Chapter 277: Chapter 259: New Equipment_2
After putting them on, the new shoes hugged his entire foot tightly, yet without any sense of oppression. The whole sole adhered closely to the foot, providing a certain level of support that made it easier to exert force when moving.
There were other indescribable feelings, but just as Grey Mouse had said, he felt lighter all over.
He felt like running a lap around Nuta City right away.
"What’s the deal with these shoes? They don’t seem to be enchanted..."
Yan Xing said, "You’re asking me? I don’t know either. These shoes were stolen by me. Let’s go... It’s a dark and windy night, perfect for murder."
After he finished speaking, Yan Xing, using his light-footed skills, deftly leaped onto the eaves of a nearby roof. Li Jiya followed. Even Grey Mouse demonstrated his mediocre thieving abilities, taking a running start and bouncing off the wall to join them up top.
At this moment, Yan Xing connected to the drone controlled by Chui Chui.
The temporary headquarters of Jufeng Mercenary Group in Nuta City was a brothel, which also happened to be one of their businesses.
The income of large mercenary groups didn’t rely solely on contracting fees. They were diversified enterprises flourishing in various ways. However, since most mercenaries were warriors, they tended to run more of those gray-area businesses.
A brothel was a place where making money and gathering intelligence could go hand in hand.
The brothel run by Jufeng Mercenary Group was enormous. It had multiple levels both underground and above, with a high volume of traffic and multiple entrances and exits.
Moreover, the later it got, the busier it became.
Identifying among the people coming and going who might be the ones to rob the Orc Treasury tonight was no easy task.
Yan Xing, Li Jiya, and Grey Mouse hid on the rooftop of a building not far from the brothel, gazing down on this den of vice.
This sort of Western-style brothel was purely about the business of the flesh, unlike the Eastern pleasure houses where one could listen to music and watch dances.
The three of them watched the building from all sides, looking for anyone acting suspiciously.
Chui Chui reported that there were several other groups keeping an eye on Jufeng Mercenary Group.
Yan Xing asked, "Could it be that others have noticed Jufeng Mercenary Group’s plans to rob the Orc Treasury?"
Chui Chui pulled up surveillance data on Jufeng Mercenary Group from the recent period and answered, "These people have been watching Jufeng Mercenary Group for quite some time. It’s likely not because they are aware of the planned robbery on the Orc Treasury, but rather routine surveillance by various parties."
"That’s good," Yan Xing said.
The conflict between Jufeng Mercenary Group and Farsight Mercenary Corps had been brought into the open. Naturally, Jufeng Mercenary Group would be under surveillance by various parties.
Just like my own Envoy Mansion, which is also under the constant watch of certain personnel nearby, Yan Xing mused. Having discovered the connection between Jufeng Mercenary Group and Shortgun, I also instructed Chui Chui to install surveillance devices here.
It was then that Grey Mouse, growing a bit impatient, said, "Lord Terence, there are too many people here. Plus, I’ve been here before, and I know there are certainly hidden passages inside that lead to other places. With just the three of us, we can’t monitor such a large area."
Li Jiya also said, "Maybe I should call in some people, all of whom are trustworthy."
Since the team that had received the Elf Envoys had been rotated, the covert spy team commanded by Li Jiya had gone back into hiding. Li Jiya was appointed as their commander, and that order was still in effect.
"If many people come, we’ll certainly be noticed by Jufeng Mercenary Group. Too few won’t be effective. Leave it to me; I’ll find the people preparing for the robbery of the Orc Treasury as fast as possible."
Yan Xing answered casually, continuing his conversation with Chui Chui. "Those who come here are usually regulars; they don’t roam around at night and aren’t likely to change their routes easily. Compare this with the surveillance videos in the database. Access the Intelligence Exchange database to link nearby data, and filter through the people coming and going from the brothel. Jufeng Mercenary Group won’t get their own hands dirty for the Orc Treasury robbery. Pay attention to strangers and anyone intentionally concealing their identity."
"Yes, Master," Chui Chui replied. It accessed the database files to carry out the search and intelligence linking, then asked Yan Xing, "If the ones robbing the Orc Treasury don’t depart from here, and we wait, could we miss our chance?"
