Inside the vast library of King's Campus, sitting by the window, Dorothy was still poring over documents under the bright sunlight. Previously, she had analyzed the information within the documents and concluded that there was likely a hidden secret society among the teachers and students of this school, and she had successfully confirmed this through divination.
'Royal Saint Crown University gathers the young elites of Prit, each arrogant due to their talent and with substantial family wealth. It would be abnormal for such a large group of people to gather together and not engage in some mysterious research, especially since this school was a stronghold for various societies before.'
'What needs to be done now is to find a way to uncover this society. Since the ruins cannot be found for now, I'll search for people first. Those fellows have been transmitting knowledge within this school for some time; they should know the situation of the ruins.'
Looking at the pile of books in front of her, Dorothy pondered. Actually, when it came to detecting Extraordinaries, she did have a """Lamp""" Sigil obtained from Sodod. After spending 20 pound to have Beverly appraise it, she discovered it was a 'Regional Vision Sigil', capable of detecting all Extraordinaries, Extraordinary items, and Spirituality traces within a 50-meter radius.
Such a Sigil is very useful, but unfortunately, Dorothy only had one. The probability of finding a hidden Extraordinary on campus using this single Sigil was small, as it only covered a 50-meter radius, and if nothing was found after using it, it would be wasted.
'So... is there a better way to find Extraordinaries and those connected to the Extraordinary?'
Dorothy thought, and after failing to come up with a good method immediately, she decided to look at more books for inspiration. This time, she picked up the Saint Crown University school newspaper.
Saint Crown University had its own school newspaper, and it was quite well-run, with high popularity among students. It reported both campus news and social hot topics. For instance, the one Dorothy held was the latest issue, which featured a significant article about a train murder case that had recently occurred.
"Murder case on the long-distance train to Tivian! Mysterious Detective solves the case, killer brought to justice! Train conductor recalls case-solving details..."
'Damn, how did this still make it into the newspaper? Are those train crew members so noble? They actually told the whole 'truth' without taking credit...'
Looking at the news in the newspaper, Dorothy thought with a slight twitch of her mouth. This was a bit different from what she expected. She had originally thought that after the train crew took the credit, there would be no mention of Detective Ed, but unexpectedly, the crew not only spoke about the Detective but also praised him greatly.
...As previously stated, Mr. Ed is the most graceful and admirable person I have ever met. Not only is he observant and exceptionally intelligent, making him an excellent Detective, but he also pursues justice without seeking fame, truly a gentleman. He has now arrived in Tivian, a city where countless evils lurk in the shadows. I believe people will hear his name again sooner or later..."
Looking at the words spoken by the train conductor during the interview in the newspaper, Dorothy couldn't help but feel a little awkward. She then quickly turned the page to look at other news.
"Situation in the New World escalates again, conflict with the Farano colonial territory continues to intensify. Primitive and savage natives have formed teams specifically to hunt civilized people, committing crimes everywhere, and many have already been killed. Governor Mitchell stated that stronger measures will be taken..."
'New World colonial conflict? This isn't over yet, and it's showing signs of intensifying. Will there be a war in the end...'
Looking at the content in the newspaper, Dorothy thought that when she was reading the newspaper in Igwinte a few months ago, she had already seen reports about the colonial issue. Now it seemed to have worsened.
The events happening in that distant foreign continent had nothing to do with Dorothy. After glancing at it for a couple more times, she turned another page to look at the next piece of news.
"Earl Mike found dead in his home, police determine it was murder. This is the third murder case occurring in the Platinum District since May, and whether there is any connection behind them is still unclear..."
'Platinum District murder case? And it's the third one? Is someone specifically targeting those nobles and capitalist lords? It seems nowhere is peaceful...'
She simply made a brief comment in her mind, and Dorothy didn't think much more about it, continuing to turn the page to read the news.
"Report on the severe pollution of Moonflow River and the air quality report for Tivian have been submitted to the Privy Council. Opinions on rectification measures vary among different parties, leading to continuous disputes..."
This was a politically inclined news piece. The news itself didn't have much to read, but the key was that the school newspaper had actually opened a special section for student contributions and debates on this topic, and it seemed very popular. Several factions of students published articles debating with each other, using the newspaper as a platform for public discussion. If one found previous issues, they could see the intense back-and-forth debates between the parties, which were quite lively and of a considerably high standard.
'...Heh... this level is much stronger than the online flame wars and passive-aggressive comments from before. Many of these people will likely become politicians in the future; they are already honing their political writing skills...'
Just like that, Dorothy commented in her mind while reading the newspaper. After the social and political news, the next section was relatively trivial campus news, which Dorothy mostly skipped after glancing at the headlines. Gradually, she had almost finished flipping through the entire newspaper, but she still hadn't found any clues about the hidden secret society.
Just as Dorothy was about to put the newspaper down, one section caught her attention.
That section was the Lost and Found column at the bottom corner of the newspaper. In it, many students who found valuable items published lost and found information, and many students who lost things published notices seeking their items.
Looking at the Lost and Found column in the school newspaper, an idea suddenly sprouted in Dorothy's mind.
"Perhaps... I can make those fellows come looking for me..."
She murmured, putting away her books and the newspaper. She now needed to go find Beverly and the student newspaper office.
...
Two days later, inside the King's Campus library, Dorothy sat in her usual spot, flipping through the latest issue of the school newspaper.
Holding the new issue of the school newspaper, Dorothy ignored the pile of various news articles at the beginning and directly flipped to the Lost and Found column at the end. Soon, Dorothy found the content she was looking for there.
"Lost and Found: I picked up a craft item on the first floor of the Clock Tower on the afternoon of September 10th. The item is a dark gray stone triangular body, seemingly a corner of some stone tablet. One side is inscribed with text in a non-Prit alphabet, and the other side is inscribed with the symbol of an open eye."
"This item is currently being kept outside the school's East Gate, at Green Shade Town No. 23. Those who have lost it are requested to come claim it during after-school hours."
Looking at the Lost and Found notice in the newspaper, Dorothy nodded, then took out a small item from her purse. It was a dark gray stone triangular body, inscribed with the symbol of an open eye and mysterious text, exactly the same as described in the Lost and Found notice.
That's right, this Lost and Found notice was published by Dorothy herself in the school newspaper. This lost item was, of course, not found by Dorothy, but was a stone craft item she paid 20 pound to have Beverly make in five minutes. And the appearance of this craft item looked exactly like a storage item for 'enlightenment' Spirituality! The production requirement Dorothy gave Beverly was specifically to make it look very much like a storage item for 'enlightenment' Spirituality.
This school was once a stronghold of the Xing Shu Xiu Shu Hui (Star Numerology Scripture Society), and it used to hide many 'enlightenment'. Although it has been thoroughly plundered by several societies in turn over the past few hundred years, are there still some 'fish that slipped through the net' remaining in certain places?
What if this 'fish that slipped through the net' was accidentally picked up by a mundane person who knew nothing about it, and then they naively Good-heartedly posted it in the school newspaper's Lost and Found column? Then, if there were members of the hidden society within the school who saw this Lost and Found notice through the school newspaper, what would happen?
This is a storage item for 'enlightenment' Spirituality! They couldn't possibly remain indifferent, could they? At the very least... they would come to check it out, just to confirm. It doesn't matter if it's fake; if it's real, they'd strike it rich.
So, what Dorothy needed to do now was wait for the other party to come and confirm.