Chapter 362: The Snare Called Desire
In Professor Hector Wren's office, the fire in the fireplace was crackling, casting a warm light on the neatly arranged thick books.
The calm smell of parchment and old ink wafts in the air, and everything is in order, just like Hector himself, who has always been calm and self-defeating.
However, at this moment, the solemn professor felt as if the flames of the fireplace were burning his back, just like the burning holy light.
Prince Colin's light question was like a cold needle, accurately piercing the calmness he was trying to maintain.
“Can’t we spend all our time on the ‘girls’?”
Hector felt his heart skip a beat.
He is just a scholar responsible for academic and teaching affairs, not a financial officer, let alone a sage with power in the Council of Sages.
He is not even a person close to the sages.
This question was like a red-hot iron, which was handed over to the other party in a calm manner. He didn't accept it or didn't accept it. He didn't know what to do for a while.
Forcing himself to give a stiff smile, the old professor responded vaguely.
"Well... of course that's impossible. According to the investigation department of the Tower of the Great Sage, most of them have been recovered and used to compensate the families of the victims who have been replaced."
He felt guilty listening to this evasive rhetoric.
However, when Luo Yan heard this, he showed a look of conviction and nodded approvingly: "That's good, Xuebang's fairness is admirable."
Seeing that His Highness the Prince seemed to accept this explanation, Hector relaxed his heart, which was a little caught off guard.
At this time, Luo Yan gently placed the newspaper in his hand on the coffee table beside him.
His body leaned forward slightly, looking at Hector with his clear eyes—the eyes of a scholar peering into the mysteries of the void.
"Professor, you know that in addition to being a prince, I am also a 'scholar.'" His tone was gentle and sincere. "I admire you for finding every victim and compensating them. This is an unimaginable act of kindness in other parts of the empire. But... can you tell me their names? Just to satisfy my curiosity."
This sentence, like a scalpel with incomparable precision, silently hit the point.
A layer of fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on Hector's forehead.
Name?
How could he know the names of those victims!
And if you think about it with your heels, you know that the three million gold coins have been divided up long ago. Who will put the collected gold in the vault?
The numbers themselves are compiled, and the list is even less likely to exist. After all, if you make one up, what will happen if the real sufferer finds out that he is not on it?
Even though he is a professor who is not concerned with worldly affairs, he is very clear-minded in his heart. Any statement that "avoids the truth and turns to fiction" is just a statement.
However, he had stabilized the steps, but the prince would not come down, which made him feel very uncomfortable.
The muscles on Hector's face twitched, and in the end he could only turn into a wry smile full of begging for mercy.
"Your Highness, this...this involves the privacy of many students. The school has strict confidentiality regulations. I have no right to access it. You can only ask the Council of Sages. They may know something."
This scholar, who was roaring angrily on the snowy field, looked at Luo Yan almost pleadingly, and even his voice lowered an octave when he spoke.
"Let's... let's talk about your subsequent life and work arrangements? I beg you!"
The implication is nothing more than——
If you want to make yourself uncomfortable, don't get involved with me, I'm just a researcher of virtual realms!
· A professor with a respected position in the Tower of the Great Sage, who said "I beg you," undoubtedly put himself in the dust.
Luo Yan didn't want to embarrass him too much, but he still glanced under the desk out of curiosity, and then he was pleased to find that his legs were really tightened when he shook the bell so lightly.
This switch is very easy to use!
Seeing this, Luo Yan knew that the heat was enough.
There is no point in bullying the weak. Hector is not a weak person, but he is indeed an honest man, and bullying an honest man who cannot help himself is not a righteous act.
He stopped pressing forward and leaned back on the soft sofa again, with that gentle and harmless smile on his face again, as if everything just now was really just the untimely curiosity of a scholar.
Problems are like pebbles thrown into a deep pool. Sooner or later, the ripples caused will spread in circles and reach the ears of the person who really deserves to hear them.
