428: Chapter 414 (Anti-theft Chapter) (Main text will be updated in one hour)

"Ha—ha—"

Two figures, one large and one small, leaned against the corridor wall, gasping for breath.

Misha wiped the sweat from her forehead, moved a few steps toward the corner, and carefully poked her head out.

Wino clutched his violently heaving chest with his right hand: "Is... is it, is it coming?"

"Probably not." After confirming the Three-headed Dog wasn't chasing them, she let out a deep breath and pulled back behind the wall.

Hearing this, Wino's grim expression relaxed. He looked down at the young girl's head: "Didn't I tell you to run? Why did you come back?"

"Tch." Misha rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If you hadn't been frozen in fear and had coordinated with me to cast magic, maybe we could have..."

"I'm asking—" Wino raised his voice, then suddenly remembered the Three-headed Dog might be wandering nearby and lowered it again, "Why did you come back?"

"?"

Misha looked up at him in confusion, thought for a moment, and then realized: "As a student of Hogwarts, it is my duty to protect the weak."

Wino's thoughts were somewhat dazed. He knew Misha was clever and sharp, but he found it hard to imagine where a child barely ten years old got the courage to face a terrifying monster, especially after having already escaped danger.

After a long silence, Wino suddenly pressed down on her head: "I am not weak."

"Please, out of the five of us, my test scores are first every single time!"

Smiling, Wino straightened up and walked deeper into the corridor: "That's because I held back my strength during every test."

"Hah." Misha smiled disdainfully and followed behind him. "Students at the bottom of the rankings always make excuses like that. Mm, no exceptions."

"Hahaha, we can compare during the next exam."

"Compare exam scores? Misha won't lose!"

"Is that so?"

"Of course!" As if to bolster the credibility of her declaration, she quickened her pace to walk side-by-side with Wino.

After chatting and walking for about half an hour, the two suddenly noticed several dark silhouettes appearing in the gloom of the corridor ahead.

The two became alert, reaching into their sleeves to pull out their teaching rod staffs. However, as the approaching figures became clearer, they were pleasantly surprised to find it was Ryan's trio.

Reunited with his teammates, the faint unease in Wino's heart—having nearly died in the monster's jaws—finally receded.

"Ryan."

"Eh? Wino?"

After confirming each other's identities, they turned on their flashlights and walked toward one another.

Once they met, Ryan looked over the disheveled clothes of the tall and short pair with confusion: "You guys... were you attacked by a Lurker?"

"Half right." Wino spread his hands.

"What do you mean?"

Misha helped explain: "Wino found a secret hall, and after entering, we encountered a magical creature."

"Which kind?"

"A Three-headed Dog."

Leon was startled: "I remember that thing is very strong. You're lucky to have escaped!"

Klaisi asked curiously: "Based on its performance in the original work, it didn't seem that powerful, did it?"

"You guy." Leon chided him somewhat helplessly and then said, "The Magical Creature Encyclopedia in the library has a detailed introduction."

The Three-headed Dog is a Elementary magical creature. Besides its natural physical strength, it also masters several types of offensive magic."

After hearing this, Ryan asked in surprise: "How did you escape?"

"We..." Wino paused for a few seconds. "Our luck was good. That fellow was quite cautious and didn't attack with full force right away, but tried to test our depth first. We took the chance to escape, and afterward..."

"For some unknown reason, it didn't chase us."

Misha gave him a strange look but didn't say anything more.

"Uh, maybe its goal is to escape the basement," Leon said.

"Very likely."

"It probably knows the way out. If it really escapes..."

"Don't worry, the academy has guards patrolling all day, and professors and teachers will be on duty. It will eventually be locked back in the hall."

Wino scratched his cheek: "I'm more interested in why it was locked in the hall in the first place."

"We can ask the teachers after this is over. Right now, we need to save people."

"Speaking of saving people." Wino's gaze swept over the three of them. "Did you guys have any luck on your end?"

"Regrettably, we've only seen walls and stone paths all the way."

"Is that so... things have become troublesome."

"Hmm?"

"We started from opposite directions and then met face-to-face with no forks in the road. This means we've already walked through all the corridors of the basement."

Leon and Klaisi were a beat slow to react, rubbing the backs of their heads as they thought. Misha seemed to realize something but just stood to the side.

