Listening to Lu Daoxing's words, a smile couldn't help but appear on Qin Siyang's face.
'Professor Lu is still as straightforward with me as ever.'
Qin Siyang picked up the ant, examined it carefully, then put it into his storage box, planning to study it when he had time.
Just as Lu Daoxing burned Hong Liang's corpse, Hong Liang's belt and his armor burst with a "bang," turning into fine powder before fading into nothingness.
Only a pile of Hong Liang's ashes was left on the ground.
Qin Siyang glanced at it. The ant tool was still lying in his storage box, probably because, for some reason, it hadn't been set with a special lock.
Lu Daoxing snorted, "Pretty clever. Just like Hong Liang, setting everything with special locks so they burn upon death. Too bad, being clever backfired. Once you chose the wrong path early on, every step afterward was wrong."
Qin Siyang glanced at him.
Lu Daoxing had been talking a bit more than usual today.
Ever since his wife fell into debt, he'd been in low spirits. This was the first time he'd spoken so much.
Maybe too much had happened today.
Not just disappointment in his own research, but also the sigh that comes with the death of someone he knew.
Bang!
At that moment, another noise came from outside the door.
Lu Daoxing immediately returned to a fully armed state and shielded Qin Siyang behind him.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Old Lu, Little Qin, how are you guys?"
"Old Lu's room is empty! Hurry and check on Little Qin!"
Before they even arrived, their voices came first.
Then Li Tianming and the others, wearing armor, appeared at the doorway.
Seeing that Lu Daoxing and Qin Siyang were fully equipped and didn't seem injured, everyone let out a sigh of relief.
Li Tianming stepped forward and asked, "You two, are you alright?"
Lu Daoxing raised a hand to signal him not to come closer yet, then turned to Qin Siyang and said, "Take out the lie detector first. Let's confirm everyone's identity."
After everyone confirmed each other's identities, they finally lowered their guard.
Qin Siyang put away the lie detector, feeling more at ease.
Li Tianming continued, "Principal Zhao informed Zhao Longju that the entire clubhouse had been isolated and couldn't be monitored, so we rushed back without stopping. You two look like you're not injured?"
Lu Daoxing nodded, "The ones who made a move were Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang. They weren't strong enough and were killed by the two of us. Luckily, neither Little Qin nor I were hurt."
Wu Yu adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, "Little Qin killed Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang? Could it be you've already stepped onto the path of a believer?"
"What does that have to do with me?", Qin Siyang denied repeatedly, "It was Professor Lu handling two at once, subduing both Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang. I was just helping out on the side."
Hearing Qin Siyang's words, Wu Yu looked even more puzzled, "Old Lu killed two by himself? Old Lu, do you really have Tier-5 equipment?"
Lu Daoxing knew that the more he said, the more mistakes he'd make, so he didn't want to elaborate, "Anyway, that's the result. The two of them were killed by us. I thought Area 134 wasn't close to the major factions and would be relatively safe, but turns out it's not exactly peaceful either."
Hao Liang spat and, in his anger, the bit of bandit-like temperament in his bones surfaced again, "Those two bastards didn't come with good intentions from the start! The moment we sensed something off, we should've just taken them out first!"
"They hadn't made a move yet. Without evidence, how could you just kill them? Wouldn't that just cause trouble for everyone?", Chang Tianxiang frowned and sighed, "Who would've thought that Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang, two professors from North Pillar, would take such a risk and do something like this. Still, it's good that Little Qin and Old Lu are fine."
Zhang Kuang still looked half-asleep as usual and said, "Let's not all rest together tonight. Split into groups of three and take turns keeping watch, so we don't get taken advantage of again by people like Hong and Jiao."
Li Tianming nodded in agreement, "Old Zhang makes sense. Little Qin and Old Lu, get some proper rest. Me, Chang Da, and Old Wu will be one group. Old Zhang, Old Hao, and Mr. Zhao will be another. Three people per shift, even if Guo Jiuxiao shows up, he won't be able to stir up trouble."
Then he turned to Zhao Longju, who had been standing at the door the whole time, "Mr. Zhao, what do you think?"
Zhao Longju's eyes carried a bit of guilt, "What happened today was my negligence. I'm sorry."
Qin Siyang said casually, "Jiao Zhijie and Hong Liang weren't sent by you. The decision to split up was arranged by us ourselves. It has nothing to do with you."
"Thank you for understanding, Student Qin. I'll follow everyone's arrangements from here on."
"Then it's settled." Li Tianming finalized the rotation.
"Mr. Zhao, I think Old Lu's room and the one next door can't be lived in anymore because of the fight. Can you arrange another room?"
"No problem, that's only proper."
Hao Liang stepped forward, took out a storage box, and placed it in Qin Siyang's hand.
"Professor Hao, this is…"
"You've been fighting one battle after another recently, so you've probably used up most of your potions. I'll give you some more for self-defense."
"Aren't you keeping them for yourself?"
"Don't worry about me. I can produce my potions in batches, and no one's targeting me every day. You should take care of yourself."
"Thank you, Professor Hao."
Chang Tianxiang said awkwardly, "Old Hao, you're making it look like if I don't give Little Qin something, I'm not even a decent person… but I really don't have anything good to give him…"
Wu Yu sighed, "Same here. Chang Da, you study gods, I study sequences. The most valuable things we have are tools for analyzing gods and sequences, and we've already given those to Little Qin."
Qin Siyang smiled, "Professors, you don't have to be so formal. Don't worry, I understand everything you've done for me."
After a few more words of concern, everyone let Qin Siyang and Lu Daoxing rest first.
———
After washing up, Qin Siyang lay on the bed, recalling the professors' care just now.
In the slightly chilled space of his heart, it felt like a warm fire had been lit, gradually bringing him back to how he used to be.
Chang Tianxiong had suddenly attacked when Qin Siyang was completely unguarded, stabbing him in the back.
That made Qin Siyang feel both upset and uneasy.
He didn't know whether he had misjudged just one person, or an entire group.
It was true that for someone harboring ill intent, killing him when he began walking the path of a believer would maximize benefits, and at that time, only Chang Tianxiong had done so.
But Qin Siyang still felt uncomfortable inside. Even though the other professors hadn't done anything against him, it still felt like a thorn stuck in his throat.
Yet what everyone did just now made Qin Siyang regain that familiar feeling.
After killing Hong Liang, Lu Daoxing rushed over to save him and even burned the body directly to protect him. The other professors hurried over to check on him and even offered suggestions and supplies.
Everyone was genuinely thinking for Qin Siyang's sake, treating him like a junior and protecting him.
After all, they had gone through life and death together. They were both teachers and friends, elders whose every word and action came from sincerity.
On top of that, Li Tianming stood as a guarantee.
People who shared Li Tianming's character and interests, who lived constantly in such an upright environment, couldn't possibly produce someone like Chang Tianxiong so often.
The professors had done their utmost, and Qin Siyang couldn't bear to keep his guard up forever.
"To hell with it!"
"I'll treat the professors the same as before from now on."
"If there are still some really good actors hiding in Miracle Building, then I'll just take it as my fate to run into backstabbers!"
Thinking this, Qin Siyang turned over, pulled the blanket over himself, and drifted into sleep.
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