He doesn't even need to know who that person is.
The pressure from the Holy City has been passed on without leaving a trace, and now it’s time for the ghosts hiding in the dark to weigh in. They need to make some concessions to these pressures.
Money and honor cannot buy him, but His Highness the Prince is a scholar, and is full of interest in the most indispensable and cheapest knowledge in the academic country.
Luo Yan picked up the tea cup, blew the hot air gently, and said calmly.
"Then let it be so...for your sake."
Hector finally breathed a sigh of relief, especially the last sentence of acknowledging his favor, which made him feel comfortable that "after all, his hard work was not in vain."
His Royal Highness Colin is still easy to talk to.
And I can also report to the council.
That sentence "get to the bottom of it" really hurt him. If he hadn't lost his temper in anger, he wouldn't have been pushed to the stage by the council to do work for the prince.
Wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, Professor Hector continued nervously.
"So... Regarding the dormitory, meditation room and treatment, although your rank is only that of a tutor, we have decided after research that we will still provide you with living arrangements according to the professor's standards——"
Luo Yan coughed lightly, and Professor Hector's legs that had just been relaxed tightened again in an instant, and he continued speaking quickly.
"Of course! Not only is it a treatment that matches your status! Your work will also be relatively free, and the most important thing is experimentation! Right? You care about this the most! Don't worry, the resources we have prepared for you are the best——"
"I'm not very interested in things that money can buy, but I am quite interested in the things behind the virtual world. You know, in addition to being a prince, he is also a scholar who is keen to explore the new world. Perhaps the profound mysteries can make me temporarily forget about the exploration of the world."
Professor Hector's face instantly turned into a bitter melon.
"Your Highness, the upper limit of the soul of a noble noble like you should be much higher than that of a humble person like me... I don't understand why you are so persistent in the virtual realm?"
"Just out of the blue. "Out of interest," Luo Yan smiled faintly, "I had the habit of looking around when I was in the Janna continent. I must blame my childhood for being full of curiosity."
Professor Hector was silent for a long time and said with a wry smile.
"Curiosity... Your Highness, your curiosity is too expensive. The Void Realm is the highest-level resource of the Academy. Even a scholar like me who has dedicated most of his life to the Academy only has one at hand. Why don't you use my Mage Tower to satisfy your curiosity."
Luo Yan looked at him in surprise.
"Seriously?"
Professor Hector fell silent for a moment.
Just kidding, that is his lifeblood. He has been counting on the things behind the virtual realm to help him break through the diamond level bottleneck all his life!
The lack of soul level has been a pain in his life.
Although the energy of the virtual realm he was assigned was not pure, it was enough for him to slowly climb up along the rope...and this was almost his only hope in this life.
If His Highness Colin's goal is his mage tower, then let this guy make trouble. How many mouths can the Great Sage's Tower collapse?
No matter how dazzling the Holy City's emblem is, the Xuebang Council is not weak and can be bullied!
I really think of myself as an emperor!
Looking at Professor Hector, who was spreading his legs and was vaguely planning to swing, Luo Yan guessed that he pressed the switch too hard, so he took his posture back a little.
"I was joking just now, you don't have to share your cake with me, but you can go to those who have more cakes to get it."
"I don't want much, just a small piece. You can even understand it as a piece of cheese on a whole cake."
Looking at Professor Hector who was still unmoved, Luo Yan smiled and threw out the last piece of bait, which he had prepared long ago.
"And if you think about it again, I am not from here after all. I am just a passer-by to you. I walked away as soon as my curiosity was satisfied. In the end, who benefited from my virtual realm and research? Isn't it you who helped me get it?"
Hector was startled. He sat upright from the chair and closed his spread legs excitedly.
"Is this true?!"
Then he is very motivated!
Luo Yan smiled and took a sip of tea.
