North Shore of Conquest, Truva.
At night, somewhere on the edge of Truva city, in the basement of a house.
This was an underground room for storing miscellaneous items, the dim light of the gas lamp faintly illuminating the surrounding environment. In this basement filled with piled weeds and scattered wooden boxes, there were currently three figures.
At this time, in the basement, there were three men dressed differently. One of them, dressed in black, was currently tightly bound by thick hemp ropes and hung from the house's beam. His feet not touching the ground, slightly swaying in mid-air, he had his eyes tightly closed, seemingly in an unconscious state of coma.
On either side of the suspended man in black were two other men in ordinary clothes. At this moment, one sitting and one standing, they were not far from the bound man, occasionally looking at the surroundings and the bound man, their expressions full of vigilance, as if guarding against something.
As time passed by, the tightly closed eyes of the man suspended in the basement slightly twitched, then slowly opened. Just having woken up, his eyes were full of confusion as he witnessed the situation before him. However, as he became more awake and memories surged up, his brows couldn't help but furrow slightly.
The just-woken man finally recalled what had happened before he fell unconscious. He remembered that he was a subordinate of the hidden organization Dark Gold Society. During the mission tonight, a serious error occurred. Not only did he and his comrade fail to complete the mission, collect all the target's extraordinary resources, and tie him up to take him back, but they were instead subdued by the other party.
The man carefully recalled what happened before he fell unconscious. He remembered that he and his comrade had fallen into a trap. The target knew they were coming beforehand and had set up an ambush with comrades in the room. They were caught off guard. His comrade was restrained, and when he tried to rescue him, he failed due to the target's strange ability of rapid regeneration. In the end, outnumbered, he was subdued and knocked out.
'Ugh... damn it, I didn't expect to suffer such a huge setback this time. That target is indeed not simple. Not only did he know we were coming, but he also set up an ambush. Our plan was seen through by him. Who exactly are they...'
After recalling the previous situation, the just-woken man thought about it in his mind. Then he began to carefully observe the surrounding environment. He saw the two people in the distance who seemed to be on guard and saw his own situation of being tied up and suspended.
'In my current state, I've been captured by them. Those two should be the guards. Everything on me must have been searched. Hanging me up like this is to prevent me from touching the ground, to prevent me from having the possibility of using my ability to escape. They've thought of everything...'
'I wonder how Roque is doing now... He might be held separately, or he might have met a grim fate... No matter what, I must go back immediately and inform Mr. Ben Gecheer about what happened...'
Thinking this in his heart, the man then began to pretend to be unconscious while squinting his eyes to observe the surroundings, observing the two guards' movements and the ropes binding him.
'They used thick hemp ropes to tie me... This is great. It seems they know about my ability but don't understand it deeply. They think hanging me up like this can seal my ability, but they are completely wrong.'
After finishing checking the surrounding situation, the man thought this thankfully in his heart. He could see that after using grappling tactics to prevent him from escaping underground, the other party also wanted to use a similar method to detain him, wanting him to be unable to use his ability because he couldn't touch walls or the ground. This method of suspension seemed to be the best way to imprison him.
Suspending a Wall Walker for imprisonment is a good idea, but the ropes used for suspension must be chosen correctly. Although this kind of hemp rope is thick, it cannot trap a Wall Walker. The reason is simple: according to Spirituality theory, living, vigorous plants belong to the 'Cup' things, while plant remains that have been dead for a long time and have lost their vitality will lose their 'Cup', gradually transforming into'Stone' things.
Therefore, in the definition of Spirituality, a vibrant forest is 'Cup', while a wooden house built from timber felled from the forest is'Stone'. Similarly, the hemp grass used to weave hemp ropes, when alive and growing in the ground, has the nature of 'Cup', but after losing its vitality and being woven into hemp ropes, its nature is'Stone'.
The essence of a Wall Walker's ability is not merely traversing stone walls and escaping into the ground, but moving freely within objects that possess the nature of'Stone'. Therefore, Wall Walkers can traverse wooden walls and hemp ropes. The main reason the man was subdued and knocked out before was that he was being held by a group of burly men. The human body is a clear 'Cup' thing, which he cannot traverse.
After secretly confirming that the two guards were not looking at him at this moment, the man suspended in mid-air began to close his eyes and slowly use his ability.
Although Wall Walkers can traverse almost all objects with the nature of'Stone', the materials of these objects are different, and the difficulty of traversing varies for Wall Walkers. Traversing ordinary rock is the simplest for them; their ability can be activated instantly, and they can move quickly within the rock. However, traversing substances other than rock is more difficult; they require a certain amount of preparation time to successfully traverse, and the speed and efficiency of traversal are not as good as when traversing rock. When traversing objects made of mixed materials, the more rock components there are, the faster it is.
