Everyone was excited because they were all moving towards a better future, but Zhang Bo’s face turned particularly ugly after leaving the Noble Residence.
He realized that Shen Mu’s perception of him was actually similar to that of the senior managers: outwardly respectful, but in reality, not paying much attention to them at all.
Indeed, Zhang Bo could feel that Shen Mu’s mental state towards him was merely a common respect for talent.
As for a deeper trust, or the feeling of an unreserved friend or brother, someone integrated into his core circle, that was completely absent.
This indicated that Zhang Bo was actually not much different from other senior managers, and even not much different from these middle-level managers.
Consequently, his status was distinctly different from that of Zhang Caidong and Sun Zhiru.
Zhang Caidong was the general manager for all Blue Star Humans.
Sun Zhiru was appointed deputy general manager after presenting Shen Mu with a very useful Sacred Artifact from the spirit world.
However, Zhang Bo was merely a Prophecy-type Mage with a promising future but not yet grown, whose individual combat capability was even inferior to a Swadian Recruit, and whose overall combat power was no different from that of ordinary civilian units.
Therefore, Shen Mu’s respect and esteem for him were only expressed for the achievements he might have in the future.
It had little to do with Zhang Bo himself.
“If I can’t integrate into the core circle, how can I infiltrate that castle?” Zhang Bo gritted his teeth, looking at the Noble Residence behind him, then at the towering walls to the north and the Rodok Castle built on the rock formation.
He unconsciously clenched his fists, his face somewhat distorted: “And according to my investigation, it seems there’s also a nature-type spellcaster, likely a Druid, right within that castle.”
Indeed, Zhang Bo was sure of this because he had more contact with the Wood Elves and could sense the aura of nature.
Thus, he had a special sensitivity to the peaceful, natural magical power emanating from within the tall gate of Rodok Castle.
After all, Prophecy-type Mages inherently possess special and keen perceptive abilities towards various magical elements and spiritual energy.
Detecting the natural aura and energy fluctuations caused by Druid spellcasting within Rodok Castle was only natural.
But precisely because of this, it was somewhat difficult for Zhang Bo to accept; he had originally thought he was the only spellcaster profession.
He never expected that Shen Mu, this fellow, also had a Druid-type spellcaster within Rodok Castle, which was a bit unacceptable for him, even though Druids and Prophecy-type Mages could not be compared in terms of preciousness.
However, a spellcaster itself is quite valuable, so Zhang Bo's original pride was now torn to shreds.
Although Zhang Bo was allocated a separate Town Area house to use as his private villa, the place where that Druid, formed by Blue Star Humans, resided was the core of the core, within the castle, which was Shen Mu’s absolute forbidden zone.
Indeed, Zhang Bo could confirm that the Druid was a Blue Star Human, because only Blue Star Humans could release that kind of magical fluctuation, where the soul is incomplete and thus the extraordinary ability is not strong.
Zhang Bo was certain.
Otherwise, Zhang Bo would not have carried that Magic Crystal Ball to serve as the deputy director of the investigation department within the Quality Inspection Department of the Diesel Company.
And then he step-by-step became the deputy minister of the Quality Inspection Department, eventually directly commanding the entire Quality Inspection Department.
It was all thanks to the perceptive abilities bestowed upon him by his profession as a Prophecy-type Mage.
But this made it even harder for Zhang Bo to accept.
He, a very precious Prophecy-type Mage, a profession that could even predict the future if it reached a stronger stage.
He would actually be excluded from the core circle by an ordinary Druid.
How could Zhang Bo accept this?
“Absolutely not, I must find a way to enter the castle, otherwise I will slowly be forgotten.” Zhang Bo understood very well that one must always be around the leader; otherwise, once one moves away from the leader and has nothing special about oneself, the leader will slowly forget them.
Especially when the leader is making great strides and developing rapidly, if he doesn't prove very useful by the leader's side, then he certainly won't enter the core circle in the end, but will merely be a convenient tool in the ordinary circle.
These are workplace rules, but they also apply brutally to the current situation.
But this was also what constantly infuriated Zhang Bo, as he still didn't know how to enter the Castle District, or even within the Noble Residence system of the Town Area, he couldn't converse with Shen Mu like Zhang Caidong and Sun Zhiru could.
“I must think of a way, I must think of a way, but what way could there be?” Zhang Bo’s face grew increasingly anxious at this moment, and as he looked at the middle-level managers who had just led the human followers, his expression worsened.
Although he currently got along quite well with these middle-level managers, and also maintained harmonious relationships with the senior managers due to Zhang Caidong, he even had the right to negotiate with these senior managers to some extent, leveraging the fox-borrowing-tiger's-might strategy.
But Zhang Bo understood that these people’s relationships were not enough to support him in approaching Shen Mu, because this group of people themselves were completely dependent on Shen Mu, and the reason he could establish authority among them was also due to Zhang Caidong’s trust in him and the fox-borrowing-tiger’s-might from relying on Shen Mu.
Once Shen Mu showed dislike for him, those previously good-natured senior managers and middle-level managers would likely turn hostile, and then it would be uncertain whether they would still obey his every command or trust him completely.
Therefore, it was unrealistic for Zhang Bo to rely on them to approach Shen Mu, and even more unrealistic to rely on them to enter the Castle District.
Now Zhang Bo looked up at the large cluster of buildings on the rock formation of the Castle District, and a scrutinizing gaze appeared in his eyes.
In his eyes, behind the tall city walls stood an even larger main castle.
And there were many towers standing tall, and in the southwest corner, an even taller Torch Tower stood, constantly shimmering with magical fluctuations and pure light energy.
It made Zhang Bo’s heart tremble slightly.
