"Captain, are we really going to sneak in? That's the residence of Master Wu, and if we're discovered, the consequences could be extremely severe."
Among the three-member team, the youngest officer, who still had freckles, spoke nervously.
The capable woman in the lead shook her head and replied in a low voice, "The bureau has confirmed multiple times that the extraordinary tide seven days ago originated from here. We must conduct a final investigation and confirmation. This isn't just the bureau's directive; even higher-ups have expressed their concerns!"
The freckled boy looked confused. "Higher-ups?"
The female team leader nodded. "That's right. It seems that the higher-ups are particularly concerned about this sudden outbreak of extraordinary power. I heard the bureau chief mention that a significant figure has inquired about it seven or eight times. Otherwise, we wouldn't be risking offending that great mage by secretly investigating the castle."
"I understand the reasoning," the freckled boy scratched his head. "But shouldn't we come at night? Why are we here in broad daylight?"
"According to our investigation, that great mage usually sleeps during the day and only becomes active at night. The several gatherings of extraordinary individuals he hosted were all deep into the night. Now, stay alert!"
As the three approached the castle, the captain glanced at the time—it was precisely twelve noon. Master Wu should be sound asleep.
"Why has this place turned into a vast wheat field?" The female captain was surprised but didn't think too much about it, assuming the castle's owner had changed things up. However, the wheat field seemed to be thriving; it had been a dense forest when she came two months ago.
Maybe they used some extraordinary fertilizer? She quietly took out a magnifying glass and introduced it sideways. "This is a new extraordinary item mass-produced by the White Star Nation, called the True Sight Mirror. It looks like a magnifying glass, but it can detect things invisible to the naked eye."
Pausing briefly, seemingly to ease her team's tension, the captain smiled and added, "By the way, this True Sight Mirror didn't come from the government or the Academy of Thought, but from an underground terror organization over there—the Secret Society. But regardless of whether it's a black cat or a white cat, a good cat is one that catches mice. Let's go!"
She gripped the magnifying glass-like True Sight Mirror tightly, not using it immediately, and led her team, crouching, through the wheat field.
"Captain," the freckled boy spoke quietly, "why aren't you using that magnifying glass—oh, the True Sight Mirror?"
"It shouldn't be used frequently unless we encounter suspicious things," the captain whispered back. "If you look around too much, you might accidentally see knowledge demons or similar troubles. In the future, once you're equipped with this item, don't ever use it to observe books!"
As they spoke, they had finally sneaked to the center of the wheat field and stood before a side door of the castle. The captain took out her tools to unlock it.
"Be careful. The castle is the residence of that great mage, and the door may have extraordinary prohibitive inscriptions. We must observe carefully—be careful, careful!"
Before she finished speaking, she saw the freckled boy push the door open.
Creak~
The door opened.
The freckled boy shrank back. "Captain, you said it too late."
The captain fell silent for a moment, grinding her teeth and taking a deep breath. "Next time, don't be so reckless. You might end up losing your life. Alright, let's go in!"
She truly couldn't understand how the higher-ups thought it was wise to send a rookie on such a high-difficulty task of investigating a mysterious castle.
The three of them passed through the dim, eerie corridor. The armor displayed on both sides was solemn and imposing, reflecting a cold steel light, accompanied by some dark-themed murals that made one feel a chill.
"The great mage should be sleeping in the master bedroom. Let's keep our distance from there. We'll head straight to the top tower. The intel we received indicated that the spiritual energy is strongest there."
They stealthily climbed the castle, discovering that the tower door was slightly ajar. Confirming that no one was inside, the captain carefully pushed the wooden door open.
Inside was an ordinary tower, but it contained old bookshelves, and in the center was a desk with one or two open books.
"Don't touch those books!" The captain's expression turned extremely serious, a look of fear on her face. "That great mage is probably even more powerful than he appears. To dare to read books in such a high spiritual energy place makes me suspect he's close to becoming a saint and has mastered a method to shield against the perception of knowledge demons!"
The freckled boy and the long-haired youth gulped, not daring to look at the contents of the open books on the desk for fear of invoking knowledge demons. The appearance of even a single knowledge demon could classify as a Level 2 disaster, and the more formidable ones might even be designated as Level 1 disasters—this would put all extraordinary organizations in the Tianchuan City on high alert!
Amidst the tension, the freckled boy timidly said, "Captain, look, there are some strange things here!"
The captain turned to look and saw some miscellaneous items on another table: a pen, a piece of parchment, a shattered mirror, and a bronze statue.
Especially notable was the bronze statue, half of which was carved into a misty cloud-like form, with a cross rising behind it and large wings that seemed to extend, the head slightly bowed as if crying or sighing.
