Evening arrived, and Hoguer found Lu Yuan.
The Nightwatchers captain's expression was grim, his brows furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line.
"Let's talk outside."
His tone was brief, carrying a trace of suppressed anger.
Lu Yuan followed him to a corner at the end of the corridor, where no one else was around.
Hoguer leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and remained silent for a few seconds.
"Tonight's purge assignment has been cancelled."
Lu Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Why?"
"Someone is applying pressure." Hoguer's voice was very low, with a hint of gritted teeth. "Some mentors within the Polymath Tower complained to the imperial headquarters, saying that we Nightwatchers were 'exceeding authority in dealing with students,' and demanded that all purge operations be suspended."
"Exceeding authority?" Lu Yuan repeated the phrase.
"Yes, they don't care about those students at all." Hoguer's tone carried anger, but more than that, helplessness. "It takes at least a day for our reports to go up, and by then, the people from headquarters will have arrived."
He gave a cold laugh.
"They know exactly how to exploit the loopholes in the rules."
Lu Yuan was silent for a moment as he processed this information.
"When do the people from the imperial headquarters arrive?"
"Tomorrow at noon." Hoguer's gaze became sharp. "Once they arrive, we won't be able to interfere anymore."
He paused and looked at Lu Yuan.
"The three days we fought for were cut short by someone."
"Who?"
Hoguer simply shook his head and didn't answer.
There were some things that even he couldn't say.
"One more thing." Hoguer lowered his voice even further. "There's a shortage of manpower tonight; many of our brothers have been reassigned elsewhere."
He glanced at Lu Yuan with a meaningful look.
"Patrols in the outer areas will be much looser."
Lu Yuan caught the underlying meaning.
"You mean..."
"Although the deployment orders haven't been lifted," Hoguer's tone carried a bit of uncertainty, "if someone wanted to leave tonight, I'm afraid no one would stop them."
He patted Lu Yuan's shoulder without saying anything more and turned to leave.
The sound of footsteps gradually faded, disappearing at the end of the corridor.
Lu Yuan stood there, thinking about the next arrangements.
Leave tonight.
He couldn't wait any longer.
Just as he was about to return to his room, he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps in the distance.
They weren't the footsteps of a Nightwatcher; the rhythm was wrong.
Lu Yuan raised his head alertly and cast his gaze deep into the corridor.
A figure was walking toward him.
Deep blue robes and a mean face.
It was the person he had seen while on patrol during the day.
Lu Yuan's hand moved inconspicuously to rest on the revolver at his waist.
The man seemed to notice his movement, and a fake smile appeared on his face.
"Don't be nervous, I just came to say hello."
He stopped a few steps away, his gaze sweeping over Lu Yuan.
"Are you that Nightwatcher who was brought in on loan?"
Lu Yuan didn't answer, just stared at him.
The moment Specialized Research was activated, greyish-white text surfaced at the edge of his vision.
【Target Observed: Alchemy Department mentor (under knowledge pollution)】
【Transcendent Pathway: Knowledge Pathway】
【Status: A fellow who sticks his hand into the sea of knowledge to fetch water; at least his courage is worthy of praise.】
Lu Yuan's eyes darkened slightly.
Knowledge pollution.
The problem with the Polymath Tower was clearly not just the students.
"Allow me to introduce myself." The man bowed slightly, his movements carrying a trace of deliberate elegance. "Calvin Morton, Alchemy Department mentor."
"What is it?" Lu Yuan's tone was flat.
"It's nothing big." Calvin's smile remained unchanged. "I just came to check on a fellow Nightwatcher colleague on loan, to see if there's anything I can help with."
His gaze drifted toward the corridor behind Lu Yuan, as if looking for something.
"I heard you're staying in the outer area? The conditions there are simple; why don't I arrange a better room?"
"No need." Lu Yuan blocked his line of sight. "I'm quite used to living here."
Calvin's smile stiffened for a second, but it quickly returned to normal.
"That's good, then."
He paused, his tone taking on a bit of a probing quality.
"By the way, some students from the Alchemy Department have gone missing recently, and we're checking them one by one. Have you seen anyone suspicious?"
"No."
"Is that so?" Calvin's gaze lingered on Lu Yuan's face for a few seconds. "I heard a student ran over to the Nightwatchers' side; I wonder if that's true."
Lu Yuan's expression didn't change at all.
"I'm not sure."
"If someone is harboring a missing student..." Calvin's tone became meaningful. "According to the Polymath Tower regulations, they are to be disciplined."
He pulled a document from his robes, unfolded it, and held it out to Lu Yuan.
"【Polymath Tower Internal Regulations · Chapter Seven】, you can take a look."
He pointed to one of the clauses, his voice slow and steady.
"'Mentors have the right to recall students registered under their name, and no one may obstruct them.'"
He looked up, his gaze meeting Lu Yuan's.
"Laurina Castor's registration is still with the Alchemy Department. Her mentor is very worried about her."
