Fang Wuwei and his two companions sat at the table, silently contemplating the magic crystal on it.
They had been stuck here for days with no leads, and now, the sudden appearance of this item truly illuminated a path forward for them.
That castle was impenetrable, and no useful information ever leaked out from within, only daily gossip.
Fang Wuwei even tried using illusions to hypnotize and control people to gain intelligence, but those individuals… seemed to know nothing. They didn't know how to break the barrier, how to bypass it to enter, nor any inside information about the interior.
The only thing they knew was that Ye Tian was always in the castle; beyond that, it was just about how to slack off.
The other four families in the Central District also implemented policies similar to the Royal Castle, but they were not as closed off as the castle.
The four great families frequently interacted and exchanged visits, and various noble ladies would also go out shopping.
But with the people below knowing nothing and the people above not coming out, they were completely stuck.
They had planned to find an opportunity in a few days to infiltrate one of the four great families for reconnaissance, but now… there was another path, and it seemed safer.
"That old man said that because magic crystals can store and release large amounts of magic power, they have now become strategic materials, not easily circulated, and the production site of these items… is somewhere outside the city," Fang Wuwei said.
Fang Wuwei pointed at the magic crystal, then at a corner on the map; that place was already outside the Central District, seemingly within a dense forest.
Ikenouchi Toyohiko stroked his chin, his face full of confusion.
"The production of magic crystals is closely related to the Ikenouchi bloodline. We have a special kind of magic in our blood, which is why we can create these things. That's why even the child's mother can't produce them… Moreover, making these things puts a certain burden on our bodies. How exactly is Ye Tian able to mass-produce them?"
Ikenouchi Toyohiko picked up the magic crystal, which did not belong to them, and examined it closely.
"And both its luster and quality are considered top-grade…"
"So, that means we need to go there and take a look now?"
Ikenouchi Maki looked at the map, calculated the distance, and it wasn't too far.
"Yes… but for safety's sake, we still need to scout it out first and assess the situation."
"When?"
"Tonight…"
...............
The bright moon hung in the sky, illuminating a dense forest with its silvery light.
Although it wasn't midsummer, countless insects still chirped loudly in the woods, bringing a lively atmosphere.
Deep within the dense forest was a massive steel building, deeply buried among countless trees, making it difficult to detect.
Even though it was late at night, the building was still brightly lit, and countless patrolling law enforcement officers were wandering outside, some holding swords and spears, others carrying magic staffs.
"Hey, Chuan, want a cigarette?"
"No, I'll get fined if the boss sees me."
Two of the law enforcement officers were leaning against a wall, one of them pulling two cigarettes from his pocket, seemingly slacking off.
"Tch, such a coward."
The one who pulled out the cigarettes put one back in his pocket, took one, put it in his mouth, and began to puff away.
"Didn't we used to slack off together all the time?"
"That's different… You're not actually going to not give me one when I said I wouldn't smoke, are you?!"
Chuan directly reached into the other person's pocket, pulled out a cigarette, lit it amidst the other person's laughing curses, took a deep drag, and exhaled thick smoke.
"Ah, refreshing… Sigh, now even smoking a cigarette requires being constantly on edge, afraid of getting caught."
"Yeah… Before, it didn't matter if we slacked off casually…"
The two of them leaned against the wall like that; there was little light outside the building, so they huddled in the dimness, with only two points of light flickering on and off.
"Those people from the Far East… they're truly disgusting. Now we can't even slack off."
"... Don't talk about it. Who would have thought someone would come stealing crystals in the middle of the night?"
"Sigh… That old hag is making trouble again, strengthening security, saying that if these crystals are lost again, our jobs will be lost too… How about we resign?"
"Losing our jobs would be good ~ If the Buren Family knew, we'd lose our heads. If it weren't for that old hag covering for us… And resign? You can resign if you want, but I can't. This is a stable job. I have an eighty-year-old mother above and a three-year-old child below waiting for me to support them."
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit heavy, then Chuan took a deep drag from his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and stomped it out.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's go on patrol quickly…"
"Sigh, when will these days ever end~~"
The other person watched Chuan leave, sighed deeply, crushed the cigarette butt in his palm to extinguish it, then casually threw it on the roadside, looked up, and left in the opposite direction, wailing.
Countless law enforcement officers were still patrolling, but it was clear they weren't patrolling seriously. It was late at night, most of them were drowsy, yawning constantly, and their eyes were listless.
Some had even found places to hide and nap… It was clear they were usually very relaxed.
Or rather, they had actually strengthened their vigilance… in terms of magic.
The law enforcement officers, including the high-ranking officials inside, relied on magical mental perception to detect whether anyone had infiltrated.
The current patrolling law enforcement officers had already activated their magical mental perception to its full extent, as per regulations. The range was very wide; let alone people, even a single mouse entering could be detected.
This even included those who were already asleep or slacking off; they secretly activated full-range mental perception. Whether they were sitting idly in that area or sleeping, as long as someone entered, they would discover it and wake up immediately, then go to surround and eliminate them.
This was the Magicians' patrol method: powerful mental perception, plus a perception barrier. As long as they kept this thing active, they didn't really care much about their physical slacking off.
The prerequisite was not to relax the release of their mental perception.
With the double assurance of the magic barrier and mental perception, which already covered the entire building and dozens of meters around it, most of them could even sleep without being bothered, only needing to be responsible for their own area.
But unfortunately, where there is magic, there is naturally a corresponding counter-force.
Not far from the dense forest, just outside the perception range, two small heads were peering through binoculars, observing the area.
Fang Wuwei and Ikenouchi Maki lay on the grass, each holding binoculars, observing the situation outside the building.
According to intelligence, that was the production site of magic crystals, and also where that old man came to steal things. But how did it look… not very heavily guarded?
They had just been robbed recently, and now they hadn't learned their lesson… No, that old man said their patrol method was actually through mental perception as a means of detection… This method was far, far more effective than visual observation; each one of them was a human radar.
However…
Fang Wuwei tilted his head, looked at Ikenouchi Maki lying beside him, and suddenly felt a burst of amusement.