Werewolf Hunting Rules.

Chapter 571 Size Reversed

Even if you can't achieve your dreams, it doesn't mean that all your past efforts were meaningless.

Donna read the letter several times downstairs in the teaching building, but she still couldn't understand why Clayton would suddenly write such a sentence and send it over. It was break time, and she had to write a reply immediately after reading it; the servant was still waiting outside the gate.

"What do you think he meant?" she asked her friends who were accompanying her on the walk.

“I don’t think it means anything special. Maybe Clayton just wanted to show his concern for you,” Lant said, holding his sketchbook.

“Absolutely not.” Alice refuted this superficial idea: “His Majesty’s words are law, how could he do something meaningless? There must be a deeper meaning behind it, which can only be understood through repeated contemplation.”

"That's enough!" Lant raised the picture book to hit her on the head, and Alice hurriedly ran in circles around Donna.

Donna stood in the eye of the storm, deep in thought. She also felt that Clayton's letter couldn't be that simple. If the situation wasn't urgent, why didn't he send the letter at noon when she had more time? Besides, he rarely spoke of such philosophical maxims before, preferring to impart his truly practical knowledge and experience.

Perhaps we should try to understand the contents of this letter from a different perspective.
Her expression suddenly changed.

"Even if she can't realize her dream"—could this be an implication that her dream is already impossible to achieve?

But her dream was simply to use violence to fight for justice.

Just two days ago, Clayton was happy to learn that she had killed someone, so why is he now hinting that he wants to change his mind?

Or is she overthinking it?

Donna hurriedly borrowed paper and pen from Lant. She wanted to find out Clayton's thoughts in her reply. After writing the reply, she prepared to return to the door and hand the letter to the servant. However, thinking that it was not easy for the servant to come all this way, she decided to write a letter to Joseph as well, so that he could take it back with him. Therefore, she borrowed another piece of paper from Lant.

All of this was clearly seen by someone hiding in a large tree outside the wall.

A long telescope with a brass casing was pointed directly at the college. Under the cover of dense foliage, the man holding the telescope made a gesture with his free right hand, mirroring the right hand of the person he was observing.

Under the tree, a person who looked exactly like him stared at his right hand movements, the pen in his hand repeating his movements on the paper.

The handwriting on the paper was delicate and beautiful, exactly like Donna's.

They are the Siladin brothers, practitioners of the Shadow Secrets.

As one of the two people Charlie trusted most, the day after Joseph stopped reporting, Charlie concluded that something had happened. Perhaps it was the work of that noble knight who kept pressing them, or perhaps Joseph intended to betray him. So he sent them to investigate where the tomb robber Joseph had gone.

There's a reason the Syradin brothers were able to gain Charlie's trust. It's not just extraordinary abilities that can be used for violence that are valuable; reconnaissance, stealth, forgery, and disguise are all very practical abilities, and these are the Syradin brothers' forte.

They learned that someone had died at Sinjani Girls' College, but no one had seen the dead body and couldn't be sure if it was Joseph.

It was difficult to get information from the police. There was no police station in St. Benedetto Parish; all records were kept at the St. Mellon Parish City Police Department, which was extremely dangerous. There was at least one person in the City Police Department with even greater stealth abilities than them. They were discovered on their first infiltration attempt. That person did not show himself, but the inescapable gaze gave them the feeling of a natural enemy, deterring them from approaching.

Identifying the body through remains is unlikely. As members of the Easter Island organization of tomb raiders, they know that every celibate corpse in Sasha City has its owner—either intended for medical advancement, dismembered for ritual purposes, or even used as food by certain Darkin. Several days have already passed.
The Sierra brothers decided to turn their investigation towards the college itself.

Although Sinjani Girls' Academy was once owned by nobles, they now find it hard to believe that anyone capable of killing Joseph exists here. That guy is a skinwalker, and the frequent use of skin-wearing magic causes his bestial nature to overwhelm his rationality, requiring frequent rest. However, that doesn't mean he's weak. In his skin-wearing phase, Joseph could at least continue fighting even after being shot twice, something he had done before.

The information provided by the unemployed campus security guards proves that the High Rock Knight was never here, so who had the ability to kill Joseph? Or was the victim someone else? And where did Joseph go?
A female student discovered the body, and they obtained information about her from the elderly people, which revealed many suspicious points.

This female student named Donna Bello actually began to proclaim that the security measures at the time were useless before the dead bodies were even discovered.

