Blade of the Demon Hunt

Chapter 11 Returning to School

Upon opening the C-level task details, Amir's eyes immediately caught the striking headline: "Miracle City, Xia Country."A chill ran down his spine. The city he called home had demons lurking within it? He quickly continued reading."Miracle City Polytechnic University has recently experienced multiple cases of student and staff disappearances. Each incident occurs approximately every two weeks. Investigations have determined that these are the work of a C-level demon hiding within the university."Miracle City Polytechnic University was Amir's alma mater. He was taken aback. If there had been so many disappearances at his old school, why had this news not made it to the headlines? He kept a close eye on updates about his university and would not have missed such crucial information.Could it be that the university had suppressed the news? It seemed plausible. However, that was not the primary concern. The real issue was that these missing people had become fodder for demons. If the demon lurking in the university was not dealt with promptly, there would be more victims—potentially his juniors, or even people he knew.From what Amir had observed, other hunters are unlikely to take on C-level tasks, especially those where the identity of the demon is not confirmed. It's essentially a matter of luck.He only knew Zahra, and he wasn't very familiar with her. As for "Kamal," he'd rather not consider it.After some thought, he decided that it's better to rely on himself than to ask others. He should check it out himself.Without further hesitation, Amir gathered his things and left.However, as soon as he walked out of the guild's district building, he was stunned.He was in a desolate wilderness.What place is this?Which direction should he head towards?Looking around, Amir found that no matter which direction he looked, it was all a vast wasteland. Even if he found the right direction, he had no idea when he would actually reach the city.Just as he was at a loss about what to do, a black sedan drove up and stopped in front of him."Mr. Amir, please get in the car," a stranger in the driver's seat said as he rolled down the window. "President D asked me to take you to the city.""Oh, thank you." Amir, slightly dazed, nodded. After a moment of realization, he opened the car door and got inside."Mr. Amir, are you planning to go to Miracle City?" the stranger asked."Yes, that's right," Amir said, feeling a bit dizzy. "To Miracle City Institute of Technology.""Understood," the driver nodded and didn't say anything more, focusing on driving.The car headed south for about an hour before arriving in the city.When they reached the university gate, Amir got out of the car. The driver said, "Mr. Amir, if you don't have any special requests, I'll come back here to pick you up at seven in the evening. Does that time work for you?""Oh, that's fine," Amir replied. He thought to himself that he hadn't expected to enjoy such VIP treatment.After receiving the response, the driver nodded slightly and drove away.Amir then noticed that students at the school gate were pointing and whispering about him, likely mistaking him for a rich student with a private chauffeur. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he lowered his head and quickened his pace towards the campus.However, after walking for a while, he found himself at a loss. With such a large university, how was he supposed to investigate? He wasn't trained in criminal investigations and had no clue how to approach the case. Moreover, the missing person incidents had been suppressed by the school, leaving him unsure of where to start.Aimlessly wandering around the campus, he reminisced about his university days. Before long, it was noon.As class ended, more students filled the campus, mostly heading towards the cafeteria."Amir!" A puzzled voice called out from the crowd.Amir turned to look and quickly spotted a familiar face."Amir, it really is you! I thought I might be mistaken," the young man said with a big smile, walking over and patting Amir on the shoulder. "Where have you been since you graduated? You didn't even come back to visit." The man said as he draped his arm over Amir's shoulder."Heh, well, I'm back now," Amir replied with a grin, giving the man a friendly punch on the arm.The man was named Aziz. With a square face, straight brows, and a healthy, tanned complexion, he had a distinctive and robust appearance. Aziz was Amir's counselor during university. Having stayed on as a counselor after graduating, he was only a few years older than the students. His friendly demeanor and habit of treating students like peers had made him well-liked, and over time, the students became familiar with him, no longer addressing him formally as their instructor."Let's go, let's go, join me for a meal," Aziz said without hesitation, guiding Amir toward the cafeteria. "I'll also introduce you to my fiancée.""You're getting married? Why didn't you let me know?" Amir asked in surprise as they walked."Not married yet, but it's coming soon. Make sure you come