Tian Sheng had never imagined that he, a law-abiding civilian magic enthusiast who never sought out danger, would one day face a terror attack from a grey magic organization.
As an ordinary caregiver at Fangting City's First Welfare Institute, he was now using spell techniques to conceal his own presence, hiding alone in the utility room of the convalescent building.
He had chosen to work in this welfare institute for two reasons: first, because of its stable environment and good salary; second, it allowed him to study magic spell techniques in his spare time.
He had been a caregiver here for five years and his level of research on spell techniques was just enough for him to be considered a beginner. Recently, he had been considering changing jobs and trying to enter the local Abnormal Strategy Bureau.
But, coincidentally, just a day after he had this thought, the welfare institute experienced a terror attack.
The attackers were well-trained, adept at bypassing and disabling the alarms, controlling most of the ordinary people, and killing those who dared resist. They used bloody methods to plunge the entire nursing home into silence.
The moment Tian Sheng realized something was wrong, his first thought was self-preservation—to secretly escape. But he soon found out that the entire block was sealed off by a large magical barrier. Trying to leave was impossible; not only did he lack the time to analyze the structure of the barrier, his meager magic power wouldn't be enough to break through it.
This further proved that the perpetrators of the terror attack were not ordinary criminals. It was very likely the grey magic organization that even civilian magicians dreaded.
The grey magic organization is a general term used to refer to groups of magicians engaged in illegal activities. These groups are often dens of iniquity, home to villains involved in illegal research and criminal activities. To put it bluntly, they are crime syndicates with the power of magic spell techniques.
Such organizations are actually not uncommon, and every member poses a great threat to the public. Even someone like Tian Sheng, who also studied spell techniques, preferred not to deal with them.
After all, the Abnormal Strategy Bureau was responsible for maintaining order in the city, destroying several dens a year and arresting a large number of magician criminals. Such people would eventually be arrested; he just needed to stay far away from them.
He had always believed this to be true, and indeed it had been.
He never imagined that such an audacious group would attack a public service institution operated by the city government in broad daylight.
With the enemy's sudden arrival and their overwhelming strength, all he could do was hide alone.
Although he had a basic grasp of spell techniques, he was far from being proficient, let alone being called a "Magician". Considering the number and strength of the spell techniques he mastered, his repertoire was pitiful. If he tried to challenge an entire group on his own, he would likely die without knowing how it happened.
Fortunately, he still had a sufficient amount of magic power. Continuing to use spell techniques to hide his breathing and magic fluctuations was not a problem, and he wasn't worried about being discovered for the time being.
He was prepared to play it safe, to wait right there until the Abnormal Strategy Bureau came to the rescue, acting the part of a hiding turtle.
But after being hidden in the utility room for a while, sounds from the hallway caught his attention.
It seemed that someone was passing by. Unable to maintain the resolution he had just set, he couldn't help but stealthily push the door open a crack to peek outside.
Then, he saw a somewhat familiar figure.
Bai Jingxuan had not managed to return to her room as usual.
As she hastened to get back to her room, she saw several masked figures in black robes.
She did not know what these people were here for, but just by looking at the complete silence within the welfare institute, and the menacing posture of these people, Bai Jingxuan felt that she should not expose herself to their sight.
Continuing to walk in the corridor was undoubtedly dangerous, and returning to her room wouldn't ensure that these people wouldn't come looking for her, so Bai Jingxuan had no choice but to turn around and run back the way she came.
According to her plan, she had not encountered any uninvited guests on her way here, so the courtyard should still be safe.
But this hope was doomed to be dashed.
For she had barely stepped out of the sanatorium's porch when she heard voices coming from ahead:
"Still haven't found her?"
"We've searched everywhere in this open space where someone could hide, but no, nothing."
"Dammit, where could a little girl hide? Could the place be marked wrong?"
"Impossible, the informant's information is always accurate. After the incident at the Sunset Civic Hospital, the whereabouts of all witnesses were recorded. That child was definitely brought here."
"Hasn't anyone adopted her?"
"No adoption information prior to this, we're currently confirming with the staff here."
"So where could she be? Surely no one is hiding her?"
"We can't rule out that possibility. Anyway, let's send the results here to Agent Three, and he'll decide whether to search the rooms one by one."
After such a conversation, the two of them fell silent. Soon, noisy footsteps arose and began to approach in the direction of Bai Jingxuan.
The content of their conversation left Bai Jingxuan confused; she could only make out that they were possibly talking about herself by catching phrases like "Sunset Civic Hospital" and "little girl."
Because three years ago, the place where she and her parents had met their fate was indeed the Sunset Civic Hospital, and since then, she was the only orphan taken to this welfare institute.
Realizing she might be their target, Bai Jingxuan's mind teemed with speculation, but she quickly shook her head, realizing this was not the time for wild thoughts—it was time to find another way out.
The people looking for her seemed to harbor ill intentions; hiding seemed to be the best option.
Bai Jingxuan was a child of action. Thinking quickly, she silently retreated along the wall, treading lightly as she turned to leave. She had to escape before the others entered the corridor and while she was still out of their sight.
Two staircases at either end of the corridor led to the second floor, and though she didn't know how many of them were upstairs, it seemed her only escape route.
Bai Jingxuan tiptoed up the stairs. But after just a few steps, the sound of footsteps at the entrance of the corridor changed. That noise signified that someone had moved from the cement floor outside the building onto the tiled floor inside.
Listening to the footsteps that grew closer behind her and feeling her heartbeat quicken, Bai Jingxuan pursed her lips, held her breath instinctively, and hastened her pace upstairs.
Because the stairs were wide, she had to reach the second floor before they reached the staircase entrance to completely avoid their line of sight.
Two groups progressed through the corridor with entirely different states of mind, and as Bai Jingxuan drew closer to her goal, the corner of the second floor came into view. She felt as if she could already see the scene of her successful escape.
However, at that very moment, she suddenly felt numbness in her lower leg, followed by a loss of control over it.
Unable to exert force in her leg or climb the steps further, her limb felt like a malfunctioning mechanical part, devoid of any life. Unable to stop her forward momentum, Bai Jingxuan fell forward, tumbling down the stairs.
The abrupt sound of clothing and body colliding with the stairs echoed through the corridor.