Prit East Coast, Tivian.
During the daytime, in the distant suburbs of Tivian, there was a stretch of steep coastal cliffs. Below the cliffs were countless jagged rocks, and surging waves swept in from the sea, one after another, constantly washing and pounding against the solid rocks. The sound of the waves was incessant.
At the top of the cliffs stood a large military fortress. This fortress faced the sea on two sides, with tall walls, numerous watchtowers, and sturdy gun towers covered in dense firing ports. On the high walls of the fortress, countless soldiers in Prit military uniforms patrolled back and forth, and Prit's national flag fluttered in the wind.
This fortress was built by the sea and appeared to be a coastal defense fortress on the surface. However, upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the cannons on the fortress were not only aimed at the sea; there were also many military deployments targeting the land, which should have been the rear. The defenses were very strict in all directions, and the level of vigilance seemed much higher than that of ordinary military facilities.
The name of this fortress was Cold Cliff Prison. That's right, its essence was not a military fortress, but a prison, and it was a special prison at that. The criminals incarcerated here were all related to covert crimes. This was one of the many prisons set up by the Prit government specifically for special criminals.
The so-called special criminals were offenders related to covert incidents. When Prit's covert police solved cases involving the Extraordinary, most of the captured criminals were centrally confined in such special prisons. From ordinary henchmen of cult organizations to Black Earth-level cadres, these ordinary cult members and low-level Extraordinary in the Tivian region were centrally confined in this prison, while the extremely rare Chalk-level high-ranking cadres were housed in other, more heavily guarded areas.
Outside Cold Cliff Prison, in the not-so-dense forest on the shore, two figures were currently riding two fine horses, walking along a narrow and long forest path. The one leading was a woman, wearing long boots, long pants, a black trench coat, and a short hat, in a standard Hunter uniform. That was Misha Devonshire, the Special Captain of the Tivian An-Yin Main Bureau, and behind her was a young Hunter also in uniform riding a horse, named Grego.
On the slightly muddy path, the two rode their horses towards the distant, tall fortress. Grego raised his head, looked at the increasingly approaching building in the distance, and spoke.
"Madam Devonshire, we are almost there."
"Hmm... The road isn't great today, so we're a bit slow..." Listening to Grego's words, Misha responded silently, while Grego continued to speak.
"Yeah... It took a bit longer than before, but Madam Devonshire... Is it necessary for us to come here again? Haven't they interrogated that guy many times already, and everything that could be extracted has been?" With a hint of doubt, Grego asked Misha, who replied calmly.
"Last night, while organizing clues, I suddenly sorted out some new information and had some other ideas. If my thoughts are correct, that guy might still be hiding something from us. This time, I need to go and get it clear..."
"Oh..."
Listening to Misha's words, Grego nodded thoughtfully, and then stopped saying anything else, continuing to ride his horse and follow Misha ahead. After they had traveled another distance, Misha, who was in front, paused slightly, seemed to recall something, and touched herself, then frowned and looked back at Grego behind her.
"Careless... My ID is gone. It seems I dropped it there when I was checked at the wood fork earlier. Mesi Horse, could I trouble you to help me look for it over there?"
"The wood fork? That's still a bit far. I understand. Please wait here for a moment, Madam, I'll be back soon." Listening to Misha's words, Grego directly pulled the reins in his hand, turned his horse around, and then rode back along the original path. Misha rode her own horse, standing in the distance and watching Grego's receding figure. After a while, she saw him completely disappear.
Just like that, Misha waited silently where she was, as if waiting for the departing Grego to return. After quite a while, in the forest beside Misha, a rustling sound suddenly rang out. Misha turned her head, and what she saw was a figure on horseback emerging from the woods.
It was a black fine horse that Misha had never seen before, seemingly a bit larger than the ones she and Grego were riding. And on the horse's back was a young man also wearing a Hunter uniform, whose face had the exact same features and appearance as Grego, who had just left not long ago.
Before Misha's eyes appeared a man who looked exactly like Grego. If it weren't for the slightly worn Hunter uniform this young man was wearing, which was clearly not the same set as Grego's, and the horse not being the same one, plus the slightly uncomfortable smile on the young man's lips that Grego would almost never show, displaying a completely different demeanor from Grego, Misha might have mistaken the other party for the real Grego.