“You also said that the descendants of the Colin family are not short of soul level. We are born with the admiration of the people of the empire. Do you really think that I will lock myself in the mage tower to study extraordinary powers like you, just to survive for a few more years? As long as I don’t make big mistakes, I will probably still be a prince in my next life. I What do you need magic for, to show off your extraordinary power with mortals? What you can do with magic, I can do it with just one word.”
This was a rough statement, and although it didn’t sound good, it really touched Hector’s heart and made him breathe quickly.
That makes sense!
Which prince would study in a bitter cold place?
Is the wine from the Holy City not fragrant enough?
Even the knights of the Kingdom of Rhodes enjoy it more than scholars like them!
Professor Hector was silent for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and made a decision.
"I'll help you fight for the top!"
Luo Yan made a gesture of clinking the teacups in his hands, smiling and whispering.
"Then I look forward to your good news."
Hector wiped the sweat from his forehead for the third time, puffed out his cheeks and took a few deep breaths, as if to cool down the hot air in the room.
It seems that the fireplace is really hot.
His eyes fell on the notes on the table, and suddenly he thought of something, so he mentioned it casually.
"By the way, that...about your daily life, because your treatment is in accordance with the professor's standards, so in addition to the apprentices who assist you in experiments, we have also specially prepared six life assistants for you. You can choose when it is convenient -"
"No need." Luo Yan smiled lightly, put the tea cup gently back on the ceramic tray, and got up from the soft sofa.
Sarah, who was waiting at the side, took the initiative to step forward without him needing to say anything, and respectfully straightened his wrinkled cuffs and collar.
Even when she is acting, her etiquette and sensibleness are impeccable.
Looking at the old professor who had no expression on his face but was extremely envious in his heart, Luo Yan said goodbye in an understatement.
"You don't have to worry about this."
"My people, I can use them with confidence."
…
Just when Hector decided to give His Highness Colin a try, in a meditation room located at the other corner of the Great Sage's Tower, numerous ghosts were shaking on the walls made of sound-absorbing stones.
Different from Professor Hector's ink-rich office, this meditation room immersed in mystery is like another world.
There are no extra furnishings in the monotonous room, no fireplace, no bookshelves, only a round table made of a single piece of obsidian and a few cushions.
The only illumination comes from crystals suspended in the air.
The crystal exudes a dark purple shimmer that flickers like a living creature, shrouding everything in the room in unpredictable shadows.
Professor Alister Thorne, who was sitting cross-legged on the cushion, closed his eyes tightly, inhaling and exhaling in accordance with the rhythm of the light changing on and off.
Along with the regular breathing, traces of white air floated out from his mouth and nose, blending with the dark purple crystal, and then returned to his body with a trace of purer breath.
In the process, his spirit seemed to be sublimated, and his wrinkled old face like a corpse also became rosy.
Waiting quietly in front of the old man, the young apprentice Skye stood with his hands lowered, his eyes full of envy.
What is floating in front of Professor Alister at this moment is not some magic crystal lamp or enchanted quartz, but a strange object from the virtual realm - something that even Professor Hector will drool when he sees it!
Just by sitting next to it and meditating, you can feel the surging soul power, continuously gathering into the sea of consciousness like a tide!
Of course, the power in the virtual realm is not unlimited.
It is said that the energy that can upgrade the soul level of ten thousand ordinary people to black iron is barely enough to upgrade a silver-level soul to gold.
As for a diamond-level powerhouse like Alister, the energy required to advance is even greater.
His extremely pure soul is like a bottomless pit that cannot be filled no matter how many crystals are filled in. He can only find ways to draw more from the virtual realm.
At this moment, Skye was like a dog that had been hungry for three days and three nights, watching his fat owner sitting on the table and feasting.
Hands of conscience, he had never thought of secretly taking a sip while Professor Alister was meditating, but he only dared to think about it.
The reason why Professor Alister dared to let him stand here was, on the one hand, out of trust in him, and on the other hand, it was also to test his "concentration."
