Chapter 49: Turmoil Unfolds

As soon as he returned to his dormitory, Owen Lu saw Miguel alone, painting in the room.

When Miguel looked up and saw Owen Lu, he asked in some confusion, "You've been released already?"

Owen Lu figured there was no way news of his visit to the police station could have spread so quickly, so he simply kept silent and played dumb. Miguel, perhaps used to his tendency to turn conversations awkward, didn't find anything amiss and resumed his painting.

After a long while, Miguel looked up again and asked, "Where's Charles? Didn't he get released with you?"

Only then did Owen Lu realize that Miguel was talking about something entirely different. Curious, he inquired, "What happened? I went out early to deal with some legal matters and only just got back to campus. I have no idea what's been going on here."

"You don't know?" Miguel regarded Owen Lu with some interest. "I thought you went with Charles to that party. I heard they happened to run into the dean during office hours. The dean was sent straight to the hospital, so everyone at the party was arrested, and none of them have been released yet.

I haven't seen you all day and thought maybe you were among those detained. I was planning to finish this painting and then go check on you all."

Owen Lu glanced at Miguel's painting. It was an oil painting, just barely drafted—finishing it would take at least ten days or half a month. Such reassurance was hardly comforting.

Thinking it over, Owen Lu asked, "Where are they being held? I'd like to check on Charles."

"Seems they're at the local police station," Miguel replied, not even looking up this time. "I heard some have already been bailed out, but you need a lawyer for that. Do you have one?"

"I know someone, but not their name," Owen Lu recalled the nameless duo and pulled out his phone.

Seeing that Owen Lu knew a lawyer, Miguel put down his brush and stood up. "I'll go with you, then. I haven't seen Charles all day, and it's starting to feel strange."

Owen Lu nodded with satisfaction. At least the dorm mates got along reasonably well, even if Miguel sometimes made things awkward with his speech.

The two left the dormitory building, and Owen Lu's car was waiting for them below.

Noticing how skillfully Owen Lu opened the car door and got in, Miguel was a little surprised. "Your car?"

"Yep, I know a rich guy. He gave it to me," Owen Lu replied proudly, as if claiming to be the rich man himself.

Miguel picked up on it instantly. His mouth, just like Charles's, had no filter at all.

"You sound as though you're the rich one."

"In a way, I am. Let me tell you, I've only been here a few days and already got myself a plot of land. Today, I was looking for someone to help design it. I'm planning to build seven or eight villas there and stay for fun during holidays."

Miguel was speechless for a long moment before finally saying, "Someone once said that two people in our dorm would die because of their mouths. I suppose the other referred to you."

Owen Lu thought: With a mouth like yours, are you really in any position to judge?

As they talked, the car brought them to the police station inside the Stone Creek campus. The lawyer hadn't arrived yet, and Owen Lu and Miguel saw many students' parents waiting anxiously outside. Generally, without a lawyer to reason with the police, no one was getting released today.

With his lawyer not yet there, they had to wait; otherwise, they wouldn't even be allowed inside.

Just then, Owen Lu spotted a familiar figure—it was Clarissa, who could casually pull out half a million dollars in spending money.

Clarissa noticed Owen Lu as well. She hesitated for a moment before coming over to greet him.

"Owen, what brings you here?"

"Charles—he's the black guy who always tags along with me—was arrested. I'm here to check on him. What about you? Judging by your look, it seems..."

"Oh, my best friend was arrested. We're here to check on Beatrice," Clarissa replied, gesturing to a group of four or five girls, all dressed similarly, who were laughing together nearby.

Owen Lu had no intention of going over to introduce himself; instead, he asked curiously, "You all seem pretty happy about your friend being detained."

"She tried to drag us to that party last night. If another friend hadn't called us away for something else, we might all be inside right now," Clarissa replied, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Owen Lu was about to joke when a notification popped up before his eyes—an alert from the water element.

His expression turned grave as he activated the time-stop state and opened the interface of the world. He immediately understood why the water element had called for him.

This time, the vortex had attracted something big—a genuine yacht, at least a dozen meters long, and by the look of it, recently launched.

The yacht had also noticed the giant whirlpool not far away and seemed to want to steer clear, but Owen Lu could sense through the water element that there was no one aboard.

"Could it be another AI-controlled, self-driving yacht?" Owen Lu wondered. He considered releasing the time-stop to see how the yacht would react, but as he did so, he habitually scanned his surroundings—and noticed someone approaching.

There were plenty of people coming and going at the police station today, nothing unusual about that. But the person Owen Lu noticed was different: his posture was hunched, he lingered near the shadows, clearly not wanting to be seen.

This odd behavior caught Owen Lu's eye, but he didn't say anything or try to stop him. Once he released the time-stop, he instinctively edged further away from the stranger.

He then turned to Clarissa. "I need to make a call to check where my lawyer is."

"Need any help? I know some lawyers here too."

"No need," Owen Lu shook his head. "I imagine the lawyer you called for isn't just here to bail out your friend."

"Right. We're just having the lawyer pass a message to Beatrice: we all bought the DVD from last night," Clarissa replied with a sly smile.

The bonds between girls were beyond Owen Lu's comprehension. With a silent sigh, he changed the subject, "By the way, are you feeling safer at night now?"

"Much better than ever before—"

"Watch out!"