"Hello, Madam Misha, it's our first meeting."
Looking at Misha in front, the young man with the exact same appearance as Grego smiled and spoke, then took off his hat and bowed. Looking at this familiar yet strange figure before her, Misha also spoke curiously after observing him for a few moments.
"You are... from the Rose?"
"Precisely. I used a few tricks and acquired the ability of Blood Shadow. Your subordinate really left in a hurry just now; I almost didn't have time to observe him." Facing Misha, the young man continued to speak with a smile, and Misha then spoke again.
"How should I address you?"
"Well... As for my real name, Madam Misha, you don't need to know it for this mission for now. Just continue to call me, Grego."
Shrugging his shoulders, the young man who called himself Grego said to Misha, while Misha turned her head to look in the direction where the real Grego had disappeared, and continued to speak.
"My subordinate, you won't do anything to him, will you?"
"Of course not. At most, we'll implant some false memories later so he can cooperate with our pace. Hmm, Madam Misha, you seem quite concerned about that young man. Could it be that you have feelings for him...?" The young man said with a hint of teasing, and Misha immediately responded.
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm just showing a little concern for my subordinate, nothing else. That kid is quite reliable in his work, and his skills are pretty good on missions. It would be a shame if something happened to him... But speaking of which, you actually have the ability to implant false memories in others? How do you do that?" Changing the subject, Misha continued, and "Grego" also responded.
"It's just a small trick achieved through dreams. This isn't my main ability, and it has quite a few limitations in use; it only works in a few situations."
"Alright, let's not waste any more time talking nonsense. Let's get down to business quickly. Those guys have already started acting, and we don't have much time, so we need to hurry a bit."
"Grego" said this to Misha, then looked towards the tall fortress prison in the distance. After hearing "Grego's" words, Misha also nodded slightly, then continued to ride her horse towards their original destination, while "Grego" continued to follow behind her.
After switching subordinates, Misha continued towards her destination. Before long, she arrived in front of the gate of the tall fortress prison. At the outpost ahead, she was stopped by guards for inspection.
After dismounting, undergoing a full inspection, and presenting her complete identification documents, Misha was allowed to pass. When she walked on foot to the base of the towering city walls, a prison warden with a face full of smiles walked out from a small door and greeted Misha with a smile.
"Oh dear, who do we have here? It's Madam Devonshire... It's been a long time. Please forgive me for not coming out to meet you sooner."
Looking at the slightly overweight prison warden with a fawning smile before her, Misha calmly put her hands behind her back, then spoke softly.
"Long time no see, Warden Morris. My purpose in coming here is the same as before."
"The same purpose? Oh... I see. Then, Madam Devonshire, who are you planning to interrogate this time? I will arrange it immediately." After hearing Misha's purpose, the warden continued, and Misha then spoke.
"The ones I want to interrogate this time are 1142, 0155, 0078... these few."
"1142, 0078... those few? You've interrogated these lads many times last year and early this year. Interrogating them again this time, it seems you've made some progress."
"That's none of your business. Just lead the way now. No need to prepare a special interrogation room. I'll go directly to his cell, ask a few things, and leave." Misha continued speaking to the warden, who nodded repeatedly after listening.
"Yes, yes, let's go now."
Saying that, the warden led Misha and "Grego" into the heavily guarded prison fortress. They walked forward through the long, damp stone corridor. After passing through layers of security, they arrived at the cell area. Looking at the locked iron doors of the cells lined up along the long corridor, the warden took out a large bunch of keys, preparing to open the door.
"By the way, later I might interrogate some unexpected prisoners. It might take a while. Give the keys to this subordinate I brought; we'll handle it ourselves. You can go attend to your own matters."
"Uh... alright."
Misha said this to the warden. Listening to Misha's words, the warden hesitated for a moment before handing the keys to "Grego". After taking the keys, "Grego" and Misha walked through the cell area together, starting to randomly open the doors of some cells. After Misha went in, she briefly interrogated the unexpected prisoner inside, asking some questions about cases related to him, then came out again and re-locked the cell door.
After consecutively interrogating several prisoners, Misha led "Grego" deeper into the prison. After descending a staircase to the cold, deep cells underground, Misha walked along a corridor under the dim firelight. Amidst the strange howls coming from a distance, she reached a very heavy iron door. Then, she glanced slightly at "Grego" beside her. He immediately found several keys corresponding to the cell number from a large bunch of complex keys. After inserting all of them into the lock holes on the cell door and turning them, he slowly pushed open the heavy cell door. What appeared before the two of them was a small, dim cell.