Lu Yuan did not respond.
He simply took the silver medal from his chest and held it up in front of Calvin.
The medal emitted a faint glow in the dim light, its surface engraved with complex patterns—the mark of the principal of the Polymath Tower.
Calvin's expression changed instantly.
The smile faded from his face, replaced by a dark, brooding look.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Lu Yuan felt an invisible pressure spreading from the other man, as if something were waking up.
He did not back down.
Because at his chest, the hands of the Timekeeper were already turning slightly.
If Calvin dared to move even an inch.
Deprivation would envelop his heart.
"I advise you to think carefully." Lu Yuan's tone was very calm. "This is Nightwatchers territory."
As soon as he finished speaking, several doors opened simultaneously.
Three cold-faced Nightwatchers walked out, standing at the doorways of their rooms, looking at Calvin with icy gazes.
They did not speak, but their hands were on their weapons.
The oppressive feeling coming from Calvin gradually dissipated.
He looked around, then at the medal in Lu Yuan's hand, and the expression on his face became somewhat stiff.
"The principal's authorization... is indeed very weighty."
His tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
"However, the people from the imperial headquarters will arrive tomorrow."
He took a step back, his gaze meaningful.
"By then, the principal's medal might not be so useful anymore."
With that, he turned and left.
His deep blue robes fluttered in the corridor, and the sound of his footsteps gradually faded.
Before he was gone, his voice drifted back from the distance.
"If Miss Laurina is willing to return on her own, we will be very welcome."
Lu Yuan stood where he was, watching the figure disappear at the end of the hallway.
The few Nightwatchers nodded to him, said nothing, and returned to their rooms.
Lu Yuan turned and walked quickly back to his own room.
The moment he pushed the door open and entered, Laurina stepped out from the corner.
Her face was somewhat pale; clearly, she had heard quite a bit while hiding behind the door.
"Calvin Morton..." she spoke, her voice calmer than Lu Yuan had expected. "I know him. He's the Alchemy Department Supervisor, and a partner of my mentor."
She paused.
"They often conducted experiments together."
Lu Yuan recalled the prompt from just now.
Knowledge pollution.
The same thing as those students who had been purged.
"If Calvin is also involved in that experiment..." Laurina's voice was very soft. "Then I'm afraid there's more than just one or two people in the Alchemy Department."
Lu Yuan said nothing.
He had already guessed roughly what was happening in this tower.
The mentors were the true source.
The students were merely their experimental materials.
"We leave tonight." He looked at Laurina.
"Okay."
Laurina's answer was very direct.
Lu Yuan walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain.
The sky outside had completely darkened, the moon obscured by clouds, leaving the Polymath Tower shrouded in pitch black.
It seemed there was more rain waiting to fall tonight.
Lu Yuan withdrew his gaze and did a quick check of his equipment.
"Are you ready?" He turned his head.
Laurina stood by the bed, holding a small bundle, her expression calm.
"I'm ready."
Lu Yuan walked to the door and listened for a few seconds.
The corridor was quiet, with no sound of footsteps.
He gently pulled the door open and poked his head out to take a look.
The corridor was empty, the magic lamps emitting a dim, ghostly glow that cast swaying shadows on the walls.
"Let's go."
He whispered, stepping out of the room first.
Laurina followed closely behind him, her footsteps light, making almost no sound.
The two moved quickly along the corridor, heading toward the exit of the outer area.
Night enveloped the Polymath Tower.
The Nightwatchers weren't the problem; the real trouble was the Alchemy Department.
Calvin would not let things go so easily.
Lu Yuan's gaze swept over every corner of the corridor, alert for any possible deep blue figures.
He did not know if they would be able to leave smoothly tonight.
But there was no better time than now.
The corridor was very dark.
The light from the magic lamps seemed to be partially swallowed by something, leaving only a faint, ghostly blue that barely illuminated the path beneath their feet.
Lu Yuan walked in front, his pace fast.
Laurina followed closely behind him, clutching the silver medal.
The two moved quickly along the corridor toward the outer exit.
As they turned a corner, they encountered a squad of Nightwatchers on patrol.
Lu Yuan's pace faltered slightly.
But those few Nightwatchers only gave them a glance before looking away and continuing past them without stopping.
It was as if they hadn't seen anything at all.
He continued forward, his gaze sweeping along both sides of the corridor.
Then he noticed something.
It wasn't just them.
Not far ahead, another Nightwatcher was walking quickly with two young students.
Further away, the silhouette of another Nightwatcher flashed by and vanished, a youth in academic robes also following beside them.
The sounds of footsteps rose and fell in the darkness, but no one spoke.
Everyone was heading in the same direction.
It turned out it wasn't just Laurina tonight.
The Nightwatchers were evacuating the "targets" on a large scale.
Those students who might have been targeted by the mentors, those who knew too much—all were being quietly led away on this night.
So this was what Hoguer meant by a 'manpower shortage.'
Rate on N.U.
