A week later, Dylan, Amy, Ellie, Maya, and Lena began their break, with only graduation day left to wait for. The house renovation started, managed by a former colleague of George's who had been introduced to Dylan. They quickly moved into Ellie's house, along with Aaron, who was still using a crutch despite being discharged from the hospital, and their two younger twin sisters. Ellie had changed the locks and installed a surveillance camera at the front of the house for security, ensuring her father wouldn't enter while they were there.

Dylan carried a special bag containing the equipment from his basement that he used for work and told the construction workers not to touch his room but to leave it as it was, as it would be used as a storage room in the future. Late that afternoon, after all the boxes had been placed in their respective rooms, Aaron, accompanied by Clara, rested upstairs with Fiona and Iris, who were playing on the second floor. Dylan came out of his first-floor room and sat down in the living room.

"Bwuuung," a hologram screen opened in front of Dylan's face. Dylan immediately read it.

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Quest: Stop the black market auction activity on the cruise ship.

Target: The cruise ship named The Mermaid Tear.

Location: A cruise ship at the public harbor.

Time: 00:03:00.00

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Recommended skill: Teleport, Pickpocket, Vanish, 1000 Faces, Hypnosis, Pick Lock, Disarm.

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Reward:

- $21,000

- 630 Skill Points

- New Skill Illusion / Diversion

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Auto quest mode? [Yes] [No]

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"Hmm... the harbor, huh... this is close to the harbor," Dylan muttered.

[That is correct, sir.]

"Alright, let's go, CATS," Dylan replied, standing up.

[Let's go, sir.]

Dylan entered his room and grabbed the bag he had prepared earlier and put on his clothes. As he came out of the room and crept towards the door, "click," the door to the room next to him opened. Amy saw Dylan, who seemed caught in the act. Dylan immediately raised his index finger to his lips, telling Amy to be quiet, then immediately kissed her on the forehead.

"Be careful," Amy whispered, smiling.

"Yeah, I'm off," Dylan whispered back.

Dylan quickly slipped out of the house and disappeared. A short while later, after flying with his glider and jumping and teleporting, Dylan finally arrived at the harbor. He landed on the roof of a harbor warehouse. He saw a large cruise ship in the distance named The Mermaid Tear. He looked around and opened his quest instructions.

"Yep... that's the only big cruise ship in this harbor," Dylan said in his head.

Dylan immediately ran, leaped onto the roof of the next warehouse, and kept jumping until he reached the furthest warehouse. When he crouched down on the roof and looked below, he saw many people wearing black shirts guarding the area, carrying firearms and walkie-talkies. It was clear these people were not harbor workers. Then he turned his head and saw many luxury cars driving into the cruise ship.

One car, like a limousine, rolled down its window to show an invitation. The passenger in the back was wearing a neat, formal suit with a mask, so their face was not visible. He also saw several foreigners who appeared to be speaking a different language, judging by their mouth movements.

"Hmm... so there's something like this in this city... like a dark network of rich people and foreigners," Dylan muttered to himself.

[That is absolutely correct, sir. This auction is being held to auction off stolen national treasures, world-famous artworks that have been swapped with fakes in museums, and also certain transactions between auction participants.]

"So, we're here just to stop the auction?" Dylan asked.

[Of course, sir, and to retrieve something that belongs to us.]

"What is that?" Dylan asked.

[You will find out later, just follow the automatic prompts.]

"Hah... okay, let's go, CATS," Dylan replied.

[Very well, sir.]

Dylan shot his grappler to the ship's large smokestack and swung up onto the deck. He saw many guards and security personnel on the deck. Dylan slowly descended and vanished. Then he entered inside and immediately searched for the security room to disable the alarms in the warehouse. After finding the security room, he entered and saw a guard inside who was monitoring two monitors showing the status of all rooms inside the ship.

He immediately hypnotized the guard and directed him to disable all the alarms in the warehouse containing the items to be auctioned. Once finished, he told the guard to stand up, go out, and head to the police station to report the activity on the ship. He also slipped a Phantom Cat card that the guard had to hand over to the police.

The guard, under the influence of hypnosis, immediately did so without hesitation. He exited the security room and walked out onto the deck to disembark from the cruise ship. Dylan also came out of the security room, then walked further into the ship.

Finally, he arrived at an auditorium where guests in fine, luxurious suits and masks were sitting, looking at the stage, which seemed to be the auction venue. Dylan looked up and saw a terrace enclosed by bulletproof glass above.

Then he immediately teleported up and arrived in front of the glass door, which looked like a special terrace for VIP guests or the auction organizers. There were two men inside. One of the two men was bald, about 40 years old, wearing a white suit, a pink shirt without a tie, and a gold necklace. Dylan picked the lock using his pick lock skill, then entered the room while still invisible.

"Huh," the two men turned because they saw the door open by itself and close again, but there was no one there.

"Did you lock the door?" one man asked.

"I should have... well, never mind. There's no one here... let's continue," the other man replied.

Casually, Dylan sat between them, invisible, to listen to their conversation.

"Marco, what is your plan for getting me to participate in this auction?" asked the man with a thick mustache, also around 40 years old, with slicked-back black hair, wearing a pinstripe black suit, a white tie, and a mask over a black shirt.

"I want you to buy this item, Hans. Our organization needs it. As one of the organizers of this auction, I can't bid," Marco, the bald man in the white suit, replied, showing Hans his tablet.

Dylan, sitting right behind the two, saw the tablet screen displaying a sparkling tiara that seemed to belong to a royal queen, with a black gem in the center.

"Hoo... so, since they failed at the museum yesterday, they intend to take this," Hans said, observing his tablet screen.

"That's right. As you know, this auction appointed me as one of the organizers, which keeps me from moving, but the main item of this auction is the one we're after. We have to go through the bidding process to get it. Don't worry, I can manipulate the money later behind the scenes because I'm one of the organizers," Marco replied.

"Alright, when this item comes up, I'll bid on it. And what about your business? Have you found your niece? The leader is waiting for news from you," Hans replied.

"Soon. I can definitely become the head of the family. The only obstacle left is my niece. Once I successfully marry her, everything will fall into my hands," Marco replied.

Dylan, listening to the conversation in front of him, appeared relaxed, but he was thinking, then he observed Marco's face in front of him.

"Hmm... so this guy is the one who wants to make Amy his wife to become the family leader... what a shameless old man," Dylan muttered in his head.

[Don't worry, sir, once this quest is finished, he won't bother Amy anymore.]

"You're right, CATS. Let's fail this auction," Dylan replied.

[Understood, sir.]

Dylan immediately pressed YES on the hologram screen displaying his quest. A screen appeared in front of him.

[Auto mode... commencing.]

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