CHAPTER 1982: CHAPTER 203: NIGHTTIME VISIT

"It has been three months since the last Black Tide."

"On Buji Island, from the O’Brien Mansion to the North District dock, from the Green Grocery to the Yang Paineer Hotel, the damage brought by that Black Tide still hasn’t fully dissipated throughout the streets and alleys of Beta Town."

"’Prices for living frogs have increased by 120 percent compared to a month ago,’ said Witch Marilyn Curie, who married into the North District, waving her arms fiercely at reporters, ’Originally, Gini Cottage had agreed to let us use mice as substitute casting materials, but for some reason, they reversed the decision... Without frogs, I can’t even do household chores! But buying frogs means we can’t afford bread for the next meal!’"

"Gini Cottage is a small wizard organization located in the North District of Beta Town. Before Lady Colma D. Gini became the Great Wizard, this cottage was no different from dozens of other large and small magic practice rooms in the North District."

"’It (referring to Gini Cottage) has essentially replaced the Beta Town Management Committee and even the First University’s influence in the North District,’ revealed a wizard close to the First University’s decision-making level privately to journalists, ’School? The school is, of course, worried about this phenomenon... but we have more important matters to deal with.’

(For more on ’more important matters’, please follow the in-depth investigative column on page A3 ’Reform or Coup—Glimpses from the Changes of the 09th School Hunting Party’)

"Without a doubt, Lady Colma D. Gini—more widely known in the North District as the ’North District Great Wise Person’—needs to bear most of the responsibility for the school’s concerns. Under her guidance, many under-skilled wizards in the North District have learned to amplify magic by extracting the vitality of frogs, achieving significant results (Mr. Huang Shi, spokesperson for the Mage Alliance, has confirmed that Danghag is still assessing the safety of this magic ritual)."

"...This is also why, since May this year, frog prices for experiments and other magical uses have been rising continuously (wholesale prices of green-skinned frogs arriving at the North District dock are now as high as seven bronze coins each), to the extent that Fizzell Magic Pharmacy Company and Saint Mango Hospital have to use mice instead of frogs for test potion operations; frog-skin gloves, frog eyes, frog blood, and other magic materials are also experiencing varying degrees of shortage."

"This leads to the second question—why did Lady Gini eventually abandon the plan to promote using mice instead of frogs to alleviate the economic pressure on impoverished wizards in the North District?"

"On the evening of the 28th, the last day of the waxing moon, a scene unexpectedly witnessed by this reporter outside Courtyard 33, Gu Diao Street, might explain part of the reason."

—Below this paragraph was the picture that Zheng Qing saw for the first time. As he read, the witch in the photograph had hidden her face in the wide hood, still hurriedly walking in the deep night.

"...The witch in the photograph is Ms. Zhu Si, newly hired as the instructor of the ’Dream Interpretation’ course at the First University, a university-wide elective course aimed at enhancing students’ understanding of dreams."

"According to a source who wished to remain anonymous, Ms. Zhu Si has extensive experience living in Dreamland, providing better practical teaching experience for current students."

"’But her teaching skills are really terrible,’ complained a student from Alpha Academy privately to the reporter, ’Many people fall asleep during her lectures... The school ignores our complaints... Everyone says she has strong backing.’

"Unlike Great Wizard Colmar, Ms. Zhu Si hasn’t gained school recognition based on her strong magical skills. There is evidence that a former First University employee, renowned in the Under-the-Moon world for creating the Mouse Clan, as a non-distinguished wizard, has a close connection with Ms. Zhu Si."

"’Zhu Si is a descendant of the Rat Immortal, which isn’t a secret in the Wandering Bar,’ said a regular at Wandering Bar to the reporter, ’A true, bloodline descendant, unlike those two mice people across the street with tails; they are only descendants in the magical conceptual sense.’

"Through reporter investigation, when the Rat Immortal served as a researcher at the First University, he indeed left many records using ’Zhu’ as a surname. Due to an unrevealed secret experiment accident, he became the Rat Immortal, living secluded in the First University’s Underground World for many years. It was not until a few months ago, after the Black Prison major incident, that he reappeared in public."

"’The later words are valuable,’ said the Wandering Bar regular after receiving sufficient guarantee, finally telling the reporter a hidden message, ’...It is said that the Rat Immortal broke through the barriers in the Black Prison incident, becoming a legend, and is now quietly transforming in a mysterious location deep in Buji Island. If successful, he might, like the ancestors of the Blood Race or Fox race, create a brand new under-the-moon species.’

"Perhaps this is the reason why Ms. Zhu Si was hired by the First University as the instructor of the ’Dream Interpretation’ course."

"Returning to our initial question."

"What is the opportunity for the North District wizards to abandon using mice as casting materials?"

"It is well-known that the North District wizards are striving to gain recognition within the Alliance, hoping to secure a seat on the Wizard Council and sufficient quota into the First University. If this demand receives the endorsement of a Legendary Wizard, it will significantly accelerate the Alliance’s internal approval process... Conversely, if a wizard organization (North District Wizard Group) fully supports it, the newly emerged Mouse People will also find new living space in Beta Town more easily..."

"Of course, the above conclusions are just the standardized deductions made by diviners and astrologists based on existing information... And why the lady reputed for ’Dream Interpretation’ would appear late at night in sensitive wizarding areas, engaging in close contact with a special group causing unrest among orthodox wizards, the real reason might never be known... Up until the reporter’s deadline, neither the First University nor Ms. Zhu Si provided clear answers on relevant questions."

"...We have reason to believe that a public and transparent public opinion environment is necessary to fulfill the interests of all wizards, enabling the greatest degree of freedom..."

"...The First University, having employed two generations in succession, also has the obligation to answer these questions, relieve public anxiety... and offer a positive response to the unresolved North District wizards’ identity issue..."

At the end of the article, as expected by Zheng Qing, he saw a string of familiar titles and a name that impressed him deeply—Senior Editor and Senior Journalist of the Beta Town Post, Head of the ’Truth’ column, Luwei Pulitzer (Miss)