep.
Her head tilted to one side and her breathing became steady, but her brow remained furrowed, clearly in the midst of a nightmare.
Lu Yuan woke naturally and glanced at the grey-white text that appeared:
【Sanity: 116/120 (Total Value)】
He glanced at Laurina again.
He stood up and walked to her side.
"Laurina." he called softly.
Laurina opened her eyes in a daze, her gaze somewhat confused.
"Go sleep on the bed." Lu Yuan said.
Laurina was stunned for a moment, then nodded.
She stood up, stumbled to the bed, and lay down.
Lu Yuan helped her cover up with the blanket.
Laurina soon fell back asleep, her breathing steady, though her brow was still tightly knit.
Lu Yuan returned to the chair and sat down.
He had given the bed to Laurina and sat in the chair himself.
He watched the sky outside the window gradually brighten.
Footsteps began to echo in the corridor once more.
A new day had begun.
Lu Yuan closed his eyes, hoping everything would go as he expected; if not...
Rate on N.U.
