Stefan's intuition was right. That couple was really not an ordinary one. They worked under the same organization. Though they had a very low position and many believed they would be kicked out, soon.
Both of them were searching for opportunities to make a big name for themselves.
Yesterday, they saw a very beautiful child. He looked very pampered. What really interested them was that the child was already a Level-2 magician.
Just after the boy left after playing, they squatted to see what that child was playing with. Unexpectedly, just as the man picked up one stone, the device hanging around his waist lit up with a red color.
The couple changed their expression from a playful one to a serious one. This device was given to every member of the organization. Although this might look like a simple jade pendant from the outside, it's obvious that it is not how it seems to be.
The red color symbolizes the level of rarity the item holds. But, because this is still a low-level one, the couple is not sure if the level is more, and it is just showing red because it can only detect that state.
''What is this? It looks like a normal stone.'', the woman said, staring at the stone, as if to penetrate and see what is so special about this stone.
''I have no idea what it is. But, anything that can make the jade pendant react, must have something special in it'', the man said.
They both started looking for more similar stones, but could only find two at most. No matter how much they expanded the area for search, there was no more stone left in the area.
Suddenly, both of them looked at each other and shouted almost immediately, ''The child!''.
The child was playing with the stones for such a long time, which means the child must have taken most of the stones with him. They followed the footsteps of the child, but at some point in time, they discovered that the small footprints disappeared abruptly.
This time, the couple discussed and decided to search for Li after identifying what exactly this stone was. They immediately left the area and speeded towards the organization.
It took three days for the results to be known. It was discovered to be ''The Array Gathering stone''.
The whole organization was in uproar!
It's actually an array gathering stone!!
The high-level magicians were all excited about this. How could they not be excited? This stone was something that they couldn't think of in their dream.!
As soon as this news was released in the organization, the spies from major families and clans got wind of the news.
Everyone immediately scrambled to compete secretly and openly. But no matter what, they could only compete and not snatch it. Just because this organization was something that everyone was unwilling to offend. So, they set their sights on the couple who actually brought those stones to the organization.
Envy, Jealousy, Hate... All kinds of gazes made the walking couple feel stiff. The situation worsened when they got assassinated many times on their way back while almost losing their lives.
The woman couldn't bear it anymore and desperately held the man's sleeves, with tears in her eyes, and spoke while pleading, ''Let's not hide any more, okay? Let's tell them about that little boy. Their attention will get distracted from us.'' The woman wiped her tears and bandaged the man's bloody shoulders while crying.
The man hesitated and spoke with deep exhaustion in his tone, ''But that is a child, Laura... We can't risk that child's life''.
The woman, Laura, immediately widened her eyes and shouted angrily, ''At this moment you are still thinking about that wild species!!!! How could you, Alan?! How could you?! Can't you see the life we are living now? Even the rats live better than us!''
Alan hugged Laura and patted her back soothingly, ''I know.. I know.. It's my fault that we are living like this. If only we never handed the stone to the organization''.
Laura was shocked and immediately covered Alan's mouth with her hand, ''Are you crazy? Do you think the organization will let us leave if we hid the Array Gathering stones? Have you forgotten what happened to the last person who hid the space ring?''
Alan immediately sobered up and came back to his senses, 'Yes, at least now they are still alive. If they really hid the stones and the organization came to know about it, they probably would not be breathing anymore.'
''You are right! Let us tell them about that little boy'', at this moment he could only choose to sacrifice the little boy to protect his lover and himself. 'I am sorry..' Alan apologized in his mind and immediately tried to stand up to report to the guards watching over them.
Although it was reasonable for him to save himself and his lover, that did not mean he could put anyone's life in danger. Despite knowing that the child probably would not live to see the next sunrise, he still selfishly sold the news of the little boy to the organization.
.....
Meanwhile, Stefan listened to Heli's exclamations and immediately hugged Li tightly. It was good that he took immediate action and did not allow Li to go outside for a week.
Twenty-five minutes ago, Heli received news from the outside world that major clans were looking for a little boy. After searching for a while, he found a picture held in the hands of a guard, and the picture actually matched with Li's appearance!
Heli could not believe it and decisively reported it to Stefan, only to hear a sigh of relief. Although confused, he still knew that at this moment he shouldn't hesitate anymore. After all, no matter what, Stefan and Aouli had to go outside someday. They can't just live in the house, always trapped like a prisoner.
So he decided to break the jar directly and tell Stefan about the Main Mission.
''Host.. We have a new mission, and the good news is that this mission can solve our current predicament.''
Stefan woke up from his thoughts and asked Heli blankly, ''What mission?''
Heli nervously answered Stefan, ''This mission involves you to jump worlds. The task cannot be completed in this world, and so we need to go to another world to complete it."
Heli waited for Stefan's outburst, but Stefan was very calm and even asked a key question, ''Can I take Li with me?"
''Theoretically, it is not possible, host.'' Without waiting for Stefan to erupt, he followed up with another answer, ''However, I can try to take two people together. Although the energy won't be able to support it, there is a chance that I may fall into a deep sleep. But I will try my best.''
Stefan's eyes softened, and he asked concernedly, ''Will it have a negative effect on you?''
''Yes, it may take me longer to wake up. If only there was more energy....'', Heli sighed in melancholy.
As Stefan heard Heli's words, his eyes lit up, and he asked, ''Can you try to extract the energy from Array Gathering Stones?''
''I don't know... Maybe I can try?...'', Heli patiently tried to extract energy from the stones, but he got no response from it.
Gradually he became sad and said, ''Host.. Let's forget it. I will try my best to wake up earlier from deep sleep.''
Stefan felt bad for Heli and tried to think of various countermeasures.
After about ten minutes of racking his brain, Stefan came up with an idea, ''Heli how are we going to teleport?''
''Host, I will guide you to make a space-transmission array and you and Aouli have to stand in the centre of the array. I will inject energy into the array which will help you guys successfully cross the space, and you will soon arrive in the other world.''
''Heli how about we stand at the centre and at the connecting points of the array we keep the Array Gathering stones? After all, isn't the stone originally meant for this purpose? Twice the result, with half the effort!'' at the end of this sentence, Stefan was already smiling brightly at his own idea.
Heli scratched his head with invisible hands and felt that this was also feasible. So, he decided to adopt this idea.
Stefan felt as if a huge burden had been lifted away from his shoulders.....
...........
END OF THE VOLUME-1