Chapter 169 - 123: The Rat God Cult’s Conspiracy

Chapter 169: Chapter 123: The Rat God Cult’s Conspiracy

The two chatted as they walked, strolling side-by-side toward the university gate.

The afternoon sun filtered through the branches and leaves of the mango trees lining the campus path, casting a dappled play of light and shadow on the ground.

Occasionally, a student or two would walk past in the opposite direction, their eyes drawn to the pair’s good looks.

Gu Qing and Xia Shuran were on another level of attractive, more dazzling than the leads in many teen idol dramas. They were exceptionally eye-catching no matter where they went.

2:55 PM.

The two walked through the school gate together, heading toward a black sedan parked to the side.

They briefly confirmed their information with the driver.

Once everything checked out,

Gu Qing opened the rear door, and he and his junior got inside.

As the two settled in, the car’s engine purred to life. It slowly pulled away from the gates of Hai City University, heading toward the Night Court Base in the suburbs.

「In the car.」

Xia Shuran was a bit nervous. She asked Gu Qing what the recruitment test involved and whether it would be difficult.

Gu Qing explained it to her in detail. He said there were three parts to the test: a check of the Extraordinary Origin content in her body, a Physical Strength test, and a practical combat assessment to evaluate her overall abilities.

3:42 PM.

The car entered the Night Court Base and stopped in front of a large building.

Gu Qing thanked the driver.

Then he opened the car door, and he and Xia Shuran got out.

The moment he stepped out of the car,

the phone in Gu Qing’s hand began to vibrate violently.

He tapped the screen and saw several messages from Lin Tianyang on WeChat.

[Lin Tianyang: Gu Qing, big discovery!]

[Lin Tianyang: The old banyan tree in the woods, the one piled with chunks of meat—the entire trunk is hollow. It connects to a tunnel in the ground below, a meter in diameter.]

[Lin Tianyang: The tunnel is pitch-black and seems bottomless. We found a large amount of black rat fur on the walls. After analysis, the fur has human DNA on it. We suspect it’s hair shed from a Ratman.]

’A tunnel?’

’A Ratman?’

’So it’s true. The figure I saw this morning—the JK uniform, white stockings, and twin ponytails—it wasn’t a hallucination.’

’She was most likely a Ratman.’

’And the reason that Ratman suddenly vanished into thin air back then must be because she scurried into this tunnel.’

As he thought this, Gu Qing replied to Lin Tianyang: [If I’m not mistaken, that tunnel was probably dug by the girl I saw this morning.]

[The way that girl was dressed was almost identical to Huang Xiaoyue’s. She’s definitely connected to Huang Xiaoyue.]

[You should check Huang Xiaoyue’s roommates, or people she frequently interacts with at school. You might find something.]

[Also, the tunnel under the old banyan tree is very likely a secret passage leading onto the Hai University campus.]

[You should investigate the area around Huang Xiaoyue’s dorm building and see if you can find a similar entrance.]

Gu Qing sent five messages in a row, telling Lin Tianyang all of his speculations.

Lin Tianyang quickly replied: [Got it. I’ll personally lead a team to investigate inside Hai University tonight. For now, we’ll focus on this tunnel under the banyan tree and see how deep it is and where it leads.]

[Gu Qing: Brother Yang, if you find anything new, tell me right away. I’m pretty familiar with both Hai University and Huang Xiaoyue, so I should be able to provide a lot of help.]

"Senior, who are you chatting with?"

Seeing Gu Qing standing motionless after getting out of the car, his eyes glued to his phone and his fingers tapping ceaselessly on the screen, Xia Shuran couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Gu Qing said, "I’m talking to Brother Yang. There’s been a breakthrough in this morning’s investigation."

When Xia Shuran heard this, her face filled with curiosity. "What did you find?"

Gu Qing handed his phone to Xia Shuran. "See for yourself."

Xia Shuran took the phone and carefully read the chat history between Gu Qing and Lin Tianyang, word for word.

After a moment of reading the chat,

her expression changed slightly, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Senior, I can’t believe our school has had so many dangers lurking around. This is terrifying."

The moment the words left her mouth, she looked at Gu Qing and asked:

"Senior, I want to warn my roommates to be careful. I’m worried they might be in danger. Can I tell them about this?"

"It’s best if you don’t. There’s a risk of causing a campus-wide panic."

Gu Qing calmly explained, "After all, not everyone is as tight-lipped as you. You might tell them one second, and the next, screenshots of what you said could be flying all over the internet."

After speaking, he added, "But you can warn them in a different way. For example, tell them to stay away from rats. Say the rats on campus have been going crazy lately, mindlessly attacking anyone who gets near them, and that some students have already been bitten."

"Oh, okay, I get it. I’ll tell my roommates that right now."

Xia Shuran returned the phone to Gu Qing, then took out her own. She sent the warning Gu Qing had just taught her to her dorm’s group chat, reminding her roommates to be careful.

After sending the message, she looked at the phone she had just returned and couldn’t help but feel annoyed with herself.

’How could I be so stupid!’

’I finally got my hands on Senior’s phone, and I didn’t even take the chance to snoop through his WeChat?’

’WAAAHHHH, I’m hopeless...’

Xia Shuran was having an internal meltdown.

Gu Qing pocketed his phone, led his junior into the building before them, and headed straight for the HR department.

They walked into the HR department office,

and went to the recruitment area.

Gu Qing greeted Jiang Wanqiao at the front desk:

"Wanqiao, sorry to keep you waiting."

He had contacted Jiang Wanqiao before coming, telling her he would be reporting for duty this afternoon and, while he was at it, bringing his Extraordinary Awakened junior to take the recruitment test.