Chapter 251

The hotel room was well-lit, and Xia De could clearly see that in the center of the emblem was a rectangle. Above the rectangle was a pointed hat, and on the pointed hat, three lines outlined a face:

"What is this?"

Miss Annette explained quickly:

"A new clue obtained from the doctor. Wasn't the doctor collecting information all last week? Since someone could know the location of the ruins, naturally someone had entered them. This is a pattern found in the ruins; I haven't been able to figure out what it is, but I didn't expect Yi Lu Na to recognize it."

Miss Beiya smiled reservedly and explained to Xia De:

"I only just thought of it while waiting for you. This is the holy emblem of the fallen Old God, the 【Innocent Creator】. In the basic knowledge training for Ringed Shushi of the Zhengshen Sect Society, identifying the holy emblems of the Old Gods is an important exam subject. This god is not well-known, so even though I got a ninety-one out of a hundred, I only just thought of it."

The young lady's last sentence seemed to be praising herself.

"Old God... Innocent Creator?"

Xia De looked at the holy emblem, and the image of that god suddenly jumping out and saying "Surprise" appeared in his mind:

"Not surprising. So, that underground ruin is..."

"Left behind by His believers."

Miss Annette said very firmly, letting Xia De pull up a chair to sit down first:

"This Old God fell in the early Fifth Era, but His believers didn't completely disappear until the Sixth Era. They firmly believed that the god would return. Just as Yi Lu Na said, there are very few records about this god; He is not powerful, and His believers were not keen on proselytizing. Judging from the timeline, Yi Lu Na and I both believe that the underground ruins in Tobesk are very likely left behind by the last batch of believers of the Old God, the 【Innocent Creator】."

Xia De nodded, and Miss Beiya added from the side:

"In other words, inside the ruins, besides that Sage-level Relic, it is very likely that most of the wealth mastered by a disappeared Old God sect, as well as all its secrets, are hidden."

Xia De turned to look at the direction of the Noke Printing Factory in the night outside the window:

"What else could there be?"

"It's hard to say, it's time to set off now."

Xia De checked the pocket watches for the two ladies for the last time, the three of them briefly recited the action plan and precautions again, and then burned all the notes and materials in the room before leaving the hotel.

The street where the Noke Printing Factory was located was called Malton Market Street. After the rain that lasted all day ended, the street was full of mud. The time had already reached night, and after the fog rose on the street again, tonight didn't seem like a good time to go out.

Miss Annette, wearing a long dress and glasses, looking tired, appeared on the street at this time. She walked hurriedly to the outside of the printing factory, but because it was already past work hours, the iron gate of the printing factory's courtyard was already locked.

After knocking lightly a few times, a small window opened on the iron gate, and a man stood behind the gate impatiently:

"Who is it? We're off work."

"I am Alina Fick; I ordered a batch of business cards here a few days ago."

The tired woman with short brown hair said, her tone also containing impatience:

"Can you give me that batch of business cards now? I know you're off work, but I'm in a hurry to use them."

The man looking out from behind the gate showed an unhappy expression, but still nodded:

"Alright, Miss, please wait a moment."

Saying this, he turned and walked toward the tallest building in the courtyard, which was the office building of the Noke Printing Factory.

He didn't close the small window on the iron gate when he left, so Miss Annette had a chance to look inside.

Confirming the situation in the courtyard, just like during the reconnaissance during the day, Miss Annette took something out of her handbag and gripped it in her palm.

And the man who went to get the printed materials soon returned carrying a cardboard box. The small window on the iron gate couldn't let the box pass through, so he also carried an extra set of keys.

After opening the gate, Miss Annette didn't immediately take the box. She looked down at the muddy ground, so the man also lowered his head while holding the box. The gas street lamps on this street weren't very bright, and there were no lights in the printing factory's courtyard:

"Is there something on the ground?"

The man asked suspiciously.

"Nothing."

Miss Annette said, suddenly reaching out and slapping the thing she was gripping in her palm onto the man's forehead:

"Oddity - Thought Puppet!"

On the piece of paper held in her hand, bright red ink outlined ancient runes. The runes were slapped onto the man's forehead by Miss Annette. At the moment the oddity took effect, a strange red light flickered, as if it were directly engraved on the man's head.

The man widened his eyes and wanted to shout, but those lights appeared in his pupils at this time, and then what was reflected in his eyes was no longer the woman in front of him, but the runes on his forehead.

His expression became wooden:

"Miss, this is your cargo."

"Thank you, put it on the clean ground here; someone will come to pick me up in a while."

Miss Annette said, and the man did as told. After the two greeted each other politely, he locked the iron gate from the inside and walked normally toward the building where only the second floor had lights on.

Soon, Xia De, wearing a black coat, also appeared here. He shook hands with Miss Annette, pretended to exchange a few pleasantries, then bent down to pick up the cardboard box, and then walked with her along the street toward the distance.

"Very smooth."

After they were far enough away, they turned into a narrow alley without street lamps.

