Chapter 112 The Riddler (Part 8)

It must be said that intelligence personnel do more work at night than during the day. Once night falls, apart from the tavern, only the intelligence group building is brightly lit.

The office windows on the first floor were wide open, and you could see that all the staff were wearing shirts. When they got tired, they would take off their shirts and drape them over their right shoulders.

There were several dwarf secretaries wearing pink work skirts. Once they bent over, their heads were no longer visible, and they were also no longer visible when moving documents.

The lake is very close to the building, so it should be considered the intelligence team's rest area.

A young man with stiff, straight hair, holding a bouquet of pale purple flowers and chewing gum, waited early by the lake for the girl he had long admired.

He saw four guys lurking around the lake. At first, he just put his feet up on a park bench and watched them look for something, but the more he watched, the more uncomfortable he felt.

These four guys are clearly disturbing his rendezvous.

So the young man leaped across the exposed rocks in the lake, his leaps so skillful that he twisted his body in mid-air, and finally stopped in front of Lisa as if the flowers in his hand were a gift to her.

"Do you need any help?"

“We’re looking for a house with a chimney, and we heard it’s nearby.”

"I've never heard of a house with a chimney, really."

The young man shrugged, indicating that he couldn't help.

The four agents wanted to continue searching for clues, but the young man kept a distance of three meters from them.

A girl with very smooth skin appeared, raising her arched eyebrows, and hopped across the lake from the other side along the stones.

The young man talked to the girl about the house, and the girl laughed inappropriately and said, "You should look for one during the day. The park at night is for lovers."

Strange things began to happen; when the girl said those words, there was a slight echo in the park.

Looking around again, there was clearly nothing obstructing the view.

When the girl saw that the four agents were still lingering, she put on an arrogant and pretentious act in front of her boyfriend.

"Why aren't they leaving? Why don't you just fight them? Whoever wins stays."

The park echoed again, and this time Lisa was certain that some unseen reflector was bouncing the sound waves back.

"Then let's look again the next day. Sorry to bother you."

Lisa apologized to the couple and, on her way back, shared her suspicions with everyone.

The park was enchanted with a barrier-like spell, but it could rule out a matrix, since such an obvious symbol would be easy to spot. So the caster used a more sophisticated method.

Illusion.

Deceptive obstacles, such as trees, rocks, and walls, can be set up in parks to hide something. Professional illusionists can even conceal lakes.

But using illusion magic for a long time would definitely consume a lot of magic power. Could it be that the illusionist has an inexhaustible energy supply?

In any case, the answer will be revealed the next day.

The next day, snow fell on the ramparts, and the lake in front of the intelligence group building quickly transformed into a beautiful sight, one never before seen.

The mineral, which cannot be stone, is close to crystal and is exposed from the lake.

It is located in the center of the lake, submerged at the bottom, and its color changes with the temperature every moment.

“I recognize this material; it’s a power stone. Engineers use it to generate electricity,” Mia said.

Lisa asked calmly, "Only electricity?"

"Actually, it can also replenish magic power, but those who don't know magic won't know how to use it, and it requires training."

Judging from the color of this stone, its energy is almost depleted.

As they were talking, the snow fell heavier and heavier, and on the other side of the lake, a mirage appeared, with snowflakes floating in the air and unable to fall.

There is a small hill there, about half the height of an overpass, hidden by a grove of cypress trees.

For some reason, the snow stopped falling over that area, leaving the ground covered in white snow, but there was no snow accumulation there.

Lisa sensed a peculiar magic, which did not seem to originate from the caster but was artificially created. If this magic continued, it might cause a catastrophe.

She walked over and placed her hand on the rock. To put it simply, it was indeed rock, but to be precise, it wasn't hard enough; it just looked like a synthetic stone and was hollow inside.

There were no holes around, not even a crack to crawl into.

Lisa circled the perimeter several times before finally stopping next to a rather rustic-looking stone.

This is a fake stone. To the low-magic population, it looks no different from a real stone. The only difference is that its geometric shape is too regular and it is not a natural product at all.

Perhaps the intelligence team members were too busy with their work to notice anything unusual about the stone.

Lisa could see that an energy field was continuously filling the stone from the inside out.