This is a diamond-level expert!
Just in this meditation room alone, there are countless layers of restrictions and traps!
The temptation of advancing to the adamantine level is certainly attractive, but you also have to have a life to get out of here alive.
He did not want to be like fellow student Milos, who burned everything he had for the academy, only to die in humiliation like a wild dog.
Just when Skye was trying to distract himself and not be tempted by the virtual treasure, Professor Alister, who had his eyes tightly closed, suddenly opened his cloudy eyes.
Scain almost immediately knelt on one knee on the ground, restrained his envious expression, and looked as humble as a servant saluting his master.
“Get up.”
Professor Alister first glanced at the young man approvingly, then took off the monocle with a low prescription from the bridge of his nose and continued in a hoarse voice, "Tell me what they talked about."
"Yes, Professor."
Skye nodded respectfully, and then began to report.
The emotionless tone was like a taut string, reciting everything that happened in Hector’s office word for word——
From His Highness Colin’s casual question about three million gold coins, to the precise pursuit of the “victim list”, and the final unspoken deal.
While listening to Skye's report, Alister Thorne seemed to be wiping the monocle in his hand nonchalantly, while coldly reading the expression on the young man's face.
Without the shielding of the lenses, the calmness of a scholar in his eyes disappeared, replaced only by the shrewdness of a businessman and the sharpness of a politician.
Skein, the "Mage" of the Tower of the Great Sage, is a student of Professor Hector Wren and is also a member of the "Thorne Society".
His extraordinary power is only Bronze-level, and he is inconspicuous in the academy where geniuses gather, but he can always accomplish some tasks that even Gold-level experts cannot.
It’s more than that.
This kid is also good at discovering new people with "potential" and dealing with occasional out-of-control incidents. He is decisive and decisive, never dragging his feet, let alone getting himself dirty.
With such a talented person with both ability and ambition, Hector, the "cowardly, stingy and pretending to be noble" guy, of course cannot keep him. After all, the latter can't even feed himself, let alone others?
Alister just crossed his fingers, and the boy immediately understood his hint and came over in a matter of minutes.
As for why he didn’t take such a talent into his own sect, but left him to be “fostered” by that stupid donkey Hector, of course it was because it was not only more “useful” but also safer.
If this boy is not doing things well, it is because Professor Hector has made an oversight. If he bites like a mad dog, it has nothing to do with him.
even——
Skein himself knew this, and loyally handed the dog leash to Alister's hand, willing to be a dog and a horse.
Alister attaches great importance to his ability and has already planned that it won't be long before some of the huge resources in the Void Realm will be leaked to him, allowing this loyal chess piece to touch the threshold of the stainless steel level at the age of thirty, and then break through the silver and soar into the sky.
Of course.
At that time, this kid should officially transfer to his sect as a teaching assistant.
After all, seeing his apprentice suddenly break through the bottleneck, no matter how stupid Hector is, he should think about what happened.
For useful talents, Alister not only would not wipe them out, but would also protect him and hold his handle while supporting him all the way to a position no lower than Hector.
This is a tacit understanding.
This is also one of the reasons why he, who is not short of money at all, still maintains his old business of "fate adjustment" - this business can bring him far more than just a few gold coins.
He and Skye are both smart people who have been tested by the big dyeing vat of Xuebang, and smart people know the cards in each other's hands.
...Finally, Professor Hector promised to gain access to the "Void Realm" for Prince Colin in exchange for settling the matter."
After reporting the last word, Skye stood still with his hands lowered and said no more.
Alister patiently listened to the report, a sneer curled up from the corner of his mouth, and he said casually.
"It seems that Hector, this stupid donkey, is a little smart, and knows that if he can't persuade His Highness Colin, it will be his turn."
This sentence was said in an understatement, but it also made Skye hold his breath involuntarily and subconsciously tightened his body.
