Chapter 407: Fifty-four, take his life away.
Hewinia didn’t know whether it was her illusion or not, but today the sun had risen later than usual.
Although she had returned to her room at midnight, it felt like a long time before the first ray of dawn broke over the snowy land, entrenched in perpetual winter.
Hewinia looked at herself in the mirror.
At this moment, she showed no sign of fatigue from a sleepless night, dressed in her cleanest, most solemn outfit, her makeup exquisitely elegant, resembling a lady who had stepped out of a painting.
“It seems you have made your decision,” Bai Wei observed Hewinia’s attire, prepared for her visit to the First Academy, “You’ve decided not to collaborate with that guy?”
“Yes,” Hewinia nodded, “Collaborating with him would require me to first reject the Lawrence Family and stay at this academy. But I had already agreed to Phinis yesterday, and changing my mind now would easily arouse their suspicion.”
“Mmm, that’s a very thorough consideration,” Bai Wei also nodded, “But by doing this, you are leaving the entire Third Academy to him. Is that really okay? You don’t even know how many wishes the Holy Sound Master will grant, do you? If there really are two Seven Notes·Divine Song, then there’s still a possibility of competition between you.”
“Indeed, that’s correct, but looking at it from another angle, if I leave him at the Third Academy, there won’t be anyone competing with me at the First Academy.”
“…I see,” Bai Wei smiled, “A pasture can’t accommodate two wild beasts. Leaving him this academy, which isn’t as valuable, to distract attention while you proceed to the First Academy to collect more valuable notes as planned, is this the result of your sleepless night? You’ve certainly thought it through.”
Hewinia shook her head, “This isn’t some thorough consideration; fundamentally, I don’t have many choices. At this stage, the benefits of not collaborating with him are much greater than those of collaborating.”
Bai Wei again expressed his agreement, then fell silent, still quietly observing Hewinia.
It had to be said, the choice Hewinia made was indeed correct, rational.
And after experiencing so much yesterday, to still be able to maintain the most rational thinking despite a sleepless night, was indeed what Bai Wei had described as a “qualified Predator.”
Cold, elegant, leaving no trace.
But… was it really so?
Bai Wei quietly waited.
When the sun was completely up, the silence of the whole day was slowly broken by the sound of the bells.
This signified that the lockdown was over.
Students and teachers began to attend classes, work, and… prepare for the festival.
The festival absolutely couldn’t be delayed; during the festival period, a one-day lockdown was already the limit.
Hewinia sat in the large hall on the ground floor, watching the students descend the stairs one after another, leaving the dormitories.
Most of them were frowning, speaking in hushed tones as if terrified of being overheard.
Even without hearing, one could roughly guess what they were discussing—the main instigator Cesar, and whether or not he had been dealt with.
However, they would quickly find out the truth, for as they left the dorm, they could see the Magic Barriers erected around the perimeter of the Forbidden Forest, instantly turning their expressions ashen.
Clearly, if the issue had been resolved, these would not be necessary.
And these Magic Barriers didn’t offer much sense of security, although they were effective against the vast majority of Players, could they really contain a Player currently hunting Golden Notes?
Only a very few Players with poor skills felt optimistic, thinking the adversary wouldn’t target them, but this was quickly countered by the fact that more Silver Notes had died at his hands, not just Golden Notes.
At the moment, anxiety prevailed; everyone was uncertain about the situation.
The only consolation was that since the academy had resumed normal activities and set up Magic Barriers, perhaps things were within controllable limits… perhaps?
Only Hewinia could see the full picture.
Exempt from classes, she sat in the farthest corner of the ground floor hall, watching the Hunting Orchestra, just returned from the Forbidden Forest, discussing gravely.
“Why suddenly retreat?”
“What else, it was a failure.”
“Yes, all the orchestras that encountered that guy were crushed; we’ve confirmed two Golden Notes dead at his hands, and two orchestras are missing, likely…”
“How could such a person exist? So what now?”
“We can only hope for the Taichu Two Families.”
“Don’t they need to prepare for the festival?”
“That’s exactly the problem; only the Taichu Two Families can handle that guy, but they must officiate the festival. That’s probably why that guy is so brazen. Given this, we can only retreat, we can’t keep sending people to their death. Everything must wait until the festival is over.”
“And what about the Third Academy?”
“The Third Academy is locked down.”
“Locked down? What does that mean?”
“Literally. Do whatever, but we’re pulling out. Starting tomorrow until the eve of the festival, no one can leave the Third Academy,” the man whispered, “That guy can impersonate others, so starting tomorrow, the Taichu Two Families will post guards on the main roads. Anyone trying to leave the Third Academy will be presumed to be him and they’ll act on sight.”
“…So does that mean the Three Colleges are effectively banned from participating in the festival? Will the students be informed?”