A lasting and effective illusion is often most complete in the most dangerous places.

Lisa placed her hand on the stone, creating a magical resonance with the energy field.

The stone disappeared, revealing a narrow patch of land with a house with a chimney standing in the middle, and a path leading there.

The door was closed, but it was as if it wasn't closed at all; it opened with a simple pull of the hinges.

As soon as I entered, I saw a pair of shoes, like dirty radishes, one left on the left and the other kicked to the right.

The house was supported by several pine stakes. In the middle was a long table with six candles on it, five of which had already burned out. Next to it was a set of tableware, and the leftover food was still warm, indicating that someone had been there in the morning.

A creature with an ugly appearance was crouching under the table.

This creature was like a watchdog; it became unusually reserved when a stranger entered, but it didn't bark or howl like a dog.

It may be some kind of trained detection pet.

An old tin can, filled to the brim with dirt, was placed in front of the pet.

To the left of the long table was a stand-in workbench, on which lay a human model. When the four agents saw the model, they were all speechless with surprise.

It looks exactly like Richie's body!

Moreover, its eyes were moving, as if it were alive; it was a flesh-and-blood golem that could not think or speak, but only move.

Behind the workbench was a large closet. When I opened it, I found it full of these golems, hanging on it like clothes hangers.

After a long while, Lisa finally came to her senses with an incredulous look in her eyes.

“We’ve all been tricked. Richie is still alive. The one who was killed was just one of the golems.”

"Does he usually wear this suit when he goes out?"

"I guess he has a bad habit of being a neat freak when it comes to clothes."

"Bilis! Bilis! Bilis! Come quick, I've found treasure!"

The hurricane-like howl came from upstairs; Aisha had somehow run up to the second floor.

The second floor is a very frugal bedroom, containing an empty milk bottle, half a small round bread, three or four newspapers, and a third-rate magazine that exposes the interior.

However, what caught Elsa's attention was a treasure chest with a combination lock, like a pirate's chest.

The lock was half-open, revealing another treasure chest inside. Opening that chest revealed yet another treasure chest, each smaller than the last.

What a prankster!

After opening more than a dozen treasure chests, they finally found the real treasure.

There were two letters, one in a large envelope and one in a small envelope. The large envelope was marked as a secret document and had a high-ranking wax seal.

Lisa opened the small envelope, which read:

"I couldn't wait to drag you into this. If you've already peeked at the documents, you'll be a target like me, so I advise you not to. As for the riddle game, it's over. The arrest of Irencel is also over. Go back and tell the high command that Irencel is dead, and you'll definitely ask me why I did it."

"The high-ranking members were initially a group fighting to maintain peace in this other world. A few months ago, all twelve of them suddenly changed, and two even went missing. I participated in the investigation and successfully found the bodies of the missing; their brains had been eaten."

"Later, the temporary investigation team was disbanded, and all information was blocked. I suspected someone had controlled their minds, so I followed this lead alone and found the secret documents. However, the high-ranking officials had already begun to suspect me, so I couldn't continue. Therefore, I had no choice but to ask Irencel to use the faked death to lure out the mastermind."

"I'm alone and need a capable partner. You're in the open, I'm in the shadows. If you want to become my partner, open this file. However, I still hope you'll consider it carefully."

Just like a group of people who have been trapped in the desert all day suddenly encountering water, how could they not open it and take a look?

Besides, isn't that what secret agents do?

Open the large envelope; inside are two documents. The first document is arranged in ascending order, with a subtitle at the top. Most of the content is about Leviathan, with a small portion mentioning the Demon Pillar.

The document roughly means:

'Leviathan has been resurrected. Even with the combined strength of the entire alliance, they cannot contend with the Demon Pillar. So why not try a different approach? Achieve maximum peace with minimal cost, submit to the strong, and work under the Demon Pillar's command. This is currently the best option, and the only way for the reincarnated to survive. Therefore, we, the High Seats, in the name of all members, request that you withdraw your action plan.'

The second one was somewhat like a threatening letter, and it read:

'The Sky City project is also a mistake. If your government insists on continuing, then accept the judgment of anger.'

The first document was signed by Ryan, while the second was unsigned, but it was definitely related to the mastermind Richie mentioned.