In the noble circle of the dark city,
A masked man sitting behind a long chair was looking at the black-cloaked figure in the hologram in front.
"So, that rat finally left his hole, huh?" He coldly asked with a hint of ecstasy in his voice.
The person in the hologram replied in a raspy tone, "Indeed. After months of waiting three days ago, that guy finally decided to leave the alchemy guild building. But he goes back after wasting half a day in the market."
"At least, it's confirmed he's still in the dark city and hiding in the alchemy guild. Tell me, what did he do in the market?" The masked man asked coldly.
The cloaked figure in hologram respectfully replied, "The only place he remained for more than five minutes is in the Black Sea Company. He stayed there for almost an hour. After bribing the assistant there, I found he bought an advance type-1 treasure ship for 3000 ZC."
"3000 ZC, huh? It seemed the information about him robbing the senior grandmaster alchemists was not wrong." The masked man muttered with a hint of shock before he said, "Speaking of information, do you find how Skull No. A-2 was killed? Did that dog get exposed and put down by this prick?"
"The thing is, Lord A-0, we didn't have connections in the Senior Grandmaster circle of the alchemy guild after A-2 was killed twenty months ago before sending us the details about Faceless Ancient's actions.
"But I have some connections in the Grandmaster circle. According to my source, Senior Grandmaster Otto only vanished after Faceless Ancient left the guild for the inner circle.
"Furthermore, that guy had already killed a Senior Grandmaster before he left, and since he is still living in the dark city, then it means it shouldn't be him who killed A-2.
"Other than that, I have no new intel about his uncanny death. Even his brain chip didn't contain any information, which was quite strange. Even a Star Hacker isn't capable of doing such a thing to our brain chip." The cloaked figure replied with uncertainty.
The masked man or Skull No. A-0 sighed ruefully at this moment, "After our hasty retreat from the freedom plains while leaving our investment behind, the death of a single-digit A-rank skull has made the higher-ups in the epic plains furious.
"We are not allowed to enter the epic plains without getting our hands on the research data from that hateful rat. So, I don't need to tell you just how important this mission is for both of our futures, right A-1?" asked A-0 meaningfully.
A-1 nodded his cloaked head and gravely said, "Don't worry, Lord A-0, I have put all the two-digit agents in the dark city in this mission. The moment we get the chance, I, as well as the other nine, will personally take action and get the data back."
No. A-0 nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Very well, I will wait for your good news. Just don't underestimate that rat. He's too strange and always manages to surprise us. I don't want any mishap this time, or you and I both won't be able to handle the consequences."
"Understood!" A-1 solemnly uttered before his figure vanished from the projection.
A-0 then connected another call, and a dark projection materialized, and a melodious yet icy voice rang, "You better be calling me to tell me that you have recovered the data?"
"Madam, please rest assured, everything is under control now. As long as that Faceless Ancient leaves the dark city, he will not be able to escape." A-0 no longer appeared arrogant as he spoke with this 'Madam.'
"I've been hearing this excuse for what, about two years now?" The woman tonelessly remarked.
"But madam, this time, I think he's going to leave the dark city. We just discovered that target had bought a treasure ship from the Black Sea company. So, this could only mean he was going to the great star river or star ocean. As long as he leaves the dark city, it doesn't matter where he goes. He won't escape our grasp!" He quickly assured.
The woman remained silent for a moment before she coldly spoke, "For what you've done in the Freedom Plains, I will give you two more years to retrieve the date. If you fail, then you have to return with all the acquired assets. But you won't be rewarded as handsomely as it was originally planned, and someone else might not let off this chance to take your position as '0'."
Done stating her piece, she disconnected the call without waiting for A-0's reply!
A-0 was momentarily stunned. An extremely sinister aura flashed over his person before it vanished. His hands were clenched so tightly that his bloodlessness was on the verge of exploding.
'Sigh...' Taking a deep sharp breath, he calmed himself and unclenched his hands, leaving bloody imprints of his sharp nails on his palms.
"This damn bitch wanted to claim all my achievements for herself while using me as a scapegoat. If she really thinks I will let that happen without fighting back, then she got another thing coming for her.
"As long as I get my hands on that slippery rat, I'll let her know I'm no longer just a pawn." His eyes turned extremely malicious and glowed with a tint of crimson, "I need to oversee this entire operation myself. There's no room for messing up!"
---
A day later, in a lavishly designed hall, a few figures were sitting around a round table. All of them have terrifying murderous auras like beasts.
Right in the center of the round table was a hologram of a man wearing a long black windbreaker with a hood, and his face was covered with a faceless mask. It was none other than Jacob.
"Did you hear in three days there is going to be a competition in the alchemy guild which is held by non-other than our target? Not only that, but there is a rumor going in the alchemy guild that the new guild leader will leave right after this competition." A bull face orc uttered.
"I heard about the former news. It is confirmed. But how reliable is this rumor?" A demi-human woman with lion-like features questioned with a growl.
"No one knows the reliability since this rumor just started spreading among the guild members. The source is unknown. But if there is even a vague possibility that it's true, then we can't miss this chance.
"This guy has been a pain in all of our asses. The secret commission is no longer a commission but has become an order from the higher plain. Now, if we don't kill him, we can't leave this place with the incoming reinforcement from the higher plain." An elf with a deep scar over his right eye coldly uttered in a rageful voice.
There were five giants sitting behind the table like small hills, one of these giants, spoke sinisterly in his mountainous voice, "Alright, inform all of our men. If this guy is really going to leave, we can react at a moment's notice. From our new orders, we need to go in full force!"
The others nodded their head in agreement as they all looked at the hologram with killing intent in their eyes!