Chapter 815, Caught So Fast?
The two were dragged by skeletons into separate cells, heavy shackles fastened onto them in the scuffle.
One by one, skeletons entered the cells.
Each held a hand axe, hollow sockets fixed on the imprisoned test subjects.
The Intelligence Minister shouted, "Wu Heng! Have you forgotten the kingdom's protection? If it weren't for Blackstone Town, you'd never have had the chance to grow."
"You were granted favor, given a chance to shine. You should be grateful to the kingdom and the Second Prince."
"You can return with me, help the Second Prince reclaim the throne. With the kingdom backing you, reaching level 18 or even becoming a hero wouldn't be a problem."
From the next cell, the Commander's voice echoed, "That's right, Wu Heng. You can return with us. You're one of the kingdom's people too."
The Intelligence Minister clearly knew quite a bit about Wu Heng's identity—even his time in Blackstone Town.
But he apparently didn't know what Wu Heng experienced there.
Still, his reaction was quick.
He immediately tied Wu Heng's past to the Ekow Kingdom and tried to persuade him to help the Second Prince.
Wu Heng stood at the cell door, watching as the skeletons shackled and guarded them.
Casually, he said, "I'm not going back. But I can tell you why I came to catch you."
The two men fell silent.
Wu Heng continued, "In Rentam City, we captured a level 18 assassin. During interrogation, he mentioned you—'Blyce.' Otherwise, I wouldn't even know who you were."
The Intelligence Minister's face changed. "Damn it!"
From the next cell, the Rogue, who had been quietly listening, suddenly shouted, "Bullshit! I never said that!"
"Blyce, don't believe him! He's trying to sow discord!"
"Wu Heng, cut the crap with your tricks!"
The Rogue's voice echoed from the adjacent cell.
Wu Heng shrugged and said to the two new prisoners, "Oh, by the way—he's right next door."
Both the Intelligence Minister and Commander narrowed their eyes.
Looks like the Rentam City operation had already failed—they just hadn't been informed yet.
"Wu Heng, what exactly do you want?" the Intelligence Minister asked coldly.
Wu Heng looked at them. "Where's the Second Prince? Give me his exact location and I'll treat you more comfortably."
The two remained silent.
The Intelligence Minister said, "We don't know. Even if you use corpse interrogation, you won't get anything."
"Then who would know?"
The Intelligence Minister instantly fell silent.
"The Secret Cult's higher-ups?" Wu Heng asked.
The Intelligence Minister's gaze sharpened—clearly surprised Wu Heng knew that too.
Wu Heng didn't pursue that topic. Instead, he asked, "Let me ask you something easier. Where do the ghost train tickets come from?"
The Intelligence Minister hesitated but answered, "Those above have a certain item that can produce the tickets, but the quantity is limited. Usually, only one or two are issued each month."
"By 'those above,' you mean the Second Prince?"
"I'm not sure. They're distributed from above, but I don't know who holds the item that creates them," the Intelligence Minister replied.
Wu Heng nodded. "Not very convincing, but I like your attitude. Give him a decent meal tonight."
With that, Wu Heng turned and left the room. "Shut the doors. Watch them. If they try to escape or break their chains, kill them."
Clang~!
The two iron doors shut, cutting them off from the outside.
The skeletons inside stepped forward in unison, hollow eyes fixed intensely on their targets.
...…
After Wu Heng's footsteps faded—
The Intelligence Minister called toward the door, "Kryses, you're here too?"
Though several cells apart, the voices still carried faintly. They were all high-level Professionals, with far better hearing than ordinary people.
The Rogue replied from next door, "I was caught in Rentam City."
"Tell us about this place," the Intelligence Minister said again.
The Rogue took a deep breath. "This is a Necromancer's research base. Sometimes I hear animals roaring or struggling. I suspect it's near Rentam City. Lots of skeletons guard the outside. Where were you two captured?"
"Nilari City," the Intelligence Minister said.
"Impossible—he was just here last night!" the Rogue shouted.
The Intelligence Minister's tone remained calm. "He probably used a ghost train ticket. He seemed really interested in that."
The Rogue replied, "No—I mean, using a ghost train takes a lot of time. What's with you two?"
Even discounting travel time, they couldn't have spent more than half a day in Nilari City.
And yet two level 18s were already captured?
"He disguised himself and tricked us out," the Commander said grimly.
They had discussed it inside the Mansion Spell and deduced the method of disguise.
It worked well—and if it fooled two level 18s, he was more terrifying than the rumors.
"Did they experiment on you?" the Intelligence Minister asked.
"They force-fed me some kind of meat—looked like an animal brain. It was highly toxic, but after absorbing it, I felt much stronger," the Rogue replied. "I suspect I'm being used for experiments."
That response reminded the two others of the enhancement potions sold on Gold-Silver Island.
Though far away, they'd heard of the strange potions.
Seems the ingredients were being developed here.
Maybe the formula could be found in this place.
With it, they'd never have to worry about money again.
The Intelligence Minister asked, "Any way out?"
"Not yet. But the experiments don't kill us quickly. Gives us time to look for a way," the Rogue said.
Creak~!
The Intelligence Minister's cell door opened. A skeleton brought in bread and sausage.
Reward for the intel he gave Wu Heng earlier.
The door closed again.
But no one spoke further. All three cells fell into silence.
...…
Back in the monitoring room—
Xiaoxiao flew in right behind, looking like she'd overheard something juicy. "Uncle! They said this prison's near Rentam City. And they're plotting how to escape."
"Did they come up with anything?" Wu Heng asked.
"No. The Rogue said there's no immediate danger, so they'll look for a way out slowly," Xiaoxiao replied, flying to the other side.
He was mistaken. Tomorrow won't be Corpse Cores—it'll be virus injection.
Whether they live through it or not was anyone's guess.
"Don't bother with them. As long as they can't escape, it's fine," Wu Heng said.
"Okay!" Xiaoxiao nodded.
Wu Heng then took out the Intelligence Minister's spatial ring, slipped it on, and began pulling items out one by one.
Perhaps due to his clerical duties, the contents weren't as chaotic as the Commander's.
Money, daily items, documents, weapons, equipment.
Wu Heng focused on the gear.
[Whirling Scream Crossbow (Exotic Item)]
[Effect: When arrows hit the target, they emit a shriek that stuns and confuses the target.]
[Side Effect: User loses hearing.]
(Description: A weapon that brings agony to both the target and the user.)
It was a fine crossbow, ancient yet well-maintained.
Clearly, the Intelligence Minister had taken good care of it.
Its effect caused stun and confusion upon impact.
Felt like a magic arrow-type ability.
The side effect—losing hearing—was serious in battle.
Most opened their senses wide in combat, fearing danger. This one sacrificed an entire sense.
But it was still an Exotic Item. He'd figure out later who to give it to.
The remaining armor, boots, and cloaks were all magic items—mostly defensive or augmentative. Not bad.
Aside from those, there were two ghost train tickets—but no item to create more.
"No ticket-creating Exotic Item?" Glenda asked.
"No. He said someone else probably has it—most likely the Second Prince," Wu Heng replied.
"Makes sense. An item that produces tickets must be pretty powerful. We should try to get it."
"Agreed," Wu Heng nodded.
He swept the table clean and brought out all the documents taken from the Intelligence Minister's office.
With a grin, he said, "Glenda, Benny—it's all on you. See if there are any important leads."
"And what about you? Split into six clones and help!" Glenda shot back.
"It's nighttime. I'm alive—I need to sleep."