Tivian North Suburb, King's College, Royal Saint Crown University.
In the morning, inside a tall administrative building within the King's Campus, two middle-aged men in suits, wearing short top hats, and carrying briefcases were walking briskly down the long corridor. Passing teachers couldn't help but cast curious glances at the two men; it was clear they were not staff members of the school.
The two men quickly walked to the end of the corridor, where they stopped at a doorway with large flower pots placed beside it. One of them politely knocked on the door, and a slightly aged voice came from behind it.
"Please come in."
Hearing this voice, the two men opened the door and entered the room. What appeared before them was a spacious office, and behind the desk in the office was a man around forty or fifty years old.
"Good morning, Director Andrew." One of the two men who entered the office called out to the man behind the desk, who replied with a smile.
"Haha, it's good to see you again, Mr. Buz, Mr. Martin, please take a seat."
Listening to Andrew's words, Buz and Martin closed the door, then walked forward and sat down in front of Andrew's desk. Andrew also poured two cups of black tea and placed them before Buz and Martin.
"Thank you."
Buz and Martin said thank you. Watching the two men in front of him sip their black tea, Andrew continued.
"To be honest, I've been quite idle lately. I've been looking forward to someone from the An Yin Bureau coming to chat with me. Gentlemen, what brings you here this time?"
Listening to Andrew's words, Buz and Martin put down their tea cups. They looked at Andrew, and Martin said with a rather serious tone.
"Director Andrew, we are here this time to confirm some matters with you, as the observer for the King's Campus."
"Confirm some matters? Has something happened recently?" Hearing Martin's words, Andrew said with a frown, and Buz on the other side also replied.
"Yes, something did happen in this vicinity last night. Let me briefly explain. Yesterday afternoon, someone sent a letter to the An Yin Bureau through the White Stone Craftsmen's Guild's communication service..."
Next, Buz and Martin recounted to Andrew the An Yin Bureau Hunter Squad's encounter near the King's Campus, at the North Pine Forest Farm last night. This included the Hunter Squad successfully ambushing the cult group at the designated location according to the secret letter, and encountering interference from a Chalk level Extraordinary when the cult group was about to be completely wiped out. Andrew listened silently.
Martin, Buz, and Andrew, the three people in this room, are all members of the Tivian Hidden Security Bureau. However, their positions are different. Martin and Buz are staff members of the An-Yin Main Bureau, while Andrew is the observer dispatched by the An-Yin Main Bureau to the King's Campus.
Throughout history, due to traditional issues, students at the King's Campus frequently courted death by exploring secrets, often causing incidents of varying sizes. The An Yin Bureau often had to step in to clean up the mess after these incidents.
After experiencing such things multiple times, the An Yin Bureau simply set up an office directly at the King's Campus, dispatching observers to constantly monitor the students' study of secret knowledge.
Typically, these observers would directly serve as advisors for the secret societies formed by these students, guiding these young masters and ladies to ensure their study of mysticism does not exceed safe boundaries. Currently, the An Yin Bureau's dispatched observer at the school is Andrew.
In the office, Andrew listened to Buz and Martin's words with a frown. After drinking a cup of tea, he slowly replied.
"You mean... there might be secret society activities of a cult nature near the King's Campus? They can even deploy Chalk level Extraordinary?"
"Yes, and this morning the police also reported that they found some injured vagrants fleeing south in the North Suburb. The police apprehended a few of them for questioning. Many seemed disoriented due to fright. A few who could speak said they seemed to have escaped from inside the school."
Buz continued to add, while Martin on the side spoke seriously and asked Andrew.
"Therefore, the An Yin Bureau now believes something might have happened inside the King's Campus? So they sent us to consult with you, Director Andrew. Have you discovered any unusual situations within the King's Campus? Especially regarding the student societies?"
"No, I haven't seen anything unusual here. Aside from what seemed to be a shooting incident in the neighboring town a few days ago, there's nothing out of the ordinary."
Andrew said frankly. His words clearly surprised Buz and Martin. After exchanging glances, they looked at Andrew again and spoke.
"Are you sure there really isn't, Director Andrew?"
"Of course. I've been with the An Yin Bureau for over twenty years; do you not trust me? I can be very certain that there's nothing special happening inside the school. There might indeed be some societies active in this vicinity, but I can guarantee they are not inside the school. Weren't most of those injured vagrants you mentioned disoriented? It's possible their judgment was impaired and they misidentified the location. Perhaps they were referring to somewhere around the school."
Andrew said with great certainty. As he spoke, a faint glimmer shone in his eyes. Buz and Martin also slightly furrowed their brows after hearing Andrew's words. Among them, Martin spoke again.
"Director Andrew, you are a senior figure, and we naturally trust your qualifications and loyalty... However, could you please take us to see the student societies in this school now?"
"Of course, no problem. There should be people there right now, we can go take a look together."
Saying this, Andrew stood up, walked out from behind the desk, pushed open the office door, and walked out. Buz and Martin also followed him together.
Just like that, following Andrew, Buz and Martin walked through the school. After walking a distance, they arrived at the meeting point of the Secret Knowledge Society. Here, Buz and Martin saw a group of students quietly reading. This place seemed like a small library.
"Good day, Mr. Andrew."
"Mm, hello."
Some students greeted Andrew. Andrew also nodded in reply, then he turned his head to look at Buz and Martin who were following behind him.
"Feel free to look at whatever you want."
Seeing this, Buz and Martin also began to observe the meeting point. They occasionally asked the students some questions and looked at the books they were reading, finding no issues.
"Director Andrew, we heard there is an empty ruin beneath this school. Can we go take a look there?"
"Ruin? It's probably not that easy to see there."
As he spoke, Andrew walked towards the depths of the meeting point. Buz and Martin immediately followed. After they passed through a long and clean corridor, they arrived at the end of a corridor. In front of them stood a statue.
"The entrance to this ruin was sealed off long ago. It would take some effort to get in. However, it's been an empty ruin with nothing inside for a long time now, completely worthless. Many people in the An Yin Bureau should know this."
Andrew said to the two people beside him, with a faint glimmer in his eyes. The two looked at the Stone statue blocking the entrance in front of them and couldn't help but nod, agreeing with Andrew's words and not requesting the seal to be opened.
Afterwards, Andrew returned to the office in the administrative building. Across the desk, Andrew spoke frankly to the two people before him, the faint glimmer still in his eyes.
"Alright, gentlemen, you've seen everything you wanted to see. As you can see, there are no problems inside the campus. Could you please help report the situation back to the An Yin Bureau?"
"Yes, indeed, as Director Andrew said, here is nothing wrong. We will report back to the An Yin Bureau now. Thank you for your trouble."
Martin replied. As he and Buz looked at Andrew's eyes, they seemed to carry a hint of daze.
"Haha, no trouble, it's what I should do."
Afterwards, Buz and Martin left the office together. After they closed the door and walked away, Andrew, sitting behind the desk, took a deep breath.
Subsequently, Andrew's body began to change. His body slightly contracted, his entire face began to twist and reshape like clay, his skin turned pale, and his hair began to recede into the follicles.
Not long after, the appearance of the figure sitting behind the desk had no relation to Andrew whatsoever. Regardless of face, physique, or skin color, the person sitting there was someone else entirely.
Bald head, pointed ears, ghastly pale skin, prominent cheekbones... This was precisely the Vampire from the Eight Point Nest, Claudius.
Claudius sat in the office chair, looking at the photo of Andrew on the desk, and couldn't help but let out a soft snort, saying.
"Hmph... Andrew Wyne, a dead man's identity is quite useful.