Qian Doudou thought for merely a second, then issued a series of commands.

"Implement partial emergency measures!"

"Increase the observation intensity of the school’s guardian array at position two, allow a forceful breakthrough of the assistant’s office’s anti-surveillance magic and protective barrier! Report any abnormal situation immediately!"

"Number three, come with me to knock on the door and deploy the Mandarin Duck Battle Array. If I am met with a fatal attack upon opening, retreat immediately without hesitation, understood?"

"Captain, isn’t this a bit exaggerated..."

"Repeat, understood?"

"Understood!"

"Received!"

According to the emergency measure plan prepared by several guard squads, when the target encounters an abnormal situation, the on-duty guard squad must immediately notify the other two squads, elevate the alert level of the school’s protection development, and report to the assistant group, the school works committee, and the principal’s office.

However, considering Zheng Qing disappeared in the office building—a place difficult to imagine as a target for a black wizard within the absolute core of the school—and that it was the assistant group’s office with an elite wizard guard beside him, intuition told Qian Doudou that the likelihood of this being a blunder was significant.

Therefore, he slightly compromised, not fully executing the emergency plan.

Even so, he left a detailed record of his choices and commands on the task ledger, ensuring he wouldn’t be later troubled by this minor flaw.

The office building was unusually quiet on the weekend.

The two wizards, their bodies illuminated by obscure guardian curse light, resembled two ghosts drifting on the breeze, silently gliding through the hall, up the stairs, along the corridor, arriving outside Thomas’ office door.

There was no The Door God or Ring Holding Beast Head on the door, so naturally, no warning was given.

Knock or break in directly.

Qian Doudou hesitated for another second.

Before he could decide, the office door opened on its own.

It was Thomas who opened the door.

Simultaneously, Qian Doudou’s ear received feedback from guard number two: "The guardian array breached the assistant office’s protection magic; no signs of a struggle inside... is there an open spatial box?"

Actually, upon seeing Thomas safe and sound, Qian Doudou had already spotted the open little box on the desk behind him, understanding immediately.

With feedback from his companion, the situation was crystal clear.

"Figured it was you guys."

The office owner held out his hands, indicating no law book, quickly explaining: "I was just downstairs, and suddenly received an alarm about the office guardian array being breached, immediately realizing the situation... a misunderstanding, just a small misunderstanding... I thought being in the same office with him, you all would be more assured."

Thomas was also part of the guard team, though under Zhang Yu.

"This isn’t according to rules."

The tall, thin warlock at the door spoke with a hint of annoyance, looking at the German in front of him—rumor had it this guy was from Starry Sky Academy, once chased Mist Ship’s trail alone at the North Sea, no wonder his actions were so unreliable—he emphasized, speaking in a manner the Stellarians could understand: "If you intend to continue with this guardian task, you must adhere to one principle—the Occam’s razor principle: do not undertake actions that may mislead the guards unless necessary—otherwise, any minor discrepancy may let the razor slit your throat."

"Very sorry."

Noticing the young witch behind the tall warlock, who seemed to be on high alert, Thomas didn’t argue further, instead raised his hands and took a step back, clearing the doorway, allowing the two guards outside a broader view: "I fully embrace the Occam principle..."

"So you stuffed our target into a spatial box?" The witch outside spoke in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"Apologies."

Thomas apologized again, with a faint bitter smile on his face: "I merely had him help organize some items... this is an office building, folks, which teacher’s office doesn’t have a spatial box? Students who visit offices inevitably help teachers with tasks... I thought being by his side would make you less uneasy... he’ll be out soon, do you want to meet him?"

"Thomas?" came a full-bodied call from inside the box: "I’ve already sorted through your pile of junk... should I bring it out now?"

The German glanced at the two guests at the door and shrugged.

"Hold on... coming down soon!" he shouted back.

Simultaneously, Qian Doudou received real-time feedback from guard number three: "The guardian array detected the voiceprint characteristics, confirming it’s the actual voice of the target."

He gestured to his companion.

The witch shot a complaining glance at the German, her toes tapping lightly as she quietly backed down.

"No need."

The on-duty guard captain replied stiffly to Thomas’ invitation, then paused, easing his tone slightly: "Per regulations, he shouldn’t know of our existence, so no need for a meeting... by the way."

He pointed at the ceiling of Thomas’ office, where unstable curse light flashed along its edge: "... I initiated part of the emergency response just now, thus breaching your office’s anti-surveillance magic. If materials need reimbursement, you can directly inform Zhang Yu."

With that, without waiting for Thomas’ reply, he gave a small nod before departing directly.

Thomas watched with a smile as his figure disappeared down the corridor, paused, curbing his smile, then returned to the office, briefly inspecting the extent of damage to the office guardian magic before again entering the small box.

Compared to the bright office.

The space inside the box was not only narrow but somewhat dim, with only scattered, patchy light of varying intensities shed by a few luminescent stones embedded in the walls.

In the corner of the basement, a long narrow coffin had been opened.

At this moment, a person lay in the coffin, and beside the coffin sat another. Upon hearing footsteps descending the stairs, the person beside the coffin slowly turned, revealing half of Zheng Qing’s face.

"Thomas!"

Its half-intact facial skin squirmed, gradually covering the other half of exposed muscle and blood vessels, speaking in a voice identical to Zheng Qing: "... I’m ready, shall we go out now?"

Its tone was normal, devoid of any stiffness or mechanical sound.

Thomas slowly moved to the coffin’s side, rested a hand on the coffin edge, and looked down at the other Zheng Qing lying quietly asleep inside it, after a moment, he gently sighed and closed the coffin lid.

"Let’s wait a bit longer."

He glanced at the ’Zheng Qing’ beside him, bending down, staring at the gradually squirming facial skin, closely examining the tiny blood vessels resembling antennae at its edge, his voice calm: "There is plenty of night left, don’t rush and make an error... we still have a lot of time."