Chapter 484: Things Seem to be Not So Simple
Euphilia conducted an experiment and confirmed one important fact.
There’s a time delay in the alarm response between closing and opening windows.
Although this difference is brief, it definitely exists—like a little barrier in a closed space.
Euphilia checked the trigger records for the major barrier alarms and compared them with the situation Riya sensed nearby, confirming yet another detail.
Those two days, it appeared there had been a pattern—one day the windows were closed, the next they were wide open.
She observed that building’s situation twice more, and combined that with the results from questioning the Security Team, narrowing down a handful of key suspects from last night’s list.
The room locations matched her reverse path deductions pretty well.
The suspects were from rooms 217 and 218 on the second floor, 316 on the third, and 417 on the fourth.
Rooms 217, 218, and 417 were all filled to the brim with four occupants, while 316 had two empty slots.
Each of these rooms was independent, but for now, thinking of them as a whole isn’t a stretch—someone could have slipped into a roommate’s room to stir up trouble or they might be conspiring together!
The question now was figuring out which room it was.
With the Security Team conducting full-on sweeps today, the culprits would probably lie low for a while.
Now would be the perfect time to round them all up, give them a little good old-fashioned interrogation, and see if those torture devices could pry some information out of them.
Just kidding!
They’re students—no real harm had been done, just making the Security Team and the barrier folks’ lives a bit of a headache.
But now, getting a step further was tricky. Even if they searched their rooms meticulously, they likely wouldn’t find anything.
Magic is quite the phenomenon, isn’t it? A little bit of time, and all traces of activity vanish into thin air.
Frankly, reaching this stage was already a significant advance.
Yuliya didn’t necessarily need to catch anyone outright; merely intimidating them to keep their antics at bay was good enough.
After all, there were only four big rooms—just keeping an eye on their activities and ensuring the alarm doesn’t go off would suffice.
In the end, Euphilia reported her findings to Beilin and the Security Team, laying out her thought process.
“It’s hard to push further from here; my abilities are limited.” Euphilia sighed.
Beilin immediately chimed in, “No, no, no! You’ve noticed so many details and narrowed it down this much—that’s already impressive! We don’t necessarily need to catch anyone, just keeping the alarms quiet is sufficient.”
The Security Team’s captain nodded in agreement. “Thanks a million, Euphilia. It seems we won’t have to punch our daily clock there anymore.”
The others chuckled.
Running out at night—a real pain! Every time that alarm went off, it was nothing but aggravation.
Since everyone accepted the outcome, Euphilia considered her mission accomplished.
She could finally rest easy, getting a good night’s sleep.
But that night, the alarm went off AGAIN!
The first to awake? Riya.
Following closely, Euphilia.
Then came Beilin and the Security Team.
Everyone’s foreheads were twitching with irritation.
Wow, they sure had guts! This was truly a daring act of rebellion!
They had just inquired about this in the daytime and now, SURPRISE!
When the Security Team arrived at the familiar building, Euphilia was already waiting.
This time, she didn’t waste any time. She teleported here without hesitation.
After explaining the triggered alarm to Beilin, she was ready to roll.
The Security Team members wore faces of outrage; Euphilia’s expression wasn’t any better.
Oh great, looking for trouble, are we? Well, good luck with that.
Previously, it was hard to make progress because they assumed the culprits would go quiet.
And now here they were, practically offering themselves up!
As she stood there, Euphilia immediately focused on the four rooms she had locked onto—16 windows in total.
All of them were dark; it was already lights-out time.
The Security Team approached and asked, “Director, any discoveries?”
“Did you check the specific records of the barrier’s activation before heading out?”
“Yes, the records are right here.”
They presented it to her.
Euphilia glanced at the details and looked up.
“Third floor, room 316.”
“In other words, we’ve zeroed in on them?”
“Yep.”
“Should we just go in and grab them?”
Euphilia’s face turned serious as she mulled it over.
At this juncture, she felt a bit puzzled.
Because two bedrooms in that room were empty, and everything seemed normal where the other two students were sleeping peacefully.
Unless someone fell asleep the instant she arrived, whether they were faking it or really dozing off.
If they were faking it this well, they were impressively skilled.
In the end, she shook her head.
Going in now would disturb a lot of people, and even if they caught them for questioning, it might not lead to any results—she already had a good grasp of the room’s situation from where she stood.
Better to keep calm, think it through, and discuss it again tomorrow; there might be some overlooked details.
“Let’s head back and check on them tomorrow. Everyone should call it a night.”
“Got it.”
“Team dismissed!”
They followed Euphilia out.
Now that they had confirmed a target, most of the anger had dissipated, replaced by a feeling of relief, and spirits were lifted enough to have a little chit-chat.
“Wow, the Director got here super fast!”
“She must’ve been keeping an eye on this situation; I’m in tears!”
“I wish Euphilia could just lead us directly; she’d solve everything with ease!”
“Hold up! She’s got enough on her plate! We should handle these campus issues ourselves, or what’s the point of having a Security Team?”
Listening to the buzzing chatter from behind, Euphilia didn’t pay it much mind.
She was still pondering the recent events.
This case seems a bit more complicated than it appears…
The main reason she chose to present her findings to Beilin and the Security Team today was her assessment that there wasn’t much danger involved.
The students had been pinpointed, and the magic cast in the dorm area was low level—just basic stuff.
This situation was akin to college students at Blue Star using slightly higher-wattage appliances in the dorms—definitely against the rules, but generally, everyone chooses to turn a blind eye.
But now, it seemed like there might be more to it.
If that were the case, they needed to investigate thoroughly to alleviate any lingering concerns.
The next day, the Security Team brought in the two students, questioning them in front of several instructors and Euphilia.
The result? The two flat-out denied everything, claiming they had no clue what was happening.