Miss Annette immediately closed her eyes, and Miss Beiya, who was waiting here for the two, supported her.

The female diviner held a puppet tied with white thread in her hand. The puppet was crudely made, not even the size of a palm, and the red runes on its head were flickering:

"The other party is a First-Ring Shushi; I can only control him for twenty minutes, after which I will make him fall asleep..."

Her eyeballs moved constantly under her closed eyelids, and her voice was very low:

"The Silver-Eyed One doesn't even trust most of the people in his own organization, so not many people know this address. After the Mercury Blood organization scattered and hid in the city, the manpower here was also reduced."

There should be 7 people on night watch here, four of whom are Ringed Shushi... I saw two night watchmen on the first floor... He is struggling, trying to break free from control, no problem, no abnormalities were discovered, but his head might have problems later, but that has nothing to do with me...

The situation on the second floor, no problem, there are two people in the room with lights on, one of whom is a Ringed Shushi. I was greeting them, and then the third floor... I can't go to the third floor, he is afraid, the person living on the third floor should have done something to him."

Miss Annette frowned with her eyes tightly closed, and it took a while before she opened them. When she let out a long breath, her forehead was already full of sweat:

"No problem, I made him return to the first floor and tell the other two that he wants to rest for a while."

"Are you sure he won't wake up?"

Miss Beiya asked, still supporting Miss Annette, but the latter looked like she had already recovered. She showed the two the puppet whose head was about to be pulled off:

"He definitely won't wake up within three days. After three days, even if he wakes up, he will become a fool and won't remember my face."

"Have you confirmed the locations of the four Ringed Shushi?"

Xia De also asked, and the three walked toward the depths of the alley together.

"The First-Ring one is 'asleep' now, the one on the second floor should be a Third or Fourth-Ring, reading a knight novel. I didn't go up to the third floor; judging from the emotional reaction, it should be a very strong Ringed Shushi. There is one more I didn't see, but according to the doctor's information, he should be in the basement guarding the gate of the ruins they excavated; that person's level is completely unknown."

"That's already very good; it's impossible to know everything at once."

Xia De nodded, the first step of the action was smooth.

He took the Relic 【Bordeaux Candle】 out of his pocket:

"Let's enter the printing factory."

"Are you sure you want to use this candle now? My sorcery combined with alchemical items can also achieve invisibility."

Miss Beiya asked in a low voice. Tonight, this young lady was wearing a tight-fitting white shirt on her upper body, the sleeves were trumpet-shaped, a row of buttons on her chest was dark gold, her waist was tucked in, and both the collar and hem were decorated with lace patterns. On her lower body, she wore black women's trousers that were relatively fashionable for this era, because trousers were relatively more convenient for movement than skirts.

Her long hair was tied up behind her head with a hair tie, revealing two ears, and the whole person looked exceptionally capable.

Xia De nodded:

"Use it now. This Relic is a consumable, but we can't be too stingy because of that. Tonight's goal is to make you the Chosen One; no matter the cost, it's worth it."

The three continued to walk inward along the alley. Under Miss Annette's lead, they constantly chose forks and finally arrived at the alley outside the east wall of the printing factory courtyard.

Letting Xia De and Miss Beiya step back a bit, Miss Annette carefully tossed a coin. After confirming the heads or tails in the faint moonlight, she nodded to the two behind her:

"Divination shows that it is very safe to act now."

Xia De chanted the incantation and threw away the frog leg in his hand, then held the candle and narrowed his eyes slightly, and the flame immediately ignited the candle head. His whole person disappeared before Miss Beiya and Miss Annette's eyes, and the two ladies also waited quietly under the wall.

Five seconds later, Xia De pinched out the light of the candle and appeared at the base of the wall:

"No problem, I just jumped up and looked inside the courtyard; no one is walking inside, but be careful of those hounds."

"Use this."

Miss Beiya took out a small cloth bag and let the others sprinkle the powder inside on themselves. The powder inside was also a type of alchemical product that could isolate odors for a short time and was standard equipment for the Church's Ringed Shushi.

Xia De held the candle that was lit again, and Miss Annette and Miss Beiya held his arms tightly from left and right:

"Get ready!"

He bent his knees slightly, took a deep breath, and jumped up suddenly. The weight of the two ladies dragged him, but they still reached the air at once, then flipped over the wall lightly and landed steadily in the courtyard.

As soon as their feet touched the ground, things that looked like wind and couldn't be seen suddenly jumped up from the ground. And Miss Annette immediately shook the silver bracelet on her wrist lightly:

"Stop!"

She scolded, and the security measures set up in the courtyard became ineffective under the effect of this borrowed Relic.

The use of the Relic caused the candle in Xia De's hand to go out, but he immediately lit the candle again, and this period did not attract any attention.

"Quick~"

Miss Annette urged, pulling Xia De's hem with Miss Beiya, and was led by Xia De through the courtyard into the mansion.

Overhead, the silver, red, and yellow moons were being gradually obscured by the drifting dark clouds. Tonight, for Xia De, it was a sleepless night.