Yan Xing said, "For Jufeng Mercenary Group, every other place in Nuta City is unsafe. The chaos here serves as a natural disguise for what they plan to do. With the cover this place provides, they can gather the people for the treasury heist without the risk of exposure. The ones who will rob the treasury must depart from here, and the stolen gold must be brought back here. Your task is to find them."
"I understand, Master."
In Yan Xing’s consciousness space, dynamic images filled it instantaneously, with countless lines of text scrolling downward from the top.
As Chui Chui proceeded with identification and information linking, the dynamic images rapidly decreased, and the speed of the text scrolling became faster and faster.
The various generous promotions by the Eternal Intelligence Exchange had made Eternal Cards very popular within Nuta City, giving Chui Chui access to a large amount of personal information.
Facial recognition determined the identities of the people in the images, which then allowed for gathering more information through text intelligence.
After a dizzying array of operations, Chui Chui filtered out a batch of suspicious individuals. They were not from the Jufeng Mercenary Group. They had entered the brothel and had not come out for a long time. They were Heroes, and quite powerful ones at that.
Among them were two individuals who, either out of stupidity or greed, indicated on their information input that they had connections with the Orcs.
If someone else were to do these tasks, they absolutely wouldn’t be able to remember so many people and events. But with the use of big data, Chui Chui took only one minute to locate these individuals.
Now that the scope was narrowed, all that was needed was to keep an eye on the movements of these people in the vicinity.
"Deploy more drones and expand the search area. Grey Mouse said there are secret passages leading to other places in this area, so keep a close eye on this entire region," Yan Xing instructed.
Chui Chui stood up and changed into an air force uniform. "Mission will be completed, Master!"
A batch of drones equipped with infrared probes flew out from the Envoy Mansion, spreading out a vast surveillance network.
Li Jiya and Grey Mouse looked at Yan Xing, unsure of how he would find the people planning to rob the Orc Treasury from among so many coming and going.
But since Terence said this task is his, we’ll just wait for news, they thought.
Li Jiya slowly retreated to a place where she was out of sight and began to gently bounce and jog in place.
She had a premonition that a fight was going to happen tonight. She needed to warm up and get used to the new shoes she’d just put on. These shoes are truly miraculous!
Grey Mouse knew his own strength was weak. Not daring to make any big moves, he fiddled with his crossbow there.
「The night deepened further.」
The brothel was still lively, showing no sign of quieting down. Hung lanterns everywhere cast dim light, illuminating the passersby.
At a certain moment, Chui Chui alerted Yan Xing, "Master, suspect number 06 has come out... suspect number 08 has come out... suspect number 15 has come out..."
Chui Chui reported them one after another, totaling nine suspects.
They left the brothel almost one after the other, each exiting from different doorways.
They seemed to be unconnected and did not look like they knew each other. But by tracking the routes they took next, it became clear they were ultimately heading in the same direction.
Their attire was almost identical. After leaving the brothel and walking some distance, they all put on their hoods and tied a blue scarf around their necks.
It’s them, Yan Xing realized.
Yan Xing said to Li Jiya and Grey Mouse beside him, "Found them. They headed northeast, each on different streets. These people are highly skilled. Let’s follow them from a distance and don’t let them notice us."
Li Jiya confidently said, "I won’t have any problems... Grey Mouse, I think you better not go."
Grey Mouse knew his strength was lacking and that he would likely cause trouble if he went. But with such a significant operation, he would regret it if he didn’t participate.
While Grey Mouse hesitated, Yan Xing said, "Let Grey Mouse come along; they won’t notice him. Besides, once we get there, we’ll need someone to keep watch."
With drones tracking them from high above, Yan Xing and the others only needed to follow from a distance, ensuring they wouldn’t be discovered.
One more person, regardless of strength, is always better than needing someone when there’s no one available, Yan Xing thought.
Yan Xing insisted on bringing Grey Mouse along, and Li Jiya said no more.
After all, up to now, I haven’t contributed as much as Grey Mouse, Li Jiya thought.
Grey Mouse gratefully said to Yan Xing, "Lord Terence, I won’t cause you any trouble."
"Let’s go..." Yan Xing waved his hand and leaped toward the rooftop of another house. He then said to the two, "Up ahead are unidentified individuals monitoring the Jufeng Mercenary Group. We’ll have to take a detour..."