Noticing Skye's nervousness, Alister smiled and reassured the young man.
"Don't be nervous, I won't have to sacrifice you to kill him."
Scain smiled bitterly, lowered his head and whispered.
"Professor, you don't need to test me. You have been kind to me. If you want me to die for you, just say one thing and I will have no complaints. Just...please pass my belongings to my parents. They are things you despise, but maybe It can help my younger brothers and sisters. "
Alister gave him a meaningful look, without revealing the kid's little intention of playing the emotional card. He just thought to himself for a moment, pursed his dry mouth and shook his head.
"This Prince Colin is more perceptive than I thought. He is not a straw bag, and he is not easy to deceive."
But——
In terms of conspiracy and conspiracy, the dignitaries of the Holy City are still a bit weak compared to the kings of the academic country, especially because their naked desires were exposed too early.
This is a common problem among people who are born noble. Those nobles do not take mortals seriously, let alone play tricks with them.
Therefore, the prince arrogantly wrote his greed directly on his face, without even the thought of covering it up——
He created pressure on Hector with great fanfare, forcing the old stubborn man to tremble in the corner, and the ultimate purpose was just to blackmail and get involved in the "virtual realm".
Since he saw the trump card in the opponent's hand, Alister had a rough idea of Prince Colin's next "card path".
This is a greedy and simple person who loves to be in the limelight and enjoys people's admiration, but is generally "harmless".
“…This is very consistent with my impression of the nobles of the Holy City. They regard the academic state as a back garden where they can get everything they want, and treat the taboos we have spent our lives exploring as another gorgeous collection in their wine cabinets. The so-called “curiosity” is just an attempt to attract more attention from us scholars. Showing off their inherent privileges in front of them, and taking some benefits from this bitter cold place back to show off their qualifications."
Alister smiled softly, then turned his attention to the "loved disciple" who was waiting for orders, and gave his order.
“Skein, this new tutor needs someone’s kind guidance. Since he has a good relationship with Professor Hector, you might as well approach him as Professor Hector’s apprentice.”
"Remember, you have to keep your posture low, listen to every one of his lessons, ask him the questions he likes to hear, and write admiration in your eyes, just like you do to me."
"Your first task is to find out his "preferences". See whether he likes rare spellcasting materials, is interested in a female apprentice, or is just obsessed with magical gadgets in the virtual world. In short, you have to find it at all costs. Go to his desires, and then report every detail to me truthfully. "
"By the way, you can help him with some trivial matters, and even meet some of his innocuous requests... If you can't solve it, you can ask me directly." At this point, the old professor paused, and a sharp light flashed through his muddy pupils.
"But remember, you must be cautious in your actions. Never expose the existence of the "Association", let alone mention me. In front of him, you are just an ordinary apprentice who admires the talent of your mentor. I don't need you to do anything extra, understand?"
"Yes, Professor."
Skye respectfully accepted the order without any hesitation, but was relieved for this simple task.
This task is not too easy for him. After all, it is easier and more comfortable to please a pushy mentor than to deal with a fleeing magic apprentice.
Especially now that the entire academy is full of "admirers" of His Highness, and a mere "mage" himself does not look out of place among the crowd.
Let's ask a few questions in class first. It's a pity that His Highness hasn't published a paper yet, otherwise he could have previewed and previewed in advance...
Skin's figure seemed to blend into the shadow of the meditation room, retreating quietly until he disappeared outside the door.
The meditation room returns to silence.
Alister put the monocle that had been wiped spotless back on, and his sharp sight was perfectly hidden in an instant.
In less than half a second, he turned back into the personable and respected professor of the Yuanfa School in front of his students and colleagues.
He had no doubt that even if he stood openly in front of His Highness Colin, His Highness would not have thought that an old gentleman like himself was the shadow behind that "little unpleasantness" and had already weaved a web called desire for him.
He is like a burrowing spider, lurking in the shadows that no one knows...