Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

"Since this place is locked up, Professor Wayne is probably not here," Hastur said from the doorway, forcing a smile.

He had no intention of going in.

------------------------------------------

This matter wasn't only strange because of Dean Darn, this bell tower was strange too!

The sun in the dock district rises over the sea, and to greet the sun as early as possible, all the buildings here are constructed facing the sunrise.

But this bell tower, it's facing the opposite direction!

Its main entrance faces the mountain, turning its back to the sun. That's the real reason why the whole room is excessively dark.

He wouldn't simply believe it was a construction error.

"That does make some sense, but since we're already here, we might as well take a look. Otherwise, it's hard to feel at ease."

Lecturer Fron still leaned toward searching the basement. Although the chances were slim, what if his teacher was being hidden here?

Dean Darn said kindly, "The basement isn't too big, with only twelve small compartments inside. It won't take long to search it."

Xio also persuaded, "We won't feel at ease without taking a look inside, right?"

"..."

Hastur couldn't outargue them alone, so he had to nod and agree.

"I'll lend a hand." Xio stepped forward to help Dean Darn open the trapdoor on the ground.

As soon as the trapdoor was opened, a cold wind blew out from inside, carrying the smell of soil and a faint stench.

"This smell is awful." Hastur raised his right arm under his nose, showing a disgusted expression.

Dean Darn said awkwardly, "The basement hasn't seen sunlight for years. It's damp and cold, so it really doesn't smell good."

Hastur looked down at the clothes on his body worth dozens of pounds, waved his silver-plated cane, and said in a deep voice, "This place is not suitable for a noble to enter."

"Well..."

Dean Darn was momentarily speechless. After all, the man standing in front of them was a baron. As a noble, it was indeed hard for him to lower himself to enter such a dark and cold basement.

Xio glanced meaningfully at Hastur and smiled, "How about this: you keep watch outside, and the three of us will go in."

Hastur didn't reply, silently agreeing to the suggestion.

Lecturer Fron found Hastur's behavior a bit odd, but didn't say anything and silently stood by with a kerosene lamp.

Seeing this, Dean Darn could only let Hastur stay outside alone.

The three of them entered the basement one after another: Dean Darn at the front, Xio in the middle, and Lecturer Fron at the rear.

Hastur silently watched them descend into the basement.

The reason he made an issue out of it earlier was mainly because he didn't trust Dean Darn. Having someone stay outside would be useful in case something really went wrong, they could call for help quickly.

Seven or eight minutes later, a slight tremor came from below. Hastur immediately became alert, tightened his grip on his cane, and stared at the trapdoor.

Something was happening after all!

The trapdoor, which had been opened, was now automatically closing!

Hastur's expression changed slightly. Reacting quickly, he stepped forward and jammed his cane into the door, holding it on one side.

But the closing force was strong, hard to resist, the cane was eventually caught in the middle, leaving only a small gap that stopped the door from shutting completely.

"Good thing this cane is sturdy enough."

Hastur was relieved he had switched to his strongest cane before heading out, just in case he got into a fight.

If it had been a regular cane, it would've been crushed instantly.

Hastur tried to wiggle the cane, no use. It was tightly stuck and couldn't be pulled out.

He came to the edge of the trapdoor and tried stomping it hard with his foot, but still couldn't open it.

If only he had a large stone...

Using a rock to break open the trapdoor would've been a great option.

But clearly, that wasn't feasible right now.

He tried shouting a few times to understand what was going on with Xio and Lecturer Fron.

"Darn ran off! We're locked in a confinement room! Go get help, quickly!" Soon, Xio's angry voice came from inside.

Phew, at least nothing serious had happened.

Hastur breathed a sigh of relief. Being locked in a confinement room was much better than facing other dangers.

"I'll go find someone to help you right away!"

Hastur shouted three times. After getting Xio's reply, he quickly left the bell tower and headed for the central plaza.

There, two policemen were gathering people to inquire about leads on Professor Wayne.

Hastur hurried over, explained the situation, and quickly got the officers' attention. They gathered a few strong young men and followed Hastur to the bell tower.

Along the way, they grabbed a few tools suitable for breaking down doors. Once they arrived, the group worked together and soon smashed the entire trapdoor to pieces.