to the wedding," Aziz replied with a grin.As they chatted, they arrived at the third floor of the cafeteria.The first and second floors of the university cafeteria were for students to get their meals, while the third and fourth floors were for ordering dishes and had private rooms available. You could pay with a meal card or cash.After ordering their food, the two found a corner table and continued their casual conversation."Who told you about this?" Aziz asked, momentarily taken aback."A lot of people around are talking about it," Amir said casually, "Is it true that something really happened?" Since the Hunter Guild website had already posted a task about it, it must be true. Amir was only trying to get some information from him."The school immediately covered up the news. How did it get out?" Aziz didn't seem suspicious at all."So what exactly happened?" Amir pressed, sensing that Aziz knew something."This is confidential information," Aziz said, shaking his head to indicate that he couldn't reveal too much."Is it very serious?" Amir asked, pressing further."Of course it's serious. Otherwise, why would they cover it up?" Aziz responded matter-of-factly."You're making me more curious," Amir complained. "Did someone die?""If it were that simple, it'd be easier to handle," Aziz sighed. "You'd better not ask too much. The school has instructed us to keep quiet and not leak any information. I don't want to risk my job."Seeing that Aziz was going on about his girlfriend, Amir knew he wouldn't get much more information. Since he couldn't directly say he was there to hunt demons, he decided to smile and change the topic."So, how did you meet your fiancée?" Amir asked with a grin."Oh, it's nothing much." Aziz perked up when talking about his girlfriend. "She's a graduate student who just started this year. We kept running into each other at the library, and one thing led to another.""A student-teacher romance, huh? You've really made it," Amir teased with a smile.Just then, Aziz seemed to spot someone familiar from a distance. He raised his arm, waved, and called out, "Over here!"Amir turned his head to look and saw a slender, fresh-faced young woman walking toward them.As the woman arrived at their table, Aziz smiled, took her hand, and helped her sit beside him. He then pointed to Amir and said, "Let me introduce you. This is my former student and good buddy, Amir. Amir, this is my girlfriend, Lina.""Hello, Mrs. Aziz," Amir greeted with a smile."Hi there," Lina extended her right hand toward him.Amir shook her hand gently.Suddenly, the pattern on his wrist grew warm. Amir stared at his wrist in surprise.That's strange. This kind of thing happened before, but it was always when he met that strange interviewer. Why now?Amir struggled to hide his shock, keeping his head down and avoiding looking directly across the table."Hmm, what's wrong with him?" Lina asked curiously, noticing Amir's dazed state."Oh, it's nothing. He's just like that. Otherwise, why do you think we call him 'the wooden guy'?" Aziz said with a laugh."It's not just because of his surname, Mu?" Lina's voice was clear with a hint of sweetness."That's one reason," Aziz explained. "But the main reason is that he sometimes has this dazed expression. It's quite endearing, like he's still a teenager despite being grown up."Listening to the conversation between the two of them, Amir struggled to stay calm while his mind was in turmoil, like boiling water. He found his own suspicions almost impossible to believe.After the meal, Amir ate with little taste or interest, and he didn't pay attention to what was said afterwards. He remained in a daze until he parted ways with Aziz in the afternoon.He was unsure if his suspicions were correct. If they were, then the pattern on his wrist would only react in the presence of demons. Considering the situation earlier, this would mean that the demon hidden in the university was Lina.But—Amir shook his head, realizing that without conclusive evidence, he should conduct further investigation. His current guess was not enough to draw a premature conclusion. If he was wrong, it could be a matter of life and death, especially since Aziz was involved.With this in mind, Amir decided to take action.Amir pulled out his phone and dialed Abbas's number. Abbas was involved in computer networking and seemed to know some hackers. On the call, Amir asked him to investigate Lina, just mentioning that it was a friend's request without providing any details. Abbas agreed without further questions.After hanging up, Amir headed towards the department where Lina was located and soon spotted her.He didn't approach but instead followed her from a distance, trying to observe her movements discreetly. However, to his disappointment, Lina went into a laboratory and stayed there, showing no signs of suspicious behavior.Moreover, his wrist, which had felt warm briefly at lunchtime, showed no further reaction, causing him to doubt whether he had made a mistake. Perhaps the reaction was not related to Lina but to someone else in the cafeteria.As he pondered this, his phone rang.