54: Chapter 54 Citywide Drill, Heading to Bala City

After Zhang Mu finished fooling the three of them, it was just about noon by the time he returned home.

Just as he sat down on the sofa, Ye Ming's call came through as expected.

Perhaps that wretched Special Investigation Bureau had required him to keep the matter of the "Cultivator" secret, as Ye Ming sounded quite constrained, stammering for a long time without getting to the point.

His mouth twitching twice, Zhang Mu couldn't help but ask, "Did something happen to you?"

"You're acting all bashful like a little girl. If there's something, just say it."

"Uh... Zhang Mu, if—and I mean if—you found a treasure that could directly grant you financial freedom,"

"But because you didn't recognize what it was, you gave it to me,"

"And then, I achieved financial freedom, would you blame me?"

"If you achieve financial freedom, wouldn't you give me a hand? Not much, just get me a house and a car,"

"And throw in another five million in savings so I can live a relaxed life, that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Don't tell me even that's out of the question."

The phone's speaker went quiet for a moment, and after about two minutes, Ye Ming's usual confident tone rang out:

"I could buy you ten houses without a problem."

"Then that's that. If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

Hanging up the phone, Zhang Mu stretched and glanced at the time; it was just past twelve.

Song Lan said the auction starts at seven tonight. He decided to get some extra sleep; after the auction, he would travel through the night to Bala City so he wouldn't lose out by missing the Labyrinth.

There was also the follow-up plan for the Cultivation Sect; he had to refine the details. After all, he was dealing with a state machine and the actual rulers of Earth; even a slight flaw in the process would be noticed.

And that would lead to them seeing through his charade.

Once his passport was ready, he would have to stir things up abroad as well. That way, the atmosphere of "The Calamity Has Passed" could be fully established.

With thoughts racing through his mind, his consciousness gradually blurred, and Zhang Mu fell into a deep sleep right there on the sofa.

When he woke up, the blood-red setting sun was already streaming through the window.

He grabbed his phone and saw it was already past five, so he quickly tried to call Song Lan for the specific address of the auction.

But before the call could connect, her call came in directly.

After a quick chat, he learned that the Su City Government Officials had issued an emergency notice: a city-wide anti-terror drill was being conducted.

Citizens' normal work and travel would not be affected, but Government Personnel had established temporary checkpoints at all major traffic arteries.

All non-essential gathering activities were halted, and since Song Lan's auction was naturally not essential, it couldn't be held for the time being.

They agreed that she would notify him when the drill ended and the auction could proceed. Zhang Mu hung up and stroked his chin, pondering.

It had only been about five hours since he left the school, and in that short time, they had already begun a controlled search of the entire city.

Did I underestimate the power and authority of the Special Investigation Bureau?

Whatever, they can't find me anyway.

Zhang Mu stood up, intending to summon a portal. He needed to quickly increase his strength and learn more magic so he could better carry out the Cultivation Sect plan.

Then, through the Cultivation Sect, he would quickly acquire resources to help himself become stronger faster in the Other World, which would then feed back into Earth, creating a positive cycle.

"Knock, knock—"

The front door was suddenly knocked on. Zhang Mu was confused for a split second, but then immediately realized who it was.

He went over and opened the door; sure enough, the two people he had met just a few hours ago were standing outside.

"Hello, Mr. Zhang Mu. We are specialists from the Special Investigation Bureau, and we need your help with some matters."

"What is it?" Zhang Mu pretended to be dazed.

"Have any particularly unusual phenomena occurred around you lately, or have you encountered any strange things?" Zhao Qi didn't ask to enter, just stood at the door. "It could also be the appearance of a special person."

"Uh, I don't think so." Zhang Mu scratched his head. "I'm an orphan and don't have relatives visiting. I only have one university senior I'm close with,"

"And we haven't seen each other for a few days."

"My home." He turned back and surveyed the interior. "It's a rental with very few pieces of furniture. If there was something that wasn't mine, I'd definitely notice it at a glance."

Hearing this, Yue Ruo took out a portable thermal imaging device and scanned the room.

Aside from Zhang Mu, there were no other heat sources in the room.

Zhao Qi continued, "Then, have you recently picked up any strange plants you don't recognize?"

"Unrecognized plants?" Zhang Mu lowered his head in thought for a moment, then said as if realizing something, "Yes, a sprig of Shepherd's Purse with a very strange color, but I don't have it anymore."

"You gave it away?"

"Yeah, I was quite curious about the reason for the color mutation, so I gave it to my senior to help test it."

"Alright, thank you very much for your cooperation."

"Goodbye."

Zhao Qi reached out to close the door and walked toward the elevator side-by-side with Yue Ruo.

"The Cultivator probably didn't come looking for him. He's just an ordinary citizen; the biggest thing he's probably faced is the college entrance exam. If he really had seen a Cultivator,"

"He wouldn't be this calm when we showed up at his door."

"If he knew he'd personally given away his immortal fate, would he cry himself to death?" Yue Ruo pressed the elevator button.

"It's all fate." Zhao Qi crossed his arms. "If you ask me, he deserves to have lost his immortal fate."

"Ye Ming doesn't even realize how much trouble we are by showing up. To avoid getting him involved,"

"He risked rotting in prison to burn the immortal fate to ashes."

"But him?"

"He sold Ye Ming out in three sentences. If it really had been just an ordinary protected plant, he would have brought that trouble right to Ye Ming's door."

"Maybe he just didn't realize it." Yue Ruo said as she stepped into the opening elevator.

"Whatever." Zhao Qi followed her in. "In any case, neither the Cultivator nor the immortal fate have anything to do with him anymore."

The elevator doors slowly closed.

Inside the house, Zhang Mu's lips curled slightly.

The plan was going smoothly; the only connection between the herb and himself was severed. He wouldn't have to worry about the secret of his magic being discovered before he was strong enough.

Zhang Mu silently summoned the portal in his heart while thinking.

Since the Government Officials take the matter of Cultivators so seriously, I'll have to carefully consider how to contact them later.

He had to make them believe firmly in the Cultivation Sect, while not giving them a single chance to grasp transcendent power, thus maintaining his own mystery.

Zhang Mu was very familiar with the human species.

Like air, even the sturdiest iron box, as long as there's a crack as thin as a hair, it can seep in everywhere.

Once the Government Officials understand the essence of magic power, they will devote all their strength to studying it frantically, eventually seeing through his mystery.

Zhang Mu would never allow such a thing to happen.

Having set the primary tone of being the Sole Practitioner of Magic, he stepped into the emerging portal and arrived in the Other World.

The day before yesterday, he had returned to reality from the gate of Kas Town, so naturally, he descended there now.

Surveying the surroundings, the moonlight was bright and clear, and everything was silent.

He walked into the town with some emotion.

The street lamps were out. Along both sides of the street, the windows of the row houses were pitch black, and the taverns and inns that usually stayed open at night were tightly closed.

The residents of Kas Town probably wouldn't be returning for a while, at least not until the Church sent a Bishop to rebuild the chapel.

Speaking of which, does the Lake Kingdom not care about the safety of villages and towns in remote areas?

They actually have to wait for the Church to send a Bishop to protect the town from the threat of magic beasts.

Can't be bothered, or just incapable?

It was puzzling.

Zhang Mu shook his head and walked out of Kas Town.

The road to Bala City was just this one narrow dirt path in front of the gate, so there was no need to worry about getting lost.

Wasting no more time, he strode down the dirt road into the distance.