The two officers, carrying kerosene lamps, led two young men down into the basement.

Hastur still didn't go inside. He just exchanged a few words with Xio from outside to confirm their safety.

After speaking a few words, Hastur turned his gaze to the two young men beside him.

They were probably around eighteen years old, dressed in brown jackets and black pants, with messy hair and rough, calloused palms, it was clear at a glance that they were used to heavy labor.

But when Hastur met their gaze, a chill rose in his heart.

The way they looked at the basement was far too calm!

At a moment like this, even if they didn't whisper among themselves, wouldn't they at least be curious?

How could they be like wooden statues, without any other reaction?

Sensing Hastur's scrutinizing gaze, the two young men turned to look at him in unison, their expressions still calm, completely unperturbed.

"Did you finish your work today?" Hastur hurried to start some small talk, afraid he might be in danger otherwise.

"We don't have to work today. We're busy looking for someone."

"It would be nice if you came here more often."

Both their replies were short, still with little emotional fluctuation, but they didn't show any malice either.

Hastur asked curiously, "How does Dean Darn usually treat you?"

"If we finish our work every day, he lets us eat our fill."

"He doesn't like boys. He likes girls."

Hastur continued to ask, "What kind of work do you do every day?"

"We go into the mountains to mine stone. We start at eight in the morning and stop at nine at night."

"Since you arrived, we only have to work six hours a day, and the food has gotten better too."

The two answered every question. Aside from some noticeable emotion when they talked about being full, the rest of their answers were calm.

As if they were talking about something that had nothing to do with themselves.

This strange phenomenon made Hastur feel even more uneasy, could they have been brainwashed?

He thought for a moment, then patiently asked, "Besides liking to make you work and liking girls, what else does Dean Darn like to do?"

"Counting money."

"Dreaming."

"..."

Such answers nearly made Hastur lose his composure.

He knew the two were talking about different things, but when put together, it created a strong comedic effect.

Hastur took a few deep breaths to suppress the urge to laugh.

Counting money was easy to understand, he liked counting money too.

But liking to dream was interesting. For someone to be known for liking to dream, that wasn't a simple thing.

Hastur tried asking, "What kind of dreams does Dean Darn like to have?"

"We finally came out!"

Before the two young men could answer, Xio's voice came from the basement.

It was loud and full of energy, clearly healthy.

"Sigh, so Dean Darn is that kind of person."

Then came the sigh of Lecturer Fron.

With the interruption of those two voices, the young men said no more. They exchanged a glance and silently stood aside.

Hastur asked again, but they refused to say another word.

Soon, Xio and Lecturer Fron came out from the hidden door, looking no different than when they went in.

Xio tidied her hair slightly and hummed, "Good thing I agreed to let you stay outside, or we'd definitely have been locked up for a long time."

Lecturer Fron came to Hastur's side and said in a low voice, "We didn't find teacher inside."

Hastur wasn't surprised by that and began to ask about what they saw inside and how Dean Darn escaped from the two of them and locked them in the confinement room.

Xio wasn't in a good mood, so Lecturer Fron recounted their recent experience.

The basement was very dark, even with kerosene lamps, it barely lit the area. It was damp and cold, walking through it felt like moving through a sewer.

On both sides were six confinement rooms each, and at the end, there was a lounge.

Only three of the twelve confinement rooms were actually holding people.

Dean Darn led them to open the doors one by one. When they got to the second-to-last room, there was a figure curled up inside. To see clearly, Lecturer Fron and Xio went in for a better look.

Just as they entered, Dean Darn, who had been standing outside, suddenly closed the door of the confinement room, locked it, and ran off without looking back.

By the time they realized they were tricked, they were already locked in.

It was then that they got a good look at the curled-up figure in the corner, it wasn't Professor Wayne, but a dead person.

Thin, young, not older than sixteen, dressed in ragged clothes, with a dark gray cap.

According to Xio's initial analysis, the person had likely starved to death.

Dean Darn probably ran off because of the dead body in the confinement room.

After that, Hastur came with people to rescue them.

After leaving the confinement room, they followed the two officers to search room by room, but even after a long time, they didn't find any hidden passage.

After some discussion, the two decided to come out first. The two officers were still inside with the young men, carefully inspecting every inch.