"Stay alert!" The captain cautioned in a low voice, carefully raising the True Sight Mirror to her eyes. First, she examined the pen and parchment, finding nothing unusual.
Then she looked at the shattered mirror. Her expression changed abruptly as she gazed through the True Sight Mirror. She saw dark, swirling energy still emanating from the shattered mirror.
Simply focusing on that black energy sent alarm bells ringing in her mind; her hair stood on end, and goosebumps erupted!
"This shattered mirror…"
She struggled to wipe the blood tears from the corners of her eyes, breathing heavily, and exclaimed in terror, "I felt as if I was gazing into the abyss of fear. This mirror might very well be the source of the extraordinary tide. We need to seal it away—be cautious!"
The long-haired youth, with a serious expression, donned isolation gloves and carefully began to pack away the broken mirror.
The captain took a deep breath and finally mustered the courage to look at the bronze statue through the True Sight Mirror.
As she gazed, the statue seemed to come to life!
She seemed to see a young man, one eye opening and the other closing. The half of his body that was closed was enshrouded in a hazy mist, and the towering cross behind him had wings that extended!
The young man raised his head, smiling and gazing at himself with great interest.
The captain let out an uncontrollable low scream of despair, suddenly dropping the True Sight Mirror in extreme panic. "No! This—this is the source of the extraordinary tide! Stay away! It might be a sculpture of an evil god, or even something from the forbidden, from terrifying legends!!!"
Both the freckled boy and the long-haired youth turned pale. The former hurried to support the captain but noticed that one of her eyes was terrifyingly red, blood tears continuously streaming down, with cracks spreading in her eye.
"Captain!" the freckled boy exclaimed in horror. "Your eye, your eye!"
"I'm fine," the captain gasped for breath, her body going limp in the freckled boy's arms, her hands hanging weakly. In her exhaustion, the True Sight Mirror fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
"Immediately contact the bureau! Master Wu Shangpin is suspected to be involved with an evil god or a terrifying legend—report it right away."
Before she could finish her sentence, a crisp voice suddenly rang out. "Hey, you dropped something on the floor. Do you still want it? If not, I'll just sweep it away!"
The three froze in shock.
They slowly and stiffly turned their heads, then immediately relaxed.
It was a maid.
A maid holding a broom, with fair skin and an exceptionally exquisite face, almost breathtakingly beautiful.
"Wow, she's really pretty," the freckled boy said, sniffing in awe.
"Stop wasting time!" the weak captain snapped. "Knock her out! We need to leave!"
"Oh, oh!" The freckled boy, finally coming to his senses, glanced around and grabbed a stick from the pile of miscellaneous items, stepping forward boldly. "Hey!"
The stick struck the maid on the forehead.
The broken stick fell to the ground, rolling to the wall. The maid blinked, looking confused. "You hit the wrong target; I'm not a scarecrow. The scarecrow is in the wheat field."
The freckled boy gasped, jumping back like a startled rabbit. The long-haired youth cursed, "Useless waste!"
He suddenly melted into the shadows, disappearing from sight, then emerged from the shadow behind the maid, his gloved fist clenched tightly and struck down fiercely.
Thud!
A dull sound echoed.
The maid turned her head, looking dazed. "I really am not a scarecrow; you really hit the wrong target."
The young man's expression changed as he realized this maid was no ordinary person; her physique was shockingly strong, suggesting she might be a practitioner of the old ways!
No longer holding back, he allowed thin wisps of shadowy energy to swirl around his fists, striking the maid's head three times with thunderous force!
Nothing happened.
The maid, now slightly irritated, said, "I told you I'm not a scarecrow! The scarecrow is in the wheat field. Why do you keep hitting my head? Go hit the scarecrow!"
She angrily raised her fist, intending to strike back.
The long-haired youth, with a serious expression, scoffed and tried to dodge, but suddenly realized a massive presence, far beyond his imagination, had locked onto him!
That delicate, white little fist appeared to him like a meteor plummeting from the sky. Before it even landed, his skin began to crack, his soul felt like it was shattering, blood streaming from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose—he was dying!!
He collapsed to the ground.
Can't escape! Can't escape! Can't escape!
I'm going to die!!
"Alright, Ah Gui, stop."
A gentle voice rang out, sounding like celestial music in the long-haired youth's ears. The irate maid suddenly froze, obediently lowering her little fist.
The long-haired youth coughed blood, struggling to turn his head, and saw a warm young man leading a timid little girl into the room.
The exhausted captain felt that this young man seemed somewhat familiar.
She glanced at the statue again, then looked at the young man, a chilling sense of dread slowly creeping over her entire body.