Let us turn back time to half a day ago.
The sun gradually set, the pale red sky slowly deepened in color, gradually turning inky black, and night was approaching.
Ikenouchi Maki and Fang Wuwei were sitting to the side, quietly waiting for deep night to arrive.
"Master... so that means..."
"We've fallen into a trap, and become their pawns."
Fang Wuwei sighed deeply, feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart, his hands resting on his knees and hanging limply. This was truly beyond his expectations.
According to the intelligence Ikenouchi Maki received, there was only one person and one piece of equipment continuously producing inside, yet a considerable amount of magic crystal could be transported away early this morning. No matter how one thought about it, this was illogical.
How could one person's extremely low output lead to mass production? Moreover, according to the investigation, that underground space was quite large, but there was nothing in it, not a single living person was seen. There were no workers, no production supervisors, and even only one scientist.
This was almost an overt scheme, a blatant trap, even shouting for you to step into it.
But Fang Wuwei had no temper at all, because even if it truly was a trap, he had to step into it twice.
There were only two situations now: either Ye Tian himself was stationed inside, quietly waiting for them to fall into his net, or they were meant to rescue someone, and then proceed to the next step.
This made Fang Wuwei unable to help but think of the old man who sold him the magic crystal, feeling a headache.
That person was definitely from the Far East Society, and the two of them were now being used as pawns by that group from the Far East.
What kind of observation skills could instantly discern Fang Wuwei's hostility towards Ye Tian, or his dissatisfaction with the entire Magic Aristocrats class, to target him...
That group from the Far East Society stole the magic crystal, attracting the attention of these people, and even Ye Tian.
Ye Tian set up a net here, quietly waiting for the Far East people to respond, and since that group from the Far East Society dared not come again, they seized the opportunity and had Fang Wuwei act on their behalf for the next step.
He had been calculated by both forces simultaneously, and this feeling made Fang Wuwei feel extremely aggrieved.
Since things had come to this, and given that a Ikenouchi Clan member was imprisoned inside, they could hardly stand by and do nothing. If he just left, it was hard to guarantee that Ikenouchi Maki wouldn't be displeased.
What's more... this was the only clue. It would be better to play along, and in turn use this to draw out Ye Tian and the Far East, forcing those two groups to come into the open and gain some initiative, also avoiding the need to search everywhere.
However, before that, he needed to first clarify Ye Tian's attitude towards this matter: whether it was a thunderous strike intending to kill on the spot, or a long-term plan to catch a big fish.
He was more inclined towards the latter.
...............
Time returned to the present.
Fang Wuwei was wreaking havoc outside, diving into the crowd and fighting alone, while Ikenouchi Maki, wearing an invisibility cloak, infiltrated the factory.
At this moment, she ignored the thunderous commotion outside and proceeded straight towards the basement.
Along the way, she passed many people. Some were moving against her, rushing towards Fang Wuwei, while others... ran even faster than her.
She entered the underground area directly without any obstruction.
Facing the locked door, Ikenouchi Maki no longer had to worry about triggering an alarm or being ambushed. She took out Arashiki, charged it, and with one slash, cut off the door lock and entered.
Kicking open the door with a loud bang of clashing steel, Ikenouchi Maki didn't hesitate at all. She merely masked her footsteps and rushed directly towards the basement.
It was silent inside, not even a light was on, and there were no other people inside, not even in the all-glass office.
Only faint glimmers of light radiated from a nearby corner.
Ikenouchi Maki concealed her footsteps and slowly walked towards the corner, Arashiki gripped tightly in her hand, her mind highly tense, ready to face an enemy at any moment.
Fortunately, there was nothing there. No enemy was hiding in a blind spot ready to ambush, and no trap was waiting for her to step on.
Even looking around, she couldn't find a second person in the basement.
All she could see was the equipment for manufacturing magic crystal, and her Ikenouchi Clan member soaking within it.
Ikenouchi Maki stood quietly in front, looking at him silently, her palms unconsciously tightening.
What consequences would saving him, this Ikenouchi Clan member, bring... she didn't know.
But she knew this was only the first step of her revenge, only the first step of Ikenouchi's revenge.
No longer hesitating, Ikenouchi Maki threw off her invisibility cloak, raised her sword high, the power of swift wind condensed within it, swirling and roaring above Arashiki. With one slash, she shattered the confining glass.
The glass shattered into fragments, floating in the air, reflecting the light from the equipment, accompanied by the abundant nutrient solution inside, finally falling and covering the ground with the liquid, forming a puddle.
The old man soaking inside also fell out with it. Unconscious, he naturally made no movement, just falling straight down. Seeing him about to fall onto the glass shards, Ikenouchi Maki quickly reached out and steadily caught him, hoisting him onto her shoulder.
She just didn't see that the moment she caught the old man, the part of him that touched her flashed with a brief light, then instantly dimmed.
To be honest, an old man who looked older than her father, and completely naked, being carried on her shoulder... Although Ikenouchi Maki understood this was unavoidable, she still felt a strange awkwardness in her heart.
Suddenly, she recalled the seventy or eighty-year-old man from last night... Ugh...
Although Ikenouchi Maki felt uneasy, she didn't act coy. She put the invisibility cloak back on, covering both her and the old man, and then quickly climbed to the surface and left.
However, as soon as she exited the basement door, she suddenly heard a rapid alarm and saw the hall flashing with red lights.
"Over there! There!"
Before she could react, she heard an angry roar. Looking towards the sound source, Ikenouchi Maki saw someone pointing at her with an angry face, as if her position had been exposed.
At the same time, a group of people discovered her location and rushed directly towards her, with magic missiles following closely.
Indeed, she was carrying a living person on her shoulder, so she couldn't come and go as she pleased anymore...
Since that was the case, then it was time to fight.
Seeing that the invisibility cloak could no longer function, Ikenouchi Maki, to avoid damaging this valuable item, directly threw it off and put it back into her spatial bracelet. With one hand, she held the dangling leg of the person on her shoulder, steadying him so he wouldn't fall, and with the other hand, she drew Arashiki, preparing to face the surging enemies.
Facing the incoming ranged attacks, Ikenouchi Maki slashed her blade across the ground, injecting the power of swift wind into it. It then rose high, forming a long and narrow wind wall that deflected all magic attacks. She then hid behind the wind wall, quietly waiting for the enemies to rush through it for close combat.