Ryan understood immediately: "In other words, if the person who kidnapped Madam Louisa is indeed in the basement, they must be hiding in a secret room similar to the one holding the Three-headed Dog?"

"I can't think of any other possibility."

Ryan's expression turned grave.

If it was truly as analyzed, then things hadn't just become troublesome—they were a major problem.

Based on their walking speed, they estimated the total length of the corridors to be at least several thousand meters. The switch for a secret room entrance could be any random stone brick along those thousands of meters of wall.

Since there were no clues, the only way to find the switch was a comprehensive search, without missing a single brick.

Setting aside whether the five of them could finish the job before the academy caught them, the time required for the process alone would be enough for the culprit to kill Madam Louisa ten thousand times over.

By now, Leon also realized where the difficulty lay and couldn't help but scan the walls on both sides with a tingling scalp: "Do we really have to search brick by brick?"

"How is that even possible?" Klaisi said in disbelief, looking at Wino's serious, considering expression.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Ryan said as he walked to the wall and raised his hand to tap on it, thinking that perhaps Lady Luck would favor him and the entrance switch would be the very brick he tapped.

Regrettably, Lady Luck seemed to be on vacation today. He tapped for a long time, but the wall showed no reaction. Misha also wanted to try her luck, walking a bit further away and starting to tap the wall as well.

Wino laughed in spite of himself and waved to stop them: "Don't be silly. Um... I already have a bit of a lead."

"Really?"

The four of them were heartened and gathered around him, looking at him with faces full of expectation.

Wino pondered for a few seconds. Instead of explaining directly, he looked at Misha and asked a question that seemed completely unrelated to solving their predicament: "Misha, do you think the Three-headed Dog is ferocious?"

"Of course!" Recalling the Three-headed Dog's terrifying aura, her previous courage vanished without a trace. She said with some lingering fear, "I felt like if our escape was even a second slower, it would have lunged and torn us to pieces!"

"Exactly. That fellow was clearly starving and couldn't wait to have a full meal. So, why did it give up on chasing us?"

Misha was stunned for a moment: "It wanted to escape the basement first before looking for food?"

"Is that so?"

Based on its pouncing speed, calculate how long it would have taken to catch us?"

"Uh, a minute... half a minute, ten seconds."

Wino looked at Misha sideways. She awkwardly rubbed her hands: "Fine, it should have caught us by the time we reached the exit."

"So, what's the reason?"

"No matter how anxious it was to escape to the surface, it wouldn't care about wasting less than a second's gap to bite its prey to death, right?" Wino seemed to be speaking to the four of them, yet also as if to himself.

Ryan's eyes lit up with insight: "There's only one possibility. There was something nearby with an even stronger attraction—so strong that it wasn't willing to waste even a second on you."

"Exactly." Wino smiled and scanned the four of them. "What could that thing be? Or rather, who else is in the basement?"

Leon grasped the key point and grabbed his arm with slight excitement: "Since we have a direction, what are we waiting for?"

Slapping his hand away, Wino spoke to soothe him: "Calm down. We can't just rush in recklessly. You have to realize that the Three-headed Dog could easily take out all five of us."

"You plan to wait for the Three-headed Dog and the Lurker to start fighting?" Ryan asked tentatively.

"No." Wino shook his head. "If they fight, no matter which side wins, we won't be their match."

Klaisi felt confused: "Then—"

Mid-sentence, Misha interrupted directly: "Find where the Lurker is hiding, and then report to the teachers?"

"Smart," Wino praised with a smile.

"How do we execute this?" Leon asked urgently.

Wino looked at him: "Simple. One person takes the lead to find the secret room, while the other four follow behind, spaced out, maintaining distance as they advance together."

"The first person will take a photo of the Lurker with their Mobile Phone upon seeing the room. If they aren't discovered, they quietly retreat to report to the teachers. If they are noticed... then they can only throw the phone to the person behind them, and all five of us run for the exit together."

"The Lurker will definitely give chase. Once the person at the end of the line is caught, they throw the phone to the person in front, and so on, until a survivor escapes the basement, or... we are all wiped out."

When he reached the last few words, his tone was exceptionally low. Leon and Klaisi felt a surge of unease.

Ryan didn't overthink it. After considering for a moment, he deemed the plan feasible and nodded immediately: "Time is urgent. We leave now."

"Wino, I'll be the first one. You're responsible for—"

"No, I'll be first."

