Zev vaguely realized that coming back might have been a mistake. Perhaps the organization’s decision to bail him out had given him unrealistic hopes.
Yet from the start, the organization hadn’t rescued him—they’d rescued what he knew. As for Zev himself, he’d been worthless the moment he stepped into Langard.
......
Bang!
The door to the room slowly closed.
Silabain stared coldly at the closed door, a sneer curling his lips.
"Truly a useless fool......"
With that, he picked up a "cargo" list from the table.
But as soon as he opened it, his gaze sharpened. He quickly glanced toward the corner of the room, his right hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist.
For a moment, the room fell deathly silent.
Only Silabain’s steady heartbeat echoed faintly.
After a while.
"......Illusion? Am I just on edge because of the critical period......"
Silabain frowned, sheathed the sword he’d half-drawn, shook his head, and continued reading the list.
Shortly after, he called several men into the room.
Slamming the lists onto the table, he spoke to them with a stern expression: "The buyers will come to inspect this batch of goods in a few days! Hurry up—bribe whoever needs bribing, and get the goods moved in immediately! Remember, this is the organization’s top priority right now. Everything else can wait."
"Recall all the men we’ve scattered around the city these days. The shipment is huge—we can’t afford mistakes due to understaffing! Step up security at the docks too. If you spot any suspicious individuals, take care of them immediately!"
"Do you all understand?"
"Yes, Boss!!! "
After giving his orders, Silabain didn’t stay in his room. He left the underground safe house directly, boarded a luxurious carriage parked near the warehouse building, and headed toward the Middle District......
Some time after Silabain left the docks.
Gurgle~, gurgle~......
A shadow in the corner of the room stirred and rose from the floor.
"......Did I get a bit overconfident?"
Glancing toward the door, Hulim reflected.
The underground organization’s boss had far sharper senses than she’d anticipated—she’d never encountered anyone at this level before.
Fortunately, nature-based magic was highly effective against those with acute perception.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Instead of dispelling her magic, Hulim remained merged with the shadows and moved to the only table in the room.
Staring at the documents on the table, she didn’t touch them. Someone as sharp as Silabain would undoubtedly notice if they’d been tampered with.
Even without handling them, Hulim gleaned some information from the scattered papers on the table’s surface.
They were mostly about cargo—and that cargo was slaves, to be precise, "illegal slaves"!
People abducted through kidnapping and other illegal means.
While this was likely just the tip of the iceberg, the documents confirmed that the underground organization’s main business was illegal slave trading.
No wonder they were active across the empire.
"......No easier way to obtain slaves than through banditry."
There was no more information to gather in the room. Hulim sank into the shadows again and began investigating the entire underground safe house.
Compared to Silabain, the ordinary members of the safe house had much weaker senses. Even as a shadow passed right beneath their feet, they didn’t notice—though the dimness of the entire underground space certainly helped.
......
Two nights later.
On a street not far from the docks, a shadow emerged from the ground.
Hulim then dispelled her magic.
Due to mana consumption, she couldn’t fully investigate the entire organization in one go. She’d had to exit multiple times to recover her mana before returning to the underground safe house to continue her probe.
Now, after two days, she had a general understanding of the underground organization’s structure.
Besides the dock headquarters, there were three other safe houses in the city. The headquarters had over twenty permanent armed personnel, and with those scattered across the city, the total was nearly forty—excluding those not in Langard.
Strength...... extremely strong!
Aside from some intelligence operatives, almost all of them were C-rank!
This force was equivalent to a company of knights. A direct assault would have zero chance of success.
"Do I have to think of another way......"
......
Hulim stopped spending time gathering intelligence on the underground organization. She only checked in daily for any changes, devoting most of her time to something else......
In a hotel in Langard’s Middle District.
In a room with doors and windows tightly shut, Hulim was hunched over, taking notes.
"......Let’s see. Required materials: Mistveil Petals, Swamp Serpent Slime, Firethorn Ash, Blind Night Spider Bone Powder...... and finally, Dragon’s Slumber Fruit Juice and Hadra Abyssal Fish Scales."
Staring at the list of materials, Hulim felt a hint of frustration.
Given the enemy’s combat power, ordinary potions wouldn’t work. She needed one that could take effect silently, spread over a certain area, act quickly without giving the enemy time to react, and be powerful enough to subdue them all.
After sifting through all the potions she knew, Hulim finally settled on one called Dragon Sleep Incense.
As the name suggested, even a dragon would fall into a deep sleep upon encountering it.
However, while she’d chosen the right potion, the formula posed a problem.
Some of the required materials were extremely hard to find. For example, Dragon’s Slumber Fruit—the main ingredient—was absolutely indispensable, yet it was extremely rare!
Additionally, the Hadra Abyssal Fish was a rare creature, and capturing it was incredibly difficult. Worse, its scales were the key to making the potion colorless and odorless.
Substitutes could be found for the other materials, but these two were non-negotiable.
Hulim frowned. Among all the knowledge Semiris had taught her, Dragon Sleep Incense was the only one that fit her needs. The others had flaws—flaws that would immediately alert people who lived in the underground world, where vigilance was second nature.
"......I’ll try looking first."
Hulim decided to give it a shot.
As one of the world’s top metropolises, Langard had an astonishing array of supplies. Even though these materials were rare, they might still be available.
......
The results of her search were mixed.
Langard’s resources truly lived up to its reputation. Most of the materials for Dragon Sleep Incense were easily found, and she even purchased a suitable set of potion-making tools.
But the two most crucial items—Dragon’s Slumber Fruit and Hadra Abyssal Fish—were nowhere to be seen. Hulim searched the Middle District all day, visiting more than a dozen potion shops. None had either material. Some shopkeepers even looked confused when she asked about them—they’d never heard of them......
