Zheng Qing was not unfamiliar with the Sandbox Mini World.

During the first winter hunt of his freshman year, Zheng Qing had encountered it once in the Silent Forest. At the time, he was being escorted back to school by a detachment of the assistant group because he had ’threatened to use a thousand Explosion charms,’ and they accidentally stumbled into a sandbox opened by the Dark Council, nearly resulting in total annihilation.

Coincidentally, Xiao Xiao and Xin Fat Man were also present at that time.

Therefore, when the Three-Light Array unfolded this time, after confirming the surrounding positions, the Diviner of the Atonement Hunting Team quickly confirmed that they had once again fallen into a Sandbox Mini World.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Upon receiving the doctor’s warning, Zheng Qing immediately emptied the ordinary Fu Bullets from the Colt’s magazine—he remembered clearly that last time, when the Atonement Hunting Team and a dozen assistant instructors fell into the Sandbox Mini World, Su Shijun shattered her four tails just to barely open a slightly safer escape route.

In other words, ordinary Fu Bullets were almost useless in such an environment.

"Are you sure it’s a sandbox?"

Zheng Qing, while vigilantly watching his surroundings, swiftly loaded Blood Symbol Bullets into the magazine of his Colt—these bullets were originally prepared to be delivered to the Trident Sword next month; today was already March 29th, and in two days, Thursday would be April 1st, the day he had to fulfill his contract.

Although he used a rhetorical question, Zheng Qing had already believed the doctor’s judgment during the process of reloading the Fu Bullets.

Because among the five ordinary Fu Bullets he just fired, there was a Flowing Fire Bullet, a Frost Bullet, an Evil Repelling Bullet, a Binding Bullet, and a Flash Bullet; aimed at a stack of firewood, a puddle, a gargoyle sculpture, doors and windows, and deep in the mist within his field of vision. Theoretically, it should have at least ignited that stack of firewood, but the result was that all five Fu Bullets disappeared into the mist without a sound, the glow from the barrel disappearing instantly.

If it weren’t for the Colt Silver Python’s barrel slightly heating up in his hands, Zheng Qing would almost doubt if he had really pulled the trigger earlier.

Upon hearing Zheng Qing’s question, before Xiao Xiao could speak, the Fat Wizard gave a definite reply.

"Absolutely no mistake."

After compressing his height back to two meters, Xin Fat Man’s voice became much clearer: "Didn’t we encounter this ghost thing in our freshman year? The impression is deeply ingrained... the Magic Universe Study class we took last semester was not in vain!"

Unlike the Fat Wizard’s subjective judgment, Xiao Xiao’s analysis appeared much more ’magical.’ He pointed to the remnants of fireworks on the horizon, speaking quickly: "The biggest difference between the Sandbox World and the ordinary world lies in ’time,’ and light is one of the most standard metrics for calculating time... There was too long an interval between the flash and the explosion sound of those fireworks, long enough for the sound of the fireworks explosion to circle Buji Island three times, and both you and I know it’s daytime now, but those fireworks were flashing with the rich colors only found at night... Of course, more importantly!"

He tapped the crystal ball still floating in front of him and smirked: "This crystal ball can quickly probe the surrounding environment without incantations because it is linked to the school’s Protect Legal Formation and can borrow the array’s powers... this is a paid service! But now, this glass ball can only reflect Xin’s fat backside. In other words, we are isolated from the school’s Protect Legal Formation. Such a degree of separation, other than a sandbox, I can’t think of any other possibility."

"You can look somewhere else!" The Fat Wizard wiggled his butt.

"I never knew the school’s Protect Legal Formation would rent out its power." Zheng Qing glanced at the crystal ball, sincerely impressed, and began to wonder: "...does anyone know when we fell into the sandbox?"

"No idea." The Fat Man replied bluntly.

The doctor hesitated slightly: "Not sure... The crystal ball lost its link to the Protect Legal Formation in an instant. It might be some inconspicuous bluestone slab on the road we’ve traveled, or it might be a fireworks streak falling from the sky, a drop of dew dripping from the eaves, or a wisp of smoke drifting from a street corner... Building a sandbox is challenging, but hiding a sandbox is relatively easy."

Their casual conversation echoed clearly in the deserted street.

Yet there was no response.

This made the young hunters even more vigilant—compared to monsters with exposed teeth and blood-sucking in the open, the lurking threat in the shadows was far more threatening—facing a patient attacker, they needed to show even greater patience.

At this moment, Zheng Qing became calm, sheathed his Charm Gun at his waist, opened his copper-plated book, and applied a Guarding Curse to the three of them.

Before seeing the real enemy, he only needed to protect himself. Randomly firing without a target would only result in being deceived by the opponent, wasting precious Blood Symbol Bullets.

"...He is the Ruler!"

"...He is the One!"

"...He is the Light in the Darkness!"

A hoarse and melodious chant came faintly from the mist, the sound seemingly coming from everywhere, making it impossible to locate the source, while the still slowly rising fireworks timed their explosions to the chant.

The brilliance of fireworks fell gracefully with the song, each streak likened to a Fire Meteor streaking across the night sky.

"The Starry Sky is the mystery in my soul..."

"They fascinate me..."

"He is a mystery..."

"He is a mystery..."

"Mr. Zha, above!" The doctor, watching the crystal ball in front of him gradually develop an image, lightly nudged Zheng Qing, who was still glancing around aimlessly, with his elbow, quietly reminding him: "The rooftop!"

Zheng Qing looked up and instantly noticed the rows of scaffolds erected abruptly on both sides of the street, with dried crows hanging upside down by ropes on them. This scene was exactly the same as he had seen in his dreams, the only difference being there were no cultists dancing frantically in prayer under the scaffold.

As if sensing the boy’s gaze.

The moment he looked up, those dried crows simultaneously raised their eyelids, revealing eyes fully painted in scarlet.

"Caw!"

A Hang Death Crow suddenly flapped its wings, opened its mouth, and let out a dry, hoarse caw. This cry, like the sound of a starting gun, made all the crows hanging on the scaffolds atop both sides of the street struggle simultaneously.

"Caw! Caw! Caw!"

The harsh clamor not only drowned out the melodious song but also overshadowed the sound of fireworks exploding.

The three young wizards immediately felt chills running down their spines, stopping in unison.

"When we ridicule the Devil, telling ourselves it doesn’t exist... that’s when it is happiest."

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, put away the Bamboo Slip Law Book in front of him, gripping it tightly without looking back, but Zheng Qing knew this sentence was directed at himself: "... Now I believe that those crows weren’t all dead."