Chapter 848 - 367: Undercover Operative (3)
Walking out of the Bright Lamp Newspaper Office, Wu Chang squinted his eyes. He guessed right; Connor definitely had a problem.
Based on Connor’s background, he shouldn’t have been exposed to mysticism, and judging from his later behavior, he also wanted to pretend that he didn’t know about the existence of mysticism.
But his acting skills were not as good as Raventon’s, with many flaws in the details.
When he mentioned wanting to change the current situation in Grimland and bring peace to the city, Connor instinctively glanced at the door crack, a sign of worrying about being eavesdropped.
When setting up the soundproof ritual, Connor’s gaze indeed seemed to avoid seeing the mystical runes, but the problem was that no matter how outrageous his words became afterward, or how nervous and struggling Connor appeared, he never instinctively glanced at the door crack again.
This revealed that he wasn’t unaware of the soundproof ritual’s existence.
Having extraordinary power yet pretending to be an ordinary person, coupled with the inexplicable connection with the Miner Thieves gang, gave Wu Chang a strong premonition that on the other end of the communication magic sent by the Miner Bandit Leader Mick was indeed Connor.
As for why Connor could make Mick work for him and the reason for him sending transcendents disguised as Miner Thieves into the Pine Tree Coal Mine, further investigation is needed.
Indeed, no significant player in Grimland who can call the shots is ever easy to deal with.
Noticing that time was almost up, Wu Chang headed towards the John Shipyard. After making a round, he easily found Sword Star, dressed like a fortune teller, in the dining room where the workers ate.
Sword Star ordered lunch for five and circled around the shipyard twice with it. After several turns, he entered a house located in the workers’ area.
Following Sword Star into the room, Wu Chang saw five people squeezed into the small room, seemingly waiting for him.
Besides the already familiar Sword Star and Cold Mountain, among the staff from the Management Bureau, two were familiar faces.
They were the Negotiation Master and a man named Bai Ma. During the chase of Lin Jiang, they entered the Cursed Dungeon; back then, the Negotiation Master acted as a senior cadre of White Elder K, and Bai Ma was her deputy.
The last woman among the five was an unfamiliar face, looking quite ordinary, but her inclusion in the Steam Phantom means she must be a top-notch agent from the Management Bureau.
The moment Wu Chang entered the room, he relieved his social phobia and said:
"It’s way too cramped in here. Didn’t I provide funding for you? Why haven’t you rented a larger place?"
Cold Mountain said, "Standing out too much makes us easy targets for other players, so for now, we haven’t moved. We’ll relocate after the invitation incident is over."
Wu Chang nodded and asked, "Is it just you five from the Management Bureau entering the Steam Phantom Dungeon?"
Cold Mountain said, "There might be others, but for now, it’s just us five who have met up."
Wu Chang looked slightly disappointed. It seems Yu Siyi’s time in the Abyssal Game was too short, leaving her insufficiently strong to qualify for an S-Level dungeon.
If she could enter, bringing her along for a hidden side quest would be a way of repaying a favor from the Cursed Dungeon.
He looked at Sword Star, curious:
"Why were you lurking around the Bright Lamp Newspaper Office? It seemed like someone was watching you."
Sword Star, a bit excited, said:
"Here’s the funny part. The day we met up, you asked us to observe the chaos in Grimland..."
Then Sword Star recounted how he and Cold Mountain used the invitations as bait to collect information on players entering the dungeon and encountered mysterious figures in black robes.
Listening to Sword Star’s account, Wu Chang looked stupefied, feeling that all his efforts were in vain, yet the solution presented itself effortlessly.
He and Raventon were still fretting over how to root out the Steam Council, not expecting Steam Council to come knocking through Sword Star.
"Are you saying you and Cold Mountain caught the attention of the Steam Council?!"
Sword Star nodded and said, "When we saw how shifty he looked, we thought he wasn’t a good guy, and it took just a few questions to catch him out."
"What kind of organization is the Steam Council, is it the people that Sir Sean wants to deal with?"
Wu Chang nodded and said, "Yes, if we can really expose the Steam Council, I can guarantee on behalf of Sir Sean that you will be credited immensely!"
He looked at Sword Star and asked, "Were you at the Bright Lamp Newspaper Office because of a task from the Steam Council?"
Sword Star said, "Yes, that day he instructed Cold Mountain and me to come to the Bright Lamp Newspaper Office and investigate its three core figures, Connor, Nestor, and Henry."
"We are to document all their visitors and actions over the last three days, focusing on any interactions with transcendents."
"We’ve done some basic checking on these three and found that the founder Connor, the office manager Nestor, and chief editor Henry are also leading figures in the Charter Movement."
"The Steam Council wants to investigate these three; they must be plotting some grand scheme. We plan to figure out as much as we can as a pledge to join the Secret Magic Knight Order."
Wu Chang squinted slightly. The three Sword Star and the others are investigating are also Charter Movement leaders.
As he suspected, the Steam Council inevitably connected the Miner Thieves identities to the Charter Movement, investigating the recipient of Mick’s communication magic to ensure complete silence.
The current situation presents a great opportunity; it’s a chance to uncover Connor’s objectives while drawing out the Steam Council.
As for how to maximize this opportunity...
Thinking, Wu Chang’s gaze turned to Sword Star and Cold Mountain.
"I’ve heard that your Management Bureau is an official agency, often assisting regular departments with security management, right."
Sword Star wasn’t sure why Wu Chang was asking but nodded anyway.
Wu Chang continued, "In a sense, you could be considered a kind of police, albeit extraordinary police."
Cold Mountain seemed to realize Wu Chang’s line of thinking and responded somewhat helplessly, "What are you trying to say? Just say it."
Wu Chang rubbed his hands, a bit embarrassed, and said:
"Since you’re extraordinary police, are you interested in going undercover in the Steam Council?"
"I can guarantee on behalf of Sir Sean that the undercover work for the Secret Magic Knight Order won’t last three years after three years. You can stop anytime you sense danger and rejoin the Secret Magic Knight Order."
"The Secret Magic Knight Order will always have two positions open for you. Would you consider it?"