Alarm

========================

"Damn it, old man, I'm exhausted because of you..."

Ferran twisted his body with some difficulty, dodging into a position in the room where the surveillance camera couldn't reach him.

Fortunately, he had obtained the entire layout of the Mechanist Association building from Jiang Cheng.

That was why the window he chose to climb through provided the fastest route to the surveillance room.

He casually picked up a coat belonging to an association member that was lying on a nearby office desk and draped it over his shoulders.

In an instant, Ferran had disguised himself as a member of the Mechanist Association.

He walked out of the room as if nothing was amiss. If anyone had seen him, they absolutely wouldn't have guessed that he wasn't an actual member.

He put on a hat so that his face wouldn't be caught by the security cameras and walked toward the surveillance room next door.

"What's up? Is something wrong?"

One of the surveillance room members looked up at Ferran, assuming there was some issue, and asked.

To avoid giving away any information, Ferran didn't say a word. He strode forward.

In the next second, his palm—imbued with magic—chopped down on the back of the member's head.

Immediately after, the member slipped into a blissful sleep.

Casually dragging him to a corner out of sight, Ferran then stood before the surveillance control panel.

On a magical crystal orb, scenes floated in the air, showing real-time footage from all over the Mechanist Association.

"What a nice crystal ball,"

Ferran remarked, somewhat wistfully to himself—before smashing it to pieces with a slap.

If he hadn't been worried that the Mechanist Association might have special means to track the crystal ball, he would have preferred stealing it to smashing it.

He truly couldn't help it; not only did he love thieving, but more importantly, he had to make a living.

But now, the person who needed him to steal in order to survive seemed to be gone.

Ferran's eyes dimmed a bit, then turned fierce.

Though he possessed a special inheritance and understood the evils of this city and the truth about those so-called gods,

unlike Luan—who always sought to change everything—Ferran didn't really have any views about these matters.

If Luan had a young body, he'd surely stir up a huge commotion.

Well, what Ferran didn't know was that Luan had already stirred up quite a commotion when he was young, which was why he had to hide in such a shabby house now.

But Ferran was different. Growing up in the streets, he never had such lofty ideals.

If it wasn't for the mysterious reason his sister ended up deep within the corrupted zone, and he went after her,

he likely would never have come into contact with Luan in his whole life.

Or perhaps, if Luan hadn't been hunted and forced to keep a low profile, he wouldn't have chosen Ferran as his successor.

So, for someone like Ferran, he had never wanted to get involved in any of these matters at all.

His only plan was to take care of Luan by any means necessary—no matter what it took, even if it meant stealing.

That was how he repaid his savior and mentor.

After Luan's death, Ferran would be able to live as a plain adventurer, earning money by honest means.

At the end, he'd find another young man with great aspirations, like Luan, and pass on the inheritance.

Yes, that was what he originally thought. Someone born at the bottom like him even dreamed just of such an ordinary future—

And to no longer need to steal in order to make a living—maybe that was his biggest wish.

But now, it seemed there was a new dream: revenge!

Harboring this resolve, he finally arrived at the last destination of his operation:

The Mechanist Association's archive room.

Following the dossier Jiang Cheng had given him, Ferran groped around a corner of the wall and found a slight protrusion.

Normally, if an ordinary person found such a bump, they'd try to press it.

Luckily, Jiang Cheng had read the original story so many times that she remembered each mention of a hidden mechanism perfectly.

Yes, the correct way to activate the mechanism was not to push the protrusion, but... to pull!

Ferran's expression grew odd as he found the edge of the bump. At two spots, there were tiny short slits.

Wedging his fingernails into the narrow gaps, Ferran gave a hard pull!

*Clunk!*

With the sound of a mechanism shifting, the wall split open, revealing a hidden chamber below.

Ferran hurried inside. The room was crammed with documents.

Clearly, this was the true archive room.

He quickly made his way to a corner, flipped through a thick stack of assorted books on top, and finally found the file Jiang Cheng wanted at the bottom.

He really didn't know how Jiang Cheng even knew exactly where, in such a messy pile, the file was placed.

But this only boosted Ferran's confidence. It proved Jiang Cheng really did know who killed Luan.

He had his own suspicions, but still needed Jiang Cheng to confirm them.

Judging by what he saw, Jiang Cheng truly possessed much special information, which was reassuring.

After taking the file and exiting the hidden room, unexpectedly, the entire building was suddenly filled with a blaring alarm!

"Shit,"

Ferran cursed and, clutching the file, turned and sprinted away at full speed.

............

*Boom!*

With a forceful swing, Lyle smashed the corrupted monster flat, crushing its core.

The holy hammer, formed by magic in Lyle's hand, completed its mission and disappeared without a trace.

"See?"

Lyle turned to Jiang Cheng.

"My hammer technique is strong, not just my swordsmanship."

"Mhmm, it's great,"

Jiang Cheng replied gently to Lyle, because the entire Hunting Tournament was being broadcast live, and she didn't know where the cameras were.

Because of that, Jiang Cheng didn't dare drop her disguise and only smiled warmly at Lyle.

But in her heart, Jiang Cheng was speechless—how could she not know what she'd taught Lyle herself?

She'd originally thought the hero wielding a great hammer would look more imposing, but Lyle was a total disaster when learning the hammer.

Yet the moment she started teaching swordsmanship, his daily progress became ridiculously fast, and in just a few days, she could no longer teach him anything.

Eventually, Jiang Cheng had to surrender her private view that hammers looked cooler and focused solely on training his sword techniques.

Now she had no idea how Lyle could shamelessly claim his hammer skills were so strong.

"I just feel like something is a little off..."

Lyle frowned, looking into the distance.

Something from that direction gave him a persistent, strange feeling, a vague sense of danger.

Jiang Cheng's heart stirred—good, it seemed the plot hadn't changed.

This time, they had still come out to disrupt the Hunting Tournament after all, which provided her a perfect opportunity.

"If you feel something's off,"

Jiang Cheng took Lyle's arm, tilted her head up, her gentle eyes gazing at him,

"then let's go take a look together. After all, no one can hurt you."

"Alright,"

Lyle nodded after hearing Jiang Cheng's suggestion.

Indeed, given his strength, he had nothing to fear. He might as well go and take a look.

If there really was any danger, he could eliminate the threat for everyone else as early as possible.

Thinking this, Lyle nodded at Jiang Cheng.

"Okay, let's go."

Jiang Cheng curled her lips.

"Alright."

The puzzle was now complete. Turning her head, her gaze swept toward the shadow of the Mechanist Association building in the distance.

She wondered, with disasters blossoming on both sides, which one would you respond to first?-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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