Inside the cell, a gaunt male prisoner in a prison uniform, with a sallow face and no hair, was sitting on the cold ground. His hands and feet were restrained by thick iron chains connected to the wall, and there were bloodstains on his wrists and ankles. When the cell door was opened, the prisoner's lowered head slowly lifted, looking at Misha and "Grego" who had already entered the cell.
"Hello, Weihan Calder... No, I should say Mr. Northbourne. It's been a long time."
Facing the bewildered prisoner before her, Misha, with her hands behind her back, spoke from above. Listening to her words, the man called Northbourne hesitated for a moment, then spoke.
"It's you... from the Black Dog Bureau... What are you here for again?"
"Of course, it's the same as before, to ask you some questions."
"Questions? Heh... I've already said everything I can say. What else do you want to ask me? I'm just a small member of the organization, a tiny part of the Spider Queen's web. I can't provide you with any more useful information. No matter how you target me, you won't get any more intelligence..."
Northbourne said this, and his words revealed his identity. He was a member of the Eight Point Nest, one of the Eight-Pointed Spiders captured by the An Yin Bureau, and a special spider at that.
Northbourne was not one of the Eight-Pointed henchmen arrested in the An Yin Bureau's recent cleanup operation, but rather an Eight-Pointed spy who was discovered and caught by the An Yin Bureau earlier. He was an exposed Eight-Pointed spy.
At the end of last year, Harold, the head of the An-Yin Main Bureau, in order to solve the increasingly serious intelligence leakage problem within the bureau, prepared to form an anti-espionage team composed entirely of members from local branches. This news was unfortunately obtained by the Eight Point Nest. Among the members from local branches who went to the main bureau to report, two were attacked as previously arranged. A member from South Lem County named Weihan sacrificed himself in this attack and was ultimately replaced by the Eight-Pointed member who attacked him. This was Northbourne.
Later, Misha, through intelligence from the Rose Cross, successfully learned Weihan's true identity and secretly captured Northbourne, who had become Weihan. After forcing him to reveal his true form, she conducted repeated interrogations, but unfortunately, due to Northbourne's limited knowledge, they did not obtain any valuable intelligence.
"Does Tivian still have your hidden contact point? Does the Eight-Pointed Nest have any plans for dispatching spies after you? Tell me clearly!"
"Hmph, don't bother, you female Black Dog. I don't know these questions. Even if you open my head, you won't find anything. Don't waste your effort..."
Facing the spy subordinate she hadn't seen in a long time, Misha conducted various stern interrogations, but she couldn't get any valuable information from Northbourne. Facing Northbourne, who knew nothing, Misha seemed to be getting increasingly impatient.
"Listen, you filthy spider, you'd better answer my questions properly, otherwise... Ugh!"
Suddenly, Misha, who was originally interrogating, suddenly closed her mouth, her eyes widened, and then an expression of unbearable fatigue appeared on her face. Then, in Northbourne's astonished eyes, her body went limp and she fell down, unconscious on the ground.
"This..." Looking at the scene before him, Northbourne's eyes widened, not knowing what had happened to Misha. Just then, a voice sounded in the cell, attracting Northbourne's attention.
"Heh... the medicine is working. It's effective as soon as it's triggered, truly instant."
Standing beside Misha, "Grego" smiled, holding a small wooden stick. As he smiled, he shifted his gaze to the astonished Northbourne beside him, and Northbourne spoke in amazement.
"You, you are..."
"I'm here to save you, compatriot. You've worked hard these past six months. The Spider Queen will not forget your sacrifice. Now, let me take you back to the deep web."
Facing Northbourne, Grego smiled and spoke. Then he looked at Misha at his feet and added.
"There's not much time, let's get started quickly. This female Black Dog's identity will allow you to pass through all the security outside smoothly."
...
Just as Grego and Misha entered Cold Cliff Prison together, on the vast wilderness outside the huge prison fortress, countless hidden figures were rapidly moving and gathering at the target location. Mysterious figures were gathering at a hidden location outside Cold Cliff Prison, and inside Cold Cliff Prison, someone was also ready.