Chapter 2678: Chapter 899: 5 Minutes
"Never seen anything like this before!"
"Never ever!"
"Even when something major happened at the Black Prison last year and the tower at the center of Lin Zhong Lake fell, the school didn’t issue a lockdown order this hastily! And when the Silent Black Tide was at its strongest, half of Beta Town was destroyed, yet the school still allowed eligible students to join the Beta Town Guardian Force!"
"So, something big must have happened!"
The stick figure behind the door loudly analyzed without reservation — unlike the students temporarily staying in the classroom, the stick figure could travel between different classrooms and study rooms on the white paper, so it was much more informed — It cheerfully scared the young wizards in the classroom: "The whole school is in chaos right now! All the patrol armors have been released from Alpha Castle, making loud clattering noises, the corridors are rumbling, and all student hunting teams have been urgently gathered..."
"What about our college?"
A warlock immediately complained loudly: "The college isn’t notifying us, what about the Student Council? What about the Sacred Will? Surely our hunting team isn’t inferior to Alpha’s!"
The last sentence immediately drew many agreements.
Someone nearby hesitated and said, "The notification means we should leave the teaching building orderly, not leave the campus, report the names of students still in the Silent Forest, but it didn’t mention gathering hunting teams..."
"Standard bookworm!"
The stick figure stomped its foot hard, exhibiting a heartbroken expression: "Just follow the teachers’ words blindly without any initiative! I’m telling you, I’ve been at this school for years, and I’ve never seen a notice like today! Only in extremely urgent special situations could the Assistant Team bypass the school and issue such an order directly... What kind of special situation could it be? If it’s not a rampaging great demon appearing near the school, then it’s definitely an ancient seal of an evil god in the Silent Forest that’s been broken! Even with so many explosions in the school lab, there hasn’t been such an order..."
"Well, in the final exams last semester, an illegal laboratory outside the school exploded, and we were temporarily locked down... Does that count as an extremely urgent special situation?"
"No, that order was jointly issued by the Professor Joint Meeting and the School Works Committee; the Assistant Team was just the executor, unlike this time, the lockdown order was issued directly by the Assistant Team!"
"Does the Assistant Team have such authority?"
"They are responsible for maintaining the Protect Legal Formation of the school, so they probably do..."
"Is Brother Qing here? Isn’t he an assistant? He should know!"
"Don’t bother looking; I noticed as soon as the Assistant Team’s mark appeared... Not only is Zheng Qing not here, but Xiao Xiao and Zhang Ji Xin are also missing. They must know something..."
Listening to his classmates’ heated discussions, Zheng Qing, quietly hiding invisibly in the corner, felt quite speechless.
Originally, he planned to quietly take off his invisibility talisman amidst the chaos, but it seemed that if he showed himself, he would be immediately grabbed and questioned about what happened outside.
Considering the big elves’ commotion hadn’t settled yet, being surrounded at this moment was unwise.
A scent of fragrance wafted in.
Jiang Yu appeared in the corner holding a notepad, her gaze sweeping over the three empty seats, pausing briefly at Zheng Qing’s desk, then turning to look at Xin Fat Man.
"Where are Xiao Xiao and Zhang Ji Xin?" she asked succinctly.
"I don’t know... Why don’t you ask where Brother Qing has gone? Did you two have a fight?" The Fat Wizard half-hid his head behind the newspaper, glancing at the witch with a somewhat sneaky tone.
Apparently, Friday night’s dorm room 403 chat had left a deep impression on him.
Zheng Qing’s foot extended under the table and gave a hard kick to the Fat Man’s backside, but it was like kicking into a ball of cotton, without the slightest reaction.
The witch raised her eyebrows and glanced nonchalantly in Zheng Qing’s direction, chuckling softly: "He can go wherever he wants; I just need to know he’s not in the Silent Forest... So, you don’t know if Xiao Xiao and Zhang Ji Xin are in the Silent Forest, right?"
While speaking, she quickly drew a few lines on the notepad: "...We’re just conducting a preliminary count, and the Student Council might organize a more detailed investigation later on."
"Cough, cough!"
A familiar cough suddenly echoed in the classroom, and many, including Jiang Yu, turned their heads in surprise, looking at the blurry figure reappearing behind the podium, waving happily at everyone.
It was Old Yao.
Though his face and figure were blurry at the moment, it was clearly just a projection appearing in the classroom.
"Apologies, I’m still outside, busy with other things, unable to return to the school temporarily."
The hand he waved held a pipe as usual, the bluish-white smoke turning gray-black in the projection, yet still clearly visible in wisps and strands:
"...I just inquired with the Assistant Team about that lockdown order, there’s been a minor accident in the Silent Forest, hmm, no need to worry, the situation isn’t that serious, it’s just that the Assistant Team responded a bit too vigorously, but it’s for your own good. As for the class meeting, since everyone hasn’t left yet, let’s continue, it’s fine to have a class meeting. The library and study room can also be used, closing at regular times just as usual. No problem..."
Zheng Qing took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time.
It had only been five minutes since the firebird from the Assistant Team notified about the lockdown.
Arguably the shortest lockdown he knew of in terms of received time.
"...Of course, it’s still necessary to investigate who is currently in the Silent Forest," behind the podium, Old Yao continued maintaining the Assistant Team’s face, nodding respectively to Jiang Yu and Liu Fei Fei as they conducted checks in different corners of the classroom: "After all, the woods can be dangerous, and it’s night time now... Speaking of dangers in the woods, I recall the class meeting today is supposed to discuss the Spring Hunting, correct?"
He looked towards Liu Fei Fei.
"Yes," Liu Fei Fei’s slightly weak voice was heard from the other side: "Next Saturday and Sunday we are supposed to conduct this year’s Spring Hunting, and it was originally planned to announce the guide for safe hunting practices at the class meeting..."
"Then proceed as planned." Old Yao nodded, snapped his fingers, causing the wide curtains to open with a swoosh, revealing the deep night outside. He seemed to want to say something more but suddenly turned towards the door.
The stick figure behind the door shrunk into a ball, pretending to be asleep.
The next second, the classroom door was pushed open with force.
"Received the latest notice from the school... Professor?" Tang Dun’s frantic voice came to a sudden halt upon seeing the figure behind the podium, turning somewhat stammering: "I, I just, I was just..."
"Have a seat, it’s okay, come in and sit down."
Old Yao waved, signaling: "And for those few latecomers behind you, come in too, the class meeting will proceed normally, I’ve already informed everyone... The main topic of tonight’s class meeting is the guide for safe practices during the Spring Hunting, and you’ve arrived just in time!"