The four of them simultaneously cast stunned glances at him, clearly shocked and somewhat confused by Wino's initiative to take the most dangerous position.

After all, they had been together for over a year. While saying they knew each other inside out would be an exaggeration, they were somewhat familiar with each other's characters.

Especially Klaisi, who followed Wino long-term; out of the four, he was the most incredulous. In his impression, Wino's personality couldn't be associated with words like 'sacrifice,' 'dedication,' or 'selflessness' in any way.

The only thing that could make Wino take a risk voluntarily was profit.

Was there profit in being the first to face a pursuit while escaping?

Klaisi's logic made a judgment—no. The enemy was incredibly powerful, and the person responsible for scouting the room could very likely be killed instantly. Perhaps there were indeed rich rewards for this position, but if one lost their life, what meaning would even the richest rewards have?

Wino didn't care at all about everyone's strong reaction. He simply said, "Any objections?"

Ryan hesitated for a moment and suggested, "Let me be first."

"If you stayed silent all this time just for that, we'd better stop wasting time and set out quickly. Madam Louisa is in extreme danger."

After speaking, he ordered the five of them according to their respective speeds and turned to walk toward the secret hall. The four behind him maintained their spacing and began to march together.

Misha, in the third position, leaned her body slightly as she walked, gazing at Wino's broad back.

"Compared to Uncle Ryan, hmm... it's a different feeling."

Misha possessed the rationality of an adult, yet she hadn't discarded the sharp intuition unique to a child.

In her perception, Ryan was a reliable adult, as steady and reassuring as a sturdy harbor.

Wino, on the other hand, was a tent swaying in a violent storm; he seemed able to shield her from all wind and rain, yet also seemed as if he might be blown away by the gale in the next second, abandoning her.

Before today, this was Misha's impression of him.

Now, something had changed.

Misha's eyes showed confusion.

If Wino's giving up on struggling to buy her time to escape during the Three-headed Dog's attack was because he had already been targeted, then why was he voluntarily asking to take the greatest risk now?

Unable to think of an answer, she could only wait until the matter was over to ask Wino for the solution.

Understanding the danger level of the mission, the five of them moved forward in heavy silence. As they approached the secret hall where the Three-headed Dog had been imprisoned, their steps became cautious and silent.

Upon reaching the entrance of the secret hall, Wino, who was leading the way, pressed himself against the wall and poked his head out, carefully peering at the situation inside.

The stone path leading deep inside was scattered with several puddles and debris from the Three-headed Dog's escape. The Three-headed Dog itself was nowhere to be seen, and the iron chains that had bound it were also gone.

The collar didn't break; did it drag the chains away?

Wino recalled the scene of being pounced on by the Three-headed Dog and realized he had been too focused on its heads to notice if the collar on its neck was broken. He scanned the area for a long while and finally confirmed his deduction was accurate.

"Good news." He smiled silently and whispered to himself.

Based on this information, it could be inferred that while the Three-headed Dog was moving, the iron chains would inevitably make dragging noises on the ground.

The sound might not be very loud, but in the quiet basement, it could surely be heard clearly from a hundred meters away.

This way, they didn't have to worry about being ambushed, and they could efficiently search for its tracks through the sound of the chains rubbing against the stone slabs.

Wino cleared his thoughts and, while walking forward, waved his hand behind him to signal for the mission to continue.

The four behind him took a look inside the moment they passed the hall entrance. Misha quickly thought of this point, while the other three, not knowing the details of the previous attack, didn't make the connection.

The five continued walking for a few minutes when Wino suddenly raised his hand. The four immediately braked, freezing in place.

Wino tilted his ear slightly, carefully searching for the faint friction sound that had just flashed by.

Three seconds later, he found his actions somewhat redundant.

"Roar—"

A defiant roar echoed through the corridor. Wino took a few seconds to determine the source and ran toward it, with the other four quickly following suit.

"Bang—"

A heavy object crashed out from inside a nearby wall. Dust spread, and combined with the already dim light, the five could not see clearly what had happened.

However, they soon found out.

"Roar—"

The Three-headed Dog jumped up from the broken bricks, shaking its body to fling off the stone chips and dust clinging to its fur. It let out a wild roar toward the ceiling and then rushed toward the gap it had smashed in the wall.

"Quick!" Wino ran over, while simultaneously urging the stunned four behind him.