Concentrating his mind, after spending some time preparing, the man finally activated his ability. Under the Wall Walker's ability, his entire body passed through the thick hemp ropes binding him, and then his whole person fell from mid-air. The sound of him landing startled the two guards. They turned their eyes over and, upon seeing the escaped man, immediately drew their pistols, intending to aim at and confront him.
"Don't move!"
"How did you escape, you fellow!"
Without giving the guards any time to react, the man who had just landed activated his ability again before the guards could point their guns at him, escaping into the rocky ground below. He then quickly submerged and fled without any hesitation. When the two guards' muzzles pointed at empty space, they couldn't help but stand there in stunned Silence.
For a moment, the dim basement was completely Silence. The loop of hemp rope that had originally bound the man was hanging in mid-air, swaying slightly, while the two guards exchanged glances for a moment before a strange smile appeared on their lips.
...
At night, somewhere in the vast Truva, near the edge of the suburbs.
Between the relatively sparse buildings, beside the wide and desolate street, a large courtyard stood. Within the towering courtyard walls was a tall mansion. Although it was late at night, lights were still shining inside.
Inside the mansion, within a room near a window, a group of figures were gathered. The man in black who had just escaped from the basement was now among this group of figures.
The man in black knelt on the floor. In front of him was a luxurious chair, on which sat an old man in a distinctive suit, around fifty years old, with graying temples, holding a cane, and a solemn expression. To the old man's left stood a young attendant, standing straight in a male servant's uniform, with a focused expression. To his right stood a middle-aged man in casual clothes, around forty years old, with a beard and a worried expression. At the edge of the room, several figures of various appearances stood respectfully.
"Huff... huff, I'm very sorry, Mr. Ben Gecheer, our mission failed. The target knew we were coming and set up a trap in advance. Roque and I both fell into their ambush and were subdued and imprisoned. I took advantage of their carelessness and escaped. Roque might have already met a grim fate."
Breathing heavily, the man in black recounted the events to the old man named Ben Gecheer. After listening solemnly to the man's words, the other party slowly spoke with a grave tone.
"Ambush... It seems the mark on the goods was discovered. Although I had anticipated that someone who could buy three secret transmissions at once wouldn't be simple, which is why I sent you and Roque together, it seems now... we still underestimated them..."
"Tell me specifically what you encountered, Barna. What abilities do they have, and how did they subdue you?"
Ben Gecheer slowly spoke to Barna, and Barna also directly and in detail recounted his and his companion's encounter, including how they were ambushed, what abilities their opponents had, and how he finally escaped. After listening carefully to Barna's words, the solemnity in Ben Gecheer's expression deepened a few shades.
"High-speed regeneration, powerful physical strength, sudden physical stinging... These are almost all manifestations of the 'Cup' power. I never thought they would be'Stone' after buying so many'Stone' secret transmissions. It turns out they are 'Cup'?"
Ben Gecheer muttered with a frown. After carefully thinking about the "Cup" society he might have offended recently, he couldn't figure out who might have attacked. So, he temporarily shifted his thoughts in another direction, continued to look at Barna before him, and spoke again.
"You just said you escaped when they weren't paying attention. Since those guys could subdue both of you, did they really let you escape so easily?"
With a hint of suspicion, Ben Gecheer said to Barna. After hearing Ben Gecheer's words, Barna also answered directly.
"Yes, Mr., the main reason these guys could subdue us was because of the ambush. If we fought them head-on, we wouldn't necessarily lose. Although they ambushed us, they didn't actually know our abilities very well. They restrained me by hanging me with hemp rope, which gave me a chance to escape. Because they didn't understand, they were also negligent when they ambushed us. If I hadn't been trying to save Roque, I could have escaped much earlier."
Barna said to Ben Gecheer with a certain tone. After listening to Barna's words, the doubt in Ben Gecheer's eyes did not disappear. Instead, he asked Barna with a hint of wariness.
"Barna... Do you remember when you started working for me?"
"Of course I remember, Mr., that was in March four years ago, in Yaz..."
Barna answered Ben Gecheer's question. After hearing the other party's completely correct answer, the doubt in Ben Gecheer's eyes was not completely dispelled. He continued to ask Barna more questions about him, and Barna answered everything correctly, without hiding anything.
After listening to Barna's responses and confirming that the Barna before him was almost certainly himself and in no mental distress, he turned his face to look at the attendant who had been standing beside him and spoke.
"Araulo, go get the Hui Jian Lamp. Shine it on Barna. Remember to get one with higher efficacy."
