Chapter 622: Chapter 387: A Different Round-faced Fat Chicken (Part 2)
He tapped his finger lightly.
His invisible Spiritual Power formed a sharp sword, which he casually swung in the direction of the sound.
"Ngh..."
A muffled grunt of pain echoed in the darkness.
All the vines instantly exploded into pieces.
A man who had been running frantically stopped dead in his tracks, as if he’d been dealt a heavy blow, and crashed hard onto the asphalt road.
The fall was fast and heavy, his skin scraping violently against the ground, leaving a long, bloody trail.
Ignoring the wounds on his body, the man endured the pain and struggled back to his feet, trying to chase after his target.
Under the gloomy night sky, a few streetlights flickered. A light breeze swept by. Besides the light-blue shards of Ice scattered on the ground, there was no one in sight.
’Who the hell is this guy? His Spiritual Power is incredible... I couldn’t even block one casual strike, cough, cough. That little delay means I’ve probably already lost him.’
Clutching his head, which was still throbbing with intense pain, he returned to the laboratory with a dark expression, limping.
At this moment, the research institute building was brightly lit.
A dozen or so security guards from Lu University had gathered, weaving through the corridors on every floor, searching for any clues the thief might have accidentally left behind.
To prevent the thief from having an inside accomplice, every security guard involved in the search was forbidden from leaving the building.
"Teacher Xu, did you catch the thief?"
Seeing the man return, a guard who looked like the captain hurried over.
Xu Lin shook his head, his expression still gloomy, and asked:
"Did that person leave any clues? What was stolen from the lab?"
"A student on duty was knocked unconscious. The door to the ancient botany lab was opened, and some plants were stolen. I don’t recognize what they were, so you should go take a look."
"Ancient plants."
Hearing this, Xu Lin’s expression grew even uglier.
He and the security captain walked quickly to the ancient botany lab. He stared at the shattered glass casing on the floor and the faint, cold mist still lingering in the air.
"It’s Mind Confusing Grass, a national Level Two protected plant."
Mind Confusing Grass wasn’t exceptionally valuable to them, but it was still quite rare.
With over a dozen stalks of Mind Confusing Grass stolen this time, he, as the lab’s supervising teacher, would have to take full responsibility.
At this thought, a shadow fell over Xu Lin’s handsome face.
After confirming that no other plants were stolen from the lab, he finally asked about the student who was on duty:
"How’s Loran? Is she okay?"
"She’s unconscious. I’ve already called for an ambulance. Her condition is unknown at the moment."
The security captain led Xu Lin to the adjacent duty room.
Her face pale and her clothes disheveled, Lin Luolan lay on the narrow single bed, her breathing faint.
"Loran’s condition seems similar to mine. She took some kind of spiritual blow."
Xu Lin frowned, observing Lin Luolan’s complexion.
But unexpectedly, the moment his hand touched Lin Luolan’s cheek, her fingers twitched, and her breathing grew heavier.
"Loran, are you awake?"
Xu Lin knew the student was blind and wouldn’t open her eyes, so he could only judge if she was awake by her breathing.
"Mmm... Teacher Xu, I... it’s my fault."
Lin Luolan wiped the tear stains from her cheeks and struggled to sit up.
Xu Lin’s tone softened. "Let’s not talk about that. Are you hurt?"
"I’m fine."
"Good. Tell me what happened."
"You... you didn’t catch him."
Lin Luolan stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake, and quickly corrected herself.
"...The thief, I mean?"
"Him?" Xu Lin stared at Lin Luolan’s delicate face, his brows furrowed as tightly as possible. He subconsciously shook his head. "No, he was too fast."
Lin Luolan lowered her head. "About ten minutes ago... I had to use the bathroom. I got up, and halfway there, I sensed a mental fluctuation nearby."
"At first, I thought it was the security guard on patrol, but I didn’t expect it to be a thief."
"I was just about to press the alarm on the wall when he knocked me out."
After speaking, Lin Luolan bit her lip, a conflicted look on her face. In the end, she didn’t reveal Han Ning’s identity.
What she didn’t know was that Xu Lin was staring intently at her face with a grave expression.
He had clearly seen the fleeting changes in her expression.
A smile forced its way onto Xu Lin’s grim face.
"Okay, I understand. The ambulance will be here soon. Even though you seem fine, you should still go to the hospital for a full check-up to make sure there are no internal injuries."
"Teacher Xu, I... I’m sorry... I was useless."
"Don’t say that."
After the security guard helped Lin Luolan away, Xu Lin’s expression gradually turned icy.
He took out his phone and made a call.
Meanwhile, in another room in the Lu University faculty dormitory...
A shrill ringtone shattered the silence of the room.
Xie Mingke, who was asleep, frowned, then shot up in bed, glaring angrily at the phone on her nightstand.
’Don’t tell me it’s that guy again!’
But when she saw the caller ID on the screen, she froze. As if remembering something, she quickly answered the phone.
"Mingke, I need you to contact our colleagues in the IT team. Have them monitor a student at our university named Lin Luolan. She’s a student from our ancient botany lab."
"If you have time, secretly observe her daily life for a while. If you notice anything unusual, tell me immediately."
Upon hearing the seriousness in Xu Lin’s voice, the image of Han Ning’s annoying face immediately popped into Xie Mingke’s mind.
"Yes, Teacher Xu. Did something happen?"
"The ancient botany lab was robbed by an extremely powerful Extraordinary Being. For the safety of the students and the people of Ludao, we have to find out who he is."
"Extremely powerful... Just how powerful is he?"
Xu Lin was silent for a moment before saying grimly, "I couldn’t even block a single one of his attacks."
"Okay, I understand. I’ll get on it right away."
After hanging up, Xie Mingke had a strange expression on her face.
In those few seconds of hesitation, a faint, sharp pain suddenly shot through her mind.
’Telling my colleagues in the IT team will cause harm to Han Ning?’
She rubbed her head, a little puzzled, but she no longer hesitated. She took out another, personal phone and called Han Ning.
Although there was a risk her personal phone was being monitored, she couldn’t worry about that right now.
She had to dial several times before the call finally connected.
"Hello?"
Xie Mingke got straight to the point: "Xu Lin is about to investigate Lin Luolan. I don’t know if she’s connected to you, but if she is, you need to cut ties with her immediately. Otherwise, the Foreign Affairs Team will come looking for you."
"Also, one more piece of information: Lin Luolan was taken by ambulance to Lu University Affiliated Hospital for a check-up."
"Mm, I understand. Thanks for the heads-up."
"Time is tight, I still have to talk to my other colleagues. I’m hanging up."
DIAL TONE~
Han Ning, who was hiding near Lu University, stared at the disconnected call on his phone screen, lost in thought.
First, he ran to a neighborhood several kilometers away and hailed a taxi back to his residence. There, he hid the Mind Confusing Grass he had swiped and changed his clothes.
Then, he set off running again, consciously avoiding surveillance cameras along the way, all the way to Lu University Affiliated Hospital over ten kilometers away.
Even late at night, the emergency building of this renowned city hospital was still bustling with people.
Patients with nighttime emergencies usually go through the emergency entrance.
Han Ning looked down at his arm, gritted his teeth, and said to Egg Pancake, "Cut my arm."
"Chirp?" Egg Pancake froze.
"Cut it. I need to get into the hospital."
Whether you were a patient or accompanying someone, you had to register to enter the emergency building.
If you’re going to put on an act, you might as well go all the way. He decided to make a small sacrifice.
"Chirp!" Egg Pancake nodded, showing it understood.
It extended its sharp claws and lightly slashed Han Ning’s arm.
A crimson line of blood appeared.