“This individual left Hastings Port the following day.”
“Current whereabouts unknown.”
Cecil stared intently at these last two short lines of the cipher.
A Scale One, killing a Scale Two corrupted monster across ranks?!
Cecil felt a sudden, inexplicable prickle of apprehension crawl up her scalp.
She must not provoke a direct conflict with this person.
To be safe, she immediately accessed the Origin Web node and irritably urged the branch reinforcements she had just requested.
“Hurry up! Send as many members of the mobile squad as you can!”
Even though she was a Scale Three herself.
And she carried a massive array of supernatural items and containment objects.
Theoretically, crushing a Scale One should be as easy as squashing a bug.
But the world was always home to a few unreasonable freaks!
Who would believe that a ruthless individual capable of such an upset didn't have one or two high-quality, medium-risk supernatural items or some bizarre containment object hidden up his sleeve?
She was somewhat afraid the other party would flee the moment things looked bad, or perhaps pull out some mutually destructive trump card.
Given her cautious nature, she absolutely could not allow such a thing to happen.
The failure at the Golden Rose Hotel was a mistake she would never permit to be repeated under her watch.
“Wait...”
Cecil calmed down, her mind racing at high speed once again.
Hastings Port?
She suddenly recalled the daily trivialities about her brother that Charlotte had shared during their idle chat this afternoon.
A sailor!
That fellow named Elias was a seafaring sailor!
In that case, he was an employee of the Wayland Shipping Company!
Cecil's eyes instantly lit up with the sharp glint of a hunter spotting the perfect prey.
This was fantastic!
It was as if someone had handed her a pillow just as she was nodding off!
One had to understand that Wayland Capital was a terrifying commercial behemoth entrenched within the Kingdom of Velen.
They monopolized countless highly profitable industries, and recently, they had even brazenly extended their greedy tentacles toward Moon Bay!
The Seventh Agency had long been suspicious of this giant.
Right now, she desperately needed an insider with a clean background and supernatural abilities!
Someone to help her stealthily acquire secret intelligence from the upper echelons of Wayland Capital.
On the other hand, she worried that this “sailor” identity was merely a lie Elias had fabricated to deceive his sister.
Therefore.
She first needed to find someone to investigate Elias's background.
This was simple enough; at most, she would just have the messenger make another trip.
Then, she would find a way to persuade him to work for the Seventh Agency.
And the thing she lacked least right now was leverage.
At least with the cards in her hand, she was brimming with confidence; handling someone like Elias should be a sure thing.
Moreover, once Elias's background was cleared up in Hastings, it might be even easier to keep him under her thumb.
...
At the same time.
On a dim road several blocks away from Spark Square.
A four-wheeled carriage was speeding along.
Inside the carriage.
Elias gripped his cane tightly.
He hadn't immediately ordered the driver to turn around and flee just because he had deduced in his mind that this was a “fishing operation.”
The carriage continued to race toward Spark Square without slowing down.
“Have you lost your mind, kid?”
In his mind, Old Ed couldn't understand this suicidal behavior of walking straight into the lion's den despite knowing the danger.
Elias's face was as calm as still water.
Back at the train station, he had been as timid as a dog.
That was because those matters, at most, only involved his insignificant curiosity.
But this time was different!
This time, he had to go!
This was an open scheme!
He was well aware that Cecil was most likely using Charlotte's safety as bait.
But did he dare to gamble?
Did he dare to gamble with one of his only two living relatives in this world?!
He had to go there personally and see with his own eyes that Charlotte wasn't there!
Otherwise.
Not only would the blood instincts remaining in this body not let it go.
His conscience wouldn't let it go either!
After all.
On the day he transmigrated and took over this body, amidst the howling winds of that lighthouse, he had made a promise to the original owner.
He would absolutely not bring trouble to his family.
The carriage came to a sudden halt at a dark corner exactly one street away from Spark Square.
Elias pulled down the brim of his hat and jumped off the carriage.
He casually tossed the driver the fare and a generous tip, dismissing him to get lost quickly.
He turned and, like a wild cat merging into the night, noiselessly stepped into a dark alley smelling of urine and coal ash.
Deep in the alley.
Elias stopped and looked up at the dim moon obscured by thin mist tonight.
【Darkvision】 activated instantly!
The pitch-black alley immediately became as clear as day in his sight.
He could even clearly see the rats gnawing on rotten meat in the trash pile at the corner.
While searching for a suitable “target” on the ground, he quickly asked in his mind:
“Old man, let me ask a technical question.”
“What's the maximum range for 【Mental Channel】?”
“Sixty feet.”
Old Ed provided a precise number.
“How much?!”
Elias's movement of rummaging through the trash came to a sudden halt, nearly straining his back.
“Only sixty feet?!”
“Only? Sixty feet?”
Old Ed was nearly laughed to anger by this arrogant tone, repeating loudly in his mind.
“How far do you want it to be?!”
“Do you want to sit in your home in the West District and directly connect to a mouse in the central square?!”
The old man roared irritably:
“You've only just been promoted to Scale Two!”
“You're not some Saint tier who descended from the heavens!”
“Wake up, will you?!”
Elias rubbed his nose.
“Fine, fine, sixty feet it is.”
“Then how am I supposed to stealthily confirm whether Lottie is actually in the square?”
Elias leaned against the cold brick wall, his brow furrowed.
“Even though I'm well aware that Cecil probably searched her and took my charm.”
“She just wants to brazenly run a fishing operation on me in this open square.”
“But I have no choice!”
Elias gritted his teeth, feeling a deep sense of frustration.
“Now I'm the one being handled.”
“What is there to hesitate about?”
Old Ed let out a disdainful cold snort in his mind, his tone carrying a hint of old, calculating cunning.
“Why don't you just walk over there openly?”
“In reality, Cecil doesn't have any direct evidence to prove you were involved in what happened at the treatment room this afternoon.”
The old man smiled sinisterly.
“And have you forgotten the most important point?”
“You are now a solid Scale Two!”
“And the spiritual residue clues they found at the treatment room can only prove that the suspect who was there this afternoon...”
“Was a Scale One.”
Hearing this.
It was like a bolt of lightning to Elias!
That's right!
“That makes sense, old man!”
Elias almost laughed out loud in the alley.
“What does the Seventh Agency catching a Scale One suspect...”
“Have to do with me, Elias, a good citizen and Scale Two?!”
This was the absolute alibi provided by the information gap!
“But...”
The smile on Elias's face soon faded again.
“Old man, you don't understand the art of negotiation.”
“Negotiation requires having the initiative!”
“I can't just walk out like a fool and stare blankly at her, can I?”
Elias pointed at several stray cats on the ground.
“I at least have to use 【Mental Channel】 to control a small animal to go over first.”
“Do a comprehensive reconnaissance to see if there's an enemy presence on the square, and how many there are.”
“What if I walk up all confident...”
“And then several big guys suddenly rush out and pin me to the ground?”
Elias curled his lip.
“Where's the dignity in that?”
“Where would I put my face?”
“Fine, if that's what you've decided.”
Old Ed didn't refute his excessive caution; instead, he reminded him with a somewhat strange tone.
“Poke your head out of the alley.”
“Take a look at this crummy square your hometown built.”
“Where the hell are there any buildings to provide cover?”
“Just see how you're going to walk over there with a range of sixty feet.”
Elias froze for a moment.
“?”
Confused, he leaned half his body out and looked toward Spark Square.
“Why would they build houses on a square in Arlington?”
“Then why is it called a square?”
“Is it possible that all squares are like this?”
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