Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

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.

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After listening to Lecturer Fron's account on what had transpired, Hastur felt even more fortunate that he hadn't gone in.

Otherwise, with his temperament, he definitely wouldn't have entered that confinement room where the dead were held.

If that had happened, he would've been alone outside with Dean Darn. He didn't have the confidence to face someone so intent on escaping.

Who knows, maybe Dean Darn would've stabbed him a few times while he wasn't paying attention.

That would've been truly unfortunate.

Xio recovered from her earlier setback, fixed her gaze on Hastur, and asked, "Where do you think the secret passage might be hidden?"

"If I were the designer of the basement, I would definitely build the secret passage in the lounge. After all, the primary purpose of the confinement room is to imprison offenders, not to give them a chance to escape," Hastur felt this was a very reasonable deduction.

Xio nodded and said, "Are you interested in going into the basement to find that secret passage?"

"No interest." Hastur refused outright.

Who knows what's on the other side of the passage? What if it's the BOSS's secret lair?

What if there are deadly traps in the passage?

What if Dean Darn is hiding and waiting to ambush them with his black baton?

There were just too many unknowns, he wouldn't risk his life like that.

If he remembered correctly, Xio was only a Sequence 9 for now. With this level of strength, a single mistake could mean game over.

"Don't you want to find Professor Wayne?"

"Of course I do. But finding someone requires wise judgment, not reckless action."

"Mm, you're very cautious," Xio thought for a moment and gave a fairly decent evaluation.

"As a noble, I don't risk my life lightly."

Hastur felt the need to emphasize this again, in case these people kept trying to drag him into danger.

Xio pouted adorably, wanting to say, Who isn't of noble birth here?

"Then, wise as you are, where do you think Professor Wayne might be?"

"That should be the reason we hired you, right?"

Hastur's light retort made Xio feel like she'd punched a pillow.

Xio didn't dwell on the topic with Hastur and instead fell into thought before offering her professional opinion.

"I think Dean Darn isn't involved in Professor Wayne's disappearance. On the contrary, it was the professor's disappearance that drew in the police, prompting Dean Darn to flee via the secret passage in a panic."

"Professor Wayne probably isn't in the asylum anymore."

"There are some secluded spots in the dock district that rarely see people. It's possible Professor Wayne is being kept in one of those places."

Hastur didn't disagree with the first point, Dean Darn was indeed exposed too quickly and didn't have a clear motive to kidnap Professor Wayne.

But regarding the second point, he held a different view. He still believed it was more likely that Professor Wayne was in the asylum.

Just because Dean Darn wasn't suspicious didn't mean others weren't.

And the strangeness of the asylum extended beyond just Dean Darn, there were people seemingly brainwashed, bells ringing at midnight, and that eerie clock tower.

None of these mysteries had been resolved.

If it could be confirmed that Professor Wayne had disappeared on his own and was currently safe, then he would definitely stay far away from the asylum and send an anonymous report to the Church of the Evernight Goddess.

He didn't think a Sequence 9 like himself could solve much of anything.

But the problem was, he had no way of knowing Professor Wayne's situation.

If he left and Professor Wayne really was in danger, then he wouldn't be able to forgive himself for standing by.

Sigh, Professor Wayne, you really know how to play hide and seek.

"The police have already taken over here. We can go check those secluded spots in the dock district first."

Xio made a suggestion. Hastur didn't object, and Lecturer Fron also had no opinion.

They might as well take a walk outside and look around. If they really found no clues, they would have no choice but to dig deeper into the asylum.

Hastur sighed inwardly and followed Xio and Lecturer Fron toward the dock district at the foot of the mountain.

After walking for a while, he suddenly remembered the two youths who had just given him important information.

Those two seemed to have quietly left when Lecturer Fron talked about the incident in the basement.

Seeing Hastur suddenly stop and look a bit off, Lecturer Fron asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Hastur shook his head and didn't bring up the two men from earlier. He decided to check out the dock area first and sort through his thoughts.

If luck was on their side, maybe they really would find Professor Wayne.

…

At 7 PM, after searching through the dock district without any success, the three of them sat outside a bar and sighed heavily.

Xio was starting to doubt her own judgment. Lecturer Fron regretted that his detective skills hadn't come in handy. Hastur, on the other hand, knew he would have to reinvestigate the asylum.

Three people, three different thoughts.