"Yes, Mr.", the attendant named Araulo responded to Ben Gecheer's words and withdrew. During this time, Ben Gecheer continued to speak to Barna.
"When you are illuminated later, do not consume'Shadow' to resist."
"I... I understand, Mr...."
Barna responded, and at this moment, the young attendant who had gone out not long ago returned to the room. In his hand, he now held a peculiar gas lamp.
The young attendant held the Hui Jian Lamp in front of Barna and then activated it. The orange-yellow light illuminated the surroundings and shone on Barna. Barna did not offer any resistance and just let the Hui Jian Lamp shine on him.
Finally, after the illumination lasted for a considerable period, consuming several 'Light' storage items, the Hui Jian Lamp did not reveal any abnormal extraordinary traces on Barna. Seeing this situation, Ben Gecheer nodded and then continued to speak.
"Alright, you don't need to be illuminated anymore. You can go back and rest, Barna. However, it's best not to sleep. We need to prepare overnight. We will leave Truva early tomorrow morning."
"Leaving tomorrow? I understand, Mr. I'll go back and prepare now."
Saying this, Barna withdrew. Beside Ben Gecheer, another middle-aged man with a worried expression, seeing Barna retreat, also spoke to Ben Gecheer.
"Mr., isn't leaving early tomorrow morning too hasty? There should still be many resources in Truva that haven't been plundered. Since the 'Cup' society that ambushed Barna and them couldn't even keep people under control, it proves they aren't too strong. We don't need to be afraid of them, right?"
"There's no need to be afraid, of course. The key is that we know too little about them. The unknown often brings uncertain danger. We are only temporarily staying in this city and don't have time to investigate their background.
"No matter who they are, since they have detected the abnormality of the Truva Craftsmen's Guild, it is a risk for us. Our mission is to eliminate the Truva Craftsmen's Guild and plunder the extraordinary resources of Truva as much as possible, not to spend energy fighting an unknown society to the death. Since the last craftsmen in Truva have all been eliminated and the objective is almost completed, there is no need to continue staying here at the risk. We will go back and report our mission first. It's not too late to settle this account later.
"We will get ready tonight and can take the train out of the city early tomorrow morning. You should also go down and prepare, Farol. There's no need to stay here and have long nights and many dreams."
Ben Gecheer said so. Facing the attack from a society of unknown origin, his cautious attitude led him to choose to withdraw rather than confront them head-on. After hearing his words, the man named Farol also nodded and withdrew. After looking at the surrounding scene, Ben Gecheer also stood up from his seat to prepare for the withdrawal.
...
Under the night sky, on the roof of a house not far from Ben Gecheer's residence, a small black figure was looking at the courtyard in the distance.
"Ah... Preparing tonight, leaving tomorrow morning. Just as Beverly said, these guys are quite cautious..."
Wearing a black cloak and a black hood, Dorothy muttered while looking at the residence in the distance.
"However... preparing overnight and not sleeping at all, this is a bit troublesome for me too, but thankfully there is a solution..."
While saying this, Dorothy sat down on the ground. After lowering her head, she began to use the clear sleeping method to fall into sleep, allowing her thoughts to become active in her dream.
Subsequently, Dorothy used her ability in her dream to control her body, making it stand up again. Then, she took out a small iron bottle from her cloak.
This small bottle was a trophy Dorothy had previously searched from Barna and his companions. After identification, Dorothy confirmed that it contained a'Shadow' nature hypnotic gas that could cause those who inhaled it to fall into deep sleep. The source of this gas was a talisman rolled inside the bottle, called the Deep Sleep Talisman. When this talisman is activated, it is burned and turns into hypnotic smoke. If collected and used in a bottle, it can better control the dosage and be used against others.
Holding the small bottle that had just been confiscated, Dorothy opened the cap and brought it to her nose. Dorothy began to inhale the gas inside, causing herself, who was already in a state of sleep, to fall into a deeper sleep.
Then, Dorothy in her dream used spiritual threads to control the deep sleep effect generated by the Deep Sleep Talisman on herself and transmitted it to Barna, who was marked with the Common Sense Text puppet mark, in the residence not far away.
Inside the residence, Barna, who was preparing to withdraw, suddenly felt an irresistible wave of sleepiness. Then his whole body fell asleep. Immediately afterwards, Dorothy used the puppet mark to control the sleeping Barna and make him stand up.
Barna, who got up in his sleep, checked that there was no one around. He then walked to the window of a nearby room. After opening the window, he saw a large eagle standing on the windowsill, and beside the eagle was a cloth bag.
Barna opened the cloth bag and found sticks of yellowish-brown dynamite inside.