Chapter 403: Section 190: Walk Quickly
Fire Island, the docks.
The Clan Leader of the Hundred Needle Family and Biwa, disguised and made up to look like mercenaries, wove through the narrow alleyways.
The alleyways here bore the characteristics of giants, not narrow at all.
The dock’s distinctive fishy smell wafted over from time to time.
The Clan Leader and Biwa maneuvered through, occasionally turning and sometimes pausing.
In inconspicuous places, sometimes on the thick wooden doors, other times in moss-covered corners of walls, were inscribed cryptic codes.
These codes looked like children’s scribbles, but in reality, they followed a pattern, hinting at the direction ahead.
Following the instructions in the letter, the Clan Leader found this secret mark at the dock and took immediate action.
He was determined to save his son, Zhenjin!
He was the only future of the Hundred Needle Family.
After deciphering more than a dozen codes, finally, the Clan Leader and Biwa stopped in front of the last one.
The mark was on the lintel of an abandoned hut.
Biwa cautiously entered, inspected, and returned disappointed, “My lord, there’s no one here, just this.”
Another letter.
The Clan Leader unfolded the letter and found its content illegible.
He sighed, “It’s all coded, needs deciphering.”
“The method to decrypt is in the previous letter.”
“This pirate group is extremely secretive, seems to have great plans!”
Without seeing any living soul, the Clan Leader could only return with disappointment and worry.
Not long after he left, an insect flew spiraling out from a hidden corner.
The insect, inconspicuous like a mosquito, flew directly toward Fire City in the center of the island.
As it flew past a corner, another insect lying there also took off, joining it on its journey.
Passing the curtain of a restaurant, yet another insect flew out.
As they crossed a stray dog, another insect emerged from the dog’s fur.
The insect continued its flight, gradually being joined by companions from various corners, merging into one, their buzzing sound growing louder.
It flitted through the alleys, over filthy wastewater, bypassing noisy markets, indistinguishable from normal mosquitoes amidst the dense fishy smell.
They then soared over fields and rocks, boldly crossing through the city gates right under the City Guard’s watch.
On the main thoroughfare, they encountered a Golden Level Mage.
The female Mage furrowed her brows and waved her hand, dispersing the swarm of mosquitoes without noticing anything unusual.
Eventually, the mosquitoes entered the inner city of Fire City, reaching a garden villa designated for esteemed guests.
The windows had been open for a while.
The swarm obediently flew through the window, settling on a metal washbowl.
The washbowl was already prepared with “food”.
A large pile of Elemental Crystals, pre-treated and specifically ground into powder.
Besides, in another metal basin close by, was filled a large amount of transparent, slightly brown lubricant.
The swarm of mosquitoes landed on the crystal powder, rustling as they feasted for a while. Then, in sequence, they dived into the lubricant, rolling around a few times.
Finally, they all stopped on the table, all completely motionless as if inanimate objects.
Not long after, Tuck pushed the door and entered.
“Let me see what’s going on here?”
Driven by curiosity, he employed alchemy to activate another function of these alchemical mosquitoes.
Soon, a series of images unfolded in Tuck’s mind. Connecting these images, Tuck immediately understood the journey and experiences of the Clan Leader and Biwa.
“A mysterious code…”
“What is he going to do?”
“His real destination should be Fire Island. Is he going to secretly meet with the Justice Pirate Group?”
“Wait, are you saying the Justice Pirate Group is here?”
Tuck frowned, his expression growing solemn.
“No, this conjecture lacks evidence.”
“Just because the Justice Pirate Group contacted the Clan Leader of the Hundred Needle Family does not mean that the one the Clan Leader is meeting secretly with is the Justice Pirate Group.”
“Of course, this possibility isn’t small.”
Tuck knew the Justice Pirate Group.
His teacher had assigned him this task, instructing him to find clues about the communicator from the shattered Magic Communication Device.
He had found them now.
Ironically, the reason he was able to find them so quickly was that he had encountered the Clan Leader of the Hundred Needle Family, who had survived a shipwreck, and found inspiration through his Legendary Nine Swords.
“The Justice Pirate Group involves the Goddess Mei Lan, it’s not trivial!”
“What should I do?”
Tuck had a high status, and the Imperial Navy had long stopped trying to conceal matters concerning the Sky Pillar region, as they were impossible to hide. By now, they were no longer a secret.
Thinking of the extremely weakened physical form of Goddess Mei Lan, Tuck was spurred into action.
Just like Wei Sheng had envisioned his towering military achievements, Tuck also coveted the Goddess’s physical form!
But soon, he slightly shook his head, “It’s too risky!”
“There is hardly any reliable information, and I am but a Holy Domain.”
“Better inform my teacher first.”
He chose not to report this information to Fire City first.
On one hand, he himself was not certain that the Justice Pirate Group was on the island. On the other hand, the giants of Fire City were separated from the Human Race by a layer. Concerning the weakened physical form of Goddess Mei Lan, the stakes were too high. Tuck naturally trusted his own race and his teacher more.
Having made up his mind, Tuck immediately acted, sending a message back to his teacher.
After some time, he also reported the situation to his family.
Soon after, he received a reply from his teacher.
“My teacher has set out and is applying for a slot at the Teleportation Gate to come here?”
Tuck was astounded.
He knew his teacher’s character well.
Normally, he would seclude himself in his Alchemy Room, conducting countless experiments, exploring the frontier of Alchemy.
He had not expected him to leave his room this time!
“It must be the first time in at least three hundred years that the teacher has left his room, right?”
However, Tuck soon came to terms with it.
After all, this concerned the secrets of divinity.
No Legendary Mage could remain unmoved by this. His teacher was no exception.
“My teacher’s departure is historically rare; there must be a stir at Academic City.”
“Should I also strengthen communication with Fire City?”
“After all, the Fire City Lord is a Legendary Mage and also the controller of the forces here.”
“My teacher’s arrival will necessitate dealing with her and urgently discussing a cooperative agreement in private.”
Undoubtedly, as a noble among the elite, Tuck immediately knew what he needed to do.
However, just as he was about to leave, he received a second letter.
Initially, he thought it was a response from his family.
But unexpectedly, it still came from his teacher.
The content of the letter surprised him: his teacher had dismissed the idea of coming and was no longer in motion. Moreover, he explicitly told him—leave quickly!
Get off Fire Island as soon as possible!