Lecturer Fron ordered two beers. Hastur asked for some snacks, a glass of fruit wine, and a bit of white bread. Xio glanced at the fruit wine Hastur had ordered, considered the price, and decided to drink the beer Fron handed her.

After replenishing a bit of energy, Xio tapped her empty beer glass on the table and said in a deep voice, "I think we've gone down the wrong path, Professor Wayne is probably still in the asylum!"

Lecturer Fron leaned over the table and said, "What's your reason?"

Hastur took a sip of fruit wine, eating ham wrapped with cheese, quietly waiting for Xio's analysis.

"Just because Dean Darn has no suspicion doesn't mean others don't."

"There's a secret passage in the basement of the almshouse, so there might be others elsewhere. We need to find that passage."

"The person who kidnapped Professor Wayne is very smart. He knows that the most dangerous place is often the safest."

At this point, Xio praised Emperor Roselle again.

"Very clever analysis," Hastur complimented.

"Emperor Roselle truly was a wise man," Lecturer Fron sighed.

"..." Xio glanced at the two of them, feeling something was a little off.

The three finished the snacks and wine on the table. After Hastur paid the bill, he followed Xio and Lecturer Fron back to the almshouse.

Due to Dean Darn's flight from justice today, along with a body discovered in the basement and the disappearance of Professor Wayne, the police department took the matter very seriously and dispatched six more officers.

When the three of them returned to the almshouse, it was brightly lit inside and out. Many staff members assisted the officers in searching and clearing every corner, and based on certain information, even parts of the ground were dug up.

A total of six corpses had been found, two males and four females, all between the ages of fourteen and sixteen.

Naturally, these six murder cases were blamed on the fugitive Dean Darn.

The reason was simple, if he wasn't involved, why would he run?

But to the disappointment of the three, there was still no trace of Professor Wayne, and even Dean Darn had not been caught.

"What should we do now?" Lecturer Fron asked timidly, as if they couldn't really help much.

Hastur said, "No rush. Let's find three rooms and settle in first."

"You think something might still happen tonight?" Fron recalled the eerie bell sound from that night.

"Mm. It's a possibility, and we can't ignore any possibility."

"But wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"We can call in a few more officers." Hastur wouldn't risk his life recklessly; only by gathering more people could he feel assured.

The only thing to note was that the eerie bell sound might not occur tonight.

If the bell was man-made, given today's developments, that person would definitely want to avoid further complications.

Xio stood aside, quietly listening to Hastur and Fron's conversation, curious about the "unexpected changes" they mentioned.

Could it be that Professor Wayne's disappearance involved Beyonder elements?

Soon, the three found the current acting head of the almshouse, Deputy Dean Bard. After explaining their purpose, Bard arranged for them to stay in the same rooms as last night.

Xio stayed in Professor Wayne's room, while the other two remained in the adjacent ones.

This time, they didn't wait until midnight to meet. After briefly freshening up, they gathered in Hastur's room.

According to Lecturer Fron, this was to replicate the circumstances of the previous night as closely as possible.

"You can tell me everything now. Excessive secrecy won't help us find Professor Wayne." Xio sat at the table, while Hastur and Fron sat on the edge of the bed.

Hastur asked Fron to recount what happened last night.

He had discovered that Lecturer Fron had a strong storytelling ability, boring tales turned into fascinating adventures in his narration.

After hearing Fron's version, Xio sighed, "Good thing you didn't catch up with the source of the bell last night. Otherwise, you might be on the missing persons list too."

Hastur feigned surprise and asked, "You think the bell is the reason for Professor Wayne's disappearance?"

Xio slightly raised her chin and calmly analyzed, "After the three of you returned to your rooms last night, Professor Wayne must have gone out alone to investigate the source of the bell. He must have encountered something, which led to his disappearance."

Hastur had considered this possibility, but Professor Wayne was a cautious man, not the type of reckless person who'd risk his life on a whim.

Lecturer Fron voiced the doubt on Hastur's behalf.

Xio calmly said, "People can't always control themselves."

Fron looked puzzled, but Hastur understood the underlying meaning, she implied that Professor Wayne's disappearance was influenced by Beyonder factors.

Perhaps he had been brainwashed or bewitched by the bell sound, lost control, and recklessly went to investigate its source.

Xio thought for a moment and asked, "Do you remember what time the bell rang last night?"

"2:12 a.m.," Hastur answered with certainty. He had a habit of noting the time.

When the bell rang last night, he had quietly checked his pocket watch.

"Then let's wait here until around two," Xio said, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes to rest.