High School of Demon Hunting-Chapter 2290 - 511: Taken Away Again
The sound of explosions beyond the wall had long since faded away.
The vast red glow had also dissipated, with daylight returning, and the birds, calmed by the school workers’ spells, settled back on the treetops, preening their feathers, as if everything had returned to the way it was when the exam started.
"Five more minutes!"
On the podium, the black-robed teaching assistant responsible for invigilation raised his voice, loudly reminding the young wizards in the exam hall, "Since the previous incident didn’t cause irreversible effects to the exam hall, the exam time won’t be extended... Take these last few minutes to check your name and exam number; even for questions you don’t know, write something and don’t leave them blank! This is the most sincere advice from someone who’s been there!"
The slightly humorous remark drew light laughter from the young wizards below.
Zheng Qing absentmindedly checked his test paper, pondering what exactly happened beyond the wall—a Great Demon causing trouble, a mad giant dragon from the Silent Forest, or perhaps some laboratory testing new magic?
He was eager to hand in his paper and discuss it with Xiao Xiao or Xin Fat Man.
But after the papers were collected, the invigilators didn’t allow the young wizards to leave the exam hall.
"According to the latest notice from the School Works Committee and the Professor Joint Meeting, all students in the teaching building, laboratory building, and other areas of First University must stay put and refrain from moving around after receiving the notice, awaiting further instructions."
After reading the notice, the black-robed teaching assistant glanced around; unsurprisingly, the exam hall erupted in noise, with many clamoring for ’wanting to eat’, ’preparing for the next exam’, ’needing to use the restroom’, and so on. He had to cast a loud spell on himself to suppress the increasingly noisy atmosphere in the classroom: "Everyone, bear with it for a few more minutes... If you really need to go to the restroom, go quickly with the sprites. Don’t sneak out of the teaching building; the consequences of violating the joint notice are more serious than you think!"
In his words, there was a hint of intimidation.
Zheng Qing didn’t go to the restroom but sat in his seat, using his fingers to calculate divinations, though he soon gave up. For one thing, his divination skills were always mediocre, and staying in the exam hall offered him little in terms of divination elements to derive any meaningful content.
The school’s order for silence lasted a long time.
Until dusk fell, with the sky darkening, almost an hour after the exam ended, the silence order was finally lifted. During this time, Zheng Qing repeatedly saw teams of school workers dressed in gray robes passing beneath the teaching building, holding up law books and releasing one faint green spell light after another, seemingly cleansing something.
"... It’s said that an accident occurred in an illegal laboratory hidden in the Silent Forest, leading to a contamination leak. A mutated Return Soul Poplar released a large amount of contaminated spores. To be safe, the school organized the workers to thoroughly clean the campus several times."
In the evening, Xin Fat Man returned to the dormitory, bringing the latest news from the editorial office: "Of course, the accident didn’t cause any casualties, and only a small number of magical creatures were affected... which the school has already dealt with in a ’harmless’ manner."
Behind the understated ’harmless manner’ was a cloud of ash carried by the wind.
Zheng Qing clenched the law book in his hand, cursing under his breath: "Damn ’illegal laboratory’... How many illegal laboratories are in the Silent Forest anyway? It feels like each one unearthed is followed by another!"
The sharp edges of the bronze book pricked his palm painfully, making him wince in pain.
"Plenty."
Xiao Xiao, half-lying on the bed with an Alchemy Lecture in his arms, eyes closed as if asleep, replied lazily: "The exact time when the first illegal laboratory was established is untraceable, but according to ’Walking into First University,’ records of the school demolishing illegal experimental bases go back over two hundred years... Occasionally, students have been expelled for conducting illegal experiments... These can’t stop some bold young wizards from sneaking into the Silent Forest to establish their own ’secret bases.’ Many illegal laboratories are abandoned with their owners’ departure from school, while new ones continually emerge in the forest. I guess there are surely more than a hundred illegal laboratories outside the school."
"A hundred? Who are you looking down on?" The Fat Wizard sneered, but didn’t provide an exact number; instead, he changed the subject: "Anyway, speaking of which, today’s laboratory accident does have something to do with us."
Zheng Qing raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Doctor Xiao, half-lying on the bed, also opened his eyes and adjusted his glasses. Even Dylan, who hadn’t fully gotten out of bed, lifted the coffin lid, revealing half of his pale face.
"Related to us?" Dylan’s gaze immediately fell on Zheng Qing: "Mr. Zha, is it the illegal laboratory set up by your ’Seven Sins’ secret organization?"
"It can’t be..." Zheng Qing was a bit uncertain.
"No, no, no, it has nothing to do with Seven Sins." The Fat Wizard fished out a parchment roll from his pocket, carefully unfolded it, and showed the pattern on it to the three roommates.
On the parchment was a vividly depicted black raven feather. As the paper trembled slightly, the feather seemed alive, as if it would fly away in the next gust of wind.
"A raven?" Zheng Qing squinted his eyes.
"Did the school catch them?" Xiao Xiao perked up and sat up on the bed.
"No, even this feather was accidentally left at the scene of the accident." The Fat Wizard smirked, using a sharp tone to mock:
"Compared to not catching the culprit wizard, successfully containing the escaped creatures from the illegal laboratory is apparently a victory already worth showing off... The school’s bureaucratic system is only commendable in this aspect, managing to find ways to prove their success no matter how dire the situation."
This topic clearly went beyond the scope of the evening’s discussion.
Dylan, leaning against the edge of the coffin, cleared his throat and interrupted: "How did you find the Magic Potion Class exam in the afternoon? Do you think it’s difficult? Do I need to memorize the differences between Fox Glove and Digitalis? Or the relationship between Fox Glove and Fox Gloves?"
"You shouldn’t ask us such questions; you know what signing an acknowledgment before entering the exam means." The Fat Wizard hummed as he combed Tuan Tuan’s fur with a small comb, turning to look at where Zheng Qing was supposed to be: "But as for Mr. Zha, he often breaks... huh? Where’s Mr. Zha? Wasn’t he just here? When did he leave?"
"Did you hear the door open?"
"No." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
"Neither did I." Doctor Xiao reclined back again on the bed, with the Alchemy Study covering his face, as if savoring every word on it, his voice sounding a bit muffled: "This is Dormitory Hill, not Silent Forest, don’t make such a fuss... Didn’t he vanish once a few days ago? Probably got pulled by some bigwig at the school for questioning... After all, Absolution has always been active in catching the ravens."