It is perfectly normal for a girls' school to have poor security. Most girls' schools do not have dedicated security personnel. Xin Jiani Girls' College previously had advanced security conditions that were considered advanced on an international level. Why would she be dissatisfied with this?
When the dead body appeared, the security personnel were immediately replaced, with more than double the original number, a total of ten. They all looked well-trained, acted in perfect coordination, and were equipped with long rifles—and were somewhat uniformly ugly.

Their presence was definitely overkill to protect a school, let alone the fact that they were replaced so quickly.
This was likely premeditated.

Joseph's presence here was merely to steal the nobleman's heart; the family had long since died out, and the school wouldn't bother with such a large-scale operation to deal with tomb raiders.

The Siladin brothers couldn't understand the necessity of doing so.

Teachers and students at boarding schools rarely go out. Security is heightened, and there may be other superhumans skilled in combat hiding inside. Once discovered, they are not easy to leave, so their work mainly involves remote surveillance.

Donna Bello was the first person they chose to observe.

Female students are often naive, but the fact that she proactively called for increased security suggests someone must have spoken to her about it. And indeed, that choice proved to be correct.

There really is intelligence.

Under the tree, young Syradin frowned as he looked at the copied letter. "The first letter is unimportant; it seems to be addressed to family. But the second is for Joseph."

“Read it aloud.” The Great Siladin did not put down his binoculars; apart from their appearance, their voices were the same.

“Dear Joseph, I hope you are literate enough to read this letter in its entirety, but if not, that’s alright, Clay will read it to you.”

The younger Sildenas read only the first sentence, which the elder Sildenas could not understand.

"She wrote to Joseph, so Joseph is still alive? How did they get involved? Why is the school under increased security? Is it mentioned in the letter?"

Little Siladin shook his head and continued reading: "If you feel lonely, you can ask Kerry to take you out for a walk; he won't refuse. Don't be shy if you want a toy; just tell him the type you like. Playing is a right that you should have at your age, and Kerry and I believe that. We also hope that you can receive parental care here to make up for the regrets that fate has brought you."

He paused at this point and looked up to see his brother's reaction.

The Great Siladin remained motionless in an observational posture, but his pupils dilated and his mouth involuntarily opened.

“This is Joseph? Which Joseph? Is this even a grown man?!” Three consecutive rhetorical questions completely revealed his emotions. Little Syradin could understand his reaction; if the contents of the letter were true, their previous impression of leather masks would have to shift towards non-human.

"Could it be someone with the same name?" Da Xiladin asked his younger brother after taking a breath, but he couldn't help but wonder if it was true.

That leather mask was indeed not very literate, only able to understand simple commands, and his parents had indeed died young—families with both parents usually don't raise sons who become tomb raiders, and there wasn't a single person with a happy family on the entire Easter Island.

But if it really is him, how could a female student who is not even twenty years old speak to him in such a tone?

This is fucking weird!
“I don’t know, but there’s a passage that’s a bit unusual. I don’t think most people would say something like that to a child.” Little Siradin continued reading: “Krey doesn’t want you to get involved in any battles, but exercise is good for your health. You should try jogging in the garden in the morning; it’s a good habit to keep.”

Ordinary families wouldn't talk to their children about topics like prohibiting fighting.

Grand Sierra remained silent.

"How are you feeling?" Siradin asked.

Grand Siradil put down his binoculars, his expression no longer concealed: "I feel extremely shocked."

Little Syradin, standing under the tree, put away the copied letter and let out a heavy sigh: "I was also very shocked."

No one expected that the reason Joseph stopped working and reporting was that he had been adopted. Even the worst novelists in the world probably couldn't imagine such a bizarre and absurd plot. Even with almost conclusive evidence, they still couldn't accept it.

But they also know that the world often doesn't operate according to common sense.

So while they didn't completely believe the contents of the letter, they thought it was at least 50% likely to be true.

Moreover, this actually makes some things more understandable.

Perhaps Joseph had always been thinking about leaving. Easter Island split because of the reduced targets in Sasha City, and now the Church and the Presbyterian Church are still pursuing them. Although Charlie found a new protector for these people, that nobleman may not be reliable.

The discovery of the body at the school is perhaps the easiest part of the story to explain.

Although tomb raiders are a relatively loose group, these core members of Easter Island are not so easy to leave, especially when they are planning crimes.

The strategy of faking death to escape is not uncommon, but it is often accompanied by betrayal.

"Should we follow that messenger?" Little Siladin asked.

“No.” Grand Siradin jumped down from the tree. “If he has truly betrayed us, he is likely to be on guard against our abilities. It would be too dangerous to follow him rashly. Perhaps this letter is also a trap. We can consider our mission accomplished by bringing the letter back. I wonder what Charlie will think about this.”

"I'm utterly shocked." Charlie's breathing sounded like he was about to suffocate.