That formidable power from the castle, that pure light fluctuation from magic, gave him, a Blue Star Human and a Prophecy-type Mage, a double shock.
This was also why Zhang Bo felt fear when he looked at the castle.
After all, he understood that the castle was Shen Mu’s true core, and the Town Area outside was merely an appendage.
Otherwise, could Zhang Caidong and Sun Zhiru be nominally in charge of the Town Area directly?
It should be noted that these two Blue Star Humans had only recently pledged allegiance to Shen Mu, yet they were immediately put in charge of the Town Area. Although they only managed the Blue Star Humans within the Town Area and the human soldiers would not obey Zhang Caidong and Sun Zhiru, as long as these two spoke, the human soldiers would show much respect and try not to conflict with their orders.
Zhang Bo saw this clearly.
But he also understood even more clearly that the Town Area was truly just an appendage; for Shen Mu, the town was merely an auxiliary, not even half as important as the castle, which was the true core.
Therefore, even if there was a plan, even if the Town Area was thrown into chaos, as long as there were no issues with the castle, Shen Mu would not suffer heavy losses. For him, even if he exhausted every possible method, he would actually only destroy some dispensable decorations.
Therefore, Zhang Bo had to work hard to ensure that when his plan succeeded, he would also heavily damage the castle, or rather, ensure that the true core of this Deherim was destroyed.
If the castle, this core, isn't destroyed, then what good is it to level the Town Area?
It doesn't matter if jars and bottles are broken; as long as the houses and land remain, everything can be rebuilt.
This is the difference between an appendage and a core.
Every word, every sentence, every detail, every content, all in one glance!
But now Zhang Bo really wanted to enter the Castle District to take a good look, to see the natural energy within and the Torch Tower emitting light energy, or to see what other trump cards Shen Mu had not revealed to them.
Zhang Bo wanted to take a serious look.
“But how do I get in? How do I get in? How on earth can I get in?!” Zhang Bo’s eyes were bloodshot at this moment.
He was truly furious.
His anger stemmed from his powerlessness, not knowing what to do.
“No, no, anger is clouding my judgment right now. I must calm down, and I need to have a good talk with Green Leaf Group about this issue, to see if they have any good ideas.” Zhang Bo tried his best to calm himself down at this moment, because he knew that if he didn’t calm down, problems would definitely arise.
And he also understood very well that people cannot think rationally when they are angry.
Furthermore, he also greatly trusted Green Leaf Group; both Zhang Song and Yang Di, CEO Yang, were top students from their school and had founded Green Leaf Group, once a high-ranking executive who commanded influence in Long City.
Therefore, consulting them when unsure about something was an excellent choice.
Moreover, relying on himself alone wouldn’t provide him with better ideas or help.
Two heads are better than one, it’s better to let everyone brainstorm together and come up with a better solution to the current problem.
Moreover, Green Leaf Group is also a very powerful force.
Although it couldn't compare to Diesel Company, and also couldn't compare to the current Deherim, it had existed for nearly two years, and during these two years, it had accumulated a lot of heritage.
Besides, Zhang Song had also told him before.
If Green Leaf Group reached a desperate situation, it still had a very powerful foundation that could provide support.
This is why Diesel Company ultimately chose to abort their attack when assaulting Green Leaf Group, and why they maintained an aggressive stance towards Green Leaf Group but never launched another attack.
“Perhaps Green Leaf Group really has a way, and with so many Wood Elves in Green Leaf Group, there must be some good things related to natural aura. If I use a natural-related good thing to connect with Shen Mu, just like Sun Zhiru, who contributed a sacred artifact related to light, then perhaps I’ll have a chance to approach the Castle District.”
Because he had quelled his anger, Zhang Bo’s mind gradually became clear.
He thought of many things.
Especially about why Sun Zhiru succeeded, rising in one step to be almost on par with Zhang Caidong as the two top Blue Star Humans. Their status was so high that they were arguably the only two people in the entire Town Area.
The reason was that after Sun Zhiru contributed that sacred artifact related to light, he received Shen Mu’s favor, and only then was he able to become the deputy general manager.
And why the Torch Tower emitted the power of light might also be related to the sacred artifact Sun Zhiru contributed at that time.
After all, Sun Zhiru himself said that the sacred artifact he contributed possessed the power of light, and only after he contributed the sacred artifact did the Torch Tower successfully light up, then emitting the seemingly endless, sun-like brightness that now emanates in circles.
“Then I also sensed the presence of natural aura within the Castle District, and there must be related Wood Elf sacred artifacts in the Wood Elf Village. If I can contribute Green Leaf Group’s Wood Elf sacred artifact to Shen Mu, perhaps I’ll have a chance to enter the Castle District to investigate the truth, and if I use a little trick with this sacred artifact, then perhaps I can directly attack the Castle District.”
Zhang Bo thought of many things at this moment, so excited that he couldn't control himself.
And he also felt that this method was indeed good.
“I must meet with Green Leaf Group quickly.” Thinking of this, Zhang Bo waved goodbye to the middle-level managers, said a few more words, and then returned to his Town Area residence.
Then he wrote his secret letter, handed it to his two most trusted little monsters, and then had them head out of Deherim.
Because Zhang Bo knew very well that near the safe house outside Deherim, there must also be Blue Star Humans left by Green Leaf Group, waiting to meet him at any time.
As long as he made any discovery, that Blue Star Human would definitely return to Green Leaf Group at the fastest speed, and then Green Leaf Group would quickly send a high-ranking person to communicate with him.
After all, they had already developed a very smooth procedure for this kind of espionage under the pressure of Diesel Company.
Now, using it in Deherim was also effortless. (End of Chapter)