Seeing the man opposite staring at her, Zhao Wanting said, "Do you want to come back with me to our school to avoid this? It’s terrifying what’s happened here." After a pause, she changed her tone, adding, "Or, maybe we could get a room nearby and not stay at the school tonight?"
At a time , she’s still thinking about doing that kind of thing with Wen Nan?
Wen Nan smiled helplessly and said truthfully, "You heard it too in the lecture hall earlier. I have to go to the Life Sciences Institute building later, I can’t leave."
Looking towards the main gate of the school, Wen Nan added, "You should head back first. Shall I walk you out?"
Zhao Wanting waved her hand, "I’ll go by myself. Be careful at school, and if you want to get a room, contact me anytime." As she spoke, she raised her hand and shook the "antique" Nokia in her hand.
Just at that moment, two students passing by heard her last sentence. They turned simultaneously, giving Wen Nan a meaningful glance that seemed to say: So young, and already soliciting?
Wen Nan felt somewhat helpless, watching Zhao Wanting leave before turning around to head in the direction of the police office.
In his mind, the system displayed a countdown: approximately one hour and forty minutes remaining until his exclusive refresh point would be activated.
After considering for a moment, Wen Nan decided to check out the situation of the player whose allegiance is known [Loyalist].
After all, that’s a teammate in his own faction, and missing this crucial moment would result in losing a lot of important information.
The small police office was crowded with people outside, and Wen Nan easily blended in, getting a grasp of the current situation—
The player with the known allegiance [Loyalist] was still inside being questioned and hadn’t come out. Several other faculty and students closely related to the crime scene had also been called in, while the knife-wielding student was still at large. The school had joined forces with local police to spare no effort in catching the criminal.
In this era, advanced equipment like Skynet wasn’t available, and surveillance cameras were almost a rare sight on campus, particularly at a school with relatively weak preventative measures. It wasn’t difficult for an experienced murderer to escape capture.
Of course, Wen Nan wasn’t really concerned about whether the murderer would be caught—this was a game instance after all. Judging by the agility value of the knife-wielding student from earlier, he definitely wasn’t an ordinary NPC and was likely a player or a strategy character with skills, meaning his chance of avoiding capture in the short term was quite high.
Wen Nan was more interested in seeing how many members of the evil faction could be lured out by the known allegiance [Loyalist] in the police office.
Scanning the crowd, Wen Nan quickly identified a male student standing in the middle of the crowd, covering his face with one hand while wearing a white T-shirt; a short-haired female student standing on the outer edge, wearing a mask; and a person in all black standing by a tree, outside the crowd.
They appeared too calm compared to the anxious, whispering crowd around them, making them stand out.
Just as Wen Nan was about to focus on these three targets, a gaze landed intently on him from within the crowd.
Following that gaze, Wen Nan discovered it was the young teacher, Wu Qing, who had given him a lesson in the lecture hall earlier.
Wu Qing was silently watching Wen Nan, and upon realizing Wen Nan noticed him, he smiled and then started moving through the crowd towards Wen Nan.
Wen Nan hesitated for a moment but quickly stepped forward to meet him.
Imitating how other students addressed him in the lecture hall earlier, Wen Nan called out, "Mr. Wu," and asked, "Are you here to... find out about the situation too?"
Wu Qing waved his hand, "I’m here waiting for Hu, Professor Wang is looking for him. When he comes out, I have to take him to the lab."
"...Hu?" As Wen Nan heard this, he vaguely guessed whom he was talking about.
Sure enough, Wu Qing continued, "My research fellow, the one who acted bravely earlier."
As they spoke, a burly male student exited the police office.
No sooner had he stepped out, he immediately received an enthusiastic cheer and applause from the observing students, as if they were celebrating some hero’s triumphant return.
But this enthusiasm clearly did not please this Hu-surname senior in the least; it seemed more of a burden to him. He forced a smile, raised his hand half-covering his face, hunched over, and tried hard to leave the densest area of the crowd.
It seemed that this player, by this moment, had already realized his somewhat reckless exposure of identity.
Hunched over and taking two steps forward, he was immediately blocked.
"Hu!" Wu Qing stood right in front of him, grabbing his arm, saying, "Why are you acting like you’re sneaking around? You clearly did a good thing, why act like a thief?"
The moment their arms touched, it was obvious that the Hu-surname senior’s body stiffened, revealing a momentary look of bewilderment on his face.
It seemed the contact triggered a character introduction in the system running in his mind.
A moment later, the bewildered look vanished, and he tentatively called, "...Senior Sister Wu?"
Wu Qing waved his hand, "Stop dawdling, and come with me to Old Wang’s lab."
The Hu-surname senior didn’t move, suspiciously staring at Wu Qing, clearly trying to figure out his identity—
This Hu-surname player, despite being reckless, was not stupid; he should know how dangerous it would be, at this critical moment, to follow this Wu Qing if he were a member of the evil faction.
So he stood silently, scrutinizing Wu Qing, with no intention of following her.
While the Hu-surname player was examining Wu Qing, Wen Nan stood nearby, observing this tall, burly man—
He couldn’t shake the feeling that this person’s look and demeanor seemed familiar, almost as if he’d seen him somewhere before...
"What are you still standing around for? Hurry up and go." Wu Qing urged him, noticing his inaction.
This urge actually deepened the Hu-surname player’s suspicion, who immediately backed off and waved his hand, "I have something else to do, I’m not going."
Wu Qing grew somewhat annoyed, calling him by his full name: "Hu Jiayao, what could possibly be more important than Old Wang’s summons?"
With this, Wen Nan raised his eyebrows slightly.
Previously indifferent and content merely to watch the show, Wen Nan was now forced to seriously reassess this player standing in front of him.
Hu Jiayao, torn about whether or not to go with Wu Qing, felt uneasy under the scrutiny of those nearby, glaring at them with irritation. Upon getting a good look at their face, he showed a trace of confusion.
Wen Nan met his gaze.
Initially not intending to intervene, Wen Nan found the situation changing, "If I were you, I’d listen to your senior sister. Going to the lab is the wiser choice."
Hu Jiayao paused for a moment; he instinctively wanted to agree with the suggestion, but quickly found the thought inexplicable.
Stiffening his neck with an unimpressed look, he snorted and said, "Who are you? Mind your own business!"
Hearing this, Wen Nan wasn’t angered. He patted Hu Jiayao’s shoulder, "Just a suggestion; I think you’ll take it."
Wu Qing glanced at Wen Nan, finding this student interesting. Even Hu, who pays no heed to even Old Wang’s words, could it be this undergraduate who hasn’t even graduated yet thinks he can command compliance?
However, as Wu Qing was thinking this, she turned back and noticed Hu Jiayao suddenly frozen beside her, wearing a strange look of seeing a divine revelation.
His mouth opened, as if wanting to say something, but he restrained himself, saying nothing.
He turned to Wu Qing, and his attitude shifted from before, "Let’s go, Senior Sister, to Old Wang’s lab."
"Huh?" Wu Qing doubted her own ears.